𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕜 ₒᵣᵥ (Hiatus)

Chapter 23: I'm sorry.

No... where's Jin? He couldn't possibly have had enough coins to stay alive... and his mum too. Where are they? I turned my head frantically, trying to glimpse the familiar face or clothing of the boy.

"Oh, it's you guys! You came just in time." I halted my movements at the voice of another. I clenched my fists, holding in my frustration. Of course, he HAD to appear at the worst times.

Cheon Inho.

He walked towards us, smiling. His smile was too sweet, too fake.

"Dokja-ssi! It's good to see you. You have a lot of coins! How much? You are probably the richest one among us, right?"

[The incantation: 'Cheon Inho' has activated the 'Incite Lv. 2' skill.]

Slowly, one by one, the hysterical crowd turned their heads in our direction.

"C-Coins?"

"Who has a lot of coins?"

They started approaching us. Specifically, they started approaching in Dokja-ahjussi's direction. Fucking hell... that manipulative Cheon Inho bastard.

"Y-You are Dokja-ssi?"

"Please save me!"

"Haha, Dokja-ssi. I don't have the coins to help all these poor people but...isn't Dokja-ssi different? Will you wait and watch?"

He dares to play such a dirty trick... to toy with these humans like playthings...

[The constellations of the Absolute Good system have defined Cheon Inho as 'wicked'.]

"S-Save me!"

"Please save me!"

People burst into tears with the most pitiful expression in the world.

[Hehe... haha! This story is becoming fun. For reference, there are only 3 minutes left!]

Bihyung spoke in a voice that was full of joy. I let out a short sigh and slowly closed my eyes before opening them again, trying to calm down.

I changed my mind. Bihyung may be easygoing on the surface but under that facade of his? He's just like the rest. How naive of me to believe that someone who had pity could still exist in this fucked up world.

I can't waste any more time. I need to go.

Wordlessly, I dashed off. I hoped no one noticed my absence.

"Jin? Jin!" I shouted once I had left the others behind. "Where are you?"

"...Here! I'm here, Miss Angel...! W-wait, don't hurt me! Leave me alone!" A faint voice echoed across the underground station, almost undetectable over the pleas and cries of the other people.

Jin. And he was in danger.

Without a second thought, I sprinted at full speed towards his voice.

"Where are you?" I shouted again, trying to pinpoint where the frail voice had come from. There was no response.

Then, I caught a scent of something. The familiar... no. This can't be happening.

Blood. Too much of it.

"Jin?!" I screamed again. No response, only hearing the hysterical cries of the marginalized group feeding into my panic.

The walls around seemed to shrink in, closing in, closer. Closer. My breathing became more erratic. Sharper. Shorter. Where was he?

"...No... don't touch... me." Jin's weak voice. Coming from the directions... of the train tracks from the other side. How could I have missed such an obvious spot? I mumbled a string of curse words under my breath.