Something That Shouldn't Be Here (2)
“Finally here, huh?”
A hand clamped on his shoulder. A voice from behind.
His body stiffened for the briefest instant. But Lee Chang-hoon reacted on instinct, swinging the spanner gripped in his hand backward with all his might.
Whoosh!
A swift ambush. But Yun-seok was even faster. He simply twisted his body aside, dodging the attack effortlessly. The narrow corridor opened up just a sliver in the process.
Lee Chang-hoon squeezed through that gap and bolted for escape.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The thunderous sound of footsteps pounding down the emergency stairs echoed wildly. He too was a challenger who'd boosted his stats with AP. It took him less than ten seconds to reach the parking lot where his car waited on the sixth floor.
Vroom! Vroooom! Screeech!
He frantically started the engine and floored it, tearing out of the apartment complex.
He had no clear destination in mind. Just a desperate urge to put as much distance between himself and this place as possible, even if only for a moment.
“Huff… huff…”
After driving for what felt like ages, Lee Chang-hoon finally pulled up to his own home. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands, gasping for breath.
‘Fuck, that was close… No way he was waiting for me…’
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying Yun-seok seemed.
What now? Should he go back for revenge? Or cut his losses, give up, and just enjoy his last remaining day to the fullest?
To calm his racing thoughts even a little, Lee Chang-hoon headed to the café right in front of his house, a spot he frequented.
‘No way he’d expect me here. Not that bastard.’
He blew through every signal. If anyone had been tailing him, he’d have noticed. His heart still pounded like mad, but repeating to himself that he was safe, he sipped his hot coffee.
His body was just starting to thaw and relax.
“...?”
Pffft!
Lee Chang-hoon, staring out the glass exterior wall, spat out everything in his mouth.
He had no idea how Yun-seok had tracked him down, but there he stood beyond the window, staring straight at him without a twitch.
He didn’t have the guts to bolt out the entrance. Instead, Lee Chang-hoon dashed to the bathroom.
He smashed the narrow window there and wriggled out through the gap, escaping the building.
‘Gotta… run!’
Lee Chang-hoon ran and ran. A car would’ve been easier, but heading home was out of the question. Yun-seok might be waiting there.
“Is he a track star?”
“Damn, he’s fast.”
“Why’s his face like that, though?”
People turned their heads as Lee Chang-hoon sprinted through the city streets first thing in the morning. They all marveled at his unreal speed.
But Lee Chang-hoon could only curse himself for not being able to go even faster.
‘Why… why the hell… why isn’t the distance growing!’
He was going insane. This neighborhood was practically his backyard. He darted through alleys, weaving every which way.
Whenever he glanced back, convinced he’d shaken him, there was Yun-seok, strolling after him leisurely like he was out for a casual drink.
Even funnier—no, worse—was that no one else seemed to see Yun-seok at all. People stared at him like he was the crazy one being chased by nothing.
It felt just like a horror movie, pursued by an invisible ghost.
Lee Chang-hoon realized running on foot wouldn’t cut it. So he headed for the most crowded spot he could think of.
“Huff… huff.”
Sinchon H Department Store. Right in the middle of the first-floor lobby that had just opened, Lee Chang-hoon caught his breath.
The employees’ weird looks didn’t matter.
‘Should be safe here…’
But that thought lasted only a moment.
Soon enough, Yun-seok appeared again.
Step. Step.
Watching him approach slowly, Lee Chang-hoon pointed and screamed.
“There! Look over there! No one sees him? Fuck! You blind or what?!”
The people glanced at the empty spot he indicated, shooting him looks reserved for the deranged.
Lee Chang-hoon realized it then. Even surrounded by a hundred, a thousand people, he wasn’t safe. If his throat were slit right now, they’d just scream without knowing what happened.
“Fuck, fuck…”
Backing away, he spun and ran again. And wherever he went, Yun-seok appeared without fail.
After fleeing endlessly, he somehow ended up at an abandoned construction site.
He figured it was abandoned because the scattered metal was rusted, the tarps on the outer walls were torn and frayed, and not a single worker was in sight despite it being the weekend.
The only ones in this rundown site were him… and that one guy he couldn’t shake no matter what.
“I’ll kill you, you bastard!”
Lee Chang-hoon couldn’t hold back anymore and roared.
They said the best way to conquer fear was to face it head-on. Either way, he was doomed. No more running.
* * *
‘Just as I thought.’
The top floor of the abandoned construction site. Yun-seok glanced at the stairs leading to the rooftop, then smirked at the feral glare in Lee Chang-hoon’s eyes.
If he’d wanted, Yun-seok could’ve knocked him out back at the apartment and dragged him off somewhere. But if Lee Chang-hoon went missing last seen at Yun-seok’s place, it’d stir up a mess.
So he’d marked him with Tracking and let him run, revealing himself intermittently while hidden with Stealth.
As expected, Lee Chang-hoon had led him to this deserted spot.
