Chapter 4: The Monster Youngest (3)

He spoke sharply while shooting a piercing glare at me. How cute. So Park Yi-chang was harassed by a guy like this. I looked Shim Kyung-chul straight in the eye and replied.

“I said you’re being cranky.”

“Cranky?”

“Yes.”

“This little sh*t, seriously.”

As he said that, he grabbed my collar. Terrified by this, Go Ju-bong rushed toward Shim Kyung-chul and spoke with a panicked face.

“U-um, Kyung-chul Hyung.”

“F*ck, I told you to stay out of it.”

He then dragged me outside while still holding my collar.

“Follow me.”

“I’ll follow you, so let go of this first.”

I spoke and brushed his hand off my collar. Excited and dumbfounded, Shim Kyung-chul stared at me and let out a hollow laugh. Then he immediately led the way.

“Fine. Hurry up and follow me out.”

I nodded at his words and followed behind him.

“…Ah, what do I do?”

Leaving behind Go Ju-bong, who was at a total loss, I stepped out of the house. Even though it was dawn, it was incredibly dark because there weren’t many streetlights. At least the snow piled up around us and the moon in the sky allowed for some visibility. Old houses were scattered across the hillside, and I could see the city lights in the distance, but it was very dark. More than that, the air was freezing.

“Hey, Park Yi-chang. What are you looking around for?!”

He spoke with one eye squinted as if he didn’t like my behavior. Not that I’m the type to be intimidated by that. I looked at him and opened my mouth with a relaxed expression.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly. It’s cold out, and it’ll be a problem if I catch a cold.”

When I spoke while puffing out clouds of white breath, Shim Kyung-chul let out a scoffing sound.

“This bastard, for real.”

Saying that, he suddenly swung his palm toward me. I had been preparing for something like that, so I was able to twist my body and dodge it. When his hand missed, he made another scoffing sound.

“Ha, look at this guy? You dodged?”

It seemed he intended to slap my cheek. I dodged reflexively, but a laugh escaped me because it was so absurd.

“You’re laughing?”

“Let me ask you one thing: have you been to the army?”

When I threw out the question so abruptly, Shim Kyung-chul was momentarily taken aback.

“What?”

“I asked if you’ve served in the military.”

“…Where does this punk get off speaking informally?”

“Focus on the question instead of the honorifics. And do you even know what military discipline is?”

“Y-you little…”

He was huffing, but when I leaned my face right into his, he flinched.

“Someone once said that people only resort to cursing when they have nothing left to say.”

I slid over to Shim Kyung-chul and threw an arm around his shoulder. He flinched again, surprised by my action. At the same time, his face froze.

“Y-you crazy bastard.”

He tried to shake me off, but I gripped him tight. I don’t know about Park Yi-chang’s mental state, but his body seems to have a decent amount of strength. They said he got nosebleeds often, but that was probably because he wasn’t eating well and was overworking himself. It was funny watching him struggle to pull his head back while being unable to move an inch. I grinned at Shim Kyung-chul and spoke.

“Let’s get along. Well. Everyone is suffering here. I know well that getting that angry won’t do any good for you; it’ll just give you an ulcer.”

That’s how it was for me during my army days. I was always angry at my subordinates, and I always regretted it afterward. This guy Shim Kyung-chul probably acts like this because he thinks it’s his role to maintain discipline.

“Aren’t you trying to be a manga artist, not a soldier?”

“…Hey, you.”

Shim Kyung-chul’s body was shaking. This guy is incredibly nervous. He talks big, but he seems to be the type who is secretly quite fearful. I whispered to him.

“I don’t really care if I get kicked out of here. It’s a s*ave life without a salary anyway, so I don’t want to be harassed by people on top of that. And I don’t know how you’ve seen me until now, but I’m not going to hold back anymore.”

“…….”

“So let’s keep things moderate. I’ll stay for a while and then leave. Once I leave, we’ll be strangers with no reason to see each other. Even if we pass each other on the street, we won’t even acknowledge one another. Right?”

An earthquake of unease erupted in Shim Kyung-chul’s eyes. He seemed to be feeling complicated. Soon, he furrowed his brow with force.

“Move, you bastard!”

He spoke and shoved me hard. This time, I let go, pretending to be overpowered. As soon as he escaped my grasp, he muttered with an agitated expression.

“F*cking prick, seriously.”

Then, with his lips tightly shut and unable to meet my eyes, he walked straight back into the house. The guy is all bluff. Watching that, a laugh escaped me. Then, I shivered from the cold. I hadn’t noticed because I was busy arguing with Shim Kyung-chul.

“Man, it’s really cold.”

Thinking I might freeze to death, I tried to hurry inside, but then the door opened and Go Ju-bong came out carrying thick clothes. He grabbed my face, looked it over here and there, and tilted his head.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? What?”

“With Kyung-chul Hyung…”

“What’s with the fuss? We just had a light conversation. Let’s go in.”

At my words, he examined my face again and asked.

“…Nothing really happened?”

“I told you. It’s cold, let’s go in.”

“Oh, r-right.”

Go Ju-bong followed me back inside, looking dazed.

“Yi-chang. Get up.”

“…….”

“Hurry.”

I opened my eyes and a sigh escaped me naturally. I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t. D*mn it. I wasn’t deeply discouraged, but the world I used to live in was certainly more familiar. I got up with a scowl, but Go Ju-bong was snickering about something.

“I don’t know why you always seem to lack sleep no matter how much you get.”

“It’s not because of the sleep.”

“Then what?”

I stared at Go Ju-bong, who was looking at me with wide eyes, and then let out a deep sigh.

