Chapter 3

3. New Rules

“I’m going out, Mom.”

Mom.

A foreign term that Woo Jin-hyuk had never called before, a word laden with indescribable emotion. To Jin-hyuk, it was.

Ten days after returning home, the moment the word "Mom" slipped out of his mouth, Jin-hyuk once again keenly felt how surreal the reality he was standing in was.

He had questions.

Leaving aside his own fate after being shot on the battlefield in 2027, there was now a 17-year-old version of himself in this world. He should be entering a mercenary training camp around this time.

What would happen? Since he had become a different version of himself here, if the 17-year-old version of himself existed in the same world.

There was no immediate way to confirm this. Thinking about it, there was no real need to confirm it right away.

He was just... curious. That was all.

If he were to say now, there was something else he really wanted to confirm. The relationships he had formed before leaving Korea at 17, the faces that occasionally came to mind during his mercenary life.

And for different reasons, there were people he wanted to meet at least once.

But not right away. First, he needed to adapt to the new life he had been given.

As his chaotic mind settled, Jin-hyuk thought about what he needed to do.

The first thing that came to mind was to become the real son, or at least as close to the real son as possible, of this pitiful couple.

For someone who had never had parents, it was not an easy task. But it was something he had to do, and something he wanted to do.

The start was to muster the courage to utter the words "Mom" and "Dad."

“Jin-hyuk. You shouldn’t push yourself too hard yet, okay?”

“Yes, Mom. I’ll be careful.”

And.

What else should he do?

He didn’t know how long this life would last. But in the end, it was the same for everyone. No one could guarantee tomorrow.

This was something the previous Jin-hyuk knew best. Death on the battlefield was always a close friend.

Jin-hyuk decided on one principle.

Live the life he wanted to live. Without regrets.

He wouldn’t live a miserable life anymore. He wouldn’t just exist to be alive, or to survive.

The pain of life he had to bear. If there was a yoke, 34 years of hellish life should have been enough.

There must have been a reason for the exile from hell to end.

That should have been enough.

Now, live a different life.

Jin-hyuk was determined to make an effort every day, step by step, to live the life he wanted to live.

“Huh.”

He took a deep breath, inhaling the city air that still hadn’t cooled from the midday heat. The summer night air excited him pleasantly.

He started exercising the day after he returned from the hospital. Of course, his parents thought it was just a light walk.

Jin-hyuk was pushing his body to its limits in his own style.

The original owner of this body seemed to dislike going outside. From the diary, he seemed to be very introspective and extremely introverted.

Anyway, with all his physical abilities being poor... After 20 days of routine exercise from morning to evening, he could already feel a significant change in his body.

Part of it was due to being a young teenager, and part of it was because the original owner was so weak, making the improvement in physical strength more noticeable.

But there was something that couldn’t be explained by that alone.

Grip.

Jin-hyuk clenched his right fist and flexed his biceps, which looked good, as if it were his own body from his mercenary days.

The emaciated body had gained muscle, and the lean muscles quickly took shape.

His pale face had a healthy complexion, and his white skin glowed with a luster.

Jin-hyuk thought. Perhaps some inexplicable physical change had occurred as his soul merged with this body.

If not, it was hard to explain how Jin-hyuk’s body had become light and strong in such a short time.

It was an unbelievable change in just 20 days.

Swoosh— Swoosh.

Jin-hyuk stood for a moment, loosening his joints, and then started running slowly.

Unlike when he first started, his body now responded comfortably to the running rhythm.

The faster the scenery passed, the more short of breath he became.

The increasing heartbeat. But Jin-hyuk started to accelerate even more, as if it wasn’t enough yet.

The turning point he set was a park about two bus stops away from home. Jin-hyuk didn’t slow down until he reached the playground near his house.

“Huh—”

Stopping at the playground entrance, Jin-hyuk caught his breath. He was about to do some strength training at the playground and then head home.

But at this time, which was usually empty, there were already some visitors.

“Hey. Show it. Just like that.”

“Wow. This looks expensive.”

“No, I can’t. This is—”

“Hey, you bastard. What can’t you do? You not letting it go? Let it go. You little— before you die.”

The first time he saw these guys. They weren’t pleasant. Four guys around Jin-hyuk’s age were surrounding a little kid.

Jin-hyuk couldn’t decide what to do right away.

Of course, if this were a battlefield, the decision would have been simple, but this was still an unfamiliar world of daily life for Jin-hyuk.

“Hey? When did you come here! You little—”

One of the guys surrounding the kid looked at Jin-hyuk.

“Hey. What are you staring at like that? Come over here. You.”

“...”

“Didn’t you hear? Come over here!”

It had been a long time since Jin-hyuk heard someone give him orders unilaterally.

While Jin-hyuk stood still, the guy who spoke to him approached.

“Hey. But this little— What’s wrong with you? Are you scared to move? Who’s going to eat you, kid?”

Thud.

Jin-hyuk easily dodged the guy’s hand that was about to slap his cheek.

“Huh? You blocked it? Hey, look at this little— Do you not get a sense of who I am because I’m being nice?”

Jin-hyuk said with a blank face.

“Just go. Leave that kid alone.”

It was the most polite thing Jin-hyuk could say to a civilian thug.

