Chapter 7

Suh Haran left work 30 minutes later than usual .

She always took care of the things her colleagues forgot about after work . But today, the workload was especially big .

‘They must be waiting for me……’

A nervous feeling crept up in her mind as she walked in the dark street .

Was she doing a good job as a parent?

Despite working 12 hours a day, she was unable to buy even her young siblings some good clothing .

“Cough!”

A cough came out of her throat all of a sudden . She had been working in the dusty factory all day .

That combined with the fact that she worked in a dark place made her sick .

‘Well, since tomorrow’s payday, let’s celebrate with some meat!’

She should be able to buy enough for her two younger siblings .

When she thought about her siblings, she could feel herself cheer up .

‘Huh? That’s……’

She could see a familiar shadow in the street .

“Nn, is it you, Taehyuk?”

“Mm . How’d you know?”

“Noona always knows . ”

Haran smiled at her brother, who came out to greet her personally .

Taehyuk spoke with a disappointed tone .

“Why are you so late? I thought I was going to freeze . Let’s go . ”

“Right, it’s cold, isn’t it?”

Haran ran to Taehyuk, and hugged him .

[You used Robbery . ]

–You failed to steal the subject’s possession……

“Ah, what are you doing?”

‘Phew, it failed . ’

Taehyuk looked away, but it didn’t look like he hated what she did .

He took off his outerwear, and gave it to Haran .

Haran smiled .

Her brother always had a sulky face, but she knew that he was the most sensitive of all her siblings .

“Ah, wear this . ”

Taehyuk handed her a blindfold .

Haran was slightly confused .

“Is this the stuff you’re into nowadays?”

“…That’s not it . It’s your birthday, right? We prepared a surprise party for you . ”

“Heh… A party?”

Haran’s eyes glinted with anticipation . She was still a young girl inside, after all .

She blindfolded her eyes, and followed her younger brother .

It should’ve taken them a long time to get back home, but they arrived in just a few minutes .

“We’re here . ”

Haran slowly put away her blindfold, and opened her eyes .

“Wow, what a nice house . ”

It seemed like a house that would appear in a TV show . There was a large living room, along with three rooms . There was also a seemingly expensive sofa, along with a chandelier . There was even a TV that was at least 50 inches wide .

Haran spoke with a tinge of suspicion in her voice .

“Did you borrow your friend’s house for the party?”

“No, this is our house . ”

“…What are you talking about?”

“They’re waiting, let’s go . ”

Taehyuk grabbed Haran’s hand, and moved .

He walked to the door with the sign that said “Suh Haran” .

When he opened the door, they could hear a loud cheer .

“Happy birthday, Noona!”

“Happy birthday!”

Pang! Pang!

Party poppers were set off .

Haran covered her mouth .

She was so surprised, she couldn’t even scream .

She looked at the room .

It was a dreamlike room .

A beautiful, frilly bed .

Just imagining herself sleep in the room made her feel like a princess .

“Tae, Taemin! …and who are you?”

In the room was her younger brother, and a bulky man wearing a conic hat .

“Ah, that’s Kang Suk-hyung . He helped me out with a lot of things . ”

When Taehyuk introduced Kang Suk, Haran greeted him kindly .

“Haha! Nice to meet you . I heard a lot about you from Taehyuk . I’m a part of the Gangdong 2nd police division . My name is Jo Kang Suk . ”

“You’re an investigator?”

Taehyuk whispered to Haran .

“He’s just an idiot brother . ”

“You…Really . ”

“You haven’t eaten, right? We didn’t prepare much, but let’s dig in before the food gets cold . ”

A beautiful cake, steak, along with a big bowl of fruit salad .

They all looked quite delicious .

Haran pinched her cheek, just to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming .

“Ouch!”

Thankfully, it wasn’t a dream .

“Taehyuk, what’s going on? What’s up with this house?”

“Ah, well…”

Taehyuk briefly explained the situation to Haran .

He managed to get ahold of where a criminal was located . He reported the police about it, and got money from it .

He bought his sister a house with that money .

Having heard this, Haran’s face became flushed .

She pinched Taehyuk’s cheeks, and dragged him outside .

“W, what is it? Are you happy?”

“That’s not it! A criminal? Just what did you think you were doing? You could’ve gotten hurt!”

Taehyuk, at that moment, felt touched .

She was thinking more about him than the fact that they were going to live in a better house .

“O, of course I didn’t get hurt or anything . Who do you think I am? I’m your brother!”

Kang Suk, who had been listening from outside, butted into the conversation .

