The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 47 - Lee Man-deuk’s Younger Siblings (1)

 

 

“Yes, what is it?”

 

Could it be that he was about to give me a lead on Ji Geon-hyuk? Just as I was filled with that expectation—

 

“Quit making a scene here. See over there? The volunteers who serve us free meals—why don’t you ask them instead? They remember each of our names.”

 

The homeless man pointed out coldly. Now that I thought about it, there really was such a place near the station.

 

Ji Geon-hyuk once said he owed them a lot and wanted to repay the favor, so I’d even helped him with some support back then. Yet I’d only remembered it just now.

 

“Thank you.”

 

I bowed slightly, then pulled Seo Do-hwan away from showing off his strength in front of the homeless men.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Did you find something out about Ji Geon-hyuk?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

Seo Do-hwan tilted his head, puzzled by my vague answer. But I didn’t have time to explain. I immediately headed with him toward the place the homeless man had pointed out.

 

“Hey, who are you? Never seen you here before.”

 

“You don’t look homeless. Who are you?”

 

“Wait, you’re not here to mooch off our free food, are you?”

 

“Nah, no way. Just look at him—he looks like he’s doing pretty well.”

 

“Yeah, probably.”

 

I stopped in my tracks.

 

A young girl and boy were standing in front of us, casually chatting as they blocked our way.

 

“Should we call the pastor?”

 

“If we do, he’ll probably just offer them a meal.”

 

“Yeah, true. Then should we chase them off ourselves?”

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

As I stood there blankly, Seo Do-hwan nudged me in the ribs.

 

“Boss, what’s wrong?”

 

“It’s just… those kids…”

 

Glancing at the boy and girl, I whispered to Seo Do-hwan,

 

“They’re Mr. Lee Man-deuk’s siblings.”

 

The girl was Lee Deok-soon, and the boy was Lee Soon-deuk.

 

“…Whose siblings?”

 

Seo Do-hwan blinked blankly. Seeing the disbelief on his face, I repeated kindly,

 

“Mr. Lee Man-deuk’s.”

 

“Lee Man-deuk?”

 

Seo Do-hwan blurted out the name of that damned mage, then let out a loud yelp.

 

“That crazy mage’s… ugh!”

 

I hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was already too late.

 

“You seem to know our oppa, don’t you?”

 

“Who are you, and how do you know about our hyung?”

 

“Tell us, before we call the police.”

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk stared at us warily. At their sharp gazes, Seo Do-hwan pushed my hand away and snapped,

 

“Call the police? What do you mean, call the police? If anything, we should be the ones reporting that bastard!”

 

He wasn’t wrong. The two siblings blinked at us for a moment—then suddenly lowered their heads.

 

“We’re sorry.”

 

“We don’t know what our hyung did wrong, but we’ll apologize on his behalf.”

 

They bowed politely. Seo Do-hwan froze, clearly not expecting that, then muttered,

 

“B-Boss, are these really that crazy mage’s siblings? Why are they so polite?”

 

That was because, unlike Lee Man-deuk, they were capable of normal thinking.

 

Moreover—

 

‘They knew.’

 

They knew that Lee Man-deuk was a magician. And they also knew that his way of thinking was twisted. That’s why his siblings asked anxiously:

 

“Did our oppa get into debt?”

 

“Did he try to repay it with fake money?”

 

“If it’s something like that, please just report him to the police.”

 

“We can live fine without our hyung.”

 

Their words made me curious about what kind of existence Lee Man-deuk was to them. But now wasn’t the time for that—it was time to clear things up.

 

“First of all, that’s not why we’re here. We didn’t come because of Lee Man-deuk.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Then why are you here?”

 

It probably seemed strange to them that well-dressed men would show up at a homeless meal center.

 

Not wanting any further misunderstanding, I got straight to the point.

 

“We’re looking for someone. Do you happen to know a man named Ji Geon-hyuk? He used to stay around here as a homeless person…”

 

“Hey, boss,” Seo Do-hwan whispered, cutting in. “Since they’re Lee Man-deuk’s siblings, is it okay to tell them about Ji Geon-hyuk?”

