Chapter 4: 4 – Inevitable Fate

I quickly took inventory of the situation.

Seeing Jinhee on the ground in the corner with her clothes ruffled but still intact, I let out a sigh. "Looks like I made it just in time."

"Hm?" There was a man standing in the middle of the room, looming over Jinhee. He turned around to look at me. "Who the hell are you?"

I glanced over to see Jinhee's "friends" with their phones out.

A quick surveillance with my eyes showed they weren't filming yet.

Good.

"T-That's... Is that blood?" The plain looking girl, Minjee took a step back.

"Oppa...?" Jinhee's weak voice echoed from the corner of the room.

I turned to look at her and suppressed my fury. Instead, I gave her a faint smile and said, "I'll take care of everything, Jinhee. Just relax, alright?"

Was it because of her exhaustion, fatigue, or relief? Either way, my adorable younger sister's eyes fluttered shut and she fell unconscious.

The moment she did, I dashed towards her former friends.

Minjee was the closest. She screamed and held up her hands. I lashed out with my leg and knocked her phone away, shattering it. After that, I stepped past her and lashed out with my knife.

The other girls screamed too and threw their phones away. When they did, I threw my knives at them, breaking both.

With that, the girls ran away in fear, leaving just the man in the room along with Jinhee.

"Hm." The man stared at me, completely unfazed and said, "So you're the 'Oppa' that Minjee was jealous about." He tilted his head and glanced at me. "And from the way you are... I guess you got past those bozos. I don't sense any of 'that sides' mark on you though."

I didn't respond. Instead, I raised my guard.

The man was glowing in crimson light. Not only that, but his demeanor spoke of someone accustomed to getting what he want and unafraid of death. No, perhaps he didn't perceive me as a threat at all.

And that was reasonable.

[Gwan Hak]
Level 3 Guard
Sinyoung Bronze Stamp.
Intrigued.
Lavisious bastard.

A level three. I didn't know that scaling, but I could tell that he was definitely beyond the other two I killed.

"Hoh? You can sense it, can't you?" Gwan Hak smiled and stepped forward. He glanced at the knife on the ground and then casually picked it up. After looking over it a few times, he tossed it over to me. "Here."

I grabbed it from the air.

That done, he picked up the other knife. "I'm impressed. To get here while being a normal person and armed only with a knife..." He glanced back at Jinhee and said, "You want the girl, right? I'm guessing she's your little sister?"

I didn't respond, instead scanning his body.

Slightly more muscular right arm. A build honed with muscles suited to stabbing and piercing rather than slashing with a weapon. And paired with his title... A spearman? No, he probably used a rapier normally.

"How about this? If you win, I'll let the girl go. Not only that, but I'll even let you in on a little secret worth your while. After all, someone as talented as you-"

I moved, silver flashing through the air.

The sound of metal clashing.

Gwan Hak sighed. "I guess not, huh?" He twisted and pushed me back. "Well. We'll do this the hard way then."

He stepped forward and thrust his knife.

A blinding slash. Even with my eyes being able to perceive the blow, I couldn't move in time. At least, with just my body. So then-

"Hm?"

I used my mana and shoved myself out of the way.

Gwan Hak narrowed his eyes and said, "Magic? No, excellent reflexes and intuition." He laughed. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise." He grinned. "You're a lucky man. I won't kill you, but-"

"Tch. I don't have time for this."

He was still glowing red. That meant that it was dangerous to get in a prolonged fight. At the same time, Jinhee was glowing yellow.

I couldn't let this drag on. If I did and the man got serious, I couldn't be sure Jinhee would be safe.

So then...

I stepped forward and slashed with my knife.

Gwan Hak sighed. "That won't work." He brought his knife up to parry, blocking the edge of my blade.

Or he tried to.

*Got you.*

A thin, razor edge line of electrons. An invisible blade that cut at a molecular level.

*shinck*

"Huh?"

Gwan Hak's eyes widened, realizing that his blade was cut through. "That's imp-" He quickly glanced to me, realizing that he couldn't take my blade. But before he could move, I blurred out of sight.

"What in the- Kuh!"

Blood blossomed from the man's chest. His eyes were wide open in shock as he stared at my face. "Impossible. That's absolutely impo-"

I swung my knife again and ripped the man in half.

