novelraw Chapter 20 : Everyone is Obsessed with Me (2)
Chapter 20 : Everyone is Obsessed with Me (2)
Chapter 20 - Everyone is Obsessed with Me (2)
Lee Taebaek went to find Fumito. Then he briefly told him the gist of what had just happened.
“...So that's what happened.”
“W-Wait a minute! Just wait right here!”
As soon as the explanation was over, Fumito ran off somewhere. Taebaek was left standing alone in front of his door for a moment.
A short while later, Fumito returned with someone.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Needless to say, it was Kang Hyunseong. He approached like a charging buffalo, kicking up dust with his heels.
“Tae-baek—!”
A flower of a smile was in full bloom on his lips. It wasn't a metaphor; the corners of his mouth were literally stretched to his ears.
Lee Taebaek had ultimately chosen to remain with the 9th Battalion. Forget his pride; if he could, he wanted to shout for joy.
No.
“Kuhahahahahahaha!”
He actually did let out a booming laugh that echoed through the hallway. The members passing by stared at Kang Hyunseong as if he had lost his mind.
“What's wrong with Battalion Commander Kang Hyunseong?”
“I heard there was an emergency battalion commanders' meeting at dawn, so maybe something good happened. Or maybe his head's been a little weird since he got back from the Neuro-prison.”
“What good could possibly happen to the 9th Battalion?”
“True. The 9th Battalion is a special forces unit in name only. In reality, it's just a collection of psychopaths. Every last one of them.”
He's right. I know because I've seen it with my own eyes.
“That's true.”
“Look at that black-haired guy, too. He completely humiliated Deputy Playboy James on the very day Battalion Commander Kang Hyunseong brought him in.”
“Right, what was it he said? 'Kneel.' Something like that...”
If you're going to talk behind my back, at least do it where I can't hear, you bastards!
His thumb automatically moved toward the umbrella's opening button.
“Let's just go. Nothing good will come from getting involved.”
The members passed by, pressed tightly against the wall to avoid the three of them. As if a barrier had been cast around the trio.
“Stop laughing, it's embarrassing. I might just take it all back.”
Lee Taebaek furrowed his brow.
“Ah, haha! Sorry. I was just so happy!”
He looks like he's about to hug me. If he does, I'll give him a cold feel of the Python's muzzle inside his mouth.
“Stop being so creepy, you bastard. Please.”
“It's because I'm so proud of you! You look like a pretty boy, but your loyalty is as tough as an ox's sinew! Kuhahaha!!”
“Loyalty, my ass.”
Lee Taebaek crumpled his face like a used tissue and shuddered. Kang Hyunseong, for whatever reason, just kept on grinning.
In terms of rank, Kang Hyunseong was clearly the superior. But the dynamic was strangely reversed, as if their positions had been swapped.
Well, if he put himself in his shoes, he could kind of understand.
The other offers had been so exceptional that they would have made any random person on the street's jaw drop.
'If I were Taebaek.'
He would have secured a grace period of at least half a day, and then carefully and meticulously weighed the pros and cons.
Just because they had escaped prison together didn't mean Lee Taebaek was obligated to join the 9th Battalion.
That act had been merely a whim on Kang Hyunseong's part.
He swore he had no intention of indebting him.
If anything, it was the opposite. He was proud of himself for not letting him rot in the Neuro-prison. It was truly a divine move.
'Taebaek will contribute greatly to the prosperity and strength of the Resistance.'
In the last mission, Lee Taebaek had proven his worth and then some. The right and qualification to choose his own affiliation had been earned entirely through his own abilities.
'After all, the Commander-in-Chief, whose eye for people is close to clairvoyant, said his potential alone was on the level of the 10 Wings.'
That's why, wherever Lee Taebaek decided to go, Kang Hyunseong was determined not to show any displeasure, let alone resentment.
However.
However, if there was just one thing he hoped for, it was that he wouldn't choose the 8th Battalion... that he wouldn't choose the sugar-water bastard.
'To think that crazy bastard Pepper would actually offer the deputy position.'
Of course, Kang Hyunseong could have also offered up a glamorous condition. And he could have pushed it through.
But he didn't.
Let's say he showered Lee Taebaek with special treatment. They had the history of escaping prison together and doing a mission together. It was only natural that the 9th Battalion would be the most likely destination for him.
That would be nice, for the moment.
But what about the existing members?
Complaints would pour in.
The balloon effect. When the balance is heavily tilted to one side, the other side suffers. And this was a phenomenon that could just as easily occur in the 9th Battalion.
'If the seeds of discord were to sprout because of Taebaek, what meaning would that have?'
