Chapter 199: Chapter 24, Episode 9: Neo-psychopath
âWhatâs there to be worried about? Gaining a few more scars isnât a big deal for us guys. Strong, good fighters are the best within mercenaries. I advanced straight through the ranks and earned a lot of money. You shouldnât save your pocket money, yeah? Buy a lot of pretty clothes and eat a lot of delicious food.â
Jin Soon laughed inwardly at his bragging. Oppa was someone who had lied about having rice when there wasnât enough for him the next day. He couldnât have saved much money for himself either since he had paid for the five siblingsâ education.
She was working part-time to save the money that oppa had sent her, but with four of her siblings in need, it was a great burden.
âWow! Really? I should head to the department store tomorrow,â Jin Soon replied in fake excitement.
It was the money that oppa had earned from spilling blood. To buy clothes and dine out with such money was something punishable by the heavens.
âYes, it marks the end of Jin Soon, the screaming girl on the bridge, and marks the new coming of happiness for Jin Soon, the beautiful nurse.â
âWhatâs the point, though? Oppaâs going overseas again.â
âNo. Iâm going to live here from now on. I only need to go to France when they need me.â
Surprised, Jin Soon had accidentally shoved the ear pick into Mu Ssangâs ears. Not even the Paranthropus could withstand that paink.
âOh my God! Sorry, Iâm sorry! Hahaha!â Jin Soonâs mouth split open.
Oppa doesnât have to live overseas anymore. He is going to live in Korea. Her mood inflated like a balloon that floated around the sky.
âFor real? Youâre not going to return to the foreign army and live in our country instead?â
âHa, I went through an extremely complicated and funny process over there, but the higher-ups there are letting me do so because theyâre scared theyâll get beaten up by me.â
âHa, I canât believe it.â
Mu Ssang felt sad. Well, it wasnât something that Jin Soon could easily believe, he supposed.
âYouâre really going to live here, right?â
Jin Soon wasnât interested in the receiving end of her oppaâs beatings. She was entirely pinned on the fact that he was going to live in Korea.
âGosh, you brat, you really canât trust me, can you? Iâm going to live here and only go overseas when my job requires me to.â
âWow, thatâs great! Thatâs super great! Whoo!â
Jin Soon raised both her arms and shouted a cheer.
âIâm studying for the university examinations nowadays.â
âOppa, youâre studying again!â
All kinds of emotions flashed across Jin Soonâs face. Past memories stifled her heart. Her oppaâs past sufferings and accidents had been brought about by that Jang woman and her relatives. She felt as though every twisted event was settling back in its place.
âOppa, you thought well. Thank you so much. Your father in heaven will be so glad. Youâre not going to leave those things alone, are you?â Jin Soonâs eyes gleamed in blue.
âIf oppaâs not going to do it, Iâll open her head up with my sickle and crack it down the middle.â
Jin Soon gritted her teeth.
Oppa was someone who had to study. The In-dong street gang, prosecutor Kim Dal Su, and Jang Chi Sooâs street gangs were oppaâs enemies. That automatically made them her enemies as well.
âJeez, you brat, are you a gang member? Why would you open up a skull with your sickle? You should learn to control your temper a little.â
âGod, oppa, thereâs nothing wrong with my temper.â
Jin Soon pouted at Mu Ssangâs advice. Mu Ssang smiled. Jin Soon had visited his single room during her middle school years to prepare food and even did his laundry. She was the only one who had learned the truth of the entire incident.
Despite her cheerful disposition, his heart twinged at the thought of Jin Soon worrying for him.
âLook, look. Those people who had shoved their nephew into jail and sent a gang after his life, are they worthy of being called humans? They arenât humans. Theyâre the devil. Humans are humans, and animals are animals.â
Jin Soonâs face started to flush. Oppa had become more at ease after becoming the old monkâs student. It was fortunate that heâd gained his peace and returned to the person he was before. However, in times like this, she grew frustrated. She didnât like how he glossed over things while spouting the words of Buddha.
âHehe, a human who behaves outside the conditions of a human has no choice but to live like an animal. Should I thank them since theyâve helped me rear my talents and helped me earn lots of money?â Mu Ssang muttered.
âOppa, stop reciting spells. Donât you know that Wu Takâs family have become very wealthy?â
âThey created a company out of the money they have received from selling my fatherâs land, didnât they? Theyâre people who have gathered money in heaps even before I left for France. They have also named the company Good Heart Lodgings which is unbefitting.â
Mu Ssangâs expression looked crabby. He knew exactly how his uncle had run the company, after all.
