Chapter 95: The Swamp-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: The Swamp-3
My home is small.
The first home in my memory was about 1,000 square feet. I believe I was in elementary school back then.
A refrigerator, a dining table, a TV, a piano.
I think my father wanted me to become a pianist. He even hired a private tutor for me, which wasn't common in those days.
The second house was about 780 square feet. That was during middle school, I think.
A refrigerator, a dining table, a TV.
Our family went from three people to two.
My father rarely came home, and I cooked my meals alone. Doing housework by myself was incredibly difficult.
The third house was about 530 square feet. I must have been in high school then.
A refrigerator, a TV.
I ate my meals on a small folding table.
Space for my clothes became scarce, so I threw away many of the outfits I cherished. The time I spent with my father dwindled further, and I began managing the gym to fill his absence.
The fourth house was 420 square feet. That was right around the time I became an adult.
A refrigerator.
My father became even harder to see, and I continued to manage the gym.
Working out was fun. When I exercised, I didn't have to think about bad things.
Currently, I live in 350 square feet. It’s the place I moved into after sending my father away.
A mini-fridge and a duvet.
It’s a house that smells musty, where bugs crawl across the floor.
Out of the twenty-four hours in a day, this is the place where I find it hardest to exist.
When I’m here, it feels like the mold spreading across the floorboards is gnawing away at my sanity. It feels like the cockroaches lurking under the shelves and the sink are constantly watching for a chance to bite me.
This place is a prison.
I hate coming home.
I wonder what Boss In-ho thought when he saw this place.
Did he think of it as the world of the lower class, a world entirely different from his own?
Will he lose interest in me because I’m a poor, filthy woman?
My arm itches. It feels like bugs are skittering over my entire body.
Scritch, scratch.
I dig my short fingernails into my skin and scratch hard. I feel a little better.
The Boss left abruptly after dropping me off at home.
Based on what he said, it sounds like he’s going to do something about that woman, Hana... I just hope he doesn't have to meet her in person.
What if that vixen tries to seduce our Boss...
My neck itches.
Scritch, scratch.
I don't know how many hours have passed since the Boss dropped me off.
One hour? Two? Or has it been a whole day?
I think I might have heard the faint chirping of morning birds.
But I can't sleep in this house.
If I fall asleep here, I feel like I’ll suffocate and die. I feel like something hiding somewhere in the house will jump out and strangle me.
That’s why I can't sleep.
I sit with my back to the front door, hugging my knees, enduring it.
Even if I’m tired, I hold it in.
Boss In-ho seems busy today, so I shouldn't contact him first. The moment I reach out, he’ll think I’m a nuisance and leave me.
So, I have to be a good girl and wait patiently.
Until the Boss opens that door and calls my name.
"Ah..."
My throat is parched.
How long has it been since I last drank water? I can feel my dry lips cracking.
"Water..."
I stagger to my feet and take out some water to drink.
"Huh...?"
I look out the window and see it’s night.
I was sure it was morning. But it’s pitch black.
I turn on my phone.
A whole day has passed.
It’s as if my memory was deleted in the middle; I can't remember what I did.
Does this mean I was sitting there for an entire day?
I feel as if I’ve been struck in the head with something blunt.
Dizzy, I sit back down on the floor and tap on my phone.
As if possessed, I launch OceaniaTV.
The Boss told me not to broadcast for the time being. He said people who enjoy playing malicious pranks had targeted me.
"I... I have to stream."
The Boss put so much effort into this stream. I’d feel too guilty toward him if I just gave up like this.
"Wait...?"
I see BJ Hana on the popular channels list.
Could the Boss be in that stream right now?
Anxious, I click on it.
A donut-shaped loading icon spins before the screen appears.
[Everyone, please don't get baited.]
The woman is trying to mediate the situation in a calm voice, but there’s a very slight tremor in her tone.
Wondering what’s going on, I look at the chat. The conversation is flowing in a way that feels eerily similar to what I experienced.
>>SmallStreamHunter: Explain yourself.
>>EarthGod72: Is the stuff on the community board true? Check the post and explain, go.
>>1010343221: (shivering emoticon)
>>ShookShook: LOL, Hana got caught.
>>LycaIsGod: LMAOOOOOO
>>Vurgin: Busted, right? Can't say a word, right?
>>Taking: CAN
>>TteokbokkiSpinachMan: CE
>>BeanSproutMintChoco: LED
>>66-BB: L
>>Lycos: Downfall, downfall.
>>DayAfterTomorrow_236: Get lost.
People consumed by rage, like zombies from a movie, were blowing up the chat.
As the chat scrolled up at a speed too fast to even read, the woman on the screen looked flustered, not knowing what to do.
Amidst the storm of chat messages, a link someone posted catches my eye.
When I click the link, it leads to a community post with an audio file attached.
'Recently, due to comments made by a specific individual, I have been subjected to criticism and innocent people have been attacked.'
That was the first sentence of the post.
'Therefore, to prevent any more innocent victims, I am uploading the recording of the phone call.'
And then, the audio attached below.
When I press the play button, a conversation begins with a distorted voice.
A voice pathetically clinging to a man.
A voice demanding money from a man.
A voice threatening a man by mentioning things he had done in the past.
The post doesn't say who it is... but I think I know whose voice that is.
Faced with an uncontrollable broadcast environment, the woman ended the stream with a frozen expression.
Even after it ended, the heat in the chat showed no signs of cooling down.
The community pages I refreshed were also filled with talk about Hana’s broadcast.
In just one day, all the talk about me had vanished.
Ding!
A message arrived.
It’s the Boss.
>>In-ho: Garam, I think we’ve put out the urgent fire for now. Take a few days off. Let’s talk about the gym remodeling tomorrow. I’ll come by your place.
It’s like magic.
The Boss just waves his hand, and every problem is solved.
Problems that wouldn't go away no matter how much I struggled or screamed are resolved the moment Boss In-ho touches them.
It’s only natural.
It was wrong of me to even compare myself—a piece of trash who can't do anything—to the Boss in the first place.
What if a man like him leaves me?
The thought of him leaving makes me feel suffocated, and my neck starts to itch.
Scritch, scratch.
The reason I can keep running the gym is the Boss.
The reason I can earn money and slowly pay off my debts is the Boss.
The reason the people harassing me are gone is the Boss.
Me eating,
Me drinking water,
Me breathing,
Me living,
It’s all thanks to the Boss.
Without the Boss, I’m just a lump of flesh that can't do anything.
If the Boss leaves me, I am a worthless being who cannot survive.
I can't be without the Boss.
The Boss has to stay by my side.
He has to.
Only then can I live.
Please don't leave me. I’ll be good.
I’ll listen to everything you say and do exactly as I’m told.
So please, don't leave.
Praise me, stroke my hair, and protect me.
I can't live without you.
Please be my father.
Boss...
No.
Dad.