84 – Because you are somewhere in this world (3)
300,000 Won.
350,000 Won.
750,000 Won.
1 Million won.
170,000 Won.
Every place I called called a different amount. In general, places with friendly-sounding counselors quoted reasonable prices, and places that looked suspicious quoted prices that were either too low or too high.
But when I told them I would pay by deferred payment, most people hung up on me. Some even hung up the phone the moment they said the name of the person they were looking for.
Nevertheless, I did not give up and called numerous crime report companies. When the number of companies I called began to surpass my age, I decided enough was enough and gave up.
“Huh…”
As I leaned against the wall in the dark alley, I felt a cold chill running down my spine. I looked up at the sky, exhaling white breath in a dark alley.
After repeatedly charging, making phone calls, and searching for a crime report, it was already late afternoon. Although there were no great achievements, there were some places that gave quite positive signals. Now all that was left was to wait.
Of course, I had no intention of just waiting.
As I was quietly waiting in the alley, I could hear the voices of children finishing school from afar. Just watching them walk away chattering about what was so good made me feel energized.
But instead of looking at the kids’ energy, I looked at their pockets that were bursting with money.
“hahahaha…”
I laughed without realizing it. My situation of having to deal with so-called hidden money was just laughable. Nevertheless, I continued to keep my eyes peeled after the children.
It seemed like the children were heading to the playground on the outskirts. At first glance, it appears to be open, but surprisingly, it is their own area, away from the eyes of adults.
Then it was time to show off my talents.
I followed behind the children and looked around. Fortunately, the adults who didn’t like noise passed by the playground and walked to another place.
When the kids and I were the only ones left in the playground, I slowly took action.
“Hey guys. Hello.”
“?”
When I said hello, a child looked up. Like freshly squeezed milk, it was a face of innocence that had never encountered the evil that was rampant in this world. She answered politely, not expecting the disaster that was to come.
“Why?”
A refreshing voice pierced my conscience. However, because my conscience was already worn out, not a single drop of blood came out. I offered a sweet temptation to the child with a fake smile like a snake climbing an apple tree.
“Would you like to come over here?”
Sigh!
…
“Ugh…”
Sigh!
…
“Ah…”
Bah!
The merciless sound of the blow struck the air. The pitiful moans of children were mixed in between them. Ten years old at most. Because he was not old enough to break the egg of growth, his voice was so weak and sorrowful that it made my heart ache.
But there was no one anywhere to receive that pitiful rescue signal. What was in front of them was a servant of Satan whose conscience had been torn long ago. No matter how much he was rehabilitated, his essence was an indefensible evil man.
So, I once again walked towards the kneeling child.
“Ah…”
Clear eyes turned in this direction. Please stop. It seemed like he was shouting in a voice that didn’t come out. If I pricked the area around my already swollen eyes, it felt like the tears that had built up would spill out in vain. If it were Yoona, it would have been a sight that would have made her writhe with guilt.
But I wasn’t her, and I wasn’t even with her. That’s why there was no mercy left in my body. I balled my fist and slowly raised it upward, like a ruthless judge of fate.
And then, he hit the ticket in his hand on the floor with all his might.
“Yip!”
“No!”
The child cried out desperately. However, contrary to that earnest wish, the ticket on the floor was easily skipped over. I smiled at the child who was looking at the floor in despair.
“You won again?”
“Ugh… I’m really annoyed!”
The most severe profanity he had ever known came out of the child’s mouth. She seemed so deeply offended that she was on the verge of crying.
“What if I never win? Still, a bet is a bet, right?”
“Ah… Tongue…”
At this point, he could have just run away, but he ended up handing me the 1,000 won bill that was left in his pocket. The crumpled bills really looked like they had noses on them. Nevertheless, I stubbornly put the money in my pocket.
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
“Oh, I’m so annoyed…Sister! Please beat me!”
The child stamped his feet on the floor a few times and then ran towards the other child standing behind him. The child came toward me with a determined expression on his face, as if he had received a great favor. I looked at the kid and gave him a slightly mischievous look.
“Can you win? You’ve seen me do it so far.”
“Why not beat the kids and do it quickly!”
“hahahaha…”
It’s cute. While he was also a baby, he was a baby. As I smiled and raised my head, I suddenly saw the faces of countless children surrounding me.
