The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 48 - Lee Man-deuk’s Younger Siblings (2)

 

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk.

 

Maybe because of their unusual names, the homeless people eating at the free meal center looked up in surprise. But the two whose names had been called greeted Lee Man-deuk calmly, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.

 

“Oppa, shouldn’t you be at work?”

 

“Did you take a half-day today?”

 

“Or did you leave early without permission?”

 

At their barrage of questions, Lee Man-deuk’s face twisted.

 

“Leave early without permission?! Do you think I’d get fired?! I took a half-day because I heard you two got hurt!!”

 

“We’re not hurt.”

 

“Well, you almost were.”

 

Lee Man-deuk’s frustration flared at their replies, but only for a moment. Then his expression darkened as he turned his gaze on us.

 

“You guys,” he said sharply. “I thought we were done with each other, but now you dare lay a hand on my siblings?”

 

“Lay a hand on them? What are you talking about?”

 

Seo Do-hwan snorted.

 

“What a ridiculous thing to say.”

 

He stepped in front of Lee Man-deuk, frowning.

 

“So it’s fine for you to touch other people’s family, but not okay for anyone to touch yours?”

 

Lee Man-deuk shot Seo Do-hwan with a look full of contempt. He stayed silent, but Seo Do-hwan tilted his head and pressed.

 

“Well? Got an answer?”

 

Lee Man-deuk still didn’t speak. Even if he had two mouths, there wasn’t much he could say.

 

“…Yeah, it’s not okay.”

 

The reply came when I wasn’t expecting one.

 

At that, Seo Do-hwan let out an irritable laugh and grabbed him by the collar.

 

“This guy—!”

 

“What? You wanted an answer, didn’t you?”

 

Lee Man-deuk smirked.

 

“I gave you one. Got a problem with that?”

 

Seo Do-hwan’s face twisted.

 

‘I should step in.’

 

If I didn’t, Seo Do-hwan really might throw a punch at Lee Man-deuk. It would be satisfying to watch, sure, but I couldn’t disturb the people eating here.

 

“We’re sorry.”

 

“We’ll apologize on his behalf.”

 

“Hey! Lee Deok-soon! Lee Soon-deuk!”

 

“We’re really sorry.”

 

The siblings stepped forward.

 

“What are you two doing? Move your hands!”

 

They held the back of Lee Man-deuk’s head and bowed in apology toward Seo Do-hwan. All the while, the two kept chattering.

 

“I’m not moving my hands. If you’re unhappy, force me.”

 

“Of course, if you do, we’ll get hurt.”

 

Lee Man-deuk grimaced.

 

“Damn it…!”

 

At that sharp curse, the siblings reacted instantly, as if they’d been waiting.

 

“Oppa, sorry for cursing.”

 

“Don’t worry; that was a curse at us.”

 

“I wasn’t cursing at you!”

 

“Then at who?”

 

They tilted their heads innocently. Lee Man-deuk flushed and shouted.

 

“Damn it! At me!”

 

“See? He said it himself.”

 

The kids finally let go of his head, but Lee Man-deuk still couldn’t lift it easily. Being publicly shamed in front of people he hated—it was humiliating.

 

Seo Do-hwan teased him.

 

“Unlike you, your little siblings are really well-behaved.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“And they even talk nicely.”

 

Right, boss?

 

Seo Do-hwan glanced at me with a wry smile.

 

From my perspective, both Lee Man-deuk and Seo Do-hwan had equally bad tempers.

 

‘Well, Seo Do-hwan’s a little better, though.’

 

Then it happened.

 

“You’re really not the one?”

 

Lee Man-deuk glanced at me, clearly asking if I was the one who’d hurt Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk. The answer was obvious.

 

“I’m not. And neither is Seo Do-hwan.”

 

“Then who was it?”

 

I opened my mouth, but the siblings shot me desperate looks. Their eyes said, please don’t tell. So I stayed silent.

 

Neither of them had actually been hurt anyway. And now that I’d met them, it was best to leave a good impression.

 

‘If these two become allies, Lee Man-deuk will have no choice but to help me too.’

 

But seeing my lack of response, Lee Man-deuk scowled and pressed again.

 

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

 

A misunderstanding I hadn’t intended.

 

“It’s not me.”

 

I denied it quickly, but it seemed Lee Man-deuk had already decided I was the shameless bastard who’d hurt his siblings.

 

“Then tell me—who did it? You know, don’t you?”

 

He was right. But if I told him, that homeless guy would die by Lee Man-deuk’s hand—or worse, he’d be tortured until he wished for death.

 

And besides, that would mean breaking the promise I’d silently made with Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk.

 

Not that it was an actual promise, but still…

 

Earning their trust would be worth it. With all these new variables, one thing was clear: the more allies I had, the better.

 

‘I could just kill myself and start over…’

 

But what if that created even more variables? If that happened, I’d be stuck going through even more regressions than before.

 

And that, I really didn’t want.

 

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

 

Lee Man-deuk’s voice sharpened.

 

And then—

 

“Oppa.”

 

“Hyung.”

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk spoke up.

 

“We’re not hurt.”

 

“I don’t know who told you we were, but it’s true—we’re fine.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Then the two pouted and added,

 

“If you don’t believe us, we’re not eating anymore.”

 

“We’re not going to school either.”

 

“And we’ll sleep without blankets.”

 

…Did they really think that kind of threat would work on Lee Man-deuk?

 

No matter how much he doted on his siblings, that kind of bluff obviously wouldn’t shake him.

