A Handsome Kinky Gangster Reporter

Philip tilted his head in confusion at my unexpected question.

“What do you mean suddenly?”

“They say that the complementing part of fashion is look. Oh my gosh, did I only realize that when I saw you today? Your face shines this way because you had a handsome look. No matter how shabby your attire is, you will look more graceful than someone who deliberately dressed themselves up, isn’t it right? However, some people still won’t look good even if they wear expensive and nice attire.”

I deliberately glanced at the faces of the people sitting at the diagonal tables whilst saying that in a fairly loud voice. Those people’s expressions gradually crumpled as they chatted while watching our table.

‘Yes, I’m talking about you guys. People who still don’t look well-dressed despite wearing nice clothes.’

Their faces looked like they were chewing dirt.

“Is she talking about us?”

“Hey, stop-”

One person was about to stand up from his seat when the other stopped them whilst glancing around.

They were the ones who called others that in the first place. They were just a bunch of people who had no manners.

“Philip. Do you know the difference between the learned and the uneducated people?”

Phillip narrowed his eyes and replied as he heard the commotion at the nearby table.

“What is it?”

“Learned people speak gracefully in any kind of situation, but uneducated people don’t know how to speak gracefully. Uneducated people will say stupid things…, And only think about things in a narrow way. You don’t need to mind the accusations thrown around by those ignorant folks. As it would just be a waste of feeling.”

Claude is a greedy person who could even chew dirt. Philip was older, and yet he was much thinner than Claude. When would he be cool and join the female lead’s fishing ground?

Oh, Claude chewed the dirt when he was young. He put it in his mouth without cleaning it and said, “This is leftover meat that accidentally fell on the floor.” Come to think of it, since he was young, he only showed a relaxed side that was not like a nobleman at all.

“The food has arrived. It’s hot, so please be careful not to put your hands on the plate.”

The waiter, showing a different attitude than earlier, smiled as they kindly brought the food to our table. Perhaps, because it was an expensive meal, the food presentation was so luxurious that it couldn’t be found anywhere else. Gloria’s eyes widened when beautiful flowers were placed on the food that was supposedly appetizer.

“Haley. I’ve never had food this beautiful before. It turns out they can also draw on the plate.”

“You can eat a lot.”

“What about the flowers? Can I eat this flower, too?”

“Maybe…? Places like this tend to use edible flowers.”

Perhaps, because Philip’s appearance was not yet perfect, Gloria acted as if she was not too impressed when she bat an eye at him. Rather, she had more interest in the expensive food rather than the shabbily dressed Philip.

However, when Philip succeeded and appeared more masculine later, there would be the moments when the female lead looked at him once or twice, which would make her heart flutter. As expected, men should have good looks and abilities.

He should eat a lot and grow quickly. That would make Gloria’s rejection wouldn’t be a serious problem to him anymore, and he would meet another nice girl.

Feeling guilty again, I cut my steak in half and put it on Philip’s plate.

“You should also eat a lot.”

I thought this was just a fancy restaurant. Surprisingly, the chef’s skill is also pretty decent. As soon as the meat was put into the mouth, it melted immediately and the oily flavor wrapped the tongue. It was considered delicious to be priced this much. It was such an expensive meal that even if it wasn’t delicious, I was about to get mad and mentally defend the truth about the food. If I earn money from the newspaper publishing later, I was thinking of coming back here with mother.

After devouring the sweet dessert, the waiter brought the neatly packed food.

“Shall we go, then? Gloria, what are you planning to do after this? I have to stop by Philip’s house. I’ll tell you how to make the medicine later. How about we split up here?”

“Yes. I’ll go home first.”

“Oh, this is my house key. Take it with you.”

I handed my keys to her as she was supposed to stay at my house for a while. In front of the restaurant, Gloria said goodbye to us with her big smile.

“I’m going to see you at home later.”

As if a typical female lead, her genuine smile was mesmerizing. As I looked at her face for a moment and lost in my thought, Gloria turned around and disappeared from our sight.

“Should we go too?”

Philip nodded while holding the wrapped bag of food tightly with both hands. Although I offered to carry it for him, he insisted on carrying it himself. As the head of the family, the boy had matured earlier than anyone else in his age.

Was it because he’s the same age as me? I kept feeling sorry for Philip.

* * *

After going on a long walk following Philip, we finally arrived at his house. Looking at the exterior of the house, I was so surprised that my mouth was hanging open.

“Hey, are you a rich man?”

However, why did he only wear dirty clothes?

I turned my eyes to the clothes Philip was wearing. His clothes still smelled of copper, and there appear to be holes in some places.

What was this? Was I deceived by him? Wow, I spent more than 60 silver coins to treat him with food.

I thought he was poor and starving, that was why I spent a lot of money pretending to be a great person to him. I didn’t expect him to live in such a luxurious home.

In fact, when I was following Philip, I’d imagined an old, crumpled haunted house.

At first, when I left the restaurant and passed through a narrow alleyway, the smelly alley we walked through was filled with garbage and dead rat carcasses. Then, after a while, a wide, clean and paved road stretched out in front of us.

‘Although it’s a bad house, the location seems good.’

I continued to walk through it with a sense of complacency, oh my gosh. I couldn’t believe the house would look like this. After all, isn’t this area the 4th district where rich people live?

