Became a Dark Merchant in the Academy

189 – Guild Internship_20

‘Mom, why don’t I have a dad?’

Perhaps that question was the first question I ever asked about my father.

I don’t remember why I asked.

Is it because I feel resentful and wronged that the neighborhood kids won’t even play with a kid who doesn’t have a father?

When I walk down the street, I feel embarrassed and angry because of the adults who click their tongues and look at me with pity.

or not…

‘What do you mean there isn’t any?’

Now it was extremely faint.

But there was one thing I definitely remember.

‘Did anyone say anything?’

‘No… that’s not it…’

‘Really? Really? You’re not hiding anything from your mom or anything, are you?’

‘No. More importantly, do I have a father?’

‘… and so on. Chae-ah’s father is a great person. He just needs me here and there in the world, so he’s just staying away for a while.’

Mother had a sad smile on her face.

‘Great guy?’

‘Yeah, you’re a hero who defeats bad villains and monsters and saves people.’

‘Are you really a hero? Really? Really?’

‘That’s right.’

I didn’t know that at the time.

‘I want to meet you.’

‘We’ll be able to meet.’

‘when?’

Just that I have a father I thought wasn’t there.

And that my dad is a hero.

How happy it was.

‘Well. If our Chae-ah doesn’t worry about her mother, eats three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and brushes her teeth well, she will probably come back in ten nights, right?’

‘really?’

‘That’s true. But if you make Mom upset, or skip food because you have vegetables, or go to bed without brushing your teeth because it’s annoying, you’ll be late for a night.’

‘It’s okay. I eat vegetables well and brush my teeth well.’

‘What’s inside Mom?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘what?’

I was just running around, looking forward to the future and wondering when I would be able to see it.

But that didn’t last long.

‘My dad said he was a little busy so he asked me to postpone it for one night.’

One night has passed since the scheduled date.

‘Tomorrow will definitely come.’

Ten more nights passed since then.

‘Chae-ah…’

A hundred nights have passed since the day I waited without counting the nights.

As my head grew, there were things I came to know even though I didn’t want to know them.

That he had no father and that his mother was an unmarried mother.

Everything she’s told me so far is just a lie her mother made up to comfort her.

‘I guess so.’

It didn’t matter though.

Even if you have it, you will feel a sense of loss for what you have lost.

How do you feel the loss of something that you don’t have?

‘Why only me… and others…’

‘…..’

Of course, sometimes emotions that are difficult to express, such as anger, are expressed, and because of that, we have been in conflict many times.

‘…sorry.’

‘It’s okay, but wouldn’t you like to raise your head a little? I want to see my daughter’s face.’

It didn’t take long for that to be reconciled, but it was all hushed up.

Now, I’ve become so used to living alone with my mother that I can’t even imagine a life any different.

It’s not a life of luxury, but when you read about single-parent families in the media or in novels, it’s not like they’re living in poverty. If you just cut down on spending a little, it’s a decent life.

There was some conflict, but it wasn’t that bad either.

People say there is something missing, but for Yoo Chae-ah, it was her family.

That’s why I gradually reduced the amount of stories I told about my father.

Whenever the topic came up, I intentionally changed the subject.

Maybe that’s why his mother sometimes looked at him with a sad expression.

‘are you okay.’

You can do that if you put in the effort.

No problem.

Moderately happy.

that.

‘Have a nice trip.’

That day was an extension of that kind of day.

My mother comes out to greet me at the school I go to every day, wondering what’s so great about it.

‘I told you not to come out.’

He finds it annoying and leaves without even saying goodbye.

A morning that was as ordinary as ever.

That’s why I regretted it.

I know it’s a ridiculous exaggeration.

If only I had realized the danger at that time and run away, or at least greeted him properly.

I wonder if the ending would have been different.

‘…?’

When I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar place.

I searched my memory and recalled what had happened.

‘I’m sure I’ll finish school and come home…’

But after that, I had no memory.

And most of all, my wrists and shoulders hurt.

‘What, what is it…’

The reason was simple.

This was because a single iron chain extending from the ceiling bound his wrists, leaving him hanging in the air.

It looks like a lugworm on the end of a fishhook.

I couldn’t understand why I was in this place and why I was being treated like this.

But I couldn’t stay like this forever, so I twisted my body to try to escape the chains, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.

How tightly tied.

Rather, the more I moved, the more it dug into my flesh.

‘Ah, is the useless struggling over now?’

A sinister voice was heard from somewhere.

It was as if he had been watching all of her actions up until now.

‘Then why don’t you turn around? It’s a very interesting situation right now.’

‘!!?’

A voice was heard suddenly.

I was scared and trembling in panic.

After calming down for a moment, he slowly looked around, but couldn’t find the owner of the voice.

‘Dang, who are you? My family doesn’t have any money, so…’

‘I know. I know that too. But wouldn’t you like to look after me?’

I know what I’m going to get into, and I’m not even sure what the person is saying…

‘─!!!’