The 9th Battalion was bound by a tight-knit bond, but that was only because their interests had aligned.
Would the members who felt betrayed continue to trust and follow Kang Hyunseong? In Lake City, that was an absurd notion.
There was nothing more foolish in this place than appealing to sentiment.
A picture formed in Kang Hyunseong's mind. Yoo Da-hee, looking at him with pathetic eyes. Rock, lowering her mask. Fumito... probably wouldn't be much different.
'For Taebaek's sake, for the members' sake, and even for my own sake. Throwing out a thoughtless offer wouldn't have been good.'
Thus, Kang Hyunseong put forth a reward that was realistic, yet didn't fall short when compared to the other commanders' offers. That was, 'making Lee Taebaek an external agent'.
At that moment, Fumito jumped into their conversation.
“But it looks like the talk went well, Commander. External agents are usually selected very carefully.”
While Lee Taebaek, the person in question, had an indifferent face, Fumito was making a fuss. His eyes, looking at Taebaek, sparkled with envy and admiration.
“Taebaek, you might not know this, but it's really hard to become an external agent. The quota is strictly set, too.”
“Even if it's a reward, how did I get in? From what I hear, the quota is already full.”
“As it happens, a spot unavoidably opened up.”
It was Kang Hyunseong who replied.
“You know that external agent we had planted in the Lukaken pharmaceutical company. That bastard betrayed us. That's why we had no idea about the relationship between the Triad and Lukaken. To sell out the organization, blinded by money. Tsk tsk.”
“What happened to that external agent?”
“He's probably sleeping.”
“What a nice place. Even lets a traitor sleep.”
“Though his bed is under a coffin lid.”
He's saying that for me to hear.
A subtle threat to 'not get any funny ideas just because you're outside'.
“Anyway, Taebaek. You're an official member now. On behalf of the battalion, thank you again for choosing the 9th Battalion.”
“From now on, don't be so servile to me, a fellow member. We have the pride of our unit to think of. Right?”
“Haha, right. Gosh. That's right, our unit... uh, w-wait.”
His pupils dilated as if he'd seen a ghost.
“W-W-What did you just say?!”
The word 'our' had touched Kang Hyunseong's heart.
“You said 'our unit'!”
“No.”
“Stop playing innocent! Fumito, you heard him too, right?!”
“Sorry. You know I have adult ADHD. I was distracted.”
“Hey, you punk! Is being distracted something to be proud of!”
“That's enough.”
Lee Taebaek quickly dismissed the commotion.
Letting out a sigh, he opened his mouth again.
“Even though I'll be operating externally, if the 9th Battalion needs my help, I'll come, Kang Hyunseong. No-.”
Lee Taebaek took a deep breath. A big one, enough to make his chest swell and fall.
They were words he had never spoken in his life. His lips kept curling up like squid, making it incredibly difficult to speak.
But just once.
If it was just this once, it wasn't impossible.
The words were cheesy.
But for now, he was grateful.
He wanted to use this chance to awkwardly express his thanks. He knew he'd never be able to do it formally. But don't misunderstand it as him getting all soft and sentimental.
He had only chosen Kang Hyunseong's condition in order to operate more freely under his permanent objective of searching for the Chaos Goddess.
If it hadn't been for that offer, he might have joined another battalion.
His thoughts are getting long-winded.
The gist was that regardless of the choice he made, he had intended to thank Kang Hyunseong.
Because it was thanks to him that Lee Taebaek, who had almost turned to dew on the electric chair, was able to put down roots in this world.
'And to the Kang Hyunseong that I created, no less.'
Therefore, he could endure a moment of cringiness.
“I'll be in your care from now on. Uh, that is.”
Lee Taebaek's lips moved and trembled with embarrassment for a long while. With great difficulty, he finished what he was saying.
“Commander Kang Hyunseong.”
“......”
Kang Hyunseong blinked. A moment later, a sharp glint of understanding returned to his blank expression.
“Yeah, me too.”
A smile spread across his face.
“Let's see each other on the outside.”
......
The lower districts of Lake City. From the name, one might assume that all the actual residents were lower-class citizens, but the reality was a bit different. These days, the middle class was the majority.
The narrow alleys, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through, made it clear this wasn't the upper districts, but the people walking on the asphalt didn't fit the status of the lower class.
The men on the street had neat beards. The women also showed off their individual sense of style with their clothes. There was a smell of money in the air.
Of course, in the past, the majority had been lower-class. Public safety was a mess, to the point where it naturally earned labels like a den of criminals, a high-crime area, a hotbed of illegality, and a slum.
Back then, fitting for its name, they said there were only haphazardly developed buildings, like patched-up old socks.
