A Single Rose
On the TV screen, a handsome male celebrity is proposing to a female celebrity with a single rose in a drama.
Suddenly, a static shhhk— cuts through the audio. The screen abruptly switches to a breaking news report.
Bang!
The TV screen cracks as a bullet embeds itself in the glass.
The television sputters, emitting a crackling static noise.
Stepping in front of the screen, blocking it from view, stands a blood-drenched Jeon Sihyun.
He looks down at the married couple he has bound tightly with ropes and asks, "What's the matter? Are you excited to see a celebrity in the flesh?"
The smile on his face looks, at a glance, like that of any cheerful, ordinary adult man.
Jeon Sihyun was currently occupying a random house in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
While on the run, he had decided this place looked good enough, picked the lock, and slipped inside. Finding a married couple there, he had promptly beaten them unconscious.
Since he had learned his combat skills from a formidable brawler, turning two ordinary citizens into a bloody pulp was child's play.
I feel a bit of hesitation about killing people who aren't criminals... but if they resist, I'll have to put them down.
Using the gear he had acquired from various black markets, he bound them with ropes and held them at gunpoint to keep the situation under control for now.
"H-Hieee!"
"I'll shoot. Stay quiet."
"Y-Yes..."
The husband, his eyes swollen shut, was sobbing, while the wife kept her eyes tightly closed, clinging to him as she slumped on the floor.
Sihyun let out a sigh.
My escape route... is already secured. Fortunately, this building has an unfinished corridor under construction... and it connects to a passage leading outside. In other words, there's a secret doghole I can slip through.
The bigger issue was that his face was now plastered everywhere.
Did I kill too many people? Maybe I should have paced myself... They finally caught on. Looks like there are over a hundred cops on my tail... Is it finally time for me to kick the bucket?
Even so, he had to do what he had to do. Since he had resolved to live his life to the fullest, he needed to kill as many as he could before he went. That was Jeon Sihyun's duty.
He stole a glance out the window.
Plainclothes police officers were patrolling the shopping district and the surrounding area.
Since martial law had just been declared, not a single ordinary citizen was out on the streets, yet these cops were shamelessly pretending to be casual pedestrians.
It was utterly laughable.
Do they really think anyone's falling for that? Are they mocking me?
The night was deep. The time was 3:32 AM.
Martial law had been declared at 8:00 PM, and the wanted notice had gone out around 9:10 PM, meaning he had been on the run for about six hours.
A single individual holding out against the entire state for this long was quite an achievement. Surely, a criminal of this caliber would earn a spot in the history books.
"Well, at least I lived diligently."
Jeon Sihyun shamelessly evaluated himself as a hardworking, dedicated serial killer.
Just then, the bound woman spoke up.
"You're... Jeon Sihyun... the serial killer, aren't you?"
The husband beside her tried to stop her, but she pressed on.
"Why are you doing this? With combat skills like yours, your ability to evade capture, and all those other talents... why?"
Finally, she screamed in desperation.
"You could have used that incredible power to actually help society!"
At her desperate outburst, Jeon Sihyun nodded, looking as if he had just been struck by a sudden realization.
Yes, indeed. He could have.
But.
"I'm sorry, but I'm a bit selfish."
Jeon Sihyun was the absolute epitome of selfishness.
"I enjoy tormenting others. Especially raping and murdering wicked women. I get an immense thrill out of conquering bad girls."
He smirked and sat back on the sofa.
He tapped the barrel of his gun against the husband's head.
The wife whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears of anxiety.
Sihyun briefly pointed the gun at his own temple before turning it back and firing another shot into the TV.
Bang!
"Kyaah!"
"So, here's the thing," Jeon Sihyun said, grinning as he addressed the woman. "Have you ever done anything bad?"
"Why... why are you asking that?"
"Because if you've done something bad, it'll make me want to rape you. Tell me quickly. I didn't have time to investigate you because I was too busy running."
"Please..."
"Even something minor is fine. Did you jaywalk? Or maybe evade a tiny bit of tax? Or did you just badmouth your boss behind their back? Please, tell me you did something bad."
"P-Please don't do this..."
"Maybe I should search the house. I might find some little piece of dirt on you. That would be incredibly fun."
Just as Jeon Sihyun stood up and began looking around to dig up any speck of dirt, the bound husband squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out:
"She cheated on me!"
"...Huh?"
"...!"
Barely managing to ignore his wife's murderous glare, the husband screamed at Sihyun, "This bitch cheated on me with the bastard next door...!"
Crash!
Right then, the front door rattled violently, as if it were about to be smashed to pieces.
Thud! Thud! Crash!
— Jeon Sihyun!
— We know you're in there!
— Come out now!
— We're breaking down the door!
Crash! Thud! Crash!
The door was on the verge of splintering.
The bound husband frantically shrieked, "Kill her! Kill this bitch! Jeon Sihyun! You said you like killing bad women!"
"You son of a bitch! He's lying! I never did that!"
"I have proof! I have proof!"
"Hurry up and kill her!"
— Jeon Sihyun!
— Come out!
— We're breaching!
— Hurry up, bring the crowbar!
— Alright, on three!
— One, two—!
Amidst the chaotic clamor, Jeon Sihyun smirked and shook his head.
