Chapter 146. Kim Giryeo (2)

By the time he turned 20, it was the most meaningful time for Kim Giryeo. He met his mother and, in the same year, he also started his social activities in earnest.

Wiling.Dmmk.

Kim Giryeo once worked at a bathtub factory. In fact, that experience wasn't long. He realized that even if he could make a living right away, he wouldn't have a future if he kept doing simple jobs.

'Surprisingly, it's manageable, but I definitely can't do this for long.'

So, Giryeo finally made a decision after pondering how he would live his life.

A correctional officer. They said that this job had the lowest test difficulty among jobs with guaranteed retirement.

'I originally considered becoming a military officer, but being an orphan, I was exempt from service, so now it would be difficult to join the military...'

By the way, it was around this time that he switched to a delivery service company. His previous job often involved late-night shifts, leaving him with no time to study. But this new job seemed to offer more control over his schedule. Moreover, a guy he knew from the factory offered to sell him a used motorcycle he had previously used at a low price. Giryeo decided to give it a shot and started a new job. As he had heard, learning to ride the motorcycle wasn't that difficult.

"Hey, you crazy b*stard! I ordered spicy pig's feet, but what the hell is this frozen pig's feet that's all cold?"

Of course, he was the type to strictly follow traffic laws, so during the first month, he ended up hearing all sorts of insults... But as he got more used to driving, things slowly improved.

He was better at riding than he had expected.

But then, on a peaceful day...

"Giryeo-ya... I'm sorry, but do you have any money saved up in your bank account?"

Lee Hwayoung suddenly asked him a question. She was asking if he had saved up any money.

"Money?"

"I've been having back pain, so I couldn't work for a few days this month, and because of that, I don't have enough money to pay the utility bills..."

When he left the orphanage, he had firmly decided to reject any financial requests. But as time passed, had that resolve started to fade? Giryeo readily handed over 250,000 won to Lee Hwayoung. After all, he had been paying half of the rent regularly anyway, so he thought that nothing would change by doing this for a month.

...However, contrary to his expectations, Hwayoung's demands gradually grew.

"Giryeo, Mom doesn't have money to buy groceries. Can you lend me a few thousand won?"

At first, she asked for 50,000 won in cash, saying she would buy groceries at the market.

"Son... I'm sorry, but I can't work this month because I'm sick."

A few days later, she even said that she couldn't look for a job due to health issues and made him take on the full responsibility for living expenses.

"Mom is really sorry."

"It's okay. It's just for a little while."

"Yeah. Once my back gets better, I'll go back to work and pay you back."

Perhaps it was because of her promise to pay him back later, but Giryeo lent money to Lee Hwayoung once again. Each time, his savings were quickly depleted, but for now, he could still manage.

The young man was an honest person who didn't indulge in extravagance. He had saved up all the money he earned from the factory and his delivery job, so he still had some spare funds. Yeah. He had accumulated 30 million won by the age of 22, so this much...

It had been two months since his biological mother took a leave of absence due to her back pain.

When his bank balance dropped to 29 million won, then 28 million won, and eventually around 27 million won, his mother suddenly brought up something during dinner.

"Giryeo-ya, actually, there's something I need to tell you..."

Lee Hwayoung revealed that she had a huge debt.

"I've had a really hard time living alone without you, so I took out a loan... But the thing is, no matter how much I pay, it just doesn't seem to go down."

"Loan?"

"These days, the collection notices keep coming, and it's driving me crazy..."

The documents that the mother showed clearly indicated traces of loans taken out from the bank.

The total amount, including interest and principal, was about 27 million won. Just at that moment, there was exactly that amount in Giryeo's bank account to pay off the debt.

"Now that I can't extend the maturity, if I can't make a lump sum payment, we'll lose the deposit for the house... What should I do?"

Thus. She grabbed Giryeo's hand and began to beg.

Can you help your mother, as your son? Of course, I'll pay you back all the money later. Don't worry, I'll be back to work next month once my back gets better.

