'It's tomorrow.'
Eunhee lay in Daniel's grasp under the sheets, her fingers curling into the fabric. 'We're going back to school.'
'Daniel said it couldn't have been Jiho… But it's him. I… I know it is. I don't know how he got so different. But… it's him.'
She bit her lip.
'He'll be there, right?'
Her lips parted slightly.
'Am I hopeful?'
She frowned, pressing her forehead into the pillow.
'Why? I know he'll hate me. So, why…'
She curled further into herself.
'…Am I looking forward to seeing him again?'
She shifted, curling even deeper into Daniel's embrace.
'I didn't even talk to Jiho's mom. She'll be mad at me too.'
A soft chuckle escaped her lips.
'I bet his confession… and what Daniel... and I did to him- that's the first thing he told her.'
Another chuckle. Lighter, bitter.
'If only it was another girl he crushed on. If only it wasn't ME, he probably would've told me first. Hehe…'
Her eyes softened.
'I loved the way he looked at me. Like…' Her breath stilled.
'Like a little kid looking at his mother, ready to tell her everything.'
A memory surfaced.
"Eunhee… do you think I'm… messed up for thinking like this?"
Jiho's voice. Late at night. A park bench.
She had smiled at him. "No. I think you're just a little lost."
She clutched the sheets tighter.
'I loved talking to him about everything. Even if he was smart enough to know it all on his own, he'd still listen to my advice like it was the most important thing in the world.'
Her throat tightened.
'That was cute. If we were a couple, I could've had that every day.'
'But he won't do that ever again.' She frowned to herself.
'He won't tell us... Tell ME anything, anymore.'
She buried her head into the sheets.
'A shame…'
She sobbed silently, hoping Daniel wouldn't hear.
But his eyes were lazily open, staring at the ceiling.
Listening.
'Tomorrow's gonna be a bitch, huh?' He sighed deeply.
——— ELSEWHERE ———
"Yes, I'm fine… Me and Hyung are eating at a BBQ place. I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?" Jiho reassured his mother, his voice steady as he sat on the ambulance bed.
There was a brief pause.
"R-right… L…" His voice softened. Lowered, "Me too. I'll see you soon."
Jang chuckled.
Jiho hung up, exhaling lightly before handing the phone back to one of the French paramedics.
Marcel nodded, then turned back to face Jiho and Jang.
"And so, because of that incident, we've arranged for you two to attend school together," Marcel explained. "A newly established one—for children who lost their place due to the outbreak."
Jiho lay on the ambulance's bed, the doctor still examining his arm.
'It actually healed... in less than two hours.' The paramedic thought in awe, raising his gaze to Jiho. 'But that appetite afterward... he wiped out everything I had in the little fridge here. Guess that healing factor doesn't come cheap.'
Jang remained silent, arms folded, his gaze lowered, biting his lip.
"Isn't school tomorrow?" Jiho winced slightly as he adjusted his position. "When did you even have the time to set that up?"
Marcel smirked. "Oh, it was hardly an inconvenience."
"...That's not what I asked—"
"Which class will I be in?" Jang cut in, his voice subdued, laced with an underlying growl.
"A third year," Marcel replied. "According to your records, that was about the time you were expelled, wasn't it?"
"...It was." Jang's fingers curled, tightening in silence.
"Very well. Now, if you're both well enough, you should return home." Marcel turned to Jiho. "Monsieur Jiho, you especially should hurry. Your mother might worry, no?"
Jiho pushed himself upright.
"Yeah. Thanks for the help."
"Oh, don't thank us just yet..." Marcel cleared his throat, tilting his head slightly.
"They mentioned 'player,' 'experience'... terms from video games. Would you happen to know anything about that?"
"No—" Jang immediately said.
"Yeah."
Their answers clashed.
Their gazes snapped to each other.
Jiho exhaled sharply. "Why not just tell them at this point? Why is your first instinct always to shut people out?"
"Fuck you, that's why." Jang's tone sharpened, his gaze burning into Jiho. "You forget how you saved these fucks. They should be licking your damn boots, bowing their heads, not daring to ask anything from you, bitch."
His voice rose, anger simmering beneath each word.
"You let people get too comfortable being little bitches around you, and before you know it, they'll be mopping the floor with you."
"They gave you a house!" Jiho shot back, his voice rising.
"WHICH I NEVER FUCKING ASKED FOR!" Jang snarled.
"...Kept your identity a secret," Jiho added, his voice steadier now.
"THAT'S—That's just a ploy to get me on their side!" Jang shot up, his voice laced with frustration. "I can raise the dead to fight for me—WHO WOULDN'T want me on their side when shit goes down!? They're just buttering you up because you're useful."
"That's RUDE, HYUNG! They're GOOD people!"
"ARE THEY!?"
Jang stomped forward, his sudden movement startling Marcel and his two assistants. Before anyone could react, he shoved Jiho against the wall of the ambulance.
One of the helpers instinctively tensed, ready to intervene, but Marcel rested a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head—a silent signal to let them sort it out themselves.
Jang's gaze burned into Jiho's.
"You really think they're doing all this out of kindness, dumbfuck?" He shoved him harder against the cold metal, eliciting a grunt from Jiho.
Jiho pressed his palms against Jang's chest, trying to push back.
...Failing.
