Chapter 31: Different Hearts (1)

I returned home safely.

It was the first time I’d wandered around at night, but there were no particular problems.

“Wow, today’s haul is insane.”

Jang Hoseop exclaimed, looking at the supplies laid out.

We especially got a lot of Mana Stones.

Since we took almost everything Chairman Park had hoarded like an ant.

“Hyungnim. Instead of us going around farming directly, doing a big score like this is…”

I had the same thought as Jang Hoseop.

‘That raiding what others have gathered seems more efficient.’

“In the end, it’s a path to mutual destruction.”

“Yes. That’s right. I just had a bad thought for a moment.”

It would be good in the short term.

Perhaps it could even be good continuously.

But if you consider various situations, the life of a plunderer often ends miserably.

“Let’s organize tomorrow. You three wash up first.”

It wasn’t something to continue talking about right away.

I tell the women to wash up first.

And I called Lee Yuna separately.

“Lee Yuna-ssi.”

“Yes.”

“Please take care of Bomi Nuna. Use your skill on her too.”

Meanwhile, I have something to do with Jang Hoseop and Lee Jangsu-ssi.

“It’s Yuna.”

I thought she would naturally say okay and go immediately.

Lee Yuna stands still and looks up at me.

“Please call me Yuna. You keep maintaining a distance only with me….”

She has an anxious expression.

“Yuna-yah.”

“Yes?”

“Yuna-yah, please take care of Nuna.”

“Ah, yes! I-I’ll do that. I’ll make Unni clean… Ah, anyway. Yes.”

As soon as I called her name, Lee Yuna avoided my gaze.

She blushed and left as if running away.

“Hoseop-ah, Lee Jangsu-ssi. Please help me a bit.”

“Yep!”

I went out to the yard with the two men.

Chairman Park was lying there.

“Please hold here. You, here.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Pulling out his bones.”

I plan to completely destroy Chairman Park’s limb joints.

So he can’t do anything.

Crack

“Kkeueueueueueup!”

I started by pulling out his arm.

Chairman Park, who was gagged, screamed.

Ignoring it, I moved on to the next task.

I have no intention of killing this human easily.

Because he touched what’s mine.

‘This is different from the Mandugwi (Dumpling Ear) group.’

Chairman Park’s crime is heavier than that of the thugs who illegally occupied my house.

Because Bomi Nuna is alive.

If the Mandugwi group had touched my mother’s urn, it would have been a different story.

“Hyungnim. But are you just going to abandon the market?”

Jang Hoseop spoke up.

“I had thought about you absorbing the market, Hyungnim.”

“Why?”

“Because we could just continue what the Revival Meeting was doing?”

Legs are harder to pull out than arms.

I used brute force.

A strange sound came from inside Chairman Park’s body.

“Kkeueueueueup… Kkeup.”

Chairman Park fainted.

“I don’t really like using things others have used.”

“Huh? Ah… I see.”

Jang Hoseop was right too.

We could somehow continue in the Revival Meeting’s place.

But it’s not efficient.

The proportion of older people in the market was much higher than younger people.

The most decisive factor is that it was the place where Bomi Nuna suffered.

“There were many things I didn’t like.”

“Yes. If you say so, Hyungnim, then that’s how it is.”

Jang Hoseop didn’t ask for more details and just nodded.

“Pull there a bit. Let’s dislocate his knees too.”

“Does this come out?”

“Yeah. It comes out.”

I disassembled Chairman Park’s various joints as if pulling apart Lego pieces.

Now, Chairman Park cannot move on his own.

“Ugh. That’s gruesome.”

Chairman Park repeatedly fainted and regained consciousness.

Seeing his state after the work was done, Jang Hoseop shook his head.

“Let’s go inside.”

“What about this person?”

“Just leave him there.”

I showered and ate dinner.

I had many minor wounds on my body, so I also received treatment from

Aunt Sujeong.

Bomi Nuna was really happy, saying it had been a long time since she’d eaten a warm, filling meal.

“Everyone worked hard today. The night watch is…”

There are no dangerous elements near my house.

Still, we continue to keep a night watch.

“Bomi Nuna will start her watch tomorrow.”

“I’m okay. I slept well there too.”

“Nuna. Just do as I say.”

Today, Jang Hoseop has the first watch.

I’m last.

Since I’m going out to level up tomorrow as well, this is the extent of consideration I can show Nuna.

“Then, everyone get some good rest.”

After finishing the conversation, everyone dispersed.

Bomi Nuna winked at me and then took out a tumbler from the kitchen cupboard.

Is it because she’s been to my house many times?

I can feel that she’s emotionally comfortable.

On the other hand, Lee Jangsu-ssi is having a particularly hard time today.

Not only fear, but also a sense of crisis and anxiety can be felt from him.

‘Should I talk to him?’

I thought about talking to him separately but decided against it.

Because he doesn’t harbor hostile feelings towards me.

‘Today, let’s just take care of Nuna.’

