Chapter 4. Kim Do-yoon Returns
Kim Do-yoon stepped through the gate.
It was only one step.
The damp stone floor of the sewer vanished.
Cold concrete touched the soles of his shoes.
The smell changed.
Instead of rotten water and blood, he smelled dust and old paint.
Far away, faint car horns could be heard.
From the school field came the creaking sound of a metal goalpost swaying in the wind.
Creeak.
Creeak.
Reality.
Do-yoon slowly raised his head.
The school rooftop.
The sun was almost completely down.
He had clearly spent an entire night and part of the morning in the other world.
Yet almost no time seemed to have passed here.
His school uniform was still covered in blood and filth from the sewer.
A cheap dagger was in one hand.
A Low-Grade Recovery Potion was in the other.
And standing right in front of him...
Was Park Tae-seong.
Tae-seong's face had turned completely pale.
The hand that had shoved Do-yoon only moments ago was trembling.
His eyes moved between Do-yoon's face, the dagger in his hand, and the blood covering his uniform.
"You..."
Tae-seong's voice cracked.
"What the hell are you?"
Do-yoon did not answer.
No.
He did not feel the need to answer.
In the past, merely hearing Tae-seong's voice would have made his chest tighten.
What should I say so he hits me less?
How should I laugh so he'll leave me alone?
That would have been all he could think about.
But not anymore.
Tae-seong looked small.
He was still tall.
His shoulders were still broad.
Yet somehow...
He looked small.
Do-yoon took one step forward.
Tae-seong stepped back.
That tiny movement touched something deep inside Do-yoon.
Park Tae-seong had retreated.
The bastard who always shoved him.
The bastard who always looked down on him.
Now...
He was backing away from Do-yoon.
[Pride smiles.]
The symbol on the back of Do-yoon's hand grew hot.
"Don't come closer."
Tae-seong spoke.
"I said don't come closer."
Do-yoon stopped.
Then asked quietly,
"Are you scared?"
Tae-seong's lips trembled.
"You crazy bastard..."
"You were laughing a minute ago."
Do-yoon's voice was quiet.
Almost unnaturally calm.
"You asked if I was going to jump."
"You asked why someone like me was alive."
"You said it was just a joke."
Tae-seong's eyes shook.
"T-that was..."
"Is it still a joke now?"
Tae-seong could not answer.
Do-yoon looked down at the dagger in his hand.
Dried blood from the Mutated Rats still clung to the blade.
Under the light of reality, it looked even more horrifying.
I could stab him with this.
The thought crossed his mind for only a moment.
His shoulder.
His arm.
His leg.
He did not need to kill him.
He only needed to scare him.
No.
Would it really be so wrong to make him feel pain just once?
The same way Tae-seong had done to him.
[Pride whispers.]
[You are above him.]
Do-yoon's fingers tightened around the dagger handle.
Tae-seong saw it.
He stepped backward, tangled his feet, and fell onto the ground.
"H-hey. Kim Do-yoon. Wait. Let's talk."
Talk.
Do-yoon laughed inwardly.
Tae-seong had never wanted to talk when Do-yoon was being beaten.
Not when he overturned his lunch tray.
Not when he hid his bag.
Not when he threw his gym clothes into the bathroom.
Back then...
He had laughed.
And now he wanted to talk?
Do-yoon slowly approached.
Tae-seong crawled backward across the ground.
"I'm sorry. It was a joke. Seriously. I didn't know this would happen."
Those words stopped Do-yoon.
It was a joke.
He knew that phrase far too well.
The world had always used it as a shield.
The person doing the hitting said it was a joke.
The person being hit was called oversensitive.
Do-yoon stopped in front of Tae-seong.
The hand holding the dagger slowly lowered.
Tae-seong squeezed his eyes shut.
But Do-yoon did not stab him.
He drove the dagger into the concrete beside Tae-seong's face.
Tak.
It was a small sound.
But Tae-seong swallowed a scream.
Do-yoon crouched down.
"Listen carefully."
Tae-seong opened his eyes.
Do-yoon's face was right in front of him.
"Don't tell anyone what happened today."
"O-okay..."
"Don't tell them you pushed me."
"..."
"Don't tell them I disappeared."
"..."
"And don't tell anyone about the gate you saw."
Tae-seong nodded frantically.
Do-yoon stared directly into his eyes.
"And from now on, don't talk to me."
"Okay."
"Don't even look at me."
"Okay."
"My desk."
"My bag."
"My lunch tray."
"My gym clothes."
Do-yoon's voice dropped even lower.
"If you touch any of them even once..."
Tae-seong stopped breathing.
Do-yoon pulled the dagger free.
"Next time, it won't end as a joke."
Tae-seong could not say anything.
Do-yoon stood.
A wave of dizziness suddenly hit him.
The injuries he had suffered in the other world had not completely healed.
His ribs still throbbed.
Bite marks from the rats remained on his arm.
He looked at the potion bottle.
He wanted to drink it.
But he held back.
This was evidence.
And money.
He still did not know what a single bottle like this might mean in reality.
He could not waste it carelessly.
Do-yoon walked toward the rooftop door.
Behind him came Tae-seong's trembling voice.
"You... what are you really?"
Do-yoon stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
Without turning around, he answered,
"I don't know yet either."
The door closed.
The stairway was dark.
Do-yoon slowly descended.
His legs had lost strength, and he had to hold onto the railing.
In the other world, his body had felt stronger.
But now that he was back in reality, all his exhaustion seemed to rush in at once.
His body had changed.
But it still had limits.
He was not invincible.
Liana's words came back to him.
Pride is never satisfied.
Do-yoon bit his lip.
He had to be careful.
