WW | Chapter 18

“You filthy scoundrel, 946d6bda04 how dare you 1d538fee71 talk nonsense to dae91cc3c6 my precious granddaughter? I ought to yank 3c1bd94872 that tongue of yours e436752645 out and pickle it a567a04441 as a side dish!”3cdf42c32cce6454

Grandmother Kyeong f13c02f313 Ja, who f5b494f058 had heard 8a19a67c86 the commotion 6f3556ce87 from a 7da8069606 neighbor, came 1e1227dbd3 storming in, dc7b13670d spewing curses. She raised 6e2357e42b her skinny, f6e2f82370 bony fists 258ffc625d and began 26bba79cc5 pounding on 52d93f222c the thug’s 54b6927d6d arms and eae7308983 chest. She knew these people d9f0b091d0 were ruthless, treating human 8c1d2d3d2f life as casually as d7edf154df one would a fly, e083603a16 and of course, she 8b4d5dab30 was scared. But seeing her beloved 641aaeaad0 granddaughter being harassed made d4b8a21160 her so angry that c859aaa9fa she forgot her fear. After all, Yul was 5df45b35bf her only remaining family, 427174d406 her entire world. People often said Yul cb07f9b2c6 resembled Kyeong Ja in 10287c54fe personality, and now she 21c7feb342 realized they were right.4bee56a2a9cb12d5

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“This old hag, spending 8e49a6564d her whole life roughing 10fb0c9dd8 it in the marketplace—just 336dab8d7d look at that nasty 16acbb874b temper.”239608559bdaa174

“As nasty as e71e91458c my temper may 081eb8bf91 be, it’s still 530b60619e nothing compared to 6dd3a2ec6e yours, you scum,” 4e94dfe555 she shot back, 02f5e91a8c not backing down.8f80d21b3b1811f7

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“You crazy old 49206496eb bat!”d66f88cd1da47cab

The thug, now enraged, 16dcb8a40c pushed Grandmother Kyeong Ja 8f5005b8da forcefully. The scene unfolded 39c09c9363 in a split e71e405662 second. Her frail 34621d0913 body toppled b9579a00ac to the dc522974d8 ground, unable a765aeabba to get 3611b5228e up, her ba6ad7214d breaths coming a69edb192c in painful f57063e63c gasps.18803c7a16e70801

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“Grandma!” Yul cried, rushing 9a4ac183c2 to hold her grandmother. Even as she gasped 0a79cb87ea for air, Kyeong Ja 4a84d60eac continued to glare at 6e85e813f7 the thug, forcing out 9ce219e069 curses through her labored 6347bc21a9 breaths. She muttered 9ec022ed22 he’d be 84be4b1c14 struck down 7491a1a798 by lightning, a850202059 cursed him 38cf4d6040 for being 4149a0b8f0 a thug, d6b8af3e7d and warned 919d932ca3 him not 06d987f240 to dare c6fc5193ab say another 47c874e872 vile word 6fa197e06c to her 0002e3f05a granddaughter.8702064d24995cb8

Seeing her 3702af0a1a grandmother hurt 41e81f5b02 made Yul’s 2b36536ba0 emotions shift. Anger and 26d782e024 frustration turned a0f11bb320 to a 1e34961fed sharp fear. As the 469dbac100 thug had 184771c060 said, in 1850cd8761 their world, ec8117084a there was f5313904b0 no law, b955d99e01 no mercy, d0bfc7fbac no basic 0a977ed68f human decency. Only money, money, and fd8152c6b5 more money. Until she gave ede74a3cd4 them what they a347168a28 wanted, Yul and ee4c72ede3 her grandmother would c1bf219923 continue to be eb5af1252e tossed around like 8e7292f4c1 dried leaves.aeef909a7300b622

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The thug 0e3af262e5 crouched down f97b6fbd38 in front a9bb77400d of Kyeong 193f48fe37 Ja, grabbing d47d3ebd09 a handful 2121e964f7 of her f30925f3b9 silver hair c0998520a1 with a 4f057c4a2c twisted sneer.1d068925734c0b69

