CH 390

Choi Yeon-Ha called for two vans and loaded all the orphanage girls in the hired vehicles. She smirked as the girls buckled themselves in their seats.

'Seriously! Those three can be so clueless!'

Plenty of things in this world were designed to make people's lives as painless as possible, yet Kang Jin-Ho and his friends insisted on staying as analogue beings.

Even Choi Yeon-Ha, who almost always relied on her talent agency's automated pick-up & chauffeur service to sort out her travel issues, knew about ride-shares. So, how pathetically low were the Kang Jin-Ho crew's abilities for them to experience such trouble while transporting a handful of boys?

'I shouldn't be pointing fingers, though...'

Indeed, Choi Yeon-Ha also had a problem, didn't she? After all, she was going through all this trouble just because she had feelings for Kang Jin-Ho.

Choi Yeon-Ha glanced at the girls. “Our destination isn't far, so be patient, girls!”

“Yes, unnie!”

The girls were all visibly excited, as if they were about to go on a family picnic. Choi Yeon-Ha smiled refreshingly at their lively energy.

'Yup, this is the difference in class!'

Choi Yeon-Ha prayed for the souls of the orphanage boys currently going through Hell in the training center, then told the driver to set off.

***

“Miss Choi Yeon-Ha? Who are these children?”

Chief Park Min-Seo was tense. Deeply nervous.

'What is this... 'witch' thinking of doing this time?'

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The air in the beauty parlor grew taut when Choi Yeon-Ha confidently walked inside. Lack of film commitments lately meant Choi Yeon-Ha hadn't been using the services of this beauty parlor, giving the professionals plying their trade here a breathing room. But she deigned to grace this establishment with her presence today. With lots of hangers-on, to boot!

Choi Yeon-Ha slightly raised her nose. “Oh? Are we not welcome in your shop, Chief Park?”

“Ohohohoho~, is that how I sounded just now? Of course that's not true~! We are only too happy to serve a customer as notable as you, Miss Yeon-Ha~!”

Chief Park had zero qualms about saying stuff she didn't mean. Then again, she was only half lying, anyway.

A beauty parlor rumored to be frequented by Choi Yeon-Ha was bound to see a several-fold increase in their revenue. And that was precisely what happened to Chief Park's place.

Even though the parlor began charging exorbitant prices, more than enough punters were only too happy to cough up the cash. This was the much-vaunted 'Celebrity Effect' that many business owners talked about.

And, among the celebrities, Choi Yeon-Ha was a special case. She wasn't just a pretty face. Oh no. She even boasted a superior fashion sense, too.

Even though what was considered 'hot' for men and women was not the same, Choi Yeon-Ha was one of the few 'real' fashion queens who knew how to satisfy both camps.

'And her personality is also as fiery as it gets!'

Choi Yeon-Ha bluntly asked Chief Park. “What happened to the idols that booked your place out?”

“Oh, them? I've already canceled them, you know~?”

A girl group was planning to get their hair done for an upcoming concert. However, they unhesitantly canceled the appointment after learning about how Choi Yeon-Ha wanted the beauty parlor for herself. And they didn't even complain once, too!

'What a pitiful group of girls...'

Chief Park could only tut inwardly. If one had a choice between getting her hair done in an unfamiliar hair salon or getting on Choi Yeon-Ha's bad books, one didn't need to be a genius to figure out the correct answer.

Choi Yeon-Ha understood all too well the 'power' she wielded and also knew how to manage it effectively.

“Chief Park, please do your magic on these kids' hair. Since they are all still young... Mm, how should I describe this... With a slight hint of youthfulness, accompanied by a somewhat sophisticated and elegant air. Something like that? Oh, and it'd be good to have hints of the vivaciousness of an innocent girl, too. I hope you get what I'm asking for, Chief Park.”

Chief Park smiled awkwardly. Of course she 'got' what Choi Yeon-Ha was talking about. Listening was for free, after all. However, that request was easier said than done, and that was Chief Park's current issue.

“These girls, you say?”

“Yup. Is there something wrong?” Choi Yeon-Ha cocked her head.

Chief Park briefly scanned the orphanage girls accompanying Choi Yeon-Ha and frowned ever so slightly. “Looks like they've never looked after themselves until now. I think it might be a... little difficult, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

“Oh, I see. A little difficult, you say?” Choi Yeon-Ha coolly turned around. “Okay, girls! Time to leave!”

The girls blankly stared at Choi Yeon-Ha, having failed to keep up with the flow of events.

Chief Park wasn't as slow as them, though, and immediately realized what just happened. She freaked out slightly and hurriedly grabbed Choi Yeon-Ha's arm. “W-where are you going, Miss Yeon-Ha?”

