1 – Prologue (Revised)
Ever since I was young, I was good at fighting.
It wasn’t so much about enjoying the fights.
Being an orphan without parents, I simply chose to fight as a way to protect myself.
Maybe because of it, no one dared belittle me by calling me an orphan by the time I was in high school.
However, I could not continue living like this forever.
“Eugene, what do you want to become when you grow up?”
The words of my homeroom teacher triggered me to ponder.
What should I do for living in the future?
Honestly, if I continued living only relying on my fists, I was sure to end up with a life worse than a gangster’s, and I didn’t desire that.
Then, I saw an advertisement.
[Overseas Deployment]
The requirements weren’t demanding at all. A minimum of a high school education.
The reason was simple. The deployment was to a conflict zone where gunfights were taking place. If the qualification requirements were too stringent, nobody would apply.
But it was different for me.
A soldier.
Hard and perhaps undervalued, but that path seemed the best to me.
I applied for deployment with a let-it-be mindset, and graduated from the training camp as the top contender among the competitive candidates.
“How about considering going to the U.S.?”
I was fortunate to have caught the eye of an officer and even got the opportunity to be dispatched to a famous special unit in the U.S.
There, they taught me all kinds of specialized techniques they wouldn’t teach in Korea.
How to infiltrate, how to suppress, how to rescue hostages, how to kill efficiently, and so forth.
About three months in, the chief instructor called me aside.
“If you want, I can make you a U.S. citizen.”
He appealed to me, enumerating all kinds of benefits. He was greatly impressed with my training and claimed that I wouldn’t even need a year to become an active-duty soldier.
“I’m sorry.”
But I did not accept his offer. By doing so, I would have betrayed the expectations of the officer who recommended me.
Above all, I had a strong psychological resistance to ceasing to be a Korean.
“So that’s how it is?”
The commanding officer nodded with noticeable regret, although he never stopped sweet talking me.
After turning down the perks added each month and returning to Korea, the officer who had recommended me welcomed me back with noticeable excitement.
“Ha-ha! You did well! You really did!”
Immediately, I was dispatched to the conflict area. To prevent my identity from being exposed, I had to guise myself as a mercenary publicly.
Every month, new armed groups and terrorists emerged, and dozens of colleagues were killed each year.
Only after ten years did I realise.
“Damn, I should have become an American.”
The fact that I was a fool.
*****
“These bastards.”
Was it that hard to give a single permission?
Despite I have been in the army for over ten years, I never thought I’d be treated like this.
Even those bastards had some minimal amount of shame, they sent me a lengthy official document but essentially it said:
[Leave is permitted, but returning home is up to you.]
A civilian aircraft, not a military one. The medium-sized passenger plane full of foreigners is all because of them.
If I hadn’t furiously pleaded with my superiors, saying I couldn’t do this any longer, this also would have been impossible.
“We have news about the dissolution of Iraq’s armed terrorist group IW. Correspondent, how is the situation on the ground?”
“Why do you even watch the news? You already know everything.”
The man seated beside me said this.
It was, of course, our first meeting.
“You’re Mr. Kim Yu-jin, correct?”
Ignoring him initially, I turned my head and looked at him directly. A swarm of possibilities flooded my mind the moment he called my name.
In retrospect, he wasn’t an ordinary person. No, I was certain.
A sea of emotions hidden behind his smile.
Even hardened mercenaries weren’t like this. I couldn’t even guess how many people one had to kill to have that look in one’s eyes.
Who had sent him?
“No one sent me. I came of my own accord. I’m a big fan of yours.”
He smirked menacingly.
“For your information, I just read your mind.”
I thought I had seen everything in life, but I had never come across someone like him.
“By the way, this plane will explode exactly in one minute. And all 137 passengers, including you Mr. Yu-jin, will die.”
“A terrorist, are you?”
“Of course not, I just know what happens in the future.”
Could I have unknowingly taken some drug? Perhaps, a new form of PTSD.