Most of them were children who lost to me. All of them had angry and resentful expressions, but they were looking at us with a glimmer of hope. Wouldn’t someone be able to defeat that strange stranger? It felt like I was having such a meaningless dream.
Of course, there was no way those kids could win against me, who had been training them for years. Even though it was childish and mean, my talent, which even Yoona had succumbed to, shined at times like these. It was more effective to steal money from those kids by doing this than by engaging in unnecessary gangsterism. The children watching surround the area and act as a breakwater, so it’s actually a good way to avoid people’s eyes.
Of course, the fact that it was a shameless act has not changed. As my conscience grew more and more, when I finally emptied out the last child’s pockets, I began to pray to the goddess without realizing it. In this way, the match between an unknown foreigner and the children ended in a crushing defeat for the children.
But fortunately, no child burst into tears in the lingering pain of defeat. Overwhelming power may seem infuriating at first, but as time goes on, one feels a sense of awe. This was especially true for innocent children. Even when I got up to leave, the child who had lost to me at first came up to me and said this.
“Hyung! You’ll come tomorrow too, right?”
“Why. Do you think you can win tomorrow?”
“It’s coming! Don’t run away!”
The girl smiled brightly and waved her hand at me. Only then did the remorse seem to subside a little. Feeling a little relieved, I counted the 1,000 won bills in my pocket.
Doing everything…
…100,000 Won. That’s about it.
I expected it, but it wasn’t that much. Even if the kids have money, how much money do they have? It will even become less and less. Parents will start to question the sudden increase in spending of pocket money. Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow could be the last day. Even by then, the amount would probably have been far below the amount requested by the National Investigation Agency.
But it was okay. I had no intention of meeting that amount from the beginning anyway.
I just hoped they would hurry up.
The next day, I headed to the playground again. This time there were more children and we saw quite a few new faces. There were even children who looked like middle schoolers with slightly larger heads. It seemed like they had prepared a lot. I asked the child who approached me triumphantly.
“Are you confident that you will win today?”
“I guess I’ll do it quickly. I have to go to the academy later.”
“Good. The rules are the same as yesterday. 1,000 Won per game. The types of games are the same as yesterday. Understood?”
“Good.”
The answering voice was filled with victory and a smile. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw that.
But even so, I had no intention of showing mercy.
Today too, the same pattern was repeated. Repeated defeat. Nevertheless, challengers continue. And the pockets of this greedy villain are getting thicker. Still, it seemed like he had brought along older and older sisters who were pretty good at games, but they weren’t enough to be my opponents.
But this time there were no crying children. Rather, he was now looking at me with eyes that were beyond awe and as if I was seeing a descending immortal. There were even children who secretly cheered for me so that my winning streak would not be broken. I couldn’t bear to take money away from those children, so I made up various excuses and sent it to them for free.
Now, I am starting to truly enjoy this situation. I even thought that I might have adapted to this world a little bit.
Maybe it’s because I’m stepping into the world of children. Whether in that world or this world, the children were all the same. And I loved my children more than I thought. I also thought that this time was very enjoyable.
Once I settle down, I would like to become a kindergarten teacher. It was a moment of serious concern.
“Oh really!”
In the meantime, another child fell into the pit of defeat. I looked up and looked at my fat pockets.
“Okay, then who’s next?”
“Me! I’ll do it!”
“Oh, hey. Follow the order. You’re in line.”
“Don’t fight, guys. Whoever has the most money comes first.”
The bickering is also cute. While I was thinking like that, a child suddenly tapped my shoulder. And he pointed to my back pocket.
“Uh, bro. My pocket is crying.”
“Huh…?”
I looked away without smiling. Just as the child said, his back pocket was vibrating. The cell phone you put there is probably vibrating.
“…”
The world of adults that I had forgotten was calling me. When I picked up my phone, a text message arrived. The content was very short.
[I found the information you mentioned. If you visit the office in person and make payment, we will provide you with detailed information.]
…
As expected. It’s fast.
It was a text message from the criminal investigation office. In terms of time, only 24 hours had passed, but the work had been done in that time. It wasn’t that surprising. I thought it would be over in a day or two.
“Why bro? What’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
When I raised my head, a child asked in a worried voice. It seemed like my expression had become serious. I answered with a smile.