A limp thud echoed as his split body fell to the ground.

When it did, I let out a deep sigh.

"That was a close one."

My body burned and my eyes throbbed. That was dangerous. A single misstep and I would have failed.

I shook my head and then cleaned up the evidence, deconstructing the knife into ambient mana and removing traces of my DNA.

When that was done, I picked Jinhee up and ran off, using what little mana I had left to hide from sight.

At least, that was what I intended. But I didn't realize that there was someone watching me through surveillance as I did.

"Interesting..."

xxx

Yoo Seonhwa sighed and hung up her phone. "He's still not answering..."

It was late at night. After Jihu's frantic phone call, Seonhwa went to take his mother to the hospital to visit his father. There, she met up with Wooseok who would take it over from there.

That done, she headed back to check on Jihu at his apartment and tried to call him, but the guy didn't answer.

"Did something happen to him too?" She muttered.

Her instincts were telling her that something went wrong. That there was something important happening around Jihu.

He had changed. Back in the summer, he suddenly changed his bad habits and seemed to have gone back to his old self. And, while she hadn't seen him personally, Jinhee told her that he was even working hard, training his body and then finding a job doing web development online.

It was odd. Sudden enough that Seonhwa wondered if he hadn't gone to that other place. But it couldn't be.

While he hadn't realized it, Seonhwa had snuck around to tail him a few times. His instincts were sharper than she expected, but she also didn't detect the tell-tale sign of a stamp or contract on him.

It seemed like he really did come to an epiphany after almost abandoning Jinhee on the road.

But then, what was going on now? Did the loan sharks come after him and take Jinhee? Or-

Knocks at the front door.

Seonhwa frowned. Her younger sister, Seunghwae should be out on a sleepover with her friends. And she didn't have any visitors planned. So then who...?

She shook her head and walked over to open the door. When she did-

"Seonhwa."

-Her eyes widened. "Jihu...?" She noticed Jinhee unconscious in his arms and gasped. "What happened?"

Seol Jihu staggered inside the house. Carefully holding Jinhee in his arms, he looked around before placing her on a sofa nearby. Afterwards, he said, "Trouble. Jinhee ran into the wrong crowd."

"Jinhee did?" Seonhwa glanced back. "I didn't think that Jinhee would be the type to do that."

"She's not. But it seems like her friends got into a misunderstanding when they saw me and got jealous." Jihu let out a long sigh. "Dammit. This day just keeps getting worse."

At that time, Seonhwa used it to take a closer look at Jihu.

He was different. Was it because he grew from his self-reflection? There was an older air around him, like a man a decade older. Not only that, but there was a certain fatigue in his eyes that hadn't been there in the past. That, and determination.

Of course, there was also the fact that he had trained his body and now looked like a model, but Seonhwa decided to shelf that thought for the moment and focus on his current state.

Specifically, the fact that he was covered in blood.

"What happened, Jihu?"

He shook his head. "There's not enough time to explain." He glanced in the distance and then frowned. "...I think they're after me."

"They? Jihu, what-"

"Seonhwa."

Hearing the solemn tone in his voice, Seonhwa froze.

Jihu sighed and then gave a deep bow. "I'm sorry... but I think this is it for me. If I don't return in a month, please give my apologies to mom and dad. My assets are with the usual password, and I've left everything in a safebox at the bank. You know the one."

With that, he started walking away.

"W-Wait! Jihu!"

Seonhwa reached out after him, but before she could...

"Bye, Seonhwa. I hope that you find someone better than me."

...He vanished.

xxx

Tancheon River Bridge. Late in the evening, around 8PM.

A place that Jihu usually went to in the past to lament his losses. For me, it would be the first.

I knew it already- No, I had a feeling it would be like this.

Kneeling at the riverbank and staring into the dark waters, a familiar but unfamiliar face stared back.

Slightly long hair, swept in bangs. Sharp but tired eyes, shimmering with faint power. A muscular body beneath a form-fitting shirt and jacket.

The reflection of the moon was in the water. Staring at it, the memories of the past few months flickered past.

"It seems like it's fate to end up like this, is it?"

I couldn't go back. The guys I killed were Sinyoung. All it would take was a bit of asking around and then my family would be in danger.

