Chapter 150 – Time to Clean Up #1
Tae-hyuk suddenly recalled his previous life, where he was wrongfully imprisoned for murder. He spent 10 years in prison until he lost his life. During that time, he met countless criminals.
Strangely, many of them said something like this.
–Why did I do that? I don't know! My body spontaneously moved… I mean, do you understand? The bad thing is the crime, not me. I'm a victim as well.
Tae-hyuk had laughed as he listened to that. It sounded like the crime was in control instead.
However, what they were saying might have been real. Since a while ago, he started to think that.
@
“…Tae-hyuk! Seo Tae-hyuk!"
“Uh, um? Ha-ran noona?"
When he opened his eyes, Seo Ha-ran was dressed in a smart suit with her fist raised. If he didn't get up right now then he would be hit.
“Your teacher is waiting. We should go in."
“Eh? It is already time?"
“This child. You have been dozing off since earlier."
Tae-hyuk scratched his head.
He had been checking the Demon Revealing Mirror as he was waiting for his meeting with the teacher. His crime skills had renewed after he upgraded his status to 'King'.
The first thing that caught his eyes was Disguise. Once he triggered it, he could change his face and voice to someone else's. However, his body stayed the same.
'Disguise' had evolved into 'Transformation.'
‘Now I can change the body as well.'
To test it out, he took a shower and transformed into Moonlight Flower, almost giving himself a nosebleed. His face turned hot as he recalled that memory.
'…A really terrific skill!'
In addition, Illegal Surgery changed to Body Modification. It seemed to be strengthened towards the direction that he used the skill. Now he could easily swap arms and legs, or plant bombs inside the body.
In addition, most of the skills gained additional attributes. However, Violence maintained its original shape.
‘Of course, thanks to Sixth Sense and other attributes, I am able to use it a lot more than when I first got it.'
After becoming the winner of the mafia game, Tae-hyuk was promoted from a Noble to a King. Now he could do things that were impossible when he was just a Noble. He wanted to test his newly acquired abilities right now. However, there was no one in the area.
'Let's see… Are there any survivors from the Triads? Ah, maybe I should rob a bank?'
If he used 'Transformation', then he could do it without getting any blood on his hands. The mafia, who had been the biggest obstacle to his activities in South Korea, had now been dealt with. Now there was nothing left to block his way…
"What are you doing? Tae-hyuk, let's go."
"Umm."
Ha-ran grabbed Tae-hyuk's hand and led him to the consultation room. The parent and student before them were just leaving the room. The mother was dressed in various luxurious products, looking like a decorated peacock. The peacock rolled her eyes as she saw Ha-ran and muttered,
“Why did a child come to a parent meeting? Don't they have parents?"
She was talking to herself but her words easily reached Tae-hyuk's ears. Ha-ran was smiling with a casual expression, but her eyes shook for a moment.
The peacock's eyes widened as she saw Tae-hyuk following after Ha-ran.
"Omo! He completely looks like a gangster! Why is his expression so terrible? Chan-shik, you should absolutely never become friends with him."
"M-Mother…"
It sounded like she intended to speak to her son but once again, her voice was too loud. Tae-hyuk's eyes narrowed as he watched Ha-ran's expression darken. What was she feeling now? Anger rose as he thought about it.
'Well. Should I just kill her?
He had a gun… He touched the grip of the hidden pistol. Bullets were loaded so pulling the trigger would fire it. The opponents were just an ordinary high school student and his mother. Tae-hyuk didn't need to use Bullet Time to put a hole in their heads. If he raised the gun, then the peacock would tremble with fear…
‘No. I didn't place a silencer on the pistol and too many people are watching. In that case, I can be a little bit playful.'
The peacock couldn't imagine how close she came to dying. He glared at the peacock with a cold expression.
"Mother! He is Seo Tae-hyuk."
"Seo Tae-hyuk? A fighter?"
“It's not like that… he was ranked 300th on the mock exams."
The peacock laughed.
“300th? That is almost at the bottom of the school. Indeed, as I said…"
"300th in the nation!"
"……"
It was a number that was only possible if a person could close to a perfect score in the mock exams. There were literally hundreds of thousands of examinees. The level was enough to get a full scholarship to S University.
Hearing those words, the expression on the peacock's face changed. She covered her mouth with her hand and walked towards Tae-hyuk.
"Omo, you are Tae-hyuk. I've heard a lot about you. Would you like to have dinner together after your meeting? I have a reservation at a ribs restaurant. I get the sense that we will become friendly in the future…"
Tae-hyuk smiled and said,
"Ajumma. I'm sorry but aren't your clothes going to burst?"
"W-What?"
“All the suit buttons…"
"Aaack!"
The buttons on the clothes that the peacock was wearing were all gone. It was a situation where it wouldn't be weird for her clothes to fall off at any second. The peacock grabbed her son's hand and ran away from the consultation room.
'You should be grateful that I only did this much.'