Jang let out a forced chuckle. "What? You still think you're stronger than me?" His voice was low, almost mocking. "I've leveled up like a motherfucker, and you're still holding yourself back, still insisting on not using your system. At this point, even if you did start using your system, you'd NEVER be able to get to my level with how much I grind."
His grip tightened.
"You've outlived your worth, and I still bother with you—still talk to you like we're equal."
He chuckled again. Jiho clenched his teeth, his eyes flickering with something he hated to recognize—uncertainty.
Daniel's voice crashed into his head.
"I defended you through school and high school because I seriously believed a decent person would come out of you. But now? You come to me saying crap like that!?"
A slap.
Fear.
"NOW, THAT'S kindness, right there!" Jang spat. "And if they were even a tiny bit as kind as I am, they would've done the same for more people. But it's just us."
His jaw tightened.
"Because we can still scratch their backs. But the moment we give them everything we know? We can't do that anymore." His eyes darkened. "And that's it."
Jang clenched his teeth, a flicker of something bitter flashing across his face as he remembered his parents.
"They'll kick you like a dead cat in the face." He raised his gaze to Jiho again.
"And I don't know what your story is with those Eunhee and Daniel," Jang continued, voice low, testing. "But seeing as there are other Players besides us... who's to say Eunhee and Daniel aren't one of them, too?"
Jiho's breath hitched.
Marcel whispered something to his two assistants, and they wordlessly stepped out of the ambulance, leaving Jiho and Jang alone.
"That's all it would take, right?" Jang's gaze sharpened. He watched Jiho's expression, reading every flicker of emotion. "One bite. One little slip. And Daniel goes right back to dominating your bitch-ass—just like he DEFINITELY used to do all the time."
Jiho's fingers curled tightly around Jang's grip, but he couldn't budge him.
Jang smirked.
"Struck a nerve, huh?" His voice dropped into something taunting. "How about you use that rage mode of yours? Maybe then you could actually hurt me."
Then, the final push.
"Bet Daniel's not far from banging your momm—"
Jiho's hands shot up, grabbing Jang by the hair, "The f—" yanking his head back before slamming his forehead into his nose.
"GRRRRRRGH!!!!" Jiho growled as Jang's eyes squeezed shut, blood bursting from his nostrils.
Jang stumbled back. Jiho dropped to his knees, panting, his breaths ragged with rage.
"Now... Now you fucking done it... I'm gonna kill you, FUCKING TWINK..!!!" Jang snarled, wiping the blood from his face, his glare burning into Jiho as he scrambled to his feet.
Jiho lifted his gaze.
"You're right, Hyung."
Jang flinched.
"I needed this," Jiho rasped, staring at his hands.
"Buttering me up won't work on me—"
"I'd die before I let that happen." Jiho raised his chin, his eyes sharp. "No more."
"You're right," he repeated, his tone even. Measured. "I didn't use the system because I blindly relied on Daniel all my life—and in the end, that cost me. He betrayed my trust. After that, I refused to lean on someone else's strength. I wanted to rely on my own. Maybe to prove to myself that I'm not the same helpless twink I was before all this..."
His fists clenched, his gaze locking onto Jang.
"But watching you go apeshit just because I have a different opinion made me realize something." His voice darkened. Accusatory now.
"Daniel could become as strong as us for no reason. And if I let my pride stop me from acting, history would repeat itself.
"And you? You could lose your shit again, just like now, and step all over me—just because you WANTED to."
His expression darkened. Hostile now.
"Or do something to the people I care about because you lost your fucking mind."
His mother flashed in his mind.
"I can't have that," Jiho said, his voice firm.
His mind snapped back—to that rooftop.
Facing Eunhee. About to confess.
Daniel's grinning face behind her.
The slap.
Eunhee walking away, believing him to be a manipulative pig.
Jiho's breath hitched.
"Fuck my pride and feelings."
"I CAN'T HAVE ANOTHER FUCKER STEPPING OVER ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T ACT FIRST."
His pupils shrank to near pinpricks. His pulse pounded like a war drum. His chest felt like it was about to burst from fury.
"HEY. YOU."
[Sup, Boyo?]
The message prompt flickered before his eyes—like it knew immediately he had referred to it.
Jiho exhaled sharply.
"I accept."
Jang's blood dripped from Jiho's forehead, staining his vision red.
But his other eye saw clearly.
"I'll use the system. Tell me what to do." He murmured.
[... SHIIIIIIIIIIIEEET, BOYO. THAT'S ALL YOU HAD TO SAY!]
"..!" Jang flinched, stepping back cautiously as several messages exploded before Jiho's eyes.
[SYSTEM UNLOCKED!]
[MULTIPLE ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED!]
[MULTIPLE TITLES UNLOCKED!]
[LEGENDARY SKILLS DUE TO ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED!]
[EXTRA EXP GRANTED DUE TO ACHIEVEMENTS]
[SECRET CHALLENGE COMPLETED!]
[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!] ×49
LEVEL: 50!
STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 250 (+400)
Jiho looked past the messages at Jang.
"I may be a twink," he said, clenching his knuckles, his gaze cold.
"But now, I'm a twink with a system. Just like you."
His voice dropped into a growl.
"So if you wanna take a shot at me... come and get it, Hyung."
His breath was steady now. Focused.
"I won't hold back for the shit you just said."