The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 8 - Lee Yoo-seong (1)

 

Crunch!

 

The cheerful sound of candy being bitten echoed through the room.

 

“Seo Do-hwan, focus.”

 

“I am focusing,” he muttered, eyes glazed over from across the table.

 

It had already been three months since he moved into my house.

 

Right now, we were in the middle of a business management lesson. I’d hired a tutor at first, but the material went completely over his head. So I ended up taking on the role myself.

 

Spring had fully arrived, yet Seo Do-hwan was still lounging around in a Hawaiian shirt like it was summer.

 

I let out a sigh.

 

“Should we wrap up today’s lesson?”

 

“Yes!”

 

He didn’t even hesitate.

 

Clicking my tongue, I asked, “Alright then, summarize what I taught you today.”

 

“Management is important.”

 

“Obviously.”

 

He paused, thinking for a second, then added, “Excel is important.”

 

“That’s also obvious.”

 

My head throbbed.

 

“Seo Do-hwan, if you keep acting like this, I won’t be able to hand over T.U.”

 

“Who said I even wanted that? You said you’d help me live a life no one could envy. Is this what you meant?”

 

He shut his laptop with a whine.

 

“I thought I’d be swimming in hundreds of millions of won, not stuck here getting weird lectures and basically under house arrest.”

 

“These aren’t weird lectures. I’m teaching you things that’ll actually help. And for the record—no one’s locking you up.”

 

Once I finished organizing the materials for Seo Do-hwan, I settled back at my desk.

 

“I let you go out whenever you want.”

 

“With those muscle-heads following me everywhere?”

 

Seo Do-hwan let out a sarcastic laugh.

 

“I’m not monitoring you.”

 

“You are, though.”

 

He frowned, clearly annoyed.

 

“You’re seriously nuts.”

 

I just shrugged. I didn’t care what he called me—crazy, boss, whatever. As long as Seo Do-hwan stayed firmly in the palm of my hand, that was all that mattered.

 

“I’ll send the materials to your email. Review them before our next lesson. Also, we’re heading to T.U. together tomorrow.”

 

“For fun?”

 

“To check on operations. Make sure everything’s running smoothly.”

 

He looked a bit disappointed.

 

“I’ll let you drink,” I added. “Order the most expensive thing at the club. It’s on me.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Just like that, his mood turned around. He flashed a bright smile. I didn’t really want to buy him alcohol, but I had to let him blow off steam somehow.

 

Truthfully, he’d already tried to escape from my house several times. Just thinking about the times I had to corner him with a stun gun still makes me shiver.

 

He seemed to have given up for now, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down.

 

Once I finished emailing him the lesson materials, I returned to my own work.

 

“Ooh, he’s handsome.”

 

Before I knew it, Seo Do-hwan was hovering by my desk, holding up a document and admiring the photo on it. I snatched it from his hand.

 

“He’s an idol.”

 

“An idol?”

 

He tilted his head. “Never seen him before.”

 

“Of course not. He’s a failed idol.”

 

“Failed?”

 

“A failed idol,” I repeated.

 

“Ahhh.”

 

He nodded, looking oddly sympathetic.

 

“Kind of a waste of a good-looking face.”

 

“It’s fine. I’m going to turn him into a top-tier idol.”

 

“You?” he scoffed. “And how exactly are you planning to do that?”

 

“You’ll see soon enough.”

 

I flipped past the profile of a face charming enough to enchant anyone, regardless of age or gender.

 

“What about this guy? Is he a returnee too?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

This time, when he snatched the document from me, I let him read it. He was going to be involved with this particular returnee anyway.

 

Once he finished reading, I said,

 

“He’s stronger than you.”

 

“…What?”

 

“No matter how many drugs you take, you won’t beat him.”

 

Seo Do-hwan scowled.

 

“What is this kid, anyway?”

 

“Can’t you read?”

 

“I did read it. Nineteen years old. Goes to Cheongha High School.”

 

“Correct. His name is Lee Yoo-seong. He’s a third-year student—and you’re going to keep an eye on him for the next few days.”

 

Seo Do-hwan nodded, then looked surprised as he asked:

 

“Wait, I’m supposed to do what?!”

 

“Watch Lee Yoo-seong.”

 

I snatched the file from his hands and gave him a smile.

 

“You’ll be going undercover as a teacher at Cheongha High. Just for a week. Maybe longer.”

 

“Wait—Boss!”

 

Seo Do-hwan’s voice rose in alarm.

 

“You do know I dropped out of high school, right? I didn’t even go to college!”

 

“I know.”

 

Did he really think I wouldn’t know something that basic? I gave him a reassuring smile as I said:

 

“Don’t worry about your education—we’ll just forge it.”

 

“That’s not the issue here!”

 

Seo Do-hwan practically shrieked.

 

“You think I can actually teach kids? And at Cheongha High, of all places?! That school sends more students to S University than anywhere else!”

 

“So?”

 

“So?! You seriously want me to teach at one of the top schools in the country? Are you out of your mind?!”

 

“I’m not joking, and I’m not crazy. And if you’re worried about the teaching part—don’t be.”

 

I stood and smiled brightly.

 

“I’ll assign you to the P.E. department.”

 

“You think P.E. teachers don’t have to teach?”

 

“It’s easier than the core subjects, isn’t it? But if you’d rather, I can put you in math, Korean, English, or science.”

 

Seo Do-hwan went quiet.

 

“No complaints, then? Great—let’s go.”

 

“Go? Go where?!”

 

“The department store.”

 

I slipped on my coat and opened the door.

 

“You’re not seriously planning to show up looking like that, are you?”

