Two people locked eyes for a moment. Yoon Ji-soo felt awkward as hell. Something about this mother was seriously off.
Luckily the elevator dinged and the doors opened on her floor.
A few seconds later the doors slid open. Ahn Sun-young pushed the stroller inside, then glanced back when she noticed the girl wasn't following. "Aren't you getting in?"
Yoon Ji-soo's brain spun fast. She made up some lame excuse on the spot.
Only after the elevator doors closed completely did she mutter, "What the hell is wrong with that lady?"
"She's a good person." A smooth, magnetic male voice came from the side. It belonged to Jung Jae-heon. He wore oval glasses and an old-fashioned suit that made him look stiff and out of place. Jung Jae-heon was a Korean language teacher and a pastor.
He went on to explain what had happened to Ahn Sun-young.
"Last year she lost her child. Just a moment of carelessness. The stroller rolled into the road."
He didn't finish the story.
"Poor woman…" Yoon Ji-soo sighed. She could guess the rest. No need to spell it out. Any mother hit with something that brutal would obviously crack.
"God sometimes gives us trials we think we can't overcome. But that doesn't mean we can't overcome them."
"Everything is part of His plan."
"Hello, I'm Jung Jae-heon."
He extended his right hand.
Yoon Ji-soo had zero interest in creepy middle-aged uncles, especially ones who talked like this. She forced a polite smile, shoved her hands into her pockets, and gave a small bow. "Yoon Ji-soo. Nice to meet you."
"Gotta love how Asians bow at everything."
Just going up and down the stairs, Ivan kept running into people who bowed and asked for his name. He never bowed back, just gave a polite nod.
Right now he was heading down to the first floor. The elevator doors opened and a man in a loud patterned shirt stood inside, leaning against the wall with his head down. The burn scars on his face were impossible to miss.
"Byeon Sang-wook," Ivan said quietly as he stepped in and stood beside him.
Byeon Sang-wook slowly raised his head and looked at Ivan with cold, indifferent eyes.
He was a killer. The kind who didn't give a fuck about laws or courts.
He had come to Green Home because the father of a missing child hired him. Since the government and the legal system couldn't punish the bastard responsible, Byeon Sang-wook would do it himself.
He had followed the trail all the way here.
"Who are you?" Byeon Sang-wook shifted his weight back, silently moving into the best position to attack.
"Same as you."
Ivan gave a small smile. He raised both hands like he was about to clap. When he pulled them apart, a string of shiny surgical scalpels appeared between his fingers like a magic trick. "As you can see, I'm also a killer. You can call me Doctor."
"You here to kill me?" Just from that little display, Byeon Sang-wook knew the man in front of him was dangerous.
The real reason Ivan had been heading downstairs was to find the security guard. A new idea had popped into his head.
Since different desires created different monsters, maybe he could manipulate someone's desire and grow the exact ability he wanted.
Of course, it was still just a theory.
Desire isn't some single, neat little thing. People have all kinds of desires, so it can't be the only trigger for turning.
In Ivan's view, becoming a monster required three things: first, emotions completely shattered or hanging right on the edge; second, total despair toward the world or yourself; third, one overwhelmingly strong obsession that you completely surrender to.
Ivan had originally planned to try twisting the security guard's desire.
But he figured the odds were shit. The old man had already started turning, which meant the urge to kill had already taken root.
Better to find someone who hadn't turned yet.
The second he saw Byeon Sang-wook, a perfect test subject popped into his head.
The real culprit behind the missing children: Choi Young-jae.
The guy used to be a teacher. A full-blown psychopath and child abuser. Using a piece of human garbage like that for an experiment didn't bother Ivan at all. If anything, it made him excited.
"The missing kids aren't just one. He pissed off the wrong people," Ivan explained smoothly.
Byeon Sang-wook didn't question it. Walk dark paths long enough and you eventually step on the wrong toes. The bastard had clearly snatched the daughter of someone important.
"You're not taking him away."
Byeon Sang-wook was willing to work with Ivan, but he wasn't letting the target leave. His childhood had burned any real trust in people out of him.
"Fine by me. Partners?" Ivan held out his right hand.
Byeon Sang-wook gave a single nod, face blank. "Hm."