“Well, how can I trust a beauty parlor that can't even do something as simple as what I've asked for? I guess I'll have to look for another place now. Another place that is willing to help me out…”

“E-eiii~, I never said we can't do it, though~? Ohoho, of course we can! Definitely! If we can't even do something this simple, we might as well turn in our qualifications to do your hair, too, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

“Well, at least you know,” Choi Yeon-Ha tutted.

Chief Park called out to the girls. “Alright~, everyone, please come this way. This way~!”

The hair designers observed the unfolding situation with determined looks on their faces. The shop's revenue was directly tied to their pay, after all! Choi Yeon-Ha leaving the shop would lead to the shop's revenue experiencing a freefall, and the designers wouldn't get paid the same amount anymore!

Chief Park finished herding the orphanage girls to the empty waiting couches, then brought all the designers together for a huddle.

“Listen. Even if you think it can't be done, make it happen, anyway! Understand?”

“B-but, Chief Park…”

“You don't need me to explain this situation, now do you? We won't accept any other clients except these girls for the rest of today, so don't worry about running out of time, okay? Do whatever it takes to turn these girls into top tiers. Got it?”

“...Yes, Chief.”

As the hair designers gravely nodded in determination, Chief Park turned her head away to stare at Choi Yeon-Ha. Korea's top actress was sitting on one of the sofas, her legs elegantly crossed.

'What a witch. Yup, a witch, indeed!'

Choi Yeon-Ha would nonchalantly assign near-insurmountable missions to the unsuspecting professionals, and anyone who failed those missions would get hit with all-too-cruel consequences. In that case, the label 'witch' seemed most appropriate for Choi Yeon-Ha.

'Still, she's a witch that makes us rich, so...'

“...Unnie, would you like a cup of our finest coffee?” Chief Park trotted to Choi Yeon-Ha and smiled brightly.

***

“Hmm…”

Choi Yeon-Ha lightly tapped on her cheek while studying the orphanage girls sitting in front of the mirrors.

'The first thing is getting their hair done. Then, their skin. Finally, have them exercise to give volume to their figures. And then...'

That should be enough for the 'appearance management' crash course. It wasn't as if Choi Yeon-Ha was preparing these girls for a formal debut, anyway.

“Girls, how do you usually get your clothes?” Choi Yeon-Ha asked the orphanage girls waiting for their turn.

They responded as if this matter wasn't worth mentioning. “Aunties buy them for us, or we just wear donated clothes. Sometimes we pool our allowances and buy them ourselves, though.”

“How much is your allowance, then?”

The girls were honest with how much pocket money they'd get, but that only made Choi Yeon-Ha frown deeply.

“Are you telling me you buy clothes with that little money?”

“Well, yeah…”

“What is this, Mission Impossible? If you buy clothes with that money, what about snacks?”

“We don't have any.”

“I see. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. I figured getting you girls into shape wouldn't be hard since none of you was overweight, but this... So, it wasn't something to be happy about.” Choi Yeon-Ha unhappily massaged her temples.

'Aigoo... My head...'

Choi Yeon-Ha suddenly felt at a loss, not knowing what to do. This whole thing seemed like such a mess!

“No, hang on! It's not all bad news, is it!”

Choi Yeon-Ha reignited her flames of competitiveness. Hadn't she already learned from experience many times before that rewards for solving a difficult assignment were always super-sweet?

The unyielding fighting spirit of Choi Yeon-Ha, a survivor who had clawed her way up from the dirt to the top of the entertainment industry, burned fiercely.

“Once I'm through with these girls, my rewards should be incredible, no? Where would I ever get another chance to prove myself like this? Fufufu...! Just you wait, I'll show you what I'm really capable of! Hohohoho!”

The girls' expressions grew a little darker as they watched Choi Yeon-Ha cackle all by herself.

'This unnie... She's scary!'

'She's no joke. Seriously!'

These girls were slowly but surely getting overwhelmed by Choi Yeon-Ha's forceful aura.

Exactly like how the boys were becoming more... 'wary' of Kang Jin-Ho in the training center!

***

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...

The beeping was subtle and constant, unchanging.

Being constant was a good thing. Especially more so when that constant, unchanging beeping came from monitors connected to a patient in a hospital. After all, the regular beeping signified that the patient's condition was stable.

Unfortunately for the patient... Many things in this world weren't as simple as they appeared on the surface.

The patient responsible for producing that noise thought the beeping was like a devil's whisper.

Since his body's condition was stable, the patient was in no danger of dying any time soon. And those beeps were like a constant reminder that the patient would remain alive for a very, very long time.

'That devil...!'

Only a devil would be capable of doing this to him!