“What? Hahaha! Hey! Did you hear what this little— said? He said just go. Hey, damn. Should I say, ‘Thank you so much for letting me go’?”

The guy’s face twisted.

“Hey. I was too nice. Let’s start with a punch and talk again. You little—!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the guy’s fist flew.

In an instant, Jin-hyuk’s eyes flashed,

‘Huh?’

The guy’s body, which had thrown the punch, flew through the night air and crashed to the ground.

The guy who had fallen to the ground, as well as the others nearby, had no idea what had just happened.

“What, what? Damn.”

Seeing the little thugs with rabbit eyes, shocked by just this much... Jin-hyuk couldn’t help but laugh.

Cute.

Jin-hyuk had no desire to fight with these kids.

Or rather, he couldn’t fight. For Jin-hyuk, fighting meant killing.

That’s why he didn’t strike. It was a technique to instantly unbalance the opponent, helping them fly with their own force.

But the smile on Jin-hyuk’s face soon turned bitter.

It was around this time.

When Jin-hyuk started survival training with his friends at the mercenary training camp. A fight to the death.

100 became 50, 50 became 25, 25 became 10, and the last 5 were selected as elite candidates.

Some friends became disabled or even died in the fights.

The most painful thing wasn’t the fear of fighting or the fear of death. It was the misery of having to knock down friends to survive.

They were friends who had been dragged to a foreign land, sharing the same suffering.

The overwhelming anxiety and fear quickly bonded them.

But the mercenary group didn’t want kids who clung to each other out of fear. They wanted strong warriors who could survive alone in hell.

So, he knocked down his friends one by one. Just to survive.

Jin-hyuk shook his head to shake off the unpleasant memories.

Then, as if cleaning his mouth, he spoke.

“Go away.”

He had already given them a hint that they were no match for him. But the little thugs, who couldn’t distinguish their opponents, didn’t seem to want to back down.

“Damn!”

The remaining three guys charged at him all at once.

This wasn’t a battlefield. A new definition of fighting was needed. Instead of 'death,' 'education' might be more appropriate.

Whoosh!

He easily dodged the first guy’s punch and delivered a low kick to his ankle.

Crack!

The guy’s leg soared into the air and landed far away.

“Gah!”

Then, he deflected the second guy’s punch with his left hand and delivered a heavy punch to his abdomen.

“Huh!”

The educational effect was clear as the guy clutched his stomach and rolled on the ground.

He dodged the third guy’s punch a few times with a weave and took a few steps back to check the educational effect.

“Do you want more?”

Jin-hyuk asked with a blank face. Or rather, he gave them a chance.

The guy hesitated, glancing at his friends who had fallen in the blink of an eye.

“Gah! Damn, I think my ankle is out!”

The first guy who fell was clutching his ankle and screaming,

“Ugh!”

The second guy, who had been hit in the stomach, was lying on the ground, feeling nauseous.

The last guy, with a pale face, squeezed out a trembling voice.

“Y-You, you, you little—! I’m going to die!”

Thud.

Wrong answer.

Being scared and cursing won’t have any effect. It just hastens the time of death.

Of course, fortunately, in this world, there’s no danger of death. Be grateful.

Swoosh—

Jin-hyuk moved toward the guy.

“Y-You, you, you little—!”

The guy, with a frightened expression, barely extended his trembling fist.

Whoosh—!

Jin-hyuk easily dodged.

Whip!

Again, easily.

Whip! Whip!

After dodging a few more times.

Smack—!

He delivered a punch to the guy’s abdomen, a lesson. Just a light lesson.

“Ow...”

The guy, clutching his stomach, scowled and fell to the ground.

“Ow... Damn... Ugh—.”

Suddenly, the guy burst into tears.

What? Crying?

Jin-hyuk was taken aback.

What a crazy kid. Crying after a fight.

Was it because the pain was too much? Or because he was frustrated at not being able to land a single punch?

Either way, it was unacceptable. Crying after a fight. Jin-hyuk was speechless. This wasn’t a neighborhood kid’s fight...

...It was a kid’s fight.

Jin-hyuk vaguely recalled the orphanage from his childhood, where fighting and crying were part of daily life.

A chuckle escaped his lips.

Meanwhile, the guys who had fallen got up and cautiously approached the crying guy.

It seemed they weren’t trying to fight more. They were looking at Jin-hyuk and pulling their crying friend.

“Hey. Let’s go.”

“Ugh—!”

“Damn. It’s embarrassing. Let’s go. Come on, let’s go!”

The guys who were wiping their tears and still couldn’t move were pulled away by the others. After retreating a bit, they turned back and shouted.

“Hey! You little—! You’re done for! Just wait! I remember your face!”

Jin-hyuk twisted his lips. He hoped their memory wasn’t too good.

If they made the same mistake again, he couldn’t guarantee that it would end with just a light lesson, no matter how young they were.

Jin-hyuk looked around. The kid who had been bullied had already run away.

The playground was quiet again.

Jin-hyuk stared at the bushes for a moment.

“...”

Then, as if nothing had happened, he quietly loosened his body.

***

‘What a surprise.’

The shadow hiding behind the bushes let out a sigh of relief, only now realizing that his mouth had been open.

‘Wow... Is this... even possible?’

The wide, but quiet eyes followed Jin-hyuk’s movements for a long time.