The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 359



359. Choice (5)

On the way back after finishing her part-time job.

Jieun always felt a mix of regret and anticipation for tomorrow at this time.

The college entrance exam is over, there’s no need to go to school.

The remaining time is free time. The time to play until just before entering university has opened up.

Truly, it’s the reward after the hardship. The reality of joy after suffering has come.

A new place to live has been found. A considerable amount of money has been saved. Household chores have been more or less resolved, so there should be no problem.

I often indulged in the happy worry of what would be the best thing to do.

But today was different.

I still remember that rough cough.

The eerie cough that seemed to scratch the throat had become rougher than before.

Not only that, but seeing the figure struggling to wipe away the thin saliva while breaking out in a cold sweat… I couldn’t help but worry.

But…

“…”

Jieun, who was watching the tteokbokki bag in her hand, made a sullen face.

“…Tch. Kim Minhyuk, you fool!”

An innocent pebble was kicked and flew away.

“It wasn’t that I liked tteokbokki, I liked eating it with you. Fool, you fool, you idiot!”

Innocent pebbles began to be kicked one after another.

“Ouch! Ugh… It hurts…”

She kicked the pebbles as if to vent her anger, but having recklessly kicked a slightly larger one, she grabbed her aching foot and shed a tear.

But the pain was only momentary.

“…Idiot.”

Having been by his side for a long time, I could tell.

Minhyuk’s condition had worsened compared to before.

I told him to rest if he was in pain. Not to overdo it and to get some sleep when he could. Not to just take catnaps but to sleep deeply.

I had said it so many times that my mouth was dry.

But Minhyuk didn’t listen.

Every time, he became more cold-hearted, obsessed with making money, thanks to his relationships with his family.

That eerie cough earlier was clearly the result of all that piling up.

“Of course, I can’t leave you alone. Every time this happens, it just eats me up inside.”

If I go directly and give him the medicine, he’ll be okay.

“No. I have to see him take it. I know the password anyway, so I have to barge in. Yes. That’s right.”

But before that.

“…”

I have to stop by the house I left on my own for a moment.

Jieun took a deep breath to shake off the tension.

‘It’s okay. You can do it. Seo Jieun.’

Once I sort this out, it’s over with this family too.

With that, Jieun entered the house she had left a long time ago.

-Beep beep beep.

The door opened with the sound of the door lock.

The password was still the same.

But for some reason, the inside of the house was dark.

“…What? Is no one here?”

Judging by the pitch-black interior, it really seemed like no one was there.

It was the same even when looking around. There was truly no one staying in this house.

This was troublesome. Waiting for someone to come to this house. I didn’t like that.

“If I leave a note, they’ll call me or something.”

Just as I was about to go back outside.

Ji-eun, who was looking around, noticed a desk lamp that hadn’t been turned off.

It was nighttime.

Given how dark it had become, it wasn’t strange for that lamp to be on.

However, it was strange that only that lamp was on while all the other lights in the rooms were off.

And…

Significantly, documents were scattered all over the desk.

As if someone had left after looking at them.

“…”

That was the desk in the room used by the heir of this house.

The desk in the room of the ‘son’ who would inherit this house, someone I neither considered family nor was treated as family.

Seo Ju-hwan’s room. A space I never wanted to step into…

“Something’s strange.”

Feeling a sense of unease, Ji-eun headed straight in that direction.

Then she slowly began to read the documents.

“This… looks like a code used in the company.”

It seemed like documents that often circulated within the company, but there was a specific way to read them.

Having learned that, Ji-eun was able to prove that her mother’s death was not a suicide but a murder by her father, and she could present the evidence to the police to prosecute him.

Ji-eun began to decode the cipher step by step and started to note it down on her phone.

One letter. One letter.

Without missing a single one.

From noble mtl dot com

And then… she realized.

Seo Joo-hwan was not a fool, but was merely pretending to be one.

