I didn’t want to eat a heavy meal, so I stopped by a fast-food restaurant and bought a hamburger set. Carrying the plastic bag emitting an oily scent, I entered the alley of an old residential area.
In the messy and narrow alley where darkness fell, only the old street lamps shone.
“It reminds me of the old days…”
A long time ago, I moved to a similar place when I had just started working.
‘I think it’s around here.’
It was difficult to find the correct location because the address plates on each house were missing or broken. As I wandered the alley for a long time, I heard a man shouting.
“You bastard, you stop there!”
A person appeared on the other side as I heard a box fall.
I stopped to see what was going on. The man who was running away was caught by the man who was following him and rolled roughly on the street.
“Kim Woo-jin, you punk, you’re just a pitiful bastard that they felt sorry for, so why are you making such a big fuss? Huh?”
“Fuck, let go!”
Watching the high-energy chase that was taking place, I frowned at the name Kim Woo-jin. As I approached a few steps, I could see the face of the person caught in the streetlight.
‘It really is Kim Woo-jin.’
The corner of his mouth was torn as if he had already been beaten once, and the side of his face was red. The man who gripped Kim Woo-jin, who was struggling, raised his chubby cheeks to the fullest extent and laughed sarcastically.
“How long do you think you’re going to last? You were all high and mighty after a guild accepted you even with your lackluster ability, fuckin’…”
“Ggh…” Kim Woo-jin, who was glaring at the man through his sweat-drenched red hair, gritted his teeth and said, “Fuck off, goddamn. Even if you give me a few thousand, I won’t go, so unhand me!”
“Cocky little bastard.”
The man rolled up the sleeves of his silk shirt and clenched his fists. I could tell his fists were bigger than Kim Woo-jin’s face with just a glance.
“Let’s see if you’re still so uppity when you’ve been beaten ‘til you can’t breathe.”
Kim Woo-jin’s eyes shook unsteadily. As I watched up to there, I sighed and raised my ability. Huuk, my body quickly jumped forward.
“You’re going to die today—gu-hgh!”
The man, who was hit on the shoulder by my foot, flew to the side. Kim Woo-jin, who had tightly closed his eyes in preparation for his pain, looked surprised.
“Ha-Han Yi-gyeol?”
“Yeah.”
“You—you bastard, who do you think you are!” The man who had been suddenly attacked staggered and stood up.
I said bluntly, “A passerby.”
“You pass by to wherever you’re going then, fuck you, why are you interrupting me!”
Oh. I corrected my answer.
“Actually, I’m his colleague.”
“What?”
The man with a wrinkled expression shouted in a voice full of anger, “Are you saying you’re a guild member? How dare an ability user touch a commoner? I’ll report you to the Requiem Guild immediately—”
“Oh, wait. Come to think of it, I’m not even his colleague. I’m an independent.”
The man made a stupid expression for a moment. Kim Woo-jin, who had been looking up at me in awe, intervened in the conversation. “Han Yi-gyeol, why are you here?”
“To have dinner together.”
Speaking of which, I handed the fast-food bag I was holding to Kim Woo-jin. Kim Woo-jin, who was suddenly handed the bag, frowned.
“So why are you being beaten up?”
“This is…”
“Hey, I said hey!” The man who alternated looking at me and Kim Woo-jin shouted in an annoyed tone. “Why don’t you stay out of this and get lost? If you go now, I’ll let you go!”
The words reminded me of the past when I had quarrels. I smiled back.
“That’s what I should be saying. Get the hell out of here. Don’t bully a kid.”
At my words, the man’s face turned red. The man clenched his fists, exhaled a rough breath, and ran towards me.
“You bastard, I’ll kill you!”
I swung my hand, lightly dodging the obvious attack that flew towards my chin. Wind wrapped around the man’s legs and pulled him down. The man screamed as his face slammed into the cement ground.
Aigo, take it easy. I kept moving the wind while looking at the man swear. The man’s body flashed up and crashed into the wall, his arm moved on its own and hit his face, and his leg bent in a strange direction. The man who had been squawking and screaming could not hold on for long and ran away from me in haste.
