"Is he crying?" A rough voice snorted. "Why won't he look up at us?"
"Oh please! He wouldn't be our go-to outlet if he was this easily broken!"
In a quiet corner of a wide lobby, four figures stood.
Bo Haekyun, a red-haired boy, stood at the center, flanked by two others. In front of them was a boy with black hair, shoulders slumped and head bowed.
"If not crying, then is he cursing his fate? Hahaha!" Bo Haekyun taunted with a laugh.
Crossing her arms, the girl on the other side, Shim Sion quipped. "What do you expect? Would he dare look us in the eye? We are on a completely different level, very different. He just knows his place."
The other boy, Ma Naki, nudged forward, chuckling. "He's gonna cry. I swear he is."
Their mocking laughter rang loud. But another sound soon followed.
"Kkuhu!"
A cough.
Ah— what am I doing? I can't break character now.
Contrary to what they believed, a near maniacal smile was what stretched across the boy's face.
I have to hold it in, like always, no breaking.
Breathe.
Calmly.
Think of the monks.
He almost laughed.
Honestly, I'd qualify at this point.
The boy's hand twitched at his side, pinching into his pants.
What was that saying again? Peace is bliss? Peace is bliss!
"He must want to cough out his heart from fear lol."
Ma Naki stuck out his tongue. "Blegh! That would be so disgusting!"
"He wouldn't!" Shim Sion remarked confidently. "Can he dare be unmannered in front of Chosen like us? He doesn't even come close to our shoes!"
Peace is bliss, the boy chanted within him, eyes quietly agreeing with what Shim Sion said.
'He doesn't even come close to our shoes."
That much was true.
After all, the very building I'm standing in is a facility dedicated to training the Chosen; them.
They were the mark bearers—heroes that prophecy promised would save their nations from ruin.
And what was he among them?
A scrub!
A mere cleaner in the midst of the revered saviors. His side job? An outlet! Entertainment to the likes of them.
But it wasn't pride nor weakness that kept his head low, it was necessity.
He could hit back.
Probably win.
But then the bills, siblings, rent…
The boy's shoulder rose high and fell in a low sigh.
Haa.. cleaning's not glamorous, but it keeps them fed.
For someone like him who could barely read beyond the basics, it paid better than anything else he could get.
"Pathetic," Shim Sion muttered, stepping closer. "At least act like a person when we're talking to you."
The boy's lips pressed together bitterly.
These platinum-spoon-born kids got the opportunity to be a chosen, but a scrub like me who desperately wished for it didn't.
But it wasn't anything new. The privileged always got the chances. And while it was a burden to some of them, to me, it was a way out…. if I could ever grab it.
What better way was there to live and be respected than to be a government-backed savior?
GRAB!
Shim Sion's hand shot forward, tangling into the boy's hair before wrenching his head backward.
"There," she forced his face up. "Let's see what expression a non-Chosen makes when he's standing in front of people chosen by fate."
Bo Haekyun leaned forward, studying the boy's face. "What's this? He doesn't even look affected."
Ah— did I blow my cover? The boy's eyes rolled to the side, avoiding their gazes as cold sweat beaded his face.
He was already in turmoil because of his situation, but a sight in the distance bruised his faltering composure further.
A co-worker, standing feet away from them with a face ashen with worry. Though not shocked since this was a regular occurrence.
His mouth fell slightly ajar, calling out in a breath, "Yuin."
This was Garam, an older colleague that was close to Yuin.
He was a man that, despite the harsh treatment of life, remained kind to a fault. Even after losing his only daughter about two years ago, nothing about his character changed.
So, inside the den of chosen where they were nothing but garbage, Garam was the sole gem, an embodiment of unbridled kindness according to Yuin.
Knowing him, Yuin could already tell he wouldn't hesitate to jump in. But that would only add fuel to the fire.
Anxious, Yuin clamped down on his lips, his eyes running signals amok.
…plague—no! Don't come!
"Where's he looking when he's being asked a question?" Bo Haekyun's fist shot forward to pummel Yuin's face, but—
"ARGHH!!" A grating scream tore from Ma Naki.
Bo Haekyun froze. "What?!"
"T-There's something… right in front of us!"
Bo Haekyun lifted his head and nearly slammed into it. A translucent blue screen hovering inches from his face.
"ARGH— fuck!" He staggered back.
"What the hell is that?!" He raised his gaze to look again, only to see that the screen had moved with him, floating right in front of his eyes.
And this time, he couldn't look away.
"What the— I can't move!" He yelped.
"S-Same," Ma Naki cried from his spot.
The three of them seemed rooted to their spot, standing rigid with gaze facing each of their screens.
With heart pounding gasps, Shim Sion managed to let out. "What's happening?!"
Meanwhile, Yuin stood equally frozen, staring wide in shock and confusion.
STEP! STEP! CLATTER!
Hasty steps and clattering noises dragged Yuin's attention, not allowing him time to dwell in the bizarre scene in front of him.
