* * *
Jihyun’s expression was filled with excitement, as if he had found a lost toy.
“Heh heh. If only he’d died following his dad, things would’ve been easier.”
“Right? He should’ve just died back then.”
Even though they were just kids, they were saying things that would be hard for anyone to hear.
But such words had no impact on Jihak.
His experiences in hell had been far worse.
“Give me back my desk.”
“What? Hahaha. Did you hear that? This idiot actually said that!”
The kids thought Jihak was crazy for calmly saying that.
“Didn’t he get beaten enough last time?”
“He said he almost died. Maybe something went wrong then?”
The old Jihak wouldn’t have reacted like this. He would have been trembling in fear, looking defeated.
“You were in a coma, right? Seems like your brain hasn’t fully woken up. Should we wake it up for you? Make you remember that time?”
Whish—
Jihyun’s fist flew towards Jihak’s chest.
Tap—
Jihak lightly dodged Jihyun’s punch by stepping back.
“Oh, look at this?”
Seeing Jihak dodge his punch, Jihyun smirked arrogantly.
Jihak fell into deep thought for a moment.
‘Hah… should I just kill them all right here?’
He wanted to break their bones and rip their flesh.
Sometimes he had hoped for days like this, and had even learned torture methods that kept people alive but in agony.
But in the modern world, there were too many restrictions.
‘There are witnesses who saw us leave together… and there must be CCTV footage of us getting here.’
In hell, following its rules was necessary, but he couldn’t apply those rules in modern society.
“Grab him. This idiot still doesn’t seem to remember….”
Grab—
Hyunmin and Doogi grabbed Jihak’s arms.
Jihyun liked to hold and subdue his opponent like this before beating them.
It was the same as always… nothing had changed.
‘Huu… fine. Then I’ll play along for now.’
Jihak glanced at the CCTV camera.
It was currently turned away by Hyunmin, obscuring its view, but that didn’t matter.
He could just turn it back later.
Swoosh—
As Jihak focused his power, his energy extended towards the CCTV.
The energy quickly surrounded the camera and carefully started to turn it, moving it to capture the scene with Jihak and the other kids in the storage room.
At the same time, an immense aura burst from Jihak’s body, enveloping the surroundings.
The energy first engulfed Hyunmin and Doogi, then reached Jihyun. Jihak smiled and quietly said,
“Shadow Curtain.”
Shuaak!
“What… what the hell!?”
“What’s happening?”
As soon as Jihak’s words fell, Jihyun, Hyunmin, and Doogi felt as if they were suddenly plunged into darkness, unable to see anything.
Jihak had created a space that hid their bodies in a kind of shadow.
The primary function was to conceal oneself from enemies, but now, he had brought three uninvited guests into this space.
These guests couldn’t escape on their own.
“This is my domain. My world.”
The only visible things were the four people in this space.
Jihak easily freed himself from Hyunmin’s and Doogi’s grip.
“You… what the hell are you!? Where is this place?”
Humans feel extreme fear when faced with situations beyond their control.
In this void, with only four people—no, three humans and one demon—there was no greater terror.
“Ah… don’t worry. Outside, it’ll look like you’re beating me to death.”
“What did you say?”
Jihak smiled like a demon.
In creating this separate space, he had prepared a decoy.
The CCTV would only show the decoy being beaten by the three kids.
“I believe in repaying kindness and avenging grudges tenfold.”
“D-don’t come any closer!”
Jihyun and the others, gripped by extreme fear, couldn’t move and sat frozen in place.
Especially Doogi, who had wet himself in terror.
‘Perfect effect. No wonder… it worked even in hell, where demons gathered.’
This method was something Jihak had learned in hell from another demon.
It wasn’t to kill the enemy, but to drive them into extreme fear, draining them mentally.
“Now, let’s start the game.”
“G-game?”
“Yes, game. The one you guys love.”
Jihyun and the other kids could only look at each other in silence.
The game they played with Jihak was always the same.
“Remember? Last time, you were the seekers. This time, I’ll be the seeker. Just me. So, you better run.”
“Ah… AAAAH!!”
Jihyun got up and started running first.
In the darkness, it was impossible to know which direction he was running, but he had to get away.
As far as possible from this place.
Hyunmin ran in the opposite direction of Jihyun, leaving only one person behind.
Doogi couldn’t move, stuck in place.
“D-don’t come closer. Don’t come!”
