Chapter 65

65 Flower Petal-Scattering Atmosphere

"Coco… what?"

The gang members wore dumbfounded expressions.

They wondered if they were being mocked, but Cheon Dowoon's expression was serious. The young girl was also quite dignified.

"This clothing store here is under the Coconut Family's control. You're stepping into the wrong business establishment."

Cheon Dowoon's words complicated the gang members' thoughts.

They belonged to a fairly well-known organization in the slum. With that name behind them, everyone had always bowed their heads.

They had expected a similar reaction this time, but they rolled their eyes at the completely different situation.

'Are those guys really gang members too? Coconut Family? I've never heard of an organization with such a weird name.'

They talked about war and whatnot, but they were just powerless low-level members.

They hesitated, knowing that if they really got involved with another organization and things blew up, they wouldn't be safe either.

The leader-like man, sensing the atmosphere, stepped forward.

'How foolish. There's no way it's a real gang with such a young kid.'

At times like this, it's important to take the initiative. There were residents glancing at them from all over, so they couldn't show weakness.

"Hey, pal. If you're going to joke around, you should know your place. Don't you know you can lose your head if you mess that up?"

He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. Cheon Dowoon also stepped forward and twisted his arm.

His movements were so natural that no one found it strange.

By the time he came to his senses, the man's arm was already twisted, and he was groaning.

"As you can see, our Coconut Family has a young child. As such, we believe in avoiding violence."

His words and actions didn't match. The gang members wanted to argue, but they kept their mouths shut.

They stepped back, seeing their leader subdued without even throwing a punch.

'Our Big Bro is an Awakened! A whole D+ rank!'

A slum where D-rank Hunters gathered. There were many people here who were frustrated with reality and fell into bad paths.

The man whose arm was twisted by Cheon Dowoon was one of them.

Cheon Dowoon looked at the man and asked.

"Call your underlings off. Or your arm will break."

"D-did you hear that? Back off! All of you, go back!"

The man with the twisted arm shouted. The gang members hesitated, then ran away.

Yoo-beom laughed as they ran without looking back.

"They really have no loyalty. How come not a single one of them is trying to save you?"

Whether it's a gang or a family, it's still just a collection of thugs. They turn their backs in important moments.

The man felt miserable as he was confronted with the fact he already knew.

Cheon Dowoon entered the store with the man's arm twisted.

"Ugh, wait. Just a moment! Let go of my arm… Ugh, ah, please."

There was no pride in the face of pain. The man groaned and clung to him, and Cheon Dowoon took him to a corner of the store.

"You oppressed a young child."

"No, that's…"

"You scared this little kid. Didn't you?"

Cheon Dowoon said, placing his hand on Kim Nari's shoulder. Kim Nari put her hands on her hips and nodded.

"I was oppressed. I was scared."

Where exactly? The man swallowed the words that rose to his throat.

"So, I'm going to leave your punishment to Kim Nari. Our Coconut Family doesn't like violence, but we believe in repaying what we've suffered."

"Since when did you have such a belief?"

Yoo-beom, who was listening, asked with a laugh.

"From now on. It's like the Coconut Family's motto."

It was a hastily made motto, but Kim Nari's eyes sparkled. Following the family, there was now a motto. A motto must be followed.

"Then I will repay what I suffered."

"Good. What do you want to do?"

"That mister should… um, stand facing the wall with his hands up."

The man wore a complicated expression at Kim Nari's words.

He'd rather be beaten a few times and let go. What a disgrace to stand like this in front of Mr. Park, whom he had been tormenting.

It was even more embarrassing because people were glancing at them from beyond the store's glass windows.

"That's what she says. What are you doing? Aren't you going to do it?"

"No, that…"

The gang member rolled his eyes. He should try to escape. Getting caught and beaten unconscious would be better than enduring this humiliation.

The gang member quickly scanned the doorway.

'One woman.'

Yoo Ji-ah was standing alone in front of the door. Seeing that, the gang member's eyes sparkled.

He could push past a single woman with his bulk and escape easily.

The moment he made up his mind, Yoo Ji-ah went outside the store. She picked up a stone from the ground and clenched it in her hand.

