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[Customer number 88, please proceed to counter 2.]
The automated voice kindly informed us of the next order. I glanced down at the number ticket I’d clutched in my fingers. Number 91. There were still three people ahead of me. I scanned through the magazine again, this time flipping through it absentmindedly. My attention was drawn to a clothing advertisement showcasing Ra Heerin in tight-fitting jeans when the coarse sound of smashing glass reached my ears. Turning my head towards the source of the disturbance, I noticed two men wearing black masks and carrying guns enter the bank’s entrance.
“Get down! Fucking bastards!”
Bang, bang, bang, bang—bullets flew above my head. Sharp screams covered the bank, which had previously been filled with regular noise, in an instant. I crept under a chair. I couldn’t believe armed robbers would raid a crowded downtown bank at 2 p.m. on a Monday afternoon. The world is coming to an end.
“You motherfucker!”
The sound of something soft breaking came as a splat. As I lay on the floor, I raised my head slightly. I witnessed a security guard who had been cautiously approaching the robbers from behind collapse with their head blown off. The security guard was well-dressed in a black suit, but there was no form visible above their neck.
A bullet that appeared to have been fired by the security guard spun around and around in the air. As expected, the robbers were ability users. Crazy ability users who had escaped military control liked to show off the fact that they were insane to others. The robbers cackled.
“If you want your heads blown off as well, step out!”
I buried my head once more beneath the chair. The last thing I wanted to do was make eye contact with them and have my head blown off. If I had to die, I’d rather keep my body intact. Just think of the people holding my funeral. Maybe everyone was thinking the same thing I was, because no one else moved.
However, someone suddenly stood up. As my gaze was fixed on the floor, I first noticed their grey slip-on shoes. The person in question was dressed in slacks, daring to display their ankles despite the cold weather. This was not something I should have been thinking about at the time, but their ankles were really pretty. Their skin was so white it looked bluish, and their ankle bones were sharp and conspicuous, casting shadows. Their ashy, sky-blue coat reached down to their calves. I raised my sight a little higher, but their chin was obscured by a thick turtleneck sweater, so I couldn’t see their face very well. Unable to contain my curiosity, I raised my head a little higher, and our eyes locked.
I almost stopped breathing for a second. The sharp features etched on his pale face stood out even from a distance. The area surrounding him appeared to shimmer because of his light-colored attire. The man pulled his full lips into a smile as he looked at me. But just for a second, as he swept his light brown hair back before pulling out his phone. Beep, beep, beep, he calmly pressed some buttons, and the robbers, who had been blankly staring at him, laughed in disbelief.
“Looks like pretty boy over here isn’t pleased, huh?”
“If that’s his wish, then I’ll blow his head off.”
One of the robbers put their hand up. Soon, coupled with the sound of a boom!, sharp screams filled the bank. The scream, however, did not come from the man, but from one of the robbers, who grasped their mangled forearm and screamed. The man began to call someone.
“Here, at the DP Bank on Sahak-gu Gunwi 17th Road…”
“Crazy bastard!”
Another robber opened fire on the man with a rifle, but the bullets didn’t hit him. Bang, bang, bang, they collided with an unseen barrier in the air, causing a series of fine cracks to radiate out from the stopped bullets. The bewildered robber shook the gun up, down, left, and right, firing shots, but not a single one touched the man. The man continued his phone call.
“Robbers have broken in. They appear to be D-rank ability users? Um… about six of them?”
The robber’s face blanched. The only robbers in the bank were the one who had their arm blown off and was still groaning, as well as the one who opened fire. I had thought there were just two robbers, but six of them? A vroom noise sounded from the bank entryway at that moment. Honk—I heard someone yell along with the sound of a horn.
“What’re you dawdling for?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Be quiet while I’m on the phone.”
It appeared that the man was responsible. He muttered something, removed the phone from his ear for a moment, and then picked it up again.
“Dart Combat T98, 80 RA278×, seems like it’s heading towards Cheonhwa. No, how am I supposed to catch a moving car? I’m on vacation. Reporting is a citizen’s duty…”
While he was on the phone, the car that was parked in front of the bank disappeared. They appeared to have abandoned their colleagues. The other robber, whose arm had been torn apart and was grunting, then stood up from behind the man. They slowly kept guard. The man continued his call, appearing oblivious to what was going on behind him. That security guard’s entire head had been completely blown off by the robber… I threw the magazine I was holding at the robber without having time to consider anything else.
