Chapter 2 (1/2)

'What should I do?'

I pondered for a moment. It seemed like I've matured too much since I was able to catch his dark, ulterior motive. When I was younger, I was scared of his coercive tone and actions, so I had no choice but to listen to him, but now, he was too weak and lax for me to feel that way.

Being bossed around by him would hurt my pride.

If this happened before I returned, I wouldn't have kept this rude human alive.

As always, the future would change depending on my decision.

The changes that would take place if I chose a different path.

'First.'

I looked at Yang Ha-Eun. As if I slightly dazed.

As if she understood my action, Yang Ha-Eun moved with confidence.

First, she wore rubber gloves and started was.h.i.+ng the dishes.

It was obvious that she had never done housework because she was carelessly was.h.i.+ng the dishes with just water. The sight was terrible.

Seeing my expression, a wide smile appeared on Yang Man-Woo's face.

”Han-Sung, you can't live in this large house by yourself forever. Move into my place and let me take care of everything. If something happened to you, I would be ashamed to see your father.”

”The world is a dangerous place. You need a fence to protect yourself. I'll be a strong fence for you. If you'd like, you can even call me father.”

Yang Man-Woo knew of my family history all too well.

My father grew up in an orphanage, and despite of her parents being against it, she married my father.

Because of that, they stopped keeping in contact with my mother's side of the family and during the funeral, none of the family members were willing to take me in.

Since I was alone, he probably a.s.sumed that I would accept his help.

I didn't say much.

Honestly, everything that he said went into one ear and out the other.

But, I was thinking about the pros and cons.

If agreed, then I would lose my freedom.

If I refuse, Min-Sik would notice that change.

Seeing my expression, Yang Man-Woo probably thought I was thinking positively, so he continued talking.

”If you want, I'll transfer you to the same school as Eun-Ha. She'll take good care of you. Even though she's a year younger than you, she has a lot of friends, so you'll be able to fit right in.”

Yang Eun-Ha did take good care of me, but the problem was that I was being treated like a servant.

Because of that, I didn't have enough time to study and couldn't go to college.

But, it's not like I was good at studying either.

I predicted this would happen five days ago.

I already knew that Yang Man-Woo and Yang Eun-Ha would visit me.

I did somewhat come to a conclusion, but I was carefully thinking about it until the end.

'I'll choose freedom.'

Anyways, I had a chance.

After returning, Min-Sik visiting me wasn't a dream.

But, it was job to figure out how to say this.

Yang Man-Woo displayed a confident expression. He probably thought I fell into his trap.

I made my decision.

I shook my head.

”I don't need it.”

”…What do you mean? That you don't need it?”

Yang Man-Woo's expression became unstable.

There was a slight anger mixed in. But, I wasn't going to change my decision.

”There's no need for you to take care of me. I want to be able to take care of myself.”

Yang Man-Woo let out a sigh.

”Look at yourself. You think you can take care of yourself? A homeless person can do better than you.”

His tone and expression were intimidating.

And they were all flooding out towards me.

I didn't break eye contact. Since the situation turned out like this, I might as well go all the way. That way, he won't bother me again.

”I thought a lot about it after hearing your comments. I know that in my current situation, without someone's help, it'll be a dangerous place for me. You're right. The living should continue living.”

”It'll be hard by yourself. We need to group up. There's still a lot of things you need to take care of.

Do you think you'll be able to handle them all by yourself?”

Yang Man-Woo was desperate.

He had a large debt. Gambling. This one word explains everything.

That's probably he wanted my money even more.

”I'm going to try by myself. I've thought a lot about it for two weeks. I was able to make a decision thanks to you. I'm sure my parents would get really worried if they saw me like this, right?”

”That…”

Yang Man-Woo seemed hesitant.

He was probably intimidated because I was look directly at him.

The me that he saw at the funeral two weeks ago was different from the present me.

”Thank you for worrying about me. You can leave now. I'll do the cleaning. I don't think she knows how to clean properly anyways.”

Yang Eun-Ha stopped was.h.i.+ng the dishes and stared at me.

It seemed like she was saying, ”How dare you.”

'How immature.'

I shrugged.

The girl was confident and pretty. But, that's all she was.

Since I was known as the Last Hero, I was a powerful figure to humanity.

I have met and hugged girls that were more prettier than her.