That era was gone. The grimy traces had mostly hidden themselves away. The remnants of the old days had seeped into the shadows cast by the buildings. You had to look carefully to see them with the naked eye.
The population increased endlessly, as if breeding on its own. Although many died, the rate of population growth was far higher than the number of casualties.
A murderous population density. Sky-high prices. And on top of that, being pushed out by the massive capital of the megacorps.
These were the factors that caused the relatively poor from the upper districts to pour into the lower districts all at once. All of this had happened in just five years.
“Thanks to that, we beggars have lost our place to go.”
a beggar grumbled with sad eyes. While looking for his way, Lee Taebaek had been caught by him.
“Well, this is a story of the deep lower districts. If you go to the outskirts, it's still as raw as ever. All sorts of gangs are running rampant. Like the teenage gangs, for example.”
Lee Taebaek was about to just ignore him and walk away, but he changed his mind.
It's a cheap price to pay if I just listen to his story and ask for directions.
'Chit-chat time with a beggar.'
Ah, suddenly, a wave of disillusionment hit. Lee Taebaek belatedly realized how he must look to others.
Like a beggar. And I feel like a beggar, too.
Damn it. This was all because of those heartless bastards in the Resistance. The transport vehicle had cited security reasons, then dropped him near his destination like a sack of luggage and left.
The level of welfare is truly something else.
Hah, let's not even talk about it.
It seemed they wanted him to familiarize himself with the geography of Lake City by wandering the streets, but as a Korean, Lee Taebaek valued efficiency. He just wanted to get to his destination and rest.
...To do that, he'd have to beg for directions. This city was incredibly bleak for a stranger.
'The looks in their eyes are too much to just grab someone and ask for directions.'
They were filled with pent-up vigilance.
And no wonder, since the area was, after all, a lower district. Even if the buildings and roads had been renovated to be shiny, the residents' mentality had inherited the squalor of the old days.
'My terminal hasn't been activated yet, so I can't use a map.'
That's why Lee Taebaek was pretending to listen attentively to some beggar's laments.
I really hope giving up my sense of smell was worth it. Ugh, the smell of piss.
“My story's gotten long. Sorry about that. As you can see, it's been a long time since anyone's given a beggar the time of day.”
“It's a relief you're a beggar who knows his manners.”
“Hehe, you speak as prettily as your face.”
“Don't mind the informal speech. It's just the way I talk.”
“If that's the way you talk, then you must be one of two things. Either the precious son of a noble house who only ever deals with his lessers, or a ruffian.”
The beggar's eyes moved up and down, sizing up Lee Taebaek's appearance. He soon withdrew his appraising gaze and spoke.
“I can tell you're lost. Since this is also fate, as payment for listening to this old man's complaints, I'll guide you to your destination. I won't beg from you separately.”
He's sharp.
It seemed he wanted a conversation partner under the pretext of guiding him.
I'll just tune him out and nod appropriately.
“I won't refuse.”
“My, what a way with words. Ahem, just tell me your destination.”
Lee Taebaek rummaged in his pocket and took out a piece of paper to show him.
“Paper, in this day and age… I knew it when I saw you carrying an umbrella under a clear sky. You know, if it weren't for that face of yours, you'd be one of us. Your born fate is that of a beggar, but your face is a gift from the heavens, so you live without starving. You should live well and be good to your parents.”
“It's polite to first ask if I even have parents.”
“......”
“......”
“Hmm, let's see~.”
The beggar turned his head toward the paper as if to save face.
“The location… is right around here......”
The mumbling stopped. Lee Taebaek lifted his head to look at the beggar. He had the expression of someone who had just stepped on a landmine.
“...It's Eunkoba......”
“The shop's name is Eunkoba? How unusual.”
“Don't tell me, you… you're going without knowing... Ah, never mind. It's not my place to meddle.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Let's go. As promised, I'll take you right to the front. But I won't be going in.”
He looks like he finds something unsavory about it. In any case, he's guiding me for free, so I guess it's all good.
He followed the beggar, who was trudging ahead. Lee Taebaek heightened his combat senses and tensed his muscles. It was to prepare for any unforeseen trouble.
A shallow trick like pretending to guide him but leading him to a gang's den. If he had to confess one thing, his body was hoping for some trouble to occur.
Maybe I'll get a chance to use [Bullet Time]?
The impulse to draw his sword constantly tickled his fingertips.
— The 9th Battalion is a special forces unit in name only. In reality, it's just a collection of 'psychopaths'. Eve. Ry. Last. One. Of. Them.
Those words echoed in his ears.
…It's bothering me for some reason......