Chapter 2
“Damn bastards.”
The owner picked up a tattered wooden tabletop and cursed under his breath. Just last month, the ceiling had collapsed from a similar commotion, and now this again. At this rate, it might be better to just close the tavern altogether. He jerked his chin toward Jaei, who stood there blankly.
“Aren’t you taking anything?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Otherwise, I will.”
He naturally began rummaging through the corpse’s pockets. Mostly coins, cigarettes, and blood-soaked trash—but thankfully, there was a ring. Had he worn it since childhood without ever taking it off? The finger was so swollen that the owner had no choice but to pull out a knife.
“No. I-I’ll take it.”
Seeing that, Jaei snapped back to his senses. Right. As much as he hated to admit it, this was a complete lawless zone. Having something in hand was directly tied to survival. Hadn’t he just filled his starving stomach with nothing but a coat? When Jaei stepped forward to block him, the owner waved his hand dismissively.
“You take that side.”
“Pardon?”
“This one’s mine.”
There was a large hole in the corpse’s abdomen. Someone who had taken a direct hit from the owner’s shotgun. As Jaei stepped back, the owner glanced sideways at him.
‘What the hell is he?’
He looked exactly like a fool, but that shooting skill earlier had been astonishing. If it had been luck, then he could say with certainty—that brat had used up all the luck he’d ever have in his life.
Rustle.
From Lux’s inner pocket, the owner found a blood-soaked flyer. Three in total. They seemed to be the identities of the corpses they had loaded on the carriage. Without much expectation, he read through it.
‘One’s 70 dollars, the other two are 50 each. Better than I thought?’
They were all slaves who had conspired and escaped from the same farm. Enough money to cover the repair costs of the shop and still live comfortably for months—the owner’s expression softened instantly.
“Harbor!”
After gathering miscellaneous items, he opened the window and shouted loudly. He was calling the hired hand who had hidden after hearing the gunshots. When he banged the back of a frying pan with a ladle, it wasn’t long before the man appeared with a young girl.
“Mom, Dad!”
“Oh, Elen. Are you alright?”
“I’m okay. Are you safe, Dad? Mom, you’re not hurt, right?”
It was Elen, the innkeeper couple’s daughter. The girl, her blonde hair loosely tied up, had a tear-streaked face as if she had been crying the whole time. The hired hand limped in, gasping at the horrific sight.
“My goodness, what on earth…”
“Bad luck. The hunted and the hunters just had to meet in one place.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s already over. Harbor, move the bodies outside.”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
Harbor was one of the few residents of Turtle Rock, making a living by helping with odd jobs at <Elens>. As he pretended to move the bodies, he subtly slipped his hand into Lux’s pocket, wondering if there was anything the owner had missed.
“And we’re heading to Mollibay tomorrow.”
When the owner suddenly turned and said that, Harbor stiffened in surprise.
“M-Mollibay? Why?”
“Why else? To buy supplies for repairs.”
“Honey. We’re a bit short on money this month.”
“It’s fine. Once we take care of the bodies Lux brought, we should have plenty.”
“H-How much?”
At his wife’s question, the owner subtly shook his head. There were two outsiders present. Jaei was one thing—but Harbor was the problem. He took his family outside and gave Harbor instructions.
“After moving the bodies, clean the floor too.”
“…Understood.”
Harbor pouted and glared at the closed door. Asking someone with a bad leg to move nine bodies—what a ruthless man. Muttering to himself, he dragged Lux’s corpse across the floor.
“I’ll handle these.”
“What?”
“The ones with gunshots to the head. I’ll take care of them.”
Harbor straightened up, puzzled. That guy—wasn’t he the one who had been wandering around earlier this morning? When had he been here? His gaze lingered on Jaei. More precisely, on the handful of bills in his hand.
“But what the hell happened?”
“…I don’t know.”
Jaei answered as he rummaged through the outlaws’ belongings. Whether it was coincidence or not, everyone he had shot had been wanted criminals. Aside from someone named Max, it was unclear whether the others had bounties. What he had gained for now were a few bills, a cigarette pack, a pocket watch, and a neatly sealed envelope. And, of course, the outlaws’ guns.
‘Strange-looking. Reloading this must be a hassle.’
As Jaei examined the gun, Harbor suddenly snapped angrily. A lunatic like him—how dare he…
“You don’t know? You were right there and you don’t know? And you call that an answer?”
“If I don’t know, what else should I say? Go ask the owner. He’s busy enough as it is, so please.”
Polite, yet an unmistakable refusal. Harbor wanted to throw a punch right then and there, but seeing the gun in Jaei’s hand, he backed off.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Jaei calmly wiped the blood off the barrel. Honestly, what startled him more was that he felt no guilt after killing people. What should he even do now? He had no idea. As Jaei pressed his temples and frowned, Harbor, who had stepped back, spoke again.
“Something not working out?”
“…No.”
“If I’d been there earlier, I would’ve made a killing too. Lucky you. How much did you get?”
Harbor stomped his foot in frustration, even though he had been the one who hid in Elen’s basement the moment the gunshots started. Jaei opened the letter and replied.
“Not much.”
“So how much?”
“3 dollars and 20 cents.”
His short answer clearly told him to stop asking. Inside the envelope was a letter and a flyer—Max’s own.
‘What is this? He’s carrying his own?’
As Jaei read the letter, Harbor craned his neck from behind. If one could hear eyeballs rolling, it would have been loud. At the same time, the sound of a frying pan being struck echoed.