“Haha, you don’t need to worry much . This Taehyuk, he’s a very witty fellow . He’d probably survive even in Harlem, New York . ”

“…right . ”

Haran grabbed onto Taehyuk’s ears, and whispered into it .

“So he’s the investigator who’s taking care of you?”

“Nn . We got really friendly in a matter of a week . He’s like a real brother . ”

“I see . ”

They gathered into the room again, and began partying .

They sang songs, shared food, and began talking .

“By the way, you look much better than Taehyuk told me . ”

“Right . Please, don’t flatter me that much just because it’s my birthday . ”

“I’m dead serious . ”

‘Kang Suk-hyung……! You’re falling for women way too easily!’

Taehyuk’s head hurts .

Suddenly, Taemin, who had been drinking juice quietly, moved to Kang Suk .

“Investigator, I enjoyed your interviews very much . I loved your speech about justice . Will you please sign this for me . ”

‘Taemin fell for him! It’s a love triangle!’

Kang Suk laughed delightedly, and signed a piece of paper while telling Taemin to treat him like a brother .

‘Come to think of it, that Taemin wanted to become a lawyer, didn’t he . ’

He wanted to watch Taemin achieve his dream .

Right then .

Haran began to cry .

“Uaaaa!”

Taehyuk became surprised, and quickly asked her a question .

“N, Noona, why are you crying? Do you not like the food?”

“I, it’s not that…… . . I’m just too happy . To think I’d be able to live in such a house with all my family…… . It all feels like a dream . ”

“It’s not a dream . So, us three can live a happy life like this forever . ”

“Nn . ”

“Taehyuk, why three? What about me?”

Kang Suk butted into the conversation .

Taehyuk waved him away, as if he was chasing away a bug .

“You’re not a part of our family . ”

“Tch . ”

Soon, Haran began to laugh again .

It was because Kang Suk began to dance a strange dance .

Surprisingly enough, Kang Suk had adjusted himself into the family quite well .

Taehyuk looked at Kang Suk with a trusting face .

‘It’s quite hard to find a kind person like this . ’

For the past five days, Kang Suk had helped Taehyuk find a home, buy furniture, and even helped move it .

If it was Kang Suk, Taehyuk could easily trust his family to the man .

After thinking this, Taehyuk silently slipped out of the party .

He moved into his own room .

Since this was a big house, everyone could get their own rooms .

‘100 million won to buy a house . And 15 million won for the furniture . So we have about 20 million won remaining . ’

This would help him quite a bit in the future .

Taehyuk sat down, and took out a notebook .

There was already quite a lot of things written there, but that wasn’t enough .

There was a limit to human memory . Especially if it was a dream . That was why he needed to record everything down before he forgot .

Taehyuk saw what would happen in the next 15 years . Although his life ended tragically, he could use the information he gathered from the dream usefully .

‘I should’ve memorized a lotto number or something . ’

Most of Taehyuk’s memory of the future is about criminals . Especially about ones that shook the nation .

He knew about 120 of them .

Taehyuk opened the notebook, and began to write his own blacklist .

About the criminal activities that would happen, and about the ones that already happened .

‘I shouldn’t forget about the Robbery skill, as well . ’

Well, he couldn’t control it properly though .

But he should still be able to make use of it .

Like this, Taehyuk now had two weapons in his arsenal . Namely, the Blacklist, and the Robbery skill .

‘You think I’m just going to be falsely charged for murder just like that?’

He would protect the small bit of happiness he got .

Taehyuk would make sure of this .

Right then . The mirror, which had been staying silent all this time, began to vibrate .

[Due to a new relationship, you have acquired a single relation point . ]

“What the, did I just get a point?”

How did this happen?

Taehyuk didn’t do anything .

But the mirror didn’t stop with just a single message .

[You have completed your first requirements for class advancement, ‘Blacklist creation’ . ]

[Once you complete all class advancement requirements, you may advance to become a ‘Noble’ . ]

[Once you become a Noble, you will be able to use more crime skills . ]

After reading all this, Taehyuk spoke quietly to himself .

“Commoner to a Noble? Am I going to become a God or something at the end or something?”

His head started hurting .

Glossary

Noona – “Big Sister” in Korean, from a male’s perspective . Doesn’t have to be related by blood, can just express familiarity .

Unni – “Big Sister” in Korean, from a female’s perspective . Doesn’t have to be related by blood, can just express familiarity .

Proofreader’s note

Ah! The mirror! The mirror! To be honest, I completely forgotten about that spooky mirror xD I can’t wait for the next chapter . I’m glad that I’m able to read and proofread this series~

Translator : Ensj

Translation Check: Kirito0017

Proofreader : Kuhaku (formerly known as Zenneth)