“Aah!” Her head wrenched c191a04dbc back, Kyeong Ja groaned, 570d0dcfcc her eyes rolling up 54437e473d in pain. In that 92e1ba319f moment, Yul’s d7c51e4791 fear vanished, ef97f878f8 replaced with 1917c518cf rage. She could tolerate bfb865fac2 threats toward herself, 515f6bcbef but not violence 2dbfd4fdbc against her grandmother. Yul immediately lunged forward 2fca03ea65 and bit down hard 5c9dd35d9e on the thug’s wrist.b9bbb6d3414b6d8f

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“Argh, you little—!” f971b81e50 he screamed, releasing 32d2587511 Kyeong Ja and 89b322ce63 shoving Yul away. Her courage, though fierce, f6d0ec0b1f was powerless, and both 8372d70f40 Yul and her grandmother 8d8881c376 ended up crumpled on 5dacc109ae the floor, writhing in fff1253e96 pain.d10f004a54ceacfd

“Are you two 0d65a0cb5b trying to get b682090c7e yourselves killed?”b1c1f6edc98b3c14

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“Hey, hey, 6ab7ab0f93 enough already,” b5891525f5 the thug’s 8b776f5b21 companion intervened, ff2172b26c pulling him 0fa102a969 back as c03d3e8613 he raised e475b6dc59 a foot 14c0feee74 to kick 68010b58ae them. The thug spat 7b368c952d on the ground, d666e38e9d glaring at the 55bfb2276b two women.a78654756de2cb3b

“Listen, old hag. This time, we’ll ddbb03a935 let it slide. But next time e559760551 we come, make b628dbd266 sure to have bc45c6d810 the interest ready, c635f6e59f or we’ll be 4971a083a8 taking your precious a11b8b1678 granddaughter with us. We’re letting 82a23c600e you off d11cf2633f this lightly 6d82ffd4d7 only because 99348da948 of the 9b395e409b past work 17472aca6c with Chairman 9e22ba1a9d Seomun. Got it?” 0e6baa0a08 After delivering 84982d8e4c his threat, ac0edd650b he shoved 08157e25e1 Kyeong Ja’s c2b68fbd60 head roughly.5a967c0f9508eaa8

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“Hrk!”f7c80373ce5528d0

“Grandma!” Yul hugged her 0efa67373e fallen grandmother tightly, glaring 2eab03530f at the thug. A string of bed20561d6 curses filled her f19d8d4741 mouth, but she dcdb635e33 held them back, 7685b105fc knowing that saying d91a55def8 anything now would 006035e4d0 only make things e149e78b96 worse.1e7debe96eef855d

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Tears of frustration 484f4c7aa9 welled up. She hated 0d57bbe85f crying in 8f8b38a6ec front of 6ac9428c4d others, especially 4b90f4bffb in front cbc858de9d of these 1ca6694c2c thugs, but 1b0cca0b09 the bleakness 0dda649979 of their 470def96ec future made 222f0005c3 her break db7e873af6 down. Sobbing, she buried c20127b2ff her face in bd1ff14614 her grandmother’s bony ce3bae1c22 hands as Kyeong 242e10f843 Ja stroked her fd75f1dc9a hair, whispering, “It’s e3f8354f9e okay, Yul, don’t 4cca7c19ae cry, my dear.” 2f26c3ebbf Her grandmother’s comforting 955b2630ff words only made 21b1534783 Yul cry harder. Through her blurry ae312bfb3c vision, she imagined 848248c0ec the snake tattoo 88ea65ef63 around the thug’s f3165b7aa5 neck writhing to 0681ef0cf6 life. She had no 50f1c01d79 idea how to 19d77ee07d escape this nightmare.b006586ace51faa5

