Chapter 112: The Most Ironic Death-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 112: The Most Ironic Death-2
Improvised schemes are bound to be exposed eventually.
I had deceived Garam by claiming that I always misspelled the word for "newly" as "vertically," and that Ho-cheol would get suspicious if I didn’t send the message that way.
Naive as she was, Garam followed my instructions and sent the text. Thirty minutes later, she came marching toward me.
For a moment, I thought it was finally time for bed, but the rigid set of her face told me otherwise.
"Dad... this."
She held out the phone she had taken from me.
It was the chat log with Ho-cheol—the words I had dictated and she had typed.
"It’s not true, is it?"
She knelt down to meet my eyes.
"What isn't?"
When I feigned ignorance, she slammed her fist onto the side table next to me.
CRACK—!
Under the force of her strike, the table split clean down the middle, the two halves falling away.
"You wrote this vertically to send a secret message behind my back, didn't you?"
"You finally figured it out?"
There was no point in lying anymore, so I told her the truth.
"……."
She looked at me with a face full of hurt.
Is it because I’m a hopeless pushover that I feel a tiny spark of sympathy for her even in a situation like this?
"Do you... hate me that much?" she asked, her expression suggesting she didn't want to hear the answer.
"I’ve said this before... but to be precise, I have never once seen you as a woman."
If we were talking about simple like or dislike, I’d say the scales still tipped slightly toward 'like.'
However, that came with a massive caveat.
She had to stop this obsession and this imprisonment first.
"But... you were so kind to me."
"I don't know what kind of nonsense you've heard to make you misunderstand, but no matter how much you try to seduce me or how provocatively you dress, I do not see you as a romantic interest."
She was just someone I wanted to root for. Nothing more, nothing less.
Honestly, it would be less frustrating if I’d actually had ulterior motives that led to this mess. If I’d been hitting on a woman to satisfy my own lust and ended up like this, I could have just chalked it up to karma and looked forward to the next dimension.
But this time, I had actually tried to live a decent life.
I tried to help someone in need. I’ve certainly learned my lesson now: you have to pick and choose who you help based on the situation.
If I ever find myself in a similar spot again, I’ll have to be much more careful.
"I hate you."
The words coming from Garam’s small mouth as she glared at me were almost cute, considering the level of her rage.
"What now? Are you going to hit me? Or kill me?"
I didn't know if Ho-cheol had understood the message I sent. If he’d caught on the moment he received it, the police should have stormed in by now. Given the dead silence, he probably had no idea...
Then again, who would expect an acrostic hidden in a text?
It seemed all that was left for me was to die at Garam’s hands.
"No, I could never hurt you, Dad."
Speaking through gritted teeth, she pulled me up from the bed and forced me into a nearby chair.
"Instead, I’m going to take away your freedom. Every time you misbehave, you’ll be punished like this."
Tight leather belts wrapped around my wrists, pinning them to the chair.
Then, she produced a thick rope from somewhere and lashed my waist to the frame.
Already shackled at the ankles, I was now doubly restrained to the chair. I doubted even a Great Demon King had ever been sealed this thoroughly.
She checked the knots, tightening them against my body. The rope pressed into my stomach, making it hard to breathe.
Ding-dong—
While she was busy trussing me up, the doorbell rang.
"At this hour...?"
She glanced at me before heading out of the room.
Through the slightly ajar door, I could hear the conversation at the entrance.
"Who is it?"
A gruff voice responded through the intercom.
"Pest control."
"Pest control?"
"Yes. Didn't you know? We're here to put down cockroach bait."
"At this time of night?"
"I left a notice about it last time. That's strange."
"Oh, no, it's fine. Come in."
I heard the front door open and someone step inside. After the sound of shoes being kicked off, I heard heavy footsteps, followed by the light pitter-patter of Garam trailing behind him.
"Let's see. Did the balcony, did the washing machine area, did the bathroom..."
I could faintly hear the sound of a pen checking off a list on paper.
"Do you need to do that room?"
"Oh... that room shouldn't be opened, so it's fine."
"It's more effective if we place the bait everywhere, though."
"It's really okay. Thank you for your hard work."
"Right... well then, I'll be going..."
"Wait!"
With the sound of sudden, frantic running, the bedroom door burst open.
A man wearing a low-slung cap and a mask stood in the doorway.
"I told you not to go in there!! Aaaaagh!"
The moment Garam screamed and grabbed the man's shoulder to spin him around, her body convulsed, and she collapsed.
"Wha—what happened?"
As I muttered in bewilderment, the man threw off his cap and mask and ran toward me.
"Brother!"
You... you magnificent bastard... thank you so much.
"Ho-cheol!!"
"Wow, what the hell is going on here? I brought a taser just in case, and man, am I glad I did."
"Yeah, good job. Now get me out of this."
"Right. Wow, she really tied you up tight. And what's with these chains on your ankles? Holy crap..."
"It's a long story. But hey, when are the police getting here? You should've waited for them before coming in. What if something happened to you, coming in alone like this?"
"The police?"
Wait.
"You... didn't call the police?"
"Brother, you said you hated calling the cops. Remember after that car accident? You told me never to call them, no matter what. You said you had too much going on and meeting the police would be a disaster..."
Ah.
Ah...!
"You... you..."
You absolute moron... I never... no, that was the previous me who said that...
Regardless, you complete idiot.
How could you come here alone without knowing the situation? You moron!
"Get... your hands off him..."
Behind Ho-cheol’s back, Garam, who had been collapsed on the floor, began to stagger to her feet like a zombie.
Hearing that eerie voice, Ho-cheol let out a smirk as he watched her rise.
"Hey, don't worry. It's not like I can't handle one woman."
Ho-cheol smiled, trying to reassure me, but he looked terrifyingly vulnerable.