Si-yoon's Butler?
Si-yoon's Butler?
We fell asleep quickly, needing to head out early in the morning.
And at the crack of dawn, we loaded gear into the vehicles and headed for the beach.
I wanted to go along and do some serious fishing myself, but...
I got so violently seasick on small boats that I stayed behind at the hotel with HSW Team 7 and Park Ji-hoon.
I'd thought about taking motion sickness pills and going anyway, but it was obvious that even with the pills, I'd still end up puking my guts out just the same.
Da-yeon said she'd stay here with me.
I sent Da-yeon off, asking her to take a lot of pictures for me instead.
HSW Team 7, dressed in civilian clothes.
Among them, the team leader of Team 7 was standing guard in front of my door.
"Jong-hyeon."
"Yes, how may I help you?"
"I'm bored. Let's talk."
"Heh heh, it'd be my honor."
The Team 7 bodyguards were on a different level from ordinary bodyguards, but their most distinguishing feature was that they were my fan club.
Especially the team leader, Kang Jong-hyeon.
He was a striking older man with a bullet-graze scar across his trapezius.
As it turned out, Jong-hyeon had already been a hugely famous mercenary overseas, but when he found out I was the person he'd be protecting, he voluntarily cut his own annual salary and came running straight away.
The story goes that after he'd accomplished all his goals and lost his daughter, his sense of life's value had vanished — and then he saw me in a video and felt as if I were his daughter.
The Team 7 members who came with Jong-hyeon were already superfans of mine within their own units.
And the single biggest official reason Jong-hyeon joined HSW was that he'd killed two Tigers.
His nickname was supposedly 'Hunter,' and one look at the white-haired man made the reason obvious: he radiated a feral intensity.
There were apparently two reasons Jong-hyeon came to be called Hunter.
First, command.
Psychology, stratagems, strategy. His command ability focused on defense was exceptional... but when it came to killing the opponent, he was said to boast a one hundred percent success rate.
Second, firearms.
At sixty-seven, the same age as Grandpa, his reaction speed, rapid fire, and accuracy surpassed those of men in their twenties.
In particular, he was said to be more specialized in handguns than rifles.
Jong-hyeon pulled a candy out of his pocket.
I took it and popped it in my mouth as if it were the most natural thing.
"Jong-hyeon, what do you think of Ji-hoon?"
Jong-hyeon considered it for a moment, then nodded and said with a smile.
"I've never seen a guy that strong before."
The team leader's statement couldn't possibly be talking about being strong for his age.
"That strong?"
"It's embarrassing, but exactly two minutes."
"Two minutes for what?"
"The amount of time it took for me to lose in a bare-handed fight."
"Oh..."
The fact that he'd lasted a full two minutes made my eyes round in surprise.
"If we're talking about Korea... you'll be safer with Ji-hoon at your side than with me."
I nodded at Jong-hyeon's words and spoke.
"Jong-hyeon,"
"Yes?"
"Can you be someone I can trust completely?"
The look in Jong-hyeon's eyes as he stared at me seriously was different from before.
"...I gave up everything and came running with my eyes set solely on you."
"Hey, you still brought along some of your men."
".....Please take this seriously."
"Yep."
I looked Kang Jong-hyeon in the eye.
"Then... by any chance, could you show me?"
"Show you what?"
"The cargo ship..."
"....."
"And... the method... you used to kill Oh Tae-hyeon..."
So he knew...
And despite knowing, Kang Jong-hyeon hadn't spoken a word of it to anyone until now.
As expected, he seemed even more reliable than I'd anticipated.
Resting my chin on my hand, my eyes laced with killing intent, I grinned crookedly as I stared at Kang Jong-hyeon.
"How? Show you myself? Come on... you could die, you know..."
"...Even if it kills me, I want to see it."
"But it's such a one-sided deal... I don't really like that..."
"I will become... entirely your person."
Kang Jong-hyeon's words, heavy with meaning...
I gave Kang Jong-hyeon a crooked smile.
