chapter 5
Episode 5
Min So-yul narrowed his eyes.
‘Do you want to make money? ?’
money.
Isn’t that the cause of everything?
My father never came home, debt collectors came every day, and she cut ramen soup into thirds.
It was all because of money.
‘Of course I want to earn… .’
Ironically, the cause of everything was also the solution to everything.
If she had enough money, she could pay off her debt. That way, my father would come home with peace of mind, and he wouldn’t have to measure complicatedly to eat one ramen.
But Min So-yul was not an idiot.
“… Sir, do you know that you look very suspicious?”
Since Kang Tae-min presented his ID, there was no reason to doubt his identity.
So it was even weirder.
As a teacher at the academy, he wasn’t asking me to come to the academy, but he was suggesting to make money.
“Well… Is it like that too?”
He wasn’t even taken aback by Min So-yul’s answer. He scratched his chin lightly as if he had expected it.
Then, he quickly made his way to the kitchen. The house was so small that it was only a few steps.
“You must be hungry, but let’s eat first.”
“Yes? Oh no, wait!”
Kang Tae-min opened the cupboard and took out two ramen noodles. Including the pre-picked one, it was no different than a week’s worth of food for Min So-yul.
For her, it was tyranny to the point of going out of her soul.
“Why?”
Kang Tae-min turned his head with a sour face. Then, as if he understood, he nodded his head and said.
“Ah, you eat two bags too? Well, it’s time to eat.”
Kang Tae-min took out another bowl of ramen. Min So-yul could not stand it.
A moment of embarrassment is better than a week of hunger.
“No… .”
But before she could finish her words, a bill suddenly jumped out in front of her.
“Oh, and this is ramen value.”
“… Yes?”
I saw King Sejong’s benevolent smile three times. Isn’t it a bit expensive for the price of 4 ramen noodles?
‘… After all, they sympathize with me.’
Min So-yul bit her lip.
She didn’t want to take this money. Even in poverty, there is pride.
“… No change.”
But the reality was grim. You can’t live on your own pride. Apart from her heart, she needed money.
Min So-yul knew Kang Tae-min would smile and say the rest was eggplant.
“Are you pre-calculating this?”
“Before… ?”
“uh. I also like bibim ramen or jajang ramen. Buy a variety.”
At Kang Tae-min’s words, Min So-yul opened her mouth slightly. There was no sympathy for the money he handed out.
“If you don’t mind washing dishes, you can buy some cup noodles as well. Well, that’s up to you to figure out.”
“no no… ! What does that mean? Are you going to keep coming?”
“uh. If the water is roughly like this… .”
“Wait, wait! Who cooks ramen like that?! See me!”
When Kang Tae-min roughly filled the water without measuring it, Min So-yul freaked out and pulled him.
Kang Tae-min quietly backed away and smiled.
* * *
The meal started in a slightly awkward atmosphere. No, to be precise, it was an atmosphere where only Min So-yul was awkward.
Kang Tae-min ate the ramen without hesitating to slurp.
‘… He’s like a father.’
Min So-yul felt slightly at ease. At first, I was a bit intimidated by Kang Tae-min’s handsome appearance and atmosphere, but seeing him eating ramen with kimchi on one knee, he was a human being too.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve eaten with anyone.’
It was a small room, so it felt full just by Kang Tae-min entering.
Min So-yul tried to smile without realizing it, but soon hardened her face.
‘No, but in the end it’s someone else.’
Kang Tae-min said he would come back, but nothing changed. He himself would not go to the academy, and in the end Kang Tae-min would stop walking.
His presence should not be welcomed. He had to get used to being alone.
“Soyul.”
Kang Tae-min’s voice interrupted those thoughts.
“Yes? Ah yes.”
“When was the last time your father contacted you?”
“… Why?”
“Um, but it’s a home visit. I need to hear your story.”
Min So-yul did not answer right away and emptied the bowl. This kind of question was already expected.
“Do you think my dad is the problem too?”
Taemin Kang did not answer. But for her, that was the answer.
“Dad just made a mistake.”
“… mistake?”
“It’s like this now, but our house wasn’t like this from the beginning.”
I wasn’t born poor from the beginning. Like any normal family, we could eat out once or twice a month and occasionally travel.