You wait and see! He threw out the lines like a third-rate villain and clicked his tongue as I looked at the man’s back who was moving away. That’s because he doesn’t have the will to do that. While I was playing with the man, Kim Woo-jin, who got up with his injured body, looked at me with an awkward gaze.
“…Hey, Han Yi-gyeol.”
“What?”
Wasting time in useless places only made me hungry. The hamburgers must be cold.
“Really, why are you here?” Kim Woo-jin asked, roughly wiping the tear- and blood-stained eye area with his sleeve.
“I told you, I’m here to have dinner with you. I have something to talk to you about.”
I carefully examined Kim Woo-jin’s condition. When I looked closely, his hands were injured when he fell and his pants were dirty. I guess I’ll have to treat it.
“Anyway, let’s go home first. Take the lead. I’ve been looking around for a while to find your house.”
“H-house? My house?”
“Then are you asking me to go to someone else’s house? Stop asking stupid questions and let’s go.”
Kim Woo-jin, who had been hesitating for a while, took the lead. Seeing from behind, Kim Woo-jin looked very uncomfortable while walking. He must have sprained his ankle, too.
Kim Woo-jin’s house was just around the corner. Kim Woo-jin, who entered by the opened rusty door, headed to the basement. There was a strong musty smell.
Kim Woo-jin, who stopped by the creaking iron door, spoke to me in a slightly depressed voice.
“…I’m telling you beforehand. It’s very narrow inside. Messy too.”
“So what, I don’t even have a home. Now that you’ve told me, open the door.”
In response to my indifferent reaction, Kim Woo-jin let out a small sigh and opened the door.
The inside of the house was very cramped, as expected. An old mattress was placed in the corner and there was a hanger with clothes next to the poor kitchen.
While looking out the small window and down at the alley ground, I thought, ‘Wow, it really is similar.’
I guess all the semi-basement rooms look like this. The room I lived in was just like this.
Kim Woo-jin opened a small folding table and placed the fast food bag on it.
“…it’s narrow, isn't it?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.”
Although the room was small, it was much cleaner than I thought. After washing my hands in the bathroom, I sat down at the table and unwrapped the burger.
“Let’s eat first. I almost died of hunger.”
“Huh? Okay….”
At my words, Kim Woo-jin, who had just washed his hands in the bathroom, also grabbed a hamburger. It must have been very uncomfortable to eat a hamburger because his mouth was torn, but he mumbled and ate well. There was an occasional rustling sound in the quiet room.
“Kim Woo-jin,” I said, sipping a coke. “Did you try to find me after waking up this morning?”
Kim Woo-jin wrinkled his face and became irritated as if he had forgotten about what happened in the morning.
“Damn, are you talking about that? Where did you go, wandering alone?”
“I had some work to do.”
“Give me your number. I tried to call you, but I didn’t know your number…”
“I left my cell phone behind, so I couldn’t answer.”
“I was going to wait, but the Master came…”
“Okay, okay.”
Kim Woo-jin became sullen when I cut off his whining in the middle. Seeing that, my conscience pricked me a little and added a word. “Next time, if possible, I’ll tell you. Okay?”
“……”
Kim Woo-jin still pouted his lips as if he was dissatisfied, but his expression was more relaxed.
Having filled my stomach, I wiped my oily hands and went to lie down on the mattress. Lying down right after eating was very bad for your health, but I wanted to know something. It was all very annoying and tiring.
Kim Woo-jin, who had been glancing at me, began to diligently clean up the trash. Like some neighborhood delinquent, I was lying around on his mattress*, but I got up when he was finished cleaning things up.
“Bring some medicine.”
“Huh? Medicine?”
“Yes. Min Ah-rin-ssi is absent and can’t treat you, so I’ll apply some medicine on you.”
“I’m fine…”
While talking like that, Kim Woo-jin faithfully brought ointment and bandages. As I took away the crumpled bandages that looked like it had been around for a while, I said, “Sit down. I’ll do it for you.”
