Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Part 2, Episode 3
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‘How many emergency recovery syringes are left?’
I opened the drawer to check my first-aid supplies before heading out for an afternoon gate run.
“Hey, Dawn, wanna see me stack the kids up like a pyramid? It’ll be fun~ Great for a mood booster~”
Out of nowhere, I recalled what Yeo Hu-hee had teasingly said to me that morning, arm linked with mine.
I told her to fuck off, that it sounded boring as hell and would give me Abyss PTSD.
‘Did Yeo Hu-hee take the recovery syringes?’
That bitch had been humming lately about whipping the civilian kids into shape.
Whatever she was planning, it looked like she was trying to cover her tracks.
‘Cut it out already.’
For some reason, Moon Serim, Yeo Hu-hee, and that whole crew had a thick disdain for the weak and soft types.
They’d pick fights with them for no reason whenever they passed by.
It wasn’t just the weak ones, either—they’d hassle the ones who seemed ambiguously strong too.
As long as they treated them properly, kept their mouths shut, and didn’t cause any incidents, it wasn’t my problem.
If shit hit the fan, Lee Yuhyeon—the one who sent us to school—would take the heat.
No intention of stopping it.
I had plenty of other stuff to do anyway. And they weren’t the type to suddenly stop just because I told them to.
Plus, it wasn’t like I’d done anything directly, and I didn’t feel like bothering to worry about kids I barely knew getting hurt.
“Dawn…”
Lost in thought, Woo Jiyoon suddenly spoke up.
Something must’ve happened—her face was all twisted up, like she’d stepped in a massive turd, with a hint of sadness.
“What? If it’s about homework scope, I skipped class too.”
“No, it’s not that…”
Woo Jiyoon hemmed and hawed before letting out a long sigh.
“Kids who were playing fine with me yesterday are kinda icing me out now… Did they suddenly start hating me? Is it my face? Did I get dumped all of a sudden?”
The girl’s energy had tanked overnight.
She’d been moping around the room since yesterday, repeating the same crap, and I’d almost snapped at her but held back.
“If they’d ditch you over that, they’d bail for any reason, so forget ’em.”
“They’re still into me, right? Did I fuck up somehow?”
Patience…
I nearly yelled but swallowed it.
If I blew up, she might burst into tears like last night.
Crying at school would be a disaster. She’d get looked down on.
Why did she come crying to me for advice after bawling that I was too harsh yesterday?
“Everyone messes up. They could too. If you can’t handle each other’s screw-ups and it keeps making you anxious, just drop the friendship. It’s not like you’ve got no one else to hang with.”
“…
“You’ll keep hanging out with me, right?”
Please ask that one more time. No, just once.
This was about the 50th time she’d asked.
“I’ve never ditched you.”
Woo Jiyoon blinked, thought for a sec, then slowly nodded.
She finally seemed a bit calmer.
* * *
Later, to leave proof for Lee Yuhyeon that I was “studying hard” at school, I tried taking decent notes and passed out.
When I lifted my head, my notebook looked like it was full of dancing earthworms.
I peeled the sticky note off my face, rested my chin on my hand, and stared out the window.
‘Lunchtime already…’
Yawning hugely, I watched the kids playing soccer on the field.
‘Why the hell are there so many sticky notes on my face?’
I ripped them all off and slapped them on my desk.
『Didn’t wake you up! Come down if you want food.』
Probably Woo Jiyoon or Lee Kyungseop.
『Dawn was snoring lol』
Who’s this? Byeon Woojin? Moon Serim?
『Our jagi sleeps so cute♥』
Perfume spritzed on it, no less. Gotta be Yeo Hu-hee.
Plus a bunch of others scribbled on me like rolling paper pranks.
Thirsty, I grabbed the black tumbler I’d swiped from Seol Doyoon and headed to the water fountain.
Kids who usually greeted me or chatted passed by, sneaking glances at my face before hurrying off.
‘What the?’
The vibe was weird—like everyone was watching me nervously.
Bad weather got ’em all down?
I glanced at the sky.
It was foggy and overcast. I vaguely remembered some internet article saying weather affects moods.
No other reason came to mind, so I chalked it up to that.
Stopped at the fountain, then craved brown rice tea, so I swung by the staff room. Grabbed four packs of it, plus some coffee mixes, and bounced.
“Sorry! Love you guys~”
I tossed out the apology Lee Yuhyeon told me to say, ignoring the teachers’ bitching as I left.
