Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Hero or Villain?
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The year turned, and Seojun was now eight years old.
After the long Lunar New Year holiday, promotions for *Shadowman 2* began.
The scene from the *Redbone 2* post-credits clip aired on television, as did an edited version of Seojun and Evan Block smiling brightly while touring Central Park.
Commercials also featured scenes of Evan Block in combat and the appearance of a blonde woman.
- Richel Hill! Evan Block! The members of *High Teen With* are reuniting like this!
= High Teen With?
= The high school movie *With*. The legendary film where the love interests, Richel Hill and Evan Block, turned out to be multiple personalities in the same body. LOL.
= Whoa;;;
[Shadowman 2, coming mid-March!]
[Korean Hollywood star, Lee Seojun, makes his appearance!]
[A look into the filmography of the pride of Korea, Lee Seojun!]
[Debate rages. Hero or villain!]
- So is he a hero or a villain!
= Can't you tell just by looking at our angel?! He's a hero!
= Can't you tell from the way they're promoting it?! He's a villain!
- But if he's a villain, I don't think I could get into it. I'd just keep thinking of the angel. I prayed again before work today.
= Aren't you the one who found a lost envelope of cash and got a 500,000 won reward?
= Yep lol
Though the internet was flooded with opinions, the ratio was about nine to one, with most predicting Seojun’s character would be a hero.
Even so, no one could hide their anticipation for *Shadowman 2*.
In contrast to the bustling internet, Seojun’s home was peaceful.
“Seojun. Don’t you think this one is good? It’s light and won’t get dirty easily.”
Lee Minjun held up a navy-blue backpack. Seojun, wearing the backpack which had soft padding on the back, considered it seriously.
The straps seemed to fit his shoulders well, and it was light. As Seojun nodded, Seo Eunhye, who was standing beside him, held up a light blue one.
“What about this one? It’s bright and nice to look at.”
“Hmm.”
Seojun tried on the light blue backpack as well. After switching between the two, he chose the one his dad had picked.
Lee Minjun threw his hands up in a victory cheer and placed the navy backpack in the shopping cart. With a disappointed look, Seo Eunhye put the light blue one back on the display shelf.
“Next are a pencil case and pencils. We need to get an eraser and notebooks too.”
The large supermarket was filled with families who had brought their children. As if by an unspoken agreement, they were all putting backpacks, writing tools, and notebooks into their carts.
That’s right. Next month was March.
It was the start of the new school year, a month filled with the excitement of children starting their first year.
Eight-year-old Lee Seojun had also been assigned to the nearby Maesil Elementary School.
“Heesang Samchon said he’d make me a pencil case,” Seojun said suddenly, looking around the display shelves.
“He said it’s an entrance gift! And that he’ll make lots of dolls I can hang on my backpack.”
The couple, who had been about to head to the stationery aisle, shook their heads.
“Is he planning to expand into the stationery business now?”
“It’ll be popular, that’s for sure. Well, then we just need to buy notebooks.”
Seojun picked out notebooks with covers he liked, and with that, their preparations for elementary school were complete.
That night, Kim Heesang showed up at their house and handed Seojun a box.
“For your basic items, a long slime pencil case. It comes in five different colors. This one is a werewolf version. There’s a bear version, too.”
“Samchon. What about the Giant Worm?”
At Seojun’s words, Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun, who were eating oranges, coughed.
A Giant Worm? That huge earthworm?! He was going to make that into a pencil case?! Prejudices may have lessened, but an earthworm was a bit much.
“That one failed. The planning and design teams were dead set against it.”
Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun pictured the employees from the planning and design teams, glaring daggers at their boss and cursing him out with their eyes.
“Can’t be helped then.”
“A shame. It would have been a perfect fit.”
Seojun and Kim Heesang had learned to compromise with reality.
***
March 3rd.
The morning air was still a bit chilly.
Entrance ceremonies were being held at elementary schools across the country.
Seojun, who would be attending Maesil Elementary, headed to the school with his mom and dad.
Perhaps because he was tall, or maybe because the balance of his divine and demonic energies had made him look more ordinary, no one besides the friends and parents from his kindergarten seemed to recognize him. Many people just whispered things like, “He’s handsome,” “Is he a model?” or “He looks familiar.”