However, because they were ordinary, they were vulnerable to sudden disasters.
“… It’s nobody’s fault.”
Min So-yul’s mother has an incurable disease and is hospitalized. The longer the hospitalization period, the more burdensome the household was.
– Soyul, don’t worry.
Even if you move to a smaller house, dispose of furniture, and come home late.
My father always said so.
“Because I had to do it somehow.”
In the end, the problem was money. However, there were not many ways for an ordinary head of household to earn a lot of money.
After going through stocks and virtual currencies, he touched gambling at the end.
“But in the end, my mother passed away.”
Min So-yul recalled the image of his father. That look of mesmerization in front of the portrait of my dead mother.
Until then, the debt wasn’t that great.
“But even after that, my father continued… .”
“It is, it is all because of me.”
She raised her voice as if to block Kang Tae-min’s words.
Even after her mother’s death, her father secretly gambled Min So-yul, and eventually his gambling debts increased exponentially.
In the end, the father hid his whereabouts and ran away, leaving only Min So-yul here.
“It was difficult for my father too. It’s all for the sake of the family.”
“Well… .”
As Kang Tae-min’s face hardened, Min So-yul took out a folded note from his wallet.
“Look at this. These are the words my father left behind.”
[If I hadn’t been there… ]
[I would rather have been happy with Soyul]
The torn paper was taped together and tattered.
“This?”
“It’s a note my dad left before he left. I found it in the trash. I think he just tore it up for fear of worrying me… .”
“… Yes, it seems so.”
He thought it was more like a diary than a note, but Kang Taemin nodded.
* * *
After I finished talking, I got up.
“Then come back later.”
“… You don’t have to come.”
“That doesn’t work. I already paid for the ramen. It was the most delicious ramen I have ever eaten.”
At my words, Min So-yul put on a face full of spirits and burst into laughter.
“OK. Next time you come, I’ll boil it again.”
“Yes, lock the door well.”
“… The teacher forced it open.”
I smiled, waved, and left the alley.
In front of him, I reacted as if I was hearing it for the first time, but in fact I knew everything about the family.
The Junkie Breeder I killed was pretty big, and I had to have every means to deal with it.
Thanks to that, I did a thorough background investigation on Min So-yul, and I knew what she didn’t know.
“… I feel strange.”
Contrary to Min So-yul’s expectation, her father will never return home. Before that, she is sold into the underworld and engaged in prostitution.
But she can’t get out of debt. The interest is greater than the debt, so no matter how much you work, you can’t pay it off.
In the end, Min So-yul even encounters drugs, and his life changes there.
The moment she tastes the drug, her alchemy talent blooms, and she devours the drug organization.
And further, supplying drugs as well as strengthening drugs, and becoming a big player among the villains.
“Though that won’t happen this time.”
Junkie breeders were obsessed with money. Maybe it’s because his fall came from poverty.
So I tried to make money. However, when we talked face to face, I felt a little uncomfortable.
“Dad… .”
The appearance that Min So-yul showed while mentioning her father was not normal for anyone to see. Wasn’t he usually resentful because he was driven out for his gambling debts?
But even if you come back like that, you’ll forgive me.
“… Then why?”
I shook my head as if to dispel any doubts that came to my mind. The cause of the question is what happened after Min So-yul became a junkie breeder.
There was no need to worry too much about becoming a junkie breeder anyway. Rather, it would have been better to deal with the problems that needed to be addressed immediately.
No matter what, Min So-yul will not become a junkie breeder.
* * *
It was late at night, but the downtown area was brighter than daylight. Various signboards were flaunting their presence and attracting customers.
Strangely, however, there were more signboards in Chinese than Korean.
In addition, the conversations people had were more in Chinese than in Korean. It was a neighborhood that could be mistaken for China, not Korea.
In the back alleys of the neighborhood, in a shabby office with no signage, a group of people were seated.
“therefore?”
A dirty-looking man with a large rice cake stand and a shaggy beard asked.
Except for him, everyone else was standing in a row with tense expressions on their faces.
“I’m sorry, brother.”
At the same time as the answer, fists flew. His head went back to its proper place with a thump, but the hit man gnashed his teeth and endured.
“How did you take care of the kids, but the youngest kids are diving!?”
“… sorry.”