Come to think of it, even the sweet, angelic teachers from early on had gotten prickly lately.
Should’ve taken less brown rice tea. They’re so stingy. It’s not like it’s their money.
School was more boring than I thought.
No combat training—just a bunch of crap Seol Doyoon might like.
Sipping my tea as I wandered, I reached for the classroom door handle to head back in.
“I told you, they’re all fucking insane.”
But a voice came from inside.
“Fuck, seriously. Am I going to school or some kinda camp?”
“Why not just shove ’em in a gate and let ’em spin?”
“If you raised ’em as combat tools, just use ’em as monster shields.”
Whoa, bold talk.
Seemed like the other kids were spooked by our crew’s antics.
Peeking through the door crack, none of the complainers looked like victims.
‘Damn, thought they’d been through hell with all that venom.’
I pushed the door open and walked in.
If it’d been backtalk, I’d have jumped in for a curse battle.
They probably had gripes about invasive species messing up their ecosystem, so I let ’em vent behind my back and headed to my seat.
“But that one, y’know? Did you see her without makeup? Burn scar on her chin.”
Then the convo suddenly swerved to Woo Jiyoon.
Why?
I looked up, eyeing the speaker.
One of the girls who’d been super nice to Woo Jiyoon early on, pushing to be friends.
‘Fuck, Woo Jiyoon’s not in class, right? Tell ’em she’s out.’
I glanced at Woo Jiyoon’s seat.
She was face-down on her desk, dead asleep, not moving.
The girl kept trash-talking, then glanced at sleeping Woo Jiyoon.
“Doesn’t she look like Frankenstein?”
“Pfft! Harsh~”
“Shh. Hey, she’s right there.”
“Huh? What? I’m not talking about her. And even if she hears, what’s she gonna do?”
She lowered her voice a bit, noticing eyes on her, then kept going.
“She kept trying to chat me up, but imagining her face under the makeup creeped me out. Should just crawl back to the lab.”
“Lee Kyungseop and his crew just seem like total losers.”
Suddenly, the targets shifted from the direct bullies to the ones trying to rehabilitate and get along in the Abyss.
I strolled right into the middle of their group and took a sip of tea.
Slurrrp.
The sound cut through the silence.
“…”
“…”
Everyone shut up instantly.
“Oh, hey… Dawn? Good lunch?”
“Pfft, dude. Shut up, psycho.”
“Whatever, she’s unawakened anyway. No biggie. One-on-one, I’d wreck her.”
I’d been listening quietly, but a question popped up.
Our side crossed the line first, so monster shield and camp jabs aside…
“Has Woo Jiyoon or Lee Kyungseop ever bullied you guys?”
They all went fish-eyed, gaping like idiots.
“Have they ever started shit? So why are they the ones getting mocked outta nowhere?”
“…Huh?”
I capped my tumbler and gripped it tight.
“Yeo Hu-hee’s crew is the one causing problems, so why the fuck are you attacking other people~?”
Then I swung it at their heads, measuring the angle.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
Headshot city.
One swing, four hits. Perfect.
Solid strikes landed clean. Peak efficiency.
They hit hard on impact, so keep going before they fully snap out of it.
Fight stance popped up—they wanted to throw down.
Magic bracelet meant they’d done basic physical training. Awakened.
Fuck, everyone’s awakened these days.
Should’ve checked the association’s school awakener stats beforehand.
But whatever. I’d win.
Blunt weapon wouldn’t leave blood—Seol Doyoon’s tumbler setup, no backlash.
Desks and chairs around. Use ’em as footing…
“D-Dawn! No! Calm down!”
Suddenly, Lee Kyungseop came rushing from behind, grabbing me tight and yanking me back.
“It’s fine. This is Seol Doyoon’s tumbler.”
“N-No, c-calm… Calm down…”
Needed to prep the next hit, but Lee Kyungseop clinging and hopping dragged me out of the room.
“Ah. Ah. Aaaah!!!! Fucking pissed!! I’m pissed!!! So fucking pissed!!!!”
“Dawn, deep breaths. De-deep breaths.”
I thrashed to escape his fireman’s carry,
“Why stop me! Fuck, why!”
“Y-You asked me to stop you…”
“When the hell did I?!”
“T-The other day… Remember asking me?”
“Ah, shit!”
Lee Kyungseop stripped off his jacket and tied my wrists to the bench tight, then sat next to me.
