Chapter 39

EP 8 - The Youngest Granddaughter of a Chaebol (2)

I used Cha Jae-gyun's office as it was.

Thanks to that, in the cold winter, I drove my car at maximum speed and entered the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, a poor neighborhood where the roads were too narrow for cars to enter.

We parked the car near the alley and ran at full speed. Yang Il-ho rushed out first, followed by Yi Ho-jeong, and I limped along behind them.

Since I occasionally played with the kids and drank soju at the nearby convenience store, everyone knew the location of Kang Seok-ho's house.

"Cough! Cough...! Huh...!"

The cold air filled my lungs, and a phlegmy cough burst out.

I leaned against the alley and caught my breath for a moment, arriving at Kang Seok-ho's house last.

The kids had already opened the door and were standing dumbfounded at the entrance.

I pushed past the two and checked Kang Seok-ho's small house.

Three broken memorial photos.

Scattered incense powder.

Dozens, no, hundreds of soju bottles.

Concrete walls marred by fist marks.

The small shelter, where laughter never ceased despite the poverty, was now permeated with the stench of alcohol and incense.

The smell of a funeral. A thick scent of death.

The small, trembling figure of Kang Si-ho crawled in fear.

"Please, save me...!"

The child's body bore clear signs of violence.

Kang Seok-ho sat in a corner, dazed, blowing bubbles with soju. It was the first time I had seen him like this.

How could that stern and diligent guy be like this?

- Clang!

Could he really throw a soju bottle?

Thud. Thud. Kang Seok-ho, with a flushed face, hit the back of his head against the wall. The wall crumbled, and dust fell.

"...Jina... So-young... So-jeong..."

Kang Seok-ho, with dead eyes, stared into the air, repeatedly calling his siblings' names.

He had already collapsed, shattered by the deaths of his siblings, to whom he had dedicated his life.

"...Hey, you. Crazy bastard."

I pushed past the frozen Il-ho and Ho-jeong and entered the house with my boots.

"Can you see your dead siblings? Huh?"

"...What. The hell."

"Ujin! So-young! So-jeong-"

I couldn't say the names of Seok-ho's siblings.

- Crack!

Because Kang Seok-ho had thrown a table leg.

"Ah!"

Ho-jeong screamed. The table flew at an unrealistic speed and shattered against the wall next to me.

Kang Seok-ho is a superhuman of considerable strength. A casual swing from him could be fatal to an ordinary person.

Kang Seok-ho, swaying, stood up and pointed at me.

"You... You, damn. Didn't even come to save them, you. Damn bastard..."

He staggered toward me, towering over me with his large frame.

And with his bloodshot eyes, he poked my chest.

"Where the hell do you get off, acting like my brother, you...!"

"..."

I didn't answer.

I just looked at the wooden splinter stuck in Kang Si-ho's back. The kid was sobbing.

"Hey. You told me to take care of this kid."

I grabbed the finger poking my chest and snapped it.

"Can you only see your dead siblings? Really?"

"...Damn, you, get... Damn, I'll kill-"

- Thud!

I was the only one who could subdue the superhuman Kang Seok-ho in this situation.

If he goes wild, everyone will die.

I had to knock him out before he could do more damage. After all, I could heal him with my powers.

Thud.

This was the second time in my life I had hit someone with full force. The first was when I committed my first murder in Apgujeong.

I often think about it, but I've done a lot of things I shouldn't have since the gate opened.

Thud. On the third hit to the face, Kang Seok-ho fell to the ground. I mounted him and started hitting him with each word.

"Did you do this to his wrist?"

Kang Si-ho's left wrist was broken in a direction it shouldn't have been.

So I hit Kang Seok-ho's face as hard as I could.

"Whining over the dead's photos, while-"

Kang Seok-ho wasn't a bad person. Of his four siblings, two were cousins, but he took responsibility for the abandoned children as if they were his own.

This young guy, who worked tirelessly to earn money, would grin and his lips would curl up whenever he saw his siblings.

How could he be a bad person?

"You don't even see the living flesh and blood in front of you!"

He had just collapsed, unable to adapt to death.

In this cold world, death is all too common.

If you can't bear it, you'll break.

"Did you break the kid's fingers while drinking?"

I continued to punch, trying to hold back my tears, and Kang Seok-ho took the hits quietly.

He just mumbled with his swollen lips.

"What do you know...?"

