The Curtain Has Not Yet Fallen

The red heat ray shot toward Kang Doyun. Yoon Taeha instinctively tried to throw himself forward. But it was too late. The compressed heat unleashed from Madok's fingertips had already reached the tip of Kang Doyun's nose.

This can't be dodged.Yoon Taeha made that judgment instantly. Madok's supernormal wasn't simple flames. With ordinary fire, there were options—dodge it, douse it with water, or block it with a shield. But this was different. Heat compressed into a narrow beam. As it sliced through the air, the damp sewer air parted and the filthy water boiled visibly. Touch it and you burned. Even a graze would melt skin. A direct hit would reduce a human body to nothing.

And Kang Doyun was already at his limit. The bizarre dark stage he had unfolded moments ago—the black energy that had swallowed the entire sewer. The scene where Black Dog members screamed into empty air, hostages escaped along invisible lines, and Kang Doyun alone stood bathed in spotlight in a lightless underground drain. Right after that performance ended, Kang Doyun had clearly staggered.

Pale face. Gray work clothes stained with blood and filth. Eyes clouded behind round glasses. Anyone could see he couldn't endure much more. Yoon Taeha had seen people like this before—trainees who pushed past their limits during supernormal training, rookies who collapsed under fear during field exercises, ability users whose hands shook after forcing their powers beyond capacity. Kang Doyun's condition resembled all of those.

Yet at the same time, it was entirely different. He was exhausted. Undeniably exhausted. But something was forcibly holding him upright. Less like a person and more like a puppet propped up on stage. And Madok had struck that exact opening.

The red heat ray pierced Kang Doyun's body. Or so it seemed. Yoon Taeha's breath caught. But in the next instant, what the ray split wasn't Kang Doyun. It was a curtain of darkness, like a black theater drape. The spot where Kang Doyun had stood tore apart to both sides as if burned by fire. And behind it—

Kang Doyun stood one step to the side. He hadn't jumped. He hadn't thrown himself. The scene had simply shifted. The person who had been there a moment ago now stood in a different position in the next frame.

Yoon Taeha swallowed dryly.

The words slipped out before he could stop them. There were many types of supernormal abilities. Spatial movement. Hallucination. Mental. Sensory disruption. He'd learned the basic classifications during the Association's introductory training. If you couldn't identify an opponent's ability type when facing supernormal criminals, any response became impossible. Even rookie heroes had to memorize the basic categories and countermeasures.

Spatial types—watch for movement precursors. Hallucination types—doubt your senses. Mental types—avoid eye contact. Sensory disruption types—prioritize team verification. But the phenomenon that had just occurred with Kang Doyun didn't fit neatly into any single category. He hadn't teleported. Madok hadn't missed. Yoon Taeha himself hadn't seen an illusion. The heat ray had clearly been aimed at Kang Doyun. It should have hit. Yet the outcome had changed.

The entire sewer had flipped like a stage for a brief moment, and Kang Doyun appeared to have switched positions atop it. It felt less like reality had moved and more like the scene transition had come first.

Yoon Taeha's gaze shifted to Kang Doyun's face. In that instant, a chill ran down his spine. Something had settled over Kang Doyun's features. It wasn't a complete mask. A translucent film. Cold curves covering the eye area. A black line drawn across the mouth. That line was smiling.

Kang Doyun's actual lips weren't smiling. If anything, they were clenched tight. But the mask overlaid on his face smiled with unnatural glee. It wasn't a human expression. It was a drawing. A symbol. Like someone had forcibly sketched a mark across his face.

Even as Yoon Taeha spoke the name, he immediately sensed something was wrong. That wasn't Copycat. Yet it wasn't not Kang Doyun either. Something had been layered over Kang Doyun's body.

Kang Doyun slowly lifted his head. Behind the round glasses, his previously languid eyes had become strangely calm. No. Not calm. They were the eyes of a director looking down at actors on stage. They weren't eyes that saw people as people. Everything reflected in those eyes was merely a role. Hero. Hostage. Organization member. Association. Hound. Madok. And even Copycat Kang Doyun himself.

The moment Yoon Taeha met that gaze, he felt as if he had become not a human but a stage prop. That was what terrified him. What was frightening wasn't killing intent. What emanated from Kang Doyun was something far stranger than bloodlust. An enemy trying to kill you could be understood. An enemy burning with rage could be understood. But right now, Kang Doyun wasn't looking at Yoon Taeha with eyes that wanted to kill him. He saw usable positions. Movable routes. Roles that could complete the scene. That's how he was looking at him.

