By Zephyria “What are you talking about? When did we even go to Gyeongju? Did you see things?”
Yoon Seung-ryong appeared from the darkness, chuckling. Kim Hyun-woo panted, looking around. Soon, Lee Chan-ha and Joo Ho-young also appeared.
‘It was a trap! Yang Yohan deliberately went home alone!’
Flash! Dark light flared, and his barrier shattered. Kim Hyun-woo screamed. A terrifying current struck down, breaking his barrier. Realizing Lee Hyun-muk was also there, he fell to his knees.
“P-please, save me!”
A sense of crisis he had never experienced in his life washed over him. Even setting Lee Hyun-muk aside, he was overwhelmed by an immense pressure that made him instinctively press himself to the floor, unbelievable for intermediate awakened individuals of his own level.
“I was momentarily blinded by money and did this…! Please, just give me one chance! If you tell me to go to jail, I’ll go without complaint!”
Kim Hyun-woo sobbed falsely and prostrated himself. He knew well how kind-hearted the Team Sun members were. No, any Korean would know. Didn’t Team Sun show ‘leniency’ before to those who persistently left malicious comments, those who threw eggs and stones, and those who tried to scam them?
In a society like this, where powerful awakened individuals could easily make someone disappear, the act of letting them go to trial was the ‘leniency’ of the awakened. Sobbing, Kim Hyun-woo subtly lifted his head to gauge their expressions. Then, he quickly buried his head again.
‘What the…’
His heart pounded with an unsettling tension and anxiety. All five of them looked at him with contempt, as if he were a bug. Their indifferent gazes were utterly inhuman. In contrast, only Yang Yohan, who seemed to seek revenge, had human-like eyes. Thinking he was truly screwed this time, he trembled, and Seo Yakrin stomped on his head.
“Don’t worry. We won’t kill you. After all, we’re quite righteous, aren’t we? You just… have to take a beating until our youngest gets it out of his system. Got it?”
Though it was just a light stomp, his head felt like it would explode, and Kim Hyun-woo screamed. However, he was also relieved to hear he wouldn’t die.
“If our youngest wins, we’ll pretend this never happened. Okay?”
“Guh, hey, you’re promising.”
“Yeah, promise.”
Giving a perfunctory reply, Seo Yakrin removed his foot. Kim Hyun-woo staggered to his feet. With a sliver of hope, he stood before Yang Yohan, who was glaring at him menacingly.
‘Barrier… I shouldn’t use it, of course.’
Picking up on the mood, he dropped the weapon he was holding with trembling hands. Even if they said it would be forgotten if he won, he shouldn’t inflict serious injury on his opponent.
‘Fuck it, I’ll just get beaten up a bit.’
Judging by the punches earlier, the guy didn’t know how to fight. Even if he was an intermediate Dealer or Tanker, maybe there was a chance to win. But Kim Hyun-woo’s thoughts soon changed.
“Gah…!”
It hurt. It hurt terribly. Strangely, each time he was hit, it felt like his flesh was tearing and his bones were breaking, causing extreme pain. Kim Hyun-woo, who had been getting beaten, lunged in desperation, but his opponent, who didn’t know how to fight, was good at dodging. It was the strength of an intermediate Dealer, but with speed and reflexes that surpassed it. Kim Hyun-woo felt a strange dissonance, but he couldn’t afford to care about that now.
“Aargh, j-just a moment, guh…! Please, stop…!”
Unable to bear the pain from being beaten, Kim Hyun-woo vomited. Yohan paused at that, but didn’t stop his punches filled with pent-up rage. He remembered the days he fell into the Abyss helplessly. He remembered the sorrow of never seeing his family again and the days he trembled with fear, thinking he would never escape this terrible place…
Kim Hyun-woo curled up on the floor, covered in filth. His contorted face was stained with tears and blood, and only when he was on the verge of losing consciousness did Yohan stop, panting. His hands were numb. Hoo, Yohan exhaled deeply and wiped his tears with his sleeve.
“Intermediate Tankers have quite… tough hides.”
Lee Hyun-muk, who had been watching Yohan beat Kim Hyun-woo, approached. He put an arm around Yohan’s body and asked,
“Are you done hitting him?”
“Yes… Even so, I can’t beat someone to death.”
‘My good Lamb,’ his lover said, kissing his forehead, and Yohan felt a little better. He had beaten him up for revenge, but beating someone to death wasn’t as pleasant as he thought. Still, a lot of his pent-up frustration had been released. Sniffling, Yohan turned back to the group.
