* * *
There are memories one can never forget.
Moments that resurface in dreams each night, creep into the day-to-day, and wedge themselves between thoughts—events that, whether one wants them or not, become a part of their life.
Blood soaking the soles of his feet. Screams from familiar voices.
The thick, metallic scent in the air.
It wasn’t just a one-sided slaughter—no, not even that dignified.
It was the same as hunting monsters.
It would’ve been more accurate to call it a cleanup.
Merciless. Indifferent.
And the culprit behind it all approached Seo Jaewon as if it were some game.
A man with soft features and chestnut-brown hair looked down at him.
As if he had dropped out of thin air—his porcelain-white skin was untouched by even a single drop of blood.
His delicate, sugar-doll features looked almost unreal.
He was watching Jaewon, eyes sparkling, as though observing something amusing.
“Do you hate me, Jaewon?”
He asked with a bright smile.
A familiar smile.
A foolish, carefree face he had seen so many times—during the dusty, grueling days of trainee drills, and later, as comrades fighting back-to-back as full-fledged espers.
Even now, after betraying and slaughtering everyone they’d spent years with, he still smiled the same way.
“I’m happy…”
His long, elegant fingers wrapped around Seo Jaewon’s neck.
He smelled far too pleasant for the carnage surrounding them.
“Kh… Ju, Youngha…!”
His body, bound by some unknown force, wouldn’t budge.
He couldn’t even close his eyes.
The more he struggled to break free, the more keenly he felt his own helplessness.
Cold, smooth skin pressed against Jaewon’s sticky, blood-and-sweat-covered flesh.
A crisis beyond death loomed.
Like a snowflake falling into a blaze—he would be swallowed whole by this overwhelming power, without even the chance to resist.
That terror squeezed the last drop of strength out of him.
‘Move, please…!’
Jaewon desperately tried to summon his power, defying the force restraining him.
It was the same ability he’d used all his life, but it wouldn’t gather—it was as if something was blocking him.
Pushing too hard made black dots dance in his vision, his insides twisting painfully.
He couldn’t break free from Joo Youngha’s grasp, no matter what.
The difference in power was too great.
He had never won against him—not even once.
That fact hit harder than ever.
His limp fingertips twitched pathetically.
Sweat dripped from his lashes, blurring his vision.
Joo Youngha watched it all with a faint smile, as if Jaewon’s desperation was mildly entertaining.
He slowly leaned in, bringing his face close to Jaewon’s ear.
“Jaewon.”
A gentle voice tickled his ear.
Or was it his breath?
The warm, soft sensation sent chills down his spine.
Jaewon ignored it and kept struggling.
Just once—if only he could move just once…
“Ugh, kh…!”
“You know…”
Just as Joo Youngha inhaled to speak again—
Cool liquid formed in Jaewon’s palm.
And instead of words, blood bubbled from Youngha’s lips.
“Ah.”
Youngha looked down toward his chest.
A sharp ice spike pierced straight through his heart.
“……”
His clear eyes stared at the spike for a moment, then turned back to Jaewon and smiled.
But no last words followed.
Ding!
A ridiculous alert sound echoed.
‘Seriously? Someone’s dying and you’re still sending alerts?’
Even as his consciousness faded, Seo Jaewon found the thought crossing his mind.
The pain of a monster’s claw piercing his heart was surprisingly brief.
A dizzying wave of vertigo followed, then a short blackout.
Just as he let out his final breath and began to sink into unconsciousness…
A floating sensation, as if time itself had stopped—then, someone’s hand gently touched him.
‘…What is this?’
It felt like some vast, faraway presence was gently pushing him from behind.
And then—
When he opened his tightly shut eyes,
He found himself in an endlessly stretching corridor made of white marble.
Corridor after corridor, as far as the eye could see.
And a ceiling so high it seemed to disappear into the sky.
Crystals embedded in the marble shimmered like fresh-fallen snow.
‘Wait a minute… this dungeon…’
The scene was familiar.
No—not in the usual sense.
He had only seen this place once before.
But after chewing on the memory for the past fifteen years, it felt etched into his soul.
There was no way he could forget.
The pride of South Korea.
The monster who broke four energy detectors during his first ability test.
The only one in the world ranked EX—“irregular and beyond classification.”
The place where Joo Youngha, who had been something like a friend for a long time, died.
Where the one-and-only EX, whom no dungeon or monster could kill, was pathetically ended—by his hands.
‘And now I’m seeing this again after death? What is this, some kind of life-flash montage?’