“Mr. Kim Yu-jin, have you ever thought you were born in the wrong era?”
The era?
That was a thought I hadn’t had before. I’ve considered myself unlucky, but that’s about it.
A pitiful orphan, who had never seen his parents face, moving from one orphanage to another, filled with corruption and disgusting directors.
To say the least, my life hadn’t been smooth sailing.
“Unfortunately, you really were born in the wrong era.”
The man smirked with smug satisfaction.
“I will give you a new life.”
“How so?”
There was no particular reason for such a response. I was merely curious about how this man would continue to babble his nonsense.
I thought I would later share a laugh with my colleagues if his story was convincing.
“Didn’t I tell you just now? Everyone on this plane is going to die. For me, saving one soul from such a major disaster isn’t such a challenging task.”
“hahahaha. So you’re going to save my soul?”
“Precisely.”
“Sons of-.”
Before I could finish, a sharp noise echoed from the speaker connected to the cockpit.
[Screams!]
[Kill them! Kill them all!]
Unmistakable sound of gunfire that shouldn’t be heard here. The desperate cries of the veteran crew.
Certainly not the sort of sounds to be heard during a normal flight.
Amidst the murmuring noise from all around, only the man’s voice remained calm.
“The time has come. You have about 30 seconds left. What will you do?”
“……”
Instead of answering, I stood up. At the end of the corridor, I saw a terrorist wearing a familiar
“‘…What are you?’
‘Answer my question first.’
It was a holiday I had earned after a full decade. And this happens?
‘Can I avoid it?’
I can’t avoid it.
Even if I were lucky to have a parachute, what happens after was the problem.
Because this plane was flying right over the Middle East.
More than anything,
‘Will this bastard let me live?’
Those were chilling eyes that could not be thought of as human.
The answer was determined from the very beginning.
‘…Damn.’
I rubbed the throbbing pain in my head and toyed with the cigarette I had in my possession.
I had planned to quit after returning to my country, but the world hadn’t given me the break. I could never make an excuse for having encountered the wrong superior.
Now, I was worse off than those superiors.
It’s not like the superiors quit successfully. They merely didn’t survive up to this point.
[Ladies and gentlemen. Please brace for impact…]
I lit a cigarette and looked around.
‘Argh!’
‘Everyone raise your hands!’
‘Mom! Mommy!’
Passengers who were shot were screaming and rolling on the floor. The airliner was heading for its climax, and I was the only one keeping my senses.
Of course, the man in front of me was an exception. He sat unmoving, staring at me.
’10 seconds left. This really is your last chance, Yoojin. Do you want to live a new life?’
‘You mother******. At least you should tell me where we are going.’
‘I was going to, but you wasted too much time. There’s no time left to explain the terms and conditions.’
The man shrugged his shoulders.”
“But one thing is certain, it’s far better over there compared to rotting as a mercenary in this world.”
The mercenary was merely a disguise to hide his real identity as a South Korean soldier, but he was not sentimental enough to care about it at that moment.
“……What do you want?”
Based on experience, his type were not volunteers. They were closer to rogues, taking as much advantage as they could.
“I’m simply curious about how high you might rise in that world.”
“What’s that ‘world’ you’re talking about?”
“Heh heh. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know. It’s a very, very far away place.”
From Noble mtl dot com
I took my last sip and nodded. I had nothing to lose anyway.
Whether he was a devil or a death-bringer, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like my soul was being pawned.
“Heh heh. That’s an excellent choice.”
I’ve hunted terrorists on the battlefield for ten years, but it’s a shame to perish due to terrorism.
Still, wouldn’t a state funeral be given for such a massive accident? For someone like me who doesn’t have a family to leave behind, perhaps dying this way is rather more preferable.
“Can I punch you once?”
Instead of answering, the man smirked.
What an annoying bastard.
“I wish you luck.”
Kwaahhhhh…!
Simultaneously with his last words, my body was flung away, and an intense pain washed over me.
That was my last memory.