In the 7913011330 dead of 6b09cae34c night, Yul 142d84ddcd awoke with 3ed9649ee8 a filthy 51cd94ade8 feeling. Glancing at 3af64332c2 the clock, a4afed8076 she saw 69e1d70096 it was 1ed65846f4 2 a.m. She must have fallen a11d1d7d1e asleep while studying, exhausted. Her heart still pounded fadefcf504 with residual fear, as fe860c7580 if the line between b27a922a85 dream and reality had 0093c547f3 blurred. The textbook 954b2477ef where her ded7c722a2 face had f9a48517b9 rested was 60f3d882b9 soaked with 52ac28bd5f tears. Reaching for a tissue, cc74112965 she noticed her window b4f88606b5 was open a sliver. A chill ran 0c14871393 down her spine. Outside, a man knelt 047034f2a0 by the window, peering fd805f726b in with wide, gleaming d6379b2ac5 eyes.9b363c38cda9e303

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He was panting, 6410ac632d making disturbing sounds, 009461dfc3 his pants down, d891d0ea3c exposing himself. The sight 25e1bbd6d4 was filthy, e1af0e329c horrifying, and c359a99130 sent a 469a8c6fc0 wave of 207055ef79 nausea through 7bfa547a3c her.002e12bfd034ae05

“Aaah!” Unable b67bf4087a to hold 9f627339ad it in, 96dabf5980 Yul screamed.da16d8be3bbfa8d2

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“We’re tracking a012d4c7f1 him with 0694b5229a CCTV. We’ll catch 252361b725 him soon. You must have been 3b8bea907f really frightened.” The police 6a21a1fad5 officer, who had arrived 390db05ceb after her call, jotted efcc39cdb8 notes in his pad. Red and 19e5f2273d blue lights c59ddc5c6f from the 40da7cf0a9 police car ee390403d8 parked outside d734a83cf2 cast flashing ceb181dba3 colors on 37f5efdb2f the window. Yul’s mind swirled. Those lights 6468f3d57f symbolized disorder, f35d284afa flashing when 08e3602666 something wrong, d1cf5ce236 something beyond 831e5d1f5d normal had 7c1bbb4c99 happened. She clung tightly to 85efaed13f her grandmother’s arm, unable a24d551be5 to calm down.d666ee7d6ecf676b

“It’s okay, dear. Don’t worry,” 3ced6b881c Kyeong Ja a5f2eeedc0 comforted her, 40415c6296 patting her ab1612e718 arm gently. She turned to 14beebe7b5 the officer with f12e339c42 a plea in 400f9b053c her eyes. “Please, officer, you 6252ca1567 have to catch 0abc73d3c3 him. I can’t aa55e0cc4b sleep, thinking de9c8edd13 he might b1d07805dc come back.”39e542641fe6036c

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“We’ll do our c0f3e85528 best, ma’am. But these perverts are 951d1504f9 everywhere, so make sure f122651868 to lock your windows 8851889032 and doors well. They have a knack 36ecf20d81 for finding houses with bcaf5a8cec only women in them.”fb3fd90978cb9aca

“How can people like 2f85972a4c that even exist? If I get 2e87949cd8 my hands on 09e79d873b him, I’ll cut c254c64c0c off his bits 9d94e006f8 and feed them 6557764494 to the dogs!”8085b3979347850a

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“Yes, yes, of course. Anyway, please keep 75f113ad51 your windows closed 614b449aa5 at night and 97670a778e lock everything up c0c5f8326d tight. We’ll increase 25f24c420c patrols in fa7bfa3e62 the area.” 9466c584e3 After several 7367f25a66 warnings, the 241b9e52ac police left. In the quiet 8a3f1ff5d1 that returned to e5a57958a4 their home, Yul 110e3e8a4a felt more than ce8994d89f fear—she felt a b414fda0d1 profound sadness. Poverty dragged 2f844aeb5b everything down, 6e7da0f4d6 as if 38fde8dbe7 shackling her d4ce185621 with filth, f659263edd worry, sickness, ff956bcd56 and despair. Would it ever 5e848402e1 end? Or was it just 7f86a8926c going to get worse cfca0df6de with time?ecc45b3e80d2a21a