With a cracking sound, the stone crumbled. When she opened her hand, the stone, turned to powder, scattered in the wind.

Yoo Ji-ah shook the stone dust from her hand and looked at the gang member.

Come here. Her eyes said. The gang member looked at her with trembling eyes, then went to the wall. He closed his eyes tightly and quietly raised his hands.

'That woman is scary…'

If I go out, I'll die. That look isn't normal. The gang member instinctively chose the path to survival.

He comforted himself that he only had to endure a moment of humiliation to live.

'What the heck are these people? I'm… I'm a D+ rank Hunter, you know.'

He had fallen into a gang because his earnings weren't good, but he was confident in his strength. But what is this?

The gang member's inflated confidence rapidly shrank.

* * *

Park Sa-jang couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.

The gang member who had been tormenting him was standing with his hands up, being punished like a child.

He wondered if it was a dream and secretly pinched the back of his hand. It wasn't a dream, which made it even more unbelievable.

Cheon Dowoon, having finished his work, turned to look at Park Sa-jang.

"Does someone like that come often?"

"N-not often. This neighborhood is relatively safe for a slum. There wasn't any protection money or anything like that… but recently, it's suddenly been like this."

Park Sa-jang said, glancing at the gang member.

He was afraid that he would be harassed even more because of this incident, even though they had gotten through today.

Cheon Dowoon looked at him and asked.

"What's the name of that gang?"

"Space. Originally, they were an organization that only operated in District 11. But they're stretching their reach to this neighborhood these days, maybe because of financial difficulties or something."

"District 11? That's good. We were planning to go there anyway."

The siblings' hometown was Slum District 11. He was thinking of looking around his hometown, so he could stop by as a side trip.

"The Coconut Family will take over there now. Something like today won't happen again."

Park Sa-jang was confused about how to react to the words that came out so lightly.

Should he laugh because it's a joke? Or should he stop him because it's dangerous?

As he hesitated, unable to figure out what to do, Cheon Dowoon said.

"That's settled. Please recommend some clothes that these two can wear."

Cheon Dowoon said, pointing to the siblings. Park Sa-jang, regaining his senses, scanned their sizes with his eyes.

'Okay, let's forget about it. Is this the first or second time something like this has happened in the slum?'

If he got through today safely, tomorrow would be safe too. That's how you have to live to survive in the slum.

Park Sa-jang, a native of this place, recovered his mentality quickly.

'Come to think of it, I thought he was handsome when I first saw the teacher. The people who came with him are too. Are they celebrities or something?'

Judging by the unusual clothes they were wearing, they might have come from a filming location. Park Sa-jang thought as he laid out clothes in front of the siblings.

"These should be the right sizes. These styles will suit the teacher here because he has a large build."

He showed Yoo-beom the clothes he had brought.

"This woman here has a slim build, so these styles will suit her. I've brought both dresses and pants."

He laid out pants and dresses for Yoo Ji-ah.

She looked over the clothes and chose a beige dress.

Having lived in loose-fitting Egyptian-style clothes, she unconsciously chose clothes with a similar feel.

"The fitting room is over there. Change and come out."

The siblings looked at each other and entered the fitting rooms.

A moment later, they walked out with subtle expressions.

They didn't say it, but both of their faces were flushed. They were happy and awkward at the same time, wearing human-like clothes for the first time in decades.

"Wow, you both look great. Would you like to try on other clothes?"

"No, this is fine for me."

"Me too."

Still feeling awkward, the two refused with embarrassed faces. Even that made them look like cool, handsome men and beautiful women because of their faces.

Cheon Dowoon watched them with amusement.

'I expected it when I saw Yoo Ji-ah's face. Why did Yoo-beom live with that face hidden under a bird nest?'

Even though he had heard the reason why he lived with a bird nest on his head, he couldn't help but think that.

Suddenly curious about Nam Ki-seok's reaction, he turned around.

As expected, Nam Ki-seok couldn't take his eyes off Yoo Ji-ah.

He quickly averted his gaze, thinking it was rude, but couldn't resist glancing at her once in a while.