The couple and Seojun breathed a sigh of relief at their reactions.
The entrance ceremony in the auditorium was kept brief, tailored to the short attention spans of the children.
Seojun was placed in Class 1-2. He could see parents gathered at the back of the classroom, while the children sat at desks with their names on them.
“Seojun! Sit here!”
“Over here, over here.”
While he was looking for his name, some kids called out to him.
“Hi, Mina. Hi, Jiyun.”
“Hi, Seojun!”
“Jihu and Jio are in our class too?”
As luck would have it, all the first friends he had made were together. They were in the same class, and their seats were close.
As he was excitedly chatting with his friends—the topic of conversation being the unicorn doll attached to his backpack—the door slid open and the homeroom teacher walked in.
The teacher called out each student’s name and gave announcements to the parents and children.
“See you all tomorrow!”
“Yes, teacher!”
With a cheerful farewell, the entrance ceremony came to an end.
Holding his mom and dad’s hands, Seojun headed to his grandfather’s house. Both sides of the family had gathered to celebrate his school entrance.
On the way to his grandfather’s house, his parents stopped by a phone store and got him a smartphone.
With the addition of a phone case featuring various monsters, a surprise gift from Kim Heesang, it became the perfect phone for Seojun.
As they saved contacts into his phone, his parents told him,
“You have to answer our calls. So Mom and Dad don’t worry.”
“Call us if you’re in danger. If Mom and Dad don’t answer, call Grandma and Grandpa. Or your uncles. We even put the Brown Black hyungs’ numbers in.”
“Okay!”
“We set up BananaTalk for you, too. Want to try sending a message?”
“I’ll do it!”
My own smartphone! Seojun awkwardly held the phone and sent a message. As many people as there were contacts, that many chat rooms were created. He sent messages in both Korean and English.
“We couldn’t decide whether to get you an American or Korean one, so we got you both!”
***
“My baby is already going to school!”
“This is Grandpa’s present.”
“And this is Grandma’s.”
Seojun smiled brightly, holding the gift boxes. His grandfather whispered to him, “I’ll give you a separate birthday present.”
After eating his fill of delicious food and returning home, news of his school entrance had already reached the US, and congratulatory messages from many people had arrived.
“It was definitely Nara.”
“Nara must have told Jonathan, who told Director Ryan, and then everyone found out, right?”
“I wonder when she got so close to Jonathan.”
Seo Eunhye shook her head.
“They all said they sent entrance gifts along with birthday presents.”
“Wow. We’re going to be getting a ton of packages for the next few days.”
Just as Lee Minjun predicted, gifts arrived from their acquaintances in the US and from Brown Black. Gifts from Lee Jiseok and Director Choi Daeman were also delivered through Cocoa Entertainment.
Seojun looked up at the gift boxes piled high in the living room.
“Is this all for me?”
“Yes. It’s all for you, Seojun.”
The couple was grateful for the gifts that filled their living room, but they couldn’t help but sigh. They were especially worried about the gifts from Nara and Kevin.
“I think we’ll have to add Richel to that list.”
“...You’re right.”
They had grown used to Kevin and Nara sending professional-grade violins and guitars. Hollywood actress Richel Hill sent an expensive electronic piano. Evan sent books related to movies.
Laughter escaped their lips at the gifts that so clearly reflected each person’s personality.
“Want to try learning an instrument while we’re at it? Violin and guitar might be hard, but I think you could learn piano by watching videos.”
“Or you could take lessons.”
“Hmm. I’ll think about it!”
Seojun’s fan cafe decided to make a donation in his name instead of sending him birthday gifts. Seojun and his parents posted a thank-you message on the cafe. Everyone left comments saying they were looking forward to *Shadowman 2*.
***
The weather was still cold. But he could feel spring approaching.
Mid-March. *Shadowman 2* was released.
“The poster looks cool.”
Kim Heesang looked at the poster on the wall.
His parents were on a long-overdue date. Kim Heesang had offered to look after Seojun, partly to see his art.
A poster for *Shadowman 2*, featuring Shadowman’s stern face as he stared off somewhere, was plastered on the wall.
“Seojun. How was the gift?”
