CLS-Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The man felt his words catch in his throat.

Who was he?

In the underworld of this region, there wasn’t a soul who didn’t know this man.

Even those who strutted around the back alleys with their noses in the air would tuck their tails and flee when they heard the name Black Bear Jwa-geol, so infamous was he for his ferocious nature.

Wasn’t Jwa-geol a living witness to the underworld, having survived for over ten years in a place where most people couldn’t last three years in one piece?

Yet here he was, being treated like this.

Those who knew his name would be horrified if they saw this.

‘What’s with this guy?’

It wasn’t exactly that something was bothering him.

To describe this feeling accurately, it wasn’t ‘bothering’ so much as ‘irritating.’

Seeing this person who seemed like a patient but also didn’t seem like a patient had momentarily flustered him, but there was no way he could feel bothered by some pale-faced young punk like this.

Jwa-geol forcibly ignored the momentary irritation he felt and opened his mouth.

“Who are you?”

“…Why do you ask?”

On top of that, this guy had clearly lost all sense of fear.

Most grown men would feel their legs go weak at the sight of Jwa-geol’s bulk, his muscles ready to burst, and the sword scar running across his face.

But this guy—whether he was blind or had buried his guts somewhere for safekeeping—showed no sign of being shaken even looking at Jwa-geol.

‘Is there something special about this guy?’

People who don’t get scared by someone’s appearance are either confident they can handle whatever savagery might be hidden behind that appearance, or they’re mentally deficient.

“I don’t care who you are. Get out. This place is no longer a clinic.”

“Huh, really?”

“That’s right.”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Why? Because it’s no longer a clinic!”

“That’s quite unfortunate.”

Wei Yan-ho said this and put his head back on the pillow.

Watching this absurd scene, Jwa-geol shouted in disbelief.

“Are you deaf, boy? This place no longer treats patients!”

“But I’m not a patient.”

“Huh?”

Jwa-geol asked dumbly.

“I said I’m not a patient.”

“If you’re not a patient, then what are you?”

“I’m a guest.”

“…Guest?”

A guest.

As if this ruined clinic would have guests coming to visit.

Normally, successful households suffer from an abundance of guests, but in failing households, guests are harder to find than money.

But what kind of guest…

And why on earth would a guest be lying in a room where patients should be resting?

It was completely incomprehensible.

“A guest?”

Wei Yan-ho’s face twitched in annoyance at having his sleep disturbed.

The world is a strange thing—it never leaves sleeping people alone. Wherever you go, there’s always at least one person who finds it objectionable when someone lies down to rest.

“Mister, are you a bit hard of hearing? I said I’m a guest.”

Wei Yan-ho petty threw the words right back at him.

But the reaction was completely different.

“What did you say?”

Angered by the harsh words from this young punk, Jwa-geol shouted loud enough to make the thatched roof shake.

“Get out! You little bastard, I’m going to fix your manners today!”

When Jwa-geol shouted like this, normal people would usually flinch and bow their heads or feel their legs go weak. His fierce face and the massive roar that burst forth allowed him to get most things done his way without having to use his hands.

But the guy in front of him wasn’t a normal person.

“Do I really have to go out?”

“What?”

“If it’s not something that absolutely has to be done outside, it seems like we could do it here. There’s no need to go through the trouble of going outside. It’s cold and windy too.”

“……”

Jwa-geol was speechless.

What the hell was this guy doing?

Did he think he was making some kind of suggestion?

“Fine, you stay right there. I’m coming in!”

Jwa-geol stepped inside.

He felt like his anger would only subside if he grabbed that arrogant bastard along with his blanket and threw him out.

“Wait a moment.”

Jwa-geol stopped without realizing it.

“It’s too late to beg now, you bastard!”

“That’s not it.”

“Huh?”

“I’m someone who has something called a conscience.”

Jwa-geol’s face went blank.

What was this guy trying to say now?

“Rolling around begging for food and making a mess of the room too—if I did that, I’d deserve to be called a bug, not a person. So if you don’t mind, could you please take off your shoes before coming in? I’m worried about the people who’ll have to clean the room.”

“……”

Wei Yan-ho was extremely polite.

“I’m sorry if I offended you. But no matter what, people should observe basic courtesy, don’t you think?”

Jwa-geol began to seriously ponder.

Was this young bastard really in his right mind?

If he were in his right mind, he should have at least some basic awareness, but his behavior had been too strange from the start.

Come to think of it, the fact that this household had something called a guest was strange too.

Just because someone’s called a patient doesn’t mean they have to be physically ill.

Jwa-geol asked with a voice half-filled with suspicion and half with certainty.

“You… does your head hurt by any chance?”

Jwa-geol looked at Wei Yan-ho with a pitying expression.

While people with physical ailments could somehow get better, if this young guy had already lost his mind, it couldn’t be reversed.

And Jwa-geol’s suspicion gradually turned to certainty.

No wonder this guy with perfectly healthy limbs was lying in a clinic…

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Poor thing…”

Jwa-geol’s ears no longer registered Wei Yan-ho’s protests. Crazy people never admit they’re crazy.

So there was no need to listen to what crazy people said.

