Chapter 178 – 178. Winter Elf 1
I came out of the bunker as if I was being kicked out.
She seemed a little late and said she would go tomorrow, but almost got kicked by Se-ah and came out in a huff.
Under… Cold. Cool air.
I think I really understand the mind of a smoker now.
Now is the time to quit smoking.
As a non-smoker, I understand.
I didn’t know they would allow it so obediently. I guess I am a very lucky person.
I can’t believe you just accept this ridiculous nonsense.
It’s clear. I think I was a turtle ship helmsman in my past life.
The day is getting dark. Since the sun is setting, it is difficult to use the car.
When it gets too dark, you have to turn on your headlights… Even if there are no people around, I don’t want to make a lot of noise.
Headlights and the sound of a car engine. It’s like advertising to the people around me that I’m here.
Even though it’s cold, there’s nothing I can do about it. You can’t do something dangerous with Anna, who has no fighting ability.
To be honest, if I hadn’t seen the fly woman earlier, she might have just said she was gutted and drove away… It won’t work. It’s too dangerous.
By the time I arrived at the logistics center after trudging, the sun had already set.
What’s happening so fast? Well, as the winter solstice is getting closer, the night is getting the longest.
“Huh? What are you doing at this hour? Didn’t you come and go earlier?”
Metal paintings stand guard at the entrance. Uh… So yes! Minjun.
“Yes. I left something behind.”
“Would you like to call Seunggyu-hyung?”
“No. I’ll go. Where are you?”
“Wait a minute.”
Min-jun holds up a walkie-talkie and asks for Seung-gyu’s location.
He quickly got the answer and spoke to me.
“It’s in a restaurant. Come check it out.”
“Okay.”
Go inside and head to the restaurant. Did you just eat dinner? As I walk toward the restaurant, I smell something delicious.
The smell of people living. The cozy smell of the dinner table. It’s a vague and nostalgic smell.
Me indeed. A person can become so emotional with just a smell.
When I open the restaurant door, I can immediately feel the humid air.
Seung-gyu is sitting at the table, and Hayul is in his arms. And Anna sitting across from us.
“Do you see it often?”
Seunggyu’s greeting. And Anna smiles brightly and is happy to see me again.
Haha. Really. I just smiled, and it felt like the world became brighter.
“What are you doing?”
“What should I do? Let’s study Korean. With Hayul and Anna.”
Looking at it, it looks like the two of them were studying with word cards or something.
Your Korean language skills are probably on par. Maybe Hayul speaks better?
“You went there earlier, so why did you come back again?”
Seunggyu asks me. I sat down next to Seung-gyu and said.
“I want to take Anna with me.”
“What? Right away?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. The speed at which things are done is truly amazing.”
“If you’re going to take him anyway, you should take him quickly. Well, I haven’t even gotten permission from the person involved yet.”
“Ah… Is that so? I think you already know?”
“Yes?”
“Yoojeong probably said that? I don’t know. Just a moment. I’ll call you. Honey!”
When Seunggyu shouted into the kitchen inside the restaurant, ‘Huh!?’ I hear a sound.
Then, Yu-jeong comes out of the kitchen and is surprised to see me.
“Huh? You came? That’s why you called me?”
And from inside the kitchen, ‘Hello!’ I hear a voice saying hello.
When I looked inside, there were a few more women.
There are sisters, Seohyun and Hyeonjeong. There are also women I saved this time.
Ah… If this is the case, isn’t everything there? Ah. There is no future with Jiyeon. There are no girls who were saved in the beginning.
“I was there earlier. Did you leave something behind? Did you eat? We just ate and cleaned up. Would you like me to prepare it for you?”
Yu-jeong speaks while sitting next to Anna. He looked at me and Seung-gyu and immediately asked if something felt strange.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I’ll take Anna with me.”
“Oh… Really? But… Now?”
“Yes. I’m going to take you right away.”
“No, so suddenly?”
“That’s it.”
Yoo-jeong looks a little sad. Then he immediately translated it to Anna.
After listening to the whole story, Anna looked at me again and smiled brightly. And then she says, what does she say?
After all, Russian is difficult. I can’t even guess what they’re saying.
“I’m so happy. They’re asking if I’m ready right away?”
“Have we already told you the story?”
“Huh? Ah. Yes. But it wasn’t what I said, it was what Anna wanted. And it seemed like Seongcheol would be taken with her someday.”
Did I show any signs of that? Is it the women’s sense? I don’t know.
“Aren’t you going out? Um… Sister-in-law?”
“Yes?”
“Could you please convey what I’m saying? Uh… Just like it is, no need to purify it.”
“What are you trying to say… I understand. Tell me.”
If I do this, Seung-gyu and Yoo-jung will find out about my situation, but… How do you feel? It doesn’t matter if they know to some extent.
Of course, Yujeong might despise me a little. You might not want to give Anna up to a man who lives with several women.
I never thought of this. Really… As if I suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, I always try to do things perfectly, but when I look back, there are always holes.
I think it’s truly a miracle that I’ve survived until now.
“I’m currently living with three women, and I’m going to take Anna to that place. They say I saved Anna, but I’m not that good of a guy, and I’m a pretty bad guy. I’m a guy who kills people for a living. Even so, I don’t plan on going with them. Please ask if Anna is there, because if she says no, it would be much better for her to stay here.”
After hearing my story, Yujeong was silent for a moment. Choosing your words? Or are you disappointed by my personal story?