Clang clang clang!
“Not a single one moved. Both your legs not working today?”
The owner had returned after finishing his talk with his wife. Harbor awkwardly muttered and, for no reason, blamed Jaei. Though he was increasingly unpleasant to look at, Jaei said nothing and simply put on a corpse’s coat. The thick fur coat still retained warmth.
“Hey, you said your name was Jaei?”
The owner sighed, cigarette in his mouth.
“I’m heading to Mollibay tomorrow, so come along if you want. Unless you plan to live hugging corpses, you’ll need to wrap things up too.”
“Is that alright?”
“Help clean this place up today in return. You can manage that, right?”
“Of course. Though I didn’t finish eating earlier.”
“Seriously, even now? Fine. I’ll give you food too. Know how to dig a pit?”
“I did it a lot in the army.”
At the mention of the army, the owner’s expression turned strange. He was in the army? This guy? It was hard to believe, but recalling his performance in the gunfight earlier, it somehow made sense. The owner stood there for a long moment, choosing his words, then gave up. The more he dealt with him, the more confusing he became.
“And just so you don’t get the wrong idea—there wasn’t any flyer for Max among Lux’s belongings.”
Unless they were big-name fugitives, bringing in just a corpse often led to nothing. The sheriff might delay payment under the excuse of identity verification, or worse, if they weren’t confirmed as wanted in that region, there’d be no reward at all.
“It’s fine. He had the flyer.”
“He carried his own? Must’ve been quite the guy.”
The owner chuckled lightly. No hidden meaning—just pure curiosity. What kind of bounty made Lux immediately draw his gun, and why he proudly carried his own wanted poster.
“For a life, it’s pocket change.”
“Really?”
Jaei didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, and the owner didn’t press further. A wise choice. Nothing stirred greed like knowing exactly what someone else had in their pocket.
‘Pocket change?’
Listening in, Harbor narrowed his eyes. It didn’t seem like a lie, but wasn’t that standard vague? For that guy, what counted as pocket change? To pay off his debts and start a new life, he’d need at least 100 dollars.
“Harbor! Not moving them?”
“Y-Yes, I’m going!”
As the owner shouted irritably while hoisting a corpse, Harbor hurried over, bowing his head. Watching the two leave, Jaei carefully examined the letter again.
‘It is pocket change.’
The amount written on the wanted poster was 2,000 dollars. By Jaei’s standards, it wasn’t an amount worth risking one’s life for. Around 2.7 million won? Of course, being penniless now, it was enough to determine life or death.
‘Given the era, it’s probably worth more than 2,000 dollars. Maybe double, even triple. I should be able to secure a place to stay for a while.’
Jaei still didn’t fully grasp the true value of what he held. He probably wouldn’t until reaching Mollibay. He reread the letter inside the envelope.
-Backveined train departing from Oklahoma, around 16:00 on the 12th. To my little brother.
Jaei let out a sigh. He didn’t understand a single thing. After organizing his belongings, he rolled up his sleeves. To head to Mollibay, it was time to help clean up <Elens>.
***
“Honey. That’s enough—come in now. The sun’s setting.”
“Is the inside all cleaned up?”
“Yes. The broken parts couldn’t be helped, but it’s mostly done.”
“Alright. I’ll be right there.”
“I’ll heat up some water.”
At his wife’s call, the owner set down his shovel. After hours of digging frozen ground, his whole body was drenched in sweat. Jaei also dropped his pickaxe and sat down. There wasn’t quite enough space to bury Lux and his group entirely, but this would do. The owner wiped the sweat dripping down his chin.
“Let’s cover them tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
“Good work. You’re useful. Way better than Harbor, who’s nowhere to be seen. Going to wash up?”
“Later. I want to practice shooting.”
He had handled rifles in the army, but never pistols or shotguns. Better to get used to them in advance. And also—to confirm whether that earlier shooting skill was really his or just coincidence.
“If you’re late, no food.”
With that, the owner went inside <Elens>. Jaei gathered the remaining ammunition and moved as far from habitation as possible. Beside a rock, a tree became his target.
Click.
Back in the army, his shooting skills hadn’t been particularly good. So if he fired now, he’d definitely know—
Bang!
What? Jaei frowned. He had clearly aimed at the tree, yet the shot hit the rock. He slightly adjusted the barrel and pulled the trigger again.
Bang!
Same result. Earlier, in the urgency, he hadn’t noticed—but now it felt like the barrel subtly shifted and locked into place. Like magnets pulling toward each other. Thanks to that, even with his arms exhausted from digging, it felt far easier.
‘So it really is auto-aim correction.’
Did it vary depending on the gun? Jaei switched weapons and fired again.
Boom!
His body jolted from the recoil, but the shot hit the rock again. The exact same spot, without a single deviation. Regardless of the gun, the ability was entirely his own. Relief came briefly—then confusion. Why did it keep targeting the rock?
Rustle.
Click.
“…Who’s behind?”
Jaei didn’t miss the faint presence. It was the time when darkness deepened as the sun set. As the standoff dragged on, Jaei fired a warning shot.
Bang!
“Ah—okay, okay! Wait, I get it!”
At last, the figure revealed himself. Limping, wearing an awkward smile—it was Harbor. Just as Jaei was about to lower his guard, the barrel locked firmly in place.
The target—Harbor’s forehead.
A warning from the gun to Jaei.
That it would be best to kill that man right now.