#44 The Past That Cannot Be Shaken Off (1)
Jeong Hosan, that idiot, couldn't do a damn thing the moment I was taken hostage. Locked in the basement on my knees, I stared at him in a panic.
His eyes were asking me a thousand questions.
Where the hell have you been? What happened to you? Was everything you said on the phone true?
But with those men watching our every move, I couldn't tell him a single thing.
From the moment Seol Rokjin appeared, cutting through the suffocating tension, I knew something was terribly wrong.
What was a guy I only ever saw on TV, one of the highest in the land, doing here?
And when he fixed his gaze on me, his pupils turning yellow, my body shuddered involuntarily.
An awakener?
Holy shit. The most famous anti-awakener politician in all of South Korea was an awakener himself.
Damn it. Now that I knew this, there was no way I'd walk out of here unscathed. I nudged Jeong Hosan sharply, but there was no reaction from him.
The moment I glanced at his face, chills exploded across my skin. Like an android with its power switched off, his expression had frozen blank, his pupils stained yellow.
"What the...?"
My unintentional mutter was answered by Seol Rokjin.
"Exactly."
He tilted his head as our eyes met, me still kneeling with my head bowed.
"This is intriguing."
As his face loomed right in front of mine, I sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hiding something, perhaps?"
At his gesture, one of the subordinates standing nearby started stripping me. I thrashed and spewed curses at the bastard, but after a month in that illegal gate, my starved body couldn't shake off even one pair of hands gripping me.
"No special artifacts on him, either."
Seol Rokjin's eyes scanned me. I didn't even have time to feel the shame of being stripped bare in seconds.
Everyone else in the room—except me—had yellow pupils. Just like his. Realizing that sent another wave of goosebumps over me.
But even knowing it changed nothing I could do.
The air brushing my bare skin chilled my heart just as much.
"Staring at your naked body forever isn't ideal. Give him his clothes back."
Seol Rokjin had his subordinate return my clothes. Once I fumbled back into my underwear and pants, he spoke.
"Why doesn't my ability work on you?"
His tone—neither casual nor formal—made me grimace. I knew I shouldn't provoke him, but my mouth ran away on its own.
"'Cause your skills suck?"
He laughed at my sarcasm. His eyes gleamed, and Jeong Hosan rose to his feet.
"Hosan!"
My dumbass friend didn't even glance my way at my desperate cry. That's when I realized it. I didn't know the exact nature of Seol Rokjin's power, but he was clearly controlling Jeong Hosan right now.
And as long as they had him, I couldn't ignore a word the bastard said.
"Let me ask again. Why doesn't my ability work on you?"
With Jeong Hosan as hostage, I had no choice but to spill all my secrets.
"Unyielding Conviction. And the Lie talent on top."
How ridiculous was that? Unyielding—of all people, me, who'd just been humiliated beyond measure. The word didn't fit me at all.
I prostrated myself flat on the floor, begging him.
"I-I don't know what you're planning, but please let my friend go. H-he just stumbled into this by accident..."
If I could save Jeong Hosan, I'd do anything.
"Sorry, can't do that."
Dropping the infuriating tone from moments ago, Seol Rokjin smiled at me.
"Your friend's already done for. Ah, what a shame."
"What the hell does that mean?"
He answered my question readily. The moment he released his ability, Jeong Hosan would turn into a vegetable.
He'd originally planned to use me, but now he'd have to plug Jeong Hosan into the plan instead.
The instant I heard what that "plan" was, my reason shattered.
Already done for? Bullshit—he was standing right there alive. Let him go now and use me instead. I begged, pleaded, implored the bastard.
I don't even remember exactly what words came out of my mouth then.
All that stuck was the arm tightly binding my thrashing body and the fading silhouette of Jeong Hosan's back.
The bodyguard caught my staggering, collapsing form and started dragging me somewhere.
"Still, since he was your friend, you should at least watch the end."
Thanks to Seol Rokjin's "consideration," I got a front-row seat from the rooftop of a tall building to the terrorism Jeong Hosan unleashed.
My good friend, who'd once said he wanted to protect people from monsters, became the monster himself—crushing with his own hands the crowd waiting for a bus.
Young guys in their twenties heading out to keep a promise with a friend. An elderly couple planning a stroll in the nearby park. A family of four excited for the local amusement park.
Ordinary people, all turned to bloody pulp under Jeong Hosan's hands.
The once-peaceful city descended into hell in seconds.
Police arrived late, charging at Jeong Hosan. He brushed them aside and attacked without mercy.
Forgetting even to cry, I watched the horror, biting my lip until it bled.
"See? That's not your friend."
Seol Rokjin was right.
That wasn't my friend Jeong Hosan. It was a monster wearing his skin.
My real friend would never do something like that.
I prayed desperately.
I hoped Jeong Hosan had died the moment that monster took over his body. That he'd just... ended right then.
If any part of my friend was still in there, he'd be suffering more than anyone. A guy who'd sworn to save the world couldn't bear destroying even a piece of it with his own hands.
And I prayed again, fervently.
Please, someone stop Jeong Hosan.
Stop that monster.
That's when a woman stepped in front of Jeong Hosan, gun in hand.
Watching him rampage like a beast, oblivious to the barrel aimed at him, I thought:
Run away.
No, don't run.
End it here. So you don't have to kill any more innocents.
If you're the man I know, you'd accept death willingly. Hell, you'd want it.
The short-haired woman pulled the trigger on the raging Jeong Hosan.