I exchanged greetings with Jang Hoseop, who was preparing for his watch, and went into the main bedroom.

Bomi Nuna filled the tumbler with water and naturally followed me in.

“No, he said she wasn’t his girlfriend…”

Before closing the door, I heard Jang Hoseop muttering.

---

When everyone was asleep.

Lee Jangsu, who was on night watch, went up to the second floor.

“Yuna-yah, wake up.”

“Uuuhm. Dad?”

Lee Yuna opened her eyes with difficulty.

The aftermath of a long and arduous day was clearly visible on her face.

“Yeah, it’s Dad. Hurry up and get up, let’s pack our things.”

Nevertheless, Lee Jangsu urged his daughter.

“No, why? Is something wrong?”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

“What’s going on? I’m sleepy.”

“Let’s go with Dad. I’ll explain on the way, so hurry and get up.”

Lee Jangsu was planning to leave this place.

With his daughter.

“Where are you going at this hour? Did Ihyeon Oppa tell you to come down?”

Lee Jangsu ignored Lee Yuna’s words and picked up a backpack.

“Dad. Dad? What’s wrong?”

“We have to get out of here.”

“So. Why?”

Lee Yuna sat up.

Seeing her father’s expression, she sensed something was unusual.

“Sa Ihyeon.”

“Ihyeon Oppa?”

“Yeah. You saw what he was doing earlier.”

He recalled the events of the day.

“Just killing passersby indiscriminately… Do you know how many people he killed today?”

“That was to save Bom Unni…”

“Yuna-yah. Why are you being like this too? He’s not in his right mind. A human being can’t be like that. He doesn’t have a shred of guilt.”

Lee Jangsu momentarily raised his voice.

He pressed his daughter, asking if she knew what Sa Ihyeon had done to Chairman Park in the yard.

“He’s a human who treats people’s lives lightly. He only cares about himself.”

“So? That kind of person saved both Dad and me. Have you forgotten already?”

“Yes. I’m thankful for that. But…”

This time, Lee Yuna raised her voice.

“Dad. For me too, a small scratch on my finger hurts more than someone else getting seriously injured.”

“That’s a different story. Pack your things. We’re leaving here.”

“No, Dad, you put that down. Seonbaenim said so. At other times, maybe, but right now, we absolutely have to stick by Ihyeon Oppa.”

Lee Jangsu looked at his daughter, speechless.

“You know, I’m going to be at least Ihyeon Oppa’s little finger. Then if something happens to me too…”

“What happens? Why would anything happen to you!”

“It could happen, right? I became more convinced today. Seeing Oppa save Bom Unni.”

Lee Yuna also recalled the events of the day.

How Sa Ihyeon fought several people to save just one person.

How he went through fire and water to save Yoon Bom.

“Why… Why on earth do you think that way? He’s a kid who sees everyone else as tools. You don’t know when you’ll be discarded. Why don’t you understand that?”

“Exactly. So I just need to become a precious and necessary tool, right?”

The conflicted father and daughter.

Lee Jangsu felt his daughter, who was refuting his words, was unfamiliar.

“Dad. I’m so happy right now. If I work hard, my level goes up. Don’t you know what this means?”

“You…”

“I get back as much as I put in. Have I ever asked you to do anything for me, Dad? When I was swimming, other people…”

The conversation turned into an emotional argument.

She even brought up past stories.

“Yuna-yah. Dad is doing all this thinking of you…”

“No. This time, Dad, you listen to me. I’m saying this thinking of you too.”

Lee Jangsu looked at his daughter with a powerless expression.

“I hate losing. I also hate having things taken from me by someone.”

“Yuna-yah… This isn’t that kind of problem…”

“It’s annoying when people whisper behind my back, and those b*tches who snickered at Dad’s clothes… I hate it all! I’m going to win. From now on, no one will dare to say a peep in front of me.”

On the other hand, Lee Yuna’s eyes were filled with conviction.

“I’m going to do everything Ihyeon Oppa tells me to. So I’ll raise my level, eat well, and live well! So don’t say things like that. Don’t badmouth Ihyeon Oppa in front of me.”

Lee Jangsu slumped down.

“Remember this. Ihyeon Oppa saved us. And he will continue to do so.”

Lee Yuna’s affection for Sa Ihyeon was not simply romantic interest between a man and a woman.

“You… You, how. Why on earth. What did he…”

Absolute faith.

The time they had spent together wasn’t long, but it was enough for Lee Yuna.

Because her instincts pointed to Sa Ihyeon.

“What about Oppa? Dad, you’re a fool. Why don’t you know even when you see it right next to you?”

Lee Yuna got up and snatched the backpack from Lee Jangsu’s hand.

“How… How did our daughter… Yuna-yah. What if he… to you…”

He was afraid his daughter would be ruined.

He felt it was already too late.

He tried to persuade his daughter somehow, but he couldn’t even finish his stammering words.

Knock knock knock

A knocking sound was heard.

“Excuse me. I’m from the room next door.”