"Now, that... is something I really like the sound of...?"
Kang Jong-hyeon first explained how he'd come to know that I'd killed Oh Tae-hyeon.
"In the past, while leading a mercenary team, I conducted extensive covert investigations into Taebaek. Since I operated overseas, there were no restrictions on my activities, and I was able to do so in even greater detail than HSW."
The statement that he possessed even more information on Taebaek than HSW was likely accurate.
After all, he was serving as an HSW team leader now.
Kang Jong-hyeon looked at me, his expression still one of disbelief.
"While gathering intelligence, there were people I had to keep track of, and the Tigers were at the top of that list."
"And Oh Tae-hyeon is that Tiger?"
I answered, feigning ignorance, and Kang Jong-hyeon nodded.
"When I was active in Russia, the intelligence on Oh Tae-hyeon, a Korean expatriate, stood out enough that I memorized all of it: the wire saw he used to toy with people before killing them, and even his current top interest."
"So in the process of gathering that intel, you found out he was targeting me?"
I'd asked the question in a roundabout way, trying to find out if he'd been staying by my side, sounding me out, in order to strike at Oh Tae-hyeon.
But Kang Jong-hyeon, having accurately grasped the meaning of my words, shook his head.
"No... the reasons I gave for wanting to be by your side were the truth."
Kang Jong-hyeon, who specialized in killing, had apparently applied to JSM to be my personal bodyguard.
However, JSM deemed it unnecessary, so he couldn't become a bodyguard.
If he couldn't be my bodyguard, it seems Kang Jong-hyeon had wanted to at least be a secret benefactor.
So even without being affiliated anywhere, he said he'd always watched over me from the periphery.
Calling it stalking wouldn't have been unfair... but he'd done it to protect me.
"Given Oh Tae-hyeon's personality, the moment a thought popped into his head, he was the type to proceed without hesitation... So by the time I learned he was targeting you and moved, the situation was already too late."
Meeting Kang Jong-hyeon's eyes as he looked at me, I smiled.
"To prevent a greater tragedy, I headed to Russia, dealt with Oh Tae-hyeon's subordinates, and was on standby at the port... all while formulating a plan to capture Oh Tae-hyeon..."
But the cargo ship never came.
And after belatedly obtaining intelligence and breaching HSW's perimeter to confirm it, the scenes of carnage on the cargo ship...
"I received the intel belatedly and infiltrated the cargo ship to inspect the interior."
"And?"
"Traces of Oh Tae-hyeon were present there, but not only could I not confirm his death, they said two seventeen-year-old brats had killed sixty people. According to the intel we'd obtained... it should have been one hundred twenty... which was strange."
"....."
"And, just then, hearing that HSW was recruiting everyone from top-tier veterans to mercenaries, I applied. And I confirmed it with my own two eyes."
"Hm..."
"Those two brats I saw with my own eyes were monsters by any reasonable measure. Enough that I could readily accept they'd killed sixty men. More than enough... no, they looked capable of doing it with ease."
Kang Jong-hyeon seemed to recall past memories for a moment, nodded, and continued.
"But, that's... on the level of the average Korean thug. It wasn't on the level... of bare-handedly taking down a Taebaek Tiger without a firearm. No, even if the two of them had rushed him together... on top of that, they didn't seem like they could even beat Oh Tae-hyeon's thirty-nine close associates."
He seemed to be rather disparaging of Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh, but this was Kang Jong-hyeon, who admitted that he himself had lost to Park Ji-hoon in bare-handed combat in two minutes.
"In a case like this... the only conclusion is that Kim Tae-oh used a firearm, or a third party intervened."
Kang Jong-hyeon nodded and said.
"However, not only are there no scars from gunfire... even within HSW they said Tae-oh used a dagger. In that case... it would be the latter."
"And who did you suspect that third party to be?"
"At first, another Tiger on bad terms with Oh Tae-hyeon... But I hadn't heard of any Tiger crossing over into Korea. So then I thought it was an insider."