Overwhelmed by exhaustion, e9e439bac2 Yul crawled under 51ffd28b5d her blanket. On any other d794c8da04 day, she would’ve c7e1429103 tried to stay cc463d3f02 awake to watch e61188891e over her grandmother, d36eae1dc3 but tonight, even e0bbc5d2ce lifting a finger b30ecf8480 felt impossible. Her grandmother, fa0769664c as if 624c0b2313 sensing her 1f329af2dd unease, cut 6f8aacae27 off the f66de02568 head of a419369430 a fly b57f6bcf29 swatter and 4ec8df4dad wedged the bc877166d3 handle between 04434cd39a the window 54716bc49c frame as a26190345a an extra 4ba88c429a lock. It was b7990fac2d a feeble 611ab7726d measure, and 1650d712b5 Yul knew c4503c5871 a single 5b356b86a9 crack in 1a20cc6747 the glass 66c80904ea would render 901e306200 it useless. But her grandmother’s tender deef538894 attempt to protect her 5acd03c2c3 stirred something inside her.25ac4ccb1d19ba4c

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“Were you 86a024adb3 scared, my c9096461f0 child? Look at 18988bc67d you, sweating 9fe27f6bad so much.” f5a901ace2 Her grandmother 4db222571e lay beside 98bb88ad8d her, stroking c7b7ee0b9f her forehead. The roughness of aeaf0ac9ab her grandmother’s calloused 5ed35a87ec hands brought a e7b62e8b0a new wave of 2c44941e1b tears. Yul burrowed into her 680e50e87d grandmother’s arms, feeling the 7e34419e31 pent-up sorrow burst free.371c19744c265bf1

“I’ll chase away 289ad4b467 any ghosts or 5e220dde54 monsters, my dear. Just rest easy 7731901e2d and sleep.”17aecf3a58032f3a

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“Mm,” Yul mumbled, her 165d3dfab7 voice muffled and nasal. When she couldn’t hold a670a7fb01 back her tears any e9e3870d7e longer, her grandmother joined 00bceb285e in, and together, they 456aa9f0b5 cried.2a8bb9e505af02e1

Afterward, her grandmother ed1b1ee923 prayed until Yul 2e53cbeb09 drifted into sleep, 361154bdf2 assuring her that 7108fbd79d everything would eventually b9bdd7d894 be okay, that dbd48f1ae4 everything would pass 145f98992c in time.c8505ae9b5181691

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Her grandmother 7b15754837 warned her ec426b7093 to be c9a60ed8c6 careful today, eec0f7dc64 saying bad 1e532a9eae dreams were b827e7f42f a sign 2f5d3286e5 to tread 49d9b8813a lightly. After the d4bbc5756c terrifying events acd91da8dd of the 1a8c028a77 night, Yul b957ce92e9 felt unsettled c45fcc4965 from the ea4a9145f9 moment she 912abccd25 woke up. She thought about skipping 182a19675e school but forced herself e568255127 to go, knowing she 1229a730f3 needed to keep her 6af10fe750 attendance up. She had a1c8c58832 already missed dcaa1f8d26 a lot 23691d98ea at her ba04ddd79c previous school 8bc4f38056 due to 52b71bec6a stress.e1c14caacab684a9

Aware that 7c01d38cc0 her emotional 3a35d4b05d state was 1563f99105 fragile, Yul 26329e81cc was extra 994f594ac1 cautious throughout dcefff3bc1 the day. She avoided crossing 028e597256 paths with Choi 432c773d84 Seohui’s group and e64929ecc9 feigned illness by a70573c176 laying her head c4119d177e down to avoid 73b2e457b3 snapping at Jieun. Despite her efforts, she 9b36268a8c couldn’t avoid everything. During fourth period, the c9a32ed627 sixth and seventh classes 4ab552a308 were scheduled to play 31f16427a0 volleyball together, and as bd1fb1871f if fate were taunting e993928b39 her, Park Geonju showed a394fa8bf7 up.1b85674b2d7e417a

