Darkness crept into the alleyways.
*Get-Tak!*
A group of teens guzzled beer from their cans.
"Kya! Now we can legally drink beer!"
"Hey, not yet. We have 30 minutes until the New Year!"
"It's like X! Seriously. How long do we have to hide in the alley like rats and drink?"
"The rat is you. Why do you always drag us into this?"
"Because it sucks. Aren't you annoyed?"
Hwang Yong-min finished the contents of his can in one gulp and nervously tossed it aside.
"Hey, is there a fire?"
"Stay here, Brother Yong-min."
*Tack Tack* – After lighting a cigarette and exhaling a deep plume of smoke, Hwang Yong-min wrinkled his forehead.
"I don't understand why they can't just let us do this."
"It's because it's illegal."
*Giggle.*
Hwang Yong-min and his friends laughed at the ridiculousness of it.
Then, when they saw someone passing through the alley, they would stop laughing and cast sharp gazes, as if to block the path of whoever was approaching.
If it happened to be someone they recognized, they pretended not to see them and ran away.
It was still the same.
"Whack, dude. Did you see that? They ran away at the sight of me!"
"What do you mean? Do your eyes have a luminous function? It was dark, you couldn't see anything but the cigarettes!"
"Hey, wasn't that girl who just passed by? I feel a little sulky."
"Seo Arin? Really?"
"Oh, I want to snk-snk-snk-snk-snk-snk-snk-snk-snk-snk!"
"Chuckling, you crazy bastard."
"Big big big big big big big big big big!"
As Hwang Yong-min looked ridiculous, his friend Park Jang Daeso erupted in laughter.
"Whack, dude. If you like her, go get her number."
"I'm a minor. Do you want me to do that?"
"What are you talking about? If you're a little older, you're basically an adult."
The sun was about to set as midnight approached.
There wasn't much time left in their high school status.
"At the end of the school holidays, I'm tired of this graduation nonsense."
"What are you going to do once you graduate?"
"I need to ask my dad to buy me a motorcycle and check out delivery work. These days, deliveries make a lot of money."
"Really? What about Tae-sik?"
"I want to find a factory that offers dormitory support until I join the military. I can't wait to at least see if I can live at home."
Hwang Yong-min giggled as he watched a friend puff cigarette smoke with a sigh.
"Are you Yong-min?"
"Me? Didn't I tell you before? I'm going to be a gangster."
"Hull, were you serious?"
"Wasn't that a joke?"
Hwang Yong-min furrowed his brow at his friends' surprised expressions.
"I was serious! Did you think it was a joke?"
"Of course! Where in the world does anyone today expect gangsters to have hope for the future?"
"You're a gangster... Aren't you scared? What if you're the only one who ends up caught?"
Hwang Yong-min simply snorted at his friends' concerns.
"X foot, live life once, live it twice? I'm just going to enjoy myself, X!"
"You bastard, really."
"Big big big big big big big big big big!"
His friends laughed, but deep down, they shared the same thought.
'Madman.'
They were troublemakers known in school, but compared to Hwang Yong-min, they felt like children.
In their eyes, Hwang Yong-min was simply a nuisance.
'Okay, you do X… … .'
'Once I graduate, I'm cutting ties with this kid.'
'You little bastard...'
The person who caused even friends he had known since middle school to distance themselves from him was Hwang Yong-min.
"By the way, what will happen to the nerd you were bullying when Yong-min graduates?"
"Nerd who?"
"You know, that kid in the same class."
"Oh, that poor kid without parents?"
One corner of Hwang Yong-min's mouth lifted in a pleased grin.
"Even after graduation, I can't let that kid go."
"Heh heh heh. Are you going to keep using him even after graduation?"
"Of course. He's my personal shuttle."
"Wow… Poor X. He probably thinks his shuttle duties will end after he graduates."
"Who cares? Enjoy him while you can."
"He's really the devil. Even Satan would say, 'Brother,' heh heh heh."
The bullies, who had been laughing and snacking, emptied their beer cans.
Then suddenly, Hwang Yong-min glanced at his phone and saw it was getting close to midnight.
"Hey, it'll be New Year's soon."
"Oh, really?"
"Shall we go watch the bell ringing now? There's an event going on up ahead."
"Okay, okay. Let's go!"
Hwang Yong-min and the other boys headed to Bosin Pavilion to hear the New Year's Eve bell.
"Wow, there are so many people!"
"They're swarming like ants."
"Look for a pretty girl."
While looking around and people-watching...
"Huh? Yong-min. Look over there, over there."
His friend tapped his arm and pointed to one side.
"Isn't that him? Your personal shuttle."
Hwang Yong-min's gaze turned to Ryu Min.
"Oh, right. My shuttle."
Seeing him outside of school felt strangely uplifting.
"Did that nerd kid come here to watch the bell ring as well?"
"I guess he came to pray that Yong-min won't bully him in the new year."
"Heh heh heh, that's an impossible wish."
"Exactly what I meant, khuhhhh."
Hwang Yong-min, still giggling, stopped walking as he approached Ryu Min.
'Huh? That kid… … .'
Ryu Min stood there blankly, lost in thought.
But the atmosphere was different.
He didn't seem like the usual downtrodden nerd.
'What is it? He feels strangely different today… … .'
Then the host shouted.
"It's finally time! Let's all count together!"
People cheered and began to count down.
Then Hwang Yong-min and the other gang members joined the countdown, eager for the New Year to arrive.
'Hey kid, I'll take care of you today.'
He didn't want to ruin the first day of the year for anyone, so he didn't approach him any further.
"...3, 2, 1! The New Year 2022 has finally arrived!"
"Waaaaaaaaaah!"
A crucible of passion filled the air.