The magazine landed near the robber with a thud. The man paused his call. Instead of looking at where the magazine had fallen, as I had intended, he looked at where it had come from. So our gazes locked once more. I made eye contact with the robber as well. I keenly felt the robber’s bloodlust directed at me. I had a gut feeling that my head would explode, so I squeezed my eyes shut.
The man was clearly an ability user, and I was just a civilian. There was no need to help a stranger who was stronger than me. Instead of being helpful, it could have been a nuisance. No, it was a nuisance. Still, even if it was a one in a million chance, losing a face that pretty would be a loss to the nation. Even though the country was already failing to fulfil its obligations, it was a civilian’s responsibility to safeguard a national treasure.
However, nothing happened. The surroundings remained quiet. I began by slightly opening one eye. Through my blurry vision, everything looked the same as before I squeezed my eyes shut. When I gathered up my courage and opened the other eye as well, I locked eyes with the robber. The robber’s eyes, which were visible through the gap between the black mask, were stained with confusion.
I cautiously touched my hair, face, shoulders, and arms, but there was not a single drop of blood. Did the man help me? I looked at him, but he too tilted his head, looking back at me. The man pointed his finger at me. Unknowingly, I became nervous and swallowed my dry saliva. Nonetheless, nothing happened. The man tilted his head.
“Isn’t that amazing?”
The robber, who had been staring at me in puzzlement, appeared to have gathered themselves and ran towards the man. No, they tried to run towards him. They didn’t succeed. As the man’s gaze was drawn to the robber, a large hole appeared in their abdomen. Blood soon began to pour from it. When I winced at the horrifying sight, I heard the man’s slow voice.
“It’s not working?”
“……”
“Why does it only not work on you?”
At that moment, an armed special forces unit stormed into the bank. Since all the robbers inside were already dead, the cleanup was swift. A person who appeared to be the leader of the special forces approached the man.
“What happened during your vacation? Those bastards sure do have shitty luck.”
“I found something interesting.”
“What?”
The man pointed at me and moved his finger. Despite the fact that the people in black were giving me a security check, I locked eyes with the man. That was because I kept glancing at him. However, I was not the only one stealing glances at him; everyone in the bank was. His looks were something people couldn’t bear not looking at.
The people investigating me lifted me up and brought me to him. I couldn’t get a grasp on what was happening, but I followed them anyway. We came to a stop about a step in front of the man. He and I were about the same height, but he seemed bigger. Our eye levels were roughly the same, so I could get a good look at his face. Seeing him up close was amazing. How could his skin be free of blemishes after living in the open air for at least twenty years? Did he slather his face in sunscreen? His skin, pale as if he had never been exposed to UV rays, didn’t have a single pore. His brows, which were the same brown as his hair, were thick and squarish, and his deep eyes extended outward. His brown eyes glistened, slightly darker on the rims, and his eyelashes were long enough to filter out fine dust.
The man smiled as I kept staring at his face. Even his smile was fucking pretty. There was no other way to put it than vulgarly. My vocabulary list appeared to be depleted. It was just real fucking pretty. With those pretty lips, the man said, “Send out everyone except those involved.”
When the special forces members heard the man’s words, they began leading the bank employees and customers outside. I was a little disappointed that I would not be able to look at his face any longer, but I also tried to leave. It was time for me to slip out, and most importantly, I wasn’t someone involved. However, the man addressed me.
“You’re involved in this.”
“…What?”
“You seem like an ability user, though? An ability user on whom abilities do not work on.”
Me? An ability user? But I was a civilian? I couldn’t even bend a spoon? I shook my head.
“I’m not.”
“Not, you say. Just try it. Try something on him.”
The man tapped the captain standing next to him, and the captain looked into my eyes. However, nothing happened. As I avoided their gaze, the captain said, “Actually? Is such a case possible?”
“Right, isn’t it interesting?”
When I saw the man’s beautiful smiling face, I thought, I don’t know what’s happening, but isn’t it fine as long as he’s having fun? Such complacent thoughts. I even felt a sense of pride rush through me because I had made him laugh. He seemed like someone who smiled a lot, but the more I looked at him, the prettier it became. That was when the captain spoke up.
“Bring him along.”
