Changing Fate
That afternoon, as Park Jaehyuk walked home through streets growing steadily darker, his expression carried a visible trace of unease. It was only natural—today was the day Lee Suyeon would be murdered.
I need to get there fast, before it’s too late. The same tragedy from my previous life cannot happen again!!
With that thought burning in his mind, Jaehyuk recalled the events of his past life. Back then, on the very day Suyeon died, he had seen her walking somewhere with Oh Hyeji in the afternoon after school, exactly like this. But the Jaehyuk of that time hadn’t foreseen what would happen to her. He’d simply assumed she was heading off to hang out with a friend. He never imagined the horrific crime that would follow.
If only I had taken her with me back then… That tragedy might never have occurred.
Had he known what awaited her, Jaehyuk could have called out, pulled her away, and stopped the whole thing. Even now, the memory of Lee Jeonghan sobbing desperately while clutching Suyeon’s ice-cold body in the morgue remained painfully vivid. That image hardened Jaehyuk’s resolve to save her far beyond what it had been just days after his regression.
Calling out to her and pulling her out is the safest move. But if I only rescue Suyeon and leave the kidnappers untouched… other victims could suffer the same fate.
Deciding to tail her the moment he spotted her, Jaehyuk planned to secure solid evidence before delivering justice to the perpetrators.
Yes. It was right around here.
Time passed, and Jaehyuk reached the exact spot where he had last seen Suyeon in his previous life. As he scanned the area, he spotted her across the street, walking and chatting with Hyeji. Perhaps the heavens were on his side—the pedestrian signal nearby turned green at that exact moment.
Jaehyuk crossed the street at a brisk pace and began following the two girls at a careful distance. Night eventually fell, swallowing the surroundings in darkness. He watched as Suyeon and Hyeji entered a shabby old apartment building and slipped inside after them.
So this is where they planned to do it.
Realizing there was no time to waste, Jaehyuk stepped into the building and climbed the stairs. Moments later, on the landing between the first and second floors, he came face-to-face with two burly men watching YouTube videos on their phones.
“What the hell?”
Damn… they had lookouts.
“Who are you? If you’ve got no business here, beat it.”
They scowled, clearly trying to intimidate him. Jaehyuk’s urgent need to save Suyeon overrode everything else. He attacked without hesitation.
“Urk…!!”
Jaehyuk drove his right elbow into the first man’s jaw, then swung a backfist toward the second man’s head with his clenched right hand. The man raised his arm to block, exposing his side. Jaehyuk slammed a straight left fist into his liver.
“Guh…!!”
“You son of a bitch!”
The man who had taken the elbow strike charged again, swinging a wild right hook. Jaehyuk deflected the blow with his left wrist and countered with a sharp right hook that connected cleanly with the man’s jaw, dropping him unconscious.
“You… who the hell are you?”
The one who had been hit in the liver staggered, clutching his side as he gasped out the question. Jaehyuk fixed him with a murderous glare.
“Two girls just went inside, didn’t they?”
When the man clamped his mouth shut, Jaehyuk’s eyes burned with lethal intent.
“Open the door.”
“Uh… y-yes?”
“Open it. Before I kill you for real.”
Intimidated by Jaehyuk’s killing aura, the man climbed to the second floor and knocked on the door of room 204. In that brief window, Jaehyuk dragged the unconscious man from the landing upstairs and hid beside the one who was knocking.
Soon the electronic lock clicked, and the door swung open. A sleazy-looking blond delinquent stepped into view.
Lee Hyunmyeong
Mansung High School Delinquent
“What? We haven’t even started yet.”
“Uh… I just wanted to make sure they were really out.”
Hyunmyeong chuckled darkly at the man.
“You’re not trying to have your fun while they’re asleep, are you?”
At that moment, Jaehyuk seized the door with his right hand, yanked it fully open, and shoved the lookout inside ahead of him as he stormed in. Hyunmyeong stumbled backward in surprise. It was understandable—Jaehyuk stood over 180 centimeters tall with broad, powerful shoulders that gave him an overwhelming physical presence compared to ordinary high school boys. Hyunmyeong, by contrast, was narrow-shouldered and short.
“Who the hell is this guy?”
“Who called for him?”
Jaehyuk ignored the murmuring delinquents, closed the door behind him, and moved deeper into the apartment, eyes sweeping the interior. Several more delinquents sat in the living room surrounded by scattered soju bottles. Through the cracked door of a small side room, he saw Suyeon collapsed on the floor. Mysterious syringes and small vials lay beside her.
Had he already been too late? The thought ignited a blazing killing intent in Jaehyuk’s eyes.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Hyunmyeong, standing behind him, pulled a jackknife from his pocket, flicked the blade open, and pointed it at Jaehyuk. Jaehyuk turned that same murderous gaze on him.
“……Is that girl… dead?”
“Why? You wanna have a go at her? She’s already claimed.”
Hyunmyeong waved the blade near Jaehyuk’s throat with a cocky sneer. Jaehyuk simply stared at him in cold silence.
“Hey, you bastard, what are you staring at, huh?”
Hyunmyeong thrust the knife toward Jaehyuk’s stomach. Jaehyuk dodged smoothly, caught the man’s wrist with his left hand, and smashed his right elbow into Hyunmyeong’s head. As the other delinquents scrambled to their feet, Jaehyuk grabbed the staggering Hyunmyeong by the hair and slammed his face into the sharp corner of the nearby wall.
