Chapter 40 (1/2)
Salcido's group left as if they were running away, and the guy Oh Min-Young was contracted with also disappeared from the view without raising a fuss.
They certainly did not wish to get on Sinyoung's bad side, but whatever the case may be, the end result was that the burly guy and Oh Min-Young had been abandoned by their supposed backers.
Didn't matter whether one was an Invited or a Contracted, it was not that hard to imagine what would happen to them without their backers protecting them anymore.
”You, clench your teeth real tight, got that?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Pow!
Blood exploded out from the burly guy's nose.
Now that the situation was reversed, Hyun Sahng-Min was like a fish swimming in water. He begged Kim Hahn-Nah for a chance to get even, and as soon as hearing the words 'Don't kill them' came out from her mouth, he proceeded to punch the burly guy in the face.
The burly guy was already too numb to notice the punch, and he collapsed to the ground like a piece of falling paper.
”Hey, you f*cking son of a b*tch, how do you feel now, eh?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
As if that one punch wasn't enough to satisfy him, Hyun Sahng-Min straddled on top of the burly guy and began pounding on him.
”You never imagined this is how it'll end, right? You f*cking as*hole!!” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
The fists containing all of his emotions crushed the burly guy's nose before completely turning the bone into soft mush. The punches continued to hit the mark; soon, the burly guy went limp while the whites of his eyes showed.
Hyun Sahng-Min breathed out heavily while wiping his nose. He wasn't done yet, though. With a pair of still-burning eyes, he looked around, and….
”Where do you think you're going?!” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”Ah-ahck?!”
He ran like a wild beast and s.n.a.t.c.hed the hair of Oh Min-Young, who had almost managed to inch her way out of danger zone.
”Weren't you stepping on my hand real hard just now? Ah?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Slap!
With that clear slapping noise, her head spun around hard enough as if it wanted to fly away from her neck.
”You clench your teeth, too.” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Hyun Sahng-Min forcibly made her face the right direction, before headb.u.t.ting her, hard.
”Euh-heuph!!” (Oh Min-Young)
Her eyes wide open now, Oh Min-Young covered her mouth with both of her hands and fell hard to the ground.
Her pained screams couldn't escape from her broken mouth. She rolled around on the ground before bursting out in tears.
And as Hyun Sahng-Min began kicking her like a soccer ball, Seol was inwardly wondering what he should do here.
How should he describe this….?
Those two were indeed in the wrong…. But, Seol thought that Hyun Sahng-Min was going just a bit overboard.
Even then, asking Hyun Sahng-Min to stop was a problem in itself, too.
”…Me, I can endure unfairness, but I can definitely not stand losing out, man.”
He said those things when they first met. One could technically argue that the reason why Hyun Sahng-Min ended up in the present situation was all because Seol asked him for a favour. So, trying to stop him now would be more or less like betraying him, in a way.
”Sahng-Min-ah. Enough. That is enough. Please stop.”
It was then, a middle-aged man came out from the crowd and hurriedly approached Hyun Sahng-Min to grab his arm.
”Eish, who the h.e.l.l…. Oh, it's you, ahjussi!” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
Hyun Sahng-Min angrily shook his arm loose and shouted at the man.
”Why did you show up so late?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”I'm sorry. Really. There was something I had to do.”
”Do you even know what happened to me just now?” (Hyun Sahng-Min)
”I know. I understand, so let's stop for today, okay? She's a property of Sinyoung now, so if you damage her too much, we gotta reimburse them.”
Seol didn't like the term 'property', but thankfully, Hyun Sahng-Min did stop his beatings after that. The middle-aged man quietly pus.h.i.+ng Hyun Sahng-Min away was his Inviter.
”No need to feel sorry for her.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah's voice remained icy cold.
”There should be more than a few people wanting to beat her up, you see.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Really?” (Seol)
”Yep. That incident of Yun Seo-Rah getting beaten up? That woman incited the Cartel boys to do it.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”You didn't know? I thought you already figured it all out. She was the one telling them her arm was damaged. She was the one leading them on, telling those idiots to attack Yun Seo-Rah, baiting the poor kid with the promise of some free points. That was all that b*tch's handiwork.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Seriously?” (Seol)
Seol dumbfoundedly stared at Oh Min-Young, currently pouring out her tears on the ground. What little sympathy he had for her flew away in an instant.
”That wasn't all, though. Didn't she kill the other girl in the Tutorial to steal away her coins? One hit at the back of the head with a mop! Pop!” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
The youth with the curly hair suddenly b.u.t.ted in. The way he kept on smiling, he gave off an impression of being a pleasant fellow, almost to the point where Seol found it scarcely believable that he destroyed the burly guy's hand with nothing but a dagger.
This youth saw Seol looking at him and began raising a big fuss.
”Ahh! h.e.l.lo there!! My name is….” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”Hey, s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung? Why don't you carry those two back to our carriage, mmkay?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Just as s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung tried to weasel his way into the conversation, Kim Hahn-Nah suddenly a.s.sumed her characteristic prim and stiff expression.
”Che. Always making me do things you find annoying.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”Oh, so should I do it?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Fine. I'm going.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung complained as her sharp glare landed on him.
”That's why you haven't found a husband yet….” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”What did you just say?!” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
But, before Kim Hahn-Nah could rage on, s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung quickly made his escape while dragging away the unconscious burly guy and the bitterly resisting Oh Min-Young.
Kim Hahn-Nah began gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth as she glared at the curly haired youth, now already nothing more than a small speck in her view.
”That b*stard really wanna….?!” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
She must've sensed Seol's stare, because she then suddenly calmed her heaving breaths and changed her expression.
