The Damned - Chapter 1

“…Was the Han River always this close?”

A few years ago, due to a giant fish-like monster, the tributaries of the Han River had branched out in multiple directions, bringing the river much closer to Yeo-Woon’s neighborhood.

The scene of the massive fish monster thrashing around madly before it died was still vividly etched in his mind.

As a result, the area where Yeo-Woon stood now had the widest and deepest part of the river, making it look more like an endless ocean than a river.

When Yeo-Woon was young, his brother told him that there was a very beautiful river in Seoul.

‘Lies.’

The area around the Han River was dark and desolate, a place where monsters could appear at any time, where life could end at any moment.

“Ugh… Cho Taek-Soo, you bastard.”

Yeo-Woon had been robbed of all his money by Cho Taek-Soo, who was now his ex-boyfriend.

The money had been earned by serving drinks and selling smiles to sleazy low-class hunters just so he could escape the unprotected zones. Cho Taek-Soo had taken his bank account and disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a pile of junk at home.

There were rumors that he had become a kept man of some high-ranking hunter, or that he had awakened as a hunter himself, but living in the most remote part of the unprotected zone, Yeo-Woon had no way of knowing the truth.

Feeling suffocated, Yeo-Woon walked and walked. Maybe the Han River appearing before him was fate.

“Is this it? A sign from God telling me to stop living. If you were going to take me, you should have done it earlier. Is it that fun to watch me stubbornly cling to life?”

Yeo-Woon shouted at the unlucky Han River. Strangely, he felt a sense of relief afterward.

He had nothing left to leave behind, no money left, and not even enough for his own funeral. The thought that it would all end if he just threw himself into the river made the tiny remnants of hesitation disappear.

Without hesitation, Yeo-Woon climbed onto the railing.

As he looked down at the pitch-black water, the reality of death finally sank in. His miserable life flashed before his eyes like a lantern slide.

Yeo-Woon closed his eyes and spread his arms.

“If you’re going to die, do it tomorrow.”

But at that moment, a man, who Yeo-Woon hadn’t noticed until then, spoke to him. Startled, Yeo-Woon nearly slipped and fell, though he was planning to jump anyway…

“If you’re going to die, do it tomorrow. Today’s not the day.”

The man, dressed in a black suit, lit a cigarette without changing his expression as he spoke.

He had the build and sharp gaze reminiscent of a tiger. His strong brow and sharp nose were not those of an ordinary person.

Although he was quite handsome, he exuded an aura that made it hard for anyone to approach him carelessly.

“…Who are you?”

Yeo-Woon summoned the courage to speak. After all, he was about to die anyway, so why not?

At those words, the man raised an eyebrow and looked at Yeo-Woon. His cold, golden eyes seemed to pierce right through Yeo-Woon’s face.

Yeo-Woon had a sudden realization upon seeing those eyes.

…He’s a hunter. And a very dangerous one at that.

It was the gaze of a predator. Everything about the man, except his shining golden eyes, seemed to have lost its color, turning pitch black.

Among the customers who occasionally visited his shop, there were a few hunters whose eye color had changed due to their abilities.

Most of them were high-ranking hunters who had severe side effects from their abilities, to the point where they could hardly function in daily life without alcohol or drugs.

But this was the first time Yeo-Woon had seen a hunter with such a calm appearance despite having changed eye color.

“Mister…?”

“…Why are you interfering?”

Yeo-Woon mustered up the courage once more.

His life was meaningless whether he died now or later. Even if he was beaten to death by a hunter, it didn’t matter. In fact, dying at someone else’s hands seemed easier than throwing himself into the river.

“No matter how much you’ve decided to die, isn’t it a bit unfair to become monster food?”

The man spoke indifferently, slipping one hand into his pocket.

He gestured towards the river with a nod of his chin.

“What the… is that?”

Following his gaze, Yeo-Woon unconsciously looked towards the river, where he saw a round, smooth island floating on the pitch-black waters of the Han River.

When did that get there?

The round island began to grow larger, inflating like a balloon. Its smooth surface gleamed so brightly that Yeo-Woon, forgetting the situation, found himself thinking it looked beautiful.

As he leaned in closer, almost hypnotized by its appearance, the black sphere suddenly opened a massive maw.

It wasn’t an island or a sphere—it was a monster.