“It’s not difficult, it’s just to check if that beggar’s daughter is okay. Ugh, working with these fucking bastards pushed me to this fucking place.”
“I will re-educate you.”
“You say that!”
While saying that, the man named Hyeongnim used violence again. Others who didn’t fit gritted their teeth.
Now that the thing is done, the beaten one will take out his resentment on the next target. In that way, the downfall of education would begin.
But there was a noise that broke the flow. Everyone’s eyes turned to the sound of a smart knock.
“what?”
As the older brother opened his eyes, the youngest man rushed to the door and raised his voice.
“Hey, get out of here… .”
But the youngest could not finish his speech.
It was because the office door slammed against him with a click.
The iron door that flew like that exploded and pushed the youngest to the wall, squeezing the youngest with a strange sound.
Soggy blood ran down the walls.
“… uh?”
All the people present reacted one beat slowly to that unrealistic sight. Before long, their eyes turned to the office foyer.
There was an iron man there.
It was the right expression both figuratively and in a direct sense.
“Uh, what… !”
The monster, who covered his entire body with a metal suit, did not give them a chance to react.
The metal blades that flew along with the sound of a shanghai pongong attacked the thugs standing in a row.
“Keep it off… .”
“Knock… !”
Although he has been training his body through harsh work, he is no different from a child in front of an awakened person.
The severed body fell to the floor unable to overcome gravity.
‘What, what… .’
My older brother, who had been educating his subordinates a while ago, sensed a crisis at the scene.
‘I have to run… !’
I didn’t know why, I didn’t know where to go. But if I wanted to live, I had to get out of here.
My brother was frightened and threw himself into the window.
“Knock!”
However, the body suddenly stopped, and the belt tightened the stomach tightly. The older brother was led by an intangible force and brought to the front of the iron man, Kang Tae-min.
However, he had a smartphone in his hand.
“hehehehe, you… It is over.”
Although he fell due to the appearance of the Awakeners, he was also a body that was only used for strength. If it’s a back world connection, it’s enough to show off.
His back boat has attached a personal guard, and he has signaled now, so he will be called soon.
“You will regret touching me… !”
Taemin Kang glanced at the screen. It was written in Chinese characters, but it was not difficult to infer what it meant by the black exclamation mark on a red background.
“Ouch… !”
Kang Tae-min formed horseshoe-shaped horseshoes and pinned his brother’s hands, feet, and neck to the wall. Then he turned his head towards the entrance.
“Huh, it’s rare to see someone this sloppy.”
He was a man with a face that was not at all concerned about the disaster in the office, or rather was interested.
He wore a black suit, but had a sword at his waist. As he drew his sword, his spirits changed.
“Where did you send it? hey long? Chien Gong?”
Taemin Kang did not answer. Instead, I turned to my older brother who had been nailed to the wall.
“Is there only one?”
“… How dare you ignore me!”
The fact that he had ignored him made him angry, but the gap was clearly visible.
‘I see you believe in the suit and relax… !’
His quick sword was one of the best in the guild. A suit like this could easily be cut by injecting mana.
It was when he cut down Kang Tae-min at once and raised his sword high.
“What… .”
I saw Kang Tae-min spread his hand toward him without looking back. Then the sword that went up above his head fell.
to yourself, not to your opponent.
“what… !”
It was a feeling of pressure that I couldn’t overcome. With a click, the blade cut through his skull and lodged in his head.
That was it.
My older brother, who was watching the scene while pinned to the wall, trembled his chin. The crotch of his pants was damp and the walls were starting to get wet.
“No, no, no way… .”
Taemin Kang didn’t bother to answer. Instead, lightly loaded with mana.
The horseshoe stuck in the wall went further inside.
“turn off… Turn off… .”
The divided body fell down with a thud. Kang Tae-min turned around casually.
Then I opened the cabinet and pulled the file in front of my eyes and quickly scanned it.
What he found was documents related to Min So-yul.
If Min So-yul does not receive the money, he just needs to resolve the situation where the money will go out.
But the work did not end there. He found the hidden safe as if he knew the place.
This is because it can detect the location of metal through its ability.
The safe was twisted open to reveal a thick bundle of cash.
“For now, this will be enough for seed money.”
The more money the better.
Even if Min So-yul did not earn, Kang Tae-min was thinking of securing funds.