âThatâs not all. A few years ago, they started a gasoline company and a medicine company. I heard they shoveled money into their pockets. I think itâs called Good Heart Oil and Good Heart Medicines.â
âHehehe, Good Heart, huh! Do you think those things can be deemed as a hometown? Your oppa has brought a handful of money. Donât worry.â
Mu Ssang grinned. How much could they earn in the countryside? In the past, he saw the buses lining in front of Good Heart Lodgings as undefeatable. Well, it was nothing now. With the money that he had currently, he could buy Good Heart Lodgings and more.
Jin Soon smiled. Her personality was easygoing and calm. It didnât matter whether oppa had money or not. All she needed was her oppa. Money could be earned. She had her hands and feet, so what worries could she have!
âOppa, you have a lot to do here. Do you need to keep attending that Legion place?â
âNo. They would give me a hefty sum even if I played around here. Thereâs a lot of people who fear me, you see. The higher-ups wonât call for me as long as possible. Pick my ears for me, wonât you? I think those higher-ups are cursing me out.â
âHohoho, oppa, you are scary. Who can go against you when you have plastered 30 gang members with knives and axes to the ground? What should I make you tomorrow?â
Jin Soon was the stereotypical daughter, the eldest of the family. Her cooking and living skills, which sheâd learned even before entering school, had surpassed her mother, Ha Dong Daek.
âRemember not to leave behind the smell of meat when the teacherâs here. Just stew some bean paste soup and make some sprout paste for the side dish. Give the teacher something soft like soup.â
âBut, oppa, you need to eat meat.â
Oppa could eat an entire chicken for a meal and finish five kilograms of soup in a single sitting. Jin Soon looked as though sheâd leave immediately with her handbag.
Mu Ssang had felt conflicted. Jin Soon was someone who would pluck Hadesâ nostrils for the sake of her brother. She was also someone who would walk the entire village towards the city to buy a box of meat for her oppa. He immediately changed the conversation.
âSoon, your bodyâs grown very well. Youâre taller, and your skinâs an art. Whereâs the girl who used to run around the field with tanned skin?â
Jin Soonâs face turned red as though it was burning.
âReally? My chest got bigger too.â
Jin Soon gathered her E cup sized breasts and raised it to the sky.
âHm, itâs definitely grown. Itâs more pleasing to see and perkier compared to that of the French women.â
Mu Ssangâs conscience was still stuck in the sibling relationship that was formed 10 years ago, but it wasnât the case for Jin Soon.
Jin Soon shivered with a strange groan. Her head felt strange with that single comment. She threw her top aside and raised her blouse to her shoulders. Mu Ssang freaked out when her white skin was revealed.
âHey, brat, what the hell are you doing!â
He immediately stretched out and lowered the blouse.
âIâm trying to show you my chest.â
Mu Ssangâs face turned into one of horror at Jin Soonâs calm reply, as though he had been shot by an RPG.
âHold on. Are you trying to see your oppa with a nosebleed?â
âIâve been yours since 10 years ago. Iâm trying to show you properly since you always treat me like a small kid.â
âBrat, weâre familyââ
âHa, is the 104th cousin still family?â Jin Soon smiled.
âFine, fine, God, I lost. Itâs certain, okay? Your chest is very big.â
Mu Ssang wrapped his arms around his head.
Jin Soon laughed until her neckline showed. It was her first loud laughter sheâd shown since her oppaâs lover had left for the States. Oppa hadnât changed one bit. Sheâd heard several stories of how soldiers became animals from her father and uncles. Her heart grew tighter at his unchanged, gullible personality.
Jin Soonâs hands went over Mu Ssangâs chest. There were scars all over his hard muscles. Like worms, it caught on her fingers. Currently, she was studying to be a nurse.
She couldnât imagine how horrible the battle must have been. Oppa had earned money by walking into hell, which allowed herself and her siblings the opportunity to study. Her heart twinged in pain every time her fingers caught a new scar.
A strong wind blew by. The wind chime which dangled on a weight shook, started clanging here and there. Spring rain started to fall little by little.
âOppa, itâs raining outside.â
âA warm room, a loving sister, and scattering spring rain, nothing is lacking or needed.â
âAre you emphasizing on âsisterâ again? Iâm a woman too.â Jin Soon glared as she protested half-heartedly.
Mu Ssang replied with his eyes closed, âThereâs a phrase that goes, é¨ä¸ä˝ç¤şĺçąčŠŠ ĺ¤é¨ĺ°ç. It means to put the beds together and listen to the raindrops. Since youâre putting two beds together, it refers to the brotherhood and sisterhood between family, and not that of husband and wife. I want to listen to the sound of rain with you with our bed, side by side, for the rest of my life.â
Jin Soon felt the deep sadness hidden in his words. She felt unjust and sad, but her oppa saw her as nothing more than a sister. Oppa didnât have a family. Oppaâs dearest wish was not to have a woman but to have a family.