 

And sure enough—

 

“So what?”

 

He tilted his head slightly.

 

“If you don’t eat, don’t go to school, and sleep without a blanket, aren’t you the only ones who’ll suffer?”

 

At his exasperated tone, Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk exchanged looks and muttered,

 

“I think we’ve been reading too many web novels.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Reality’s nothing like fiction.”

 

Hearing that, Lee Man-deuk snorted and waved a hand dismissively.

 

“Alright, enough. Both of you, get up. Let’s go home.”

 

It seemed he had decided to drop the matter of whoever hurt his siblings.

 

That was a relief—but there was still one person unwilling to accept it.

 

“So that’s it? You make all those threats and then just walk away like nothing happened?”

 

It was Seo Do-hwan.

 

Considering he’d looked ready to start a full-on brawl with Lee Man-deuk moments ago, his reaction wasn’t surprising. At his irritated tone, Lee Man-deuk tilted his head.

 

“So what? You wanna grab each other by the collar and fight it out?” A sly grin crept across his face. “Honestly, I’d prefer that.”

 

What a nasty-tempered magician.

 

Seo Do-hwan frowned at the provocation.

 

“You think I’m holding back because I want to?”

 

“Isn’t that it?”

 

Lee Man-deuk tilted his head and sneered.

 

“I guess you’re not just some mutt wagging its tail behind the CEO, huh?”

 

“You bastard, seriously—!”

 

Seo Do-hwan took the bait.

 

Thud! Crash—!

 

With a single punch, Lee Man-deuk was sent flying. The homeless people eating nearby froze, wide-eyed at the sudden outburst. Among the overturned trays and scattered dishes, Lee Man-deuk narrowed his brows.

 

“Well, well…”

 

Touching his chapped lips, he gave a crooked grin.

 

“Not as bad as that high school kid, but that actually hurt.”

 

It probably hurt a lot more than he was letting on. I could clearly see that his nose was broken from the impact. But with his younger siblings watching, Lee Man-deuk pretended to be perfectly fine—most likely using magic to dull the pain.

 

Seo Do-hwan smirked.

 

“Good to know you can take a hit. I was worried you’d end up like last time—knocked out cold after hitting the wall.”

 

Lee Man-deuk’s expression twisted at Seo Do-hwan’s provocation.

 

“Fuck, I was caught off guard back then.”

 

“Oh, really? So this punch was just another case of ‘letting your guard down’? Wow, I didn’t know our dear Man-deuk hyung had such a habit. You like letting your guard down, huh?”

 

Seo Do-hwan taunted relentlessly, like a wild horse off its reins. If Lee Man-deuk lost his temper and used magic here, it’d be chaos. Sure, he wouldn’t go as far as blowing up the whole soup kitchen—not with his siblings here—but still.

 

‘You never know.’

 

He could teleport Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk out first, then collapse the entire place afterward. I was about to step in when—

 

“Oppa.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Is that oppa strong?”

 

Lee Deok-soon pointed at Seo Do-hwan. Without thinking, I answered.

 

“He’s strong.”

 

“Thank goodness.”

 

‘Thank goodness?’

 

Tilting my head, I saw Lee Deok-soon mumble with a pout.

 

“Our oppa needs to get hit a bit.”

 

Lee Soon-deuk added, comparing his brother to a mad dog.

 

“You know what they say—mad dogs need to be beaten with a stick.”

 

“I just hope oppa comes to his senses after a few hits.”

 

Surprisingly, Lee Man-deuk’s mind was perfectly sound. The problem was, he could think straight—he just chose not to. Still, if that’s what his siblings wanted…

 

“Seo Do-hwan.”

 

There was no reason to stop the fight anymore. When I quietly called to him, Seo Do-hwan frowned.

 

“Don’t stop me.”

 

“I won’t. Just… go easy on him. Don’t hit too hard.”

 

The homeless people started backing away as the fight broke out.

 

Even so, plenty still remained. Using magic here would be risky for Lee Man-deuk—though, knowing him, he probably had a few spells he could sneak in unnoticed.

 

Hearing that I wouldn’t intervene, Seo Do-hwan smiled.

 

“Go easy on him, huh?”

 

The moment he tilted his head toward me—

 

Wham!

 

Lee Man-deuk’s fist slammed into his face, but Seo Do-hwan didn’t look the least bit hurt. All that candy he’d been crunching on before arriving at Seoul Station seemed to be paying off.

 

Staring at Lee Man-deuk, who had just punched him, Seo Do-hwan grinned broadly.

 

“Good.”

 

Then he grabbed Lee Man-deuk by the collar and—

 

“I’ll go easy on you, you damn magician—just enough so you don’t die.”

 

—hurled him straight into the back of the cafeteria.

 

Crash!

 

With a deafening clatter, the real brawl began.

 

“Ah… this place really can’t collapse.”

 

“If the soup kitchen closes, everyone here will go hungry.”

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk fretted anxiously for the homeless people. Listening to their worries, I quietly pulled out my phone.

 

Meanwhile—

 

“Man-deuk hyung, stop just getting hit and use some magic already!”

 

“Fuck! You think I can’t use it just because you tell me to?!”

 

Seo Do-hwan and Lee Man-deuk traded blows furiously. Who’d win was anyone’s guess.

 

“You bastard!”

 

“What’s wrong, Man-deuk hyung? You’re looking pretty weak!”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Judging by the exchange alone, it was easy to tell who had the upper hand.