Kkyu? (2)
[Kkyu?]
"What the hell...?"
Kim Dojun stared at the fluffy cat... No, at Tam, right in front of his eyes.
Tam tilted its head slightly as it met his gaze, looking straight at him.
But what was even more absurd—
"Your voice changed too?"
"... Honestly, I'm flustered myself."
That very Tam, whose voice had been so bizarre, now spoke in a very cute, tiny animal-like voice.
"Huh...."
Tam looked up at him with very bright, shiny eyes and glossy fur. Kim Dojun soon moved his hand to pet Tam's fur.
Fluffy, fluffy.
Extremely fluffy.
'Was there anything like this in the Sorcery Killing Technique?'
Kim Dojun, stroking Tam as if it was truly fascinating, soon shook his head.
'I don't think I've ever seen this before.'
He had seen countless forms and evolutionary stages of Tam in the Sorcery Killing Technique, and Tam always transformed into some kind of monster or bizarre alien.
'It's really something.'
He found it novel to see Tam transformed into a form he had never witnessed even while playing.
Although he could call it a cat, in truth, Tam's appearance seemed more focused on being cuter than an actual cat.
Kim Dojun slowly removed his hand from Tam, who was eagerly rubbing its body against his palm.
'... But logically, wouldn't it be normal to try to become stronger and resist after being beaten this badly?' He considered this and posed the question to Dan.
"Since Tam is by nature a created spirit creature, its temperament should be violent and aggressive, so it would have made sense for it to change as you said...."
"But this is what happened?"
"If I try to stretch a reason for it... I think Tam instinctively chose another option instead of fighting, realizing there's absolutely no way to defeat you."
"Did I hit too hard?"
"... It did seem a bit excessive."
At Dan's words, Kim Dojun looked at Tam.
Tam was still making that pure expression, as if to say, 'I don't know anything.'
"So, after it evolved, how is it? Is it still tormenting you?"
Even as Tam continued to act like this, he asked Dan, still finding the situation absurd.
Regardless of Tam's transformation, if it was still tormenting Dan mentally, Kim Dojun figured he would have to deal with it.
But Dan shook his head.
"No, ever since it ended up like this, it hardly bothers me at all."
"Doesn't even talk?"
"Right, not a single word. Apparently, Tam gains intelligence as it evolves, so I thought it'd be more troublesome after evolving, but it doesn't speak at all."
"Combat abilities?"
"... Honestly, I'm not sure, but Tam's combat ability doesn't seem tied to its form in the first place, so I assume it's the same."
Kim Dojun, hearing that, put away his baseball bat with a satisfied expression.
If Tam wasn't tormenting Dan anymore, he had no further reason to beat Tam up.
He once again bent down and gently patted Tam's head, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
'Truly, in this world, the ultimate remedy is a good beating.'
As he looked at Tam, who reaffirmed his theory that being rough was best for a disobedient creature, a question suddenly came to mind.
"By the way, why an animal? Couldn't it have been a human, for instance?"
"... Maybe it thought even as a human, it could still get hit."
"True, unless you're a kid, that's likely."
"So why ask all of a sudden?"
"Well, if it gained intelligence, wouldn't it be better to at least be able to communicate, rather than not talking at all?"
At Kim Dojun's words, Dan showed a strange expression.
"... After suffering so much mental trauma before, I'd actually prefer things to stay like this for a while. Not that it's something I can control."
Dan glanced at Tam, then turned back to Kim Dojun and said,
"So, are we done meeting like this for now?"
"Well, since there's no need to beat Tam anymore, we don't have to meet often... Maybe we should prepare after midterms?"
"? Where are you going?"
Dan asked at those words.
Kim Dojun grinned, pulled out the ticket he had tucked away, and waved it.
"To the Pantheon, obviously."
He announced.
"? ... Wait, am I supposed to go too?"
Dan's next question followed.
Truthfully, he hadn't originally planned to take Dan with him. However—
'I've come up with a very good plan.'
"I told you, didn't I? That I'd help you become your clan's successor. It's for that preparation, so keep your schedule clear for that time."
Since a great opportunity had come to mind while planning to make money, Kim Dojun decided to bring Dan along this time.
"... Understood."
Dan, after a brief moment of thought, finally nodded to Kim Dojun's request.
With that, Kim Dojun waved and left the walkway.
And neither of them noticed—
[....]
—that Tam's eyes were strangely gleaming.
####
Right after finishing up with Dan, Kim Dojun headed straight for where Han Soyeon was.
"Ah, you're here."
When he entered the café in downtown— the agreed-upon meeting spot— Han Soyeon greeted him with a delighted expression.
Looking at her, Kim Dojun sat down across from her.
"All right, then—"
And then—
"I wanted to hear your wise opinion on how I might be able to torment Ju Yu-dam as painfully as possible."
Han Soyeon spoke with a smile.
"...."
In fact, from Kim Dojun's point of view, it would have been far better if Han Soyeon got to the main topic(?) quickly instead of focusing on tormenting them.
