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Chapter 15: Awakening

“You’re a funny one, kid. Just look at you pretending otherwise. You’re bothered by the fact that I met with Kiyoung-ssi.”

“I-I’m not like that, Hyaeyoung-ssi. O-oppa’s business… It has nothing to do with me…”

“Your expression says otherwise…”

“I-I’m telling the truth.”

“Seriously. Don’t make me laugh, you little bitch. You think no one knows what’s going on in that head of yours? You look slow and stupid, but your head works fine… Who’d have thought that you would land such a big fish before you even got here? With a face like that, your skills must be better than I thought… I don’t get it. No, maybe he’s the one whose taste is peculiar… You know, there are people like that. People who are only interested in the incompetent and dim-witted kind. Phew.”

She couldn’t fully understand Park Hyaeyoung’s words.

“You are making that face again. I really don’t like it.”

“I-I-I’m sorry…”

“What are you sorry for? You’re making a fool of everyone here regardless…”

“Th-that’s not it. I just…”

“Do you really think that Kiyoung-ssi likes you? You think he cares about you?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you dumb bitch. It’s a good thing that you’re so fortunate. You just happened to be at the right place at the right time to catch his eye. You might not be able to see it, but I know exactly what kind of person he is. People like Kiyoung-ssi don’t trust others too much to begin with. They tire of others easily, and throw them away when they’re no longer needed.”

“O-oppa isn’t like that. And…”

“That’s just what you want to believe. Because it’s in your favour. But what can I do if you’ve already made up your mind? I think I’m right… It might be okay for now, but things will change soon enough. From my point of view, you’re rather boring, the kind one easily gets sick of. Phew. No one’s ever told you that before?”

Jung Hayan bit down hard on her lips.

She felt so confused.

Her face felt hot. She wanted to shout ‘What are you talking about’ and argue against Park Hyaeyoung’s nonsensical speech but words escaped her.

However, her body kept shaking.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make a face like that before? Are you mad? I must have hit the nail on the head. You’ve always been abandoned by the people around you, haven’t you?”

“N-n-n-n-no.”

“No? It’s written all over your face. If not, do you always have things snatched away from you? Either way, you’re just pathetic. Do you really believe you’re always going to be his first priority? What do you think will happen out there when you’re not paying attention?”

Park Hyaeyoung’s face slowly drew nearer. Before long, Jung Hayan heard a faint whisper near her ear that caused her to exclaim subconsciously.

“Kiyoung-ssi… was better than I thought.”

“D-don’t lie to me!”

“Oh, you fell for it.”

Jung Hayan’s eyes were filled with tears.

She wanted to say something to refute Park Hyaeyoung, but she felt choked up.

This woman was right.

She had been abandoned by her parents and her older sisters.

All of her loved ones and the friends that had been with her for so long had drawn away from her.

Maybe she really was the type of person that others got sick of.

She always made mistakes and had trouble speaking properly.

Being bullied had become a part of her daily routine, so it was more convenient for her to just be alone.

Still.

‘Not Oppa.’

Her Oppa wasn’t like that.

He wasn’t the least bit similar to the others. His very nature was different from everyone else she’d met before.

He said that she was like a family member to him. That she reminded him of his younger sister, and he wanted to look after her.

He was always mindful of her and was taking care of her every day. Deokgu-ssi also told her that.

Every day, her Oppa would tell her that he cared about her.

He was always supporting her, saying that she could do better, even if she made a mistake.

Even when she asked silly questions, he would smile and answer her patiently.

“Th-that can’t be true.”

“I guess that’s what you’re hoping for? I’ll be honest with you, it’s likely that what I’m saying will happen. I’m going to give you a warning, dongsaeng. If you want to gain anything out of your current relationship, you’d better leech it out quickly before you’re discarded. Otherwise, everything will be snatched away from your grasp.”

“S-s-stop it. O-oppa wouldn’t…”

“How annoying.”

Park Hyaeyoung’s mouth curved into a smile, and, at the same moment, Jung Hayan felt a pressure on her shoulders.

She had been pushed down.

Jung Hayan fell on her bottom. She looked up but all she could see was Park Hyaeyoung’s back, who was already walking away.

At the same time, voices poured in from all sides.

“Serves her right.”

“What just happened?”

“Anyways, it looks like our naive whore will be abandoned soon.”

“Stop it. Hey, she will hear you.”

“Stop what? Didn’t you hear what just happened? Soon, she’s going to be all alone again. Who is she going to cling to then? Ah! I don’t think there’s anyone else who would compete for her anymore. It would have been better for her to just stay with Seokwoo-ssi… She should have known better. That’s why she’s all alone.”

“What’s she going to do now that she’s on her own?”

That couldn’t be true.

‘It can’t be true.’

There was no way Oppa would ever forsake her.

There was no way her Oppa, who had said he would always be with her, would ever abandon her like that.

There was no way that Oppa, who told her she was like a family member to him, would abandon her.

‘Well, is that really the case?’

But Park Hyaeyoung’s voice resounded in her ears.

“That’s not true!”

“What was that? Just now.”

“Did she just yell? She must be really angry…”

“It’s about time for her true nature to show up. Tsk.”

