Ch.11Chapter 11. Two-Piece Bastards (2)

“Are you Mr. Jinsoo Kim’s guardian?”

“Ah, guardian. Yes. I suppose that would be me…”

As the door opened and a doctor in a white coat walked out, Juliane hurriedly stood up.

What a bolt from the blue on a holiday night.

“He had a 5-centimeter laceration on his scalp that we stitched up, and there’s no damage to the skull or brain. He fainted from shock due to blood loss, so we believe the possibility of a concussion is low… However, there might be some memory loss when he wakes up. If that happens, please be sure to let us know.”

“Oh my… Yes, yes. I understand.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury.

Juliane sighed deeply with relief.

Thirty minutes ago, she had received a call from Cuss, who sounded panicked.

When she heard that Jinsoo Kim had collapsed bleeding and wouldn’t wake up, Juliane had to immediately drive to Jinsoo’s house.

After barely managing to transport Jinsoo from his trashed home to the hospital, she had been waiting for the surgery to finish until now.

“What about the child?”

Cuss had been stomping her feet, begging for Jinsoo to be saved.

She had insisted on staying where she could see Jinsoo, so they had reluctantly allowed her to watch the surgery through a glass wall.

Now that the surgery was over, the child should have returned to the waiting room, but where was she?

“She’s in the hospital room with the patient.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you.”

Her mind was already becoming complicated.

She was annoyed about having her holiday interrupted, but saving someone’s life was a worthy cause, so that was fine.

But what should she do about Cuss?

If Jinsoo woke up soon, that would be fortunate, but what if he didn’t wake up for days?

Since he hadn’t officially adopted her yet, Cuss would legally be sent to a protective facility.

But would Cuss really stay there quietly…?

Just imagining it was exhausting.

“Ugh… shit.”

Through the slightly open hospital room door, a deep voice flowed out.

Though it was completely hoarse, she could immediately recognize it as Jinsoo’s voice.

Relieved that he had woken up so quickly, Juliane slowly stepped forward.

“Jinsoo! You’re awake!”

“Ah… What? So you’re alive? Where the hell were you?”

“I was hiding in the closet. But when I saw you collapse, I tried to carry you. But you were too heavy to lift… So I randomly pressed buttons on what you call a phone, and then I heard that woman’s voice from before…”

“You little shit.”

At the next line she heard, Juliane’s hand froze as she was about to open the door.

Her expression hardened rapidly.

With practiced, quick, and silent movements, she tapped below her ear to activate the recording function on her phone.

This was her opportunity to collect evidence of Jinsoo’s child abuse.

The fact that he had taken in an orphan without being her legal father was already sufficient grounds to separate them, but if evidence of abuse was added, immediate action could be taken.

Juliane tilted her head slightly to peek inside through the door crack.

“Why the hell did you come out when you should have stayed hidden?”

“Jinsoo… you were bleeding. Humans die when they lose too much blood. I’ve seen it many times.”

“You could have died too, you idiot. What if those guys had come back? You would have died instantly, you thoughtless girl.”

“But… I couldn’t just leave you there. Jinsoo… if you die, I…”

“Ah, shit.”

When Cuss started to sob, Jinsoo roughly patted her head.

Juliane silently turned away and stopped the recording.

Her principle that everything should be done according to the law was being severely shaken.

Although Jinsoo was neither Cuss’s biological nor legal father… he seemed worthy of being called a father nonetheless.

At least, that’s how it appeared to Juliane.

“I’m not dead yet. Why are you crying?”

“I was so scared thinking you might die… but now that I know you won’t, I feel relieved and tears keep coming out…”

“You look awful. Stop it now.”

If only his language could be corrected, he’d be quite good.

Juliane shook her head and slid the door open.

“I heard you were attacked by burglars? Thank goodness you’re both safe.”

“…”

When there was no answer, Juliane swallowed awkwardly.

Normally, he would have immediately thrown out some cheesy pickup line about how beautiful she looked today.

But Jinsoo was just staring blankly at Juliane without saying anything.

“Um… excuse me, but who are you?”

“Pardon?”

***

A day had passed since I was hospitalized.

I definitely put Cuss to sleep on the folding bed last night.

But when I woke up, she was squeezed in next to me.

So even alien monsters instinctively prefer soft things.

I learned something new.

“Hey. Move over.”

“Mmm…”

Damn girl.

I decided to leave her alone, afraid she might bite me or do something crazy with her tentacles if I woke her up.

“Ugh. They wrapped it so tightly…”

Anyway.

The bandage around my head was unbearably uncomfortable.

I wonder if I could loosen it a bit.

It doesn’t hurt anymore, it just itches.

I’m dying to wash my hair.

“Patient, breakfast… Oh no! Patient! You shouldn’t remove that yet!”

Caught red-handed.

Since I was caught in the act, they rewrapped my head with a new bandage.

They wrapped it tighter than before, making it even more uncomfortable.

I just want to be discharged quickly.

“When can I be discharged?”

“We’d like to observe your condition a bit longer… Do you have urgent business?”

“Yes, I do. Very urgent business.”

Actually, I don’t.

“What is it?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Sigh… But patient, you’re showing symptoms of memory loss…”

And apparently I have amnesia.

