Chapter 21 – Threats are Scary, but the Future is Scarier

A damp dimly-lit room.

The coldness of the floor.

The lights illuminated only seven people. 

I watched them quietly in my chained up state.

”So there should be a good reason why? The bastards, who submitted the request, are saying they’re not going to pay us because they’re not satisfied with us handling this as a disappearance accident!!”

“Let’s finish him cleanly. We’re low on funds these days. Do we need to save him?”

They were humans who viewed my life like a coin flip.

My life, which I considered to be important, seemed utterly insignificant to them.

They were no different from beasts, beings who pursued only their pleasures and thought little of the lives of others.

How could they even be considered the same as human beings?

However, the only thing I could do in between them was listen in on their conversation while containing my body, which was trembling from the pressure.

Yoowol had to explain to the members why they had to let me live.

“Reason for saving him. Of course, I have one. Did you think I had no plans?”

“…Judging from the way you’re acting, I doubt you do… For starters, let’s hear what you have to say.”

I needed to hear her verdict.

Shouldn’t I also know the reason for my death if I am killed?

I wanted to know who commissioned my death, why Yoowol broke the request, and why she saved me.

What happened to Hayeon after I passed out?

The look in her eyes when I last saw her bothered me the most.

Before she started to speak, I cut off their conversation.

“So why did you save me?”

What I had left in me in my chained up state was my petty pride.

I’m also well aware that pride does not keep me alive. But if I lose my pride, there will just be an empty shell on the inside.

A behavior that shortened my life. 

A bold behavior not expected from an abducted person.

The brusque woman spoke up in response to the absurdity.

“Ha… Do you not comprehend your situation right now?”

“…I understand completely though? From me being restrained to how I’m about to die.”

“This brat is rude. Very rude. I vote for killing him, without a doubt.”

Yeah, I’d rather you kill me.

I wanted to live, but not to the point of begging for my life.

This world’s Han Sijoon seemed to have a bigger pride than I expected.

Pride which never buckled in the face of death.

Perhaps she was satisfied with my attitude, Yoowol said, “Han Sijoon. No wonder I fancied you. Unbendable heart and pride. You’re different from that girl. Almost to the point where I want to break you.” 

Yoo Hayeon.

I immediately had to ask her whereabouts.

“…What did you do to her?”

“Are you worried? Don’t look at me with those eyes. I didn’t do anything though, this feels unfair.”

According to Yoowol, it didn’t seem like Hayeon’s life was in any trouble.

I was able to take a weight off my mind.

But what did she mean by unbendable when she‘s talking about breaking me.

She’s really insane.

Her shoes made noise as she approached me.

Clack. Clack.

…The sound’s not spreading out.

The sound of shoes echoed throughout the room. The fact that it’s echoing meant it wasn’t leaking outside.

This was probably a room below the Black Dawn organization’s dwelling, or a hidden room.

That’s what my guess was leaning to.

She left what little light there was behind her and headed toward the dark where I was. She then quietly whispered to me.

“It’s good to have pride… But you’ll really die if you keep that up, you know? No. I’ll make it so that you cry out for me to kill you.”

Her ice-cold voice.

It felt like my heart stopped for a moment under her pressure.

“Just as how delicious aged wine is, human blood also becomes much more flavorful over time.”

It was a temperate warning.

Don’t butt in while we’re talking.

The way Yoowol looked as she gave a faint smile was like a scene out of a thriller movie.

For starters, I need to listen to them.

I followed what she said and decided to shut my mouth for a bit.

“Hmm… Where were we?”

“The reason for saving him. You need to tell us that.”

“Ah, that’s right. The reason.”

Yoowol raised a finger to her chin as if she was briefly contemplating.

There was elegance in her movement, similar to the poise of old aristocrats.

It looked like she had finished organizing her thoughts since she began to give them an explanation with a confident look on her face.

“First, I fancy him. He’s good-looking, his blood is the finest, his tangled affairs are entertaining, it’s much better to keep him alive.”

“Vice-Captain, that doesn’t do us any good.”

“Let’s just kill him and get paid. I don’t need him because I’m a man, and I don’t drink blood either, so…”

A woman with a stiff tone and a man with a frivolous tone.

Even before the “Should We Save Him” meeting commenced, they were more on the stance of killing me.

But they didn’t vote for my death yet.

”It’s best to let him live. I guarantee it.”

“…The Vice-Captain must have a plan. Or maybe not…”

Hwang Pildu and the quiet woman were on my side.

They looked like they had trust in Yoowol.

She continued to explain.

“And second, our Maknae¹ has a dirt-awful education. I’m saying it doesn’t suit her age.”

“…Are you talking about me?”

The Black Dawn members turned around when Yoowol said that.

There was a pink-haired girl cuddling a rabbit doll. She was a skinny girl, her face as cute as a rabbit’s, who appeared to be the same age as me.

Unlike her demure smile, she was a villain who was going to blow up half of Seoul in the future. 

She screamed at her fellow members like she had been falsely accused.

“What…What about me?? I’m smart!!”

As if convinced by the sight, the Black Dawn members bobbed their heads.

For sure, even to me, her pink self seemed so immature among the dark and drabby people.