Inside the foul-smelling mouth were thousands of horrifying eyes, all glaring at Yeo-Woon.

[Kraaah―!]

“…Aah!”

Startled, Yeo-Woon let go of the railing he was holding onto.

“No, no…!”

Before he could grab onto anything, his body plummeted into the air.

Damn it, the man was right.

Even though he’d decided to die, he didn’t want to die as monster food. He struggled desperately, but it was no use. His small body was powerless as it fell helplessly toward the monster’s open mouth.

The last thing Yeo-Woon saw was the still-dark sky and the black-clad man who was smiling.

Someone’s about to die, and he’s smiling.

‘Maybe… he’s a grim reaper or something like that.’

Yeo-Woon thought as he watched the monster’s mouth close in front of him.

The man, seeing Yeo-Woon, mouthed something.

‘Close enough.’

And then, there was darkness.

* * *

‘This time, I’ll be going far away for work. If you listen to the teacher here, your brother will come to get you soon.’

Damn it, is this another dream? Or is it one of those life-flashing-before-your-eyes moments before death?

As soon as Yeo-Woon saw his brother, he realized that what he was seeing wasn’t real. His brother always appeared in dreams or hallucinations during Yeo-Woon’s most miserable moments.

The area near the orphanage where his brother had left him was bustling like a market. His brother, who had come to abandon him in a luxury sedan, reeked of blood.

It was the smell of death. Even to a child’s eyes, his brother looked pale and sickly, his face ashen.

Yeo-Woon knew even then that his brother wouldn’t come back for him. Or rather, that he couldn’t come back. The cunning seven-year-old knew the truth but still chose to say this:

‘H-hyung… you have to come get me.’

‘Sure.’

After answering briefly, as if it was difficult to say more, his brother got out of the car and bowed politely to the nun standing at the gate.

Was his brother crying back then?

Yeo-Woon wasn’t sure. He couldn’t even remember his brother’s face anymore. Perhaps his brother was relieved to finally rid himself of a burden like Yeo-Woon.

He should’ve looked up and seen his brother’s face.

But back then, Yeo-Woon had lowered his head to hide his tears, missing the chance to see his brother’s face. And after a few accidents, he completely forgot what his brother looked like. All that remained in his faint memory was his brother’s scarred hands.

Looking back, his brother had just become an adult at that time. To him, a younger sibling to take care of must have been an unbearable burden.

Yet, even in a world where monsters could appear at any moment, his brother raised Yeo-Woon alone for four years before taking him to the orphanage.

The brother Yeo-Woon remembered was always covered in wounds. If he were an Awakened, even a low-rank hunter, he would’ve healed quickly and not been covered in scars. So, his brother must have been a non-Awakened, just like Yeo-Woon now.

A few days after his brother left him at the orphanage, a gate opened in the sky above the orphanage’s playground. That day, Yeo-Woon saw a monster in person for the first time, not just on the news.

‘One, two, three….’

He hid inside a slide, covering his ears, counting in his head.

How many times did he count to a hundred?

When the noise finally subsided, Yeo-Woon came out to find the nuns and volunteers who had tried to protect the children, and the children themselves, reduced to blood and flesh.

Even as his friends were impaled by the monster’s horn, Yeo-Woon could do nothing. That day, Yeo-Woon became the only survivor from the orphanage.

Afterward, he wandered through dangerous zones. The childhood of a child without a guardian was predictable. Yeo-Woon slept on the streets and lived there with the friends he made.

Most of the people he met on the streets were non-Awakened like him.

The name “Yeo-Woon” was just a remnant from a vague childhood memory. The surname “Gil” was given to him by the leader of a pickpocket gang who had attached his own surname to Yeo-Woon’s name.

So, while Yeo-Woon couldn’t remember when he started using that name, he remembered the day he was given the surname “Gil” very clearly.

Yeo-Woon lived a tattered life, much like his name. In the end, the leader who gave him the surname “Gil” died, torn apart by a lizard-like monster after living a life soaked in drugs.

Even while living on the streets, Yeo-Woon would sometimes go back to the orphanage site to leave letters, hoping his brother might come looking for him.

But after the leader died and Yeo-Woon started working at the bar Heaven, he stopped doing even that.

Waiting had always been futile. And even if his brother did come, he wouldn’t be happy to find a sibling who was selling smiles and liquor at a bar.