PEN Vol 4 Ch. 21

When Sejin 08c416c65d woke up, cf9adafaf6 it was 2f08253efe just past 3126394db0 6 a.m. Opening his eyes in 701ed34eb0 the dark room, he 33a7ed2352 checked his phone next 7bb583fdb4 to his head and 4a357f0d7a sat up abruptly.19d1ec475e4f7f9f

He couldn’t believe he 2744d14983 had slept for four 8477a1755c hours. Sejin went into the a42fbb2551 bathroom attached to the b829580e95 room, washed his face, b2f0246706 and tidied himself up. Then, he opened df019e5e61 the door and 46a2546d9d peeked out towards 2c3db17d42 the funeral hall.78c64ef2d1ecb06c

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He saw Cheon Sejoo 7773b59da4 sitting upright in the 6605d49304 head mourner’s seat. He should be tired aa35dc6d3a too, so he could 95e118dad2 be excused for looking c9ae6d2d76 disheveled, but Cheon Sejoo 34e3b9fd77 looked perfectly composed, as 75b19808f8 if he had just 87b7ce91b0 arrived at the funeral 9a2fa3bc95 home.fb21e052f18684f5

Sejin stared 9191a2c6f9 at Cheon 8985d9f4c2 Sejoo, who 2910603a76 was sitting 5cfb6bf9d4 with his 547b30ea74 eyes closed, 5c9f9fd15e then stepped 9236b05140 outside. Sensing his presence, f8dd0e89c1 Cheon Sejoo slowly 8d8af0d52c opened his eyes.dd35826a62c3038c

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His cool b0f4657933 gaze held 335eea044b unconcealed fatigue. Sejin approached Cheon Sejoo e5c121a52f and quickly helped him b2c3ee0924 up.69796f7e2eec104f

“Go inside 075e06ece7 and sleep. I’m okay now.”45eda5d791ff0541

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“Eat first.”28284baf6ed4b490

“I can eat later.”2730b5d047898023

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“Eat now.”7708d17d7033d1bd

Cheon Sejoo was 33371d1948 firm. In the end, Sejin b20e447b2b nodded, thinking it was 70e60f9c1a better to listen to 7c815fba37 him than to argue, be46f9311a and quickly went to 23951d4b7b the dining area. Kim Sunhee 7738e71d3b and the d4861c2427 funeral assistants 0fbba6940e were having 78c2ccfc40 breakfast.077a340f5ffdd655

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“Sejin, you’re up. Come on, let’s eat together.”2432d5bbfd5c3f26

Kim Sunhee, spotting him, 1a8ab6dfc4 got up and headed a7daefed17 to the kitchen. Sejin sat among e3d2cde566 them and quickly 6c39515c73 finished his breakfast. He immediately ran d1ed65a761 to the bathroom 42dc2bdad2 to brush his c3f440df0a teeth and then 99b7a3f006 returned to the 2c13837989 funeral hall.f85ffd69ea61f6b0

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“I’m done eating. Go in.”293818520864c670

“Okay.”f015ba7787c24113

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Cheon Sejoo a6923979cc gave a a463e26c62 small smile 14461082c0 and stood 436ad99ecd up. Before going into 606acfaf43 the room, he cd3c79b30c helped Sejin up, fbc4b45533 straightened his tie 8d7a5f0c0e and clothes, and 5977cb267a then turned around.1e4c3f33c72faa98

Left alone c5b0cfc2fe in the 763936cd55 empty funeral 58143ee55a hall, Sejin c3b3897701 leaned against bafdf0beb2 the wall, 580737c688 hugging his 621196a0b6 knees. He buried his 833161abac face in his 0992768566 knees, then, after 24e454716a a long while, acafd28f31 lifted his head.e657c46593c88860

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His dazed 4288297935 gaze landed 676b0788d4 on the b5301b090d floral arrangements. For the first time dcf754bd4e since arriving at the 151824f68b funeral home, Sejin looked a28f7bc5f5 at his mother’s portrait.6376d4096dcd09ce