Yes, that could be for the best. I could take care of oppa for the rest of my life instead of caring for my kids. Jo Jin Soon, you should have known oppa will be uncomfortable when you try to be greedy. Still, I want to be oppaâs woman.
Jin Soonâs heart split into two. Her tears flowed like the river, which followed the stream. The atmosphere settled heavily.
âAre they third graders now?â Mu Ssang asked suddenly.
âYes, Yeon Soon and Gye Soon also went to university. They were clamoring to see you too, oppa.â
âThose girls who used to have stuffy noses all the time are already attending university? Hoo, time really has passed. Why didnât you bring them along?â
âWhy should I bring them? Those girls would be so busy talking over each other that I wouldnât have time to talk. They all became b*****es, you see. Theyâre going to make a big ruckus over you, and Iâll be the cold rice.â
âI see, my popularity hasnât gone down at all, hahaha!â Mu Ssang laughed jokingly.
âHa, f*** popularity. Oppas who burned a womanâs heart should leave.â
âEh, I get it. Iâm going to go exercise.â
âWhere do you think youâre going? Does a womanâs lap look so cheap?â
When Mu Ssang raised his head, Jin Soon pressed it back down to its place.
âJin Soon, I want to find my mum immediately.â
âOf course. You arenât a wanted figure anymore, and your sentence is over.â
Mu Ssang made a weird noise. The Sahelâs Kanma was a criminal in Korea. Laughter kept spilling out of his mouth. Even during his house confinement, he had to be careful not to miss the night hour patrols. He would be carried to the Three-Departmentâs Educational Center if he had made a single mistake, such as staying out past the curfew. He couldnât do anything to his enemies despite him being right there.
âTeacher has ordered me to carry out the soul-refining service for a month.â
âTsk, that old teacher who teases his sole apprentice.â
Monk Dae Woo cleared his throat loudly from the large room next door. Surprised, Jin Soon flinched.
âKeke, teacher can hear everything from within 10 li. He can also hear you cursing him out even if youâre a 100 li away,â Mu Ssang lowered his voice.
The dry cough rang even louder. Mu Ssangâs neck retreated. Jin Soon giggled as quietly as she could.
âTeacherâs intentions werenât to teach me the soul-refining prayer. Heâs someone who thinks nothing of the Samsara. He isnât someone who would get attached to purifying the soul.â
âThen what are his intentions?â
âHeâs acting like that because heâs worried that his student will go mad. Heâs telling me to cool down the boiling blood for a month.â
âGosh, arenât both of you living complicated lives? Whatâs there to life? You fight back when something attacks and dig through when the path is blocked.â
âHehe, yeah, everything you say is right. Itâs a life that wonât reach a century, so whatâs the point of wasting life?â Mu Ssangâs voice grew smaller.
Mu Ssang fell asleep with his head on Jin Soonâs lap. He slept peacefully like a young child. Jin Soon stared down at him with sadness in her eyes. No matter what anyone said, oppa was someone with a lot of baggage in his heart.
That was the woman her oppa loved. It had been a steady two years of happiness for her oppa, but the woman had left to chase after her dreams. She left, like taking a gifted candy away from a child.
It was the sound of teeth grinding against each other. She didnât know why the woman did so. She certainly didnât want to know, either. Was there a greater reason for throwing love away?
If it had been herself, she would have died instead. If she had to follow her oppa overseas for 10 years to earn money, she would have willingly followed.
All she could think was that the old b**** had used her affection-starved oppa.
Jin Soon closed her eyes. Time flowed backward to 10 years ago. In the middle banks of the bridge where wild chrysanthemums had filled the grass, the autumn wind had snapped against the reeds and bushes as it passed.
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Oppa had been sleeping underneath the thick willow. His face was swollen and blue. His lips had burst, and his nosebleed had dried on his face. She could see his half-filled basket and his sickle.
Those had been the marks from the beatings of his great uncle. Jin Soon had cried. She hated the In-Dong old man who had injured her brother all the time. She had cried because she pitied her brother, and she also hated herself for not being able to do anything. She wanted to do whatever she could for her oppa.
There was nothing a young girl could have done. She had only received things from her oppa. He had done the hard work in her stead, gave her crops, chopped the firewood, got rid of the weeds, and carried her across the deep stream.
When she grew older, her four siblings placed more burden on her oppa. The five siblings had drawn his blood for their studies. Thus, she kept on receiving and hurting for the past 10 years.