"His closest confidant could have betrayed him."
"No... Oh Tae-hyeon's inner circle has bonds deeper than you'd imagine."
As I was drinking water, Kang Jong-hyeon continued.
"While I was settling into HSW, when Park Ji-hoon joined Team 7, I asked him a single question."
'Did the two of you rescue Si-yoon?'
'Why would I rescue her? I only needed to rescue Da-yeon.'
'And what about Si-yoon?'
'Wherever she goes, she survives just fine on her own~'
"With that single statement from Park Ji-hoon, I set up an absurd hypothesis and began to speculate."
"That I'm the one who killed Oh Tae-hyeon?"
"Yes, honestly, I still think it's nonsense... but no matter how many times I analyzed it, there was no one else but the two young ladies who were at that location."
That planted the seed of suspicion, and after Kang Jong-hyeon saw me beating the hell out of Park Ji-hoon, he must have grown more and more certain...
Casually, I picked up the paring knife that was nearby.
And with a practiced, natural motion, I spun the paring knife around like a pen.
Once again resting my chin on my hand, I stared at Kang Jong-hyeon.
"But, are you really sure you'll be okay?"
The hand motions, so utterly natural and dazzling...
Even Kang Jong-hyeon, who had never once seemed shaken, swallowed hard as he watched me handle the knife like an extension of my own body.
"Of course."
Seeing Kang Jong-hyeon like that, I snorted a laugh.
"Forget it, I don't actually want to anyway. Well, you're right. I killed them. Those thirty-six confidants of his and Oh Tae-hyeon with them."
"...Yes."
"If you really can't believe it, wanna take a swing at me?"
"....."
An expression that said he had no desire to do so. I was satisfied with that.
I'd been catching the knife playfully as I spun it in the air, but then I threw it toward an apple at the edge of the table.
Thunk!
The blade embedded itself with pinpoint accuracy.
Kang Jong-hyeon, who'd been watching my actions from start to finish, nodded.
"Why... don't feel like being a secret benefactor anymore?"
Kang Jong-hyeon looked at me and laughed.
"Haha... this feeling... it's truly been a long time... as if I've discovered a jewel..."
Kang Jong-hyeon, who'd finally taken his eyes off me and was smiling up at the ceiling, spoke.
"I will be with you until the very end."
"I really like the sound of that...? Might just make my heart flutter?"
"Hahaha..."
"All of Team 7 feels the same way as you, right?"
"Of course."
I had nothing to do in the hotel room anyway.
I changed into workout clothes, called Park Ji-hoon, and we headed down to the gym on the first floor together.
Most of HSW Team 7 was already working out.
On my second visit to a gym overseas, I noticed again how strong the unfamiliar smell of sweat was.
After warming up, I started my workout.
Team 7 genuinely adored me, or they were close associates of Kang Jong-hyeon.
Maybe that's why, the bodyguards were watching me with sparkling eyes.
Every time I did one movement or another, they watched with sparkling eyes, smiling like proud fathers.
Even without them saying a word, it looked like I could practically hear the phrase 'aww, wook at you' radiating off them...
Time passed, and we returned to Korea.
Before I knew it, the first day of school was drawing near, so I was now trying on my new uniform.
Unlike before, a black check-patterned skirt on a pink base, with a pink tie of the same pattern...
Utterly revolting.
What's with all this pink-on-pink...?
Dad looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if he found it very much to his liking.
He didn't even like the color pink himself, so why did he love putting me in pink so much...?
I wore it according to Dad's wishes, but looking in the mirror, the fact that, for a pink thing, it actually suited me made me even more pissed off.
Sighing, I stepped outside to take photos with Da-yeon to commemorate wearing the uniform for the first time.
"Euheuheuheuheuh."
Kim Ji-ho was dumbfounded watching his daughter Kim Si-yoon — who'd been disliking the outfit up until just now — let out a bizarre laugh and bound outside excitedly.
Seeing Da-yeon's pink school uniform healed my soul.
