NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7.1
Suh Haran left work 30 minutes later than usual.
She always took care of the things her colleagues forgot about after work. But today, the workload was especially big.
‘They must be waiting for me……’
A nervous feeling crept up in her mind as she walked in the dark street.
Was she doing a good job as a parent?
Despite working 12 hours a day, she was unable to buy even her young siblings some good clothing.
“Cough!”
A cough came out of her throat all of a sudden. She had been working in the dusty factory all day.
That combined with the fact that she worked in a dark place made her sick.
‘Well, since tomorrow’s payday, let’s celebrate with some meat!’
She should be able to buy enough for her two younger siblings.
When she thought about her siblings, she could feel herself cheer up.
‘Huh? That’s……’
She could see a familiar shadow in the street.
“Nn, is it you, Taehyuk?”
“Mm. How’d you know?”
“Noona always knows.”
Haran smiled at her brother, who came out to greet her personally.
Taehyuk spoke with a disappointed tone.
“Why are you so late? I thought I was going to freeze. Let’s go.”
“Right, it’s cold, isn’t it?”
Haran ran to Taehyuk, and hugged him.
[You used Robbery.]
–You failed to steal the subject’s possession……
“Ah, what are you doing?”
‘Phew, it failed.’
Taehyuk looked away, but it didn’t look like he hated what she did.
He took off his outerwear, and gave it to Haran.
Haran smiled.
Her brother always had a sulky face, but she knew that he was the most sensitive of all her siblings.
“Ah, wear this.”
Taehyuk handed her a blindfold.
Haran was slightly confused.
“Is this the stuff you’re into nowadays?”
“…That’s not it. It’s your birthday, right? We prepared a surprise party for you.”
“Heh… A party?”
Haran’s eyes glinted with anticipation. She was still a young girl inside, after all.
She blindfolded her eyes, and followed her younger brother.
It should’ve taken them a long time to get back home, but they arrived in just a few minutes.
“We’re here.”
Haran slowly put away her blindfold, and opened her eyes.
“Wow, what a nice house.”
It seemed like a house that would appear in a TV show. There was a large living room, along with three rooms. There was also a seemingly expensive sofa, along with a chandelier. There was even a TV that was at least 50 inches wide.
Haran spoke with a tinge of suspicion in her voice.
“Did you borrow your friend’s house for the party?”
“No, this is our house.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“They’re waiting, let’s go.”
Taehyuk grabbed Haran’s hand, and moved.
He walked to the door with the sign that said “Suh Haran”.
When he opened the door, they could hear a loud cheer.
“Happy birthday, Noona!”
“Happy birthday!”
Pang! Pang!
Party poppers were set off.
Haran covered her mouth.
She was so surprised, she couldn’t even scream.
She looked at the room.
It was a dreamlike room.
A beautiful, frilly bed.
Just imagining herself sleep in the room made her feel like a princess.
“Tae, Taemin! …and who are you?”
In the room was her younger brother, and a bulky man wearing a conic hat.
“Ah, that’s Kang Suk-hyung. He helped me out with a lot of things.”
When Taehyuk introduced Kang Suk, Haran greeted him kindly.
“Haha! Nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you from Taehyuk. I’m a part of the Gangdong 2nd police division. My name is Jo Kang Suk.”
“You’re an investigator?”
Taehyuk whispered to Haran.
“He’s just an idiot brother.”
“You…Really.”
“You haven’t eaten, right? We didn’t prepare much, but let’s dig in before the food gets cold.”
A beautiful cake, steak, along with a big bowl of fruit salad.
They all looked quite delicious.
Haran pinched her cheek, just to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming.
“Ouch!”
Thankfully, it wasn’t a dream.
“Taehyuk, what’s going on? What’s up with this house?”
“Ah, well…”
Taehyuk briefly explained the situation to Haran.
He managed to get ahold of where a criminal was located. He reported the police about it, and got money from it.
He bought his sister a house with that money.
Having heard this, Haran’s face became flushed.
She pinched Taehyuk’s cheeks, and dragged him outside.
“W, what is it? Are you happy?”
“That’s not it! A criminal? Just what did you think you were doing? You could’ve gotten hurt!”
Taehyuk, at that moment, felt touched.
She was thinking more about him than the fact that they were going to live in a better house.
“O, of course I didn’t get hurt or anything. Who do you think I am? I’m your brother!”
Kang Suk, who had been listening from outside, butted into the conversation.
“Haha, you don’t need to worry much. This Taehyuk, he’s a very witty fellow. He’d probably survive even in Harlem, New York.”