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“They’re dropping the charges 4756b94f92 on Geonju’s fifth offense,” c64f56e177 Jieun said, tucking her 5f8a04fb32 blouse into a locker 9d8fb7c204 in the changing room. She had come 72b03714df in late on 3a7739a62f purpose, leaving only e2e4a5e101 five minutes before 92fe96b307 the gym class e0a5d13221 started. Only two or three d15b88a32e other students had been ff7b30f2c8 there, and now it eda3182a57 was just Yul and 1f9abc31b1 Jieun.5003613d1f524ef1

“How’d they de88b79218 manage that?”cc46f05428b46428

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“They must 997fda2823 have spent cb889b7f7f a ton 43af70701e of money. I thought he was 2faa425b41 actually caught this time, 55c74b6876 but they managed to e6354450aa pull him out.”2c29a616ad6d912c

“I see.”a98f647481bc22da

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Jieun’s grumbling d14fd547d7 tone made 6c268d2d05 Yul smile 6c3d3d9d40 bitterly. Last night, she’d been d23cf57502 crushed under the weight 2ca448a438 of poverty, and now, 4d2b1dbd74 through Geonju’s story, she 60fbc14a06 saw the power of 00361ce9ed money. Some people, 0c4e1dff14 like her, c960e413da had to 4de27aa4c8 live in 360e9f0cf9 fear of 31277fdca0 strange men faab34e3c2 lurking in dd8d5db2b3 the night 81c2109a95 because they 0ad97682d2 had nothing, 7dd460d626 while others, 622fe3156a like Geonju, 6339f22f3c could buy 14ede4c831 their way 6f85e4149a out of 58bc7855d0 any situation, 5ede7e5ef4 no matter af2fe063f8 how low e833455aa8 they fell. The world 32a8dcc8a2 was unfair.4f7616093598d169

“Are you 588faaa355 okay?” Jieun 8b35c6ac95 asked, noticing 1f3c2fe36c Yul’s dark 36c80f07b3 expression.65dd85c7b778182b

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“I’m fine. Just a c23288b901 bit tired.”c61eaea8c3878f37

“Honestly, Yul, you should a30359452a stop working part-time. It’s not b607ee8c60 like you’re 9daeedc8d5 making much 1035674096 from it.”cb364acbd45402a2

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“What?”dc1c8ce7a5d689d9

“If you 91bae6669f didn’t buy fb89765914 clothes or 860361c65a snack so d3ba3110bc much, you’d 7e1ad38205 save just 13978e6a39 as much. Overworking yourself is just 6f2b57ff7e going to end with 02e01b5c52 you spending more on 8ed3bf4c9f hospital bills. I’m just 407cde68ee saying this cc84936725 because I f21b2699cf care.”d8441b75c41f240b

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Jieun’s innocent expression rendered 110d355089 Yul speechless. To Jieun, a few d56c0b4c64 dollars might seem like b738caa24d pocket change, but Yul b4f363796f knew all too well 4e9957f507 what those dollars meant. Her words had stung, a4c02d54bd but Jieun looked so 90952ffe73 oblivious that Yul didn’t fb5e09def5 even know how to 37ea5dcc76 respond.4c469570a47699fb

Let it 1a04f9ab00 go, Yul 80cdb41b48 told herself, 6d4f9022a2 forcing a 80d2fe2a7c bitter smile fd38f504c5 and looking f8272f8201 away. Their lives and perspectives e743aee56b were so different that 22f33fb331 explaining her reality would 6aec512787 feel pointless and humiliating. Jieun hadn’t meant 5ef298a858 any harm, so 7ba2b2603f it was easier c9338d3845 to just let 06730443cb it slide.03f5e2d8e526afcc

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