CHAPTER 2: The Fall of Safety
--
[STATUS - KIM JI-HO]
Age: 18
Awakened
Strength: E
Agility: E
Stamina: E
Willpower: ???
Superpower: Laser
(A power with almost no practical use in both reality and the superhuman world.)
---
[STATUS - KIM YE-JUN]
Age: 16
Unawakened
Strength: ????
Agility: ????
Stamina: ????
Willpower: ????
Superpower: S¤¤¤¥$€ (Classified / Unknown)
---
The glowing city lights shimmered off the Han River as we sprinted under the great arches of Jamsil Railway Bridge. The streets were crowded—tourists and locals flocked here nightly to enjoy the scenery and street food. That chaos became our shield. We vanished into the crowd like ghosts.
The gangsters chasing us couldn't make a move here without drawing attention.
For now... we were safe.
But running can only protect you for so long.
---
10 Days Later
Ten days.
Ten days of sleeping in alleys, skipping meals, and using the last of our money just to survive.
We were worn down. Broken. Penniless.
And then... luck found us. Or so we thought.
In a quiet back street, we stumbled upon familiar faces—Mr. and Mrs. Park, old neighbors from our childhood.
Their eyes widened when they saw us—two ragged boys hiding in the shadows of a world gone mad.
"Ji-ho? Ye-jun?" Mrs. Park gasped. "You're alive?"
She rushed to hug us, and for the first time in days, I felt warmth.
"Come home. You're safe now."
We followed them to their apartment, tucked into a forgotten corner of the city.
It smelled like stew and fresh rice. The kind of smell that makes you believe everything might be okay again.
---
We told them what we could—about our parents, the attack, and the chase.
Mrs. Park's voice trembled. "Do you know if they left anything behind? Something those people might want?"
I hesitated. "We… don't know."
Dinner was warm and comforting. I didn't realize how much I missed the taste of real food until that moment. For a brief second, we felt like normal teenagers again.
Then everything shattered.
---
The front door slammed open.
Black suits. Cold eyes. Familiar faces.
The gangsters had returned.
And standing between them and us… were the Parks.
But something was wrong.
Mr. Park straightened his back and bowed.
"Sir, these are the people you were looking for."
My heart dropped into my stomach.
Betrayal.
I grabbed Ye-jun's hand, but it was too late. One of the men lunged forward and ripped him away from me.
"Let go of him!" I shouted, punching the man—but it was like hitting a wall.
The gangster's skin glowed faintly red. His body surged with unnatural power.
---
[STATUS - TARGET: GANGSTER]
Ability: Superhuman Strength
(Doubles physical strength temporarily)
---
He grabbed Ye-jun's wrist and began to crush it slowly, as if savoring his screams.
Ye-jun cried out in agony, eyes wide in pain.
I stood there, frozen. My legs wouldn't move. My power—what power? What good was a weak laser in a world where monsters like this existed?
I was helpless.
Until something snapped.
The pendant—my father's final gift—burned in my chest. Literally. It pulsed with violent light: white and black, twisting around each other like fire and shadow.
Then, without warning—
A blinding flash.
The room vanished.
---
Silence.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the apartment.
No gangsters. No Ye-jun. No Mrs. Park.
Only me.
Floating ruins surrounded me—massive, ancient stones suspended in the air, etched with glowing runes. The sky above was fractured, like broken glass hanging in place.
And ahead of me... a giant gate. Floating. Alive. Whispering.
The pendant pulsed once more in my hand.
---
To be continued...