Fang turned off all the lights and lay down on the sofa.
The apartment became silent again.
"...What a mess."
He closed his eyes.
There was no way he knew how to handle things like this.
Killing people was easier.
Much easier.
After a few minutes, Fang opened his eyes again.
"...Maybe I should just leave."
If he sent some money regularly, Seo Yuna and Noah could probably survive without him.
That would be enough.
Right?
Silence filled the dark room.
Then Fang clicked his tongue.
"No."
He rubbed his forehead irritably.
"I'm not ruining another family."
Sleep never came that night.
Too many thoughts kept racing through his mind.
Eventually, a thin ray of sunlight entered through the window and landed on his face.
Fang frowned.
"...Morning already?"
He stood up and stretched his sore body.
Then he looked toward the wall clock.
"...Huh?"
A few seconds later, he remembered.
Yesterday, while cleaning the house, he changed the clock time and forgot to set it back.
Fang unlocked Chung Soo's phone.
6:10 AM.
He quietly corrected all the wall clocks inside the apartment.
The house was still silent.
Too silent.
Fang hated silence.
In his previous life, silence usually meant someone was waiting to kill him.
His eyes slowly moved toward the bedroom door.
That troublesome woman was probably still sleeping.
The moment he remembered Seo Yuna trembling just from seeing him, irritation rose inside him again.
He had cleaned the house.
Cooked food.
Treated Noah.
Wrapped her injured ankle.
Yet she still looked at him like he would kill them any second.
"Tch."
Fang walked toward the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
Empty.
Only a few eggs, leftover kimchi, and half a bottle of water remained.
He stared at it blankly.
"This family was surviving like beggars."
Even the lowest people in his old organization ate better than this.
Fang leaned against the counter quietly.
Last night's scene replayed inside his head again.
Seo Yuna lowers her head.
Her hands are shaking.
That terrified look in her eyes.
Fang looked away irritably.
"...Annoying."
Suddenly
Creak.
The bedroom door opened slightly.
A small face peeked outside carefully.
Noah.
The little girl froze after seeing Fang standing in the kitchen.
Her fingers tightly grabbed the edge of the door.
Fang looked at her calmly.
"What?"
Noah almost hid again.
Fang sighed.
"If you're hungry, then come out. Standing there like a ghost won't fill your stomach."
Noah blinked twice before slowly walking out.
Her tiny footsteps were careful.
Like she was approaching a dangerous animal.
For some reason, Fang found that familiar.
He used to walk like that too, when he was a child living on the streets.
Fang quietly turned around and started cooking.
A few minutes later, the smell of hot egg soup spread through the apartment.
Noah sat quietly at the table while secretly staring at him.
Fang suddenly spoke without turning around.
"Why are you staring?"
"I-I wasn't..."
"Liar."
Noah quickly lowered her head.
Fang placed a bowl in front of her.
"Eat."
Noah carefully looked into the bowl.
Steam slowly rose from the soup.
Her stomach growled softly.
After hesitating for several seconds, she finally took a small bite.
The next moment, her eyes widened slightly.
Fang sat across from her and drank water silently.
Noah secretly glanced at him again.
"Dad..."
"Hm?"
"Did somebody hit your head yesterday?"
Fang almost choked on the water.
"...What kind of question is that?"
"Because Mom says bad people don't suddenly change."
Fang stared at the little girl for a moment.
Children really said dangerous things naturally.
He leaned back against the chair.
"Your mom talks too much."
Noah quickly covered her mouth.
"Don't tell Mom I said that!"
A faint snort escaped from Fang.
At that moment
Creak.
The bedroom door opened wider.
Seo Yuna slowly walked outside while holding the wall for support.
The moment her eyes landed on Fang,
her body stiffened.
The peaceful atmosphere instantly disappeared.
Noah nervously looked between them.
Fang noticed Seo Yuna trying hard to stay calm.
Even her fingers were trembling slightly.
He found it irritating.
"I didn't kill anyone this morning. Relax."
Seo Yuna immediately frowned.
"You think that's funny?"
"I wasn't joking."
Silence filled the room.
Noah quietly lowered her head and continued eating.
