Chapter 161 – Colosseum (5)

Sillim-dong multi-family housing. When I come back from work, I hear music through the front door. You are waiting for me while watching TV with my dog, ‘Tolly’. When I open the door wide and come in, you say

“Dad is here. It’s stupid.”

Ddori runs up to me wriggling his short limbs. It wags its tail and swings its wretched front legs, trying to stand upright. I stroke Toki’s hair and tell him I love him.

At night, we hug each other and watch a movie together. You can watch movies at a low price by paying a monthly subscription fee. The small TV crackles sometimes, but it’s still not enough to watch movies. Sometimes I even like the noise more because it feels like it has become part of the movie. You’re not talking about changing the TV.

Always smile and just say that the movie was fun. They don’t talk about having to change the old refrigerator or the few rice bowls. I know we live on a tightrope.

In the morning, you wake up earlier than me and are cooking. You, who used to say that you’ve never done housework in your life, search for recipes on your phone every morning and try to make something delicious. Was it soybean paste stew that morning? I vividly remember you seasoning it so strongly that I took a bite and coughed.

After eating the hot tofu in a hurry and eating it in one bite, give you a thumbs up saying that it was still delicious. I have to go to work this morning too. I hug you once and go out. Toli ran to the front door and begged me to give him a hug, so I gave him a hug and moved on.

Everyone knows what happens when the front door closes. On days off, you used to hold me tightly in my arms and talk to me. After you wash the dishes, you clean the house. There is always hair flying around the house as Ddori wanders around.

When you’re done cleaning, put a leash on Dotoly and go for a walk. After walking around the neighborhood, it’s already lunch time.

Your lunch is cup ramen or sometimes bag ramen, and you only eat it properly on the day you want to cook. You call me at lunchtime, exchanging stories of love, then hanging up with the words to come in carefully.

As soon as I hang up the phone, I smile. The man I work with at the construction site scolds me for laughing so hard. I reply that I have a pretty wife, and I show off my pictures. The uncle sees your picture, gives a thumbs up and tells his wife to be nice.

I nodded and said I knew.

I still remember the time of the incident. It was 3:00 PM then. You, who were fiddling with your phone in your room, hugged Toli and picked up the remote control. And find a movie to watch tonight. And you notice that there is a twinkling light outside the window.

In the beautiful blue light you’ve never seen before, you must guess where and who turned on the light, open the door with Toli. Watch the gate open in front of the house window. The grinning face is terrified, and you run away. Monsters bursting out of the gate destroy our nest, beat you up, and throw you to the rubble.

I answer the phone one beat late. When I ran home, you were already quarantined. About you with a lot of spots on your face, the doctor said, ‘It’s hard to expect to wake up’.

Youngmi.

I don’t know how many years have passed since then. I really did everything I could I protested in front of the Diamond Club, and I knelt down in front of Jang Ji-wan. After you died, I tried frantically to avenge you.

Youngmi.

I did my best. Did you see Jang Ji-wan being carried out on a stretcher? Did you see him get beaten up and knocked down live on TV? What will you say to me when I die? Are you sure you don’t want revenge like everyone else says?

Now I’m still in the arena.

This guy named Jung Soo-hyun is stronger than I thought, so I think I’ll probably lose.

People are looking at me and shouting that I’m scary. He’s accused of being a murderer, and he’s the worst kind of terrorist. Even though I hear it every day, it doesn’t matter, but it feels different little by little.

Youngmi.

I’m thinking this now.

Why did I hate this guy? Did this guy have anything to do with you? Wasn’t I fighting for you? If I kill Suhyeon, will you be happy?

Youngmi.

After you died, I feel lost. Since when?

I, I, just wanted to live a quiet life with you. Why did this happen? What was the problem? Is it really all Jang Ji-wan’s fault? Was he really the only one who did it wrong?

What am I fighting for right now?

Youngmi.

I miss you.