He led Ivan to an apartment door, pulled a roll of duct tape from his pocket, tore off a strip, and wrapped it tightly around his own fists. Then he knocked and called out in a low voice, "Your delivery's here. Come sign for it."
Soft footsteps approached from inside.
Crack!
The second the door opened, Byeon Sang-wook slapped duct tape over the man's eyes and shoved him back inside in one smooth motion.
"Impressive," Ivan said. He checked for cameras, found none, then closed the door behind him.
"Help! Somebody's breaking in—"
Choi Young-jae thrashed around blindly, screaming for help.
"Too fucking loud." Ivan grabbed his jaw and squeezed hard enough to nearly crack bone. The pain turned the bastard's screams into pathetic, muffled whimpers.
Byeon Sang-wook glanced at Ivan, then started wrapping Choi Young-jae up like a mummy with duct tape.
Even then the piece of shit kept wriggling across the floor like a maggot, trying to crawl toward the exit.
"Stay still."
Byeon Sang-wook kicked him hard in the ribs.
He dragged the bound man into the apartment. The walls were covered in sickening photos of abused children. The kind of shit that made your stomach turn. Scum like Choi Young-jae were hated even by other prisoners. Only weak pieces of shit preyed on the weakest.
Byeon Sang-wook scanned the wall and quickly found the photo of the missing girl. He stared at it for a moment, then slipped it into his pocket. He turned on the TV and cranked the volume all the way up.
"Want one?" Byeon Sang-wook pulled out a pack of cigarettes, stuck one between his lips, and lit it with a quick flick. He took a long drag and slowly blew out a thick cloud of smoke that hung in the air.
"Sorry, quit that shit a long time ago."
Ivan hadn't touched anything that could fuck up his body in years.
Right now he was far more interested in the piece of garbage on the floor.
"Mr. Choi, are you feeling desperate about this world?"
Ivan ripped the tape off Choi Young-jae's mouth and asked with a straight face.
Choi Young-jae coughed violently the second the tape came off, gasping for air. "Why are you doing this to me? I didn't do anything! Whatever I did wrong, it's all my fault! I won't call the cops, I swear! I won't tell anyone! So please—Urrrgggh!"
Byeon Sang-wook didn't say a word. He just took the cigarette from his lips and shoved it into Choi Young-jae's mouth.
"You'll block his airway doing that. Try not to be such a hothead." Ivan smiled and pushed his hand away. A surgical scalpel made from his own transformed flesh flicked the burning butt out of the bastard's mouth.
Choi Young-jae thought Ivan might be the nicer one. "L-Let me go! I can give you a lot of money! I promise I won't call the police!"
"Are you desperate?" Ivan asked again. "What's your strongest desire right now?"
"Huh?" Confusion filled Choi Young-jae's eyes. Even Byeon Sang-wook frowned beside him.
"Answer me." Ivan dropped the smile, grabbed Choi Young-jae by the throat, and lifted him clean off the ground with one hand.
Byeon Sang-wook's pupils shrank. He knew exactly how much raw strength that took, and the man was doing it like it was nothing. Was this guy even human?
"Ugh…" Choi Young-jae's face turned red fast. Blood vessels burst in his eyes as he choked, struggling to breathe.
When Ivan figured he'd had enough, he dropped him back on the floor and asked the same question again.
"I-I'm not desperate! I'm not! I don't have any desires! I swear I won't run!"
Even evil pieces of shit get ground down by worse evil. Choi Young-jae's voice was already cracking with sobs.
"Too bad. That answer doesn't satisfy me at all."
Ivan clicked his tongue. What the fuck? The guy was staring death in the face and still wasn't desperate? This bastard had some spine after all.
The next second, the scalpel in his hand stabbed straight into Choi Young-jae's thigh. The blade was so thin almost no blood came out.
"Sorry, but I need you to feel real despair right now. Despair toward the entire world. At the same time, I need you to desperately want to keep living."
Honestly, Ivan's request was twisted as hell. Normally, if someone truly despaired at the world, wanting to live would be the last thing on their mind.
But Ivan believed anything was possible. And even if it failed, he lost nothing.
"I…" Choi Young-jae's mind flooded with genuine despair the moment he heard the demand. This guy was more of a fucking psychopath than any monster he'd ever met.
___
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69