“The vampire badge! The other kids were so jealous.”
“I’ve been getting into metalworking recently, so I tried making one.”
“They said the red eyes were super scary!”
His friends had said it was scary but also cool because it was shiny. Kim Heesang and Seojun whispered jokes to each other. Because they were here, in a movie theater where *Shadowman 2* was playing.
“It’s going to be chaos if your identity gets revealed.”
“Heeheehee.”
Seojun and Kim Heesang sat in their empty seats. The showing of *Shadowman 2* they had booked was still a while away. Seojun, wanting to hear what people were saying, had pestered Kim Heesang to come early.
“I’m telling you, he’s a hero. They said he had a friendly time filming with Evan Block.”
“No, that’s what makes it suspicious, that they filmed so openly. What if he’s unexpectedly a villain?”
“Even if William is a villain, what reason would he have to film something friendly with Shadowman?”
“That’s true, but…”
Everyone was curious about William’s role.
“I’m more curious about how William, who got sucked into that strange wormhole, is on Earth in the first place.”
“Right. What on earth happened?”
“I’m so curious!”
Soon, the doors to the theater, now cleaned, opened. An employee began to guide the next audience in.
“Theater 4! Viewers for *Shadowman 2*, please enter!”
Seojun and Kim Heesang held hands and headed inside.
Park Seongwon followed behind them. His short stature stood out even among the many moviegoers.
‘Even a little kid like that is here to see it. But he looks kind of familiar?’
But as he sat in his reserved seat, the stray thoughts vanished. This was *Shadowman 2*, a movie he had waited two years for. His heart pounded.
The commercials ended, and the theater darkened. Park Seongwon waited eagerly for the Marine Company logo to appear. Even though it was just a logo, it was a scene that made him feel tense and excited.
But the brilliant logo Park Seongwon was expecting didn’t appear. The screen turned black. Then, from the speakers all around the theater, an unfamiliar piece of music began to play. It was heavy and melancholic, as if it could pound on one's chest.
It was the music that would later be used as Jin Natra’s theme.
The black screen brightened, and dark shadows moved. They clustered together, then separated, moving vigorously like black flames.
- You can’t even do this?
- Just what you’d expect from a stray.
- He’s not even one of us.
The sound of mocking laughter filled the theater.
Park Seongwon swallowed hard. *What? Did they play the wrong movie?*
[Mom, Dad…]
Then, a child’s sobbing voice was heard. Before anyone could guess whose voice it was,
*Thump!*
*Thump-thump!*
The Marine Company logo appeared.
Mac’s part-time job for the day was to walk around Central Park and guide tourists. Thanks to some diligent tourists, Mac had been out since morning, when he met a child.
From somewhere in the theater, a voice called out, “Lee Seojun!” but even with such a disruption, Park Seongwon remained focused on the screen.
The child looked flustered, but even so, he exuded a mature and gentle aura. Park Seongwon was reminded of the photo of the brightly smiling angel.
A smile formed on his face. *So he is a hero!*
His shift was about to end, and he figured the child would be bored staying at the lost and found center for a long time, so Mac decided to give him a tour of Central Park. The two of them visited the baseball stadium, the zoo, and the art museum before entering an exhibition hall.
[Memorial Hall]
As the subtitle appeared, the audience held their breath.
He watched the child listening to Mac’s explanation. This was a space for those who had disappeared into the strange wormhole. As the two of them walked through the memorial, they stopped in front of one particular spot.
“Gasp.”
Someone let out an involuntary sound, but no one paid it any mind. Because they, too, felt like they would make a sound if they relaxed even a little. Park Seongwon covered his mouth and stared at the screen.
William was there. Mac glanced back and forth between the photo and the boy, tilting his head.
In the scene where the boy realized the truth, Park Seongwon and the audience felt a chill. Just moments ago, they had been wondering how he would become a hero, but no. The feeling they got in that instant was that he was not a hero.
Park Seongwon mentally rejected the fact. *No. It can’t be. A kid that nice…* He then recalled the god he had seen in *The Exorcism*. *It’s like that. He just feels unfamiliar. Once some time passes…*
Then Belle appeared, and the story of the child, of Jin Natra, was revealed. Only then did the opening scene come to mind, and Park Seongwon’s jaw dropped.
