Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Tumanako and I helped Sumire and John, who had fallen, back to their feet. Lee Jihyun, who was walking behind us, sighed as she watched this scene and said slowly:

“I thought I’d met many strange people in my life, but the world really is wide... Amen.”

Tumanako chuckled lightly as she watched Lee Jihyun make the sign of the cross. Seo Jihyuk put his hand holding the dumbbell behind his back and approached Lee Jihyun, asking:

“Tell me about the strange people you’ve met.”

“Why?”

“Just curious... Especially focus on what kind of harm you suffered from them.”

Baek Ae-young came closer to me, quickly checked the wrists of the two, and then fell back to the rear of the group. She probably thought their fighting like this was one of their attempts to untie the ropes on their wrists.

I’m not sure how Shin Hae-ryang tied their wrists with the parachute cord, but no matter how much they struggled to devour each other, it didn’t loosen at all. John, with his mouth still tied, was huffing and puffing, barely catching his breath through his nose as he walked while carrying Sumire. It seems like we should untie his mouth at least so he can breathe properly.

As soon as I had that thought, John suddenly jerked his head back. He used all his might to smash the back of his head into Sumire’s forehead with a thud. It was the kind of sound you’d hear if you accidentally dropped a watermelon the size of a head on the floor.

John seemed shocked by what he had done and stumbled greatly, unable to walk properly. I, walking beside him, was horrified by this action. ...Didn’t she get a concussion?

The two, one carrying and one being carried, collapsed again to the side with a thud. Lee Jihyun, who was watching this scene in a daze, said to Seo Jihyuk beside her:

“...Come to think of it, compared to these guys, the ones in Korea were nothing.”

Seo Jihyuk paid no attention to the two fallen people flailing their arms and legs like crabs. He just looked at Lee Jihyun and answered gently:

“Even if it’s just a drop of blood, it’s still blood that was shed.”

I quickly approached the two to check if they were conscious first. When I shook their shoulders and called their names, both of them groaned and spewed out curses.

...Thankfully, they’re conscious, but when I tried to check for external injuries, they wouldn’t cooperate so I couldn’t see. I tried to check for symptoms of concussion like whether there were external injuries or if their pupils were shaking, but forget about pupils. They were both shaking their heads and limbs wildly trying to hit each other.

“Stay still, will you!”

As the group that had been walking well stopped again, Shin Hae-ryang at the front and Baek Ae-young at the rear rushed over. Then, looking at the two fallen people, Shin Hae-ryang said to Baek Ae-young, who was holding a gun:

“If they fall again, shoot them both.”

“Yes.”

Then he went back to the front without giving me a chance to speak. Shin Hae-ryang’s expression didn’t seem much different from before, but it didn’t seem like he was joking. Kang Soojung looked at the two as if she was sick of them and left. Baek Ae-young looked down at the two on the floor and said:

“Hey. Even two bullets are too precious for you. Try to hold your breath and die.”

Humans can’t die by holding their breath. Tumanako seemed dumbfounded by this impossible request and looked at Baek Ae-young while still looking at the people on the floor. Baek Ae-young met Tumanako’s eyes and corrected herself:

“Was I being too stingy? I should be more generous, right?”

Tumanako said to Baek Ae-young with a sigh:

Baek Ae-young’s words randomly reminded me of Benjamin. No, what on earth was he thinking when he protected me? No matter how I think about it, he was cunning, evil, and ignorant of social order. Judging by his actions and words, he didn’t seem to like me either. What wind blew his way? Did he want to do a good deed before dying? Or did he hit his head without me noticing?

That bastard probably doesn’t even worry or agonize over these things. Doing one good deed after living badly a hundred times doesn’t change how people evaluate you. But knowing that I’m the only one who remembers what happened then made me feel a bit queasy.

Remembering Kevin Roy, whom I met at the research center, somewhat eased that feeling. ...Even the person walking around with an axe covered in blood turned out to be quite alright after all. Is it right to judge someone based on rumors or appearances and leave them to die when you’ve known them for less than 30 minutes?

I also understand the judgment of the people in Engineering Team A. They must have experienced such things many times before.

Whenever I try to judge something, I feel afraid, hesitant, and uncertain, and I’m not sure if what I’m doing is right. ...It was easier when I was just worrying about teeth. I only had to look inside the mouth then.

Baek Ae-young seemed to subtly want me to suggest abandoning those two or dealing with them under the guise of an accident. ...Not yet.

Watching the two somehow walking while hitting each other, I quickly walked towards Yoo Geum-yi.

Yoo Geum-yi, who had her hand on Henry’s shoulder with an exhausted expression, saw me approaching and asked:

“How about the people in the back?”

“They’re coming along more or less well.”

Kang Soojung, who was beside me, burst into a dispirited laugh at my words. Henry asked me as if he had been waiting:

“What is that lady keep saying?”

Hearing that question, Yoo Geum-yi confessed to me:

“I told him you’d come and explain.”

Henry doesn’t have a translator in his ear. When I or Yoo Geum-yi explain things to Henry, we do it in English. When we talk among ourselves, we mix English and Korean. So it seemed he couldn’t understand at all what Sumire was saying in Japanese.

What should I say? That she tormented others for her own convenience, killed several people, and endangered the lives of countless others? How do I explain that to a child? After thinking for a moment, I said:

“She says she wants to go home. That she misses her mom and dad.”

“Why is an adult throwing a tantrum like that? She’s not a 1-year-old.”

I’m at a loss for words. Sometimes when I meet kids, there are times when I can’t find an answer.

“That’s right. Adults are often worse than children. Adults should set an example, you know.”

Henry was wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt and shivered. Is he cold? As I stroked Henry’s forearm, I realized we had just entered East District and frowned. The temperature is much lower than I expected.

“It’s colder than I thought, isn’t it?”

Shin Hae-ryang and Kang Soojung, who heard my words, didn’t seem to feel the cold. Yoo Geum-yi, who was beside me, shivered slightly and said:

“You’re right. It’s too cold.”