I didn’t want to eat a heavy al, 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 ssy and narrow alley where darkness fell, only the old street lamps shone.
“It reminds of the old days…”
A long ti 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 ti, 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 na 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 a few thousand, I won’t go, so unhand !”
“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 !”
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 mber? How dare an ability user touch a commoner? I’ll report you to the Requiem Guild imdiately—”
“Oh, wait. Co to think of it, I’m not even his colleague. I’m an independent.”
The man made a stupid expression for a mont. Kim Woo-jin, who had been looking up at 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 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 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 .
“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 scread as his face slamd into the cent 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 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 with an awkward gaze.
“…Hey, Han Yi-gyeol.”
“What?”
Wasting ti in useless places only made 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 sothing 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 ho first. Take the lead. I’ve been looking around for a while to find your house.”
“H-house? My house?”
“Then are you asking to go to soone 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 basent. There was a strong musty sll.
Kim Woo-jin, who stopped by the creaking iron door, spoke to in a slightly depressed voice.
“…I’m telling you beforehand. It’s very narrow inside. ssy too.”
“So what, I don’t even have a ho. Now that you’ve told , 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-basent 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 after waking up this morning?”
Kim Woo-jin wrinkled his face and beca 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 so work to do.”
“Give 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 ca…”
“Okay, okay.”
Kim Woo-jin beca sullen when I cut off his whining in the middle. Seeing that, my conscience pricked a little and added a word. “Next ti, 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 sothing. It was all very annoying and tiring.
Kim Woo-jin, who had been glancing at , began to diligently clean up the trash. Like so neighborhood delinquent, I was lying around on his mattress*, but I got up when he was finished cleaning things up.
“Bring so dicine.”
“Huh? dicine?”
“Yes. Min Ah-rin-ssi is absent and can’t treat you, so I’ll apply so dicine on you.”
“I’m fine…”
While talking like that, Kim Woo-jin faithfully brought ointnt 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 , sat down in front of .
“Close your eyes.”
He gave the dicine, 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 ointnt 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 an ‘what’? Tell who the bastard from earlier is.”
“……”
Kim Woo-jin, who didn’t say anything until I applied the dicine and put on the bandage, carefully opened his eyes and grabbed my arm. Kim Woo-jin’s copper-coloured eyes, facing 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 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 , Kim Woo-jin’s abilities would be quite useful.
“At that ti, I was young and had a hard ti 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 ca here today from the place where you worked at that ti?”
“No. That bastard is different. He keeps coming back to see how I had been from two months ago. He asked 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 ti he ca?”
“Until the last ti, he only suggested thinking about it positively, but I didn’t co ho often and started to avoid him, so he tried to take by force.”
“Tsk.”
That’s why you shouldn’t do business with them.
“It can’t be helped. Just stay with 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 ti, relaxed his body and leaned back against .
“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 . 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 co 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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