episode_0035

… … … … …

I clicked on the article because I was curious about its rather provocative title. As expected, the content of the article was very shocking.

[Yesterday at around 11 PM, the bodies of three men, presumed to be members of the Human Defense Society, were found in an alley in A-dong, District A, Seoul.

The autopsy results showed that the victims had been killed in an extremely brutal manner. All of their fingers were broken and they had severe burn marks caused by cigarettes, presumably belonging to the victims.

Additionally, all three victims had their limbs severed, and one victim had all of his organs removed… … .]

“Eww… … !”

I threw my phone down as if I was throwing it at the horrifying content. It sent shivers down my spine.

But, thinking back, there was one thing that seemed strange.

“Wait a minute. 23:00… … A-gu, A-dong… … ?”

A-gu A-dong was the same neighborhood where I was attacked by the Human Defense Association, or rice-sack guys, last night, and the time, 11:00 PM, was almost the same as when I was attacked. There were even three of them.

At that time, I lost consciousness after being kicked in the head by the rice-sucking bastards, and Seo-ah saved me. Those who were brutally tortured and killed could have been other rice-sucking bastards, not the ones who tormented me.

“Ugh… … .”

What should I say? Somehow, I feel like I know the identity of the culprit, but I also feel like I don’t.

A-dong in the middle of the night is a perfect place for robbery because of its many alleys. Since there are a lot of rice-sacks, they would have split up into groups of three and committed robberies at various intersections.

Then… … After being scattered and committing robberies so widely, wouldn’t they have gotten into a fight with another extremist group? For example, the Earth Harbor Tribe of the Pan-Dimensional Coexistence Union.

The Human Defense Society has a lot of enemies, so something like that is bound to happen.

“Haa… …This world is truly scary.

If Seo-ah hadn’t saved me, I would have gotten caught up in the fight and suffered a bad fate… … ?”

I sighed and picked up my phone again. My heart was pounding because I had seen such a harsh story.

Two hours had passed since I went back to bed and started surfing the web. My fingers were sore and my eyes were tired. Now I wasn’t really interested in watching the news or watching interesting videos.

“Ugh… …I’m bored.”

I put my phone down and looked at the ceiling. I had no choice but to stay at Seo-ah’s secret base, but isn’t it too unhealthy to just lie there helplessly?

“It’s a bit much to be like this all day… … .”

The problem is just lying down. I sat up and started thinking.

It’s not right to waste time like this. I don’t know how long I’ll have to stay here.

“… … A month… … would be enough?”

Thinking about the deadline, I felt uneasy. If things don’t get better after a month, should I continue to hide like this? Is Seo-ah okay with me staying here? When will Seo-yeon come back?

“Let’s get up and do something. We can’t just lie down like this.”

I stood up with a firm resolve. I had to find something to do. For example… …helping with housework.

First of all, I think it would be a good idea to ask the owner of this house, Ms. Seo-ah, if I could do some housework. I wanted to at least show that I was trying to be of some help.

I mustered up my courage and left the room. I walked down the hallway alone to find Seo-ah.

“Ugh, umm… … .”

This place that Seo-ah called her base was really unfamiliar and spacious. Even the underground mansion of the Sky CEO was no match for it. Where on earth could I go to meet Seo-ah?

“Autumn Army, this way.”

“Eek?!”

As I hesitated for a moment, I was startled by a voice that suddenly came to me. I turned my head and saw that the door to a room in the middle of the hallway was open, and Seo-ah was standing in front of it.

“What’s going on? You can just lie down and play on your phone.”

“Ah, haha… … How did you know?”

Seo-ah answered my question with a slight smile.

“I just had a feeling.”

“You’re really amazing. You got it exactly right just by feeling it… …as if you saw it.”

Seo-ah’s eyebrows twitched slightly, then softened.

“I was lucky. So, what happened?”

“Oh, yes. Actually, I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with… … .”

