Chapter 109
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Plan
"Oppa..."
Crow finally made it back to the hideout well past noon.
Lily greeted him sprawled out on the floor, but he didn't even bother making eye contact. He just stretched out on the living room sofa.
In that position, he pulled two packs of cigarettes from his pocket. He began the pointless ritual of smoking—inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly, over and over.
But Lily could easily sense the drug laced in the smoke.
"D-did you meet that woman...? Oppa, now's not the time to get tangled up with her. Justice is coming for you!"
Lily spoke with clear worry, but
Crow got up with an annoyed look and slapped a strip of tape over her mouth.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"I'm heading out in ten minutes. Keep that in mind."
She had no clue what was going through his head.
"And I told you not to use your ability. How'd you know these were from Scardi?"
"Mmph...?"
Humans,
unable to peer into each other's true feelings,
end up stacking misunderstanding upon misunderstanding.
A nondescript car—stolen from who knows where—
Lily stuffed in the trunk,
and Crow behind the wheel, sunglasses on.
It had rained yesterday, but today the weather had cleared up nicely.
The sunlight was so bright it even fatigued Crow's eyes as he took in the scenery.
Every time they hit a speed bump, muffled groans echoed from the trunk, but that only made Crow crank the music volume a notch higher.
Just another ordinary day.
People hustled about their work as usual,
living their lives without a care.
As he cruised through the city, Crow memorized every single face he passed.
Even spotting the occasional cop blended in among them didn't faze him. Not a flicker of unease.
His second hideout turned out to be in a surprisingly remote spot—a villa-like place on the outskirts, away from the urban bustle.
The moment they arrived, Crow popped the trunk, hauled out the whimpering Lily, tossed her roughly inside,
carried in all their gear without missing a thing, and locked the front gate.
This was one of Crow's favorite spots.
Unlike the other temporary safe houses he used just for passing through, the basement here was packed with equipment and setups he'd installed himself.
Back in his private lair after so long, Crow puffed away on his cigarette as he prepped a new project.
A whiteboard once covered in scraps of info for tracking targets
was now densely filled with his own situation and the resources at his disposal.
"Mmph..."
Still bound and sprawled on the floor, Lily wriggled over and scanned the board's contents with her eyes.
"Tape off, ropes too."
As he slowly filled the rest of the board, Crow showed her a sliver of mercy.
Only then did Lily cautiously activate her ability to peel off the tape and ropes without a hitch.
"You do have proof of my innocence, right?"
"Y-yes...! Of course. Oppa, just leave it to me, I'll handle it somehow..."
Click—
Crow's marker pressed hard into the whiteboard.
Lily glanced at him warily and clamped her mouth shut.
"...Get all the data sorted and bring it to me in three hours. And don't open your mouth unless I ask something. Answer only what's asked, no extra chatter."
Lily just nodded obediently, catering to her oppas mood without a word.
Crow's face was etched with utter seriousness. Lily got her first glimpse of the prison infiltration plan—no trace of humor in it.
"I'll go in and pull Duksoon out. Then I'll take your docs and meet Justice myself for a bit."
"O-oppa! Even so, that's a little too danger—"
But she'd been too hasty.
He'd specifically told her to keep quiet.
Slap—!
"Ah, uh..."
Without a moment's hesitation, he strode over and struck her across the cheek.
"Uh, ugh... S-sorry..."
"From now on, do nothing but what I tell you. Just breathe."
For a brief moment, it seemed like the old gentle, serious oppa was back—but he was still endlessly harsh with her.
"There's not a single thing for you to worry about. Just follow me around and watch quietly."
What on earth did that mean?
Lily rubbed her stinging cheek and kept nodding vigorously.
"You, Lily, you..."
Even as he rattled off one aggressive line after another, he dumped a whole bundle of instant noodle packs he'd bought on the way into a pot to boil.
"...Never mind."
The familiar, steaming pot bubbled away, the noodles cooking to perfection inside.
"If things go south, I'll ask Scardi's crew to hide us. Just so you know."
The mere thought of seeing that wretched woman made Lily's teeth grind,
and knowing Scardi was part of Crow's scheme only fueled her frustration more.
But if she spoke up, she'd get slapped again,
and if she schemed behind his back, he'd never talk to her anymore...
"..."
Instead, she stopped nodding and just let her eyes well up with tears. That was the best way she could express her discontent.
"Don't fake cry."
Ignoring even that, Crow lifted the lid and slurped up a heaping mound of noodles over it. Ramen after so long—he was savoring it.
Lily, who hadn't eaten a proper meal in days, swallowed hard and waited for his permission.
Five packs boiling meant he surely planned to share...
But he didn't spare her a glance, inhaling the noodles like soup. Maybe because he'd burned so much energy that morning, he polished off the high-calorie carbs without issue.
Were they tastier because her oppa was eating them,
or was she just starving that badly?
Lily squirmed, trying to signal her hunger, but Crow stared at the whiteboard oblivious until...
"Ah, you need to eat too."
Remembering her late, he fetched a small rice bowl. Lily inwardly sighed in relief, grateful he still cared.
But Crow scooped just one single chopstickful and plopped it into the bowl in front of her.
No chopsticks needed. A slight tilt of the bowl, and it was empty.
"Eat."
"Ah..."
Lily couldn't hide her disappointment as she took the bowl, but
"Don't want it?"
"N-no, of course not..."
Fearing he'd snatch it back, she shoved it into her mouth in a hurry.
The oppa right now seemed like he could deny her even a drop of water for days on end.
Better to take what she could get.
"Your face says otherwise. Do whatever you want anytime. No need to pretend to listen now, act all sweet and obedient. Why keep up the act?"
Crow was clearly provoking her.
No—testing her.
"If you get pissed, snap my neck and leave. No regen anymore, right? One hit and you're dead."
He was goading the girl who'd thrown away everything for his sake into defying him of her own will.
"...As if. I have to do what oppa says."
So Lily forced a smile.
Her empty bowl didn't have a single drop of broth left.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Sniff, hic... Slurp— sniff..."
Duksoon, left alone inside the prison, was in a similarly pitiful state.
"Piglet, shut up and eat."
"Y-yes... Hic... Slurp..."
The prison had been utterly trashed,
most inmates either bedridden or locked in solitary.
Duksoon was just about the only one unscathed.
Being far from the rooftop action, she'd dodged both the riot and the suppression unscathed.
The women who'd tormented her nonstop were now crippled, barely able to walk. At least twelve weeks recovery.
Thanks to Creep turning them into half-cripples before bolting.
"Hnnng... Hic..."
By the sound of it, this was a golden opportunity for Duksoon,
but she'd ended up one of the riot's ringleaders, thoroughly on Correctional Officer Orca's shitlist. Her sentence would balloon by at least a year, maybe three.
No marriage prospects now.
Not that the total loner hikikomori had any intention anyway, but now even the slimmest chance was gone.
"Mom, I miss you... Hic..."
Duksoon contemplated suicide several times a day. Too scared to actually do it, of course, but she was that depressed and furious.
Could she even last another year?
What would she do for work once out? Part-time gigs? Use her ability to make money?
Her little dining table was full of worries.
Duksoon slurped her salty ramen—slurp—while sobbing. Too much spice mix, or maybe tears and snot, who knew.