The jackknife clattered to the floor. Jaehyuk continued driving Hyunmyeong’s head into the wall again and again. Crimson blood streamed down and dripped onto the floor, yet he didn’t stop. It looked as though he truly meant to kill him.
The remaining delinquents watched in growing terror, too afraid to intervene.
“What the hell are you waiting for?! Kill him!”
One of the male delinquents shouted. The others—except for Hyeji—rushed at Jaehyuk. He answered with a powerful left-legged front kick to Hyunmyeong’s stomach, hurling the bloody man into his charging friends. In the same motion, Jaehyuk snatched up the dropped jackknife, gripping it in a reverse hold.
The sight of the blade made the delinquents falter, but most tried to hide their fear behind bravado.
“What, you gonna stab someone? Go ahead and—!”
The moment one delinquent brandished a soju bottle in a show of defiance, Jaehyuk slapped the bottle aside with his left hand and slashed the nearest delinquent’s right arm before driving the blade deep into his shoulder.
“Aaaah… AAAAAAGH!!!”
Jaehyuk twisted the knife. Blood poured from the wound. The delinquents panicked.
“H-he actually stabbed him!”
“Fuck! Call the cops! Call the police!”
Jaehyuk’s ruthless, unwavering violence shattered their will to fight. He knocked the stabbed delinquent unconscious with a brutal elbow to the chin, then swung the knife at another. When the boy tried to defend, Jaehyuk snapped a front kick into his groin.
A larger delinquent then grabbed Jaehyuk from behind, wrapping a thick arm around his neck in a rear naked choke.
“Die, you bastard!”
It was a fatal mistake against an opponent armed with a blade—one the inexperienced high schooler didn’t understand. Jaehyuk felt his airway constrict but quickly regained his composure. He drove the jackknife into the man’s forearm repeatedly. The delinquent screamed and released him. Coughing violently, Jaehyuk spun and smashed the back of his left fist into the man’s head, knocking him out cold.
Only Oh Hyeji remained. She scrambled to her feet in panic.
“D-don’t come near me! Stay away!”
She swung a bottle wildly. Jaehyuk dodged, then delivered a devastating low kick to her left knee. As she staggered, he grabbed her head, yanked it downward, and drove his right knee directly into her face. Hyeji collapsed with a heavy nosebleed. With her fall, every last delinquent lay defeated.
Then came the sound of the front door opening. Jaehyuk turned to see the lookout he had subdued earlier trying to slip out. As the boy rushed for the exit, Jaehyuk hurled the jackknife at the shoe cabinet beside him. The blade sank deep into the wood with a loud thunk, the handle stopping inches from the delinquent’s face.
The realization that a single step farther would have buried the knife in his skull froze the boy in pure terror. Jaehyuk approached slowly, voice dripping with lethal menace.
“Hey. Bring the other one in too.”
After subduing every delinquent, Jaehyuk rushed into the small room to check on Suyeon.
“Suyeon! Lee Suyeon! Wake up! Suyeon!”
She gave no response. He placed a finger beneath her nose and felt steady breathing.
Thank god she’s still breathing. They didn’t give her a lethal dose.
His phone vibrated. The caller was Kang Jihun.
“Hello?”
“Park Jaehyuk. Where are you? Why didn’t you show up at the gym today?”
“Something urgent came up.”
“Urgent? What happened?”
Jaehyuk gazed worriedly at the still-unconscious Suyeon.
“Hold on a second.”
He stepped out of the room, glancing at the bound and bloodied delinquents scattered across the floor before continuing the call.
“Kang Jihun. Can you come to the place I’m about to send you? I need a favor.”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yeah. It’s extremely important. It’s about saving someone’s life.”
“Saving a life? What the hell is going on…?”
“I’ll explain later. Can you come?”
Jihun paused, clearly hesitating, then asked.
“……Where?”
Some time later, a knock sounded at the hideout door, followed by Jihun’s voice.
“Park Jaehyuk. It’s me.”
Jaehyuk, who had been securing the groaning delinquents with duct tape after confirming Suyeon was alive, opened the door. Jihun stepped inside and surveyed the blood-soaked chaos—scattered objects, battered bodies, and captives wrapped in tape.
“Whoa… you really turned this place upside down. So what’s the favor?”
Jaehyuk gestured toward the open doorway where Suyeon lay unconscious.
“That girl over there. Take her to the nearest hospital as fast as you can.”
Jihun stared at Suyeon for a long moment, then glared at the bloodied delinquents Jaehyuk had subdued.
“What the hell? Did these bastards do that to your sister?”
“She’s Jeonghan’s sister.”
Jihun scratched his head, looking puzzled.
“Then shouldn’t you call him?”
Jaehyuk glared at the tied-up delinquents in the living room.
“If Jeonghan comes, he’ll definitely kill every last one of them. They deserve it, but I don’t want my friend to ruin his life over this trash.”
Since his regression, Jaehyuk had sworn to keep Jeonghan from walking the irreversible path he had taken in the previous timeline. He refused to let his friend become entangled in this incident.
“What about you?”
“I’ll handle things here. Just take her to the hospital.”
Jihun nodded, easily scooped Suyeon into his arms, and headed for the door. Jaehyuk called after him.
“Contact me the moment she wakes up.”
Jihun gave another nod and strode out of the hideout with Suyeon in his arms. Once they were gone, Jaehyuk closed the door and turned back to the restrained delinquents. His eyes, now utterly devoid of warmth, fixed on them with a chilling, lifeless stare.