The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 121

121. Jin Jaehee (1)

Jin Jaehee followed the sphere.

The sphere moved to one side and collided with a fleshy wall.

‘Is it that way?’

Jin Jaehee raised her sword and struck down with all her might.

Swoosh-. Slash!

Like cutting skin with a scalpel, the massive inner flesh split in two.

It was a blood vessel.

The sphere continued to move forward through the opening.

Inside the abyss-like dark passage, lights began to glow sparsely, like highway signs in the middle of the night.

Jaehee frowned at the brightening interior.

“Kkeueueueueuk……!”

“Kkaaaaaaa……!”

Innumerable cells, all resembling Park Jisoo, lined the floor of the blood vessel, staring at Jin Jaehee. Their colors varied—black, white, and red.

They had no weapons, but their long nails and sharp teeth were threatening enough.

At that moment, Park Jisoo’s voice echoed throughout the passage.

“Kill her……! Kill her!!! Kill that bitch!!! Tear her limbs apart and bring her to me!”

Instantly, the cells, gathered like ants, began to swarm towards Jin Jaehee.

“Kill, kill, kill!”

“Kill, kill!”

“Kill, kill, kill, kill!”

“Kill!!! Kill!”

The blood vessel filled with their screams.

The cells surrounded Jaehee, trying to overwhelm her all at once.

“…….”

Jin Jaehee quickly scanned her surroundings, searching for a way out, and then clenched her fists.

She realized something about herself.

She wasn’t the type to analyze the situation and fight strategically like Zion. She was the type to simply smash through any obstacle.

Since she was young, since her high school days more than 20 years ago, she had always tried to solve things with her fists rather than words.

It didn’t matter if it was a man bigger than her or a group of bullies from another school.

Jin Jaehee had participated in every sport since she was young, and as a result, her combat skills surpassed those of most adults.

She was what people commonly called a ‘boss’—a top dog.

She was a woman known for her fighting prowess in the high schools around Busan.

* * *

Past life.

2019, rooftop of Seongji High School in Nam-gu, Busan.

A group of bullies surrounded a female student.

Among them, a large male student clicked his tongue and said.

“Wow, seriously. What the hell? ……Hey! Are you kidding me right now? The Busan boss is a girl? Ha, seriously. These bastards……. Are you messing with me?”

He was wearing a school uniform, but judging from the way he smoked while sitting on the rooftop with his gang, they were clearly bullies.

The male student sat on the rooftop with his group, and on the opposite side, Jin Jaehee, 19 years old in 2001, stood alone.

She wore a school uniform top but gym clothes on the bottom.

Her bobbed hair reached her shoulders.

And she confidently had both hands in her pockets, looking around.

The male student looked at Jin Jaehee and smirked, provoking her.

“How well can you fight that you came alone like this……. Should I just beat you up if you don’t want to get hit?”

Jin Jaehee turned her eyes and looked around at the group of bullies before speaking. The Busan dialect was thick in her voice.

“You guys……. All ganged up and beat him up, right? In Seomyeon. At Ding Dong Deng karaoke hallway. Around 6 PM.”

“What are you saying? That bastard picked a fight first.”

“If you’re going to get beaten up just for looking, should people only look at the ground? You made him half crippled and told him to come find you if he had any complaints, right? To me. So I came.”

Jaehee undid the buttons on her school uniform sleeves and began to fold them up.

“I didn’t know you were a girl, but this isn’t right. Bring a guy. Get lost. I don’t…… fight with girls.”

Thud-!

The heavily built male student stood up and took a step towards Jin Jaehee.

He smiled as he smoked, looking down at Jin Jaehee.

“Wow-. Girl. You’re damn pretty. Are you really the boss?”

The difference in their physiques was clear.

Jin Jaehee was tall for a woman at 172cm [approximately 5’8″], but she was small compared to the male student.

However, her guts were different.

Jin Jaehee tilted her head slightly and asked.

“Then, it’s okay if girls fight each other, right?”

“What are you saying?”

Whack-! Crack!!!!!!

The sound of two eggs being crushed.

“Kkeuaaaaaaak……!”

Jaehee kicked the male student in the groin.

At that moment, tears welled up in the male student’s eyes.

“Strike first, win first, you son of a bitch.”