Because Jang Hoseop had appeared.

“Ahjussi. Where are you going at this hour? It’s so dangerous outside.”

“If we go the way we came… to where the prosecutor is.”

Lee Jangsu inadvertently blurted out his inner thoughts.

“Hey. Yongsan Station is an Orc field, you know? Hyungnim made it through because it’s him; you’d die on the way, Ahjussi. And what do you think will be different if you go there?”

Jang Hoseop remembered Sa Ihyeon’s words.

The words telling him to keep a close eye on Lee Jangsu.

And today, Sa Ihyeon had reminded him again as he was preparing for the night watch.

Saying that Lee Jangsu-ssi seemed very anxious.

Jang Hoseop hadn’t taken Sa Ihyeon’s words lightly.

“Don’t do that, let’s talk for a bit with me.”

Jang Hoseop gestured to Lee Yuna and led Lee Jangsu out.

The place he headed to was the room he and his mother were staying in.

“Here, please sit down.”

“Welcome.”

Kim Sujeong greeted Lee Jangsu with a smile.

Even though she had been woken from sleep, she didn’t show any sign of annoyance.

“You must have been through a lot emotionally. Really, children are not like their parents wish them to be.”

Kim Sujeong began to speak in a gentle tone.

Lee Jangsu, with a confused heart, could only listen.

Because he thought that the moment those two woke Sa Ihyeon, he and his daughter would be finished.

“You’re anxious about Sa Ihyeon-ssi, aren’t you?”

Kim Sujeong’s skill is ‘Adept Coordinator’.

When she uses her skill, the other person listens to her words with an open attitude.

“But Jangsu-ssi, you must know too. How strong Sa Ihyeon-ssi is.”

Jang Hoseop had said he didn’t know why his mother had such an ability.

But Kim Sujeong knew.

The time she had spent soothing extremely sensitive expectant mothers and their guardians.

The time she had spent listening to the grievances of struggling nurses and comforting them.

That those times had gathered and blossomed into a Fundamental Skill.

“You don’t need to think about anything else. Now, there’s a line here.”

Power imbued Kim Sujeong’s words.

“This side is Sa Ihyeon-ssi’s side. The opposite side is Sa Ihyeon-ssi’s enemy. Which side do you prefer?”

“So extremely…”

“Yes. This is just a hypothetical. If you had to choose one of the two?”

Lee Jangsu barely chose Sa Ihyeon’s side.

“Jangsu-ssi, you know it too. You must be anxious. In times like these, thinking simply is one way.”

Power filled Kim Sujeong’s voice.

“For Yuna’s sake… dedicate yourself to Sa Ihyeon-ssi. Earn his recognition.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re that anxious, enter Sa Ihyeon-ssi’s heart.”

“What does that…”

Her voice burrowed into Lee Jangsu’s ears.

And into his very self as well.

“Jangsu-ssi. If you dedicate yourself, Sa Ihyeon-ssi will acknowledge and accept you, Jangsu-ssi. Because you have that ability.”

“But even if that’s true, he’s like a psycho…”

“Then, when Yuna is in danger. Sa Ihyeon-ssi will cast aside everything else and save Yuna.”

Lee Jangsu couldn’t refute.

“What Sa Ihyeon-ssi did today was self-sacrifice. Didn’t you see the wounds on his body? To save Bom…”

Kim Sujeong’s gentle voice filled the room.

The conversation that started in the middle of the night continued for quite a long time.

---

The next day.

Lee Yuna woke me up and went upstairs to sleep.

I was the last one on night watch.

Screech

After glancing once at Bomi Nuna’s soundly sleeping face.

I quietly went out to the living room.

In the living room were the spoils from yesterday that we hadn’t managed to organize.

Among them, there was something I had set aside on the table.

[Do you want to absorb it into the existing Spirit Stone?]

It was a Spirit Stone.

Chairman Park had possessed a whopping three Spirit Stones.

‘Yes.’

I’m curious.

Will my Spirit Stone actually reach Level 3?

What changes will occur if it reaches Level 3?

‘Is it taking a bit longer this time?’

The Spirit Stones, as one consumed the other, stuck together like flour dough.

Perhaps because the existing Spirit Stone was larger, it looked like it was devouring the new Spirit Stone.

However, its sluggish movement was slower than last time.

Screech

Just then, the main bedroom door opened again.

“Hyeon-ah.”

Bomi Nuna walked out with a bashful smile.

She was wearing only one of my cotton t-shirts.

“Why are you out already? Sleep more.”

“Uuung… Hehe. But just a moment.”

Nuna snuggled into my lap where I was sitting.

She stared blankly at the Spirit Stone in front of us and asked.

“What’s this doing?”

“Merging.”

“Merging? Pfft… What’s that? It sounds naughty.”

Nuna’s hand traced my skin.

The time when dawn was slowly breaking.

“Ah, I think I’m awake now.”

Nuna’s languid voice reminded me of last night’s events.

I got hard.

I stood up.