Chapter 21

School Bully Han Tae-seong (3)

It happened the very moment his hand touched my shoulder.

[Prolonged physical contact with an evildoer has been detected.]

[Unique Skill 'Resonance of Sin' has been activated.]

[Resonance of Sin: Synchronized with the remnant of target 'Han Tae-seong's' deepest sin.]

As always, the world before my eyes shattered.

The dazzling lights and noise peculiar to a PC café. Even the loud clatter of keyboards.

Darkness.

The sweltering heat, still heavy with the humidity of the rainy season.

The smell of dust from old cement and the strong taste of blood on my tongue.

Two boys were kneeling on the rooftop of an abandoned building, its bare framework exposed and not even proper railings installed.

Lee Ji-hun and Kim Hyeon-jin.

The two were true friends who had spent no fewer than ten of their seventeen years together.

“Hey, Lee Ji-hun.”

“Y-yeah, Tae-seong.”

“You fucking bastard. Did I or did I not tell you to train your friend properly?”

“W-well, the thing is······.”

“Fuck, did I ask you to do something difficult? Did I tell you to take plates? Or even get a kill? Is it that hard to just farm CS and soak up experience while I'm having a smoke?”

The reason the two were kneeling here was simple.

As always, Han Tae-seong had entrusted control of his character to Kim Hyeon-jin while he smoked, and Kim Hyeon-jin had died in the game. That was all.

“Fuck, I was already embarrassed as hell about being Platinum Three. Now I'm Platinum Four. What are you going to do about it, you fucking bastards? What the hell are you going to do!!”

Of course, it didn't matter that Han Tae-seong had already died three times before leaving to smoke, or that Kim Hyeon-jin's mistake had made relatively little difference. What mattered most now was that they had lost the game and his rank had dropped by one division.

“Ah, fuck, this won't do. Hey. Kim Hyeon-jin. Make a fist.”

“H-huh?”

“I said make a fist, you idiot. Don't you know what a fist is?”

Han Tae-seong's voice grew louder.

Fear.

Kim Hyeon-jin instinctively clenched his fist.

“Yeah, just like that. Now it's time for your punishment.”

“Punishment?”

“That's right. If you do something wrong, you have to be punished. Don't you agree? Punch that idiot Lee Ji-hun beside you in the face.”

“H-huh?”

“Fuck. That bastard's the one who brought you here. So he should take responsibility. Now punch him in the face. Right now.”

Lee Ji-hun's shoulders trembled like leaves.

Kim Hyeon-jin's eyes also wavered as he looked at his friend of ten years, who was trembling in fear.

They had met in elementary school and been together for ten whole years.

How long must ten years seem to a seventeen-year-old boy?

Fear eats away at people.

But on rare occasions, certain exceptional people manage to rise above that fear.

We call those people 'courageous.'

And in that sense, Kim Hyeon-jin was undoubtedly courageous.

“No. I can't do that.”

“What? What the hell did you just say?”

Of course, Kim Hyeon-jin was still afraid.

But he looked Han Tae-seong straight in the eye.

“I know you're angry. But even so······.”

—SLAP!!!

Han Tae-seong's palm struck Kim Hyeon-jin across the cheek.

An attack more humiliating than a punch.

Hyeon-jin's cheek immediately swelled. And along with it, an overwhelming fear rose inside him. Yet something else surged up within him just as strongly as that fear. Courage. Yes, it must surely have been courage.

“Han Tae-seong. Let's be honest. You know perfectly well that even a professional gamer couldn't have farmed CS from the position you handed over to me.”

“What?”

“Three deaths in eleven minutes. The enemy Darius had three kills and was two levels ahead. Even if I stayed under the tower, I was practically guaranteed to get tower-dived and killed. What CS was I supposed to farm? Am I wrong?”

For a moment, the atmosphere on the rooftop froze.

Even Han Tae-seong's lackeys, who had been snickering as they watched, fell silent.

“······Ha.”

An incredulous laugh escaped Han Tae-seong's mouth.

“You fucking bastard. You've found a pretty creative way to ask me to kill you, haven't you?”

—THUD!!

A powerful front kick slammed into Kim Hyeon-jin's abdomen.

“Ghuugh······!”

But he couldn't fall.

Han Tae-seong had already approached and seized him by the hair.