 

He looked uneasy, worried Lee Man-deuk might somehow use the information against us. But it was fine.

 

Like I said, Lee Man-deuk’s siblings—

 

“We know our oppa is weird.”

 

“Don’t worry. We won’t tell him you guys came.”

 

“And even if we did, we’d just be the ones who’d get in trouble.”

 

Unlike their hyung, they had a normal, reasonable mindset.

 

Seo Do-hwan looked flustered, as if he hadn’t expected his voice to be overheard by Lee Man-deuk’s younger siblings.

 

The kids, pretending not to notice, spoke calmly.

 

“Oppa, the person you’re looking for is Ji Geon-hyuk, right?”

 

“We’ll ask the homeless uncles we’re close with.”

 

“Please wait here for a bit.”

 

Before I could even tell them it was okay, Lee Man-deuk’s siblings hurried off.

 

“How can they be so different from Lee Man-deuk when they grew up under the same parents?”

 

“Mr. Lee Man-deuk raised them.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“They were raised by Mr. Lee Man-deuk.”

 

Seo Do-hwan looked genuinely surprised.

 

“That magician bastard… was he an orphan?”

 

Like me?

 

That’s what his eyes seemed to ask.

 

“No. He had parents. They just divorced when he was young.”

 

Was he disappointed that they didn’t share that in common? His surprise lasted only a moment before he frowned and muttered,

 

“Still, wouldn’t one of the parents have taken care of them?”

 

“No. Apparently, both of them gave up custody. Back then, Lee Man-deuk’s siblings were only four years old.”

 

“…And Lee Man-deuk?”

 

“Fifteen.”

 

In the middle of a turbulent adolescence, Lee Man-deuk and his siblings had been abandoned by their parents. All their relatives were still alive, but not a single one reached out to help. So, Lee Man-deuk ended up raising his siblings in an orphanage.

 

Hearing that unexpected story, Seo Do-hwan’s expression darkened noticeably.

 

Then—

 

“Ahh! Kids!”

 

A scream rang out.

 

Seo Do-hwan, who had been lost in thought, and I, who had been silent, both turned toward the source of the voice.

 

Lee Man-deuk’s younger siblings—specifically his little brother—were being grabbed by the collar by a homeless man. Lee Deok-soon had fallen to the ground, apparently shoved aside by the man holding Lee Soon-deuk.

 

Seo Do-hwan reacted immediately.

 

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

 

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the homeless man threatening Lee Soon-deuk.

 

“W-Who the hell are you?!” the man stammered, startled.

 

Instead of replying, Seo Do-hwan grabbed the man’s arm with a crushing grip.

 

“I asked what you’re doing.”

 

“Aaagh!”

 

The homeless man screamed from the pain. I used that opening to pull Lee Soon-deuk to safety.

 

“You okay?”

 

“Huh? Yes, I’m okay.”

 

Lee Soon-deuk, still dazed, immediately turned to his sister, who was struggling to get up.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

 

But she clearly wasn’t.

 

The homeless man, who Seo Do-hwan had grabbed, must have knocked over a tray toward them or something—her school uniform was a complete mess.

 

Clicking my tongue, I took out my phone, planning to call someone to bring her a change of clothes.

 

“Please don’t report this to the police!”

 

For some reason, Lee Deok-soon hurriedly stopped me.

 

“I’m sure that man knows he did something wrong.”

 

“Yeah! He was just drunk and made a mistake, that’s all!” Lee Soon-deuk added, backing her up.

 

At that, Seo Do-hwan let out a disbelieving snort and laughed dryly.

 

“Make a mistake twice, and you’re dead.”

 

Still, he let go of the man.

 

“Ugh…”

 

The homeless man stumbled back, clutching his arm, which had already turned purple from the pressure.

 

“Hey! Aren’t you going to apologize to the kids?!”

 

Startled by Seo Do-hwan’s sharp tone, the man bowed repeatedly.

 

“S-sorry! I’m really sorry!”

 

He kept apologizing as he backed away—then turned and ran.