I heard a scream.

A scream from a voice that was all too familiar.

I turned my head and looked at the place where the sound came from.

And I could see it.

‘mom…?’

On the small monitor behind him, he saw his mother, similar to him, suspended in the air, chained to an iron chain.

‘Surprised?’

It was so miserable.

Blood was flowing out of countless small pores all over his body.

And the blood was running down his body and clothes, forming a small puddle on the floor.

‘mom!!!’

I twisted my body again.

However, the chains on his wrists did not come off.

‘I can’t take revenge on that old man myself, but I guess I can do something like this.’

Gwangso, I couldn’t understand what you were talking about at all.

More than that, Mom…

‘Well, I don’t think that old man would blink an eye at something like this, but who knows? If he sees this video, he might regret it. No, let’s just send him the beginning part to make him angry a little. That wouldn’t be bad. No, it looks good. Hehe.’

Mom…

‘You don’t understand? Don’t think about it, just accept it as it is. That’s just how things are in this world. You may be living a good life, but you may be falsely accused and lose your precious family, and you may accidentally obtain shocking information in a place you enter for revenge.’

‘Well, what do you want? I’ll give you anything. Please…’

‘Mother and daughter always say the same thing. Is it genetic?’

‘Please, my mother…’

‘Shut up, let’s play a game instead. If you win, I’ll let you go and I’ll let your mom go too. What do you think?’

‘please…’

I just couldn’t understand why this happened.

One thing was certain: I knew without anyone having to tell me that I had no choice but to pray to that voice in order to save my mother.

That’s why I begged and begged.

‘If you don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do.’

But that didn’t work at all.

A dull tone of voice.

‘!!!’

Blood splattered on the monitor.

‘mom!!!’

‘I kindly showed you how to do it. If you don’t want to do it, there’s nothing I can do. This is the result of your choice.’

Blood spurted out again.

‘Youu …

Shouted.

He gritted his teeth and twisted his body until his bones broke.

However, there were no results.

‘You’re wasting your efforts.’

The unfamiliar voice simply laughed.

And then the blood spurted out again.

Pigapigapigapigapigapiga─

‘I will, I will do it. I will do anything. Anything is fine. So…’

‘Wouldn’t it be better if it was like that from the beginning? But you accepted it anyway. Let’s start the game.’

I just can’t stand to watch.

Because it was so painful not being able to do anything.

He nodded several times with a messed up face.

‘The rules of this game are simple. You just have to look at the monitor. Oh, how long? One month. That should be enough.’

Whether you like it or not.

The unidentified voice laughed softly.

‘You just have to look at it for a long time. But if you just look at it like that, it won’t be fun for either of you, so I’ll add a penalty. You can’t look away. You can’t close your eyes. Even if you’re sleepy, in pain, or having a hard time bearing it, no matter what happens, you have to just look.’

He laughed very little.

‘I’ll understand if you blink. I’m not that evil. But if you don’t blink, the same thing will happen again.’

‘Why…doing something like this…’

‘Well, you can ask that old lady. I did nothing wrong. Well, that old lady probably won’t come even if you send her a video of what’s happening. I don’t know if you can ask her.’

The beginning of despair.

Two days passed like that.

My eyes hurt so much that I closed them for a moment and then opened them again.

‘There’s no trickery. That’s not blinking, is it?’

The fire burned the skin.

‘!!!’

A scream is heard.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…’

I never closed my eyes again.

Five days passed.

I couldn’t eat anything except water.

My vision kept getting blurry.

A large amount of salt was sprinkled on the wound.

Days passed.

Over and over again…

My fingernails and toenails fell out.

Ten days passed.

Over and over again…

The electricity shocked my body.

Fourteen days passed.

Over and over again…

Both of my mother’s ankles were cut off.

After two weeks, I was able to talk to my mom.

In reality, all I saw was a small mouth moving on the monitor.

I don’t know what it means.

Eighteen days have passed.

My eyes keep…

Both of my mother’s hands were cut off.

Twenty days passed.

My eyes kept closing.

You shouldn’t close your eyes.

This isn’t right.

Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes─

You shouldn’t close it.

It shouldn’t be wrapped.

You should never wrap it around.

Twenty-nine years have passed.

My mother died.

**

“When his first love died, he brought her daughter in and acted as her guardian, and not satisfied with that, he projected her onto her and gaslighted her into pregnancy. And then, perhaps because he was afraid of the public eye or because his reputation would be tarnished, he abandoned her and never looked for her again.”

In the end, he felt guilty and reflected on it, knowing that he was using tricks, but he still let it happen.

It was ugly and stupid.

“But it’s fortunate for me that there are so many useful claims lying on the ground like this.”

It was good anyway.

This brings us to the final defeat.

“gift.”

The sky is covered by clouds.

Under the dim dark night, a collapsed building.

“I will use it gratefully.”

Shin Yang-cheon, who was being sucked into the shadows, could only make an expression of resentment.