“… … Hmm. I appreciate your kindness, Autumn, but I don’t really need any help.”

The rejection came back immediately. But I couldn’t give up right away. I continued speaking cautiously so as not to offend her who had shown me such great favor.

“But I feel so bad for being the one who owes you this much. And I have nothing to do in my room alone.

Is there anything I can help you with? I’m good at housework. Not as good as Seoyeon, but… .”

“I already said it was okay.”

Suddenly, for some unknown reason, Seo Ah cut me off as if she was upset. She paused for a moment, took a few breaths, and then returned to her usual self.

“… … But, it’s also my fault for leaving the Fall Army without giving them anything. Follow me.”

So I ended up following Ms. Seo down the hallway. She, still in her suit, walked ahead with an elegant yet restrained gait, and I walked a little behind, looking at her back.

Soon, we arrived at the door of a room. When Seo-ah opened the door, her personal study was revealed.

“Wow… … .”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. Seo-ah’s study was incredibly spacious, and the walls were lined with books.

But apart from numerous bookshelves and a single desk, there was nothing. Everything was so neatly arranged in this room that it seemed like an exhibition hall rather than a living space for anyone.

There wasn’t even a single picture frame or personal item on the desk. There were only documents and a laptop neatly placed there.

The overall impression of the study was that it was extremely bleak and desolate. This space, devoid of any warmth, felt almost like the secret base I was currently staying in.

“Autumn Army?”

I came to my senses at the sudden call of Ms. Seo-ah. She was already standing at the desk, waiting for me.

“Oh, yes! Sorry. It was such a big and nice room that I lost my mind for a moment.”

She smiled at my words, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

… … … … …

“Autumn Army, come here.”

On Seo-ah’s desk were stacks of thick documents neatly stacked. She pointed to them and said.

“Can you read these materials and summarize the key points? Focusing on recent economic trends and trends in major companies.”

“… … … Huh?! The economy!?

Well, I don’t know much about economics… … .”

As someone who grew up in an orphanage and barely graduated from high school, I knew almost nothing about economics. I had heard a little bit from my sister Seo-yeon, but I was never at the level to analyze this level of data.

At those words, Seo-ah’s eyes became sharp for a moment. However, it did not seem to be feelings directed at me. Although she was looking at me, it seemed as if she was recalling some past memory.

“It’s okay. Just try it.”

Her voice was firm. It sounded like she was talking to herself.

“I’ve been doing this since I was very young. If you’re in the fall army, you can do it.”

She had been doing this since she was very young. At first glance, it sounded like bragging, but when you look at the way Seo-ah spoke, it didn’t seem like she was bragging. Rather, the part where she said ‘when she was very young’ had a strange bitterness to it.

“Yes, I will try my best!”

I nodded with the intention of giving it a try. Seo-ah paused for a moment when she saw me like that. She seemed surprised, and at the same time, lost in thought.

“… … Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

After giving me my homework, Ms. Seo-ah returned to her desk. Her hands flew over the keyboard of her laptop. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, but her attention seemed to be wrapped around the room like a spider web.

I also opened the document. However, I couldn’t see the contents of the letters written on the paper at all. The numbers and graphs, as well as the unfamiliar terms, made my head spin.

“Uh, uh… … Bear market? Does that mean you’re buying and selling bears? Or is it that bears are shopping?”

I tried to wrap my head around the words and decipher them, but as time went on, I only became more and more confused.

But I couldn’t disappoint Seo-ah’s expectations. The only thing I could do was to keep trying until I succeeded.

“GDP… … um… … Giant Dog Parade… … ?

Oh, no. Gross domestic product… … ?”

I somehow managed to complete my homework by searching the Internet using my mobile phone. Of course, the details were really difficult to understand.

Sometimes when I raised my head and looked at Seo-ah, she still seemed to be focused on her work.

Time passed like that, and I did my best to complete her assignment. Although I wasn’t sure if the content was correct or if I was doing it right, I wanted to at least show that I had tried hard.