Chapter 4
“What a fucking lunatic.”
Most of the troops had been dispatched to an A-rank Gate that opened in northern Seoul, and since this Gate was only C-rank, Hyunjae’s participation wouldn’t be a major issue—that was what the article said. But that wasn’t the problem. According to the protection law, no South Korean citizen could participate in Gate subjugations before turning twenty, and Hyunjae was no exception. So why the hell now, of all times?
Of course, it wasn’t hard to guess his father was behind this. His father was absolutely the type who would pull something like this. With some luck, Hyunjae might die in this Gate—just as his father wanted.
But I’d never considered a world where the protagonist dies. Maybe the world could continue without Hyunjae. Then again, this illusion-like world might just as easily self-destruct the moment the protagonist disappears.
Only now was I starting to regret never training my ability. Being unable to do anything about this situation made me feel pathetic. Right on cue, Hyunjae came home. Normally, he would’ve come straight to my room, but he must have felt guilty because even after quite some time passed, the door didn’t open. I eventually got up and went to the living room myself.
“Yu Hyunjae.”
Hyunjae, who’d been sitting awkwardly on the living room sofa, visibly flinched.
“You’re such an insolent bastard, you know that?”
“Chanhee…”
Hyunjae approached me with his usual adorable smile. I’ve been shaping my entire life around yours for ten years now, and you’re just going to walk straight into hell…? Hyunjae tried to hug me out of habit. I quickly stepped back and put firm distance between us.
“Stay away.”
“I decided to get stronger, didn’t I?”
“Getting stronger doesn’t mean breaking the law.”
“Uncle said I could go.”
“What if you die?”
Hyunjae’s expression darkened instantly.
“Even talented kids get trapped in Gates and never come back out.”
Before awakening, he’s just someone who fights with his body. What happens if he gets seriously injured? I rubbed my forehead. My head was starting to pound. Unexpected actions beyond my calculations were enough to exhaust me.
“I won’t die.”
Hyunjae’s hand touched my forehead. His large, cold hand quickly cooled the heat in my head.
“You said it yourself. I won’t die.”
I did say that often, of course. Because he’s the protagonist, and he’ll overcome everything. When the words I’d thoughtlessly repeated were thrown back at me, foolishly, I started to feel calmer. I must have been deliberately making a fuss just to see this kind of reaction from him.
“Who the hell does he think he is, some kind of god.”
Hyunjae laughed. He looked foolish, but somehow reliable.
The Gate had formed. Although I’d seen them a few times in passing, this was the first time I’d seen one up close. It looked like a hole punched through empty space—subtle and deeply unpleasant. Two Rank 2s came from top-tier guilds, and several Rank 3s came from mid-tier guilds. That made Hyunjae the only Rank 1. Though they called him Rank 1, he’d received his assessment less than a month ago. No matter how you looked at it, for a C-rank Gate, this was an absurd distribution. Since Hyunjae didn’t belong to any guild yet, he stood apart from the other members, staring blankly into space. It was because he was unnecessarily shy.
After completing the final check, Hyunjae’s team entered the Gate. About ten minutes later, the entrance vanished. Barring any major anomalies, an exit Gate would open within a 10km radius in as little as an hour or as long as a week. The combat personnel had to complete the subjugation and escape within that timeframe. Since no one ever returned once an exit Gate closed, this was a rule that absolutely had to be observed.
I stared at the empty space where the Gate had disappeared for a long time. Because of the A-rank Gate that had opened simultaneously, this place wasn’t getting much attention. I couldn’t bring myself to go home and started walking aimlessly along the roadside. Where would the exit Gate open? Sometimes Gates would absurdly open in the middle of highways, causing Rankers to get into accidents after their battles. Unlike other Rankers with abilities, Hyunjae still had to fight using only his physical combat skills. He wouldn’t even be able to dodge cars on a highway. As my worries spiraled needlessly, I ruffled my hair.
Yu Chanhee’s face reflected in the window of a car parked on the street. Although I was almost used to it by now, I still looked awful no matter how I looked at it. The author of the original novel definitely lacked imagination. The villains have unpleasant appearances, while the protagonist is fucking gorgeous. As I stood there staring at ‘me,’ the car window I’d been looking at slid down smoothly.
I stepped back with an embarrassed expression, then quickly frowned.
“Hello, loser.”
I could see irritating eyes behind expensive sunglasses. His hair, bleached yellow sometime recently, made his already annoying face even more annoying.
“Where’s your dog for once?”
He was definitely doing this on purpose, knowing exactly what was going on.
“You’re such a fucking pain.”
“Were you lurking around because you knew it was my car?”
Cha Suhyun. This bastard was a thug who made a very brief appearance in the original work. He was the nephew of Cha Hyerin, a 2nd generation Rank 2, and one of the idiots who tried to kill Hyunjae along with Yu Chanhee. Complete opposite of his aunt, he was hot-tempered and nasty as hell, which made him get along great with the original Yu Chanhee.
I ignored him with a disgusted expression and started walking quickly down the road. Cha Suhyun slowly drove his car alongside me. Thanks to him, the road was about to become a complete disaster. After the honking from behind lasted over thirty seconds, I reluctantly looked at Cha Suhyun again.
“If you don’t get in, I’m going to crash into traffic.”