“No, I…”
“Are you going to do it with that broken mirror in the bathroom? Sit down.”
Kim Woo-jin, who was watching me, sat down in front of me.
“Close your eyes.”
He gave me the medicine, but it was a bit too uncomfortable to exchange glances, so I closed his eyes. I left Kim Woo-jin with his eyes closed and squeezed the ointment on my finger.
“Ugh.”
“Endure it.”
When I tapped the wound on the corner of his mouth with my finger, Kim Woo-jin shuddered as stung a lot. From what I could see, he quietly accepted the touch, which was not gentle, as his forehead wrinkled.
“Now that I’m done with your mouth, explain.”
“What?”
Looking at him up close, the blood that fell under his eye was not a sign of a serious injury. I was glad.
“What do you mean ‘what’? Tell me who the bastard from earlier is.”
“……”
Kim Woo-jin, who didn’t say anything until I applied the medicine and put on the bandage, carefully opened his eyes and grabbed my arm. Kim Woo-jin’s copper-coloured eyes, facing me in front of him, flickered in the light.
“It’s because of my abilities.”
“Did he ask you to help him with his work?”
“Yes. Actually… he helped me a little while ago.”
Kim Woojin slowly blinked his eyes. I saw a small dot under the right eyebrow. It was a mole.
“I first awakened my abilities when I was 17, and when he found out, he suggested that I work for them in that area.”
That was understandable. In the eyes of people like me, Kim Woo-jin’s abilities would be quite useful.
“At that time, I was young and had a hard time living, so… I accepted.”
However, there was no way that labour could have been properly paid. Those guys were the best at beating up stupid people.
“It was fine at first. The job was not too difficult, and he paid for it.”
“And then the work was getting more dangerous and he wouldn’t pay.”
“That’s right. Then, fortunately, I caught the Master’s eyes and I managed to escape from those bastards. When I explained the situation, the master rented a guild room, so I left the house for a while.”
“Is the guy who came here today from the place where you worked at that time?”
“No. That bastard is different. He keeps coming back to see how I had been from two months ago. He asked me to help transport drugs…”
“Refuse it. Don’t ever get involved with druggie bastards because they’re tenacious.”
“Huh? Right…” Kim Woo-jin made a subtle expression.
“Did he make a fuss every time he came?”
“Until the last time, he only suggested thinking about it positively, but I didn’t come home often and started to avoid him, so he tried to take me by force.”
“Tsk.”
That’s why you shouldn’t do business with them.
“It can’t be helped. Just stay with me in my room.”
“Huh?”
“Since you have been beaten up today, they will start swarming starting tomorrow. Can you handle it?”
At those words, Kim Woo-jin’s eyes sparkled and shone.
Kim Woo-jin, who had been sitting stiffly the whole time, relaxed his body and leaned back against me.
“No, I can’t handle it… I was scared today.”
“Mh. I guessed so.”
The guy lowered his sharp eyebrows and made a sad face. It was like seeing an abandoned cat on a rainy day.
“So, stay in my room like yesterday. Is the sofa a little uncomfortable?”
“Nope. The sofa is fine. Much better than here…”
I nodded my head. How could a sensitive person like Kim Woo-jin endure such a thing? I couldn’t help it.
“I’m not asking for another room, but it doesn’t matter if you’re the only one in the room I use. Let’s just pack up and go right now.”
“Okay.”
Perhaps because Kim Woo-jin felt better after the problem was solved, he smiled slightly at me. I smirked at the sight.
It was like having a younger brother with a big age gap. It was cute.
Having healed the other minor wounds, I got up and said, “He might force the door open and come in. Most things might get destroyed, so pack your important belongings properly.”
“It’s okay. There’s nothing here.”
The only things Kim Woo-jin brought were a cell phone, a charger, and a few clothes. It was very simple.
“Let’s go.”
So, with Kim Woo-jin at my back, I returned to the guild building. I had an unexpected partner to stay with, but it wasn’t particularly bad.
Anyway, for now, Kim Woo-jin was the most comfortable one to be around.
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