 

“I told you—I’m not going! Hey! Boss!!”

 

Ignoring his protests, I threw him in the car and headed to the department store.

 

***

 

The Gallery Mall — owned by AMA.

 

A luxury department store chain known for carrying only the most high-end designer brands. There are just five branches nationwide, but last year alone, it raked in 3.5459 trillion won in revenue.

 

Half of that came from this location: The Gallery Mall Gangnam.

 

“Holy crap… one of these watches costs 30 million won?”

 

Seo Do-hwan muttered curses under his breath as he gawked at a display.

 

For the record, the watch I was wearing only cost 100 million won.

 

“Why? Do you want one?”

 

“No!”

 

He jumped and shook his head like crazy.

 

“I don’t need anything that expensive!”

 

“You used to wear things like that all the time, didn’t you?”

 

“I did not!”

 

In The Weak Hunter, the system interface displayed the time, so he never even needed a watch.

 

“Then what did you spend your money on?”

 

“I spent it on equipment. In my world, equipment was everything.”

 

Equipment, huh…

 

“Should I get you some?”

 

In this world, money could buy almost anything. But Seo Do-hwan sneered, clearly amused.

 

“What, a third-generation chaebol like you can even get your hands on a magic stone?”

 

A magic stone is a mystical object infused with magical energy—and naturally, it wasn’t something you could find in this world.

 

After all, this world had no magic. So getting your hands on one should’ve been impossible.

 

But surprisingly, I could get one—because among the returnees, there was a wizard. He had the ability to create magic stones using his own power.

 

I should’ve used that connection to make Seo Do-hwan some equipment… back in the timeline when we were actually friends.

 

Anyway, he continued grumbling, trying to act like he didn’t expect anything.

 

“Let’s just grab the clothes and go. This place makes me uncomfortable.”

 

I narrowed my eyes at him before grabbing his arm and dragging him into one of the most expensive designer stores in the entire Gallery Mall.

 

“Boss! What are you doing?!”

 

Do-hwan had clearly recognized where we were. Seeing the panic on his face, I smirked.

 

“You said you wanted to get this over with. This place was just nearby.”

 

“Still! This is way too much! Let’s go somewhere else! I hate it here!”

 

“Well, I like it.”

 

And since I was the one paying, my opinion was the one that mattered.

 

“Hurry up and pick something.”

 

“No! I said no! I don’t want anything!!”

 

Ignoring his protests, I turned to the store clerk with a pleasant smile.

 

“Could you bring out several outfits that would suit him? Full sets—tops, bottoms, and please coordinate them with ties and belts.”

 

“Of course, sir.”

 

The clerk led Seo Do-hwan to the back. While I waited, I flipped through one of the store’s catalogs.

 

That’s when I spotted a briefcase that would look great on him.

 

“Do you have this bag in stock?”

 

“Yes, we do.”

 

“I’ll take one.”

 

“What color would you like?”

 

“Brown, please.”

 

“Right away, sir.”

 

Since we were already here, I figured I might as well buy him everything he needed—not just clothes.

 

As I continued flipping through the catalog, something caught my eye.

 

“Do you also sell student items?”

 

“Yes, we do. It sells out the moment new stock arrives.”

 

The clerk explained kindly that while the item was originally targeted at Korean consumers, it had gained so much popularity that it was now being sold globally.

 

It was something I hadn’t noticed. I’d been too focused on tracking returnee movements to pay attention to trends like these—despite having lived through 365 regressions.

 

I nodded along to the clerk’s explanation when suddenly—

 

“Where’s your manager?”

 

“Oh my, welcome, ma’am.”

 

A middle-aged woman strode into the store, dressed head to toe in luxury brands. The kind of nouveau riche who obviously shopped here often. One of the clerks quickly approached her with a sugary smile.

 

“May I ask why you’re looking for the manager?”

 

“Why do you think?!”

 

The woman yanked a bag out of the hands of the boy behind her and hurled it at the clerk. It was the same student bag I’d just seen in the catalog.

 

“Look at this—it’s scratched! I bought this for my son, who just started at Cheongha High, and it’s already damaged!”

 

“I—I’m very sorry. I’ll take a look and get it sorted right away.”

 

“Shouldn’t you apologize first?!”

 

Maybe she hadn’t heard the initial apology.

 

Still, the clerk, clearly used to customers like her, bowed deeply and apologized again.

 

“I’m truly sorry. Your son must have been so disappointed to receive a damaged gift…”

 

The clerk’s eyes then flicked to the boy standing behind the woman. The boy flinched and lowered his head even further.

 

“You think he’s my son?!”

 

Her voice suddenly jumped in volume—sharp enough to turn heads outside the store.

 

“What kind of service is this?! Forget it—bring the manager. Now!”

 

The shrill yelling was enough to make my ears ring.

 

That’s when Seo Do-hwan returned from the fitting room.

 

“Hey, boss. What’s going on?”

 

“Oh, you’re done? That outfit looks good on you.”

 

“Well, I do clean up nice. Anyway, that kid behind the screaming lady—isn’t that him?”

 

Seo Do-hwan nodded toward the boy staring at the floor behind the furious woman.

 

In stark contrast to the woman draped in luxury, the boy looked pitiful. The cuffs of his school uniform were frayed, and his shoes were so worn out it looked like he’d been using them for years.

 

I smiled with my eyes.

 

“Yeah. That’s him.”

 

His name was Lee Yoo-seong.

 

A 19-year-old returnee currently enrolled at Cheongha High—and possibly someone who had died more times than even I had.

 

And the reason behind all those deaths?

 

None other than himself.

 

Yes—suicide.