029 – A Hero’s Obsession with Villains #4
“Prince Juhyun! Look at this! It’s a collapsed house!”
Whoosh-.
Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul entered the almost collapsed derelict house.
“Evildoers, where are you? Are you here? Here? Where are you?”
Rustle-rustle-.
Opening the pantry, she pulled out a worn-out cup, giggling all the while, which clearly indicated that her mental state was not entirely stable.
Without any fear, she squeezed her way in as if she were a racoon dog rummaging through a field after starving for several days.
Lately, whenever I see Bangdaengi, she seems to be floating around, am I right?
Kids like her are bound to cause trouble someday.
When this happens, it’s probably time for me to step in.
“Bangdaengi, when I was in elementary school, this one high school senior tried to take my money. It happened in one of these abandoned houses in a back alley.”
“Huh? What is this random story?”
“That senior asked me, ─Hey, you got money?─ and when I said yes, he told me to hand it all over. So, I obediently said ─okay─ in response.”
“That’s when I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a folding carrot dagger instead of money.”
“Folding… carrot dagger?”
“I named my dagger 「Nanatsuyoru」. I swung it at that high school senior.”
“…A carrot dagger?”
“Yeah, I was insane back then. And now I’m in high school. No elementary school kid even dares to come near me anymore.”
“Uh, weren’t we supposed to be investigating the abandoned houses? Why are you suddenly talking about this?”
“The important point is: for an elementary school student to confront a high school student, one needs something like our 「Nanatsuyoru」 to deal with them. You’re an elementary school kid, and the guys you’re after are high school students.”
“So… you’re saying that me going after the bad guys recklessly is kind of foolish, and I shouldn’t forget this mission is more about investigation and not extermination, right? You’re worried about me.”
Bangdaengi scratched the back of her slightly pinkish head as if finally understanding my meaning. But she had completely misinterpreted the lesson from my story.
“The bottom line is, to defeat high school students, we need our own 「Nanatsuyoru」. Look at this table leg. If we break it, it could be used as a weapon like a baseball bat, right?”
Crack-!
I kicked the table, splitting it apart, and easily tore out one leg like removing a chicken drumstick from soup. The rusted nails looked perfectly menacing, making it an ideal weapon.
Whizz-.
It feels good to swing it around.
“Hitting someone with this would definitely guarantee tetanus, even for Buddha’s grandma. If you’re going to investigate, you should look for helpful items like this. Remember, humans are tool-using animals.”
“Tools! That’s right! Got it, Hanamjin!”
Finally understanding my real intention, there was a newfound determination in Bangdaengi’s eyes.
She still has a long way to go to be a decent recycler collector, but it seems she has potential.
However, something that has been bothering me remained unresolved.
“Bangdaengi, I’ve been wondering for a while—what’s up with this ‘Hanamjjin’ thing out of nowhere?”
“Uh… That one?”
Blushing and fidgeting, Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul squirmed more anxiously than caterpillars trying to enter cocoons.
She must realize her behavior is embarrassing.
“Changing someone’s name whimsically is rude. I have a proper name from my parents—Hanamjin. Calling me something else is disrespectful.”
“Ugh, well, you said that, but you’re not one to talk! You started calling me ‘Bangdaengi’! Cancel it! Both of you have been randomly naming others!”
“But you are Bangdaengi.”
“I’m not Bangdaengi! I’m Baek Yeo-ul!”
“What kind of ‘Yeo’ and ‘Ul’? Or perhaps Ul written only in pure Korean?”
“Uh… What was it again….”
“See, you’re Bangdaengi, admit it.”
“No! Then you’re Hanamjjin! That’s enough! Got it? And I’ll carry this investigation; Hanamjjin, all you need to do is get lost! Just follow me!”
Swish-.
Suddenly Bangdaengi grabbed a frying pan near us. It was broad and sturdy, a very usable item.
“Hey, that frying pan looks solid.”
“Isn’t it? This is going to be my new 「Unlucky Bat」! My weapon!”
“「Unlucky Bat」? Sounds like a good trot singer who performs at late-night shows.”
“It’s a Bat that brings bad luck! That’s why it’s 「Unlucky Bat」!”
It’s not a bat but a frying pan, shouldn’t it be the ‘Unlucky Frying Pan’?
Bangdaengi is only getting weirder.
Well, our morning investigation ended on that note.
The only gain? Bangdaengi obtaining her 「Unlucky Bat」. Frankly, even I found 「Unlucky Bat」 quite appealing.
Useful tools are always a good thing, which sparked my interest in the treasures called 「Precious Objects」 at the school’s Treasure Exhibition.
Concept-driven 「Precious Objects」! Having one of those would surely make things easy and reliable.
With that thought, I decided it was lunchtime and messaged everyone when an uncle called out to us.
“Students, wait a moment!”
A man clad in a very worn denim jacket and pants approached us. Paint stains everywhere and a scruffy beard made him look like a homeless person, maybe even suspicious.
“Bangdaengi, raise your 「Unlucky Bat」 and be on guard.”
The man chuckled.
