18-313

EP.313 Unfair Situation 

She wondered if maybe her parents had found the notice, but... 

There was no way parents who cherished their daughter so much would ignore and hide a conscription notice from the communal facility. 

"Are you lying?" 

"No, I swear... I've never seen anything like that..! There must be some mistake..." 

"Mistake?" 

The man carefully checked the chart, then read out the address where the mail was sent. 

"Isn't your home Happy Apartments, Building 103, Unit 801?" 

"What? We live in Building 102, Unit 801..." 

"What? If you keep lying, you'll really get taken away." 

"I'm not lying. Why would I make something like that up?!" 

Apparently, there was a mistake at the communal facility. 

Yuna, her suspicion now certainty, confidently pulled Yujin by the wrist. 

"S-sis..." 

"Stay still." 

The sister who was always irritable and annoyed would, at times like this, become timid and docile. 

Crying, Yujin clung to her sister as the facility workers, flustered, checked their charts and started arguing, eventually making a phone call. 

"Seriously, what the hell! This is your fault! It's your mistake!" 

After waiting for hours at the apartment entrance... 

To have wasted all that time for nothing... 

The man, furious, cursed loudly. 

"Because of you bastards, it's only us field workers who get in trouble! Do your jobs right!" 

As the argument dragged on, another worker, who had been quietly watching, took the phone and spoke instead. 

"Okay, I get it, you made a mistake~ So what exactly went wrong? Was it the person or the address?" 

Yuna and Yujin, eavesdropping, tensed up. 

If it was the former, it would just be a mishap, but if the latter, Yujin would be dragged off to the facility without mercy. 

"It's okay. Just trust your sister." 

Yuna squeezed her crying sister's hand. 

"So? What? You checked and it was the wrong person?" 

"Phew..." 

Relieved, Yuna let out a sigh and calmed herself. 

"Seriously, do your jobs right. This isn't the first time. Stop apologizing and come back in so I can see you for a moment." 

The call ended, and the man, looking awkward, approached Yujin. 

"Turns out you were right, there was a problem with the paperwork. There just happens to be a 20-year-old woman named Seo Yoo-jung, who graduated from the same high school and attends the same university as you, living in 103-801. The person filling out the paperwork must have gotten confused because the names are similar." 

He closed the file with a sigh, never once apologizing for his mistake. 

"Annoying... idiots..." 

Yuna muttered a curse under her breath. 

She didn't bother to sue or argue; as a powerless individual, she had no chance of winning against the communal facility. All she wanted now was to get her sister home safely. 

"Can we go now?" 

"Yeah. Just think of it as a brief, good memory... and live honestly from now on, okay? If you do anything bad, we'll meet again." 

"Yes..." 

A good memory? It felt more like a lifelong trauma. 

"Let's go." 

"Okay, sis..." 

Just as Yuna and Yujin picked up their dropped luggage  

Beep beep beep  

The facility worker who had just been on the phone got another call. 

"Hello. What? Really? Hold on." 

He gestured to another worker to block Yujin's way. 

"Why? You said we could go." 

"My senior said to wait a moment. Just stay put." 

"Ugh..." 

A sense of foreboding crept in. 

The worker, laughing heartily, slowly walked over. 

"Haha! Got it. After work today, treat us to pork belly and soju, okay? Yeah, okay, bye." 

What was that about? 

After hanging up, he called over his colleague. 

"Yeah, senior. What's up?" 

"Well... the team leader joined the company with me, you know that, right?" 

"Yes, senior." 

"His subordinates have been making too many mistakes, so he's at risk of missing a promotion. He asked me to help him out this one time, so let's just take this girl too." 

"Is that okay?" 

"Just make up some excuse and take her. Pretend this mistake never happened. Give me the paperwork." 

"Yes, senior." 

He found Yujin's file and crossed out the wrong address with a pen. 

"Happy Apartments, Building 102, Unit 801." 

He revised the paperwork on the spot as if nothing had happened, then signaled his junior to grab Yujin. 

"N-no..." 

"No! This isn't right! How can you do this?!" 

Because of the facility staff's mistake, her precious sister was about to be unjustly taken as female livestock. 

Worse, the reason was the team leader's missed promotion, and her sister's "price" was a pork belly and soju dinner Yuna was filled with unbearable rage. 

"No! Stop!!" 

Yuna tried to block them, refusing to let her sister go, but... 

The worker grabbed her by the hair and threw her aside. 

"Senior, can't we just take both sisters? The more, the merrier, right?" 

"No. Even taking one this way is risky, two is too much." 

"That's a shame." 

The man twisted Yujin's arm behind her back and forced her down. 

"Aaaaaaah..!" 

"Stay still." 

"Yujin! No!!" 

Bleeding from scraped knees, Yuna still tried to reach her sister. 

A crowd began to gather. 

The worker, now wary of onlookers, grabbed Yuna's shoulder to stop her rather than using more violence. 

"That's enough." 

"This isn't right!! I'll sue all of you!! This isn't right!!" 

"What's not right? We're just taking a criminal." 

"What...?" 

The worker shouted for everyone to hear. 

"For ignoring the conscription notice and shamelessly lying!" 

"But the address was wrong... it wasn’t even the right person..." 

Before Yuna could finish, he continued shouting. 

"For trying to flee the conscription duty by going abroad!" 

"T-this is..." 

He pointed at their luggage on the ground. 

Since the dates of their trip matched the voluntary reporting period, no one would listen to their appeals. 

"And for resisting to the end without remorse!" 

"But that's not fair..." 

He ignored her and finished his announcement. 

"By the authority of the communal facility, I sentence Seo Yujin to 10 years as female livestock." 

He turned away without listening to Yuna. 

"What are you waiting for? Get her restrained." 

"Yes, senior." 

He tore at Yujin's clothes, planning to restrain and take her away since she showed no sign of undressing herself. 

"Sis!! Nooo!!" 

"Yujin!!" 

In front of a crowd, Yujin, now in only her underwear, screamed and struggled. 

Camera shutters clicked all around, exposing her humiliation to the world. 

"This isn't right! You bastards!!" 

Yuna pounded the ground and glared at the facility workers. 

"How can you! Because of your mistake!! Make my sister female livestock!! Ten years in prison how is that fair!!" 

At 20, her sister was about to lose her youth and become nothing but a receptacle for men, unable to enjoy campus life. 

What could be more heartbreaking for an older sister? 

"Ms. Seo Yuna." 

Noticing the crowd, a worker crouched in front of Yuna and reached out his hand. 

"Our mistake? Ms. Seo Yujin was always meant to become livestock and is being punished for resisting and not receiving the notice." 

"But... hhic... that doesn’t make sense... hhic... It was your mistake..." 

"Sigh, Ms. Seo Yuna..." 

He leaned in and whispered so only she could hear. 

"Scream all you want. No one will believe a word from a pussy like you." 

"Hhic..." 

He was right no one would listen to the pleas of a victim’s family. 

A powerless woman fighting the communal facility was suicide. 

Defying the state’s conscription law was enough to warrant a death sentence. 

"Hhic..." 

"So just stay home and cry. Don’t do anything stupid." 

"I’ll never forgive you... I’ll kill you all..." 

"Yeah, yeah~ Do as you like." 

He wasn’t even afraid of her rage, only mocking her as he got up.