—SLAP!!

“Hey, you fucking worthless little shit. Have you lost your mind? Huh?”

—SLAP!!

“Just because I let you hang around with me, you think we're friends? You fucking bastard.”

—THWACK!!!

The merciless violence continued.

Violence.

And more violence.

“Huff, huff. Hey, you fucking bastard. Raise your fist. And punch Lee Ji-hun over there in the face.”

Yet remarkably, even that tremendous pain failed to break Kim Hyeon-jin's spirit.

Like the heroes who had refused to yield despite the cruelest torture under oppressive colonial rule, Kim Hyeon-jin refused to surrender his convictions even in the face of such overwhelming violence.

“······No.”

But the merciless violence Han Tae-seong inflicted upon Kim Hyeon-jin certainly had an effect.

The lackeys watching were reminded once again why Han Tae-seong was their leader.

And then there was Lee Ji-hun.

Having suffered under Han Tae-seong for even longer than Kim Hyeon-jin, his spirit broke once again before that overwhelming violence.

Some people refuse to submit to violence.

Put another way, that means most people do submit. Even though the violence wasn't directed at him, the mere thought of suffering it was enough to make Lee Ji-hun cry.

And Han Tae-seong smiled cruelly as he looked at Lee Ji-hun.

“Ha, you fucking bastard. Yeah, that's some impressive loyalty you've got there. Hey, Lee Ji-hun. Then you do it.”

“H-huh?”

—SLAP!!

A single slap.

Nothing more was necessary.

Lee Ji-hun awkwardly clenched his fist and struck Kim Hyeon-jin.

The force of his blow was utterly insignificant compared to the violence Han Tae-seong had inflicted moments earlier. But the shock Kim Hyeon-jin felt from that punch was incomparably greater.

“Fuck. Hey, are you caressing him? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“T-Tae-seong. Please······.”

“You stupid bastard. You've already hit him, so why are you pretending to be nice now? Hey, you're the one who dragged your friend here in the first place, you idiot. Don't you remember? Fuck. You're the one who asked my permission to bring a friend because you couldn't control two characters by yourself while I took a smoke break. Isn't that right?”

“······.”

—THWACK!!

“G-ghuugh······.”

“You fucking bastard. Aren't you going to answer?”

“I-I'm sorry!!”

“From now on, you're going to hit him properly. If I think your punches aren't hard enough, I'll make up the difference by hitting you. Understand?”

Fear.

Overwhelming fear.

Lee Ji-hun's fist struck Kim Hyeon-jin.

“Hey!! Lee Ji-hun. Don't do it!! Let's just take the beating together. Fuck. And then let's go to the police station. What, does this bastard's father have connections with the police or something? Then let's file a national petition with the Blue House.”

“Whoa, that's fucking scary. Hey, Lee Ji-hun, you hear that? He says your punches are weak as hell, you fucking bastard.”

—THUD!!

Han Tae-seong's fist struck Lee Ji-hun's back.

Pain.

And resentment.

That bastard Kim Hyeon-jin could at least pretend that his punches hurt. Why the hell did he have to be so stubborn?

—SMACK.

Lee Ji-hun's fist struck Kim Hyeon-jin.

“That's better. But it's still not enough.”

Han Tae-seong's fist struck Lee Ji-hun.

Twice, three times. And four times.

Kim Hyeon-jin wasn't looking at Lee Ji-hun.

The person he stared directly at was Han Tae-seong.

“Han Tae-seong!! Why the hell!! Why the hell are you doing this to us?”

Han Tae-seong answered that anguished cry.

“Just because.”

“Just because? Just because?”

“Yeah, just because. So why the fuck did a worthless little shit like you have to defy me, you idiot?”

And Han Tae-seong put even more force into the hand striking Lee Ji-hun's back.

Terror of the violence raining down on him, and resentment toward his friend for stubbornly holding out even in this situation. Finally, Lee Ji-hun threw his entire body into a powerful shove against Kim Hyeon-jin.

—THUD!!

Kim Hyeon-jin, who had been about to say something else to Han Tae-seong, was thrown violently backward by the unexpected impact.

And just like that, everything ended.

—SHATTER!!

The vision broke into pieces like shattering glass.

The damp darkness and bloody smell of the construction site disappeared, and the dazzling lights of the PC café filled my vision. And standing before me was Han Tae-seong, wearing the same irritated expression he had in the vision.