“I’m telling you it doesn’t!”

“Sure, sure.”

Jwa-geol nodded and quietly withdrew the foot he had halfway pushed into the room.

He prided himself on being a person without compassion or mercy, but he didn’t want to get involved with crazy people. He’d experienced several times how troublesome it was when crazy people came at you with their tongues hanging out.

Besides, thinking that someone who looked so young had already lost his mind made him feel a bit sorry.

“Well then, get some rest.”

“Huh?”

Creak.

After the door closed, Wei Yan-ho began to tilt his head.

What kind of situation was this?

“Did I just get pitied?”

A sense of futility began to wash over him.

“How should I put this…”

Wei Yan-ho squeezed his sluggish brain and finally reached a conclusion.

“He’s a nice guy.”

He looked like he could eat a cow raw, but surprisingly, didn’t he have a kind heart? This is why you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.

Wei Yan-ho slowly closed his eyes.

It seemed like there was some commotion, but that was Jin So-ah’s problem to handle. Even a three-year-old would know that interfering in other people’s business means accepting the accompanying trouble.

Wei Yan-ho fell back into deep sleep.

He was curious, but everything was too bothersome.

“What a strange fellow.”

Jwa-geol closed the door and shook his head.

The young guy was pitiful, but that wasn’t his concern.

He just needed to chase out the other people, leaving that one behind. The clinic couldn’t function with just that one guy remaining.

Someone who wasn’t mentally sound couldn’t have money. And someone with money wouldn’t come here for treatment.

Jwa-geol unhesitatingly threw open the door to the next room.

“Business is closed! Get out!”

Jin So-ah saw this scene and rushed at Jwa-geol.

“C-can’t you stop this!”

“Where does this mouse-sized bastard get off clinging to a person? Get out of the way!”

“Ow!“

As Jwa-geol kicked without hesitation, Jin So-ah tumbled to the floor.

“Th-that person in the room is really in critical condition. What will you do if someone dies after being thrown out like this!”

“Someone who worries so much about other people’s lives, why don’t they pay back other people’s money? Hey, you bastard! Do you think there’s only one or two people here who are on the verge of death because of this debt? How can someone who’s defaulted on loans act like a saint?”

“Didn’t I say I’d pay it back! But what can I do when I don’t have money right now!”

“I also need to get my money back, but you’re saying you don’t have money, so what can I do? Try to understand my position.”

Jwa-geol grinned mockingly at Jin So-ah and began dragging patients out again.

“Ugh!“

Jin So-ah regained his composure.

‘This isn’t a problem that charging at him will solve.’

Appealing to someone who came with determination wouldn’t change anything. He needed to find a way to resolve the current situation calmly and rationally.

‘What’s the solution?’

Jin So-ah looked at the room next to where Jwa-geol was shouting. Seeing the firmly closed door, Jin So-ah rushed into the room without hesitation.

“Wi Hyeop!”

Jin So-ah boldly flipped the blanket that Wei Yan-ho had pulled over himself.

“Mmph.“

Wei Yan-ho, robbed of his blanket that was like half his soul, looked back at Jin So-ah with empty eyes.

“I was trying to sleep…”

“How can you sleep at a time like this!”

“What reason is there for me not to sleep?”

It’s not like the sky was falling or the ground was caving in.

“Can’t you hear that chaos outside? No, didn’t he come into this room earlier too?”

Wei Yan-ho yawned.

“So?”

Jin So-ah’s body trembled.

Shouldn’t he at least show some interest when such chaos was happening?

Living off someone else’s house and just eating their food!

At least when the situation had come to this, shouldn’t a person’s proper attitude be to try to help to the extent of the meals they’d digested?

“That scoundrel is causing trouble.”

“Scoundrel?”

“Yes!”

“He seemed like a good person though…”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

He seemed like a really kind-hearted person, so why was he being called a scoundrel?

“A good person?”

Jin So-ah couldn’t help but suspect that he and Wei Yan-ho were looking at different people.

If someone looked at Jwa-geol outside and called him a good person, that would mean they’d lost their mind.

If someone who comes to a relief center and causes trouble is a good person, where would you find bad people in the world?

Wei Yan-ho didn’t seem like such a humanitarian, so he must have lost his mind.

Jin So-ah looked straight into Wei Yan-ho’s eyes.

But unfortunately, from a medical perspective, there were no signs of madness or insanity.

“Wh-where do you see a good person?”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head slightly and answered.

“He was worried about me too. He seemed like a kind-hearted person…”

“Even though he’s causing such trouble?”

“…He must have his reasons.”

Jin So-ah felt like he was going insane.

“What reasons! What reasons!”

“That’s what I should be asking you. Why is that gentleman acting like that?”

Jin So-ah flinched and continued.

“There’s some debt.”

“Debt?”

“There’s still some debt left from what my father owed, and he’s acting like that, telling me to pay the rest.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded leisurely and opened his mouth. Now that he knew the circumstances, everything became crystal clear.

“You’re in the wrong.”

“What?”

“So why did you borrow someone else’s money and not pay it back? That’s the filthiest thing in the world.”

Jin So-ah foamed at the mouth.