Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 155 - 155. 너야
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Translator: crow
Chapter 155: It's You
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Song Arin's life had never been smooth sailing.
If you were to pick someone whose life had gone smoothly among those who entered the Management Bureau, that would actually be the harder task, but Song Arin was on the tougher end of the spectrum.
She still remembered that time vividly.
It no longer appeared in her dreams, but she couldn't help recalling it.
A sudden anomaly that struck in the middle of dinner.
Her family unable to accept the situation, and she managed to escape by sheer luck—truly a stroke of heaven's fortune—and survive.
The only things that had saved her were all the luck she felt she'd used up back then, and the strange intuition that kept her alive even now.
Passing by the uncle who had called out to her,
passing by her grandfather and grandmother who were fighting each other.
The memory of somehow slipping into the television and surviving.
Of course, that past was far too horrific for young Song Arin, a memory she never wanted to recall again.
So she tried to forget it, and eventually sealed it away with hypnosis.
Not erasing it completely, but gritting her teeth whenever it crept back up, striving to keep it locked within her memories.
A past she had no desire to remember.
And now that past was tightening its grip on her again.
In the end, she had no choice.
*
Silence hung in the air.
Song Arin's mother and father staring at her, and Song Arin gritting her teeth.
"What did you say?"
"That I'm your daughter."
Song Arin continued, enunciating each word through clenched teeth.
"The child you're looking for isn't a doll—it's a person. And that's me."
The woman approached Song Arin slowly, her expression gentle.
Song Arin's breathing grew shallow as the woman stroked her hair.
"The hair is the same."
She stroked Song Arin's hair as if handling something precious, then lowered her hand to brush her face.
"The face shape is similar too."
Her hand trailed over Song Arin's eyes, nose, and mouth.
She looked at Song Arin.
Song Arin swallowed hard,
and the woman reached back with her hand.
"Arin."
She examined the woman's hand,
"Arin! Get back!"
"Huh...?"
At my voice, Song Arin turned around,
and the woman's jaw unhinged grotesquely.
-Kwachik!
"Ugh..."
With the sound of something breaking, Yoo Daon gritted her teeth.
Yoo Daon had somehow intervened, shoving her hand into the woman's mouth.
The woman's hand twisted unnaturally, bleeding, and what was presumed to be Song Arin's mother merely chewed on the fingers while staring at Yoo Daon.
-Tang!
I pulled out the prepared gun and quickly pulled the trigger.
Its forehead snapped back,
"Ugh..."
"You okay?"
"There's something on my hand."
I'd been worried about the pain.
Yoo Daon rubbed her hand against the wall, frowning.
"She does look like Arin."
It was no longer surprising, but the broken jaw realigned as Song Arin's mother muttered.
"But there are two big differences."
"May I ask what they are?"
What could be the way she distinguished Song Arin from someone who wasn't?
"Arin was always sweeter to me!"
"Arin isn't exactly sweet."
"Daon. Please."
I blocked Yoo Daon, who was nodding, and looked back at her mother.
"And..."
"And?"
"Our Arin is young!"
Song Arin's mother's jaw unhinged grotesquely again, and her father's did the same.
"...Ha."
Song Arin let out a sigh.
"Yeah. What was I even hoping for."
She muttered and took half a step back.
"I knew it, but..."
"..."
"You know who I think is the stupidest?"
Song Arin muttered and lifted her head.
"It was always the people who couldn't sever ties with friends or family turned into containment objects and ended up getting killed."
She raised her hand.
"I was sure I was different from them."
"..."
"Because I escaped that hell."
Her expression was
"Now I see it."
"Arin."
"This is truly horrific."
distorted as if she could burst into tears at any moment, though she held them back.
-Ttak!
Yoo Daon deftly dodged the lunging jaw and looked at me.
"Jaeheon, what do we do!"
"Take them down."
"Not run?"
"Yeah."
"If that's what you want, Jaeheon!"
Yoo Daon shouted while dodging the relentless snapping teeth.
"What do we do!"
"Just give me a little time!"
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
-Kwachik!
Yoo Daon blocked the biting teeth with her arm and shouted brightly.
Blood sprayed from her arm, twisted at an odd angle, but she kicked away Song Arin's mother—who was clamped onto her—without a care.
"Arin, stay here."
"How can I?"
Song Arin muttered and stood beside me.
"I'll explain. About my parents."
"..."
"That way you'll understand faster, right?"
"Yeah..."
But was that really okay?
I stared at Song Arin, and she nodded.
"It's fine."
"...Understood."
Song Arin gave a small smile and continued.
"Dad's name is Song Hantae. Age at death: 42. No connection to the Management Bureau. Ordinary office worker."