“Are you students from Yeonga Private High School? My son attends there too. It just feels like seeing my kid when I see you guys. You shouldn’t be looting these abandoned houses recklessly.”
Now we noticed that the man had a rickshaw loaded with scrap material.
Maybe he’s one of us, a kindred spirit. He’s probably saying that this is his territory, so young students shouldn’t plunder it carelessly.
“This uncle has been seeing suspicious people roaming around this neighborhood recently. I thought you might get hurt if you mess around in these vacant houses.”
Suspicious people seen? This suddenly spiked my interest.
“Sir, could you tell us exactly where you saw those suspicious people? How were they suspicious?”
“Sir? I’m not that old. Anyway, they looked suspicious right away—they had dyed their hair flashy colors and were wandering around at midnight. Clearly not from this area; I can tell at a glance.”
Given that he can haul such a large rickshaw around, his judgment seems trustworthy. If he says someone is suspicious, they probably are.
“Can you show us exactly where you saw them?”
“That’s… well…”
The man seemed hesitant in several ways. That was when Chang-sik and Deoksun approached us.
“…”
“…”
Deoksun and Chang-sik seemed genuinely surprised by the scruffy appearance of the man.
The man looked at us as if about to say something, but just said, “Be careful you don’t get hurt. Go home before sunset,” then pulled his heavy rickshaw up a steep slope.
Creak, Creak-.
Pulling a rickshaw full of scrap items up such a steep incline was hard for any full-grown man. It was clear enough for Deoksun to audibly sigh with empathy.
The man knelt near a garbage site and began fishing out usable items, his own condition disregarded as he shone with excitement at the prospect of what others discard, treating them like treasures. Chang-sik slightly averted his eyes at the sight.
Whispering to Chang-sik so only he could hear, I asked,
“Chang-sik, is this your dad?”
“…”
Chang-sik visibly startled.
Baek Yeo-ul and Deoksun also appeared surprised, quietly observing the scene. Eventually, Chang-sik sighed deeply.
“Friends, you’re right. Honestly… I couldn’t bring myself to mention it; he does dirty and messy work, doesn’t he? I didn’t expect we’d meet him here. He hasn’t said anything strange to you, has he?”
“Chang-sik, do you know what a hero is?”
“Hero? Are you talking about Yeonga High School alumni?”
“I think a hero is someone who personally takes on the tasks that others dislike most. In that sense, your father qualifies as a hero.”
“…”
“Besides, isn’t he the type who gives new opportunities to forgotten resources that are destined to d*e meaninglessly? He is a true gentleman. We need to be like him.”
Our dear sir’s greatness is equal to Seugal’s.
Well, honestly, slightly below Seugal’s standard—nevertheless, if he’s compared with Seugal in my heart, his greatness is undeniably immense.
A silver medal is still quite an achievement.
“…”
Listening to me, Chang-sik seemed to delve deep in thought, his gaze shifting around. Suddenly, as if making a big decision, he clenched his fists and shouted.
“Father!”
Chang-sik sprinted up the steep slope.
In no time, he effortlessly pushed his father’s heavy rickshaw all the way up.
“…”
“…”
Father and son seemed to have a conversation, though we couldn’t hear what it was.
“Sorry! Did you all wait long?”
When Chang-sik came back down the slope, dust covered his face and clothes, but all signs of worry and unease had vanished; his expression was bright and cheerful.
“My father gave me money to buy dinner. I’ll treat everyone today. And he also said not to go near the industrial wasteland in the Third District.”
Money for dinner? Nice, tonight’s dinner is set!
And not to go near the Third District?
Where there’s prohibition, there’s usually reason. It’s fatherly concern for his son.
If the sir knows that Chang-sik is an Awakened One and still worries, that tells me…
“There’s something at the Third District’s abandoned factory.”
“Could it be the villains!?”
Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul showed surprisingly quick comprehension this time.
The information we’d been searching for finally came from Chang-sik’s father.
“Luck’s on our side.”
“Isn’t it all thanks to me?”
Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul puffing her chest out.
Truthfully, she didn’t do anything, right?
We headed towards the Third District where the abandoned factory was, before sunset.
When the grandeur and desolation of rusted buildings reminded me of the verses of Odgan Diodias, we spotted an odd figure lurking near the abandoned factory.
“Hey, isn’t that Sama-gui?”
“Sama-jun. Prince Juhyun’s errand boy!”
Just like Baek Yeo-ul said, there was Sama-jun.
What’s he doing here?
Before I could puzzle over this odd situation, a man with anachronistically long red-dyed hair jumped out from the factory, draped his arm around Sama-jun’s shoulder, and dragged him somewhere.
Everyone remained silent, not recognizing who the man was.
But I had a long-forgotten memory flash through my mind like lightning.
“That guy’s 「Yeomra」.”
“Friend, do you mean N Mart arsonist Yeomhun? Which means…”
The nemesis who caused my parents’ d*ath.
Notorious fugitive Yeomhun! Who would’ve thought I’d meet him here today!
“Guys, it seems we need to cancel the reconnaissance mission.”
Annihilation! Definitely annihilation!
We must destroy that guy’s marbles once and for all!