The team members, who had been watching their much younger maknae beat Kim Hyun-woo with a fond gaze, like an angry chick pecking at a bug, quickly adopted serious expressions. Unaware of this, Yohan spoke earnestly,
“But these people… it’s definitely not the first time someone was thrown into the Abyss. If they’re released back into society, they’ll do the same thing again.”
‘His organs and bones are unharmed, yet just beating him until his skin splits is enough for revenge? Why is my child so kind? He has good regeneration too, being intermediate.’ With that thought, Yoon Seung-ryong patted Yohan’s head repeatedly and said,
“Yes, I understand. Our vice-captain is good at handling these things. Yohan, you don’t have to worry anymore. Go home and sleep soundly.”
Kim Hyun-woo, who had been pretending to be unconscious on the floor, was sweating profusely. Instinctively, he felt that Yang Yohan was their savior. He tried to jump up immediately and beg them not to leave, but strangely, his body wouldn’t move. No scream came out. A faint golden aura was suppressing his tongue and body.
“Hyung put Samgyetang in the fridge. You just have to heat it up, so make sure to eat, okay? The glutinous rice is really delicious.”
“Yes! I’ll eat well!”
Yoon Seung-ryong earnestly implored Yohan. Kim Hyun-woo watched Lee Hyun-muk and Yang Yohan walk away with longing. As soon as their figures completely disappeared, a cruel retribution followed.
“Aaaargh!”
Seo Yakrin merely stepped down with force, and his leg snapped. Kim Hyun-woo, his body and mouth now free, crawled on the floor and screamed,
“Help! Aaargh! Help meeee!”
Yoon Seung-ryong kicked Kim Hyun-woo, who was crawling on the floor, sending him sprawling, and laughed heartily as he saw him spitting blood.
“Ah, this is hilarious. Weren’t you the one who deliberately brought Yohan to such a deserted place in the first place? So, who’s going to come and save you?”
The barrier he desperately created shattered dozens of times. Each time, Kim Hyun-woo’s body broke along with it. A foul smell began to emanate from somewhere. One of the team members, who had been forcibly held in place like a statue since earlier due to the brutal violence, had wet himself. Lee Chan-ha grimaced and moved away. Joo Ho-young put away his Game Console and watched with interest.
“Ugh, ughhh…. P-please…. I-I’ll do anything, j-just spare my life…. Guh-heuk…”
Feeling his life threatened, Kim Hyun-woo wailed and begged. The words of Yang Yohan, that an intermediate tanker had good endurance, were true. His bones healed slowly each time they broke. And each time they broke again, an even more excruciating agony followed. Yoon Seung-ryong stomped as if he wanted to grind his broken bones into powder and demanded,
“Hand over the body cam footage.”
When the real reason was revealed, he felt a sense of relief.
“H-huh, I-I’ll give it to you. I’ll give it to you. Please…. Stop…”
Unable to bear the pain, Kim Hyun-woo blurted out the location where the body cam footage was stored and how to find it. The swift Joo Ho-young quickly went and returned. Kim Hyun-woo and his teammates were forced to remain frozen in place until the footage was reviewed on the laptop. After checking all the footage, Lee Chan-ha nodded. As the four of them stared intently, Kim Hyun-woo and his teammates sensed a grim future.
“I-I gave you everything!”
Kim Hyun-woo, whose bones had almost healed, shouted desperately as he crawled on the floor.
“Ah, y-yes, that… I’ll also tell you who ordered the kidnapping of Yang Yohan!”
“We already know that.”
Joo Ho-young replied indifferently. The culprit was too obvious to even bother interrogating. He glanced at his watch and grinned.
“A promise is a promise… I’ll give you three minutes starting now.”
“Ah, no….”
Kim Hyun-woo’s face turned pale as he realized the other party had no intention of showing mercy. Regardless, Joo Ho-young said cheerfully,
“Try to escape as much as you can. Then, let’s… start!”
Kim Hyun-woo and his teammates jumped up and fled in a hurry. They escaped the dreadful underground parking lot and rushed into the city. A teammate, who kept looking back and running for their life, screamed as they looked forward.
“Haha! Caught you!”
“Aargh!”
Crack! Joo Ho-young suddenly appeared ahead of them and broke his neck. Seeing his teammate die in an instant, Kim Hyun-woo was terrified. These awakened individuals had no intention of letting them go alive…!
They ran desperately to avoid being caught. But Joo Ho-young kept appearing out of nowhere, cutting them off. In every direction leading to the city, Joo Ho-young appeared like a ghost with a pale blue face, breaking the necks of the teammates one by one. Laughter echoed from all sides.
Eventually, Kim Hyun-woo was also caught by Joo Ho-young. He screamed until the ice-cold hand broke his neck.
Crack!
His neck snapped. Death had arrived…!