"How could it not be possible?"

Normally, no one would easily agree to such a large request. But their relationship was not that simple.

"Uhm..."

This was the family relationship that someone had longed for.

"You're really going to pay it back... right?"

"Ah, of course! Don't worry. How could I not pay back my son's money?"

Giryeo ultimately pays off Lee Hwayoung's loan with all of his savings.

But it's okay. His mother promised to pay the money back. The money for the exams can be saved again. Moreover, his mother has been helping with household chores while he studies. Since they'll continue living together, this much between a mother and son is...

Yeah. It couldn't be okay.

"Huh."

Did two days pass after lending money to Lee Hwayoung? After finishing his delivery job, Giryeo burst into a hollow laugh just three minutes after getting home.

As soon as he opened the front door, the first thing he saw was the messy living room. With a sense of unease, he searched around the house, and sure enough, some items were missing—a few clothes, a wallet, a phone, and the suitcase that should have been standing on the balcony.

"She's not even answering my phone."

To cut to the chase, Hwayoung had run away.

"Did she block me?"

It had only been 48 hours since he lent her the money. Giryeo raised his hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He really never imagined this. He never thought she'd pack up and leave like this.

"What about the deposit here...? Is she going to vacate the house soon?"

If he explains the situation to the landlord, it might be possible to have a brief conversation with his mother. But now, how much would a few words really help?

The empty living room. Standing in the center, Giryeo slowly squatted down to the floor.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have never asked if she was going to pay me back."

As the situation unfolded, the first thought that came to his mind, ironically, was this.

Yeah. In truth, he had already suspected that he wouldn't get the money back. But even knowing that, he still gave the money to his mother. Even without that common law certificate. He didn't want to lose the mother he had barely found, and despite the money, he would rather live a life with his family.

"Ah..."

But ironically, it was this money that led to the collapse of his family, and it was an utterly empty and pointless conclusion. He stared blankly at the window. By the time he snapped out of it, the sunset was shining through the window.

After experiencing that, Kim Giryeo worked even harder. He was angry because he had to start over from scratch, but anyway, a person has to earn money to live.

During the day, he did delivery work, and at night, he studied whenever he had a chance. Up until this point, he still held a small hope for the future.

"Ugh, it's really cold in winter."

However, what must not be forgotten is that the era in which this young man lives is the world after the Dungeon Shock.

"Grrr..."

One day, after finishing his delivery, Kim Giryeo stepped outside the building and noticed a stray dog in the alley. However, upon closer inspection, it wasn't the usual stray animal he was used to seeing.

"Hmm?"

A red sclera and a magic stone on its back. With such a strange appearance, the opponent was definitely.

"Monster!"

Gasp.

Giryeo instinctively ran away after spotting the monster. However, the monster approached faster than the motorcycle started.

Tududuku... Ssak!

Soon, a chilling sound of flesh being torn echoed.

"--Ack!"

The F-class monster rushed at Ki-ryeo and bit his leg violently. He swung his helmet around in a hurry, but the black beast didn't budge even when he was hit.

Crack, crack.

It began chewing on his right leg, as if it had grabbed a dog chew toy, gnawing away mercilessly.

"Let go, let go!"

Kim Giryeo almost lost his leg because of this incident. Fortunately, it didn't escalate to that worst-case scenario. Soon after, an E-rank awakener, having noticed the beast in the alley, rushed in to help.

Shot!

The black dog quickly lost its life from the hunter's attack. However, Kim Giryeo's injury was still serious.

"H, heugh..."

"Ah! Oh my goodness! Are you okay? A... ambulance! I'll call an ambulance right away!"

An unrealistic scene filled with a red hue, like the light of a butcher's shop.

What in the world is happening right now? I've been hurt so badly—will I even be able to walk normally again?

"I'll be able to walk."

A few days later, Kim Giryeo was lying in a hospital room. The doctor was currently making his rounds for the morning, and just a moment ago, the doctor in charge gave his opinion on his injured leg.