Hwang Yong-min and his friends shouted their greetings to one another.
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year!"
"You're finally an adult! This year, let's all achieve what we want…."
*Giggle.*
Hwang Yong-min, who was about to give a speech, found himself momentarily unable to continue.
It was because of an unidentified voice that rang out from nowhere.
*[Kyohohoho. They're like monkeys trapped in a cage.]*
The voice wiped the smiles from everyone's faces, including Hwang Yong-min's.
"Are you kidding me? Huh?"
At first, he thought it was just a prank by the broadcasting station, but his thoughts changed when he saw an angel emerging, glowing from the sky.
'This is real. This is no joke.'
It was hard to believe his own eyes, but there was no other explanation for the floating angel.
Then—
*Phew-!*
He watched in shock as the head of the young man who had spoken informally to the angel exploded.
"Gyaaaah!"
"Huh!"
Hwang Yong-min's expression hardened, matching the shock of other onlookers.
'X haircut… …! What the hell is happening on the first day of the New Year!'
He had never witnessed someone die in his life.
The intensity of the death was like a firecracker exploding.
That's why Hwang Yong-min could barely breathe in front of the angel.
When he turned his head, his friends were equally stunned.
'However…'
Hwang Yong-min's gaze shifted to Ryu Min.
'Why doesn't that shuttle kid's expression change?'
If it were the Ryu Min he knew, he would be scared or frozen like a statue.
However, the Ryu Min standing before him displayed no fear; instead, he wore a calm expression.
Even—
'huh?'
Suddenly, Ryu Min turned his head and locked eyes with Hwang Yong-min.
'How did that kid know I was here… … .'
Not only that, but he even curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
As if he was mocking Hwang Yong-min.
'That kid... ...!'
At school, Hwang Yong-min's feelings twisted at the sight of the shuttle's confident demeanor—one he had never witnessed before—but that was all.
'We'll see, shuttle pup.'
Now was not the time to express rage.
Because he found himself trapped in a hellish survival game where he had to survive until the twentieth round.
*[So let's proceed now that we've had a rough explanation? Kyohohoho.]*
Soon, Hwang Yong-min's vision darkened, leaving behind the devilish laughter of the angel.
* * *
'As expected, Hwang Yong-min was watching.'
When Ryu Min was in high school, he was a quiet kid.
An ordinary student who didn't stand out in any way.
'I thought if I just stayed silent and didn't hurt anyone, there wouldn't be problems.'
But things didn't go as planned.
Ryu Min was targeted simply for sitting close to Hwang Yong-min.
He hadn't done anything particularly annoying or noteworthy.
'After that... I was bullied like anyone else.'
It was common for him to be teased during every break, and when boredom struck, he was called to the mountain behind the school and beaten up.
He was often ordered to buy bread, alcohol, and cigarettes.
Then, when caught by the convenience store owner and the police notified, he had to respond bitterly.
—I don't have any parents.
When asked why he didn't, he reluctantly replied.
—They passed away in a car accident when I was in middle school… … .
At this point, the police officer, seeing his plight, simply warned him not to do it again and sent him home.
'Then the bullying would just continue.'
A vicious cycle repeated itself.
There was nothing Ryu Min could do in front of the strong.
He endured so many humiliations that he became afraid to go to school.
'But not anymore.'
After countless regressions and deaths, Ryu Min became a completely different person.
The timid and weak version of himself was no longer present.
Ninety-nine regressions had transformed him from ordinary to extraordinary.
Is that why?
He could maintain his composure even when confronted by Hwang Yong-min, who had tormented him.
'In fact, I don't feel any emotions when I see him.'
The reason was simple.
He had already taken revenge to the point that it was boring to keep repeating the regression.
'Was it the seventh time I took my revenge on that guy?'
After gaining some confidence and strength in his attacks, Ryu Min exacted revenge on Hwang Yong-min.
He paid back what he had endured.
He had heard him beg for mercy, but he became a vengeful spirit and killed him.
Not just once.
Every time he repeated the loop, he killed and killed again.
Until all the past resentment had been resolved.
'But after repeating that more than twenty times, it became meaningless.'
Revenge felt so tiresome that he didn't feel anything upon seeing Hwang Yong-min, even in the hundredth cycle.
'There's no point in seeking revenge now. There's no gain. Even if I have to kill him, I need to use him first and then take him down.'
He already had a plan brewing in his mind about how he would utilize him.
However, he had no intention of bringing him along to the final round.
'The first thing we need to do now is...'
Ryu Min raised his gaze.
He found himself standing alone in an empty, pure white space.
After a while...
*[Kyohohoho, everyone is wondering where he is?]*
He heard the familiar devil's voice.
*[You're in a private space where you can't see each other right now. Before you can transition to the soul, you have to create your body. It's a game that humans enjoy, and it involves creating avatars.]*
'It's a form of customization.'
Most people would be confused by the term 'avatar,' but Ryu Min remained composed.
Because he had created an avatar dozens of times before.
Soon, an avatar that looked exactly like him materialized in the white space.
The avatar mirrored his movements perfectly.
*[From now on, you can adjust your face and body as you wish. You can also choose a nickname to use in another dimension. It's the same process as creating a character in a game, so it shouldn't be difficult.]*
Since teenagers and young adults, who were familiar with gaming, had been captured, proceeding should pose no problem.
*[There's only one chance, so everyone must make a careful decision. Let's start with a nickname!]*
After a while, a mechanical voice rang out, one entirely different from the angel's tone.
*[Tell us the nickname you want to register in the system within 30 seconds. If you don't set it within the time limit, your real name will be registered automatically.]*
'My nickname is… … .'
Ryu Min's lips moved without a hint of hesitation.