The place Philip introduced as his home was an old house with a small but beautiful garden. No, I don’t think it was that small. The house was shabby compared to most manor houses, but it was definitely where rich commoners lived. The typical house that had many rooms on the second floor.

When I opened my mouth and expressed my genuine surprise at the size of the house, Philip glanced at me and muttered.

“This house is the only good thing I’ve got. My family is completely destroyed, so there’s nothing left but this house.”

In that case, he should have sold this house and moved into a smaller one.

My eyes landed on Philip’s shabby clothes again. When he became embarrassed, he tried to roll up his short sleeves and shrank away.

“Hey, can you really cure my father?”

“First, let’s see how bad his condition is.”

Growing up being an assistant who helped mother treat sick people was the most frequent thing I’ve ever done in my life. Of course, I’d inform my mother, that way Philip’s father could get more thorough treatment. For now, I would like to examine the widely-known Thomas Dunger with my own eyes. 

The strange businessman whose wife died and lost his mind shortly after that. In the novel I’ve written, the technology brought from overseas was considered trashy by the temple, therefore Thomas failed in business and fell ill.

‘Even, 20 years after writing the novel and being reborn in this world, the original background is still unclear.’

Regardless of the fact that I was the original author of this novel, I didn’t remember anything that wasn’t important.

I forcefully opened the rusty iron door. By looking at the loud squeaking sound, the house was definitely poorly managed, just as Philip said.

The garden, which looked quite nice from afar, was different from what it looked like when I looked closely. The shrubs and flowers were not well-maintained, and the leaves as well as branches were sticking out carelessly all over the place. At the fountain in the center of the garden, dust and fallen leaves have piled up, and it seemed that even the water was not taken care of properly.

‘It used to look nice, but now he must not have enough money to maintain it.’

It was the same with Philip’s shabby clothes. When I looked at the thin figure that the bones were the only thing remaining, it seemed like no one was looking for this kid as well.

I became angry for no absolute reason. I just described Philip in one or two lines as someone who was trying to feed his sick father and young sister. Due to the sentences written by such an ignorant writer, this person had to suffer from having nothing to eat. He probably went to his father’s friend to ask for a job today and was rejected.

‘I’m sorry.’

I felt sorry for the person who suffered misfortune because of me, so I wanted to help by doing something for him.

Philip, who didn’t even know how I felt, was holding the food bag with both hands as he slowly built up the speed of his steps. He led me to the room where his father was lying. Inside was Thomas Dunger, who was lying like a corpse on the bed, and Philip’s sister, Rwan Dunger who was staying at Thomas’ side.

“Rwan! I brought you something delicious today. Eat it quickly before it gets cold.”

The food must have gotten cold after a while. Philip must have been proud to get to feed his sister. He placed the packaged food on the table.

“Who are you?”

Rwan, who seemed to be around seven years old, had light blue hair, didn’t even look at the food but she ran towards me and grabbed my hand. I could tell at a single glance, this kid loved food more than having to be starving. She had the same look in her eyes as me in her previous life.

Rwan also had a dirty appearance. She wore a dress with a hole at the end of the skirt shamelessly.

“I’ll tell you later after I finish eating. I’ll help you clean up after the meal, and we can also take a bath together later.”

Rwan favored him with her shining golden eyes.

“Okay! Then, are you going to sleep at my house today?”

When I looked outside, the sky was tinged with the red color of dusk. Hm. I didn’t say anything to mother about going out. Did she supposed to return from the business trip today? Although there are few street lights here, it was dangerous for women to walk around on their own at night. It would be even darker outside when I returned.

“Alright. Can I put you to bed tonight? In return, I’ll do the house chores and leave afterwards.”

The kids were left unattended with no maid in such a big house. I had to give him a little help too. Washing clothes, preparing meals, and cleaning the house. I probably wouldn’t be able to go home tomorrow if I do everything.

“Slow down. Chew properly.”

I gave water to Rwan, who was stuffing her mouth with meat, and wiped the girl’s mouth. Philip slowly poured the delicate soup into his father’s mouth.

At first glance, he looked so pale that I thought he had already become a corpse. Thomas Dunger, who had pale and white hair, looked a bit strange.

‘I don’t think he’s suffering from an illness, does he?’

I saw something strange in my sight, and I rubbed my eyes and then looked at Philip’s father again. Something weird was seemingly squeezing Thomas.

I think I’ve seen someone like that when I was very young. Subtle but unidentified writing was written on the thin thread with red aura wrapped around Thomas’ neck and legs.

‘Where did I see it?’

I obviously remembered having seen the same symptoms in one of the patients who visited my mother when I was young.

“H-hic.”

Rwan who made a hiccup sound.

“Unnie. I’ve finished eating. Are you going to bathe me now? Can’t you sleep in the same bed with me today? Rwan is very afraid of sleeping alone.”

Rwan, who was rubbing the wooden floor with her toes while dropping his gaze, looked very pretty. Although she hadn’t bathed, she smelled a bit sour, and dark spots littered on her face and clothes.

“Yes, let’s do that. How about we go to the bathroom now?”

I took Rwan’s hand and headed to the bathroom in the Dunger house. After bathing Rwan thoroughly, I laid her on the bed and we chatted until late at night. She chattered like a little bird in my arms.

“…So, Miya ended up leaving home. Meanwhile, my brother sold what I grew in the garden and what I had at home to prepare us food.”

That night, I heard the hard work of the siblings that I’ve heard without being able to hold back my tears.