If so, it was a pretty shitty one. Its excessive realism only made it more infuriating.
This was a brand-new dungeon no one had ever entered before.
It was rated as S-class in predicted danger, but given the size of the team, the actual difficulty didn’t seem too bad.
Or so they’d thought. And for a while, it really had been peaceful.
They’d wandered the empty corridors with their teammates for quite some time, and then—the event that changed Seo Jaewon’s entire life happened.
Right now, in fact.
“Mmm, I’m tired of this now.”
A lazy voice brushed his ear.
“…!”
Jaewon turned toward Joo Youngha and instinctively flinched.
Glittering champagne-colored eyes stared straight at him.
For the first time, they seemed… fractured.
Like a crystal cracked from the inside—just before it breaks.
But it only lasted a moment.
Youngha still wore that insufferably relaxed expression—almost bored.
There wasn’t even a breeze, yet his light-colored hair fluttered gently.
His features, too delicate to seem real, blended in with the marble hall like a lifeless statue.
The harmony was almost disturbing.
Youngha’s eyes curved in a soft smile.
Then he began walking purposefully toward him—every step brimming with intent.
Jaewon knew exactly what would happen next.
He’d replayed this moment alone, thousands of times.
Sometimes convinced it was yesterday.
Other times, doubting his own memory.
Joo Youngha tapped him lightly on the forehead.
That tiny gesture alone rendered him motionless, as if frozen.
Even though Seo Jaewon was an S-class esper himself.
After that, the bastard massacred the teammates who had entered the dungeon with them.
And finally, when he tried to kill Jaewon—he died instead.
That should’ve been the end.
Fifteen years had passed.
Jaewon had died too.
‘So then… what is this?’
‘I can’t understand it.’
The same thing from back then was about to repeat itself right before his eyes.
Joo Youngha slowly approached, flicking his long, delicate fingers—just barely, as if he were keeping time to music only he could hear.
Only someone like Seo Jaewon, who had watched him for a long time, could recognize that gesture.
Even back then, this bastard barely needed any preparatory movements to use his abilities.
But Seo Jaewon could sense the ominous ripple of energy above the man’s head.
Light that shimmered and twisted like oil on water, like the inner surface of a pearl or a seashell—radiant and warped with iridescence.
It had the aura of a saint’s halo, the brilliance of the sun, and the haunting glow of a full moon’s corona—power that shook one to the core.
…The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Regardless of the questions in his mind, his body reacted instinctively to the threat before him.
And at the same time, a rush of emotion surged violently from within.
‘Do I have to watch this shit again? Are you fucking kidding me?’
It hadn’t ended with just killing Joo Youngha.
From that moment on, Seo Jaewon’s life had fallen into ruin.
He was the sole survivor and witness of that incident, and all the suspicion and disgrace had rained down on him.
He wasn’t just branded a national bastard for killing the world’s only EX-class esper—he became a global one.
Despite the insults and accusations, he refused to retire and clung on—but all he got in return was cold shoulders from fellow espers.
In the end, no one helped him, and he died at the hands of a monster.
Even as death closed in, his first feeling was relief.
If he was going to be chained to the past forever, maybe dying wasn’t so bad after all…
And now he was supposed to live through that life again?
“You’ve got to be kidding me… Hey! Joo Youngha!”
Seo Jaewon stormed toward him, furious.
His face, usually blank like an ice rink, now showed a crack of emotion.
He grabbed the bastard’s wrist hard enough to jerk that tall, slender body forward—but Joo Youngha didn’t resist.
“…Jaewon?”
In those soft, gentle eyes was… confusion?
What? Confusion?
That’s it?
‘This son of a…’
Seo Jaewon clenched his teeth.
‘Do you know how many years I cleaned up after your messes? And because I thought we were friends, I let it go—and this is how you repay me?’
“Not twice…”
He punched Joo Youngha in the face.
“I won’t tolerate this shit twice, you crazy bastard!”
Smack!
He may be EX-class, but Jaewon was still S-class himself, so he expected the hit to at least land with some weight.
But all that happened was Youngha’s head barely turning—more of a tilt, really.
His pale, clear eyes widened, and finally, he opened his mouth toward Jaewon.
“…Owwie.”
Yeah, that relaxed, drawling voice!
The hazy memories reignited like sparks. His knuckles cracked.
Seo Jaewon started smacking Youngha’s back with his palm.
“Take your beating, you crazy bastard, you son of a bitch, you psycho freak!”
* * *