After that, the thugs rushed at Jaehee.

“Hey. Attack all at once!”

“Uaaaaaaa!!!!”

“Is this girl crazy!”

A legendary rumor circulated among Busan high school students.

The legend of 23 to 1.

It was a rumor to be believed or not, but what was certain was that Jaehee was more serious about fighting than anyone else.

The rooftop where fists flew.

When Jaehee knocked down eight people alone, the rest were frightened and ran away.

Jaehee was injured all over her body, but she chuckled.

“Acting tough. You losers.”

Jaehee wasn’t a so-called thug or bully, but she used more violence than a thug against those who bothered her friends.

She had been fighting like that from middle school to high school graduation, and before she knew it, she had become the boss.

……Of course, she was terrible at studying.

Her grades when she graduated from high school were the worst in the entire school.

* * *

“Tuh-.”

Jaehee spat on the ground.

There was a little blood mixed in with her saliva.

At that time, Hoseung, who was next to her, carefully asked.

“Jaehee, are you okay?”

Late at night, Jaehee was sitting in a gazebo in the playground with her friends.

Hoseung, Cheolho, and Minji looked tearful.

They were worried about Jaehee, who had been called out to fight because of them.

Hoseung fiddled with the strap of his guitar case and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry……. It’s all my fault for picking a fight…….”

“What’s there to be sorry about.”

At that moment, Jaehee raised her head and smiled at Hoseung.

“If we leave those thug bastards alone, they’ll come at us again to fight. We have to beat them down properly so they won’t bother us next time. I was going to deal with them sometime, and today was the day.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Jaehee was always like that.

A friend who would rush over and beat up the guy who hit her friend.

Jin Jaehee, Lee Hoseung, Kim Cheolho, Park Minji.

The four of them had lived in the same apartment complex since they were young; in other words, they were neighborhood friends.

The four of them always played together.

When they were young, smartphones weren’t common, so there were fewer things to enjoy like PC rooms [internet cafes] or other entertainment like kids do now.

The only things to enjoy were…… arcade games in front of stationery stores or the playground.

That’s how close the four of them were.

There were times when they became distant from each other as they got older, but true friends thought of each other even when they were far apart.

And the four of them had a dream.

Minji paused for a moment, then looked at Jaehee again and said.

“Jaehee, have you given up on music now?”

“…….”

Jaehee’s eyelids trembled at the sound of that voice.

* * *

Music.

In her life, which was only about exercise, sleep, and fighting, music was the only ‘difference.’

The beginning was really simple.

Was it in middle school when they started going to sing together?

It was really amazing that all four of them liked music.

To the extent that they always went to karaoke whenever the four of them gathered.

From elementary school to middle school and high school.

It started with Cheolho.

He suggested forming a band.

Their own band.

At first, they jokingly said they should do what each of them was good at.

At that time, Jaehee chewed on shortbread and smirked.

She said they were filming some third-rate youth drama.

But the four of them were serious about music, so they ended up forming a band.

The beginning wasn’t bad.

They were invited to a youth festival and even appeared in a YouTuber’s video.

Of course, Jaehee stood out more for her looks than her music in the YouTube video.

Before they knew it, the four friends majored in music and aimed for universities.

Hoseung played piano.

Cheolho played guitar.

Minji played bass.

It might sound a little funny to others, but Jaehee was the vocalist.

Jaehee had a really good tone.

A calm melody, a composed tone, and a good sense of rhythm, though not innate.

Hoseung, Cheolho, and Minji were fascinated by that side of Jaehee.

Jaehee was really pretty when she sang.

For the first time, music became a medium that could bring a difference to Jaehee’s life, which had only been about exercise.

But the dream didn’t last long.

High school teacher’s office.

The homeroom teacher sat Jin Jaehee down and said.

On the desk was her September mock exam report card.

“……Jaehee, you can’t go anywhere with this report card. Don’t even dream about early admission because of your attendance rate, grades, and, above all, school violence. It doesn’t matter if you’re first in the national sports festival or receive awards in various competitions. You have a record of school violence. Start preparing for the regular admission now…….”

School violence.

It wasn’t because Jaehee bullied other kids.

She had simply beaten up the bullies who were acting like thugs at school.

