Chapter 117
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: I'm Home
Crow smokes on the veranda. In the lingering afterglow of their long, intense sex, he puffs on Scardi's cigarette, and the repulsive pain and rage that had coiled around him begin to ease.
What comes into view are two women crying for entirely different reasons.
Deoksoon sheds endless tears, utterly intoxicated by the ecstatic pleasure she's never tasted before,
while Lily wails as if the world is crumbling, torn between loathing Deoksoon and pitying Crow's actions.
Even as those sounds imprint themselves in his ears,
Crow gazes at the cigarette's flame slowly burning away right before his eyes.
He seems to see his own reflection in that fleeting single stick.
"I'll be back."
He says it to Deoksoon,
and also to Lily.
"Guard the house well."
Deoksoon might jolt awake in panic when she opens her eyes and realizes she's alone with Lily,
but Lily would never lay a hand on her.
This is the true trial of love.
"...Have a safe trip."
The pink-haired girl, tears streaming down her face, forces herself to her feet, bites her lip, and offers a polite bow.
"Oppa."
With her send-off,
Crow heads off to meet Justice.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
There's only one place where Justice can truly rest.
A spacious residential facility under the Association's management...
"I'm home-"
She sometimes mutters the greeting unconsciously when she returns home. In the past, Lily or Crow would welcome her with open arms.
Now, only silence fills the house.
Justice smiles emptily in the vacant entranceway, kicks off her shoes haphazardly, and steps inside.
"You're back?"
For an instant, Justice doubts her own ears. A voice she shouldn't be hearing echoes clearly.
"Why don't you put your shoes away properly before coming in."
This is a space where she now must live alone.
Yet the voice that rings out so vividly is achingly familiar.
"...Crow?"
A presence stirs in the living room. A familiar shadow moves quietly under the indoor lights.
Justice reels at the realization that the man she's been hunting has shown up out of nowhere,
but she doesn't alert the Association. Instead, she walks over slowly on her own to face him.
"It really is you."
"Yeah."
Her steps carry a mix of tension, joy, and perhaps even anticipation.
Is it the simple gladness of seeing Crow after so long, or the relief that since he's come to her himself, things might get easier...
She isn't sure,
but at least Justice gets to share a private conversation with Crow after all this time.
"How did you get in?"
"Opened the door and walked in. Should I have knocked?"
Of course—if he set his mind to it, slipping into a building like this would be child's play.
Justice realizes her question was foolish. So she tries a smarter one this time.
"...Why are you here?"
"I have something to tell you."
Crow, who had been dodging Justice and the Association's dragnet, entered her home as naturally as a fish swimming right into the net.
No matter how familiar the place,
it's undeniably the last spot he should be anywhere near now.
"And a little gift."
Crow lounges on the sofa like it's his own home, eyeing Justice. He gestures to the documents he's set on the table.
"Take a look."
Justice examines the thick stack of file folders.
Figuring out what they contain isn't hard.
"...A gift, huh? It only shows stuff that's bad for me and the Association."
"Lily put it together real neatly."
"So, you're gonna trust Lily—the one who got you into this mess—just this once?"
The materials Lily compiled detail every record left from the crimes committed, plus the Association's internal efforts to bury the evidence.
But of course, every single entry in the files slyly shifts the blame squarely onto Justice and the Association.
Lily's name doesn't appear anywhere.
Only the Association's blackest deeds fill the pages.
"No, that's not it. Crow, you're not the type. This won't change anything."
Justice breaks out in a cold sweat from the mounting tension. The papers in her grip seem to stoke her fears about what lies ahead.
Her hands shake. Justice fights to stay composed, stealing glances at Crow on the sofa.
"Yeah? That's not you..."
But no matter how hard she stares at Crow, she can't read his thoughts.
He was once so gentle,
but now his eyes are too black, too dark—she can barely bring herself to meet them.
Crow makes no move. He simply gazes at Justice in silence.
What he does with Lily's materials is entirely up to him.
"Here to blackmail me with this? Yeah, that's it."
Justice knows it full well. That's why she swallows hard past her parched throat and sits beside him.
"But... hear me out. I get how you feel. I know I share the blame for not trusting you properly..."
The distance between them is awkward.
Even on this sofa where they used to sit pressed close, they converse at an arm's-length remove where their hands barely brush.
"But this isn't right. Crow, just calm down... make the choice that's best for everyone. Yeah, I know you're innocent. But since things have gone this far..."
Justice lays her hand atop Crow's. He doesn't pull away. Nor does he react much.
"Wouldn't it be better if we just handled this between ourselves?"
Justice finally broaches it.
"I-I... yeah. I'll take care of it. Crow, just calm down for now-"
"You need to calm down. Don't get worked up."
Crow speaks again. His icy, cynical words pierce Justice's chest like a dagger.
"Okay, yeah... sorry. What do you want? Huh...?"
Unsteady breaths, faint tremors in her hands,
uncontrolled twitches in her facial muscles,
eyes slightly furrowed.
Crow etches Justice into his gaze and utters another curt sentence.
"Nothing specific. I'll prove my innocence and slip away quietly."
Unlike the endlessly serene Crow,
Justice wipes her face over and over, desperately clinging to her composure.
Yeah, he's right.
From Crow's standpoint, he'd naturally want the false charges against him cleared.
"That's just Lily's prep work. I'll tweak it myself and release it."
"O-okay... yeah..."
But no matter the method,
the power and backing Justice once wielded won't come back.
She can't keep her expression in check.
Still, this is the right call.
"I-Is there anything I can do to help?"
Disappointment she can't hide.
Intricate emotions. A murky bond.
"Nah. Another teammate's got it covered anyway. Just figure out the Association's stance."
Amid it all, Justice
simply clasps Crow's hand with hesitant fingertips.
His face darkens. Moments ago, it was merely cold; now, outright displeasure shows.
Crow forces a deep breath.
And slowly starts to withdraw his hand.
Justice grips a little tighter to hold on,
"Enough. I'm going."
but Crow yanks free with sharp force and rises from the sofa.
The mood hangs strangely.
Justice stands too and follows him to the entrance.
"W-wait! Crow...!"
She calls out, but he doesn't even answer, too busy slipping on his shoes. Justice speaks to his back once more.
"I-I don't want to say this."
"Then don't."
How many years did they share this home?
Crow seems to sense what Justice is about to say.
As he moves to leave,
Justice grabs his wrist at last.
"You know it too—if you release that... yeah, your innocence gets proven. But... it'll make things even harder for the Association."
Anger seeps bit by bit into Crow's blank face. Facing the door, Justice can't see it clearly.
"Public opinion's already sour. If more scandals break now, even I can't cover it all."
Even so, Justice sees it through to the end. No—she must guess it'll anger him.
But she says it anyway.
"Just keep that in mind... yeah, I trust you'll edit it right before going public, but just in case..."
It's the truth.
Perception of the Association will crater.
"That scary, huh?"
Crow asks.
"Spit it all out now? Good. My turn. You don't even grasp your own bullshit properly, but what you're really dying to say is this."
He turns back, his face brimming with an emotion hard to name.
"The Association gets trashed as worthless trash, and if I fuck up defending it, I look like an incompetent loser too—so can't you just shut your trap, bury it quietly, and fuck off? Huh?"
With that look,
Crow slaps Justice across the cheek.
Slap-!
"Fuck, really, right to the bitter end... you fucking bitch..."