 

“That bastard…!”

 

“Seo Do-hwan, that’s enough.”

 

“Enough? If I hadn’t stepped in—if we hadn’t shown up—who knows what he would’ve done to the kids?”

 

“The other volunteers would’ve stopped him first.”

 

Seo Do-hwan frowned, clearly unsatisfied, looking like he wanted to chase after the man and make him apologize properly.

 

Trying to calm him down, I patted his shoulder lightly, then turned to the siblings.

 

“Are you two really okay?”

 

“Yes, we’re fine.”

 

“By the way,” Lee Deok-soon said, “we found out about the person oppa was asking about.”

 

Ji Geon-hyuk.

 

So they had learned something about him. I wanted to ask right away, but…

 

“First, let’s get you changed.”

 

“Changed? But I don’t have any…”

 

“I’ll have someone bring some.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Leaving her flustered voice behind, I raised the phone I’d been about to use earlier.

 

***

 

“Someone said Ji Geon-hyuk disappeared a few months ago,” said Lee Deok-soon, now neatly dressed.

 

“They said he vanished before spring came.”

 

“No one knows why he disappeared.”

 

“Or where he went.”

 

After a long silence, I finally spoke.

 

“…I see.”

 

The words came out strained, my voice rough.

 

The siblings noticed my change in tone and exchanged worried looks.

 

“Should we try to find out more for you?”

 

“We can ask the pastor tomorrow.”

 

“The pastor knows all the homeless people around here. He might know something about Ji Geon-hyuk.”

 

“He’s just out right now, so we couldn’t ask today—but we can tomorrow!”

 

It was a kind offer, but—

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Finding Ji Geon-hyuk’s whereabouts was my responsibility now.

 

More importantly, the fact that he truly wasn’t here…

 

Ji Geon-hyuk leaving Seoul Station—

 

That was something that had never happened in all 365 regressions.

 

‘What on earth went wrong?’

 

I had no idea what variable had caused him to act differently this time. And how did he know about Lee Man-deuk—and even ask him for something?

 

‘No.’

 

There was still Han Young-won. But I couldn’t shake off the worry. What if she, too, was moving differently from the previous regressions?

 

If that were really the case…

 

“Boss? Hey, boss!”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Why are you spacing out like that?”

 

“I was thinking about something.”

 

“Because of Ji Geon-hyuk?”

 

I nodded, then turned to Seo Do-hwan.

 

“Why did you call me?”

 

“They said they had a question for you.”

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. I smiled at their eager faces.

 

“Ask me anything you want.”

 

“Then…”

 

After a brief hesitation, the two of them blurted out their questions almost in unison:

 

“How do you know our oppa?”

 

“Are you close with hyung? You don’t seem that close though.”

 

“Anyway, our oppa doesn’t even have friends, right?”

 

Seo Do-hwan nodded as if agreeing with Lee Deok-soon. I had no idea what part he was agreeing with, but I answered the kids anyway.

 

“You’re right. We’re not that close.”

 

I wished we had been, but things had gone wrong from the very first step.

 

“But it’s not a bad relationship either, so it’s fine.”

 

Seo Do-hwan shot me a look that said, Are you seriously saying that? but I ignored him. Honestly, considering how the first step had gone wrong, it wasn’t a bad relationship.

 

No matter how many regressions had passed, I could still remember when Lee Man-deuk had suspected me and tortured me. That bastard kept saving me every time I was about to die, so in the end, I bit my tongue and killed myself—then regressed.

 

Compared to that… yeah, this was a pretty good relationship.

 

Still, Seo Do-hwan and the siblings didn’t seem convinced. They pressed on.

 

“You know our oppa’s a magician, right?”

 

“Just to be clear—not a stage magician, a real magician.”

 

“And not a good one either. He’s totally evil!”

 

“To put it simply, he’s like that bald wizard! You know—He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

“And you still said you’re not on bad terms?”

 

“That’s amazing!”

 

The kids were practically marveling in awe when—

 

“Lee Deok-soon! Lee Soon-deuk!!”

 

Lee Man-deuk appeared.