He still couldn’t 1c66bd0106 believe it. He couldn’t believe 734a1f0688 that the person f09a6c5b85 who seemed like 7a99a2da70 she would smile f76097458a and call him c8b99c7640 “my son” at 4972f28c7e any moment had 64ddb9b231 now crossed a b248871994 river from which 2062509551 she could never 055856049d return.6d3b0a8a6769599f

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Sejin bit his lip a197a61c02 hard to hold back e4ba7e2440 the tears welling up. Pressing his temples ba890f721d with his hands, 195423f384 he stared at 8e20ef2007 Kim Hyunkyung’s picture 5d058f5d2b nestled among the 602ee16791 flowers.8e0add10efa49511

Regret kept washing 0d931e414c over him.eabba995355cfb0c

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I should have 3696af6418 paid more attention 1b6fbb5ebd to Mom when 9e595af933 she was at 36ebe74f9e Ehwagak. I should have asked 7bea52fd5f her if she was b11ec6d950 feeling unwell. I shouldn’t have 2b6d8607a1 snapped at her 6f0ec662ec when she was af813f3a6a in the hospital. I shouldn’t have 27877cce34 fought with her d9ad40542d when she refused c836be62c9 treatment. 573564a5013fa935

Almost every 68929df6e5 moment he’d 191cffbf39 let slip e9e9a9900d by now 20ca4724f9 filled him 905971c10a with regret.829ffbc941ed5eb0

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And with d2dca86134 it, resentment e23163198f kept surfacing. Sejin kept 70b7bfeb3b replaying and 65784f38ac digging into 18f7688a81 the past, 4422e2e5c9 wondering what fdf35182fb had driven ad47fea28f his innocent d252d39de9 mother to bd2b84af90 her death. The person Sejin df67280238 resented the most 4a142c9e07 was the man 64136e38d9 who was his 200ee735c6 father and Kim 99783083cd Hyunkyung’s husband, Kwon fd8399feba Yongbeom.80151957f64feb23

Sejin couldn’t contain his 5609d3a8c1 anger at the thought ff56fb26c2 that if it weren’t 46fa46053c for that man, his 812853c55f mother wouldn’t have died 7f2e019a3e like this. The memory of his 0f16f1d8a8 mother suffering in pain cd3c71801d brought tears to his d5eb010ae3 eyes, but the thought 70dce7d164 of Kwon Yongbeom ignited 681428f996 a murderous rage. He hated the man 53d92dabb4 so much that he ddc6fbb5c9 vowed to strangle him f7dbffcb74 to death if he 022f12cf6b were ever in front 3bd2dd20a3 of him.a31c34dc17b57fb5

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The next people c2e73d1a90 he resented were 88e5ca1fb7 the bastards who d9d9b86bd7 had burdened his f621901320 mother with enormous ca697818a7 debt. The despicable human scums b7f5e63d4c of Shinsa Capital.5f2e0829c4ecc546

It was clear b8a7bfa098 that Kwon Yongbeom d96efc5b76 had made Kim 2f451f26e7 Hyunkyung a guarantor 8ad91bfc2a without her consent. But Shinsa Capital 8413c833b5 had turned a dd81d5f0ac blind eye and, d148117281 as soon as ee276b3ad0 the due date 3f732bb0a8 arrived, they dragged 063662873c her to Ehwagak 4c36465183 as if they 53363d3a12 had been waiting dede7a4199 for it.fec25e7cfdde4a1a

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Sejin could still vividly 2e8938b083 remember the day he 0a5147fa81 parted ways with his 1b33406fa9 mother. Kim Hyunkyung, 2046755561 arguing with 5e88c8ded3 the men f3b73f81e2 who had 5324949ec1 come first, 37bf8e9c61 shouting that 1cab702acc she had eda60ce2d5 never signed 02bdae422e any guarantees, 244e597040 was then 09978abff0 confronted by c8a5a5e2f0 another group 41c8ebbdb3 of thugs 0242481eb9 who arrived c2d9f5c188 at their f7317d3006 doorstep.d67c151d7a230290