“Is your life really that fucking boring?”
“How did you know?”
Cha Suhyun looked at me with his arm resting on the open window. I sighed and got into the passenger seat. Cha Suhyun studied abroad in America from age seventeen until the winter he turned twenty-seven, then met Yu Chanhee after returning to Korea. The two families were on good terms, and the two who’d known each other since childhood became friends quickly. In the novel, Cha Suhyun helped Yu Chanhee after learning he hated Hyunjae.
But there’s no way I’d be close to a guy like this now. In my eyes, he’s just a walking death flag. Moreover, unlike the twisted psycho Yu Chanhee from the original work, ‘I’ was an extremely normal person. It was impossible to be friendly with a nasty guy like him. Of course, in the beginning, Cha Suhyun had tried to befriend me, the son of a respectable Ranker family.
“Chanhee, hang out with me.”
“Fuck off.”
“Are you worried sick your hunting dog might die?”
When I bit my lip, Cha Suhyun raised the corner of his mouth like he found it amusing.
“As always, you gay bastards.”
Cha Suhyun muttered with a smile still lingering on his lips. I ignored his words and rolled down the window. I needed some fresh air or I might punch this bastard in the face.
“Don’t want to hear that from someone who has nothing better to do at his age.”
“Chanhee’s still good at talking back.”
Cha Suhyun fumbled above the console. After skillfully taking out a cigarette with one hand and putting it in his mouth, he shoved his face toward me.
“Light it for me, Chanhee.”
“Are you insane?”
Cha Suhyun turned his face completely toward me. Crazy bastard. The car was moving, and he was so casual about turning his head away from the road. In the end, I got caught up with this lunatic again and lit his cigarette with the lighter.
“If you’re done playing around, let me out.”
“I’m not letting you out until we see Yu Hyunjae.”
“Why do you need to see him?”
“For some reason, I fucking hate that guy.”
Well, in the original work you hated Hyunjae like crazy too, so maybe it’s imprinted in your DNA. I forcibly swallowed the words rising to the tip of my tongue.
“Ah, if he dies today, does that mean Chanhee can never get out of this car?”
I finally couldn’t hold back and smacked Cha Suhyun’s head hard. In that instant, the steering wheel turned, and the car swerved significantly over the center line. I raised my fist, intending to hit him again. But Cha Suhyun was faster. He roughly grabbed my face with the hand that wasn’t holding the steering wheel. The grip was so strong I almost screamed.
“Now we’re getting a reaction.”
“…Let go.”
“Like I said, you gay bastards.”
The car stopped on a nearby road with a loud screech. I tried to quickly open the door and get out, but Cha Suhyun rapidly engaged the lock so I couldn’t leave. Then he slammed my head hard against the dashboard. And buried his nose in the nape of my neck. An incredulous snort sounded right behind my neck.
“You’re really insane.”
“What? Let go of this first.”
“Why do you have this scent…?”
“I think you’re the crazy one.”
Judging by the warmth around my nose, I seemed to be getting a nosebleed.
“Still can’t forget it?”
At my pointed response, Cha Suhyun’s gaze turned cold.
“Do you miss your hyung that much, Suhyun?”
“Shut up.”
“Your hyung is the one who’s actually dead.”
Cha Suhyun’s grip tightened. Seeing how rapidly the pressure intensified, he seemed to be trying to use his ability. I’ll need to submit the dashcam footage and sue this bastard. I glanced at the dashcam mounted in the center.
“You, my dad, hyung, hyung. I’m sick to death of it.”
“Fuck this…”
I quickly unlocked the door and jumped out of the car the moment Cha Suhyun briefly loosened his grip. But Cha Suhyun wasn’t going to leave me alone. Something invisible grabbed the back of my neck and slammed my body to the ground in an instant. People walking by screamed. I could feel blood flowing from my split head. Cha Suhyun slowly walked over and gradually pressed his foot down on my back.
“This is why I hate little shits like you. Even when I try to be nice, you try to climb all over me like dogs.”
Cha Suhyun’s foot struck my side this time. I felt something surge up inside my body.
“A murderer bastard,”
Another kick.
“Fuck,”
And again.
“What’s so great about him?”
I eventually dry heaved. Yu Dohyun’s name was Cha Suhyun’s sore spot. This was an extremely personal detail that didn’t appear in the original novel. The real reason why Cha Suhyun joined hands with Yu Chanhee and wanted to kill Yu Hyunjae.
After I rolled around on the ground for a while with no one helping, I suddenly heard a tearing sound from behind. People started to stir. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar sound that most people would recognize. A Gate. I couldn’t believe the exit Gate had opened here of all places. Hyunjae might come out of there. But for several seconds, there was no sign of life from the Gate.
“Guess they’re all dead.”
Cha Suhyun laughed, making an unpleasant sound.
“What are you going to do, Chanhee?”
“Stop bullshitting.”
I struggled once more, my face bright red. That’s when it happened.
With a thud, Cha Suhyun’s hand holding me loosened powerlessly. Blood splattered everywhere in an instant. Cha Suhyun was thrown far away. Is he dead? I looked around.
“Not dead, you piece of shit.”
Yu Hyunjae, holding a monster’s head in one hand, was looking down at me coldly, covered in blood.
