22-16

EP.16 1. (Pre-Livestock Female University Student Lee Sol-ah) - So, I'm Burning Them (16)

I couldn't stay lying down anymore. I put on the clothes that were in the basket.

The man waited silently for me.

"Please go this way."

I glared at him silently. I was angry. I was angry at the man who had assigned such a perverted old man to me. But my situation was too pitiful to argue about anything.

"Sorry. I guess it was an inconvenience since you judged my appearance as well."

As soon as we left the examination room, the man bowed to me at a 90-degree angle.

"You were assigned to him because he finished the fastest and gave you a generous grade."

"...Thank you."

"You received the highest grade. It will be helpful for your future."

"...What's good or bad about living as a livestock?"

His words were meant to comfort me, but they triggered my tears.

"The higher the grade, the better for the husband, right?! Where will I be sold? As a hostess? In a brothel?! What's good about that?! What's good about it?!"

"...My sister was F-grade. And she was infertile."

"...Yes?"

"Do you know where F-grade livestock can go? There's nowhere. Even livestock that care for the elderly must be at least D-grade."

"Ah..."

"Useless livestock are usually slaughtered by their owners for venting frustration. It's not slaughter, it's murder. Legal murder."

My body trembled with fear. Yes, there was such a clause.

The clause that allows owners to control the lives of their livestock. It was one of the most important clauses.

"My sister died that way. It was a meaningless death. I found out three years later. Even family members can't know about the death unless the owner tells them."

I became somber. The man who seemed perverted now seemed normal.

"If you have a high grade, there's a lot of demand. Even if your husband is strange, you won't have a miserable life."

"..."

"With an S-grade, there's a lot of demand from wealthy people. They usually own many livestock, so you can have a comfortable life without much burden."

"Congratulations. It's ironic to congratulate someone who's losing their rights, but you'll have a better life than my deceased sister."

I realized that this man was considering my feelings. Maybe it was because my situation reminded him of his deceased sister.

My anger and shame subsided a bit.

"Thank you..."

He handed me a small memory stick.

"Take this to the third floor to receive your barcode and RFID registration, and everything will be complete."

"Thank you for your consideration."

"No, I apologize. I was the one who was inconvenient."

The man returned to the examination room.

He wasn't such a bad person. He had done his best to give me a good evaluation.

I nodded slightly in appreciation as he left.

The last step was to implant a barcode and RFID chip on my left arm.

"Please put your arm here."

The man, seemingly indifferent, told me to insert my arm into a machine that looked like a large hole with a soft entrance.

Click.

As I put my arm in, I felt something filling my elbow and hand.

"What is this?!"

"Don't be alarmed. Your arm is fixed so the barcode can be tattooed correctly."

"Yes..."

"It takes about three minutes."

Clunk.

The man pressed the machine's button, and a loud noise started. But I didn't feel anything special.

Suddenly, intense pain began in my upper arm.

"Aaah...!!"

I wanted to pull my arm out, but it wouldn't move.

"Don't move. If the barcode is damaged, you'll have to get it redone, and it will be more painful."

The man's warning didn't register. I felt the pain of my arm being held in place.

"Aaah...!!"

I gritted my teeth and didn't move, not wanting to experience that pain twice.

"I should have said it hurt!"

I was worried that the barcode might not have been tattooed correctly because I flinched at the beginning.

If I had known it would hurt this much, I would have said something, and I wouldn't have had to grit my teeth.

After three minutes, the intense numbness in my arm disappeared.

"The RFID chip will be inserted. It will sting a bit."

Pffft.

"Aaah...!!"

It was more than just a sting. A thick, long needle entered my arm, which was already injured.

"Just bear with it for a bit. It will be over soon."

"Aaah...!!"

I felt something entering my arm, deep into a place that couldn't be reached.

The machine beeped, and something cool was sprayed on my arm, probably disinfectant.

Clunk. Clunk.

My elbow and wrist were released, and the soft part of the machine covering my shoulder opened wide.

"Pull it out slowly so the treated area doesn't touch anything."

"Aaah...yes..."

My arm showed the barcode, cleaned with disinfectant, but blood was rising in a pattern that matched the barcode.

"It might be a bit painful."

The man covered my arm with a gauze soaked in disinfectant.

"Aaah...!!"