“Whew, never mind. What’s the point of telling you? It’s just frustrating.”

Actually, part of the reason was that I stayed up a bit late reading the diary I found in Park Yi-chang’s personal bag. He poked me and grinned.

“…What is it? Tell me.”

I brushed Go Ju-bong’s finger away and spoke.

“Forget it. What is it now that you’re waking me up this early?”

“What are you talking about? It’s for the morning cleaning, obviously.”

“…Morning cleaning. I guess I really am the youngest.”

“Are you still half-asleep? Snap out of it and let’s go.”

Thinking I had no choice, I nodded and followed Go Ju-bong out of the room. By the way, why is the draft in this house so bad? It feels like cold wind is blowing in from everywhere. It was even colder when I went into the living room. The temperature seemed to have dropped even more than yesterday.

“I wish I had some thermal socks.”

Go Ju-bong tilted his head, having heard my mutterings.

“What? Thermal socks? What are those?”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, what do I do first?”

“…Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“Yesterday you finished the manuscript so fast, but now you’re acting all blank again like before.”

I feel like I have a rough idea of what the original owner of this body was like.

“Stop nagging and just tell me.”

“Sigh, fine. First…”

Go Ju-bong taught me the morning cleaning routine step-by-step. Well, it was inconvenient because there was no vacuum cleaner, but it was all stuff I had experienced in the army long ago. It was only awkward because it was my first time; I adapted quickly. Once the cleaning was mostly finished, we immediately started preparing the meal. We cooked rice by lighting a kerosene stove, the kind I used to see in the countryside as a child.

“There’s no electric rice cooker?”

“Hey, those are expensive, so they don’t buy one for us. Besides, rice made in those doesn’t taste good.”

“It doesn’t taste good?”

“Of course not.”

After saying that, Go Ju-bong skillfully prepared the side dishes. Just then, the studio seniors woke up one by one and came out. Shim Kyung-chul saw me as he came out, immediately avoided my eyes, and asked Go Ju-bong.

“What’s for breakfast today?”

“It’s margarine rice.”

“Oh, my stomach is finally going to get some oil in it after a long time.”

What on earth is margarine rice?

“Ugh, I find that too greasy. Are there no eggs?”

At the words of Kang Dong-moon, the eldest in the studio who had approached, Go Ju-bong nodded.

“Yes. There are a few the Madam bought for us. Should I give you those?”

“Yeah. Give me that.”

“Do you want some too, Ki-chul Hyung?”

“I’m fine. I don’t have much of an appetite in the morning.”

“Is there water for washing up?”

“I’ve warmed some up.”

Hearing that, the seniors flocked outside. It seemed Go Ju-bong had prepared everything before I even woke up. This guy Go Ju-bong is incredibly diligent. Anyway, breakfast was very hectic. Of course, “hectic” only applied to me and Go Ju-bong, as the others just washed up and ate. Anyway, while having breakfast, I learned what margarine rice was. How should I put it… it’s just rice with margarine and soy sauce, and it was a bit too greasy for my taste.

The morning at the studio was break time. With the morning radio broadcast playing, everyone rested in their own way. I don’t know much, but it seemed to be the time when the studio people could rest a bit. This kind of detail was also written in the diary.

Shortly after 10 AM, the true owner of the studio appeared.

“Hello, Teacher.”

Only Go Ju-bong, the peer, and Lee Jung-ho, the senior directly above us, greeted him like that, while the rest just bowed their heads. And Kang Dong-moon, the eldest, barely even nodded. However, the man called “Teacher” didn’t seem to mind much and entered the studio with a beaming smile.

“Did you guys eat?”

“Yes.”

Receiving the answer, the Teacher nodded and went into his personal office. The Teacher’s name is Park Chul-min. I don’t know him well, but based on the contents of the diary, he seems to be a fairly successful manga artist.

“Kyung-chul!”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Is the work all finished?”

“Yes. Should I bring it to you?”

“Yeah.”

Shim Kyung-chul took the organized manuscripts and entered Park Chul-min’s office. But for some reason, the atmosphere in the studio turned cold. Not just Go Ju-bong, but even the seniors stared at the Teacher’s office with tense faces. Only Kang Dong-moon, the eldest pupil, was flipping through a book without any change in expression. I remember experiencing this kind of atmosphere several times in the army… And a moment later. The Teacher’s voice was heard from the office.

“Ki-chul, come in for a second.”

At those words, Lee Ki-chul, the second in the studio hierarchy, bit his lip and furrowed his brow. He then stood up slowly and went straight into the Teacher’s office. At the same time, Shim Kyung-chul, who had entered first, came out and sat back in his seat. Because of that, the atmosphere in the studio became even more serious. I wondered what was going on and tried to listen toward the office, but no particular sounds were heard. Ah, I’m really curious. What on earth is happening in there?

A moment later. The door opened and Lee Ki-chul came out. He then came toward us, tapped me and Go Ju-bong on the shoulders, nodded, and returned to his seat. Huh? What? What’s going on? Not knowing why, I rolled my eyes and glanced at Go Ju-bong, only to find him staring at me with his eyes wide open. He looked like he didn’t know the reason either. So I checked the expressions of the other seniors, and they were letting out sighs of relief. The atmosphere seemed like they were glad about something. Did things go well? Just then, Kang Dong-moon, the eldest pupil, looked at us and snickered.

“Wow, it looks like our youngest ones did a good job today. Ki-chul, what did the Teacher say?”

At those words, Lee Ki-chul gave a small laugh.

“He said the finishing touches were clean.”

At that moment, the gazes of the other seniors focused on us.