She was cuter than I'd ever imagined.
"Da-yeon, your skirt's gotten shorter, huh?"
"Yeah! It's pretty~"
Still in our uniforms, we excitedly walked along the Han River.
Da-yeon's shoes were the ones Dad had given us this time to wear as a matching pair.
Behind us, Kim Tae-oh was also in his uniform, and we waited for Park Ji-hoon.
From a distance, Park Ji-hoon came running, holding his uniform.
"Ah, sorry, I was getting the uniform length altered."
"What an excuse... just get lost~"
"Bitching? Unbelievable. I tell you the truth and you still bitch at me?"
After bickering back and forth with Park Ji-hoon for a good while, we went to take our pictures.
After taking our ID-style photos, we sat down in a cafe for a bit and chatted.
Before we knew it, the first day at the new school had arrived.
We'd been placed separately, so we each went to our assigned classes.
For the first time in my life as Si-yoon, it felt like I was moving around completely alone, with no one around me.
Even though the homeroom teacher guiding me had entered the classroom before me, there was no sign of it quieting down.
What I sensed right then was that this place was every bit as bad as Seoul Jungang High School.
There were a lot of brats whose parents—or even grandparents—were filthy rich, and the teacher's authority seemed even lower than it had been at Seoul Jungang High School.
"Quiet."
""@!!@%!#!%!""
"Quiet!"
"".....""
Only then did the brats take their seats.
A few who made eye contact with me, still behind the door, opened their eyes wide and spoke.
""It's Kim Si-yoon!""
I was slightly annoyed by them dropping formalities the moment they met me, but since we were the same age anyway, I let it go.
Following the homeroom teacher's guidance, I stood in front of the teacher's desk.
The classroom grew rowdy once more.
The boys were gaping at my face, speechless.
That is, all except two in the back whose eyes were gleaming as they whispered amongst themselves...
The homeroom teacher, who had smiled awkwardly at me, faced forward and spoke.
"This is Si-yoon, who transferred here today. Treat her well. And you boys in particular, don't bother her just because she's pretty."
The homeroom teacher looked at me.
"Would you like to introduce yourself?"
I nodded, faced forward, and pantomimed typing on a phone with both hands as I spoke.
"Hi, my name is Kim Si-yoon. If you're curious about anything, just look me up."
""Wow...""
And then, one empty seat at the back of the classroom.
It was unmistakably the seat where the two who'd been whispering while staring at me had been sitting together.
Somehow, they'd already made an empty space between themselves.
"Mm... the seat next to Seok-hyeon is empty, you can go over there."
"Haah... okay."
All eyes were on me, and when I sat down, the two of them stared at me blatantly.
Grinning, I said to the decent-looking, yellow-haired kid named Han Seok-hyeon.
"Hi?"
"Whoa... you're fucking pretty."
Han Seok-hyeon gaped at me, and the tattoos covering his arm told me exactly what type he was.
Still, knowing what type he was didn't mean I could spit in his face, slip on the knuckles in my pocket, and crack his skull open on the first day.
"Yeah? Thanks."
As if they'd decided to stare at nobody but me, the two of them kept staring shamelessly as hell.
That was when the brat named Han Seok-hyeon touched my hair.
"Haha... why don't you stop?"
"What if I don't want to?"
I raised my hand just like that and drew the teacher's attention.
"...What's the matter?"
"This kid keeps touching my hair?"
"I see... Seok-hyeon? Si-yoon says she doesn't like it, so stop..."
"Okaaay~"
Oh... the homeroom teacher's reaction looked no different from Jeong Da-woon, who'd fled overseas.
Han Seok-hyeon suddenly went dead serious and smiled at me, killing intent in his eyes.
"You're goddamn hilarious, you know that...? I'll make your school life real fun..."
I'd mentioned this before, I think.
I'd said before that children needed adults to set them straight as they grew.
And that even if they screamed in pain, sometimes you had to put a ring through their nose so they'd never do it again...
'Yeah... I'll make it real fun for you...'