Tae-hyuk quickly put the buttons into his pocket.
Jung Nam-ho didn't seem very upset at the aftermath of the peacock storming out. He had been teaching high school students for over 10 years already. He was familiar with the nerves parents had when their children were third years.
"Hey! Tae-hyuk! Come in and sit down!"
Tae-hyuk and Ha-ran sat down and the consultation began. Ha-ran bowed politely and greeted the teacher.
“Hello. I am Tae-hyuk's sister."
"C-Cough! Ah, his sister? Seo Tae-hyuk… Seo Tae-hyuk is my most beloved disciple. Have you seen the report card with his results from the mock exams?"
"…Yes."
“Then let's see…"
Jung Nam-ho pulled out a table universities' cut-off lines and told Tae-hyuk which ones he could go to. His list included all of the top universities.
“All of these universities will offer a full scholarship if Tae-hyuk chooses to go there. If he tells me which university he wants to go to, then I will give him my full support."
Universities with a slightly lower cut-off line than S University were checked.
Most career counseling was based on the student's grades. Therefore, it was often a one-sided conversation. However, Jung Nam-ho didn't forcibly talk and instead listened to Ha-ran calmly.
“First of all, I would like to send Tae-hyuk to the university he wants to go, regardless of scholarships.”
"Ah, is that so?"
The two of them focused on Seo Tae-hyuk.
"Well. I don't care if it is S University."
“S University…the medical school might be hard, but you will be able to easily enter the other courses."
"R-Really? S-Sob…!"
Ha-ran's eyes reddened and thick tears started to flow down her face.
"S-Sob, s… I-I'm sorry. I just didn't know that Tae-hyuk would be doing so well… Our parents died in an accident and raising him alone…"
Of course, she had seen the report cards from school. However, hearing it directly from the mouth of a teacher was different. It felt like something from a dream.
“Ah, the tears have broken out…"
Tae-hyuk grunted and quietly pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket.
@
"I'm sorry. Crying all of a sudden…"
"Well, it doesn't matter."
In the end, Tae-hyuk's path was to study to enter S University. It was due to a promise to go to the same university as An Eun-young. He just meant to keep it.
'In the future…'
It had been one year since he first received memories of the future. Could he get a scholarship to go to university? It was something he wouldn't have imagined in his previous life.
“Tae-hyuk, let's go eat meat!"
Ha-ran suddenly smiled and tugged at Tae-hyuk's arms.
“I would rather go home and eat Noona's cooking."
“It has been a long time since we went out together like this. Let's eat something delicious! Besides, you can go to such a good university! Congratulations!"
"Aigoo… I haven't been accepted yet. You are completely excited over a career consultation."
"Hehe!"
Ha-ran laughed brightly in her clean suit. Her tired appearance from his previous life seemed to overlap with her current form.
Tae-hyuk didn't want to see that again. He suddenly felt anxious and decided to ask her something,
“By the way, what is Noona thinking of studying at university?"
Ha-ran spun around and spoke. She looked so refreshing and lively.
“I'm thinking about it. I think I want to go to a university with an energy research institute."
“Energy research institute?"
“Yes. A place to study eco-friendly energy… I happen to know the department manager there so I think I can enter with his recommendation."
Ha-ran's eyes shone as she talked about the research institute. Tae-hyuk decided to figure out what type of place it was at the next opportunity.
“Do you remember when we lived in the basement room in the past? It was too cold in winter, so we would hug each other in order to sleep. If the research is a success, it can supply energy that is dozens of times cheaper than the current fuels we use. Then won't everyone be able to stay warm in winter? And the children at the orphanage…"
He wondered how long she had been dreaming of this to be talking about it so excitedly. If there was such a new energy, then the person who discovered it would instantly receive the Nobel Prize.
However, Tae-hyuk didn't want to break Ha-ran's dream. Ha-ran had decided what she wanted to do, unless her previous life that was stained in despair. That was too much…
"I hope it turns out well."
“Is that so?"
@
After taking Ha-ran home, Tae-hyuk hid in a dark alley.
“Now, let's try this out."
Once he exited, he was a completely different person. Tae-hyuk looked down at his body. The power of the 'Transformation' skill was enough to make his mouth drop open. Not just his face and voice, but his body was also perfectly transformed into another person. Now he could hide anywhere without the Phantom mask.
“Well, the place where I'm going now isn't easy."
Tae-hyuk had allied with the Bomber for the mafia game. Now it was time to keep his promise.
“In order to do that, I need to get rid of the remnants of the Yakuza still remaining in South Korea."
Yamaguchi Takeshi had gone back to Japan, leaving Mister Park behind to repair his remaining forces. He had to wipe them out as well as destroy Taesung Group's laboratories. Getting revenge on those who drove the Bomber's family to ruin was Tae-hyuk's promise.
“There is no need to hurry. Still, it is something that needs to be done."
Tae-hyuk laughed as he pressed the call button on his phone.