His legs were paralyzed with fear.
No matter how much he tried to get up, his legs wouldn’t move, and he could only crawl with his arms.
“Do you think you can escape like that? You know what happens if you get caught, right?”
Gulp.
Of course, he knew.
When they caught Jihak, they did only one thing.
Crunch!
“Argh!”
Jihak first stomped on Doogi’s left hand.
“I told you to run away quickly.”
“Pl… please, spare me. I was wrong. So please…!”
Doogi begged desperately.
Tears and snot were pouring out, but he didn’t care about his pride.
“What did you guys do when I told you the same thing?”
“Please… Please! Aaargh!”
This time, Jihak stomped on Doogi’s other hand and looked down at him, screaming in pain.
“I’ve got one. Next is…”
Swoosh—
Jihak, speaking dryly, reached out towards the direction Hyunmin had run.
Then…
“Ugh!”
Hyunmin, who seemed to have escaped far away, was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Jihak and slammed to the ground.
Bang!
“Argh!”
Hyunmin couldn’t breathe properly and rolled on the ground, gasping for air.
“What? You can’t even endure this?”
All that was in Hyunmin’s eyes as he rolled on the ground was fear.
The fear that there was no way out of here.
The fear that they were bound to be trampled on in this place.
Crack!
“A… Aaaagh!”
Jihak soon grabbed Hyunmin’s arm and twisted it backward.
The sound of joints cracking, muscles twisting, and ligaments snapping could be heard.
Seeing Hyunmin groaning in pain with his oddly bent arm reminded Jihak of the times Hyunmin, who was in the judo club, would always put holds on him.
“Tsk… So only one left now.”
Swoosh—
In an instant, Jihak’s figure vanished.
It was as if he had merged with the darkness, disappearing from the spot where Hyunmin and Doogi were.
Then, a moment later, he reappeared, dragging someone by their hair.
“Let go of me!!”
Jihak, who had grabbed Jihyun by the hair, threw her to the ground expressionlessly and said,
“It’s too easy. This doesn’t feel like a proper game of tag.”
“You crazy bastard… You’re really insane…”
Whack!
“Ugh!”
Jihak kicked Jihyun in the head.
“Shut up. You’ve ruined my fun. Are you going to take responsibility?”
Slap!
Smack—
Jihak kept slapping Jihyun’s cheeks, smiling as if he was enjoying it.
Seeing Jihak treating the current situation as a mere game, the remaining three children were gripped by overwhelming fear.
‘We’re going to die.’
That was the only thought in their minds.
No matter what, they felt they were going to die here.
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
Somehow knowing what they were thinking, Jihak looked down at the three children with a sly smile.
And that made them even more terrified.
“Oh… It’s already this late?”
Realizing quite some time had passed, Jihak felt it was almost time to end the game.
‘By now, you should understand clearly who you’re dealing with.’
Snap.
As the time to end drew near, Jihak snapped his fingers.
Then, the surrounding darkness disappeared without a trace.
They reappeared in front of the old gym storeroom where they had been earlier.
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
Jihyun, Hyunmin, and Doogi coughed and cried, collapsing to the ground as they escaped from Jihak’s world.
Then they quickly checked their bodies.
‘We’re fine?’
Just moments ago, Hyunmin’s arm had been twisted, Doogi’s hands had been stomped on, and Jihyun had been slapped.
But strangely, they were fine.
The pain they felt moments ago was gone, and there were no injuries or signs of damage.
‘What’s going on?’
They all had the same thought.
As if the situation they had seen and felt wasn’t real but a dream…
“There! What are you kids doing right now!?”
At that moment, the school’s security guard approached them.
“Ah… sir. Sir! That guy is strange.”
“Please save us, sir…”
Jihak was crouched on the ground, motionless, while Jihyun, Hyunmin, and Doogi ran to the security guard, pleading for help.
“What nonsense are you kids spouting! You were bullying that boy. Do you think I don’t know? It’s all on CCTV!”
“Wha…?”
“CCTV…?”
The security guard had rushed here after seeing the CCTV footage installed around the school.
And on that CCTV, it showed the three kids ganging up on a single boy.
Smirk—
Jihak, still crouched on the ground, smiled unnoticed.
The situation he had created, making it look like he was being beaten by a group, had worked perfectly.
‘Hehe… It’s too early to be shocked. This is just the beginning.’
* * *
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