“But that’s no basis as to why he’s better than money, Vice-Captain. There’s no convincing reason.”

“I hate to admit it, but that’s true.”

There was still hostility towards me.

Yoowol’s lips slightly lifted up.

The last reason she gave came as a great surprise to me.

“Lastly, this child. Han Sijoon does not possess a magic core. You know what I’m getting at, right?”

“…!!!”

Yoowol presented her last reason.

The absence of a magic core.

I don’t know why that would be a reason to save me, but they no longer raised an objection.

…Why? What does not having a magic core have to do with them?

I couldn’t understand it at all.

It was a situation where the Black Dawn organization’s members unanimously agreed to let me live without a protest.

Things turned out as Yoowol wanted.

“…So, Vice-Captain. What are you exactly going to do with him after saving him? You know that our organization has a max of seven members.”

The Black Dawn had always been an organization of seven members. If it weren’t the same seven people as the ones before me now, they would’ve immediately disbanded.

Strength, intellect, wealth, power.

They were an organization whose scale was balanced only when they gathered together.

An organization with no flaws.

There wasn’t really space in between them for me to get in.

Yoowol began to outline a concrete plan to them.

“Let’s keep it simple. It’ll be comfortable for everyone if you view him as a pet animal.”

“…You’re spouting bullshit.”

A pet animal.

There was no way I wouldn’t say something nasty to her when she was telling them not to even treat me as a person.

A life may be a life, but I’d rather choose death than live while being treated like that.

Since I’m born as a human, I’ll die as a human.

That’s what living meant.

I shouted at them in a sharp tone.

“Why don’t you leave me out of your playing house? I don’t want to be entangled with criminals.”

“..….”

Bravado.

After my outburst, I could instantly sense the unsettledness in the air.

Had it not been for my high fortitude, I’d probably be crawling on the floor by now.

Seven pairs of eyes zoned in on me, and I could sense my death.

Bam!

There was a loud sound of a heavy brick breaking into pieces.

He shouted, enraged.

“If a fucking mutt barks at its owner, it’s in for big trouble. I’ll train him myself.”

A two meter Hwang Pildu was spinning his wrist as he approached me.

If he just gave me a light flick, I’d be half dead. It was much better to die painlessly.

“Just kill me, you muscle scrap bastard.”

I’d rather die than become a criminal.

That was my stubborn conviction.

The bravado of the weak.

Just when I saw Yoowol make a stiff expression and the bulky Pildu walking my way…

The Captain of the Black Dawn, who hadn’t said a word throughout their meeting, began to speak for the first time.

“Stop, Hwang Pildu. He won’t be able to speak if he’s dead.”

A man with a domineering tone.

He sounded old in his years, but his voice made the peerless Pildu halt at once.

The man got up from his seat and touched the ground with his cane. There was always the sound of the cane whenever he walked.

Clack. Clack.

The sound of the cane hitting the floor echoed.

From what I recall, he had lost his vision and was someone who had vanished in the glorious past.

“Han Sijoon. That’s quite a nice name. Did your parents give it to you?”

“Yes…that’s correct.”

The man who approached and spoke to me looked like an ordinary old man.

Despite the fact he lost his entire vision and was unable to see, I felt like he was looking at me from somewhere.

An insightful human. Shin Haeil.

A hero who was active in the past using his sense of hearing.

Holding a ranking of S before, he had now turned into the worst villain.

”Your parents… Seeing as how you’re undaunted by a situation like this, they must have always been great people to you. You grew up strong.”

“…You threatening me right now?”

Han Sijoon’s parents lived in an ordinary home that was located away from the Hero Academy in Seoul.

Because my feelings for them were genuine, I spoke with a malicious tone. It was more than offensive enough.

“…Be respectful before an elder. If you don’t want to die.”

“…Why don’t you just stab me?”

In an instant, the quiet woman was behind me.

A cold sharp blade touched my neck.

Her voice sounded murderous, making my skin tingle.

Haeil spoke to her in an affectionate tone.

“Hands off. You cannot kill this child. You’re well aware of that, aren’t you?”

“…I apologize, Elder.”

She loosened her grip on the dagger and went back to her original spot with invisible speed.

It looked like they didn’t plan on killing me no matter what I did.

“Han Sijoon.”

The Captain of Black Dawn was gently calling my name.

With closed eyes, Shin Haeil stared at me intently.

His face was advancing on the years and he looked kind. He didn’t have the appearance of a villain.

That was when his dry lips parted open.

What came out of them was something that sounded closer to a threat.

“Child of miracles, Han Sijoon. You have to come with us.”

What’s a child of miracles?

“With no context, what does that mean…”

“Yoo Hayeon. Are you not concerned for that child?”

“…!”

If you die, the child will plunge into those depths of darkness.

Shin Haeil’s remark was more of a prophecy.

He was an insightful individual, speaking as if he had insight into the future.

“You may wish to die, but we have no plans on killing you. And if you do die…”

Yoo Hayeon.

That young child will send the world into an array.

Hayeon’s descent into villainhood and the future of the childhood friend.

Haeil’s remark, which made me weigh those two things…

It was closer to a threat.

Footnotes

¹Maknae: A Korean term referring to the youngest person.