Only after hearing those words did I regain consciousness. Bring him? Where? Who? Me? Why? I couldn’t even finish my thoughts before the people in black started approaching me. I couldn’t go anywhere just yet.
“I have to pay my tuition fees. Today’s the limit.”
There was an open spot, so I was able to enroll in the university of my choice. I was accepted, but if I did not pay my tuition today, it would be revoked. Due to the fact that I applied to a university that was much higher than my grade level, I was relieved when I received a call last Friday night letting me know I had been accepted. But where the hell did they want me to go? It was currently 3 p.m., and the bank closed at 4 p.m., so I did not have enough time to leave and return in one hour.
“Oh, are you in your third year of high school right now?”
I nodded at the man’s question. I hadn’t graduated yet, so I was still in my third year, right? I was a little confused because the year had just changed. The man asked the captain, “If I were a high school student, I’d also be in my third year, right? Since I’m twenty now?”
The captain thought for a moment before speaking in an uncertain tone, “…I guess so?”
“Then we’re the same age.”
He extended his hand to me. Even his hand was pretty. They were long and white, perfect to the point that even his knuckles were prominent and angular, which made it seem like someone had crafted them with the utmost sincerity. I remained still, not daring to touch it. However, his hand kept hovering in the air, and under the influence of the pressure, I lightly grabbed the tip of his hand before pulling away.
“Let’s go.”
“…Where?”
Was it okay to speak loosely just because we were the same age and shook hands? He kept speaking informally. I knew that age didn’t matter when it came to abilities, but he wasn’t even twenty internationally yet, so was he that strong? It was amazing. Not as amazing as his face, though. His way of speaking was also amazing, but the man kept talking.
“You know S.E., right? Special… Ah, can we change our name? It’s so embarrassing, really.”
“Wait, I really need to pay my tuition by today…”
I repeated what I had already said once more. It was hard to keep refusing. It wasn’t because the person asking me to go was pretty. S.E. was a government organisation that trained and protected ability users. Nothing major would happen if I went because it was not a dangerous place, but I had to take care of my business first before travelling to S.E. or anywhere else.
“Then, I’ll pay my tuition at another bank before going…”
The man laughed. The laugh was low and pleasant to hear. His eyes watered from laughter, and he said as his eyes bent, “You can’t go to university.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re an ability user. You belong to the military now.”
“…I was going to go to the military after my first year…”
“No, now that I think about it, there’s both a police force and a military academy… Can’t you just think of enrolling there?”
“I’m majoring in nuclear and quantum engineering… which is completely different from that kind of university…”
“It’s not all that different, though? Nuclear fusion, proton beams, neutron scattering! We learn that kind of stuff too. Don’t worry.”
There were some things I just couldn’t compromise on, no matter how pretty the person speaking was. Like giving up on the university I’d been accepted to. I pulled myself together and shook my head.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go. Besides, I’m really not an ability user. I did a reexamination not too long ago.”
Every four years, I took an ability examination. It was a grandiose examination done on a global scale. My ability scores were always 0% in every category. The examination I took again after the CSATs was also 0%. I was unconcerned when I received the results. Height 183, weight 72, CSAT score 485, ability 0. They were all familiar, adequate, and ordinary numbers. I didn’t like things that were special. But neither the man nor the person who seemed to be the captain listened to me. The man just grinned. Someone grabbed my arms on both sides.
“What are you doing? I said I wasn’t going, though?”
My realisation that this was not a joke came when the armed agents started dragging me away. I couldn’t believe they were suddenly dragging an innocent citizen away like this. I jerked my arms out of their grasp and began to protest.
“I’m not going…!”
Then, I felt my nape prickle, and my vision went black.
orcinus comments:
i wasn’t planning on translating another of this author’s works, but… oh well;; if you’ve read <yess & yes> before, for the sake of your sanity, don’t expect anything similar. this novel is just torture for the su all throughout, he can’t catch a break at all
as such, if you’re uncomfortable with things such as rape, assault, violence, inhuman treatment, etc… click off before it’s too late. personally, i think it’s more of a psychological horror than a romance, despite what the title is ^^;
I’m already to get bloody.
Poor guy, just wants a normal life, too late though.
Chapter 1 is. A go. I love it, it def going to be the kind of ‘romance’ i like 😍
Re-reading this and can’t help laughing 😂