The bullet ignored physics, arcing in a perfect curve straight into his head.
The mana-infused round pierced his steel-hard skin and blew through his skull.
Blood sprayed. Jeong Hosan's body froze upright.
Situation over.
Watching it all, I blacked out.
The Yeouido catastrophe, lasting about an hour, ended just like that.
When I came to, I was back in a basement cell. A prison-like room with a bed, table, and basic toilet. Staring at the iron-barred door, I let out a hollow laugh.
"Why."
Why keep me alive?
If I'd died with Jeong Hosan back then, I wouldn't have to feel this pain.
Too late, I remembered his death and broke into sobs.
I couldn't believe what had happened yesterday. I knocked over the lunchbox slid through the bars.
My body, starved for days, screamed for food, but I couldn't stomach a bite.
For days, I was trapped in darkness. Food came the first two days, but after I kept throwing it away, even that stopped. I lost track of time. I just cried alone, screamed until exhaustion dropped me, over and over.
Maybe I'd die like this, I thought—right as someone appeared at the barred door.
The moment I saw Seol Rokjin peering in from outside, I summoned every ounce of strength and lunged at the bars.
"You...!"
"Sorry, wanted to come sooner, but there was that terrorist mess to clean up."
His casual remark shattered me again. I knew exactly what "terrorist mess" he meant.
"I'll kill you!"
Clinging to the bars, I roared like a beast. I won't let you get away with this. You think you can do that and live? I howled like an animal.
Seol Rokjin said something to my raging self, but his words didn't reach my ears. All I had was pure vengeance against him.
"I'll kill you. Rip you to shreds and kill you."
At my words, Seol Rokjin smiled faintly.
"How?"
My breath caught in my throat.
"How exactly do you plan to get revenge on me from in there?"
His tone was almost affectionate, but the content cut like a knife. He continued.
"Look at yourself."
He frowned at me—unwashed, barely fed.
"If you wanted revenge on me, you should've lived properly first."
He was right. Barely clinging to life, how dare I talk revenge? To avenge myself on him, I had to live right.
My strength drained. Hell, I didn't even have the energy to curse anymore. I slumped against the bars.
"Why'd you keep me alive?"
Why hadn't he killed me outright like the others?
He answered.
"Because you're special."
"Special?"
"Yes. Special. Different from the others."
Just because his commands didn't work on me? Was that "special"?
If his brainwashing had worked on me, Jeong Hosan wouldn't have ended up like that.
"See."
Seol Rokjin's pupils turned yellow. The bodyguard beside him followed suit. He pointed at the now-rigid man.
"You really think you're the same as that?"
I couldn't grasp what he meant.
What's the difference?
That guy and me—we're both just toys in Seol Rokjin's hands. He sighed, studying my face.
"Ishin's a bit slow on the uptake."
The hell? I clenched my fists. And calling me Ishin like we were buddies?
"You just haven't realized it yet. You deserve a greater life. Yeah. A wonderful life."
"Wonderful life."
I couldn't even laugh at the absurdity. My only friend gone, rotting in a prison this mortal enemy made for me—and he calls this wonderful?
"There's only one wonderful life for me. You dying."
"Too bad. I have no plans to die anytime soon."
Grinning brightly, he said,
"I quite love my life. You'll understand soon enough. How meaningless the rules binding you are, the so-called morals, justice people preach. Once you see that, you'll get it. Ah, I've been suffering over nothing all this time. I could have lived so magnificently."
I ground my teeth. Magnificent life?
"You killed my friend."
"Yes, yes. But he was just a friend, right? You gonna die over a friend?"
His face was pure genuine confusion.
"Not family, not a lover—just a friend. Make a new one."
I balled my fists tighter.
Jeong Hosan wasn't "just" a friend. No cheap word could capture him. He was the only family in my life, my one source of pride.
Unlike my worthless self, he shone so brightly it embarrassed me to call him friend—yet he was too precious to let go.
"You don't just 'make a new one.'"
The more I talked to Seol Rokjin, the clearer it became.
He looked fine on the outside, but this guy was utterly broken. How the hell did he view people? Relationships?
But I'd dragged that monster into this. That's why Jeong Hosan died.
I should've cut ties sooner. He never should've hung with trash like me.
I collapsed again, sobbing.
Seol Rokjin clicked his tongue at me.
"No need to care that much. He's dead anyway. Won't even know if you pledge loyalty now."
"I'm not playing your game."
He was just toying with me. Unlike the trembling lackeys around him, I was a fun new plaything since his power didn't work.
"If you're gonna kill me, just do it quick."
I screamed through gritted teeth. Seol Rokjin stared calmly.
"I told you, I don't want you dead. You're the one who wants to die, aren't you?"
I flinched. He was right. I couldn't forgive myself. Death was my way to pay for it.
He asked,
"No regrets if you die like that?"
Regrets... yeah, probably. I knew it. I just wanted to run away like a coward. Death was the perfect escape.
But how could I keep living? Drag out this pathetic existence?
Bowing his head, Seol Rokjin whispered to me like a devil with honeyed words.
"You loved that friend so much. No thoughts of revenge on me?"
Revenge? Impossible. Me, with nothing, against a monster like him?
Never gonna happen.
"If you're alive, who knows? I'll cherish you. Stick under me, and someday an chance for revenge might come."
Smiling with crinkled eyes, he added,
"But if you really wanna die, can't stop you."
Those words... I couldn't die now.
Fine. I'll live. Survive and get revenge on that bastard, no matter what.
That was how it all truly began.