Chapter 12: A Trustworthy Warmth (1)
In the Louisville apartment complex, which somehow feels like a place where zombies might appear, there are several advantages.
First, there are hardly any neighbors, so no worries about noise complaints. Second, the electricity and water supply are exceptionally good. And third... well, I’m not quite sure yet.
There must be more perks, but I haven’t discovered them all yet.
The important thing, however, is that electricity and water are free here. I managed to negotiate the rent for this place at 600,000 won for the year, including maintenance fees.
If electricity is free, what should I do?
Obviously, it’s time for cryptocurrency mining.
“If only I had mining equipment, I could’ve started my own rags-to-riches crypto tale post-divorce.”
But, alas, I only had a desktop, mouse, and monitor. In modern society, that’s enough to make money, if you have the grit.
And soon, my grit would be delivered.
“Come out. Today’s the day we face off.”
“Ah, there you are, my grit!”
“Grit? My name isn’t Grit!”
I quickly opened the door. In front of it stood a middle school girl, brimming with what seemed like grit. I called her ‘Jamsuni’ for short.
“Heh, no need for words. Here I go. Principle Activation, Spirit Sequence···”
I grabbed Jamsuni’s hand as she posed.
“Hey, there’s something much more fun than playing make-believe. I can tell just by looking at you. You’ve never used a computer, have you?”
“A computer?”
Jamsuni showed immediate interest.
Indeed, she was a true talent.
I knew it when she was too busy fiddling with her phone to play pretend games. Jamsuni lived a pure life, completely unrelated to phones or computers.
What if I teach her about computers?
She’d literally stay up all night to use it.
And if I introduce her to gaming?
She’d become a living, breathing human macro.
I settled Jamsuni down.
“Come on, take a seat. Ever used a computer before?”
“Ne, never.”
“Wow, the smell of a newbie is intoxicating. Press that power button there.”
As she did, a window for entering a password appeared.
I instructed her.
“Just type ‘staffrooma1b1c1!’ there.”
“Th, that. What is it?”
“What’s wrong? Oh, you’ve never typed before. Just take it slow, look at each key as you type.”
Jamsuni hung her head.
Her face was flushed red.
“I can’t write in Korean.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know how to write.”
I was momentarily lost for words.
Really, this kid.
Hasn’t she even been to elementary school?
But I wasn’t one to give up so easily.
“Writing? That’s nothing. I’ll teach you. Along with how to use a keyboard.”
“Why? What do you want from me?”
Jamsuni’s expression immediately turned wary.
This is why I dislike quick-witted kids.
“I was hoping you could play games on the computer while I’m at work. In return, I’ll provide you with meals twice a day. And you can use the computer at my house anytime you want. This is like a free PC cafe service, snacks included!!!”
Jamsuni murmured without dropping her guard.
“I don’t trust you.”
“That’s understandable. Trusting strangers is foolish.”
“But I’ll accept your offer. Even if it’s just to find your weakness.”
“My, my weakness?”
Could it be she wants to find out if I’m vulnerable to storylines where the title of the manga becomes a crucial plot point?
This kid is scary.
“Alright, fine.”
That’s how I ended up making a deal with Jamsuni.
And time passed.
“Wow, your writing has improved quite a bit, hasn’t it?”
“Hmph, what did you expect? I may not be able to write Korean, but I’m really good at drawing talismans.”
One month later.
“Gaechu? What does that mean?”
“Oh, that? It’s like a cabbage shaped like a dog, called ‘gaechu’.”
“What? Is there really such a thing?”
Two months later.
“What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Discounted chicken from the supermarket.”
“F*ck Yeah.”
“Where did you learn to say ‘F*ck Yeah’?”
“? You said that when you got an item.”
Several months had passed. Jamsuni now spent more time in my room than in her own. Her typing speed had surpassed 300 characters per minute, and her way of speaking had begun to change a bit.
“What’s for dinner tonight?”
“I brought some leftovers from my part-time job.”
“Woohoo~ Getto Daze*!”
“Woohoo? Getto Daze?”
Jamsuni, like a kid who had just discovered the internet, was passionately immersed in the computer world. She tirelessly grinded in games, sold items, even did raids and PvP on behalf of others, and manipulated rankings.
Honestly, I never expected Jamsuni to be so good at gaming. As the money she earned started piling up, I felt a twinge of conscience for the first time in a while.
The bank account was swelling with money.
No matter what, hogging it all to myself seemed like the act of a heartless scoundrel. Only someone whose inner moral compass had completely eroded could do such a thing.
“It seems like you’re earning more than me now.”
“What’s for dinner tonight?”
As I entered the room, Jamsuni immediately rushed over. Her expression was much brighter than when we first met, which I liked.
“Today, I brought jokbal.”
“Jokbal! And cold buckwheat noodles! F*ck Yeah, let’s eat quickly.”
“Hey! Don’t use slang like ‘F*ck Yeah’!!”
But was this really okay?
Was I ruining a kid’s life?
“Your way of speaking is getting worse.”
One thing was clear: this kid, if she continued like this, was destined to become an internet addict.
I was essentially turning Jamsuni into a recluse just for the sake of making money.
Even though I knew the cold nature of capitalism, I wasn’t supposed to be heartless to this extent. How did it come to this?
As I was caught up in these troubling thoughts, a neighbor said to me,
“Can you really handle teaching Sojin how to read and use the internet?”
“Well, she’s just a middle schooler, you know.”