Unfortunately, the bully’s parents were well-known politicians in Busan, and Jin Jaehee barely avoided expulsion and only received a suspension thanks to the victims’ testimonies.

“You sing too, right?”

The homeroom teacher put the student record on the desk and continued.

“You’re pretty good?”

“…….”

“Jaehee. Watch the news these days. Even famous singers are being accused of school violence and losing their music careers that they’ve built up for decades. You know?”

“Teacher, I…….”

“I know. I know. I know you’re not a thug. But that’s how the world sees it. Fists…… can’t solve anything. Nothing. It all comes back to you.”

“…….”

“Even the universities that no one knows about these days require a combined score of 12 for Korean, English, and Math…… And that’s not even mentioning physical education universities. They look at grades even more, girl.”

The homeroom teacher glanced at Jaehee’s September mock exam report card.

Korean 9, English 9, Math 9.

“……You’d do better even if you guessed. Even if you guessed. Jaehee. Well, just line up with number 3. The last short answer question in math is always one of -1, 0, or 1. Just guess one of those three too. Seriously. A teacher is teaching a student all sorts of things.”

“…….”

“I’m really saying this because I’m frustrated. Frustrated. Listen carefully? There are only two months left until the college entrance exam. Honestly, at least study Korean history and social studies. Don’t try to understand it. Just memorize it. You know what comb-pattern pottery is, right……?”

At the homeroom teacher’s surprise question, Jaehee flinched and answered timidly.

“Rabbit……? An animal.”

“Oh my……! Girl! Are you really a Korean high school senior?!? The homeroom teacher is a Korean history teacher! Seriously, you’re driving me crazy! First, go to the bookstore and get the textbook I’m talking about…….”

……Blah blah.

Jaehee didn’t listen to the homeroom teacher’s next words.

In the end, Jaehee didn’t go to college.

It would be more accurate to say she couldn’t go.

Jaehee wasn’t good at studying, or rather, she didn’t want to study, and not being good at studying in Korean society meant not being able to do what you wanted to do.

So she finally thought, ‘Let’s give up.’

Jaehee had given up on music and her career path since her second year of high school, and now she was living her life as it was.

Jaehee entered the uphill road leading to her house, where the streetlights were flickering.

This place was quite far from the outskirts of Busan, so there were few cars or people passing by.

Clang-!

She kicked a can she found while passing by.

Swoosh-. Swoosh-.

She idly dragged her slippers across the ground.

Then she turned to the side.

Beyond the guardrail, she could see the Busan sea.

The dark night sea, with lights lined up along the horizon from the fishing boats.

It was as if someone had accidentally dripped white paint in a straight line on a pitch-black canvas.

There was no famous Gwangan Bridge or Haeundae Beach here, but it had its own charm.

Jaehee always looked at the sea when she had a lot on her mind.

That was the only good thing about living in Busan.

“…….”

Jaehee turned her head and looked at the apartment.

She didn’t want to go home.

She didn’t want to see her father’s disappointed face.

But she had to go in.

There was a curfew.

Jaehee, who was looking at the apartment, picked up the can she had kicked earlier.

And headed towards the sea beyond the guardrail instead of the trash can.

“……Let’s just live as we go.”

Whoosh-!

The can she threw flew far away and fell into the sea.

It flew quite far.

* * *

Puh-ook!!! Swishhhhh-.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Jaehee cut off the cell’s neck and swung again behind her.

Each time she swung the holy sword, Park Jisoo’s cells fell like autumn leaves.

Thud-!

Jaehee punched the jaw of a cell rushing at her with her right fist and thought.

‘Why……. Suddenly…….’

She couldn’t understand why the memories of the past suddenly came to her at this timing.

It felt like someone was deliberately making her remember.

The current her and the past her were clashing.

The image of her playing the acoustic guitar and practicing singing, and the image of her cutting down cells rushing to kill her.

The image of her sweating while hitting a sandbag, and the image of her covered in blood wrapped in silver.

“Haa……. Haa…….”

Father.

Moreover, she recalled that longing name.

‘…….’

Jaehee was cutting down cells, recalling those days long ago.

But even while recalling the memories, her body didn’t stop for a single moment.

Following Zion’s sphere, cutting down cells, she finally cut down the first weakness.

(To be continued in the next episode)