“…right.”
Haran grabbed onto Taehyuk’s ears, and whispered into it.
“So he’s the investigator who’s taking care of you?”
“Nn. We got really friendly in a matter of a week. He’s like a real brother.”
“I see.”
They gathered into the room again, and began partying.
They sang songs, shared food, and began talking.
“By the way, you look much better than Taehyuk told me.”
“Right. Please, don’t flatter me that much just because it’s my birthday.”
“I’m dead serious.”
‘Kang Suk-hyung……! You’re falling for women way too easily!’
Taehyuk’s head hurts.
Suddenly, Taemin, who had been drinking juice quietly, moved to Kang Suk.
“Investigator, I enjoyed your interviews very much. I loved your speech about justice. Will you please sign this for me.”
‘Taemin fell for him! It’s a love triangle!’
Kang Suk laughed delightedly, and signed a piece of paper while telling Taemin to treat him like a brother.
‘Come to think of it, that Taemin wanted to become a lawyer, didn’t he.’
He wanted to watch Taemin achieve his dream.
Right then.
Haran began to cry.
“Uaaaa!”
Taehyuk became surprised, and quickly asked her a question.
“N, Noona, why are you crying? Do you not like the food?”
“I, it’s not that…….. I’m just too happy. To think I’d be able to live in such a house with all my family……. It all feels like a dream.”
“It’s not a dream. So, us three can live a happy life like this forever.”
“Nn.”
“Taehyuk, why three? What about me?”
Kang Suk butted into the conversation.
Taehyuk waved him away, as if he was chasing away a bug.
“You’re not a part of our family.”
“Tch.”
Soon, Haran began to laugh again.
It was because Kang Suk began to dance a strange dance.
Surprisingly enough, Kang Suk had adjusted himself into the family quite well.
Taehyuk looked at Kang Suk with a trusting face.
‘It’s quite hard to find a kind person like this.’
For the past five days, Kang Suk had helped Taehyuk find a home, buy furniture, and even helped move it.
If it was Kang Suk, Taehyuk could easily trust his family to the man.
After thinking this, Taehyuk silently slipped out of the party.
He moved into his own room.
Since this was a big house, everyone could get their own rooms.
‘100 million won to buy a house. And 15 million won for the furniture. So we have about 20 million won remaining.’
This would help him quite a bit in the future.
Taehyuk sat down, and took out a notebook.
There was already quite a lot of things written there, but that wasn’t enough.
There was a limit to human memory. Especially if it was a dream. That was why he needed to record everything down before he forgot.
Taehyuk saw what would happen in the next 15 years. Although his life ended tragically, he could use the information he gathered from the dream usefully.
‘I should’ve memorized a lotto number or something.’
Most of Taehyuk’s memory of the future is about criminals. Especially about ones that shook the nation.
He knew about 120 of them.
Taehyuk opened the notebook, and began to write his own blacklist.
About the criminal activities that would happen, and about the ones that already happened.
‘I shouldn’t forget about the Robbery skill, as well.’
Well, he couldn’t control it properly though.
But he should still be able to make use of it.
Like this, Taehyuk now had two weapons in his arsenal. Namely, the Blacklist, and the Robbery skill.
‘You think I’m just going to be falsely charged for murder just like that?’
He would protect the small bit of happiness he got.
Taehyuk would make sure of this.
Right then. The mirror, which had been staying silent all this time, began to vibrate.
[Due to a new relationship, you have acquired a single relation point.]
“What the, did I just get a point?”
How did this happen?
Taehyuk didn’t do anything.
But the mirror didn’t stop with just a single message.
[You have completed your first requirements for class advancement, ‘Blacklist creation’.]
[Once you complete all class advancement requirements, you may advance to become a ‘Noble’.]
[Once you become a Noble, you will be able to use more crime skills.]
After reading all this, Taehyuk spoke quietly to himself.
“Commoner to a Noble? Am I going to become a God or something at the end or something?”
His head started hurting.
Glossary
Noona – “Big Sister” in Korean, from a male’s perspective. Doesn’t have to be related by blood, can just express familiarity.
Unni – “Big Sister” in Korean, from a female’s perspective. Doesn’t have to be related by blood, can just express familiarity.
Proofreader’s note
Ah! The mirror! The mirror! To be honest, I completely forgotten about that spooky mirror xD I can’t wait for the next chapter. I’m glad that I’m able to read and proofread this series~
Translator : Ensj
Translation Check: Kirito0017
Proofreader : Kuhaku (formerly known as Zenneth)