"Can I walk?"

"Yes. The surgery went well."

But this only means that walking is 'possible.'

"But you shouldn't run or do strenuous exercise from now on."

"Yes?"

"The injury is too severe, so some lasting aftereffects are inevitable. From now on, if you strain your knee joint, it will only worsen, so you need to manage it carefully."

Not being able to stand for long or even run briefly—doesn't that mean physical labor will inevitably face significant limitations?

"Is that so?"

In addition, this incident caused significant financial damage.

"Oh, by the way, my motorcycle was also destroyed."

Korea had a good health insurance system, so he thought it wouldn't cost much. But the cost of surgery for a fracture this severe was more than he had imagined.

If he had known this would happen, he should've taken out some insurance or something. But then again, since riding a motorcycle was part of his job, it probably wouldn't have been approved anyway...

"What about the rent right now?"

You hurt your leg, so just take a break. Such words were impossible for him to accept.

If he rested today, he'd have nothing to eat tomorrow.

After all, people can't survive without money.

For some, a few hundred thousand won might just be the cost of a night's drinks, but for this young man, it was enough to bring him to his knees. And for someone without a single family member to help him back up, one fall often meant never being able to rise again.

A few months later, Giryeo had recovered to some extent. However, the doctor had said there were lingering aftereffects, and he'd just move his leg beyond a certain angle. With time, this would gradually improve, but if he wanted to fully recover to the state he was in before, he'd need to use an item from a dungeon.

"The cost of cutting open the leg and again using high-grade potions for treatment averages around 350 million won..."

Haha. I've never seen 100 million won in my life, and now you're adding 250 million more?

"My head hurts."

Kim Giryeo lit a cigarette he took from his pocket. Although he started smoking out of curiosity after becoming an adult, he had never smoked this many cigarettes in a row before.

The savings he had carefully accumulated were all wiped out because he couldn't work while his leg healed. Furthermore, when he hastily asked the government for help, the response he received was that there was no financial support available for young people.

"With a body like this, they're telling me to work anyway, as long as I still have the ability to earn..."

Still, Kim Giryeo did his best to survive. For now, since his physical condition had changed a bit since being bitten by a monster last time, he took an awakening test just in case.

"It's 12Aw. The examiner has awakened to F-class."

Despite drawing the lowest rank, he still tried to challenge a gate.

"Shaaaak!"

"Ugh."

Because of the trauma from the past, now, whenever he saw a monster, his body would tremble uncontrollably, making it impossible for him to continue as a hunter. However, he believed there must still be something he could do. No, even if there wasn't, he had to create an opportunity. He needed money to cover living expenses, and once he had that, then...

Then what?

Now that I think about it, why did I hold on so tenaciously?

'What am I even trying to do by living?'

The reason he had aimed to become a civil servant was because he originally wanted a stable job. If he worked for the state, at least his salary wouldn't be delayed, and he thought he could maintain his own life... the life he shared with his mother, for a long time.

"..."

That family had already fallen apart a long time ago. His mother had abandoned her son twice. What kind of family would give up for a mere year's salary as an office worker?

Kim Giryeo thought for a moment. If I had been a more affectionate, would my mother not have left? If I had been a better-looking son... Or if I had some extraordinary ability, like being really good at studying. But no matter what, it seemed like she didn't find her son attractive enough to be a family member.

Then how would I appear to others? Do people in this world not want to be family with someone like me? Does that mean I have to live like this forever? Being abandoned by someone, lonely, and struggling.

"All my life."

Suddenly, Kim Giryeo grew tired of trying.

There was nothing more to explain. Suddenly, everything felt unbearably annoying. The struggle to make money, holding onto books, and even the smallest things like cleaning his room.

And it was around this time that strange things started happening. For some reason, he began forgetting recent events. He couldn't remember what he was doing in front of the sink or what the door lock password was. He kept having these memory lapses.