“What do you want, you fuck?! How much more do I gotta do to satisfy you?! Just kill me already!”
As Yun-seok watched silently, Lee Chang-hoon snapped, demanding answers like he was the one wronged.
As if he were the victim, tormented relentlessly by Yun-seok.
It was absurd, but Yun-seok didn’t show it.
“Just answer a few questions.”
“...You chased me all this way just to ask questions?”
Lee Chang-hoon looked dumbfounded, but Yun-seok ignored him.
“How many coins left?”
“...”
No need to hide it, yet he stayed silent. He didn’t know Yun-seok’s intent, but it was clear he’d refuse to answer out of spite.
Yun-seok snapped one of his fingers.
Crack!
“Agh! Aaaagh!”
Screaming like that might reach people on the ground. But Yun-seok didn’t care. He was monitoring a 25-meter radius with Scouting. If anyone approached, he’d just hide with Lee Chang-hoon for a bit.
“How many coins left?”
Grabbing another intact finger, Yun-seok asked again. Lee Chang-hoon spat it out reluctantly.
“Two! I got two left!”
Yun-seok verified with Eye of Truth. A lie.
Crack.
“Aaaagh! Fuck!”
During the three-minute cooldown, Yun-seok stared down silently. He didn’t care how it looked to Lee Chang-hoon.
Once it was ready, he asked again.
“How many coins left?”
“One! One left! I’ll really die now, you bastard!”
True this time. Yun-seok waited out the cooldown without breaking another finger.
“What rank’s your ticket?”
“Three days… no, one! It’s one day!”
He switched just as Yun-seok moved to snap. Close call.
Yun-seok kept asking one question per cooldown. Realizing he couldn’t lie, Lee Chang-hoon mostly answered honestly. Beasts learned through pain, they said—and Lee Chang-hoon fit the bill perfectly.
‘F-rank ticket used today, no more AP, one coin left…’
No need to kill him here; he’d likely meet permanent death in his next duel. But you never knew with people. And during that final duel wait time, who knew what he’d blab in the chat rooms.
If he spread Yun-seok’s personal info there, it could spark a second Lee Chang-hoon incident.
Yun-seok steeled himself again. Lee Chang-hoon dies here today.
But first, some personal curiosities.
“What’d I ever do to deserve your bullying? You weren’t even scared of Kang Hyung-woo.”
“Puhahaha…”
“You laugh?”
“How could I not? Asking that proves you’re still a retard. Think gaining some power changes your rotten core?”
Crack!
Yun-seok snapped a finger. Eye of Truth said it was genuine… No, it pissed him off that he meant it.
“Agh!”
Sensing Yun-seok’s irritation, perhaps? Amid the screams of pain, Lee Chang-hoon laughed and shouted.
“Why bully you? Oh, there’s a reason.”
“...?”
“I just hate punks like you.”
No need for Eye of Truth—on cooldown anyway. Yun-seok knew it was true.
He waited silently before asking.
“What were you planning for my parents if I hadn’t been around?”
“Puh!”
What was so funny? Lee Chang-hoon laughed like a madman at the question.
Then, glaring at Yun-seok, he described it in vivid detail, painting pictures in his mind.
“That spanner you had earlier? I was gonna start by yanking out all their teeth with it. Old fucks like them would try begging or convincing me, but I hate that shit.”
Lee Chang-hoon knew today was his last. No holding back now—he spilled horrors that turned Yun-seok’s mind white just hearing them.
“Then… didn’t think it through much, but make ’em fuck and film it for the net? Sounds hilarious. Weren’t you curious back then? What your mom and dad got up to at night. Puh! Aaaagh!”
Yun-seok grabbed the sneering Lee Chang-hoon by the throat and slammed him to the ground.
Eye of Truth confirmed it. Those words weren’t bluffing—they were all true.
Now something foggy in Yun-seok’s head cleared.
These weren’t human.
“You said you hate guys like me?”
Pinning his throat with his foot so he couldn’t speak, Yun-seok continued.
“I hate scum like you.”
Now he got it. How to handle these inhuman things.
“Me, a retard? I’ll make you one today for real.”
Yun-seok gripped a broken finger and yanked with all his strength.
Squelch!
The finger tore out, bone and all. Throat crushed, Lee Chang-hoon could only gurgle, no proper scream.
Writhing on the ground like a bug.
“Don’t worry. You dumped points in stamina, right? Won’t die from this.”
Squelch!
Yun-seok ripped out another finger, regretting his purchases a bit.
Stealth, Tracking, Scouting—and even Eye of Truth to erase any guilt.
All that prep was overkill. What he really needed was healing skills.
Because right now, Yun-seok desperately wanted Lee Chang-hoon to suffer pain he’d never forget, even in death.
“Please don’t die.”
“Mmph, mmph!”
Cheek pressed to the ground, Lee Chang-hoon looked up at Yun-seok. What was he thinking?
Squelch!
It didn’t matter to Yun-seok.