[ Chairman Kim Yu-ri has the strength to lead the group alone, but suffers from a fatal flaw of mental illness. The characteristic is that she has trauma from the deaths of her son and husband in an accident. Because of this rare disease, she mistook Kim Min-hyuk as her own son, and when we targeted this, she naturally crumbled. ]

[ The third child, Kim Eun-ji, as the youngest, not only lacks the ability to inherit the group, but her capabilities are also minimal. This girl, who knows nothing of the world and has her head full of flowers, would not pose a threat unless openly antagonized. So, if we throw her a bait to antagonize instead? Since she has a mindset to openly harass Kim Min-hyuk, if we send people to help her, we could naturally create a rift. ]

[ The second child, Kim Eun-hye, is very capable, though overshadowed by the eldest daughter. Especially with her ironclad inspection abilities and self-managed clothing business, it was impossible to touch her. However, her quick-tempered and fiery personality was perfect for escalating matters or turning them into a mess. By exploiting her hasty nature, we continuously created gaps in her relationship with Kim Min-hyuk and appropriately kept her in check. As a result, their relationship worsened, and an irreversible incident occurred. ]

[ The eldest, Kim Eun-seo, is evaluated as the ideal eldest daughter to inherit the group, but she felt an inferiority complex due to some of Kim Min-hyuk’s achievements. She was a person easy to exploit. By stoking this inferiority complex and ensuring the absence of her mother, she seemed likely to fall apart quickly. She also received poor evaluations within the company, so it was only a matter of time. ]

…

…

[ Everything went according to plan. Due to Kim Min-hyuk’s existence, the Yuri Group was greatly shaken. ]

[ Now, all that remains is to cleanly eliminate him, charge the Yuri Group with a major crime, and swallow up this empty place. ]

…

…

[ …That guy, why is he so irritating? ]

[ He’s clearly not my own child, but he keeps catching my eye. ]

…

…

[ Kim Min-hyuk. Kim Min-hyuk. Kim Min-hyuk. ]

[ He interferes with my plans at every turn. He ruins the plans I’ve made. He is putting a dent in my plans. If this keeps happening… ]

…

…

[ …I think I need to get rid of him. Everything is getting tangled up because of him. I tried to use him to deal with people one by one, but now he has become the most annoying enemy. Did I put a tiger cub in my house? ]

…

…

[ He must be killed. He was no ordinary guy. I need to get rid of him as soon as possible to take over the Yuri Group. ]

…

…

[ He has fallen. It seems he has separated from the Yuri Group and is living independently. I was lucky. ]

[ Recently, Kim Min-hyuk has been making money recklessly. Despite that, he didn’t give up on his grades, but his health seemed to be deteriorating. It wouldn’t be difficult to disguise it as overwork. If I just mix that potion and make him drink it──── ]

“Ma, my God…”

Realizing the identity of this document and what this house was planning, she was horrified and had to run out immediately.

“No. No…!”

With the sound of fluttering, time flows.

Jieun ran with all her might at full speed.

Then, she fell and scraped her knee.

“Ugh…!”

In her haste, she had come out wearing slippers.

Unfortunately, these slippers were old, and the front part split open, rendering them useless.

But the slippers were not the problem.

“This is not the time for this…!”

Every second counted.

Jieun took off both slippers on the spot and ran.

Her knees, now running barefoot, began to scar and bleed, but she didn’t care and kept running.

She ran and ran until she arrived in front of Minhyuk’s house.

“There’s no one here, right…?”

She looked around, but there was no one.

Thank goodness. That means nothing has happened.

Since no one has come yet, Minhyuk must be safe, right?

She tried to reassure herself, but…

Jieun was suddenly gripped by fear.

The lights were not on.

Minhyuk doesn’t sleep at this hour.

He was someone who would cut down on sleep to get things done.

No way.

Already something…

“No.”

That can’t be.

Minhyuk, Minhyuk will be safe…!

-Beep!

The door lock beeps, asking for the password.

The password… Minhyuk never told Jieun.

But, she knows.

Minhyuk’s birthday.

Because his birthday, which no one knows, would be set as the password.

Pressing the numbers that are also her own birthday, Jieun activated the door lock.

