Chapter 1. The Screaming Man
**Note: English dialogue is marked with “”, and Korean dialogue is marked with 「」in the original text.
Hyungoh ducked into the pojangmacha and ordered soju and chicken feet—a combination he hadn’t had in ages. As he stared at the steaming chicken feet and the familiar green soju bottle, tears suddenly pricked his eyes.
「Oh my, what’s wrong, dear? Why are you crying?」
The middle-aged woman threading fish cakes onto skewers in a zigzag pattern took an interest in Hyungoh. She couldn’t help but be curious about this young man who’d shuffled in with his shoulders hunched, now tearing up over his food like it was some kind of memorial offering.
When she gently asked if he’d broken up with his girlfriend, Hyungoh tipped the soju bottle back and took a long swig straight from it. Oh my, I must’ve hit the nail on the head, she thought. At her reaction, the other customers in the tent glanced over at him.
「That’s not it.」
「If it’s not that, then what? Did you lose your job?」
「…」
Hyungoh clamped his mouth shut. I knew it, the woman thought, clapping her hands sympathetically. Tsk tsk, so young and already…
What kind of terrible mistake could he have made to get fired at his age? The woman’s pitying gaze fixed on Hyungoh. But he felt wronged. I didn’t get fired, he thought.
Hyungoh’s profession was hacker. He’d been a whiz with computers since he was a kid. Once, as a prank, he’d hacked into a major corporation’s confidential documents—except he actually succeeded, setting off a media firestorm. Never imagining it would work, Hyungoh was consumed with guilt and turned himself in at the police station. That’s where he met Youngeun, the detective who, until just a few weeks ago, had been his boss.
On her recommendation, Hyungoh became a secret intelligence agent working alongside her, investigating Korea’s most troublesome corruption cases.
But then…
「This is ridiculous.」
Hyungoh sniffled. It was like something out of a melodrama. Her personal history turned out to be incredibly messy. As it happened, the large criminal organization she’d been investigating for years had a personal connection to her, and because of those deeply personal circumstances, the entire team Hyungoh belonged to fell apart.
「Why does this only happen to me…」
When the team members were thrown into chaos, she suddenly vanished. As much as everyone had trusted her, the betrayal cut just as deep—but Hyungoh couldn’t bring himself to simply blame her.
Come to think of it, I was born under a strange star myself. That’s right. Looking at my own life, I’m in no position to judge her. After all, I’ve lived a pretty bizarre life too.
「What am I supposed to do now…」
Hyungoh mumbled, grabbing the hand of the woman as she passed him some fish cake broth. His tongue was already loosened by the alcohol.
「Oh my. What’s gotten into you, dear?」
「Please help me.」
「Good heavens, I can’t help with something like that. Young people can always start over—why are you acting like it’s the end of the world?」
An older man eating udon beside him clicked his tongue. Hyungoh froze at his words, then pulled his hand back and turned to face the man. His tear-streaked face was full of despair.
「I… might actually die.」
The man swallowed hard, caught off guard by how serious Hyungoh sounded.
「This time I really might die!」
His rather loud outburst drew stares from the other customers. There was good reason for Hyungoh’s depression.
For him, losing his job meant losing his excuse to stay in Korea. Will he notice? Given what he’d seen so far, he would definitely notice—and then some. What if he comes looking for me? Hyungoh groaned, running his hands through his hair and making a complete mess of it.
He’ll definitely come looking for me.
I need to run.
When Hyungoh suddenly shot to his feet, every eye in the place followed him.
I need to pack right now, create a new identity, and flee to another country. There’s no time.
It had been a week since the team collapsed and his senior vanished. Considering his godlike information network, a week was more than enough time for him to find out that Hyungoh was no longer protected by the Korean police organization they’d never dared to touch before.
The thought made Hyungoh’s heart race. I’ve been too complacent. I should’ve run ages ago. After hastily shoving crumpled bills into the woman’s hand, Hyungoh spun around. Let’s go. I need to hurry.
I need to get out and—
“What’s the big rush?”
The man who entered by lifting the plastic flap spoke abruptly in English. The customers’ gazes shifted from Hyungoh to the newcomer. Hyungoh, who’d been about to leave, froze and slowly lifted his head. A man with auburn hair pushed his sunglasses up slightly and smiled.
“Long time no see, Choi.”
Hyungoh’s jaw dropped. The deep green eyes visible behind the sunglasses were all too familiar. Ah. A strangled sound escaped his throat.
「…uh,」
“Uh?”
「Aaaaahhhh!」
“Oh, damn it.”
The man covered his face as Hyungoh shoved past him and bolted.
I’m screwed. He already found me. If that man was here, it probably meant he’d already made all the preparations to take him away.
This won’t work. First, he needed to get out of Seoul and head to his workshop in Daejeon. He needed to contact someone from his list of connections who could forge a passport. Wait, is there even someone who can do that? No, no. There has to be. With all the connections he’d built up over the years, surely someone could pull it off.
“You’re still just as slow at running.”
「Huh…!」
In the alley he’d ducked into without thinking, the man from before was leaning casually against a black car. After taking a ragged breath, Hyungoh collapsed to the ground.
「H-how…」
“Wouldn’t a car—even an old-fashioned wheeled one—be faster than Choi’s sluggish feet?”
The man spoke irritably, watching Hyungoh tremble all over as he slowly backed away.
“Sorry, but I’m tired of getting my ass kicked by Michael too. So, uh, let me at least play the gentleman while I’m in Korea, Choi.”
The man opened the car door with a sharp click and gestured with his head.
“N-no way.”
“Michael’s reflected a lot on his behavior, you know?”
“So what! I want to keep living in Korea!”
“Haa, seriously.”
The man yanked off his sunglasses in irritation.
“You always push me to my limit.”
Hyungoh’s face went white at the man’s icy tone. The man slammed his hand on the car roof once, and two men who’d been sitting inside climbed out and strode toward Hyungoh.
Ah, no.
As Hyungoh scrambled to his feet to escape down the alley, one of the men easily caught him and raised his fist to strike Hyungoh’s head. Before he could even scream, Hyungoh crumpled to the ground. Opening his bleary eyes through the disorienting haze, he saw the man—who’d just snapped his sunglasses in half with his bare hand—now grabbing the collar of the guy who’d hit him, his face twisted in rage.
Michael.
A name he hadn’t heard in so long. How many years had it been? Despite the time that had passed, he remembered that chilling gaze vividly. The gloomy aura and hollow eyes that didn’t match his soft, pale yellow hair. Hyungoh was afraid to look directly into those eyes.
No—he was afraid of Michael himself, down to his very core.
Damn it. Hyungoh, who normally hated cursing, muttered it helplessly without thinking. He was losing consciousness from just one blow to the head. He’d always known he had a weak constitution, but this time he felt bitterly resentful about it.
His connection—no, his ill-fated connection—with Michael went back a long way. When was it again?
As he felt his body floating, Hyungoh reminisced. Yes. It was back then. He laughed bitterly, as if recalling that day.
Maybe Hyungoh’s life had started going sideways from the time when, at the relatively young age of eighteen, he was left all alone and had to leave Korea for the first time to go live with his maternal uncle.
Footnotes:
- Seoul/Daejeon – Seoul is South Korea’s capital. Daejeon is a major city about 2 hours south by train, making it a reasonable distance for someone trying to lie low temporarily.
- Pojangmacha (포장마차) – A Korean street food tent or cart with plastic sheeting for walls, typically serving alcohol and snacks. They’re informal dining spots popular for late-night drinking and comfort food.