"O-Over here too! They're stiff. They can't move!" A woman clad in a staff uniform announced in concern.
She had just run over to check the Chosen training in this practice room after the bizarre occurrence in the other practice rooms.
"It's the same in the technique chamber. They're all stiff! And something strange is in front of them. A screen, it's blue and just hanging there with nothing on it."
Staring at the blue screens in front of the three Chosen before him, Yuin could indeed see that they were blank.
It seemed nothing more than an empty blue board.
SSSHHHH—KRK!
The television hung at the far end of the lobby glitched to play the news, dragging everyone's ears.
┌Happening live now! After almost three years of waiting, the long prophesied Paths are opening. Every Chosen right now are undergoing something we can't quite explain yet, but our anticipation and preparation is finally coming to a close. This could be the start of the Chosen finally starting their patriotic mission and…┘
"Is that really what's happening?"
"It's all over the news, see," a worker stretched her phone to a colleague. "Strange gates are really appearing."
It's really happening, Yuin's pale blue eyes trembled.
BA-DUM!
His chest tightened.
The world he had watched from the sidelines was finally moving….. without him.
A pang of longing struck him.
Once again, he thought, had I been a Chosen just like them then—
No…
He pushed the thought away. He had no time for dreams he couldn't afford.
Better to spend that time earning to keep his siblings fed.
Not like wallowing over things he couldn't get would bring him any life changing benefits. But despite knowing this, Yuin couldn't tear his eyes away from the news.
He was so engrossed that he failed to hear what was going on in his surroundings
"…uin! Yuin!"
"IM YUIN!!"
SNAP!
Yuin's gaze snapped to the side, meeting the fierce gaze of a grey haired man.
"Y-Yes? Yes?"
The man's brows creased distastefully.
"Cease work for now. We don't want any disturbances coming to the Chosen."
"Ah— yes," Yuin replied quietly.
Without a word, the man turned to leave.
"Tsk! Just a waste of space that doesn't contribute anything to the country, yet won't be attentive when needed."
"..."
Yuin simply watched him go.
He wasn't even wrong so what was there to argue about?
Besides, that man; Ahn Jaegun, belonged to one of the most popular guilds in the country.
The Silent Steam guild.
He was feared by many Chosen for one reason; rejection.
Unlike other guilds that welcomed any Chosen, Jaegun personally handpicked them, seeking out and only accepting those with promising talents.
It's no surprise that someone like that would despise me, a mere scrub.
But—
Yuin threw his gaze up.
Why the heck is a blue screen floating above my head?
DU-DUN!!
There it was, glowing mid-air. A large, blue panel, identical to the ones floating before the Chosen.
But why's this here? I don't have the mark, so it shouldn't.
Yuin's eyes rolled to the side to steal a glance at the three Chosen in front of him.
Aren't the chosen the only ones supposed to get this?
He dragged his eyes back to the screen.
STEP!
He moved to the side, veering out of the screen's view, but in a blink, the panel also moved, repositioning right in front of him.
It follows me.
"….."
And what's this? He peered at the writings.
"Paths are open. The First Round begins in five minutes."
An announcement?
His eyes flickered back to the chosen. That means there was actually something written on the screen?
He peered at the screen in front of Bo Haekyun and his crew, but it remained as it'd been; blank.
But from where Bo Haekyun stood, his eyes darted across the screen in front of him.
"First Round? What the hell does that mean?" he muttered.
Still confused, Yuin scanned the room to see if the screen floated before anyone else apart from the Chosen. But no one else had it.
Then how—
"Are you alright, Yuin?" A voice interrupted his thought.
Without turning, Yuin knew it to be Garam's.
"Yes," he replied curtly, turning to Garam who looked visibly worried and equally confused.
"Garam, the screens, can you see them?" He asked. But what he really meant to ask was if Garam could see the one floating in front of him.
"Yes, it's strange, isn't it? They can't seem to move or anything. Just staring at a blank screen."
Yuin's eyes widened briefly but quickly narrowed back.
Does that mean he can't see the one in front of me?
"Right? What about this?" Yuin pointed at the one in front of him.
A questioning look overtook the man's face. "Hmm?"
"There's nothing there?" Yuin pressed.
"…."
"Are you alright?" Garam asked after a moment of silence. "You're pointing at empty air."
Yuin awkwardly scratched his head. "Ahahaha, yes."
That means he really can't see it.
His gaze rose.
It'd be weirder if he could, because there's no way this should be in front of me in the first place.
Plus, his eyes scanned around again. The Chosen are all frozen in place while the screen is in front of them, whereas I can move.
Lifting a hand, Yuin reached toward the screen.
This is probably a glitch or something, an error 'cause I don't even have the mark to begin with, so I can't be a Chos—
His eyes flickered across something that stilled him.
.…..
Huh?!
Yuin's breath hitched.
Is this… a mark?
His shock wasn't given time to digest before the blue screen flickered violently, letting out a loud screech.
TCCHHH!!!
[Unauthorized User Detected]