Thankfully, there was Seonhwa. Since she was that Baek Haeju in the other world, she would be able to marshal forces to protect them.

That meant that there was just the issue of myself.

I could feel it now. At the moment, I hit the limit I could reach on Earth. While I managed to take out a level three, I was certain that anyone past that would be beyond me.

So then I needed to get stronger. And to do that, I needed a place with ambient mana. A world where I could use it to acquire the resources to become separate from the system binding me here, from the 'laws' preventing a human from crossing the boundary due to a lack of resources.

Fortunately, if my intuition was correct...

"You won't die even if you fall in there." A silvery voice rang out, followed by light footsteps. "Then again, someone like you probably wouldn't even die like that if you tried."

I glanced at the approaching figure.

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Thin glasses. A white blouse, a black jacket, and a grey H-line skirt that clearly outlined her curves. With a leather office bag in her hand, she looked to be a typical young businesswoman.

I stood up and stared at her.

She smiled and walked over, coming to a stop in front of me. Giving a cursory look, she said, "Seol Jihu. Former gambling addict, older brother of Seol Jinhee, and current free lance web developer. But most importantly..." A sly smile crossed her face and she said, "The mysterious man who rampaged through Sinyoung's nightclub to get back his sister and killed two of their men and a VIP. That's you, right?"

A playful voice that betrayed her serious attire and accusations.

"...Seems like I wasn't careful enough."

I stared at her and words flickered to life.

[Kim Hannah]
Foxy Vixen.
Delightfully curious.
Eager to score big.

Thankfully, she didn't flash any colors. That meant that she wasn't a threat... But I figured that would be the case.

"Here." She took out a business card with practiced ease and handed it to me.

I took it and glanced at the contents. "Sinyoung Pharmaceuticals, Director Kim Hannah, huh?"

"That's me." She smiled and nodded. "As for you... Hm. You're a lot calmer than I thought you'd be."

"Why worry?"

"Well," she said. "Considering that Sinyoung would go after your family and considering you stopped your gambling addiction because of them, I think I'd be a little worried about it, wouldn't you?"

I nodded. "True... but since you're here, I'm guessing you have a solution?"

"That's right." She gave a bright smile and said, "I've come to deliver gre~at news." She adjusted her purse and said, "Now, I know you quit gambling, but how about a little bet? If you win, all of these problems will disappear..." She snapped her fingers. "Like that. Of course, if you lose-"

"I refuse."

"Oh?" Kim Hannah smirked. "I wouldn't be too hasty."

A triumphant expression, one that said that I was different from what she expected, but had no way out.

She opened her mouth to speak. But before she could-

"If it's not the Contract, I'll hear you out. Otherwise, get lost."

Kim Hannah's smile froze. She blinked, and then said, "Come again?"

I shook my head. "What I want is an Invitation, not a Contract."

With those words, Kim Hannah's smile faded. Not, it was erased as if it never appeared. In its place, an icy gaze emerged. She took off her glasses and then said, "Who are you?"

I smiled and said, "Don't you already know, Miss Director?"

Her icy gaze turned into a sharp glare. "You're already from that side, aren't you?"

"I think you'd know that better than anyone else." I responded while staring at the information flickering before me.

[Kim Hannah]
Confused.
Cautious.
Mentally reviewing half a year's worth of notes.

Carefully hiding her emotions, Kim Hannah crossed her arms and said, "You expect me to believe that after showing you know the difference between an Invitation and a Contract?"

I shrugged.

"...Fine. Enough playing around." She stared at me and said, "You don't seem to have the Mark... so who contacted you first? The others?"

"That doesn't matter." I stared at her and said, "The only thing that does is that I want an Invitation and not a Contract."

Kim Hannah muttered underneath her breath and then stared at me. "You... Hm." She tapped her purse and looked torn. "You're impressive, but... to waste my precious invitation like this... Dammit, I didn't come here to be the one who gambles."

"Then you shouldn't have come at all." I stared at her and said, "After all, you'll regret it now if you don't give me an Invitation."

"Oh?" Kim Hannah raised an eyebrow and said, "Do tell."

"Well, I don't know how much of your information about me is up to date, but I'm quite prolific online, you know? It's under a pseudonym, true, but I'm pretty sure you've heard of the game 'Brave Five?'"