”Have you eaten breakfast yet? Should we talk after you had something to eat first?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol slowly shook his head. He lost his appet.i.te after experiencing quite a few unexpected events right after leaving the Zone.
As if she was expecting this sort of response, Kim Hahn-Nah proceeded to sweep away the mess of plates off the table. It was here that she finally spotted Yun Seo-Rah standing there awkwardly near them and smiled quite brightly at her.
”Miss Yun Seo-Rah? I'm sorry, but we gotta have a bit of private chat between Seol and I.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung should return pretty soon, so why don't you grab an empty table and wait for him?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Although the bushes were beat, it was pretty clear what was being implied here. Yun Seo-Rah was no dummy, either. She didn't seem too satisfied, but after glancing at Seol for a moment or two, she quietly turned around to leave.
Kim Hahn-Nah waited and watched on as Yun Seo-Rah gradually walked further away, before latching herself tightly to Seol's side.
And the youth got to feel the softness of her curves as she pressed against his elbow. Just before the fl.u.s.tered youth could pull his arm away….
”Listen carefully, okay? While we talk, I'll show you two sets of contract papers.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah's voice became much lower in tone.
”Two sets?” (Seol)
”That's right, two. And when I place my hand on top of a doc.u.ment and start talking, you gotta be skeptical of everything I say, okay?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”What are you talking about?” (Seol)
”I don't have the time to explain it to you. I was supposed to take care of Yun Seo-Rah's contract too, but I got a sudden order to let s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung take care of that, instead. I'll try to obstruct him, but what with his slick tongue and all, he'll definitely b.u.t.t in, so be mindful of that.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
In the middle of her speech, Kim Hahn-Nah signaled to Seol with her eyes. He didn't think much about it and took a simple glance around him, before his expression became weird.
Now that some amount of time had pa.s.sed by, all of the survivors as well as those who had invited them or signed contract with them were here. And even though most of them were in the middle of negotiating with other survivors, some were sneaking glances at him, and a few were openly staring at him from afar.
”And they are the ones wis.h.i.+ng for our negotiation to fail.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah narrowed her eyes rather prettily and whispered to Seol with a grave voice.
”You…. You should know of your worth.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Noo-nim! I'm back~!” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
It was right then a joyful voice entered their ears.
'He's back already?' (Seol)
Accompanied by Yun Seo-Rah, the curly-haired youth was walking closer to them while carrying an affable smile.
”And why are you sitting near us?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung was about to occupy a seat on the opposite side to them, before an awkward smile crept on his face.
”Well, I just want to see the skills of the famed senior of mine?” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”You should stop the unfunny comedy routine and take care of your own contract signing, okay? Why are you trying to weasel your way into our conversation here?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Oww, come on now, there's a plenty of s.p.a.ce here, so please share~.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”I told you to scram. You better listen while I'm still being civil.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Oww, don't be like that. In the end, both him and Miss Seo-Rah will sign up with Sinyoung anyways.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”And how do you know that?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Hearing her icy tone of voice, s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung displayed a bit of surprised expression.
”It's not like that?” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”Don't you ever think that I don't know what's going on here. I've already figured out why the higher-ups sent you here with me. However, I believe I've already explained my position enough times by now.” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”Well, that is….” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”Of course, I'll do my utmost best today. But the final decision rests with him, understand? Don't forget, he's not a Contracted, but an Invited. Got that?” (Kim Hahn-Nah)
”….I got it. Fine. I'll go away.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
'He gave up more easily than I thought?' (Seol)
He was supposed to cling on incessantly, yet the depressed-looking s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung turned around to leave.
However, Seol soon realised that he was underestimating this curly-haired youth. Why? Because, he simply dragged another table and placed it close enough to Seol's until they were actually in a touching distance, that was why.
Kim Hahn-Nah glared at s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung in a show of disbelief. Seol thought that, after witnessing the curly-haired youth sit down on his spot with a carefree att.i.tude, this guy had to have a substantially thick skin.
There was one more thing Seol failed to figure out, though. And that was Yun Seo-Rah choosing a seat very close to him, rather than opposite to s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung's.
”I've kept you waiting, miss. I'm sure you're curious about why I'm here instead of the Director, yes?” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
With an att.i.tude that seemed to imply he didn't mind whether other party was listening in on or not, he began the contract negotiation.
”Well, the Director was embarra.s.sed pretty badly. I'm sure you can guess the reason why….” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
Yun Seo-Rah lowered her head a little.
”In any case, I'm also here to convey the message from the President.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
Those words caused her to raise her head; her eyes gained renewed light.
”….Directly from him?” (Yun Seo-Rah)
”Yes. It's not that long, though. Well, it's a no-frills, no-fat, refres.h.i.+ngly direct message, actually. You know what our President is like, right?” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
Yun Seo-Rah nodded her head to indicate that he should go on.
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung cleared his throat with a fake cough and spoke up.
”First of all, I congratulate you on entering the Paradise. To be honest, I did not wish for you to step foot into this world, but now that things had turned out this way, I shall respect your choices.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”However, your actions during the Tutorial and the Neutral Zone proved to be rather disappointing. Most likely, if you hadn't received that young man's aid, you wouldn't even have cleared the Neutral Zone. Your older sister is most embarra.s.sed by you.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
Yun Seo-Rah's body flinched just a little, then.
”I won't say anything long. If you wish to remain in this world, then show me that you're prepared.” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung spoke up to here and placed a dagger on the table.
”When you get to the carriage, you'll find those two from earlier all tied up and waiting. That burly guy and the woman. Remember them?” (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
”….Yes.” (Yun Seo-Rah)