Chapter 139
"Status window."
『Name: Ha Young-won Lv.5
Traits: ◀ Click to open
Quirk:
Funds: 760 Points
Description: Time that had been stopped for a long time has started moving again. You, who are inevitably experiencing various things and growing, are both afraid and excited about what will happen next.』
『Shop ◀ Click to open』
『Treatment Center ◀ Click to open』
『Training Ground ◀ Click to open』
『Mercenary Group ◀ Click to open』
The first thing to do after waking up in the morning is to check the status window. I checked how many points came in last night and also checked my friends' quirks.
'Looks like no one died from random matching.'
Including the points earned from the 'Rabbit Piggy Bank' yesterday and today, my total points were 760P. Having a real 'Rabbit Piggy Bank' was a huge relief.
It's truly a golden egg-laying rabbit.
"Today is..."
Sunday. 9 AM.
It was still too early for students who played games late into the night to emerge from the swamp of oversleeping, but for devout Christians, it was time to prepare for worship.
I quickly got up, washed, and changed clothes.
When I came out to the living room, there was a lizard stuck to the fish tank. The more I look at it, the cuter it gets. Its tail is plump too.
━Geck ko geck.
"There, there. Did you sleep well? You seem to have grown bigger than yesterday."
It might be my imagination, but the lizard Giganoto seemed to have grown quite a bit. It used to be smaller than my palm, but now it looks about the same size as my palm?
It's only been about two weeks since I met this guy, can its size change this much?
Suddenly, I imagined Giganoto growing endlessly and becoming like a dinosaur.
What if I rode on its back to school? I wouldn't need to envy rich people riding in limousines anymore.
"Grow up well and become a dinosaur. If you understand me, say 'boom boo boom pow'."
━Boom boo boom pow-
"Good."
I went outside and headed to where Wang Ja-hyun's house was. His house was near the school, a villa made of red bricks.
It's an old building, but I heard it has three rooms. It's a luxurious villa for a high school student living alone.
"Young-won. Over here."
Dahee waved at me from an alley near Wang Ja-hyun's house. Bong Ji-yeon and Kwon Sua were there too.
Bong Ji-yeon, Kwon Sua, and Yoo Dahee are ready. Then how about Jung-seok and Yang Juhee's side? Their roles were just as important as ours.
"Jung-seok. I'm counting on you. You need to keep them at church as long as possible. Got it?"
The plan was this. While Jung-seok and Yang Juhee keep Wang Ja-hyun's group at Glory Church for as long as possible, we would ransack the empty house.
It was a very simple plan.
"Guys, do you have gloves and masks? If not, I'll give you some."
Just in case, I prepared cotton gloves and masks last night.
It would be troublesome if we left fingerprints or something. Thinking about doing a group burglary made me feel like a character in a movie.
My back was already tingling even though we hadn't started yet.
"...Is this really okay? We're committing theft! Breaking and entering! It's a complete crime! We might go to jail if we're caught! I'll even be on the news!"
Tremble-
Kwon Sua was very afraid. To be honest, I was just as nervous and scared.
I've been a straight-arrow guy, living according to morals and laws. I only broke rules when it was absolutely necessary.
But now I was trying to cross the line and do something wrong of my own accord. I couldn't help but feel conflicted with various emotions.
But if we don't steal the talismans here, it would inevitably lead to a clash between Wang Ja-hyun's party and our pirate crew. If that happens, one of us will die. Even if we survive, we might get seriously hurt.
Also, I didn't want to make my friends experience killing people. In other words, this was the lesser evil to avoid the worst.
That is, a righteous theft.
Of course, things might not go well.
Depending on the situation, we might end up clashing after all. If that time comes... I'll do my best to protect my friends' 'daily lives'.
Because that's the role I, as the leader, should play. Even if it means staining my hands with blood! I hope such a thing doesn't happen, though...
"Shh, shut up!"