"Man, the celebrity life is exhausting."
He quickly dashed away.
Prying open the floorboard of his pre-planned escape hatch, he cleared the opening and slipped inside.
Crash!
The front door shattered, and dozens of plainclothes officers rushed into the apartment.
"Where is Jeon Sihyun?!"
"He's not here!"
"His escape route! He must have secured an escape route! Find a hole, anything!"
"I don't see one! He must have hidden it!"
"Fuck!"
A pot-bellied officer, who looked like a seasoned veteran among the plainclothes cops, approached the tied-up couple.
The two were glaring at each other with pure, murderous intent. They didn't look like traumatized victims who had just escaped death.
"Are you two alright?!"
He quickly untied them.
The moment they were freed, they immediately began tearing into each other, punching and scratching with savage fury.
The officers had to mobilize all hands just to pull them apart.
Thanks to that chaotic domestic brawl, the manpower that should have been used to hunt down Jeon Sihyun was wasted, buying him precious time.
"Whew..."
Inside a dilapidated structure that was practically an abandoned building.
As he navigated the hidden passage—an unfinished corridor left behind during construction—Jeon Sihyun grumbled.
"Seriously... what a filthy place... Finding a spot in such a rush is always a pain."
Even for a wanted serial killer fleeing under martial law, he felt this treatment was a bit too harsh.
Right then.
Crash!
The flimsy outer wall of the corridor shattered.
An unnamed detective in plain clothes burst through the broken wall, glaring intensely at him.
"Oh?"
"I'm here to take you in."
Jeon Sihyun smirked.
"This should be fun."
The unnamed detective wound up his fist, swinging it back as if loading a weapon.
Immediately after, he took a boxing stance and glared at Jeon Sihyun.
Sihyun held his pistol in one hand and gripped a knife in a reverse hold with the other.
"They didn't authorize you to carry a firearm?"
"I'm still a rookie."
"How unfortunate."
It was likely an excuse; he was probably a vigilante.
They were common enough—vigilantes who engaged in illegal acts driven by a sense of justice that bordered on an inferiority complex.
They were the type Jeon Sihyun despised most, yet they were also the type he resembled.
"...Well, shall we begin?"
Dash!
The vigilante lunged forward with explosive speed.
Jeon Sihyun raised his gun and fired.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
Though shot in the shoulder, the man kept charging.
The lunatic showed no sign of pain despite taking a bullet. If anything, he seemed even more thrilled.
Thud!
Sihyun dodged, but a fist grazed his flank.
It was an incredibly fast punch. The impact sent a bursting pain through his side.
Gritting his teeth, he swung his knife.
Slash!
He carved cleanly into the man's shoulder.
Having severed the rotator cuff with surgical precision, the man's arm would be useless now.
Sure enough, the man's arm hung limply at his side as he panted heavily.
"There are three reasons why you lost."
Bang!
Sihyun shot him in the knee. The man barely kept himself upright, his leg buckling.
Sihyun continued, "First, you came at me unarmed."
Bang!
This time, he shot him in the abdomen. Intestines spilled out.
Sihyun inwardly complimented him on keeping his organs quite clean.
"Second, you played the busybody vigilante."
Sihyun fired a final shot directly into the man's head.
The vigilante collapsed backward, dead instantly.
"And third, because I judge that to be a bad deed."
Sihyun scanned his surroundings. He had wasted too much time. This passage might be compromised soon.
He ran. First and foremost, he wanted to wash his hands.
Getting blood on me is disgusting. I need to find a public restroom.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter!
It was raining outside. Fortunately, the downpour would wash away his footprints and scent, making him harder to track.
He slipped into a nearby public restroom and locked the door behind him.
"Whew!"
Splshhh...
He washed his hands under the running tap.
The filthy blood slowly washed away.
Somehow, his mood improved slightly.
Jeon Sihyun raised his head to look in the mirror.
His reflection stared back through the grimy glass of the public restroom.
A cold, dry face.
Though his lips curled into a smirk, his expression was devoid of warmth.
His eyes were hollow, yet his gaze was piercingly sharp.
For a killer, he looked far too normal, even handsome.
For an ordinary man, he looked far too cruel.
He smirked.
Just as he was about to map out his next escape route—
"You lead quite an interesting life."
"...!"
He whipped his head around.
A man with graying hair, wearing a crimson martial arts uniform, was staring at him.
A jagged scar ran across his cheek.
His ruthless expression was that of a cold-blooded killer who knew neither blood nor tears.
The moment Sihyun saw him, he knew.
"You're just like me."
"Do not compare me to the likes of you. I am a monster who has destroyed tens of thousands of worlds."
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Ah, it seems this place has no magic, no Hunters, and no monsters. No wonder you're looking at me like I'm crazy."
Click.
Sihyun aimed his gun.
Pointing the pistol at the scarred man in the crimson uniform, Jeon Sihyun said, "Keep talking if you want to die."
"Hmm."
"?"
The man in the crimson uniform gave a casual flick of his wrist.
Instantly, the pistol in Jeon Sihyun's hand transformed into a single rose.
The scarred man smirked and said, "I don't swing that way, so I have no interest in accepting roses from another man. But perhaps you have a taste for that sort of thing?"