-Ttak!
"Whoa, that's dangerous."
Yoo Daon muttered while deftly dodging the jaw.
"Dad was a bit—no, pretty strict. So I acted spoiled around Mom a lot, and I think Dad was intimidated by me in turn."
"I see."
"But now I kind of get it."
"Get what?"
"People can't always be honest. Emotions aren't that easy to express."
"Like you, Arin?"
"Yeah. Like me."
"Ah, so Arin's not honest because she takes after her father—Kyaa!"
Yoo Daon screamed as her shoulder was bitten.
"One's coming your way, Jaeheon!"
-Tang!
I quickly drew my gun, shot the lunging man, and turned to her.
"Mom's name is Na Eunhye."
"She seemed gentle."
"Yeah. She was famous for her good personality."
I eyed Yoo Daon, half-expecting her to say something about genes favoring the paternal side, but thankfully she was too busy fighting to hear.
"Age at the time: 39. I think she didn't know about the Management Bureau. ...Honestly, I'm not sure."
"Not sure what that means?"
"She had this uncanny knack for judging situations sometimes."
Song Arin muttered, narrowing her eyes as if recalling the past.
"So Dad only got scolded by Mom when he'd really messed up beyond excuse."
"I see."
"Anyway, that's my family."
I glanced aside, and a translucent window appeared.
[Critical: 0]
Still no change.
"Is it not yet?!"
"It's almost over!"
"Yes!"
Yoo Daon twisted her body this way and that, still evading attacks.
"Oh. There's one more."
"Huh? I'm an only child."
Song Arin blinked and muttered.
"You, Arin."
"Me?"
"You haven't explained about yourself."
"...You know about me."
"But the Song Arin in this family? I don't."
"..."
Song Arin looked at me, let out a short sigh, and began speaking.
"Me? Well. I was just a kid back then."
"Yeah."
"And that's it?"
"Personality, hobbies, likes?"
"How am I supposed to remember all that? Just kid stuff, I guess."
"And now?"
"...Huh?"
"What do you like now? Or who?"
"...I do."
Song Arin's gaze turned to me.
"What is it?"
"Not telling."
"Come on, what?"
She averted her eyes again.
"I said I'm not telling."
"Why..."
"Kim Jaeheon. I'm not telling you."
"Huh?"
Why call my full name all of a sudden? She never does that.
At the same time,
[Critical: 1]
a translucent window appeared.
"No need to say it."
"What?"
-Clank!
I raised the gun barrel.
"I said if you talked about Arin, it'd be fine."
"...You did?"
"Yeah. Seems we didn't need that deep a background check."
"...Damn it..."
Song Arin squeezed her eyes shut and muttered.
"Why?"
"...Shut it off."
She's annoyed again.
Ignoring her muttering, I drew my gun.
The world turned black and white, their movements slowing.
In the now-familiar sensation, I slowly assessed the situation.
Who to shoot first?
The biggest threat.
In that case...
My gaze went to the one closest to Yoo Daon—object, rather.
-Tang!
Flames burst from the muzzle, and the bullet pierced the side of Song Arin's dad, who was gnawing at Yoo Daon.
"Keurk...!"
Song Arin's father screamed and collapsed sideways.
And after staggering a few times, he said nothing more.
"One down!"
Yoo Daon smiled brightly.
And
"..."
Song Arin squeezed her eyes shut.
-Kwachik!
"Ow ow!"
I watched Yoo Daon scream as she was bitten again, then drew my gun.
"We'll take it from here. Rest."
Song Arin looked at me.
"...No."
"Yes?"
She reached out her hand to me.
"Give it."
"...This?"
I pointed to the gun I held, and she nodded.
"No, your hand."
"My hand?"
"Quickly."
With that, she seized my hand like she was stealing it.
"...Hoo."
Her hand was cold.
"I must have told you once."
"Yeah."
"That normal people can't develop abilities."
"...You did."
It was around the Red Lady incident. Before Song Arin and I got close.
"But you're different."
"..."
"You make it possible."
Song Arin looked at me, then at the two others.
She let out a long sigh.
Her gaze shifted to the fallen man,
then to the woman currently biting Yoo Daon.
"Thank you so much."
She bowed her head slowly.
-Grip.
Her grip on my hand tightened.
"So show me."
[Your emotional exchange with Song Arin deepens.]
[Song Arin awakens a new talent.]
[Talent: Control]
She raised her hand into the air,
and Song Arin's mother, lunging at Yoo Daon, froze.
Like a doll tethered by strings, something restrained her movements.
"See?"
Song Arin sighed and muttered.
"You can do it."