Kim Hannah froze. "That's... You're bluffing."

"Gee, Who's Soul Incorporated... Seol Jihu." I shrugged. "Seems pretty close to just be coincidence, doesn't it?"

"...So what?" She crossed her arms and said, "Even if you have a strong online presence, you murdered two men. It'd be a simple matter for Sinyoung to have you tossed in jail."

"True. But it's also just as easy for me to run away and then spread information about a certain Sinyoung Director approaching me. I don't know how many would believe me about Sinyoung developing new medicine from another world's resources... but I'm sure that your higher ups would care, right?"

Kim Hannah grit her teeth. "You wouldn't fucking dare."

"Wouldn't I?" I held up my hands and said, "I'll be honest, I do care about my family... but I have a history of being a worthless son. They'll be hurt if I disappear, but they'll just chalk it up to being caught in some loanshark scheme and then writing me off from the family. Even if you tried to get someone to drag them into this mess or implicate them, you have no legal grounds."

I narrowed my eyes. "And if you tried it by force... Well, I just happened to learn today that people from the other side aren't quite as tough as they think they are while on Earth."

"You son of a bitch!" Kim Hannah lowered her arms and glared at me.

"What? It's simple, isn't it?" I smiled and said, "Give me an Invitation. It's a win-win situation." I paused and said, "I don't know how you saw me, but I'm sure you're aware of my capabilities. If you Invite me, your prestige would go up with my achievements, right? And unlike some people, I'm not one to go back on my words."

Kim Hannah scoffed. "This coming from a former gambling addict?"

"This coming from a man who could have killed you three times over the moment you approached me. Or did you not realize it yet?"

Kim Hannah froze, suddenly realizing the distance between us. Specifically, how she was only a single step away.

She seemed rattled for a brief moment, but then calmed down. "You have a point. But even if I did want to give you an Invitation, I don't have the authority to do so."

I stared at her face and said, "You're lying."

"And what makes you think that?"

I smiled and said, "I'm a former gambling addict. I might have lost myself in it a while back and relied on luck too much, but in the beginning I used my skill and analysis to win big. Specifically..." I threw my smile away and said, "I learned to tell when people are lying. The faint twitch in their eyes. The slight tremble of their lips. The slightest movement in their face that they can't control, no matter how skilled. And I have to admit, you're skilled, Director Hannah. But you can't hide it from me."

"...Damn it." Kim Hannah cursed again.

I didn't need to read her status to know that she had already tilted towards giving the invitation. So instead, I just waited.

"Damn it. Damn it, damn it." She scowled at me and then held out her phone, hesitating. Then, before she pressed the button, she looked at me and said, "Fine. But you have to give me three conditions."

"Mm... I'm listening. But it depends on the Invitation." I narrowed my eyes and said, "Don't try to cheat me. I might not know all the details, but I can tell the value of what's being offered."

"Tch." Kim Hannah had the look of a child with their hand in the cookie jar and then said, "Fine. I'll give you the most special Invitation I have if that makes you feel better. BUT! You have to agree to these conditions or else it's over. And even if you kill me, don't even think that I'd let you off easy."

I held up my hands. "Hey, I only hurt those who've wronged me. And you haven't. Yet."

Did my words reassure her? Kim Hannah seemed to look at me in a different light as she nodded. "Alright. Then the first condition. You have to swear that you've never entered that world before. Right here, right now."

I nodded. "I swear."

Kim Hannah gave me a level gaze and then nodded. "The second condition. I want you to tell me about your secret when I hand over the Invitation. About how you already knew these things."

I carefully evaluated her and then said, "...Not now. There's still not enough trust between us for me to know that you won't use it against me. But I'll swear that I'll tell you in the future when I know I can trust you."

"...That's fair." Kim Hannah nodded. "Then, the final condition... After you successfully enter that world, you have to negotiate with me first before anybody else, no matter what. Understood?"

They were harsh words said in a firm tone. But even so, I could see the fragility behind them. The faint hope hidden beneath that cold exterior.

I smiled and said, "That's easy. I'd rather deal with someone foxy like you than a black-hearted businessman any day."