Yoon Taeha unconsciously took a step back. At that moment, Kang Doyun's mouth opened.

The voice belonged to Kang Doyun. But the tone was different. Smooth. Slow. Chillingly polite.

The sewer lights went out again. Crack. Crackle. The old fluorescent bulbs died one by one. Yoon Taeha blinked. No—the lights hadn't actually gone out. The Association agents' helmet lights were still on. The flares at the sewer entrance hadn't extinguished. The auxiliary lights on the shields still glowed faintly. Yet darkness was visible. It was dark despite the light.

The filthy water on the sewer floor rippled like black curtains. The walls on both sides receded like the seats of a vast theater. The stains on the walls looked like audience faces. The cracks in the concrete resembled open mouths. The sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling sounded like applause.

Drip. Drip. Drip. No. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Yoon Taeha gritted his teeth. It's a hallucination. He had to judge it that way. But even knowing that, his body reacted. In the middle of the darkness, only Kang Doyun received light. Like a spotlight. A tall, thin man stained with blood and filth. Round glasses. Pale face. And the smiling mask overlaid on that face.

One Black Dog member panted heavily.

He was holding a gun. But he couldn't fire. His hands were shaking. The muzzle pointed at Kang Doyun, then at empty air, then dropped to his own feet. Yoon Taeha couldn't tell what the man was seeing. But one thing was certain—he wasn't looking at Kang Doyun. He was looking at his own fear.

Another member swung his knife at empty space.

There was no one in front of him. Yet he stepped back as if someone stood right there. A third member collapsed to the floor, covering his ears with his hands.

The man who had been laughing while holding hostages moments ago was now curled up like a child, sobbing. Yoon Taeha swallowed hard as he watched. Kang Doyun hadn't struck them. He hadn't slashed them with a blade or shot them. Yet the organization members were collapsing. As if each had been seized by something inside themselves.

The Association agents were also shaken.

Data does not match. The moment Yoon Taeha heard those words, he looked at Kang Doyun. Yes. He was different. The missing courier whose name had only been mentioned during the abandoned factory incident. A low-level villain Black Dog had been searching for. The Kang Doyun before their eyes now was far too dangerous to be described that way. Yet it was also difficult to simply call him strong. He was unstable. Trembling as if he might collapse at the slightest touch, yet drawing the entire sewer toward himself.

One Association agent holding a shield tried to step forward but stopped. Static burst from the radio. Crackle. Crackle. Yoon Taeha could hear it too. Through the noise, it sounded like someone whispering.

"Switch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠channels! That's not static—it's mental interference!" an Association agent shouted. But it was already too late. The suppression team's breathing had grown unsteady. Some raised their shields higher. Others clutched at the insides of their helmets. Yet another froze momentarily while staring at the suppression baton in his hand. They were seeing something too. Yoon Taeha couldn't blame them. Because he was seeing it as well—the scene of the sewer transforming into a theater.

Hound clutched his nose and stepped back. Yoon Taeha's eyes widened at the sight. Hound. Black Dog's hunting dog. The villain who could smell blood and supernormal traces. He was retreating for the first time.

Hound growled the words. There was more bewilderment than anger in his voice.

Madok's laughter stopped. He was no longer looking at Kang Doyun like a toy. His eyes had changed. Interest. Wariness. And a very faint tension. It was the first time Yoon Taeha had seen such an expression on Madok. Until now, Madok had been relaxed. He'd laughed when Black Dog members fell. He'd laughed when the Association stormed in. He'd laughed even when Yoon Taeha stood in his way. But not now.

Madok narrowed his eyes as he stared at Kang Doyun. Like someone observing an unfamiliar supernormal disaster.

Kang Doyun slowly turned his head.

He spoke with that same smooth, courteous tone.

His finger slowly rose.

The moment those words ended, the sewer floor shook. Or at least, that's how it looked to Yoon Taeha. Black lines spread across the filthy water. Those lines wrapped around the ankles of fallen Black Dog members, passed beneath the Association agents' shields, and flowed toward Madok's shadow. Nothing may have actually moved. But everyone reacted. The organization members stumbled. The Association agents adjusted their shields. Hound lowered his stance. Only Madok held his ground.

Madok raised his hand. Dark red heat condensed at his fingertips.

