Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Echoes of the Past
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The raid wrapped up over an hour later than expected due to that sudden accident.
"Sorry about that out of nowhere..."
I felt so guilty for causing trouble for everyone that I didn't know where to put myself.
「Don't feel down, little sis. Just call me 'oppa' once, and that'll be some decent consolation. Right, Dokgo hyung?」
「Yeah.」
"......"
「...Uhaha, just kidding. Why so quiet and scary! A hyung can tease his little sis sometimes! Right, Dokgo hyung?」
「...Yeah.」
If it weren't for Seongil Kim's jokes, I really wouldn't have known where to put myself.
'...'Oppa'? Just imagining it... ugh......'
How lonely did they have to be to want a guy like me to say something like that to them? Thinking that way made Seongil Kim and Jeong Dokgo seem a little pitiful.
"...I'll settle the payments quickly!"
I left those words behind and bolted out of Discord.
Since I'd been in the middle of 'work,' I couldn't take calls. Maybe that's why the smartphone that had been buzzing at regular intervals had finally gone quiet.
'I was working... You aren't supposed to check your phone during work, right......'
As I picked up the smartphone I'd set aside with such trivial thoughts, I couldn't hold back my shock.
[Dad – 18 Missed Calls]
Even if 'work' had run late, this was a bit scary.
And ironically, the missed calls were exactly '18' in number.
'What does it mean......'
A rational suspicion crept in.
Pushing aside the fear, I pressed the call button, and soon a familiar voice came through.
- I heard from your brother.
"......"
Straight to the point from the start!
The gravely serious tone made him even harder to deal with.
He must have anticipated I wouldn't speak first if he gave me time, so my brother had struck first.
- Still not picking up calls when I make them, huh.
"......"
A response rose in my throat at Dad's words but got stuck there. As if sensing my thoughts, Dad immediately shot back.
- When are you planning to let me hear your voice?
It had been so long since we'd talked like this that I flapped my lips wordlessly, not knowing what to say.
I finally pried my lips apart.
"Wh-what's the occasion for the call?"
- ......
"...Dad?"
As if my courage meant nothing, there was no reply.
"Hello? Did the call drop......"
The screen showed the call time still ticking away.
A fake cough came through the speaker just as I was twisting the phone around, wondering if it was a signal issue.
- Ahem...
"...Dad?"
- Yeah. You're really my second kid... right?
"Yes, it's 'Noeul Lee'......"
- ...You really turned into a girl.
"......"
- You really became a girl...
Dad repeated it twice for emphasis, though he didn't need to.
'I told you so......'
Of course, I never said when I'd tell you...
This Haneul Lee guy—did he really have the right to spill everything to our parents without my consent?
I knew there was no malice, but it still made me resent my brother for some reason. That's why my voice came out all pouty.
Yeah, it was all Haneul Lee's fault.
"What all did my brother tell you?"
- Not much. That you're still wasting time without any human relationships, that you became a girl, and that you're coming home for the holidays. So, when are you planning to come?
'Not much, my ass...!'
That was basically spilling everything.
Of course, I only thought that.
I wasn't bold enough to voice such thoughts in front of the mighty 'Kang' and 'San' figures.
"I-I'm thinking about it!"
- Does that mean you're positively considering it?
"...Yes!"
- Put it into action. Not just endless 'thinking.'
"Yes......"
- Tell me the exact date, and I'll prepare.
I deflated. Just the phone call was suffocating—how bad would it be in person? The thought alone made me dizzy.
'And I have the Chuseok event too......'
Of course, there were those extra factors, but even without them, the family home atmosphere was a bed of nails.
'High school was all about college prep talks, wonder what it'll be this time......'
School was brutally lonely, home crushed under endless college pressure—those horrific memories. And the peak was always the holidays.
'Why does my brother have to live so perfectly......'
The resentment suddenly flew to my brother, Haneul Lee.
He'd done nothing wrong back then, but sorry, with a little sis who's a hikikomori loser, comparisons were inevitable!
'Who asked him to go to a top university and land a big corporate job on top of that......'
Memories of people praising him as the 'outstanding son of an outstanding father' surfaced, and I unfairly blamed my innocent brother.
"...I-I'll come on the day."
That was the best conclusion after much agonizing.
- Come when the holiday starts. You haven't visited once since becoming independent.
Of course, that wouldn't fly.
His firmly resolute tone left me utterly dejected.
'If I go, I'll just hole up in my room anyway......'
To a pathological degree, I was extremely shy around people.
Especially during holidays when the 'uncles' swarmed in, faces changing every time—going would just mean rotting in my room.
'I have important stuff, and work's busy lately, so that's tough!'
-I thought, but no one knew better than I that such excuses never worked on Dad.