"Foxy, huh?" Kim Hannah's eyes grew sharp, but they also carried a hint of approval. "Well, I can't say I like you, but I guess I can respect your ability to figure that much out. Hah..." She sighed and put her phone away. After that, she rummaged in her pocket. When she pulled her hand out, there were four stamps between each of her fingers: red, bronze, silver, and then gold.

She raised her hand and stared at the stamps. "You won't sign the contract, so this won't work." She took away the red stamp. "The bronze... I can use it with my authority, but it's still a shared asset. I don't even need to mention the silver."

She put those two away, leaving only the gold stamp.

That done, she stared at me, anguish and bitterness clear in her eyes.

Then, with resolve in her eyes, she tightened her hand around the gold stamp and rushed towards me.

I instinctively stepped back, prepared to counterattack. But seeing that she didn't have any malicious intent, only frustration in her eyes, I didn't retreat.

Kim Hannah grabbed my left arm and then slammed the gold stamp on my palm. "Take this, you bastard!"

A sharp pain and surge of mysterious energy as well as bright light.

My eyes widened and I instinctively activated my ability.

[Divine Mark]
Mark of a divine entity, Gula.
Granted to Kim Hannah to find a fated individual to bring to Paradise.
Contains a vestige of divine power.

I felt the mysterious energy instantly flood my body and try to go deeper, entrenching with something fundamental in my sense of self.

I narrowed my eyes and then forcibly stopped it.

The energy froze, and for a split moment seemed surprised.

The moment it did, I quickly reached out and tore it apart, assimilating it on my own terms.

The energy resisted, as if it had a life of its own. But unfortunately for it, the energy had voluntarily entered my own body, and I damned as all hell wasn't going to let my body be hijacked like I did to Seol.

The light faded, leaving a small round mark in the middle of my palm. As if a burn, it slowly emitted a reddish-gold light. But before long, it vanished.

While I was staring at it, an envelope flew towards me.

I grabbed it out of the air and flipped it over, staring at it. From the black paper and golden ribbons, it seemed like that was the Invitation letter.

Kim Hannah scowled and said, "The Gate will open tonight at 10:30PM, around two hours from now." She paused and then said, "Dammit. And now I have to sort out that incident... Tch." She glared at me and said, "You'd better be grateful that I'm your Inviter and do well over there."

I nodded. "As long as you won't disappoint me, I won't disappoint you. That's the Golden Rule, right?"

Kim Hannah froze, her eyes widening. As if amused by something, she snorted and said, "Just my luck... Whatever." She started walking away, but after a few steps she stopped and turned around. Staring at me with trembling eyes, she said, "Don't you dare die over there! I don't care what you do, but you'd better survive and enter that world, got it?!"

I smiled. "Don't worry. Even if I don't I'll make sure to pay you back in some other way in this world. After all, an ambitious woman like you probably has some targets to get rid of, right?"

She stared at me a bit longer and then sighed before walking away.

When she did, I concealed my presence and then opened up the envelope to read the letter.

The flattery and context weren't important, so I skimmed over it. But there was something else important.

"10:30PM, March 16th, 2017. And I have to open this letter at that time, huh? Well, considering I already did, all I have to do is wait now."

The inevitable occurrence. The world that I was bound towards due to my identity as Seol Jihu.

...Was the future the same, I wondered. Or was that person 'me' who turned back?

I didn't know. But I knew one thing.

This cruel path, the long road and the losses along the way... I wouldn't go through the same events.

But in exchange...

I shook my head and moved over to the underside of the bridge.

It'd be bad if someone saw the light, so I made sure to conceal the area as well.

When I did, I paused. "If I die there, I should return here. But the memories will get erased, huh?"

If that happened to me... Well, I don't know if I would be completely fine, but I would definitely not be as bad off as Seol had been.

But just in case...

I stared at the underside of the bridge and then etched a message. Just in case...

[Markings of Determination]
An energy signature infused with Seol Jihu's will.
Never forget. You were invited and you entered that world.
Good luck, and use this to refresh your memories.

How long had passed? Before I knew it, mana began to stir. At the same time, the air in front of me rippled, causing a green circle to emerge.

I looked off into the distance and muttered, "I'm trusting you to take care of things on this side, Seonhwa. I'll be back when I'm strong enough to take care of everyone. Promise."

The light spread, I felt the air around me distort, and then-

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