At those words, I paused my punches and looked at him. Blood trickled from Kang Seok-ho's bruised eyes.

"What do you, damn, know...!"

Kang Seok-ho swallowed his sobs and barely managed to speak.

He started to cry.

"Brother...! He, he's, damn, dead."

"..."

"In front of my eyes, our, our kids, were, were eaten-"

Thud.

I punched Kang Seok-ho in the mouth.

Yes. I don't know.

Because I truly know the pain of losing a family, and no one else can understand that pain.

No one can empathize with the grief of losing a blood relative. How can anyone feel the same pain for losing different people?

I'm just too late to be shaken by this. I'm already too familiar with death.

I already know how to walk through a field of snow.

So I silently knocked him out.

And as I stood up, I fell to the side.

* * *

...While our honorable representative was saving the world and becoming a hero, what was I doing? I should reflect? I should.

I'm the sinner, right? While our precious representative was collapsing, I was just a useless parasite.

Yes. While Seung-mun was winning international English debate competitions, I was being led around by some old man and fighting.

While Seung-mun was receiving a full scholarship to a Korean university, I was being called a bodyguard and fighting until I was sick.

Right? How much money did my parents give me, and I can't do anything even now that I'm grown up? Yes? I'm a good-for-nothing.

...Do you think I want to live by licking up corporate shit like my mom? Do you think people who didn't go to college aren't considered human? Is it hard to even show a fake job? Yes.

At least the old man from the boxing gym was a hundred times better than you.

Do you think I just lived off this guy? Do you not care how I've lived so far? Ha, yes. Since it's a worthless life, you probably didn't even look at it...

Yes, I failed.

I never won anything in my life!

I never succeeded on my own!

I'm just a damn bitch who makes my parents' lives miserable!

Now that I'm in my late 20s, I haven't achieved anything. Right? With my lucky superpower, I've been playing Power Ranger and catching monsters, how ridiculous must I look to our lawyer? Yes?

Yes. Yes. I get it, so please. From now on, I'll stop playing Power Ranger and catching monsters, and just focus on being Seung-mun's bodyguard.

What else could it be?

Isn't everything my mom said about me being a useless bitch true? Fine. I'll cut it off. I'll cut it off. Why are you coming? If you come, you'll just say the same thing.

Ah, yes. Yes. I know how much of a useless bitch I am, and I'll live humbly from now on. Please, let's not see each other so often.

Please, just, please......!

When I came to my senses, I was lying in a hospital bed.

I heard Yeo Do-yeon hang up the phone.

She sat on the bed, held my hand tightly, and leaned over it, trembling.

My hand was damp.

I lay still for about 15 minutes before opening my eyes.

"......Ah, uh...."

"Hey."

Yeo Do-yeon tapped my cheek.

"Are you awake?"

She poked my cheek with her calloused fingers and smiled playfully.

"You were just sleeping, idiot."

"......Yeah."

"Cold and fatigue, plus stress, made you collapse. You woke up after about 18 hours, and Representative Yang handled all the minor issues. That's all."

Yeo Do-yeon was dressed in a black suit.

The suit was dirty, so she must have just come from catching a monster. And she hadn't even changed her clothes, staying by my side.

She stood up and put on a black coat. The coat suited her tall frame.

It was a birthday gift I had carefully chosen last year.

"Hey, I'm going somewhere."

"......Where?"

"Just, you know, get some fresh air."

Yeo Do-yeon gathered her things casually and said.

"My mom is coming."

"......Aunt?"

"Yeah. It'll take about an hour, I guess?"

Yeo Do-yeon smiled at me as she closed the door.

"I'll be back."

"......"

Click. I looked at the closed door and whispered quietly.

"......Take care."

I'm tired.

*

The doctor says I'm half-dead.

After a few days of IVs and a 2-week leave, I'm not sure if I can actually take it.

Anyway, I received a lot of visitors.

Family, the hospital director, the mayor, the Apgujeong survivor compensation group leader, politicians who just wanted to post a photo on Facebook, and even my fan club.

Of course, the first person I met was Kang Seok-ho.

Kang Seok-ho came to me, regained his senses, and sobbed, apologizing. I hugged him and patted his back.

Kang Seok-ho said he would start alcohol addiction treatment, but Kang Si-ho was already afraid of Kang Seok-ho.

So Kang Si-ho would be raised by Yang Il-ho and Yi Ho-jeong, with Kang Seok-ho contributing to the living expenses.