He fired the compressed heat at the ground. Boom! The filthy water boiled up and hot steam exploded. The entire sewer was engulfed in white smoke and heat. Yoon Taeha reflexively turned toward the hostages. Association agents were retreating while protecting them. But they hadn't completely escaped yet. The young woman Madok had grabbed earlier was staggering within the steam. Madok reached out again. He intended to seize her once more.

Yoon Taeha tried to run forward. But Kang Doyun moved first. Yoon Taeha couldn't properly track the movement. The black curtain shook once. The steam parted. Afterimages of masked Kang Doyun scattered in multiple directions. Left. Right. Behind. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Front. All of them were smiling. The Kang Doyuns wearing translucent masks raised their hands simultaneously. One of them blocked Madok's path. Madok didn't hesitate. The red heat ray sliced through the afterimage. The mask tore. The darkness split. But in that instant, the female hostage had already been pushed toward the Association side. Yoon Taeha couldn't tell who had pushed her. It looked as if Kang Doyun had touched her directly, yet it also looked as if she had simply run there herself.

The fragments of the black stage couldn't actually change physical space. But they could disrupt human perception and timing. What Madok had seen was the female hostage. Where he had reached was where the female hostage had been. But what he grabbed wasn't the female hostage—it was a single piece of water-soaked cloth. In that brief scene transition, the hostage had been pushed toward Yoon Taeha.

Madok stared at his hand for a moment. Then he laughed.

This laugh was different from before. It was genuine admiration.

Yoon Taeha caught the female hostage and pushed her toward the Association agents.

The woman ran as if she might fall. An Association agent caught her and retreated to the rear.

The moment he heard those words, Yoon Taeha let out a breath. Thank goodness. But the relief didn't last long. In the middle of the now-hostage-free sewer, Kang Doyun still stood. The mask had become clearer. The translucent film had grown slightly darker, and the black line at his mouth was being pulled upward more and more. Kang Doyun's hands were trembling. His body swayed as if it might collapse at any moment. Yet the mask was smiling. That contradiction made Yoon Taeha uneasy. This wasn't Kang Doyun becoming stronger. He was being devoured by something. That's how it felt.

"Mr. Kang Doyun!" Yoon Taeha shouted without thinking. Not Copycat. Kang Doyun. The moment he called that name, the masked face slowly turned toward him. Their eyes met. And Yoon Taeha's world flipped upside down.

The sewer vanished. Yoon Taeha stood on a stage. At his feet was a single button. Before him were people tied up. The hostages he had just saved. The injured he'd seen at the abandoned factory. People he hadn't been able to save. And Kang Doyun. They were all bound to chairs, looking at him. Someone whispered in his ear.

Yoon Taeha's breath stopped. It seemed pressing the button would save one person. Not pressing it would put everyone in danger. That kind of choice. That kind of coercion. It was the situation he hated most. Similar dilemmas had appeared in Association training too. Disaster site prioritization. Save those with higher rescue probability first. Secure lower-risk routes. Compare rescuer survival odds against casualty scale. He understood it in his head. But his heart always rejected it. The moment you started counting people that way, they stopped being people and became items on a chart. Those to save. Those too late. Those to abandon. How could a hero speak such words?

Yoon Taeha had never found an answer to that question. Yet now the hallucination was thrusting that question at him in its most vicious form. Press the button. Decide who to save. If you're a hero, then choose.

Yoon Taeha's voice trembled. But he didn't run away.

The whisper laughed.

Yoon Taeha clenched his fist. His nails dug into his palm.

He stomped on the button at his feet. Crunch. The stage shook. The forms of the bound people split apart. The laughter receded. It was the sewer again. Yoon Taeha gasped for breath. The hallucination had been brief. In reality, only a few seconds could have passed. But his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

He looked at Kang Doyun. Beneath the mask, Kang Doyun's pupils were trembling. Just for a very brief moment. But Yoon Taeha saw it. He's still there.Kang Doyun hadn't completely disappeared yet.

"Mr. Kang Doyun!" he shouted again. "Don't let that mask take even your name!"

The corners of the mask's smiling mouth twisted. Kang Doyun's hand rose to his face. As if trying to tear off an invisible mask.

This time the tone was mixed. The smooth stage-like speech blended with Kang Doyun's hoarse voice.

The gauge on his wrist was ringing wildly. Yoon Taeha could see the numbers too.

He could tell it was dangerous. The darkness surrounding Kang Doyun shook. The black stage split apart as if cracking. The spotlight went out, and the reality of the sewer returned. The smell of filthy water. The smell of blood. The smell of concrete burned by compressed heat. The shouts of Association agents. The groans of Black Dog members. Madok's low laughter.