“…Those fuckers called me unawakened and looked down on me. Gonna kill ’em.”
“…”
“Kill ’em…”
“…”
“Aaagh… So annoying…”
“…”
“…”
He just sat there silently, and my boiling rage slowly fizzled in the quiet.
“If you clench your fist there, it’ll just make shit worse.”
“…I know.”
“…O-Outside, I saw. The world doesn’t run on violence and brute force alone.”
“…”
“That only worked in our dead society. Gotta act different in other ones.”
Lee Kyungseop spouted some seemingly wise bullshit, then suddenly dropped his head and started sobbing.
“M-Maybe we just… can’t fit in with normal people…”
I turned to look at him. His mouth twitched downward.
Face all messed up from the hurt, couldn’t control it.
“Hey, quit bullshitting. We’re not different. Just different culture, that’s all. And fuck, I wasn’t thinking weird shit, so don’t make me out like a freak?”
“Got it… Y-You’re the only normal one…”
“No, fuck. That’s not— I don’t wanna be a freak, so you guys be normal too. Weird phrasing, whatever. Hey, stop crying, yeah? You calm down. Cut it out.”
Ugh…
Hate this sinking vibe.
Yeo Hu-hee, Moon Serim, et al.
Gonna toss these fuckers in the Han River later. Clueless psychos who don’t know moderation.
“Everyone’s a psycho sometime. The ones you trashed earlier? Total psychos. Fuck, the whole world’s a nutjob camp. Think they grew up perfect? Looked just like Yeo Hu-hee’s crew. Tested it with questions. Just better at faking it. Yeah? Chill, stop crying. Keep it up and fuck, I might swing.”
“…Sniff.”
“Ah, wait. You know what? You’ve been careful and behaved! Why self-flagellate over others’ shit? Psycho. Ease up yourself.”
Ranting heated me up again.
Crying Lee Kyungseop nodded. His twitching mouth corners finally twitched upward.
“T-Thanks for yelling… C-Can I laugh? It’s kinda funny.”
Should I kill him?
“Ugh, headache. Wanna cry too.”
“C-Cry if you want. I’ll pat you.”
“Shut up. Don’t need it. Let’s get to class.”
I stood from the bench and walked off.
Knew Lee Kyungseop was following, but at some point Byeon Woojin tagged along too.
“What? Since when you here?”
“…”
“Woojin’s b-been with us from the start, Dawn. Was gonna brag about tearing open a roll cake bread for limited dungeon drop seals, got a bunch at once, but weird kids said weird shit.”
Byeon Woojin showed off whatever he’d stuck all over his arm, looking glum.
Eyes got misty all sudden, rubbed ’em. Not a kid anymore, bragging over stickers.
Assassin type as expected—slipped in quiet like a mouse.
Weird I hadn’t sensed him for so long.
Rage blinded me? Or senses dulled?
Both?
To cool off, I opened the dented tumbler and finished my tea.
* * *
Those fuckers snitched, so I got dragged to the staff room and chewed out.
‘Ugh… Should’ve taken at least one hit.’
Fight ended with my fists out, so no equal-exchange self-defense claim.
Like accidentally clipping someone in sports and getting ejected.
At least no one was crippled bad, so just a slap on the wrist.
Teachers yapped about how they trusted me, etc.—in one ear, out the other. Back to class, spaced out.
Felt a bit wronged.
Mental torture over scratches? Just some clotted blood on scalps.
Real issue hit after I left the staff room.
Kids who seemed wrecked by Yeo Hu-hee and Moon Serim started claiming I’d done it to them too.
Muzzled by them, so venting at me as part of the group.
Too bad—no evidence, and they looked fine, so claims dismissed.
Relief? Pity? Rage?
‘Fucking bullshit. Wanna die.’
Zoned out sipping tea, drained it quick. Loved the empty, quiet classroom after everyone left.
Popped in earbuds, played some chill ASMR.
Stared blankly out the window post-kids.
Spotted someone familiar.
‘Lee Yuhyeon?’
A known face stepped out of a car, heading to school.
Staff room bound, probably.
One guilty thing flashed in my mind.
‘…Why’s she here?’
Tiny anxiety sparked curiosity.
Looked in the tumbler.
Half tea left, but I watered the plant instead.
Oh, perfect—finished my tea. Where was it? Right, staff room. Alibi set.
Stood up, headed downstairs.
Nervous now, I chewed my lip.