“Sojin was already a huge troublemaker even before she knew how to read and use the internet. Now that she can access information online...”
A huge troublemaker.
Was our Jamsuni known as the ‘Tyrant of Louisville’ or something?
From the first time I saw her, she seemed like a runaway teen, a rebel. More precisely, she had a wild, untamed vibe.
But one thing I can say for sure,
“She’s not inherently a bad kid.”
“But considering the trouble Sojin has caused...”
“Then it’s up to the adults to guide her better.”
Right. A child needs to be properly guided by adults.
Having dropped out of high school several months ago, I was practically an adult myself.
I couldn’t just leave Jamsuni to her own devices.
‘Don’t go, Oppa, please don’t leave.’
I promised never to leave her alone again.
Never again.
It was my responsibility that Jamsuni had become such an internet addict (in the making).
I wouldn’t let her become a complete recluse.
“But there are kids who are already too far gone.”
“Adults who give up on those kids usually say that as an excuse.”
I said this while looking at the man.
“I’m not one for making excuses.”
* * *
After those words, Yoo Hajin left.
But the leader of the Ilwol-Oakmoon sect stood still as if his feet were rooted to the ground.
“He says he won’t make excuses. Ah.”
Park Il and Nayu had a mission: to oppose the invading Gwizon in Korea and to eliminate the Gwizon-class psychic who sought Korea’s destruction. To them, the closest entity to a Gwizon-class psychic in Korea was Kim Sojin.
However, they didn’t eliminate Kim Sojin.
There were three reasons for this.
First, even with Park Il and Nayu’s combined attack, they weren’t sure they could completely eliminate Kim Sojin. She was a monster of their caliber, certainly with several tricks up her sleeve.
Second, Kim Sojin’s existence was beneficial for the survival of Korea. If any other Gwizon attacked again, it would be difficult to fend them off with just Park Il and Nayu, without Kim Sojin.
Third, Kim Sojin was their comrade.
Stabbing a comrade in the back was a dishonorable act.
But there were many reasons to eliminate her.
The continuous pressure from the clan alliance, sanctions coming into Ilwol-Oakmoon sect, petitions from Nayu’s new family, and Kim Sojin’s increasingly cruel nature.
Thus, Park Il and Nayu could do nothing but watch Kim Sojin. It was in this delicate balance that he appeared.
Yoo Hajin, a man who looked ordinary but was far from it. He took a liking to Kim Sojin and taught her how to read and use the internet.
Park Il and Nayu thought Yoo Hajin was crazy. Kim Sojin had made enemies of numerous forces. Getting close to her would make Yoo Hajin an enemy to all of them.
But Yoo Hajin didn’t stop.
That’s when indirect retaliation began.
Those wanting revenge, yet not wanting to confront someone who mingled with the corpses of the Gwizon, started their sly machinations.
Despite the curses that rained down on Yoo Hajin like a warning, the terrifying impurity that shook the soul itself with fear, and the agonizing screams of evil spirits that drove one to madness, the man did not stop.
In fact, there was no reason for him to stop. From Yoo Hajin’s perspective, there was no way to know whether curses were being cast, impurity was being poured, or evil spirits were howling. Yoo Hajin could not see ghosts.
Nevertheless, Yoo Hajin silently endured it all.
Yet, he never left Kim Sojin’s side.
‘Tsk, they hate me but are too scared to confront me, all of them clinging to this man. They even retaliate against me, annoyingly enough. But, at least they’ve lessened their attacks on me.’
Kim Sojin looked at Yoo Hajin. But Yoo Hajin just smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong.
‘Why are you smiling like that? Don’t you resent me? Yet, why are you still by my side? Why do you kindly teach me letters and information?’
Of course, the reason Yoo Hajin smiled so brightly was different. He had learned about Kim Sojin’s incredible dynamic vision and reflexes and was planning to make use of them for a proxy. But Kim Sojin had no way of knowing that.
“Well done.”
Yoo Hajin smiled brightly and patted Kim Sojin’s head. Then, Kim Sojin had no choice but to bow her head hastily, as tears welled up.
‘Why are you so kind to me? I really don’t understand.’
Kim Sojin, for the first time in her life, felt an emotion she couldn’t describe and shed tears, while Park Il and Nayu began to feel something akin to respect for a person for the first time.
Teaching an abandoned child. Shielding the child from all attacks directed at them. Sacrificing oneself for another. Park Il and Nayu were watching all these scenes.
Their hearts had been heavy for several months. But, to deny that heaviness, they approached Yoo Hajin with this question.
“Can you really handle teaching Sojin about letters and the internet?”
But Yoo Hajin asserted that Kim Sojin’s nature wasn’t bad. If such a child did something wrong, it was more the adult’s duty to teach them properly. He wouldn’t give up on the child, nor make excuses.
The refusal to make excuses,
Pierced their hearts like a dagger.
Park Il and Nayu knew about the abuse Kim Sojin had suffered. Days when she was so tired of crying that no tears came. Yet, Kim Sojin had not become a complete demon despite such days and nights.
Hearing this, Park Il and Nayu felt ashamed.
And they decided to acknowledge the heaviness in their hearts.
“How shameful... So shameful! We should have been the ones to teach Sojin. Not anyone else, but us!”
“Nayu, ashamed.”
Thus, Park Il and Nayu,
Rejected all requests to assassinate Kim Sojin.
– – – The End of The Chapter – – –
[TL: Getto Daze: This is what Ash uses when he catches any Pokemon. ]