*******

Several times we bumped into each other. Kim Hyun-ki’s fierce charge had no effect on me. He believed in his strength and slammed me on the shoulder or picked up a stone that had fallen on the floor and swung it around. However, Kim Hyun-ki’s attack was too slow and weak in my opinion.

I dodged Kim Hyun-ki’s punches, who rushed at me for the fourth time, and then held his spear upside down. The spearhead made of sturdy wood shone white and struck Kim Hyun-ki’s side.

“Aaaaagh!”

Kim Hyun-ki bounced off surrounded by a halo of light, as if being dragged by a rocket. He bounced off the floor like a water swallow, then grabbed onto the ground again and managed to get up.

“Woo-wook… !”

Then he vomited and spat blood from his mouth. Kim Hyun-ki clenched his fists as if he wanted to fight more, then suddenly stood up with his mouth shut.

Kim Hyeon-gi, who had kept his distance and stance as if to continue fighting, suddenly stopped walking and looked at me. I held onto his shield and spear and looked at him. His face, which had already been beaten so badly with his shield, was bruised and swollen.

His legs were limping and blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth. He was looking straight at me. Tears welled up on his face. I couldn’t figure out why he was crying. Was his head gone to taste because he was so beaten?

“…Me too.”

Kim Hyun-ki’s sobbing voice rang out. He stretched out his remaining hand and took a deep breath. I didn’t know what he was going to do, so I got back into my stance with my shield in front. Kim Hyun-ki said.

“…I also wanted to have a happy family.”

It was too late to do it now. It was also something that no one listened to even though he had been saying it all along. A life of unknown origin. I couldn’t say anything to him because I only had fragmentary knowledge of his past.

No one understands other people’s lives. Because I’ve never lived from someone else’s point of view.

“Embroider yourself.”

So all I could say was this. Kim Hyun-ki shook his head at my words.

“I will not surrender.”

It was a different story than promised, but no one was surprised to hear his remarks. Because it was all roughly expected. Hunters were already spread around the arena in case he ran away without turning himself in. Kim Hyun-ki has already been searched and confirmed that he does not have an escape device or something.

So I urged him to surrender.

“I have to embroider. If you feel guilty about what you did, you should surrender.”

“I don’t feel guilty. It’s just, I was just curious about where it got twisted. I’ve obviously been trying By the way, but in the end, this shape is like this. Soohyun Jeong. I was envious of you.”

I couldn’t understand his hatred. It was because I was not Kim Hyun-ki. Kim Hyun-ki looked at me and smiled.

“I lived with the same strange nickname, but I was really envious of you who eat well and live well. Maybe I could have lived as well as you.”

Hunters were wrapped around the arena. It was because he didn’t seem to have the will to fight anymore. If he didn’t fight, his future was in prison. Hunters prepared to attack as if they had been too tolerant of criminals.

Kim Hyun-ki looked around and shouted.

“Wait!”

Me and the Hunters stopped moving without even realizing it.

In that moment, I felt that way. If he’s not going to turn himself in, how the hell was he trying to get out of here? There is no escape device. No matter how strong Choi Soon-hong is, it is impossible to come here and rescue Kim Hyun-ki without getting hurt.

Kim Hyun-ki raised one hand. A live TV broadcast showed him raising his hand.

The Hunters and I unknowingly took a defensive posture and backed away from him.

******

And in the woods 2km away from the building, a man holding a huge sniper rifle saw Kim Hyun-ki waving his hand over the phone screen. He nodded his head and pulled the trigger. His bullet shot from his trigger soared into the sky, and he shot down at the head of Kim Hyun-ki, who was raising his hand in the center of the arena.

A small solid line penetrated the top of Kim Hyun-ki’s head and pierced the floor.

His skull, which had received the impact of the bullet, split in all directions, and blood flowed from his head. As Kim Hyun-ki laughed, he tried to shake his hand at me. However, his body could not handle the shock and collapsed to the floor.

“Youngmi.”

I heard a voice like that.