SWNOVELXO Chapter 146: Kim Gi-ryeo (2)
At last, he turned 20.
This was the most meaningful time for Kim Gi-ryeo.
He met his mother, and that same year, he started his social activities in earnest.
–Wiiiiiing.
–Drrrrrrr.
Kim Gi-ryeo once worked at a bathtub factory.
To be honest, his experience there wasn’t long. He realized that while he could survive in the moment, endlessly doing simple tasks would lead to no future.
‘Surprisingly, it’s not bad, but I definitely can’t do it for long.’
So, while contemplating how to live moving forward, he finally set a goal.
A public service employee.
Among jobs with guaranteed retirement, this was said to have the lowest exam difficulty.
‘I originally thought about being a military officer, but since I’m an orphan, I’ve been exempt from service, so military life now would be tough anyway…’
By the way, switching to a delivery service job happened around the same time.
In the original workplace, he had no time to study due to frequent overtime, but that job seemed controllable in pace.
Moreover, a guy from the factory was selling his old motorcycle cheaply.
Gi-ryeo took a leap of faith and started this new job. Learning to ride the motorcycle wasn’t as hard as he had been told.
“Hey you crazy bastard! I ordered spicy chicken feet, but this frozen junk shows up cold!”
Of course, he was meticulous about obeying traffic laws, so he faced a lifetime’s worth of curses in his first month…
But as he got used to driving, it gradually improved.
He had more talent for riding than he expected.
*
But then one peaceful day.
“Gi-ryeo… Sorry, do you have some money saved in your account?”
Lee Hwa-young suddenly hinted at a question. She was asking if he had any savings.
“Money?”
“I haven’t been able to work a few days this month because my back hurts, and I don’t have any money for utility bills…”
He had once resolved to refuse any financial request when leaving the orphanage.
Has time dulled that resolve?
Gi-ryeo willingly handed 250,000 won to Lee Hwa-young.
After all, he was already paying half of the monthly rent anyway, so he thought that a month of this wouldn’t change much.
…But contrary to that expectation, Hwa-young’s requests grew larger.
“Gi-ryeo, Mom doesn’t have money to go grocery shopping, could I borrow a few thousand won?”
At first, it was 50,000 won in cash to buy food at the mart.
“Son… I’m sorry, but I really can’t work this month because of my back pain.”
And a few days later, she claimed she couldn’t find a job at all due to health issues and made him bear all the living expenses.
“Mom is really sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s just for a bit.”
“Right. Once my back gets better, I’ll pay you back right away.”
Was it because of her promise to pay him back later?
Gi-ryeo lent her money once more. Each time, his savings were quickly consumed, but for now, he managed to hold on.
He was a young man of integrity who didn’t indulge in extravagance.
All the money he earned from the factory and delivery work was still enough to keep him going.
Sure. At the age of 22, he had saved up 30 million won, so this much should be…
*
It had been two months since his mother took leave due to back pain.
29 million won.
28 million won.
And when his account balance fell to about 27 million won.
Suddenly, his mother brought up something during dinner.
“Gi-ryeo, actually, there’s something I need to tell you…”
Lee Hwa-young revealed that she had a large debt.
“Things were really tough living alone without you, so I took out a loan. But no matter how much I repay it, it just doesn’t go down…”
“Loan?”
“Lately, debt collectors have been sending notices, and it’s driving me insane…”
The documents she showed certainly exhibited traces of loans from the bank.
Including interest and principal, about 27 million won.
Just at that moment, Gi-ryeo had exactly enough money to pay it off.
“They say if I can’t make a lump sum payment now, we’ll lose the rental deposit on our house… What should we do?”
Thud. She grabbed Kim Gi-ryeo’s hand and started pleading.
Could you help Mom as a son? Of course, she promised to return your money later.
She assured him that she would start working again next month after her back got better, so not to worry.
“Can’t we do something?”
Usually, people wouldn’t readily agree to such a large request. But their relationship was anything but simple.
“Hmm…”
After all, this was what someone had longed for—a family bond.
“Really, you’ll pay me back… right?”
“Ah, absolutely! Don’t worry. Mom would never not pay her son back.”
In the end, Kim Gi-ryeo paid off Lee Hwa-young’s loan with all his savings.
But it was okay. His mother promised to return the money.
He could always save up for exam costs again. Moreover, his mother was helping a lot with household chores while he studied.
They were going to live together from now on, so this was the least to expect between mother and son…
*
Sure. There was no way it would be fine.
Huh.
It had been about two days since he lent the money to Hwa-young.
After finishing his delivery jobs, Gi-ryeo chuckled softly about 3 minutes after arriving home.
Because the living room was a total mess as soon as he opened the front door.
And out of concern, he checked around the house, only to find that the missing items were just some clothes, his wallet, phone, and a travel suitcase that should have been in the balcony.
“Not even answering my calls.”
To cut a long story short, Hwa-young had run away.
“Blocked me, huh?”
Only 48 hours after lending her money.
Gi-ryeo raised his hand and rubbed his nose. Seriously, he could never have imagined this. Who would have thought she would even pack her things and leave?
“What about the deposit for this place… Are we about to move out soon?”
If he explained the situation to the landlord, it might be possible to contact his mom for a moment.
But now, how much help could a few words even be?
An empty living room. Standing in the center, Gi-ryeo slowly crouched down.
“If I had known it would end up like this, I wouldn’t have bothered asking if she would pay me back.”
As the situation unfolded, bizarrely, that was the first thought that crossed his mind.
Yeah.
In truth, he had suspected he might not get his money back to some extent.
But knowing that, he still lent it to his mother. Even without the usual written loan agreement.
He didn’t want to lose the chance to meet his mother, so even if he was left without money, he preferred a life living together with family.
“Ah…”
Yet through this money, his family fell apart.