The child’s gentle aura changed in an instant.
The parents who had lost him, the hero who had failed to protect him, and even the beloved father who was the cause of all his suffering until now.
The inherently good-natured child could not endure the pain, the betrayal.
“You should have defeated Natra. And.”
The child, who had lost his happy daily life with his mom and dad, shed a single tear. It streamed down his cheek.
“You should have saved me.”
Park Seongwon, who had held onto the hope of him being a hero until the very end, understood in that moment.
He felt the malice in the slowly changing eyes of the child, of Jin Natra. He felt a small but distinct malice emanating from him, from head to toe.
Mac shouted.
“Come back! William!”
Images of the brightly smiling William, the crying baby shaman, and the angel who had been like a blessing flashed through everyone’s minds, but as the camera closed in on Jin Natra’s face, his back turned to Mac, they forgot it all in a black-out.
The audience was captivated by his expression, so cold and composed it sent shivers down their spines.
“I am Jin Natra.”
Jin Natra left Mac behind and boarded the spaceship. The ship's door closed firmly. Simultaneously, spaceships appeared in the sky. It was Natra’s fleet. Belle, who had boarded Jin's spaceship with him, cried out.
“It’s them! To think they’d chase us all the way here!”
Images of the cackling candidates flashed through Belle’s mind. It seemed they hated Jin Natra and were determined to eliminate him for good.
The candidates’ spaceships opened fire, attacking Central Park where Jin Natra’s location was pinpointed.
The doors opened, and the candidates' private soldiers dropped to the ground. In the chaos, Belle was reminded of five years ago.
“I have to go help. Jin. What are you going to do?”
Belle shouted, her face pale, but Jin Natra simply stared silently at the spaceship screen showing the battle between Shadowman and the soldiers.
Following that, scenes of citizens who had been on picnics were shown, crying and bleeding as they evacuated.
Leaving a hesitant Jin behind, Belle Natra ran towards her own soldiers. And the battle began. The fight flowed on without a pause.
Just then, Jin’s eyes fell upon a few people. It was a child who had been out on a happy outing, holding hands with his parents.
The child, seemingly separated from his parents, was crying alone in the midst of the battlefield. Jin Natra’s eyes wavered.
A Natra spaceship was falling from the sky, right above the child. Jin shot up from his seat without thinking.
Everyone sensed that this was the last chance. The last chance for Jin Natra to become a hero. They all clenched their fists.
*Go back. Go back!*
As Jin was about to rush out, someone stopped him. It was Shadowman. Shadowman, who had failed to save Jin Natra, defeated all the enemies and saved the child under the crashing spaceship.
The child was safely returned to his parents’ arms. Though his face was covered in dust and streaked with tears, the child smiled brightly in their embrace.
Jin Natra, who couldn’t take his eyes off the moving scene, covered his face with both hands.
Everyone was at a loss for words at the malice radiating from his back.
“...He’s good at it.”
But why.
Jin Natra bit his lip. A drop of dark red blood fell to the floor.
The audience held their breath.
Here, in the midst of sorrow, a new evil was being born.
Not a single person in the audience had a moment to think of the angel, Lee Seojun. They couldn't think at all. They could only focus on the screen.
*If you could do that, then why!*
“Why didn’t you save me.”
Park Seongwon got goosebumps at the sight of Jin Natra’s ice-cold eyes. The angelic image of Lee Seojun had been stained completely black.
The child, unable to bear too much pain, began to unleash his resentment.
Jin went into his room. A teddy bear lay on the table. The audience recalled an identical scene. The teddy bear, now five years old in Natra’s time, was quite worn.
“William?”
Belle returned, having finished the battle. She was covered in wounds, but her face was bright.
“Isn’t that doll’s name William? That man called you William… So your name before you lost your memories was William.”
Jin Natra said nothing, simply staring at the teddy bear.
Shadowman stood atop the ruins of Central Park. He couldn’t take his eyes off the spaceship flying into space, the one that must be carrying Jin Natra, William.
“Why. Why did it turn out like this?”
His broken mask fell to the ground, revealing Mac’s bewildered face.
The movie ended.
#