I don’t know. I’m not very happy about the current situation where I have to talk about this.
What woman would want to go with a guy like me? Why did I think that if I took him with me, he would go crazy?
Yujeong quickly speaks to Anna in Russian.
Amazing. How do you speak Russian so well? The words are coming from the same mouth, but I can’t understand them at all.
After hearing her story, Anna paused for a moment and asked something.
The facial expression is not very good. After all, there is no way a woman would welcome something like that.
“She doesn’t speak any Korean, but she’s asking if there’s anyone there who speaks Russian?”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Yes?”
“No… Is that all you have to ask? You don’t have any questions about the women I live with or whether I’m not a good guy or anything like that?”
“Okay… I just have a question about Russian? Just a moment. Let me tell you what I just said.”
Anna, who heard everything Yoo-jeong said, looks straight at me.
And she spoke to me slowly.
“You’re a good person.”
“Huh? What did you just say earlier?”
“It’s the same thing. I said, ‘You’re a good person.'”
“Ha.”
There is no one who is normal. Okay. Anna is also crazy. How could she blindly follow someone just because they saved her?
“You’re crazy. On what basis are you saying that? You’ve never even had a proper conversation with me!? How can you think like that when I could just take you out and make you do even worse things than last time?”
Rather, I spoke as if I was frustrated and lamenting. Why are you doing this? If that’s the case, it’s even more absurd that I came here to persuade you.
“I think I can answer that.”
“Yes?”
Yujeong looks at me and speaks quietly. I looked at her, wondering what she was talking about.
“I was the only one Anna could talk to, so she asked me a lot of things. I answered them. Furthermore, I mainly asked her about how the people here came… If I tell her everything, I can’t help but mention Seongcheol’s name. There is none, right? If you look at it, all the people here were gathered by Seongcheol.”
Ah… I see Anna must be mistaken.
If you put together the stories of the people here… I have become some kind of apostle of justice.
Rescue two couples caught by a gangster, kill the bad guy who killed their friends, save a brother and sister from the bad guys, save a family with a young child… Save me… Save me…
I scratched my head. There are no bad stories, just a lot of good stories.
Okay. Done. I didn’t do that in good faith, but it’s not the time to make excuses.
There is no need to worry any more when you say you are fine. If that’s the case, let’s just go like that.
Later, when we can communicate, we will be able to talk more honestly.
“I understand. Haha. No one can speak Russian. When we go, Anna needs to learn Korean quickly. Please tell her that.”
As Yujeong relayed her words, Anna looked at me and nodded.
She looks like she will do it. Ha… Why is it so bright?
When she was held captive in a business hotel, she looked like an emotionless android.
She is now a vibrant blonde beauty. So much so that it feels burdensome to watch.
I don’t know. It will work out somehow. Even though we are all grown-ups, how can we possibly have a conversation? If that doesn’t work, you have to make gestures with your hands or feet.
“I’m going right away. Please tell me to get ready.”
“Okay, okay.”
Yu-jeong relays her words, Anna goes to get ready with an excited expression, and Seung-gyu secretly breathes a sigh of relief.
A while later, Anna returned simply wearing only a bag and a coat.
Isn’t it cold? I think it’s cold. Ah… Is she resistant to the cold?
Anna is happy as if she is going out to play. Oh, my. What should I do now?
“Here. Take this.”
Yujeong handed me a shopping bag.
“What is this?”
“Hangul word cards and Korean study books for kids, something like that. It’s Hayul, but Anna’s level is similar, so it will be helpful.”
“Ah. Thank you. I hadn’t even thought about this.”
“But…”
“Yes?”
“Do you really live with three women? Just a grandmother, a mother, and an aunt or aunt. It’s not like that, is it?”
Yoo-jeong speaks to me carefully, as if asking me this.
“Oh. Yes. No.”
“He was a talented person.”
“You’re a talented person. But don’t you think it’s repulsive or repulsive? Living with multiple women?”
“Well, I might have thought that way before the world became like this. But now… It’s no different from the primitive times, right? If you have the ability, you do it according to your ability. It’s not something I can say.”〈 Br〉
Hey… It’s an amazing mindset. I thought she would be quite conservative as a mother of a baby… I never thought he would be this progressive.
I’m so embarrassed.
“Then… What if I say Seung-gyu lives with several women?”
Yikes… Was it a question that crossed the line? We’re not that close yet. Yoo-jeong looks a little embarrassed and Seung-gyu looks like he’s asking such a question.
Fuck. I’m an asshole This is why idiots with poor social skills must die…
“Don’t worry. Seung-gyu, I’m the only one.”
Yujeong’s embarrassed expression disappears, and she smiles lightly.
The expression was very firm and full of trust.
So much so that Seung-gyu looked slightly moved by those words.
Is not it? Is this the look of a vain dream being shattered?
“I see. I’m jealous. Is this the power of marriage?”
“Anyway, our story is over. Please take good care of Anna. She has been through difficult times, so you need to take good care of her.”
“Okay, I will.”
After saying that, Yujeong exchanged a brief greeting with Anna.
Anna takes Yoo-jeong’s hand, kisses the back of her hand, and says something with tears in her eyes.
So the goodbyes were over, and I started walking to the bunker with Anna.
On the way back to the bunker. There’s so much I want to say, but I can’t even open my mouth because I can’t say a word.
It’s a big deal. What should I do about this awkwardness?
I don’t know. First, let’s go to the bunker.
Let’s go and do something. Is it really possible that I can’t even teach Korean?