“Yes. Something urgent has come up so I think I have to go. What should I do? I guess I’ll have to stop here for today.”
“Oh, where is that? Let’s just play one game!”
“Sorry. I’ll come back next time. Let’s do it then, okay?”
“Really? Come tomorrow. Are you coming at this time tomorrow?”
“Hmm…”
I couldn’t lie. So I just smiled and waved. Although this brief escape was certainly enjoyable, I could no longer remain exiled in the world of children. That’s enough for me for one day.
“I’ll go, guys. See you later.”
In the end, I left the playground with only an unfinished promise. I could hear children chattering and saying hello from behind. Since they are children who are loved enough, they will be forgotten in a day or two anyway.
So, I shook off any regrets and counted the money in my pocket.
Yesterday and today. And including the original money, it was 230,000 won. Of course, the investigation fee was not enough. But it was enough to get rid of these rags.
Instead of heading straight to the criminal investigation office, I headed to the clothing store. In order to meet the person I was desperately looking for through them, I had to dress up neatly. I wanted to buy a suit, but I didn’t have that much money, so I had to be satisfied with wearing similar clothes.
“Hmm…”
After dressing up like that, I was concerned about my longer hair. I headed to the beauty salon with the remaining money. When asked to decorate as neatly as possible, the hairdresser joked and asked if they were going to a wedding.
It wasn’t wrong. At heart, I was like a groom going to meet his long-awaited bride. My overflowing heart was beating so hard that it felt like a wedding march.
Like that, I headed to the office of the National Crime Agency with brisk steps. Of course, the road wasn’t that easy. The office itself was in a remote place and I wasn’t very knowledgeable about geography, so I had to ask people to find it. When we arrived, the sky was already turning red with the evening sunset.
Are you still inside? When I raised my head with a worried heart, I saw a light shining through the window of the old police office. But I didn’t know how long the light would continue to blink, so I moved quickly.
Thump. Thud. Thud. Thud.
I intentionally made footsteps while walking down the hallway. It was to notify people inside the office that a guest had arrived. As I walked, I instinctively looked around. A dark hallway without any windows. A building that doesn’t even seem popular. Gray bricks that have lost all color.
It was quite a b*tchy atmosphere. Maybe they chose this place on purpose. When you go inside, there will probably be quite a few large men gathered around. I was really curious how they would react if they heard that I had no money.
But I held out my chest without any sign of fear. And without any hesitation, I pushed open the office door.
From Noble mtl dot com
Good…
“Hello.”
…
As soon as I entered, I greeted them as politely as possible. But there was no answer. I wondered if there was anyone inside, but that wasn’t the case. There was a person inside.
However, there was only one person.
The man was standing in front of his office desk, quietly looking at the papers piled up on it. The desk was made of a huge tree and was quite flashy, but the attire of the man standing in front of it was very simple. Just a thick coat and old jeans. The hat placed on the desk was also a ready-made item with a unique design.
But that did not mean that her man’s overflowing personality was buried in those unpersonalized clothes. Hair as white as snow and a knife mark extending from the temple to the cheek. And it was so large that it was suspicious that it was a bear. If it had been someone seeing it for the first time, they would have been astonished by its intimidation.
But I wasn’t that surprised.
I just waited for him to turn around.
…Tak.
Soon, the man put down the paper on the desk and turned back. Pure white hair swept before my eyes like a field of snow in the middle of winter. He gave me a cold look and slowly opened his mouth.
“Boris.”
It was a name I hadn’t heard in such a long time. It had been so long that I felt a strong sense of nostalgia for my hometown. I was filled with those useless memories and called him by his old name.
“Brother.”
“It’s been a long time.”
“I see. It’s been a really long time.”
In this world’s time, it’s only been half a year. If you include my time in this world, it would have been longer, but at least for him it was half a year. And that was enough time to feel longing for each other.
But that was the end of the greeting. My brother took his cell phone out of his pocket and flashed the screen to me.
There was a text message I had sent.
[Brother]
It was a message that seemed truly meaningful, even though it was short and bold. He quickly put away his cell phone, snapped his fingers, and looked in this direction.
“Why are you suddenly looking for me?”
He asked me with a smile on his face. It was an expression that terrified me when I was young.
But now that I am an adult, I just chuckled. And I answered calmly and sincerely.
“Because I really missed you, brother.”