It’s not the “where am I, who am I” level of memory loss.

Like something out of a manga, I’ve completely forgotten about one specific person.

Fortunately, it wasn’t about our benevolent manager or the director I need to get revenge on someday, but about a woman named Juliane whom I’d met not long ago.

I quickly deduced from Cuss that this woman was from the Department of Justice and had come to monitor me.

The problem was that I had apparently hit on Juliane at a pub before knowing this fact.

That’s why we’d had this uncomfortable relationship…

I’m thinking of cutting ties with her now.

From what I hear, our relationship hadn’t progressed much anyway, so if I eliminate any pretext for her to approach me, the Department of Justice’s means of monitoring me will be significantly limited.

“It would be better to wait until your memory returns…”

“It doesn’t need to return. There’s nothing wrong with my head, right?”

“Yes… The wound was stitched up cleanly.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with my body, right?”

“Yes… Your recovery is remarkably fast. Even though you lost so much blood, your levels returned to normal after just a few IVs.”

“Then there’s no problem with me being discharged immediately, right?”

“Ah, well, that’s true, but…”

Since the doctor acknowledged it, there was no reason to stay hospitalized any longer.

Hospital fees are ridiculously expensive per day.

It really makes me shudder, I can’t stay here anymore.

“Um… Jinsoo.”

“What?”

After we got on the bus, Cuss spoke to me with a wistful expression.

“You’re not going to die, right?”

“I told you I’m not.”

From the outside, it might look like a daughter’s touching concern.

In reality, she’s just telling me not to die because if I do, an email revealing her true identity will be sent.

If it weren’t for that scheduled email, I would have died helplessly last night.

Cuss would have seized the opportunity and fled with a smile.

She might even have stabbed my head to make sure I was dead.

Just imagining it gives me chills.

“Hey, by the way.”

“Hmm… yawn…”

Cuss had already fallen asleep, resting her head on my shoulder.

She just woke up not long ago.

Maybe she’s the type who passes out as soon as she gets in a vehicle.

She looks like an angel when she’s sleeping.

“You little troublemaker.”

“Mmm…”

I pinched her cheek hard.

She still didn’t wake up.

I sighed deeply and leaned back against the seat.

I still couldn’t understand it.

Why I made such a decision last night.

The doorknob was pulled out, the light was broken, and there was even a bullet lodged in the ceiling.

In that situation, how many people would think of opening the door and entering the house?

The sensible thing would be to run away first.

But for some reason, the thought of going in first dominated my mind at that time.

“Am I mentally ill?”

Maybe I’m becoming unstable after my long time in the labor camp.

Well, I’ve fallen from a height of 10 meters and hit my head, received electric shocks to my head, inhaled toxic gas and experienced cardiac arrest several times, so I wouldn’t be surprised if all my brain cells were dead.

“Hey. Wake up. We’re here.”

“Mmm…?”

“Stop whining. It’s disgusting.”

There have been too many tiring things.

I need to rest properly now.

The company contacted me saying I could take off until next week, so I should be fine.

As I dragged my heavy body from the bus stop toward home, I saw a police officer in the distance.

“Why are you hiding?”

“…Force of habit.”

I just get scared whenever I see police.

I cleared my throat and resumed walking confidently.

I haven’t done anything wrong, so why be afraid?

But the police officer was standing in the small garden of our house.

I really haven’t done anything wrong, have I?

I’m sure I paid my speeding ticket on time.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Are you Jinsoo Kim?”

“Yes… let’s say I am.”

How is it possible that not a single Yankee can pronounce my name correctly?

Oh, come to think of it, Juliane pronounces it properly.

She cooks well too.

“Now that you’ve returned, we’re going to remove the crime scene preservation. You agree, right?”

“Yes. Please remove it.”

Thankfully, they seem to have been guarding my house while I was away.

Another police officer was removing the police line wrapped around the entrance of the house.

“We’ve started investigating the case… But there are no cameras in this area. I’m afraid it might be difficult to catch them. Haha…”

Look at him already making excuses.

It’s unlikely that the police would properly investigate for an ex-convict Asian living in this remote area, but they could at least tell a white lie about doing their best to catch the culprits.

“Now then, get the f… Thank you for your work.”

“Yes~”

After the police officer left, I entered my sweet home.

I temporarily fixed the doorknob with duct tape, and I was thinking of taking a nap until a technician could come to fix it properly…

But at that moment, I froze as I looked around the house.

“What the fuck is this?”

The house was a complete mess.

The sofa was torn to shreds with cotton flying everywhere.

All the furniture was smashed with wooden fragments scattered across the floor.

The mattress on the bed was completely burst open.

It definitely wasn’t this bad when I returned home last night.

“You bastards.”

I started to understand the situation.

Those cop bastards, all they did for “crime scene preservation” was put up a police line.

While the cops were away, the burglars returned and made this mess.

It’s really a waste of tax money, those fuckers.

What should I do with this spectrum of anger?

Getting revenge on the police is realistically impossible.

I know when to pick my battles.

So, among the things that are realistically possible…

“You’re dead, you fuckers.”

I’ll find the burglars who made this mess.

I need to take revenge on them directly to feel better.