That couldn’t be true. Oppa would never just abandon her.

Oppa was different from the others. He was always warm and kind.

‘Your sisters abandoned you, too.’

“N-no.”

‘No, your parents also abandoned you.’

“He isn’t like that. Oppa is different. Oppa is different.”

Surely, he was different.

It was very difficult to calm down her heart. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

She was short of breath and her mind went blank. Tears welled up in her eyes, but they didn’t flow down her cheeks.

She heard people laughing to themselves.

The sound no longer bothered her. It would have to be something even worse to faze her.

Her steps were headed towards where her Oppa had been.

‘Wait a minute, okay? There’s something I want to find out first, so I’ll meet you after.’

She was sure that he would meet with her.

Jung Hayan felt like she needed to see his face to calm down.

As she was frantically hurrying over, she heard a distant voice.

It was Lee Jihye.

“Please gather for a moment, everyone.”

“Yes.”

“When Hyunsung-ssi, Deokgu-ssi and Kiyoung-ssi leave tomorrow, they plan on recruiting someone to go with them. I believe Hyunsung-ssi will provide more details, and the person who is nominated today should also prepare themselves.”

Now that she thought of it, she’d heard that they would be heading out together.

Naturally, this meant that she could be with him a little longer.

Jung Hayan wasn’t sure why she’d forgotten that. Now there was more time for her to stay by Kiyoung oppa’s side.

‘That’s a relief.’

As she turned to look closer, she saw Kim Hyunsung, Park Deokgu, and Kiyoung oppa approaching together from behind Lee Jihye.

‘Oppa.’

He had a serious expression that differed from his usual demeanour, but seeing him made her feel more steady.

Her heart thumped badum badum, but she didn’t have a headache nor feel dizzy.

The lingering feelings of frustration vanished just from making eye contact with him.

Though she didn’t understand why, her face turned red.

‘He saw me.’

He was definitely looking in her direction.

Once the chatter had died down, Kim Hyunsung quietly began to speak.

“I apologise for bringing you here while you’re all so busy. I’m sure that you’re aware that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to survive in this location. Food rations are decreasing day by day, and the number of survivors joining us continues to rise. We have food and drinking water scavenged from the starting point, but it’s not enough. We believe we need to widen our range of activity.”

“Ah…”

“We need more people who can fight. Of course, I know you’re scared of the monsters. Some of you aren’t used to fighting, and others may not want to leave this place. But for now, you have to take action. I don’t want to jinx it, but if this doesn’t happen, in the long run we’ll all suffer. So, we’ve decided that it’s better to take each of you out one by one.”

After Kim Hyunsung spoke, Kiyoung oppa stepped forward.

“Kiyoung-ssi.”

“Yes. I understand that you’re afraid. However, there are some things that can only be gained by fighting. As you know, this is not like the Earth that we knew. I’m sure you all recognise what the status window, system attributes, and class mean. Flame.”

Flames rose from the palm of his hand.

The eyes of those around Jung Hayan widened.

“I don’t know exactly how it happened, but my status window reports that my class is Wizard. I don’t have much magic to work with yet, but I’m no different from you. I was afraid of the monsters, so I ran away and hid because I didn’t want to encounter them. At first, it was just by luck, but you can succeed if you set your fear aside and fight. When the group gets stronger, we all get stronger, and eventually we’ll be able to leave this place. We need to take the initiative.”

“Ohhhhh…”

“For now, we’ll pick some people to lead by example. Hayan-ssi.”

“Ah…”

“And Hyaeyoung-ssi.”

“Yes. I look forward to working with you.”

“I’m taking these two with me for now. Once they reach a certain level, we’ll regroup and take the next person. Do you have any questions?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could explain what the criteria was.”

“To relieve your anxiety, the selection criteria is random.”

“We’ll go hunting by ourselves instead…”

“I won’t prevent you from doing so, but I cannot recommend it.”

The buzz of the crowd grew louder, but Jung Hayan could no longer make out their words.

Instead, her eyes were locked on Park Hyaeyoung.

She’d known that other people would be going with her, but she hadn’t expected it to be that woman.

“Congratulations, Unnie.”

“Don’t get hurt.”

“Hyunsung-ssi, Kiyoung-ssi, and Deokgu-ssi will be with us, so it’ll probably be okay. It’s a little scary, but we need to push past this. It’s better if we have more people who can fight.”

Jung Hayan wasn’t envious of the fact that Park Hyaeyoung was surrounded by people who were congratulating her. However, she felt odd for some reason.

‘Don’t take her.’

As she quickly glanced up at the platform once more, she saw that Oppa was also looking at Park Hyaeyoung.

There was a faint smile on his lips.

The voice she had heard earlier resounded in her ears, and her breathing became shaky.

‘He’s the type to tire of others easily.’

Park Hyaeyoung hurried onto the platform and began shaking hands with the others.

‘You’re going to be thrown away’

‘To have him taken away from you’

‘Your sisters left you too.’

Only

‘Your parents as well.’

‘Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.’

‘You’ll end up…’

‘Stop…’

‘Thrown away…’

‘Hated.’

At that moment, Kiyoung oppa held Park Hyaeyoung’s hands.

Something collapsed inside Jung Hayan.