He vacantly stared out the window. By the time he came to his senses, the sunset was shimmering beyond the glass.
*
After experiencing that incident, Kim Gi-ryeo worked even harder.
Having to start saving all over again made him angry, but after all, a person must earn to survive.
During the day he delivered, and at night, he studied whenever he could.
Up until this point, he still clung to a little hope for the future.
“Ugh, winter’s really cold.”
But what he mustn’t forget is that he lived in a post-Dungeon Shock world.
“Grrr…”
One day.
After finishing a delivery, Gi-ryeo saw stray dogs in an alley while leaving the building.
But looking closely, that wasn’t a typical street dog.
“Hmm?”
With red irises and a body covered in magic stones.
With such a bizarre appearance, there was no doubt it was…
‘A monster!’
Huh!
When he spotted the beast, Gi-ryeo instinctively ran. However, the monster was faster than his motorcycle could take off.
Vroom vroom… CRACK!
What followed was a horrifying sound of flesh tearing.
“-AAAH!”
That F-Class Monster lunged at Gi-ryeo, biting savagely at his leg.
Desperately swinging his helmet didn’t faze the massive black beast.
Thud thud, crunch.
It started chewing on his right leg like it was a chew toy.
“Let go, let go!”
Kim Gi-ryeo nearly had his leg severed because of this incident.
But thankfully, it didn’t go that awfully wrong. Soon, an E-Class Awakened who noticed the beast rushed into the alley.
Whoosh!
The black dog quickly lost its life from the hunter’s attack. Yet, Gi-ryeo’s injuries still remained serious.
“Huff, huff…”
“AAH! My God! Are you okay? I’ll call an ambulance right away!”
The surreal scene looked like a butcher’s shop, bathed in red.
What on earth was happening now?
He was seriously injured. Would he be able to walk normally in the future?
*
“You’ll be able to walk.”
A few days later.
Kim Gi-ryeo found himself lying in a hospital room.
The doctor was currently doing rounds in the morning. The attending physician had just given a diagnosis about his injured leg.
“Will I be able to walk?”
“Yes. The surgery went well.”
But that merely meant that he would ‘be able’ to walk.
“But you shouldn’t run or do any strenuous activities from now on.”
“Excuse me?”
“The injury is too severe, so there will reliably be lasting side effects. If you exert your leg joints, it’ll only get worse, so you need to manage it well.”
He wouldn’t be able to stand for long or even run briefly.
This meant there would undoubtedly be significant restrictions on physical labor.
“Is that so?”
And this incident led to significant financial losses too.
‘Oh, and my bike was wrecked too.’
Korea had a solid medical insurance system, so he thought the costs wouldn’t be high.
But with the severe fracture he had now, the surgical expenses were far beyond what he had imagined.
If only he had taken out some insurance. But considering he earned his living riding a motorcycle, there was no way that’d even be approved…
‘What about the rent?’
He couldn’t afford to just take a break because he hurt his leg.
Taking a day to rest meant he would have to starve the next day.
A person couldn’t survive without money.
What was just a few hundred thousand won for someone else was enough to bring this young man to his knees.
Also, without a family to support him, a single fall could lead to never getting back up again.
Months later.
Gi-ryeo had somewhat recovered.
But as the doctor had said, the side effects persisted, preventing him from moving his leg beyond a certain angle.
Time might heal, but to fully regain his previous condition, he would have to use items that came from the dungeons.
“The cost of reopening my leg and pouring high-class potion for treatment averages around 350 million won…”
Hahaha.
I’ve never seen 100 million in my life, and now another 250 million is added?
‘This is giving me a headache.’
Kim Gi-ryeo lit a cigarette he pulled from his pocket.
He had tried smoking out of curiosity after becoming an adult, but he had never smoked like this before.
While his leg was healing, the savings he had built up from not doing anything had completely vanished.
Moreover, when he hastily requested help from the government, the reply he got back was that there were no funds to give to the young.
‘They say I still have some work capacity, so just keep trying to work…’
Regardless, Kim Gi-ryeo tried his best to survive.
After all, after being bitten by that monster, his body had changed a bit. So, figuring he might as well, he took the Awakening Test.
“12Aw. You have awakened as an F-Class.”
Even getting the lowest tier was disappointing, but he still decided to take on the Gate.
“Shaaaarrrk!”
“Ugh.”
Due to the trauma from the previous incident, he now trembled at the sight of any monster. Being a Hunter was utterly impossible.
Still, surely there must still be jobs left he could do.
No, he had to create some even if there weren’t. To make a living and then…
Then next…
…Next was?
Suddenly, he questioned why he was enduring like this.
‘What am I even living for?’
The reason he wanted to become a public servant was that he originally wanted a stable job.
With the state covering his salary, at least he wouldn’t face paycheck delays, allowing him to…
Maintain that life with his mother for as long as possible.
“…”
That household had already been in shambles for a while.
His mother had abandoned him twice.
A family that could be given up for just about the annual salary of an employee.
In that moment, Kim Gi-ryeo thought.
If only I had been a bit more affectionate, would my mother have not left?
If only I were better-looking.
Or if I had some exceptional ability. If I had been a really good student.
But whatever it may have been, it seemed to her that her son wasn’t appealing enough to be family.
Then how would others see him? Would the world want to be family with someone like him?
Would he have to live like this forever?
Abandoned, lonely, and struggling.
‘Forever.’
Suddenly.
Kim Gi-ryeo grew tired of trying.
He had no words to describe anything beyond that.
Suddenly, everything felt annoyingly cumbersome.
Earning money, studying, even the trivial task of cleaning his room.
And from this time, strange things began to happen.
For some reason, he started forgetting the recent events.
What he was doing in front of the sink. What the door lock password was.
He kept spacing out.