“Hello, Han Tae-seong. How's the CS? Are you satisfied with it?”

“Wh-who the hell are you!!”

—THWACK!!

A sudden punch to the face.

With a tremendous crash, Han Tae-seong went tumbling across the floor.

Of course, I hadn't hit him with anything close to my full strength. What I'd just experienced through Resonance of Sin had made me extremely angry, but not enough to make me forget why I'd come here today.

“Y-you fucking bastard!! Who the hell are you!!”

“If you've done something wrong, you have to be punished.”

“Punished?”

“This kid named Byeong-uk here. You're the one who brought him, right? He did something wrong to me. So you, the one who brought him, should take responsibility. Don't you agree?”

It was exactly the same logic he had used in the vision. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to understand what I was talking about at all.

“What the fuck are you talking about!!”

He sprang to his feet, snorting furiously, and was just about to charge at me.

“Now, now, that's enough. You high school kids. If you start fighting in here, you're going to be in serious trouble.”

“Who the fuck are you!!”

“Who do you think? I work part-time at this PC café. You little punks, you've got name tags on your chests, haven't you? And you're wearing school uniforms. The CCTV here is top-notch, you know? If you fight here, your school will be notified, and your parents will definitely be contacted too. Are you okay with that? Because I'm not, you know? It's a fucking pain. I'm working here for minimum wage, and if I have to clean up after your fights too, it's going to drive me insane. So if you want to fight, go outside and do it. There are plenty of good places nearby.”

“······For fuck's sake.”

The part-timer had more guts than anyone could have expected.

School bullies were one thing, but to show such boldness when there was also a masked stranger standing there.

“Hey, don't even think about running away. Follow me, you fucker. I'm going to beat the living shit out of you today.”

But it was also an excellent suggestion for me.

I'd intended to destroy the CCTV data anyway, but unlike human eyes, the eyes of machines were best avoided whenever possible.

[Skill Held: Veil of Fear (Rare)]

Activates when a target feels fear toward the user. Depending on the witness's psychological state, the wearer's physical characteristics (build, height, voice) are remembered in a distorted manner.

The second roulette ticket I'd received when my Durability stat reached 50 during my time in prison.

This peculiar skill I'd obtained as a reward distorted only people's memories. When it first activated in prison, someone had claimed to have seen me as a giant nearly two meters tall. Of course, when he saw me the next day, he said he'd probably been so frightened that his memory had become distorted.

“Are you coming or not, you fucker?”

Han Tae-seong, who was walking ahead, angrily pointed at me.

And apparently worried that I might run away, his lackeys surrounded me on all sides.

Well, it was obvious where these bastards were going.

The very abandoned building where Kim Hyeon-jin had died.

When we opened the old iron door leading onto the rooftop, a familiar scene greeted me.

It looked almost exactly as it had in the vision from Resonance of Sin.

“Hey, take that thing off your head.”

The boys formed a circle around me.

They wore fierce expressions, apparently trying to look intimidating. But they were only seventeen-year-old kids. Even Han Tae-seong, the most violent among them, would have ranked among the weakest inmates by the standards of Gimcheon, where I'd been imprisoned.

And it was right here that Lee Ji-hun had been so terrified of this weakling that he had been forced to make a choice he would regret and suffer over for the rest of his life.

—THWACK!!

I struck Han Tae-seong, who was standing closest to me, with the tip of my foot.

He collapsed to the ground, vomiting pale gastric fluid.

The reaction of the boys who had just lost their leader was predictable.

Confusion. Or anger.

But none of it mattered. As I've said before, the five boys surrounding me here were weaklings, not much different from Lee Ji-hun or Kim Hyeon-jin, whom they had tormented so relentlessly.

There was no need to strike any of them twice or three times.

Exactly one blow each.

Every last one of them ended up rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach.

I approached Han Tae-seong, who had been the first to fall, seized him by the hair with my right hand, and hauled his upper body upright.

“Wh-who are you?”

Such insignificant fear.

“That's not important at all. What's important is that if you've done something wrong, you must be punished. Now then, let's start things off lightly today with a single slap.”

—THWACK!!!

His teeth scattered across the ground.

© Myoyeop#12ipk

Author's Note

Thank you!!