Kang Doyun staggered. His knees buckled as if he would collapse. But he didn't fall. Yoon Taeha tried to approach him. At that moment, Madok's voice rang out.

Madok was gathering heat at his fingertips again.

Kang Doyun couldn't answer. He clutched the strap of his backpack while gasping for breath. Inside that backpack was what Black Dog sought. The illegal supernormal goods the Association wanted. The core of the Guro Abandoned Factory incident. And the reason Kang Doyun had been driven to this broken state.

Madok took a step closer.

The red heat ray extended once more. This time it was low and fast. Its target was both Kang Doyun and Yoon Taeha. Yoon Taeha tried to block it with a rebar. Even knowing he couldn't stop it, his body moved first. Then Kang Doyun spoke.

Yoon Taeha reacted instantly.

He didn't hesitate. Yoon Taeha lowered his body. Kang Doyun also rolled to the side while clutching his backpack. The heat ray passed over both their heads and burned the wall behind them. Ssssss! The wall melted and steam erupted. Their vision was obscured. A chance to escape. An extremely brief window.

Kang Doyun got to his feet. He tried to retreat toward the passage. Yoon Taeha reflexively grabbed his arm.

Kang Doyun turned his head. The mask had almost disappeared, but cold traces still lingered around his eyes and mouth. Those traces were smiling faintly.

The corner of Kang Doyun's mouth lifted ever so slightly. Yoon Taeha couldn't tell if it was his smile or the mask's lingering echo.

Yoon Taeha gritted his teeth.

Kang Doyun looked at Yoon Taeha for a moment. Those eyes were tired, trembling, and yet cold at the same time.

This time the voice calling his name was slightly lower.

Yoon Taeha's grip tightened. Madok was walking toward them again through the steam. The Association agents were occupied subduing the Black Dog members. Hound was still watching for an opening nearby. Kang Doyun's words weren't wrong.

Yoon Taeha spoke without releasing Kang Doyun's arm.

Yoon Taeha's voice trembled low.

Kang Doyun fell silent for a moment at those words. The faint smile disappeared from his face. Fatigue, irritation, and a very brief flash of bewilderment crossed his features.

Kang Doyun slowly removed Yoon Taeha's hand. Not by force this time. By words.

Yoon Taeha's fingertips stiffened. Kang Doyun took half a step back toward the passage.

Kang Doyun spoke quietly.

At those words, Yoon Taeha's hand loosened. Kang Doyun didn't miss the opening. He immediately threw himself toward the passage behind him.

"Mr. Kang Doyun!" Yoon Taeha called after him. Kang Doyun didn't look back. Just before disappearing into the darkness, he left only a low voice.

That was the end. Kang Doyun's figure was swallowed by the darkness inside the passage. Yoon Taeha tried to chase after him. But at that moment, Madok's heat once again dyed his vision red.

Madok was laughing.

Yoon Taeha gripped the rebar more firmly. His hands trembled. His body was at its limit. But he couldn't retreat. He glanced once at the passage where Kang Doyun had disappeared. Then he faced Madok again.

Copycat Kang Doyun. The villain Black Dog pursued. The courier who possessed the sunspot stone. The man who used people as shields and heroes as bait. Yet at the same time, the person who had saved the hostages, endured until the brink of collapse before Madok, and ultimately tried not to lose himself completely.

Yoon Taeha still couldn't define him. Was he a villain? A victim? A dangerous supernormal criminal? Or a person being devoured by a power he himself didn't understand? There was no answer. But one thing was clear. The next time they met, he wouldn't let him slip away so easily. He had to catch him. Not just because of the sunspot stone. Not just because of the Association's orders. Before that man was completely consumed by the mask.

"Madok." Yoon Taeha raised the rebar. "I'll end this here."

Madok laughed.

Compressed heat gathered at his fingertips. Yoon Taeha drew in a breath. The lingering echoes of the black stage Kang Doyun had left behind still remained in the sewer. The darkness had vanished, but that scene had not. The smiling mask. The trembling eyes. And that very brief moment when he had returned upon hearing his name.

Yoon Taeha gritted his teeth.

He charged toward Madok. Meanwhile, on the other side of the passage, Kang Doyun's figure had completely disappeared. But Yoon Taeha knew. His fight was not over yet. In fact, it was only just beginning.