"Yes......"
So I had no choice but to agree.
"Oh, what's this? A transfer student?"
"Hey, she looks smaller than you."
"Shut up, punk. I'm still over 170cm."
"Alright, everyone quiet down!"
The classroom buzzed noisily at the new face during break time, with the homeroom teacher calming things down.
This clichéd sequence should have felt familiar by now, but it still felt utterly alien.
It probably never would feel familiar. Not now, not ever.
"......"
Standing in front of people was awkward and terrifying.
The unfamiliar classroom, strange faces, new environment.
Every gaze focused on me, nothing not scary.
"…………"
"…………"
From the excessive tension, my ears rang like I was underwater.
I could see the teacher's mouth moving, saying something, but nothing registered.
I felt like I was the only one left alone in another world. That captured my mood perfectly.
My vision blurred, heart pounded, breath quickened.
My mouth was parched, but I forced a swallow. Only then did the echoing classroom noise return.
"...So due to circumstances, she transferred mid-semester, but I'm sure you'll all get along great?"
The teacher's lines sounded like they came from a manual—pure cliché.
Short life though it was, I'd heard those words countless times already.
And always, next came,
"Want to introduce yourself?"
-something like that.
This time too.
I forced open my unresponsive lips at the teacher's smiling words.
"...I-I'm Noeul Lee. Please take care of me......"
My mouth dried up again.
The stares were burdensome, so I bowed my head at the end.
"…………"
"…………"
My ears started ringing again.
From Gyeonggi to Gangwon, Daejeon, now Seoul. Eight school transfers by high school.
Dad promised. No more moves. So I'd vowed to try harder this time.
Yeah, I'd 'vowed.'
"......"
Animals live in packs, they say. After the first day's curiosity faded, no one reached out.
They'd already formed their groups and saw no need to include me. Nor did I have the guts to approach first.
Frequent transfers meant no friends, no friends meant few words, few words meant forgetting how to befriend people.
A beautiful world where others approached first if you didn't? That was novel stuff only.
Just that.
"Saw the SKT game yesterday? They got wrecked."
"Gonna prove Trundle mid at the PC bang tonight."
"Crazy bastard, that's 'cause it's Faker. Gold scrub."
"Fuck, what can ya do about team luck?"
A noisy classroom contrasted with my small, quiet island. That was me.
I didn't mind. It was familiar. So I dove deeper into my own world.
Then, the world vanished before my eyes—whoosh.
"Hey, what're you staring at so hard?"
"...Uh, huh?"
"What is this, a novel? Total otaku shit?"
"G-give it back......"
"Whoa, the art is fucking godlike. Hey! Guys, check this out!"
Was I cursed with bad luck, or did every class have one of these jerks?
I'd transferred hoping to stay quiet and unnoticed like before. But bad luck drew these types.
"Noeul here turns out to be a total perv?"
"......"
Even I could see my scrawny build and timid personality made perfect fodder for so-called 'delinquents' to show off. Unfortunately, this school was bad luck too.
"Hey, wanna hit the canteen?"
"...N-no, I......"
"We're going."
"......"
Even thinking it'd change now that I was in high school—shattered nicely. If anything, worse, not better.
First-year high school was just third-year middle school extended.
"...Ack!"
The routine afterward was the same. From petty pencil lead flicking to extorting 'friend fees.'
Regions changed, but those types didn't.
"Hey, Chanhee, isn't that too much?"
"Nah, it's fine. She's my friend. Right?"
"...Yeah....... *cough, cough*!"
"Fuck, what friend spits cig smoke in your face."
"She likes cig smoke. Right, you love cigs? Yeah?"
"......"
"Not answering?"
"...Yeah......"
"Hey, quit it. She's gonna cry. Look at that pitiful face."
Stomach-churning cig stench mixed with raucous laughter.
Gang Chanhee and his crew of five justified everything under the guise of 'friends.'
"Officer! Over there!"
"Hey! What're you punks doing!"
"Ah, fuck, cops again! Run!"
The silver lining? Seoul's good security meant citizens and cops helped if bullied outside.
Not much help since I'd still attend school tomorrow, but I was grateful to escape that moment... grateful for angels on my side.
"...Miss, miss!"
A sudden voice jolted my eyes open to a troubled-looking ajusshi.
"Miss, it's the end of the line!"
Looking around, I was alone on the bus. My foggy mind finally cleared.
'Oh god, how long did I sleep!'
The view outside was pitch black. What a mess.
"S-sorry."
I yanked my cap down and hurried off the bus.
'Gotta take a taxi......'
The outside air was quite chilly, making me shiver unwittingly.
That was really the only reason.
Really...
Memories I didn't want to recall.
A nightmare.