-Beep beep♪

With a simple mechanical sound allowing entry, the lock on the closed door was released.

But.

As soon as she grabbed the doorknob, she felt uneasy.

Surely, when she opens this door, Minhyuk will, as always, be annoyed and ask why she came at night.

He will tell her to stop nagging because he will be sleeping as always.

No. This time, she didn’t wait to be let in but pressed the password openly. Then, he might be surprised and ask how she knew.

No matter how he reacts, she wouldn’t care.

“Please, please just be safe…”

Hoping that he was alright, Ji-eun carefully opened the door.

But…

“Mi, Min-hyuk… Ah…?”

A computer, left on.

Energy drinks scattered around the room.

And. Under the chair.

“No… Nooo─!!”

As if to prove that everything had already happened, Min-hyuk lay there, eyes closed.

*

Some time later.

Bad news echoed through the large university hospital.

This news caused commotion everywhere.

“I told you. I told you so many times that he left home because of us! Why didn’t you listen even once? You kept sending people after him, saying to bring him back even if you had to beat him! Now that you see him like this, are you satisfied?!”

“…”

“He didn’t want anything for himself. He earned that much money on his own and gave it to us, without any greed or ambition. I told you it was our fault! Why, why the hell did you let your inferiority complex stop you from helping him!!”

Outside the hospital. The second daughter, Kim Eun-hye, grabbed the collar of the first daughter, Kim Eun-seo, and vented her anger.

Mixing in curses, slapping her cheeks, she screamed.

Kim Eun-seo couldn’t say anything.

Because it had been revealed that Kim Min-hyuk’s intentions were all true.

“Move. Move aside! I want to see my son, what’s wrong with wanting to see him!”

“Hey! Get more people here!”

“Let go. I said let go…! Why are you stopping me from seeing my son! My son, Minhyuk… Minhyuk!”

Inside the hospital.

Here, a woman whose mind is not intact is trying to push her way in.

Kim Yuri’s mental illness had worsened.

Due to the shock of the death of her adopted son, Kim Minhyuk.

“Uwaaah…! Nooo… Nooo…”

Second floor of the hospital.

Here, only the voice of a girl crying helplessly echoes.

Kim Eunji didn’t want to believe it.

She had to turn away. Just like she always had.

Like a little kid who didn’t know the ways of the world. She just cried and cried.

The Yuri Group was already gone.

It had changed to a new name and fallen into the hands of another man.

On the third floor, the procession continued.

Two people from the dojo with devastated faces. The teacher who led the kendo club and his son, along with the peers and juniors who trained with him in the kendo club.

The student council president who graduated from the same high school, the student council president who was supposed to graduate on the same day as Minhyuk. And even the man who recognized Minhyuk’s abilities and was eagerly waiting for a chance to scout him.

A multitude of people were forming a procession of sorrow.

And then…

A girl steps onto a chair beside the cold, lifeless body of a man.

“A world without you… I don’t want to live in it.”

-Clatter.

*

▶Hidden Memorial ＜A World That Might Have Existed＞ has ended.◀

▶Time resumes after the timer has passed.◀

“All of this, really…”

She was breathless.

Her mind was in a daze. To the point of dizziness.

Yet, even amidst the dizziness, the image of the last person she saw wouldn’t fade. No. She couldn’t forget.

[ 3… ]

[ 2… ]

[ 1… ]

▶The timer has ended.◀

Now that the timer has ended.

The confusion disappeared. What she needed to do was clear in her mind.

-Thud, thud.

With each step, countless moments replayed in her mind.

From the coming-of-age ceremony where she met Claire, to the moment she kissed me just yesterday.

Love? She had thought such an abstract word held no meaning.

So, I never agreed with the meaning of that word…

But now, I let go of my reason.

-Thump.

“…W-what…?”

Harnié’s voice trembled with confusion as I held her tightly from behind, refusing to let go.

I had no intention of letting her go.

-Ding!

▶ Harnié’s synchronization rate has reached 100%. ◀

▶ The intimacy level of this character is revealed. ◀

[ Seo Ji-eun ]