Seo Yuna slowly sat down while keeping as much distance from Fang as possible.
Even pulling the chair sounded careful.
Fang placed another bowl in front of her.
Seo Yuna stared at it suspiciously.
Fang noticed immediately.
"If I wanted to poison you, you would've died years ago."
The room instantly became cold.
Wrong words.
Fang realized it too late.
Seo Yuna's expression changed immediately.
Her face turned pale.
The bowl shook slightly in her hands.
Noah became nervous.
"M-Mom..."
Fang frowned quietly.
"...Troublesome."
He stood up and grabbed his jacket.
Seo Yuna instinctively flinched hard.
But Fang simply walked toward the door.
"I'm going outside."
Seo Yuna looked confused.
Fang glanced at her coldly.
"Stop looking at me like I'll attack you every second. It's irritating."
Then he left the apartment.
Bang.
The door closed behind him.
Only then did Seo Yuna finally breathe properly again.
Cold sweat covered her back.
Noah carefully tugged her sleeve.
"Mom..."
Seo Yuna looked down slowly.
"D-Do you think Dad is acting weird?"
Seo Yuna immediately frowned.
"Don't lower your guard."
"But he cooked food..."
"He also hurt us before."
Noah quietly lowered her head.
Seo Yuna looked toward the closed door with complicated emotions.
Something about Chung Soo felt completely different now.
His eyes.
His voice.
Even the atmosphere around him felt different.
Before, Chung Soo felt like a dirty drunk man.
Now...
He felt dangerous in another way.
Like someone constantly holding back violence.
That scared her even more.
Meanwhile
Fang walked through the busy streets with both hands in his pockets.
Cars moved loudly across the roads.
Workers hurried past him.
Students filled the sidewalks.
Everything felt noisy.
"...Modern life is troublesome."
He searched through Chung Soo's memories while walking.
No skills.
No money.
Only debt and alcohol.
"What a useless bastard."
Buzz. Buzz.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
A name appeared on the screen.
Charls Kim.
Fang answered the call calmly.
"What?"
"Yah Chung Soo! Are you ignoring my calls now?!"
The loud voice made Fang pull the phone slightly away from his ear.
"Your debt payment was yesterday!"
"I know."
"Then where's my money?!"
"I don't have any."
Silence.
Then, angry shouting exploded again.
"You bastard! Do you think we're running a charity here?!"
Fang stopped walking.
His eyes became colder.
Nobody in his previous life dared to scream at him like this.
"Lower your voice."
The cold tone instantly made the other side pause.
"...What?"
"I said, lower your voice. My ears hurt."
Charls Kim became furious again.
"You're crazy drunk! Listen carefully"
Click.
Fang ended the call.
"...Noisy dog."
A few seconds later, another call came.
Fang rejected it again.
Then he switched off the phone completely.
Peace.
Much better.
As Fang continued walking, he noticed several part-time job posters outside a convenience store.
He stared at them quietly before entering.
A middle-aged store owner looked up lazily.
"We're not hiring anymore."
Fang glanced toward the poster outside.
"Then remove the paper."
The owner frowned slightly.
"...You got experience?"
"No."
"Can you work night shift?"
"Yes."
The owner looked Fang up and down.
"You strong enough to handle trouble?"
Fang raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of interview is this?"
The owner sighed.
"Some drunk punks keep causing trouble at night. My last worker got beaten badly."
Fang's expression did not change.
"I won't get beaten."
The owner laughed faintly.
"Confident, huh?"
At that moment
Crash!!
A loud sound came from outside the store.
Several young thugs were harassing an old street vendor nearby.
One of them kicked over the old man's cart.
Vegetables scattered everywhere.
People watched silently from a distance.
Nobody interfered.
The store owner sighed tiredly.
"Those idiots again..."
Outside, one thug grabbed the old man's collar aggressively.
"Old man, pay first before selling here!"
The old man looked desperate.
"P-Please... I barely earned anything today..."
The thug raised his hand again.
Then Fang quietly walked toward the exit.
The owner looked confused.
"Yah, where are you going?"
Fang cracked his neck lightly.
"...Job interview."