He then bandaged it.

"Don't shower today. You can remove it after 24 hours."

"Th...thank you."

It was over. Everything was done.

My livestock grade was determined, a barcode was tattooed on my body, and an RFID chip was implanted.

In three days, I will be a complete livestock. Or rather, I can be considered a livestock from now on.

"Oppa...it's done."

"You did well."

Oppa hugged me. I missed his embrace so much.

It was like my dad's hug. Even as a livestock, he would still hug me like this.

I felt at peace knowing that he would always hug me like this. That's why receiving a good livestock grade wasn't that joyful.

Oppa would never sell me.

"Let's go eat. I made a reservation at a restaurant."

"Yes...Oppa."

Our last dinner together was about to begin.

"What's with a livestock sitting here?"

"Look at the bandage on her shoulder. She's not a livestock yet, but soon will be."

"This is a high-end hotel restaurant, but the whispers about me didn't stop."

"Those people..."

"Oppa, don't. We came here to have a good time."

I stopped Oppa. Arguing with those people would only spoil our mood.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Yes..."

Oppa offered me wine. I had never drunk before, but I wanted to try it. They say it improves your mood.

Glug.

"Wine is new to you, so I prepared something sweet."

Oppa poured me red wine, saying it was ice wine, sweet and fruity.

"Thank you, Oppa. I'm being pampered thanks to you."

The view of the city skyline was breathtaking. Dining with someone I loved while looking at that view was quite romantic.

"I get to come to places like this because of Sol-ah. Thank you."

"Hehe..."

"What's so funny?"

"It's funny how we're thanking each other...it feels good."

"Ah-ha..."

"I wanted to meet someone who would care for me like this. That someone is Oppa."

"You're welcome. But maybe Sol-ah doesn't see me well. I'm not as kind as you think."

"No, Oppa is very kind. I have a good eye for people."

Oppa smiled, amused. I smiled too.

"Let's toast to Sol-ah's hard work."

"Yes."

The sound of clinking glasses was crisp.

The wine was sweet and lifted my mood.

The medium-rare ribeye steak melted in my mouth. Oppa and I had a pleasant conversation about how we would live after marriage and how he would treat me.

He promised to let me live like I did before. That promise was sweet and made me happy.

Becoming a livestock in three days didn't seem so bad anymore.

I had two days left, but only one day was mine to use.

I cleaned my room. Human Sol-ah was dead. Only livestock Mimi remained.

It was right to organize the things from when I was Sol-ah.

To leave no regrets and so my parents wouldn't miss me.

I folded the clothes in my closet and put them in bags. I organized the books on my shelf by genre.

I deleted all my social media accounts, reset my phone, and contacted the carrier to cancel my number.

I opened my drawer and found letters and photos from friends.

I thought about keeping the photos with friends, but I decided to burn them all.

Those memories should just stay in my head. Seeing Sol-ah in the photos would make me feel too miserable as Mimi.

I went to the yard and burned the letters and photos. I also burned all my photo albums.

The memories of Sol-ah faded away in the flames. I sat there, watching them.

I am a livestock now. An S-grade female livestock with a barcode and RFID chip implanted on my left arm.

I ran my hand over the barcode. It felt like the skin had been burned and colored.

A livestock must forget their past as a human. That's good for me and my remaining parents.

"What are you doing, Sol-ah?!"

Dad rushed out to the yard. I hadn't told him I was burning things.

"I'm burning photos."

"Why are you burning them?!"

"Because human Sol-ah is dead now."

"Sol-ah, no...!!"

"Sol-ah should be forgotten. That's good for me, Dad, and Mom. So, I'm burning them. Please don't miss me."

"No!!"

Dad brought a hose and sprayed water on the burning photos.

"No!! Don't!!"

Dad tried to salvage the photos, but they had been burning for a while and were already ashes.

"I'm sorry, Dad. This is right."

"Sol-ah...Sol-ah..."

Dad searched through the ashes for a long time. It was hard to watch, so I went back inside.

I locked my door. Dad knocked, but I didn't answer or open it.

The next morning, I passed by Dad, who was sleeping in front of my door, and put all the organized clothes and books outside in the trash.

Then I left home.

Goodbye, Dad. Goodbye, Mom. And goodbye, Sol-ah.