Ch.46Monster’s Instinct

“Rehabilitation means forgetting the bad things you’ve done in the past and living a righteous life to atone.”

“Strange. Does that make the wrongdoing disappear? What about those who were harmed?”

“Of course, the wrongdoing doesn’t disappear. The victims would probably prefer punishment over rehabilitation…”

“Yet you still claim rehabilitation is necessary?”

“It is necessary.”

Han Mu-ryo frowned as he set down his soup.

“If rehabilitation is necessary because, as you say, humans can change, then couldn’t someone who’s rehabilitated return to their original state for the same reason?”

“Then should we kill all good people too because they might someday do bad things?”

“That’s not what I mean. But if you say we shouldn’t kill inhuman humans because they have the potential to become good, then the law is wrong.”

“…Why do you think that?”

“Monsters have an instinct to eat humans. Humans who are like monsters have the same instinct. Nature doesn’t change.”

A precarious feeling—Yu Hye-na felt her lips drying from the tension, like walking a tightrope while holding a predator’s leash.

“For the sake of humanity, monsters must die.”

“So criminals should die because they instinctively make choices no different from monsters?”

“That’s right.”

“Then… Mr. Mu-ryo? Why aren’t you eating your soup right now?”

Seizing the opportunity, Hye-na pointed at the bowl that Han Mu-ryo had set down and wasn’t touching.

“Mr. Han, you’ve been prioritizing our conversation over eating for a while now. Why is that, when you enjoy eating so much?”

“I can eat a little later.”

“Exactly! You’re curious about our conversation, right? You’re curious because you want to understand my thoughts?”

“That’s right.”

“And you want to understand because… you want to get along better with me… right?”

“…Is that so?”

“Not just with me, but with other people too, right? Even though you’re so strong, you don’t use force to take soup from the restaurant owner because you want to get along with him… correct?”

“Hmm…”

Seeing Han Mu-ryo deep in thought again, Hye-na expanded her logic further.

“Rehabilitation is about teaching people how to overcome their instincts again. When you understand others and come to understand them, you stop doing bad things. Instincts can be overcome—that’s what makes us human.”

“If one overcomes instincts, then human…”

“Don’t you think so? Even you, Mr. Han… because you’re human, you’re overcoming your instinct to eat soup right now, aren’t you?”

“Human…”

“That’s right, and there’s Black Cat too! Even monsters can overcome their instincts.”

Han Mu-ryo flinched, his expression hardening as he picked up and set down his soup in silence.

Although a mutant, Black Cat is the greatest example of a monster that overcomes the monstrous instinct to devour humans and instead helps them.

“If monsters can do it, humans certainly can too, right? If we keep overcoming our instincts, even people who seem to have lost their humanity can have a chance to return.”

“It seems unlikely that many will return.”

“I’m focusing on the fact that there’s even a small possibility. And among those people, as you said, there are many who committed wrongs unavoidably.”

“So rehabilitation isn’t necessary for those who did wrong, but for those who didn’t?”

“Yes, and… if we don’t even give them a chance at rehabilitation, they might do even worse things. They say a cornered animal fights harder, right? If villains are humans like monsters, we try human methods of communication, believing some humanity remains. If that doesn’t work… then there’s no choice…”

Han Mu-ryo slowly closed and opened his eyes at the mention of humanity remaining in monsters, his dark gaze settling.

The monster Hye-na was referring to was a villain.

But to Han Mu-ryo, it didn’t sound like she was talking about villains.

“Actually… even though I said all this, I think you’re right… I often wonder if rehabilitation is really possible. They say forcing carnivores to eat grass makes them sick.”

“Because that’s how they were born.”

“So, rehabilitation is just about believing the other person is human… Do you know about shepherds? To protect sheep, you must kill wolves—living with wolves is impossible. But dogs, which are the same species as wolves, can be used to protect sheep. At least hoping this is a dog and not a wolf, teaching it when it does wrong… but if it’s determined to be a wolf… yes, killing it is right. Still, I think it’s okay to carefully distinguish whether it’s a wolf or not.”

Dogs and wolves are different.

Monsters and villains are different.

Humans, even when they become villains, have the possibility of returning to the human fold.

“Effort to be human…”

After saying that, Han Mu-ryo picked up his bowl again and gulped down the soup that had cooled to just the right temperature.

Is this what it feels like to teach love and understanding to a predator?

Hye-na, filled with a sense of pride, added some meat to Han Mu-ryo’s new bowl of soup.

“I never imagined I’d have this kind of conversation with you, Mr. Mu-ryo.”

“Why?”

“Well… I thought you were someone who only knew how to say things like ‘meat tasty’ or ‘soup good.'”

“Meat tasty.”

“Wait, Mr. Mu-ryo? Are you deliberately speaking like an idiot?”

“Not idiot.”

“Mr. Mu-ryo?”

What was the truth? Han Mu-ryo, seemingly having resolved his curiosity, instantly reverted to his usual self.

Just moments ago, he had the contradictory charm of an intellectual person with a beast-like body, but now he was just a beast.

What a strange person… Thinking this, Hye-na resumed eating her delicious-smelling soup.