'Still, after suffering that much, of course she'd want revenge.'
He understood Han Soyeon's feelings.
To be honest, even if it were Kim Dojun, after being bullied by the same person for years, he wouldn't have just let them off either.
'If it were me, I'd probably go up Namsan Tower and slam them down from there...'
With that thought, he began to seriously consider Han Soyeon's question and soon spoke.
"That Ju Yu-dam fellow, was she the ringleader who used to bully you?"
"Yes, unfortunately, she wasn't present at the time, so I haven't had a chance to lay a hand on her once."
Han Soyeon spoke as if genuinely disappointed.
She definitely still seemed timid as before, but what she was saying sounded more thuggish than any delinquent story he'd ever heard—a brief moment of incongruity.
"Hmhm...."
Unintentionally clearing his throat, Kim Dojun resumed the conversation.
"Then why not start by landing a punch or two?"
"... You mean just hit her?"
"Haven't you said you never hit her before?"
Since Kim Dojun had never bullied anyone before, he offered the most straightforward solution that came to mind.
After all, the simplest and most actionable revenge his mind could come up with was violence.
But Han Soyeon shook her head at his proposal.
"That's a bit...."
Seeing her obviously uncomfortable with the idea, Kim Dojun made a peculiar face.
'Did she send all her tormentors to the hospital, and only afterwards started feeling bad about hitting people or something?'
He thought that, but upon hearing her next words, Kim Dojun realized he had misunderstood.
"I just think that's too light."
"...?"
"Don't you think so? He bullied me for over 900 days, so I can't just hit her lightly. If I hit her hard, she'd end up in the hospital, wouldn't she?"
"... I suppose?"
"If she's hospitalized, I won't be able to torment her during her stay."
"... What if you went to the hospital to get her there?"
"The instructors would notice. Once the instructors start paying attention to me, it becomes harder to bully her."
"...."
"So I can't hit Ju Yu-dam. If I did, she'd just get a break while she's hospitalized. I want her to feel the same pain, day by day. Every day was so painful for me."
Han Soyeon spoke, face unfazed—smiling, even.
At that,
"... Det...?"
Kim Dojun, unable to help himself, let out that sound in his confusion.
But Han Soyeon paid him no mind and continued,
"So here's what I thought: Why not start with physical pain? They say the more severe the psychological pain, the less sensitive people become to physical pain."
"But that's too wasteful, right? I'd like Ju Yu-dam to feel every kind of pain. Even more than I did. If you bully someone, you should pay for it, after all."
"So I—"
Han Soyeon went on, her expression almost gleeful.
Watching her, Kim Dojun thought silently,
'... There really is a reason malignant spirits choose their hosts.'
At least, the Han Soyeon before him now seemed so unhinged that even he had to silently exclaim, 'Whoa...'
'... I'll have to be careful when dealing with those fated to be bosses.'
Since he would eventually have to go through every future boss character to escape this place, Kim Dojun resolved himself once again.
"Thank you. That was truly helpful. Having someone understand really is a wonderful thing...!"
"...."
After a conversation that, for about 30 minutes, included none of Kim Dojun's own opinions, Han Soyeon made her farewell, scheduling another meeting for next time.
'... Candidates for malignant spirit hosts really are dangerous.'
Kim Dojun thought once again in earnest as he left the café after hearing Han Soyeon's story.
And rather than returning to his single dorm, he headed for the walkway.
Because he still had one more appointment left.
'I need to meet Shin Se-yeon.'
He recalled his promise with her and headed over.
After about ten minutes of walking to the designated spot, he saw her standing there.
From a glance, Shin Se-yeon looked extremely displeased.
"You're late!"
She complained the moment Kim Dojun appeared, her expression full of irritation.
Looking at Shin Se-yeon, Kim Dojun was suddenly reminded of Han Soyeon.
Their appearance and personality were nothing alike, but they had one point in common.
That was, both would one day become bosses after being possessed by malignant spirits.
'There's a reason malignant spirits attach to people and make them bosses.'
Kim Dojun gazed quietly at Shin Se-yeon.
"... Why are you looking at me like that?"
Noticing his unusual behavior, Shin Se-yeon momentarily became a bit serious in response.
"Just as I thought."
"?"
She gave him a questioning look as Kim Dojun nodded in apparent understanding.
And then—
"Certainly, it takes a delinquent to match another one."
Which was immediately met with a sudden right hook.
"... Picking a fight with me at our first meeting in ages?"
She responded with a genuinely furious expression.
And so, that day too, Kim Dojun concluded all his appointments with training alongside Shin Se-yeon before returning to his dorm room.
"Well, I've done everything I had planned for today...."
He muttered without meaning to.
"Now, should I start preparing for the Pantheon?"
He began getting ready to head for the Pantheon.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn it, Tam bending the knee like that will just reinforce Dojun's retarded nonsense.
But it seems Tam has other plans...
【(⩌‸⩌ )】