Just then, Bong Ji-yeon covered my mouth with her hand. Bong Ji-yeon's hand smelled of cigarettes.
Does Jung-seok really like this kind of girl? No, maybe not. Jung-seok seemed a bit distant from Bong Ji-yeon these days.
Is it because the tanned beauty Jin Seo-yeon got involved?
"There they come out!"
At Bong Ji-yeon's small exclamation, we all hid around the corner and looked at the entrance of Wang Ja-hyun's villa.
The tall Wang Ja-hyun, Gong Ye-rin, and Im Hee-yeon came out of the villa together.
"Ugh, I'm sleepy. Ye-rin, do you have gum?"
"I do. Want some? Ja-hyun, how about you?"
"I'm good."
The girls' hair was wet, looking like they had washed it and roughly dried it.
It seems girls take longer to dry their hair compared to boys. I've heard some girls say they don't wash their hair and just wet their bangs with water because it's bothersome to dry.
That's really gross.
"Looks like they slept together at the villa last night."
Bong Ji-yeon's speculation seemed quite sharp. And I was angry.
High school students already sleeping in the same house? People who go to church on Sundays!
Anyway. The important thing is that Wang Ja-hyun's group left the house at 10 AM.
The main service at Glory Church is from 10:30 to 11:30. One hour. Including various meetings after that, it ends around 1 PM.
In other words, we had to find the talismans in Wang Ja-hyun's house from about 10:30 to 1 PM, about 2 hours and 30 minutes. I'm not sure if three hours is enough. We were all novices at theft, after all.
***
I whispered to my friends as I watched Wang Ja-hyun's group, arms linked, disappear around the corner.
"They might suddenly come back saying they forgot their wallet, so let's wait for now. We'll start when Yang Juhee's team contacts us saying they've arrived at the church."
I contacted Ms. Hong Mi-ri. Ms. Hong Mi-ri agreed to mark 'Kim Geon-ho' today.
"How's it going on your end, teacher?"
"Ssem: The guy took the bait haha. If this job goes well, Young-won, you'll have to grant teacher one wish, okay?"
A wish? What wish?
Whatever it was, Ms. Hong Mi-ri's role was also very important, so I finished with "Yes, please do your best." Meanwhile, I went up to the third floor and knocked on Wang Ja-hyun's door.
Knock knock-
I also rang the doorbell.
"......"
No response. It was certain that no one was home.
When I came back down to the first floor, Jung-seok sent a message.
"Jung-seok: Confirmed Wang Ja-hyun, Gong Ye-rin, and Im Hee-yeon."
"Okay, everyone saw the group chat, right?"
"Then it's time for the player to enter!"
Kwon Sua giggled. She seemed to find her own words funny. However, Bong Ji-yeon was still trembling.
"You want me to climb up to the third floor using the drainpipe and pipes? The most I've done is climb down from the second floor to skip school or hop over fences!"
"Ji-yeon. I believe in you. You've hopped over more fences and climbed more walls than any of us. You have a talent for wall climbing. Rock Climbing Queen. Rock Climbing Queen Bong Ji-yeon!"
I cheered for Bong Ji-yeon, just like Yang Juhee had encouraged me before.
"See that apartment on the left on the third floor? The window with the air conditioner unit. You need to get in through that window. This neighborhood is old, so third-floor windows aren't locked. You can do it! You can do it!"
Of course, my words had no effect on Bong Ji-yeon. At times like this, Dahee was our only hope.
Glance-
As I looked at Dahee, she nodded and firmly held Bong Ji-yeon's hand.
"Ji-yeon, all our lives depend on you."
"Ugh..."
Bong Ji-yeon dreamed of working for Yoo Dahee's family. Like being Yoo Dahee's secretary.
She was desperate to make a good impression on Yoo Dahee for that dream.
"Fine! I'll do it if I have to! I'll do it! Let's go!"
Swish-
Finally, Bong Ji-yeon started climbing the wall to the third floor. Even with the 《Wall Climbing》 trait, she climbed better than expected.
