(Return pt.6)

“I can’t say what it was, but… the perpetrator gave me compensation…”

Even while wondering why he had to explain this, In-woo made excuses because he didn’t like the other person misunderstanding him in such a dirty way.

“They gave you luxury goods as compensation?”

“Yes, just various things…”

Jun-young’s eyes narrowed. Being quite knowledgeable about luxury goods, he told In-woo the prices of what he was wearing. Each item amounted to several months of In-woo’s living expenses. Jun-young, who had checked him from head to toe, exclaimed in admiration.

“You hit the jackpot.”

“What did you say?”

“Don’t get excited, I’m saying let’s think of it positively.”

In-woo glared fiercely at Jun-young.

“How is this positive?”

“You’re being short with me.”

“Because you’re being annoying, hyung.”

“Hey, but think about it. Do those rich bastards see us as people? They don’t. Even if they’re perpetrators, they just step on us and that’s it. Even if they pretend not to know, we can’t raise any issues. But you said you got compensation?”

In-woo pressed his lips tightly together. Jun-young knew nothing about aliens, but his words fit In-woo’s situation perfectly.

The aliens who didn’t see humans as proper beings. Rudy, who died miserably, was cremated and discarded without even a grave, while In-woo the murderer was instead treated preciously and returned to the cage.

If Radel had grown tired of In-woo, he could have disposed of and thrown him away. But he sent In-woo to Earth and gave him compensation beyond what he could have dreamed of in his lifetime. It was truly generous and worthy of gratitude. In-woo smirked.

“I should have bowed in gratitude but I couldn’t. Actually, I received a house too.”

“What? You got a house?”

You really scored big, Jun-young marveled greatly. Instead of responding to his words, In-woo opened his smartphone and searched for his house. It was worth far more than In-woo had expected. In-woo showed Jun-young the screen with the price displayed.

“I received this.”

It must have been a price range he couldn’t even imagine, as Jun-young’s eyes widened. That’s right, no matter how much they care, they wouldn’t give this much. These days, even winning the lottery jackpot wouldn’t be enough to buy a house like this.

Jun-young examined In-woo as though wanting to verify what he just said, then realizing that In-woo wasn’t the type to lie like this, his jaw dropped.

“Holy sh*t. What did you do?”

His voice trembled slightly as if incredibly shocked. In-woo replied calmly with a face that showed he wasn’t even angry anymore.

“I was kidnapped and imprisoned for a year, so they gave me this as compensation.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said. I was kidnapped, imprisoned, and kept like livestock.”

“Did you get some perverted chaebol sponsor or something?”

(T/N: chaebol – a rich family)

“Well, he was a pervert.”

“Wow. That’s incredible…”

Though he didn’t reveal the detailed circumstances, Jun-young was genuinely impressed. There was even a hint of envy.

“You think this turned out well?”

“Are you getting snippy with me right now?”

“Yes.”

At In-woo’s sharp response, Jun-young laughed in disbelief.

“I get that you feel shitty right now, but hey. Go ask people outside. If they could suffer for a year and get a 3 billion won house, everyone would do it, no matter who you ask.”

“…”

“Well, lucky you. With that kind of wealthy person, they might be able to set you up anywhere.”

“I’m leaving.”

In-woo got up silently and Jun-young didn’t try to stop him. The result of their casual conversation had been the worst.

In-woo caught a taxi and glared out the window.

Would Jun-young still say he was envious if he knew what In-woo had been through? Probably. Jun-young, who hadn’t experienced it, couldn’t fully understand In-woo’s misery. Besides, in the end, In-woo had returned to Earth physically intact with just a huge fortune.

In fact, Kim In-woo’s situation hadn’t been that bad. Rudy, while revealing the true nature of the training facility, had said that even the training facility wasn’t such a bad environment for breeding. Lampresh raised humans selectively like high-grade breeding horses. While those who fell below standards were disposed of without mercy, humans who were handsome, physically fit, and excellent were treated preciously. Until they grew old and weak.

Radel had been indifferent but gradually learned about humans and became more attentive in caring for In-woo. By Jun-young’s standards, In-woo had lived in decent conditions and struck it rich with proper compensation.

Should he think it turned out well? That it was lucky, that he suffered briefly and received wealth to live without difficulties for life… The very premise was painful. Even his past self, before experiencing it directly, would have chosen 10 billion won without hesitation if he could get it for suffering for a year.

He felt wronged.

At the training facility, Rudy, Jun-young, and even Raseti dismissed In-woo’s pain as something he could overcome alone, as nothing significant.

He’s not trying to claim he suffered the most in the universe. There are plenty of people who suffered more. He just couldn’t bear having his pain completely denied. It hadn’t even been a month since he came to Earth. The luxury he had never experienced before denied his past self. Saying he was just complaining from a full stomach.

Getting out of the taxi, the towering high-rise apartment looked down at In-woo. The luxurious building cast a huge shadow over In-woo like a castle.

Instead of going into the house, In-woo walked on. It’s a place where you can see the Han River through the windows. After walking a bit, he quickly reached the Han River. The cold wind cleared his head a little.

Right, no matter how shitty it is, there’s no need to refuse that money.

Even in court, the settlement amount increases with the severity of the crime. That bastard Radel tried to kill In-woo several times and harassed him by stripping his clothes, so paying compensation was natural. Since he seemed to have dirty amounts of money, In-woo should have squeezed more out of him.

Anyway, In-woo has no way to get revenge on Radel. That bastard probably feels relieved thinking he just got rid of one little ant by sending In-woo away, so who loses if In-woo just cries and worries alone? He does.

In-woo glared at the blue river water.

Of course, there’s still a strange mix of resentment, anger, and fear in one corner of his heart. Even if he goes home with this resolve today, unsettling thoughts will inevitably find him when night comes. The time spent ruminating over stories he can’t share with anyone might stretch very long.

But wasn’t he someone who lived tough even with nothing in his hands? He even made and swung a spear there trying to beat that crazy bastard. He can’t break down now after returning here and gaining peace. Come to think of it, he would have felt less wronged if he had at least stabbed that bastard’s eye with the spear.

In-woo shook his head vigorously to shake off the constantly rising feeling of being wronged.

Right, forget it. Try to get through this somehow stoically.

As Jun-young said, it was just a year. He can’t let one year of suffering ruin his long life ahead.

Even if it’s hard, he needs to pull himself together and steady his heart somehow. And then wait patiently for Lee Sun-ho. Since Sun-ho also seems somewhat broken with his strange aspects, In-woo needs to find his center first and hold onto him firmly.

At that moment, someone grabbed In-woo’s hand that was making firm resolutions and pulled hard.

Not expecting anyone to pull him, In-woo was dragged helplessly and buried his nose in the other person’s chest.

Thump, thump, he could hear the rough heartbeat. The body temperature much warmer than In-woo’s and the unique scent had become too familiar over the past few months.

“You…”

At the cracked voice from above his head, In-woo slowly looked up. Standing before him was, as expected, that person.

But had Lee Sun-ho always been this expressive? With his eyes wide open, cheeks and lips trembling weakly, Sun-ho who sometimes looked like a doll now appeared more emotional than anyone.

“Hyung.”

Though his earlier resolution crumbled helplessly, he was still happy and lovely to see the person before him. In-woo reached out with his hands that had been trembling severely and hugged Sun-ho tightly. Only then did the trembling subside.