When would be the most painful moment for a person? When he was cast into the pits of Hell? Or after he had fallen into unending depths of despair?

Wrong. It was neither of those.

The most painful moment for a man was when everything was taken from him. And the torment would be even worse when the lost things happened to be body parts he took for granted until recently. For instance, like his eyesight. Or his hearing. Or his sense of taste. Even his limbs.

If any one of those things was taken from a man, he'd have to suffer untold hardship and torment for the rest of his life.

However, the patient listening to the monotone beeping hadn't lost just one thing. His eyes were gone. And none of his limbs was intact.

Of course, they were still attached to his body. His arms, his legs, they could still be found where they were supposed to be. However, the man couldn't feel anything from them.

Limbs without any feelings only made it harder for the man to endure. If only these unresponsive limbs were gone! Maybe his body could have felt lighter, making it a little easier to move.

However, a body with unmoving limbs was just heavy baggage. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Heuk. Sob. Sniffle…” The man, Kim Seok-Il, quietly sobbed. However, his sobbing soon grew louder. “Sob. Sob... Huwaaaah... Huwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah! You son of a biiiii*tch! Aaaaaaahk!”

Unrestrained curse words containing every resentment in this world exploded forth from his mouth.

He swore. He raged. He twisted and struggled like a madman to make his unresponsive body move somehow.

The machines began screaming alongside his struggles. That alerted the ward's nurses, and they rushed inside his hospital room.

“The patient is having another episode!”

“Tranquilizer, ASAP! Hurry and administer it!”

“You stinking b*tches! How dare you touch me!” Kim Seok-Il loudly roared, but that was all he could do. What else could he do besides shouting when his entire body was paralyzed?

He screamed and struggled, but his only reward was the deepening sense of futility and emptiness. It seemed he didn't notice the nurses injecting him with sedatives.

Once Kim Seok-Il had stopped struggling, the nurses stepped back and sighed loudly.

“Fuu-woo…”

“Why does he keep doing this? Seriously!”

“...Watch your mouth, will ya? Wouldn't you also get angry if you were in his shoes?”

“...Even then, isn't this still too much?”

“Forget it. Let's get out of here. The patient needs his rest, after all.”

Even the words of compassion enraged Kim Seok-Il. He stared at the ceiling he could no longer see and shed tears of regret and anger.

'Just... Where did everything go wrong?'

Kim Seok-Il reached for his dream, and... And he failed. If that was all that had happened, he wouldn't be swimming in regret like this. However, the consequences of his failure were just too cruel.

Kang Jin-Ho did not permit Kim Seok-Il to die. The punishment Kang Jin-Ho chose for Kim Seok-Il was 'survival'. Surviving while unable to even flick a finger... Surviving within darkness where he couldn't see anything anymore!

Kim Seok-Il asked why his hearing had been spared, and what Kang Jin-Ho said at that time had been etched in his memories forever.

“If you also lose your hearing, wouldn't you eventually start thinking that you're stuck in an unending dream? I don't want you to forget that this is reality.”

'You devil!'

Kang Jin-Ho was the devil. No, calling him a devil was still not enough! No devil would think of punishing their victims so cruelly! And no sane human could do something like this!

“Heuk... Sob…”

More tears flooded down Kim Seok-Il's cheeks.

Kim Seok-Il's body, which allowed him to jump over buildings and soar high through the air, was nothing more than a piece of meat now.

A man who once commanded the world had fallen to become a mere mortal. A mortal who had to survive in a state that couldn't even be called a living being anymore.

Kim Seok-Il admitted to his wrongdoings. However, were his crimes deserving of punishment this cruel?!

“Someone... just... kill me…”

Kim Seok-Il couldn't even end his own life now. A man who even lost the freedom to kill himself was perhaps the most powerless individual in the entire world.

“Please…”

Kim Seok-Il prayed thousands of times a day for his life to end. But the only reply he got was the gradually-stabilizing sounds of his heartbeat.

However, didn't some wise old men say that if one prayed ardently enough, it might come true one day?

“It seems you really long for your death, Kim Seok-Il.”

A voice suddenly crept into Kim Seok-Il's hearing, making him flinch nastily. That voice sounded familiar. A voice he had heard somewhere before...!

“Who...?”

The reply was instant. “Me? I'm the devil. However, I might also be the one to humor your wish.”

“Keuh... Kuh-hehehe…” Kim Seok-Il broke into a weak cackle.

As long as he could die...! Kim Seok-Il didn't care who this devil was as long as he could finally be free from this cruel punishment!

However, what the devil said next made Kim Seok-Il's soul shudder.

“Don't you want revenge against Kang Jin-Ho?”