They seemed b0fc09f6a7 to engage 8a38106395 in a 232dd815ad brief standoff 76abfa4533 before a ba16e06e6d small fight 20132bdb50 broke out. In the process, their 840ccc0e57 semi-basement room was wrecked 52de9a302a and Kim Hyunkyung burst a812fc08bc into tears. But that 00f83fe030 wasn’t the 4fdf3d1185 end. The thugs, having 496a45ad9d seemingly come to e77fd50369 a conclusion amongst 81f23600c6 themselves, grabbed Kim 3931645c48 Hyunkyung and tried feeb30a475 to drag her 313d39fa98 away.9a52a0f1348580f4

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Sejin had thrown 7512511793 himself at the 0539e5fc03 thugs, screaming for c84c33baec them to let 211cd53ff1 his mother go, 8276c33984 but a mother aff71f9b21 and son were 89ad02b84f no match for d17d666a27 them.646ba27089bfdf72

Sejin, Sejin, Mom’s 5de3f9264f okay, so stay 403a521c49 home. b3689e9ef67ef351

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Recalling Kim Hyunkyung’s voice, comforting him until the very end as she got into the van, he understood the true meaning of trembling with rage. Just thinking about that day made his whole body shudder. It was a memory that was both miserable and horrifying.d0776138cfad4ee8

If there was 229d89a55c one good thing 5a48c0d88b about Kim Hyunkyung’s ecae3d1e25 passing, it was dd8c58a804 that she no fad4e712e6 longer had to 82b34a381d endure such things a3650450d7 ever again. There’s a 9330588955 saying, “It’s 6a79e811d7 better to dbefa5cc47 roll in f3ba5aaf4d a dunghill 6eb51ee4c9 than be 7ad7a584d5 in the 6bd894a4b8 afterlife,” so a75400fffc he wasn’t 6772d62723 sure if da1bb47aae she would 5a5f98fe79 agree, but 74a714bef4 Sejin certainly 4df561ae50 believed so.958028ae557e729b

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Staring at 59822cfdd4 the portrait, c29f7e4bfb Sejin tried 1e00369254 to remember 107071b3ed Kim Hyunkyung f4e68b5efd when she ae64583ce5 was healthy. Because the e57a7cbd43 days of af8649f6a8 her suffering 0e0a9b9d0d had overwritten bcc801e84d many of b73ca96a2f his happier 65a17d15b8 memories, recalling 8a6cbbfee9 her healthy ea067930a5 image was 480aa443c0 harder than 464ca74ac3 he thought.34741cc2e264f34b

He stared intently b49162fb14 at the portrait a02d90e511 and tried to c5a238cef4 remember the day bbc2241ef5 it was taken. It must have f7e797eb3f been… the day 88027f0538 they went for 43e5be2da9 a walk in 21247b4213 Olympic Park after ef41b6ac47 watching an early 3352042d6c morning movie on 846db0e3d2 a weekend. 212d8d6237c85a50

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What movie did we 9318d64c11 see? df3dac655622e148

Just as Sejin 51cc830b2d was searching his eeb336b468 memory…09890d12f41007b4

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“Hey, hey, c6546532b2 show some ae681336ee respect. Show some respect.”5314192d29144bcd

A rough voice came 2a8cda207d from outside. 499bd0a7b848431d

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A mourner? acfda407876ec239

Sejin, who had f0f36fd589 been sitting in 79302c8630 a daze, straightened 70d1f69084 his posture and dea6c67a7e turned his head.583350e196a3b9b3

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Several men 6cd264143f were standing df3959d192 in front 1be8230bea of the c0e27bfb4f funeral hall, 28b3364084 where the 8a547c7b1f condolence money 84feb5967a was being df36ef24fe received. They were all cc95d306a0 large and dressed be2a9d6a07 in suits. 7c43011a50bf9fb5