Her seemingly cold eyes were attractive. The lightly scattered freckles combined with her cold image to create a unique atmosphere.

Her golden eyes were both eerie and mysterious.

A person's heart doesn't fold easily. The feelings that he had tried so hard to erase touched Nam Ki-seok's heart again.

"Rock singer style… long hair… headbanging…"

He muttered something to himself and stroked his bald head.

Would this lingering attachment disappear if he confessed and was rejected?

'What confession? You haven't even talked to her properly. What nonsense are you thinking?'

Nam Ki-seok scolded himself.

Rock singer style long hair. A man who is good at headbanging. Her tastes could be filled with effort once Kim, the manager completed the medicine.

But friendship was not. Narrowing the distance between her was entirely up to his efforts.

What should he say to a woman he likes?

"N-nunim."

Nam Ki-seok plucked up his courage and approached. His heart sank when Yoo Ji-ah turned to him.

It was okay when she was wearing a bone helmet, but his heart began to race like a runaway train when he faced her bare face head-on.

"Why? Do you have something to say?"

"Ah, th-that's…!"

Cold sweat ran down his back. His head was ringing because his heart was beating so fast. He clenched his fists and steeled himself.

'Oh? Is that… Oh! Good luck.'

The quick-witted Park Sa-jang cheered for Nam Ki-seok with the feeling of eating popcorn.

There's nothing as fun as someone else's love life. Before he knew it, Yoo-beom and Cheon Dowoon had also quietly stepped back and were watching them.

Good luck, Nam Ki-seok. I can do it. Nam Ki-seok encouraged himself. Let's start with a natural weather story.

"D-don't you think the weather is very nice?"

Rumble. Just then, thunder rumbled outside. Cheon Dowoon and Yoo-beom covered their faces with their hands as if they couldn't watch.

Their mouths were smiling.

'G-good luck! It's okay. I had those days too. The excitement when I first met my wife… I know. I know that feeling.'

Only Park Sa-jang clenched his fists and cheered.

He looked a little scary, hiding behind a mannequin to cheer so as not to disturb them.

He had even brought the young Kim Nari to sit next to him so as not to be disturbed.

Thanks to that, Kim Nari also stuck her face out and watched the situation.

'What is it? What's going on? Why is it so interesting?'

The gang member standing with his hands up against the wall also perked up his ears.

Nam Ki-seok began to search for a topic of conversation in his head, which had turned white. He wanted to continue the conversation, but he was too nervous to think of anything.

'Praise her clothes! Start with something like that and approach her little by little!'

Park Sa-jang cheered in his mind. As if that telepathy had worked, Nam Ki-seok said.

"O-oh, those clothes look very good on you."

"Really? Thank you."

Ah, he heard her say thank you. Nam Ki-seok clutched his heart. His heart fluttered just from hearing her say thank you.

Yoo Ji-ah looked at Nam Ki-seok. She wanted to say something nice to him since she had heard something nice.

What could she praise about Nam Ki-seok? Yoo Ji-ah didn't know much about him.

Of course, since they had never talked personally.

The only thing she knew was that he was good at cooking. A smile appeared on her face as she remembered the curry and ramen they had eaten together.

"You're a really good cook."

"Yes? Ah, thank you."

"The food you made that day was delicious."

"Th-thank you."

"Make it again when we get back."

Nam Ki-seok froze. Thunder struck his head. The words "make it again" were gently engraved on his heart.

'Oh…!'

Park Sa-jang, who was watching, clenched his fists. That soft smile. A signal that foreshadows the future. Is that a green light?

Park Sa-jang puffed out his nostrils. A happy smile appeared on his face as he remembered the dates he had with his wife in his youthful days.

I should buy a bouquet of flowers and go home tonight.

'Isn't she just telling him to cook?'

'Nam Ki-seok is originally on cooking duty anyway.'

Cheon Dowoon and Yoo-beom, who knew the truth, covered their faces with their hands and looked pitiful.

Their mouths were still smiling.

'Ah, what is it! I want to see too! I like romance movies, you know. Why did you make me stand facing the wall!'

The gang member, who was anxious because he couldn't see the situation, was inwardly stomping his feet.