The meal ended after Han Mu-ryo had consumed 70 bowls of soup.

“Drank well.”

“Thank you! Please come again! If possible, make a reservation next time!”

“…You’re eating less today? Are you being considerate?”

“Soup is salty.”

Hye-na, thinking her own sense of portion size was becoming distorted, wondered if she should add more salt to Han Mu-ryo’s rice based on his answer.

She received her card from the exhausted but happy restaurant owner and was about to head home.

Then, Han Mu-ryo, having finished his business, was about to jump onto a streetlight without saying goodbye.

“W-wait! It’s nighttime! Please walk me home!”

“Hmm.”

“And please stop breaking streetlights! Why do you keep breaking them? Is it fun?”

“It is fun.”

“What? You don’t really break them because it’s fun… do you?”

Seeing Han Mu-ryo slowly avert his gaze, Hye-na was about to get angry but ended up smiling instead.

Really, the more she looked at him, the more he seemed like a big child.

And not just any child—one who causes trouble but listens well when properly taught.

“Don’t do that anymore, okay? Streetlights are paid for with taxes! How scary is it to walk at night when even one light is missing?”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate… really, you can’t stop? Promise me you won’t break streetlights anymore.”

“What’s a promise?”

“Oh my? You don’t even know what a promise is…? Here, put your hand like this… like…?”

When Hye-na tried to forcibly take Han Mu-ryo’s hand to make him promise, he raised both hands above his head.

“I don’t really understand what a promise is.”

“Are you really a child?”

Is he just playing around because he finds it amusing?

Hye-na erased the thought that Han Mu-ryo was like a big child.

He’s not just big—he’s stubborn and incredibly strong.

At least she could take comfort in his kind heart.

“Look, here, the streetlight is out because of you, and it’s dark.”

“Streetlight is weak.”

“Ah, really…”

Before entering her home after Han Mu-ryo escorted her, Hye-na spoke as she passed under the broken streetlight.

Under the flickering, broken streetlight that blinked like labored breathing, Hye-na looked up at Han Mu-ryo standing beside her before entering her house.

“Well, take care. Thank you again for helping me tonight. And… if there’s anything else you don’t understand, please feel free to come ask me.”

An inexplicable sense of responsibility for Han Mu-ryo was sprouting in Hye-na’s heart.

If I don’t teach this person properly, he’ll probably go around doing strange things elsewhere.

Still, he seems to understand well when taught, so it might be good to have various conversations with him when he comes to the meal center.

“Hye-na, let me tell you this.”

Just as she thought that, Han Mu-ryo spoke.

“A human who has become a monster can never return to being human.”

“No, they can return. Even villains. So…”

“In the end, I ate my fill of soup.”

“Wh-what…?”

“It’s not about overcoming instincts, but ignoring them… enduring them.”

“W-wait, Mr. Mu-ryo, suddenly approaching like this is…”

After saying that, Han Mu-ryo moved close to Hye-na and leaned in.

Startled by Han Mu-ryo’s unfamiliar proximity and sudden approach, Hye-na tightly closed her eyes as a low, beast-like growl whispered in her ear.

“To me, you still look very delicious.”

“Eh…? Th-that’s… um…”

A heat haze rose above her head—had the night air always been this cold?

This man is too beast-like…! There’s a limit to how fast things should go, what does he mean? Looking delicious? Enduring instincts? What does he mean?

Hye-na forgot even to breathe amid the pounding of her heart.

Just as the sound of swallowing saliva constricted her chest, a siren wailed through the night streets, shocking her heart like an electric current.

A monster alert echoing in the night sky from somewhere far away.

The small but loud sound from a distance gradually returned her heartbeat to normal.

Coming to her senses, Hye-na stepped back from Han Mu-ryo and stood where the streetlight’s glow reached.

“…T-too close. That’s still…”

Why was she feeling this way? Hye-na glanced at Han Mu-ryo standing under the broken streetlight, her unsettled feelings plainly visible.

Han Mu-ryo was staring blankly into the distance, frowning.

At that moment, Hye-na realized something was wrong.

The siren sound was getting louder.

Toward her direction, no.

Throughout all of W City.

[Emergency alert! All citizens of W City, please evacuate immediately. Repeat! Emergency alert! All citizens of W City! Please evacuate immediately!]

Beep-beep-beep! Evacuation alarms blared loudly throughout the residential area, illuminating the dark night streets.

People rushed out onto the streets, running toward shelters as buildings quickly sealed their entrances.

“Evacuate.”

“Mr. Mu-ryo!”

Han Mu-ryo leaped onto a building in one bound, avoiding the streetlight.

Among the running people, Hye-na looked up at him, remembering that Han Mu-ryo was a considerably powerful superhuman, and ran toward the shelter.

Through the night air that had been radiating heat just moments ago, a cold voice sharply announced the emergency evacuation.

[Black Cat is attacking people! Current casualties: 5 children, 47 adults dead!]

At that broadcast, Hye-na bit her lip.

So it’s finally happened, she thought.

[We repeat, Black Cat is attacking people! Citizens, do not approach the monster and evacuate immediately!]