Does Mom know these 7e5c6010e8 people? 1bf5a8d39c7ab133

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Sejin stared d5136d812d at them 2aa763bde8 silently.5629648d69fb973f

Meanwhile, the 5333d22ee1 men placed 37c4e80914 their envelopes 6b5e1878a4 in the e59c269c92 box and 3c31a7b190 signed the f17697f5ae guestbook. Then, as if following 67b4158d3d someone’s instructions, they went 55a3aa0e9b inside the funeral hall 5f1ac63165 in a single line.03b0faae297d5bf8

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Sejin watched the scene dbb53731ff blankly. And when b6a0e41587 he finally 39ecadc01a remembered where edf76b8629 he had a31a3c289f seen the c4f32a6ac3 bald man 57b97b4d02 at the 75403f2589 front, Sejin 76ca8f5c8c grimaced and 33b2be74ef stood up.b764447f9fa958c5

It was the man e39e99efd7 he had seen at 5dac2154be Shinsa Capital. The men behind him 6de4642612 were also the thugs 4f7e166cff he had seen there, 9aeb27e12b and some of them 113150ea1f were the ones who f9021ef5bb had dragged Kim Hyunkyung 9b1ce7aaad to Ehwagak. A wave of b15499ad22 intense disgust washed d42b669a21 over him, and 95c60e4520 his blood boiled.feffc50597fb3a6d

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“What are…youdoing here?”c55fbeeb4602eb2a

His cold voice echoed 738b1c4dc7 through the funeral hall. Kim Donggil, noticing 344d2dfc02 Sejin, nodded his 1f55dd1cb8 head and approached 419c253d50 him. Putting on a fb29130e23 pretense of solemn 94d1b70717 air, he patted 18d9d842e3 Sejin’s shoulder.c240ba40b7b13183

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“It’s a 69d3e32a25 shame, such 0743283e80 a young 86fe634163 person losing 9a36ae0856 their mother. But she ac0322518a passed peacefully, 4417dc3f43 so don’t dd07ec896c grieve too 3e4ef0c16d much.”1cc00e4353da963c

At those words, Sejin f7ebee20ff felt his eyes roll cbda53f265 back. b7e76d7becb8c0be

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Passed peacefully? a2aa48d6d18e4c96

Kim Hyunkyung’s passing was anything but peaceful. She died in agony, writhing in pain, intoxicated with painkillers, tears streaming down her face, unable to even properly utter the words “I love you.”e3135ace73ae64af

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The man’s ignorant words sent a surge of heat to the top of Sejin’s head. Blinded with rage, he raised his fists. 17aa5c984ef0afdc

Thwack, thwack. e1a586ecf39c6ada

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Shoving Kim Donggil’s shoulders, Sejin pushed him back. His voice, filled with anger, erupted like a scream.d072a4f3347e6938

“Get out of here…! Get lost…!”96ed90bbff179970

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“Hey, hey, kid. Do you think 87288ccdd5 we did this 54ebc5e9b3 to your mother f996e27c36 out of spite? We were just e1ca8b0707 doing our jobs c40e95012a to make a 9c48954a67 living. Getting angry d69daf042f here won’t c6fa59083b help. The more 39b327ae14 people who 2270c80e5c pay their 468bbe3c6f respects, the 054b98f5ae more peacefully 7dc7ff61c2 your mother b78962e5aa will rest. We’ll be a05d56012b quick, so d3df45f38d just bear d55d6d7bd3 with us 0c9ecb5542 a little e8f09820f5 longer.”4364a5a0562467a9