If he convinced himself he was strong enough, he would die.
The same applied in reality.
Beating Park Tae-seong would not solve everything.
Tae-seong had parents.
Money.
Adults connected to the school.
Do-yoon understood that better than anyone.
When a poor student caused trouble...
The poor student was punished.
When the child of a powerful family caused trouble...
The trouble disappeared.
That was how the world worked.
Do-yoon stopped halfway down the stairs.
He lifted the potion bottle.
The blue liquid moved inside.
This could be the answer.
Something stronger than money.
Something stronger than violence.
Life.
If he could save a dying person...
No matter who that person's parents were, they would have to react.
Powerful people loved money.
But they loved their own lives and the lives of their children even more.
Do-yoon's gaze became cold.
He needed strength.
He needed money.
But before anything else...
He needed a shield.
A shield that could protect him.
Not from ordinary school bullying.
From the attacks of the world itself.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he reached the hallway.
Noise erupted from the floor below.
"Move! Students, get out of the way!"
"Did someone call 119?"
"She's not breathing! Hurry!"
Do-yoon raised his head.
Students had gathered near the central staircase at the end of the second-floor hallway.
Several teachers came running.
Someone was crying.
Do-yoon instinctively walked toward them.
The students saw his blood-covered school uniform and stepped aside.
For a moment, they seemed unable to recognize him.
No.
They probably did recognize him.
They were simply too shocked to react.
A girl was lying in the middle of the hallway.
Her face was pale.
Her lips had turned blue.
Her fingertips were trembling.
A red rash had spread around her neck.
One teacher called her name in panic.
"Seo-yeon! Wake up! Han Seo-yeon!"
Han Seo-yeon.
Do-yoon knew that name.
She was not in his grade, but almost everyone at school knew her.
Pretty.
Good at studying.
Quiet, yet always surrounded by people.
And according to rumors...
The daughter of the chairman of a major hospital.
No.
More precisely...
The only daughter of Han Myeong-jae, chairman of the Han Myeong-jae Medical Foundation.
Do-yoon's heart began beating faster.
Han Seo-yeon could barely breathe.
The girl beside her cried as she spoke.
"She suddenly collapsed after lunch. She said she had a peanut allergy, but someone... someone gave her a snack..."
Allergic shock.
Do-yoon did not know much medicine.
But he knew enough to understand that this was dangerous.
A teacher shouted,
"Is the ambulance here yet?"
"They said they're coming!"
"Where's the EpiPen?"
"The nurse's office doesn't have one! And it's not in Seo-yeon's bag either!"
The hallway descended into chaos.
Someone was recording with a phone.
Someone was crying.
Someone was just standing there.
Do-yoon stared at Han Seo-yeon.
She could die.
Right now.
Right here.
The potion bottle felt cold in his hand.
Should I use it?
If he did...
She might survive.
But then the potion would be exposed.
CCTV.
Witnesses.
Teachers.
Students.
Too many people.
Dangerous.
Do-yoon started to take one step backward.
Then Han Seo-yeon's fingers scratched weakly against the floor.
As if trying to find air.
As if desperately wanting to live.
Do-yoon stopped.
I want to live.
Those had been the first words in his mind when he passed through the dimensional gate.
I want to live.
He clenched his teeth.
If he hesitated, she would die.
Do-yoon pushed through the crowd.
"Move."
A teacher frowned when he saw him.
"What are you doing? Why are you covered in blood..."
"I said move."
Do-yoon's voice dropped low.
Strangely, the teacher flinched and stepped aside.
Do-yoon knelt next to Han Seo-yeon.
The people around them murmured.
"Isn't that Kim Do-yoon?"
"What's he doing?"
"Why is he covered in blood?"
Do-yoon ignored them.
He opened the potion bottle.
Liana's warning echoed in his mind.
Potions are connected to life.
If people find out you're holding one, you won't be a mercenary anymore.
You'll become prey.
Do-yoon hid the bottle as much as possible inside his palm and brought it to Han Seo-yeon's lips.
"Swallow just a little."
He carefully poured a small amount of blue liquid into her mouth.
At first, it spilled out.
Do-yoon gently supported her jaw.
"If you want to live, swallow."
Had she heard him?
Han Seo-yeon's throat moved faintly.
One drop.
Two drops.
The potion went down.
At that moment, a message appeared before Do-yoon's eyes.
[A Recovery Potion has been administered to a human from reality.]
[The effect is being altered.]
[The healing range is being reinterpreted to match the physical structure of reality.]
Do-yoon stopped breathing.
Han Seo-yeon's body trembled.
A teacher shouted,
"What did you just give her?!"
Do-yoon did not answer.
Several seconds passed.
They felt incredibly long.
Then...
Han Seo-yeon inhaled.
Deeply.
Like someone who had just been pulled out of the water.
"Gasp!"
The entire hallway froze.
Color began returning to her blue lips.
The rash around her neck visibly faded.
Her trembling fingertips became still.
Han Seo-yeon's eyes slowly opened.
Through her blurred vision, she looked at Do-yoon.
He quickly slipped the potion bottle into his pocket.
But it was too late.
Several students had seen it.
The teacher had seen it.
And the CCTV in the corner of the hallway had seen it too.
Do-yoon cursed inwardly.
Too many eyes.
But what was done was done.
The teacher grabbed his arm.
"Kim Do-yoon! What did you just make her drink?"
Do-yoon looked down at the teacher's hand.
In the past, he would have trembled.
Not anymore.
He quietly grabbed the teacher's wrist.
He did not even squeeze particularly hard.
Yet the teacher's face twisted in pain.
"Ow, ow! Let go!"
Do-yoon released him.
"I saved someone's life."