Swish swish, grab, grab-
She moved so fast it made the onlookers dizzy, and my legs felt weak just watching. Using the drainpipe, stepping on the air conditioner unit, it was really impressive.
Before we knew it, she reached the third floor in less than 10 minutes.
Rattle-
Bong Ji-yeon opened the window. The plan was for her to enter through that open window and unlock the door for us all to enter.
But there was a problem.
"...Looks like something's not working out."
As Yoo Dahee worriedly said, Bong Ji-yeon seemed to have hit a snag and was hesitating.
I realized the third-floor window wasn't opening fully. It wasn't locked, but because the building was so old, it only opened about 20cm?
Bong Ji-yeon tried to squeeze through but gave up. Then she came back down.
"Hey, it's no good. I can't get in there. Look at the size. Can't fit."
A woman's body has many curves. If someone could fit through that small gap...
"What? Why are you looking at me!"
Kwon Sua trembled. I recalled Kwon Sua's status window.
More precisely, the trait Kwon Sua had...
『《Flexible Body》: The body becomes extremely flexible. Can squeeze through any space as long as the head can fit.』
The trait Kwon Sua acquired from the training ground. Flexible body.
If this effect was real, only Kwon Sua could fit through that narrow gap.
"Sua, let's go. Sua! Miss Sua! It has to be you!"
"Eek!"
Kwon Sua was flustered. Bong Ji-yeon was confused too.
"Hey! If I can't get in, how can she? She's even curvier than me!"
"No! She can do it! Sua's body is flexible! If her head can fit, the rest can follow! Sua, please! We don't have time! You... owe me a favor! You need to repay that!"
Was this how bad guys felt when they exploited a woman's weakness? I had decided not to be picky about means and methods for our survival.
Bong Ji-yeon and Dahee's gazes felt a bit cold, but someone would appreciate my sacrifice.
"Alright! I'll do it if I have to! But this is going on your tab too!"
Swish-
Kwon Sua started climbing up to the third-floor window.
Watching her, Bong Ji-yeon was shocked.
"I did that? Wow, seeing someone else do it makes me dizzy."
Kwon Sua didn't have the 《Wall Climbing》 trait. Because of that, it took her about 30 minutes just to reach the third floor.
By now, it was 11:10 AM. The service would end in 20 more minutes...
"I made it!"
Kwon Sua shouted from the third floor.
Soon, Kwon Sua squeezed her head through the gap Bong Ji-yeon had opened.
Then her hands, then she pushed her chest through while struggling, and surprisingly flexibly, she slipped through the 20cm gap.
They say octopuses can squeeze through even the tiniest gaps. That's why octopus traps are made with small holes.
Kwon Sua was like an octopus in the best sense.
Struggle struggle-
Her hips seemed to get stuck for a while, but after some wiggling, she fell inside.
"She did it! As expected of Sua!"
"Now we can get in!"
"Wow! Damn, she really did it!"
We all cheered and jumped up and down at Kwon Sua's achievement, the excitement reminiscent of a grand celebration.
We immediately went up to the third floor.
Click-
Kwon Sua unlocked the door for us, but her expression was strange.
"This... house is weird..."
The house is weird? We wondered what she meant, but as soon as we entered, we understood.
"What's with all these crosses?"
There were crosses hanging everywhere in the space with pitch-black wallpaper, enough to drive one mad.
It was beyond eerie or unsettling; it was downright unpleasant.
"Let's find the talismans and get out of here quickly!"
Current time: 11:20 AM. We had about an hour and a half left.
"Wow, shit, look at this! Look at these bastards. They're so shameless."
Just then, Bong Ji-yeon found something on the dining table and made a fuss.
I wondered what it was, and Bong Ji-yeon picked up a box labeled "001" and snickered.
Yoo Dahee and I tilted our heads, wondering what it was, but Kwon Sua's face turned bright red.