I'm worried he'll send all his money except for the bare minimum to survive. It's a no-brainer.

While eating hospital food and flipping through TV channels, I was checking what scenarios would come up in the news today when I heard a knock.

"Hey, overwork, right?"

"Ah, Representative Yang?"

"Oh, just sit down."

Yang Ban-seok placed a gift set of drinks on the table and sat down.

"Kang Seok-ho? I put it all down as him passing out from work at the office."

"I'm ashamed."

"Well, I handled the aftermath of our youngest son getting caught for drug use and assault at a club.

Oh, did I ask you to do that?"

"I was hit a few times while supporting your son."

"Hmm, that's unfortunate."

Yang Ban-seok handed me a notebook and a pen.

"Do you know my granddaughter? This is her notebook."

"......Yes?"

"Write this down.

Thank you for your concern. Yang A-reum.

Study hard and grow up healthy,

and I hope you become a person who brings glory to the country in the future."

I wrote it down as he dictated and handed the notebook back.

"But this sounds exactly like Representative Yang's tone, doesn't it?"

"Just sign it and be done with it. Why are you being so picky? And what does a grandfather's tone sound like? He's just fine."

"......Ah, yes."

I could picture Yang A-reum teasing Representative Yang in my mind, but I kept quiet.

Yang Ban-seok, looking bored, drank a bottle of Vit500 and showed me a photo from the internet.

"Have you seen the before and after photos of politicians?"

"Ah, those?"

It's a picture with a before and after photo of a person in politics. It's a photo that proves how a person's face changes after a long time in politics. Generally, the face becomes more somber and harsh.

There are even series of these photos for each politician on the internet, Yang Ban-seok said.

"Yours came out."

"Ah...? I'm still in my 20s-"

I couldn't finish my sentence.

There were two photos with the title "Han Seung-mun's Maturation Process."

The first was an interview photo taken as the youngest elected official.

The second was a screenshot from a 100-minute debate last week.

The composition of the photos was almost identical, making the differences stand out clearly.

Emaciated, dark circles, dark skin, sharp eyes, the typical politician's gaze.

After just half a year, I looked like a different person. Looking at the first photo, I realized I used to be so fresh.

As I trembled and looked at the photo, Yang Ban-seok laughed.

"What are you laughing at!"

"Well, the comments about how much you've aged in half a year were hilarious!"

"Ah! Of course, a person would age! The world is corrupt!"

I angrily denied reality.

"But still, you look good for your age! Right?"

"Your features are distinct, but, hmm, you look like you're in your mid-30s."

"My God......"

I hung my head in a gloomy mood, and Yang Ban-seok patted my shoulder and moved closer.

"But still, isn't this a face with a proper sense of authority?"

"It's not authority, it's experience......"

"That's also an asset for a politician. An asset. How many politicians live off their faces?"

I downed a Bokka and lamented the world.

"Ah, life......"

Tsk, Yang Ban-seok clicked his tongue.

"Don't talk like that. You haven't even lived half as long as me. And you are overworking yourself these days."

"......Well, but."

"I'll send a few of my aides to help you for a while. They need to be given some work anyway."

Hmm. If the aides do something wrong, it could cause problems. I looked at him with a dubious expression.

"......Do you not trust me?"

Yang Ban-seok's displeased look made a plausible excuse pop out of my mouth.

"No, no. Your aides, they were my former superiors......"

"They're all dead."

"Ah."

"They are people I chose from those I originally knew, so you don't need to worry too much."

I quickly weighed the pros and cons.

The probability of Yang Ban-seok hitting me, the leverage we both have on each other, the things the foundation needs to handle soon, the security of the foundation's finances, etc.

The decision was quick. Refusing here and upsetting Yang Ban-seok would be more of a loss.

"Then, I'll gratefully accept the help."

"......Huh."

Pain. Yang Ban-seok's strange gaze stabbed my heart. He smiled.

"I often think, but you're different from the others these days. You have a cute side."

Sometimes I wonder if Yang Ban-seok and Pi Chae-won have the same superpower.

"Yes. You can fill the numbers, but you can't fill the hearts of people. Politics is ultimately about the hearts of people. Remember that."

"......I understand."

"Ahem!"

Yang Ban-seok smiled brightly.

"Well, you seem to have taken a two-week leave. What do you plan to do from now on?"

"......I don't know."

I've been so busy that I don't have any hobbies. I don't play games, I don't read much, and the most I do is