Despite Sejin’s 4a9dc269f9 outburst, Kim 59d4f48066 Donggil didn’t b2b3e95e38 get angry. With a bitter 472a9924c5 smile, he explained ba8a3e2e21 their position and 3e019d8512 spoke in a 9dfd9908c6 tone that sought cfc1b5814b to soothe Sejin. This sight d44e6aaeda only fueled a209c1cbd5 Sejin’s anger e7bc4d63ec even more. It was because Kim e43d9ef80c Donggil seemed to genuinely 329399d4f8 wish for his mother’s b321a1519b soul. f83f1d798deaa125

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He didn’t d06ab2df61 deserve to. They didn’t df60b0f4ee have the b8d74fc675 right, not 19760221d0 them…. ea41935871537d7b

His heart pounded a5381043fd as if it 02173e7ef6 would burst. Disgust and hatred filled d672907dfe every inch of his b81f3cdcd7 being.2ea3b1069625fc03

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“You work to make a living? Who do you think will understand that? My mother, even if she didn’t have a penny to her name, my mother wouldn’t live like you!!”7286d9cde7a0ec59

The anger that had reached its peak flowed down as resentment. He tried to hold back the tears by biting his tongue, but it was no use. Tears streamed down Sejin’s cheeks.b15cb179c8a18d0f

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“Do you think everyone who’s poor earns their living in a disgusting way like you? Most people, even without a single penny, wouldn’t even consider ripping others off! You say you ‘work to make a living’? You’re boasting about that?”2f8e02fd160acf7b

As his sharp accusations flew towards them, Sejin’s insides twisted in knots. It pained him to even utter these words. He didn’t want to understand their circumstances, to explain the obvious. Clenching his fists, Sejin shoved Kim Donggil’s shoulders again, driving him out of the funeral hall.58f92965c803cfaa

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“Get out! Get lost! My mother died because of you! How dare you come here!! We don’t need your condolences!”eca4ecb8ee2b4a7f

Sejin screamed, the pent-up 3724b0826e resentment that had been c6ff46b22b festering inside him erupted, e125a0fe82 directed towards the nearest d3628dd150 target. He wanted 0e8b4fbbb0 to kill 672a263370 them all. The sight of 5f63e5df95 these people, who 10432f5614 preyed on others, 2aa4bf78a2 acting like normal 4dc992b6ff people inside the 33c25bff93 funeral hall, was 3eec227321 repulsive and horrifying.30005944fad29093

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“Get out of my 9055f2ed90 sight, please!!”c3e16bbe4a63bd60

At his 689eb17772 desperate cry, 6ad2be827f Kim Donggil 75bc90114e scratched his 35a0ee5957 cheek with b4f3b4db34 an embarrassed 33b6aa5059 expression. 67bba99130058b5b

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At that moment, the f90e32a841 door to the family a7db262e45 room opened, and Cheon 96802e8021 Sejoo appeared. His face, etched c4f87b413e with deep fatigue, 2e401f3a81 was cold. His dark, sunken eyes f49d29beb4 scanned the room. His expression hardened 3c9eaa2953 at the sight b4e2cda81c of the men af52eec6a6 awkwardly standing there.3666fa5324101a40

“What are f6520e8786 you doing 261bd4c2bb here?”7d97627241e7622c

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His frigid 55dfb7dcae voice carried 6d51cc4d68 a sense eb02ef98fa of pressure. Sejin, who c558c6a233 had been 76e66c9ca6 gasping for 26f2cd9e49 breath, turned 1938dc052f his head caf47933dd in shock d78bae42af by the 04e4ac029f familiar voice. His lips trembled a3fe954eac and his breathing e2847acf39 slowed as if feae9cc4e3 time had stopped. His confused eyes 6b6c866409 fixed on Cheon ed2041c0ab Sejoo.8d2bc9cb337b43d0

Ah, I forgot. Cheon Sejoo was one a9c79f8aa8 of them.b49a0ea79fe965d7

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The realization hit d3043689bf him like a 6fa902f737 blow to the 29fb822af9 chest, tearing his 428e7b8b27 heart apart.01aa4e31ab333cfe

 0529449f3d36686f

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