Episode 102 – Gray Memories 2

Confined to a facility, we had to face abuse every day in the name of abuse. I had to run about 8km every morning, and after that, I had to go straight to the gym after eating a dog-like breakfast.

However, no matter how much I thought about it, I felt the malice of practicing martial arts after breakfast. It was because my opponent in taijutsu training was always my partner, but I, who was always being bullied by Li Bai, had to vomit everything I ate that day.

The adults there basically only taught me hitting techniques like boxing, but not jujitsu like judo. But where did he learn from, he cast the skill, to me ‘every day’.

Li Bai handed me a bottle of water and said,

“Baksaya, did you finish sat?”

“I don’t think I need to eat breakfast because of you. No, where did you learn that skill from?”

“I learned from my dad. My dad is very strong.”

“But why were you brought here? Daddy wouldn’t have let you come here if he was that strong.”

It was a pure question. At least I didn’t have a family. I wondered why a child with parents was brought here. Li Baek said with a bitter expression.

“Dad… collapsed from the disease… I was worried about the cost of surgery… In the hospital lobby, a man said to me. I will pay for my father’s surgery, so tell him to come along. So I even paid for my father’s surgery. I checked and followed. hehehehe… Am I meticulous?”

“ah…”

“Why are you making such a sign? Aren’t I amazing?”

“… that’s great.”

At the time, I couldn’t understand why it was necessary to sacrifice myself for the sake of others. Because I always put myself first, I was the most precious, and I could sacrifice at least others for my sake.

“By the way, can you teach me those techniques too?”

“What skills?”

“The things you wrote to me. Kicking me up, throwing me, hanging my legs, breaking my arms… No, thinking about it, I suffered a lot.”

“hehehe… that’s what you want to learn?”

Li Bai held out his hand to me. The child’s smile was so dazzling and beautiful that I reached out my hand without realizing it.

And Li Bai grabbed my hand and…

I walked the arm bar.

“Aagh!”

“Look carefully, this is an Amba!”

“Hey, ant bitch!”

“Uh, what kind of habit are you talking to Master?”

“No, you crazy bitch, solve this!!!!”

“Getting out of the armbar is also training, right?”

Having been in the arm bar for about 20 minutes, I had to eat dinner that day only with my left hand. Until the end, Li Bai had an expression that he did not know what he had done wrong. I hated him so much that I unknowingly hit him on the forehead with the spoon he was eating something like stew.

Of course a fight ensued. Of course I was blown away. Damn bitch, at the time I only learned a little bit of boxing, but I didn’t have the skills to match because I mixed all kinds of martial arts with losing boxing and judo.

“Oh, you crazy bitch…”

“Am I not crazy?”

Even while cleaning up spilled meals, I continued to learn martial arts from him.

—–

After some time, adults made us compete with other children. To be honest, among them, there were some that were difficult to deal with because of their overwhelming physicality or excellent athleticism. But most of them were easy to deal with.

Because what I deal with every day is a crazy bitch who has mastered judo and other martial arts.

“Hey, what are you so good at martial arts? Even if your dad was a martial arts teacher. What kind of girl beats people so mercilessly?”

“Well, since I’m the Heavenly Demon, it’s natural.”

“Heavenly Demon? Eating in that car?”

I remember seeing a cheonmacha at a convenience store I used to go to when I was young.

“Fu-hu-hu… Okay then, the Heavenly Demon, Li Bai, will explain to you.”

“It’s starting again, you crazy bitch.”

“The Heavenly Demon is the founder of the Heavenly Demon Religion, the absolute being, and the being with the strongest martial power. The absolute strongman of Nopaku My Way, who is not bound by the rules of the sect, and who does not compromise with the evil of blood ties! That is the Heavenly Demon! Got it?”

“I don’t know what the Heavenly Demon is… but I do know that you are a crazy bitch far beyond my imagination.”

“Go!

Li Bai said that and started hitting my forearm. The Heavenly Demon Priesthood was not a skill that was cutely tapped for the sake of aegyo. Because I have a bruise on my left arm.

“Oh, really, one hit!”

“Do you dare to hit a woman? Besides, I’m a year older than you? Are you ignoring Zhang Yu’s suicide note? Confucian punch?”

He taught me Confucian punch. The prototype of the Confucian punch was very painful. Because I got a bruise on my right arm.

“Hey! It really hurts!”

“Are you sick? I’m sick too.”

“What hurts on the subject of hitting!”

“Oh, I’m not accepting this.”

Li Bai always told stories of things he had seen outside. Animation, movies, dramas, novels, the Internet and even games… It taught me so many things. Until then, I had no complaints about being locked up in the facility, but hearing about it made me want to leave for the first time.

Because I want to see a little bit of what the child says. It was the first time that I, who was always worried about food and cold weather, found something other than that interesting. But the adults couldn’t let us go outside.

“If I go outside… I’d like to try that game or something. Just hearing you say it sounds so much fun.”

“Oh, not all games are fun. Some games rely on luck or are run by money-mad bastards.”

“Why do game makers also have to make money…?”

“If you play that story in front of people playing games, you will be accused of being a pawn and beaten to death.”

Li Bai said that and pretended to punch me. At the time, I didn’t know what nonsense it was. But later, when I got burned by the compensation issue in the game, I could find myself putting a pad lip on the guy who was talking about it.

“Then what’s the funniest game?”

“Hmm… Tales of Abyss was also fun… Ah Half-Life 3… No, forget about this… Ah, there are many, but… The best for me was ＜Dragnity Fantasy 1＞.”

“What game is that?”

“Well, it’s an RPG made by mixing western and oriental styles… It’s a game in which 8 friends go on an adventure to kill the king of demons.”

“Something is corny.”

Then, a blow came flying right away.

“It’s corny! It’s royal! Cancel that statement! If you hate clichés and like innovative stories, do The Last of Us 2!”

“No, what is that?”

“There is such a thing. It has the slogan of a game, but it is nuclear waste that is not given even if it is given.”

I didn’t know what game it was at the time. But later, I wanted to correct Li Bai’s words. The word nuclear waste is a waste, so apologize for nuclear waste.

“But the more I look at you, the more you resemble a character from that game?”

“Where?”

“Like his looks… he’s clumsy with chopsticks… he eats dirty food… he’s cute because he’s weak even when he’s angry… or he’s smart, but he’s sloppy somewhere…”

“No matter how much I hear that, it’s not a compliment, it’s like an insult?”

“Ah did you hear?”

We fought that day too. Although, of course, I was fooling around. That day, though, I was able to get a punch in the jaw.

—–

The next day, the adults called us in and gave us a small knife.

And they threw in front of us women and men whose limbs were bound. Literally, he picked up a person and threw him. Those who had their mouths gagged were murmuring and shouting something.

And the old man who was the leader of the adults crossed his arms and said.

“Today’s training is murder. No matter how much skill you learn, if you can’t use it on people, it’s garbage. You have to kill these people by the end of the day. Oh, after 3 hours, I’ll release all these people. Instead, if even one of these people is freed, you die. You know what I mean?”

The adults even showed us tears and begged for our lives to the point of sloppy bowing. But at the time I couldn’t understand. If they live, we all die, so does that mean we all want to die? At that time, I thought those people were very selfish people.

When everyone else was hesitant, I took the knife and walked without hesitation. And stabbed the shoulder of the woman who showed me tears with a knife.

Warm blood splashed on my face and I felt bad. It was just such an impression.