The doctor held the ring closer to his eyes, his brow furrowing as he inspected the surface under the harsh hospital lights. His excitement cooled into a more analytical, grim focus.
"Wait," the doctor murmured, his voice dipping. "Look at these fractures. This ring... it's heavily damaged. It looks like it's been through a war zone of its own."
Hyun-Jae leaned in, seeing the tiny, jagged cracks webbing across the dull metal.
"Because it's damaged," the doctor continued, "its effectiveness is questionable. There might be very little Etherea left inside. It's unstable."
Hyun-Jae let out a hollow breath. That's why she gave it to me, he realized. To someone like Sena, a high-ranking Awakened, a broken artifact was just a piece of junk—a heavy trinket that served no real purpose. It was trash she had thrown at a persistent nuisance to make him go away.
But to Hyun-Jae, trash was all he had.
"Can I use it to take my father's place?" Hyun-Jae asked, his voice cracking but firm.
The doctor winced, looking away. He didn't want to answer. He looked at the blood on Hyun-Jae's shirt and the exhaustion in his eyes. He stayed silent for a long moment, the hum of the hospital machinery filling the gap between them.
"Please," Hyun-Jae urged. "Tell me the truth."
The doctor finally wavered, letting out a defeated sigh. "Theoretically... if the ring still holds even a flicker of Etherea, it could emit a signal strong enough to fool a handheld scanner. If you wore it while they examined you, and if they didn't catch you wearing it, you might pass as an Awakened."
He turned fully toward Hyun-Jae, his expression grave. "But Hyun-Jae, do you understand what you're asking? You'd be heading to the front lines as a normal human. You'd be a suicide soldier. Do you really want to do this?"
Hyun-Jae didn't hesitate. He didn't even blink. "I have to. My father stays, or this family falls apart anyway. At least this way, they have a chance."
"And your family?" the doctor asked, his voice soft. "What will your mother say when she finds out you've tricked the government to go to your death?"
"It's for the best," Hyun-Jae dismissed, his jaw set. "They'll be safe. That's all that matters."
The doctor stared at him for a long time, seeing the absolute clarity in the young man's eyes. Reluctantly, he reached out and placed the cold, heavy ring back into Hyun-Jae's palm.
"Fine," the doctor whispered. "If you're going to do this, you can't just walk in with a bare neck. The scanner is one thing, but the visual check is another. You need to find someone, now, who can give you a tattoo. A perfect replica of an E-Rank mark."
He gripped Hyun-Jae's shoulder one last time. "Get it done, then return here before sunrise. We don't have much time left."
Hyun-Jae nodded, closed his fist over the artifact, and turned toward the exit. He walked out into the thinning rain, no longer limping, driven by a new, singular purpose. He had a mark to get.
---
Finding a tattoo artist willing to ink a fake mark was easier than Hyun-Jae expected. The artist gave him a lingering, suspicious look, likely wondering why anyone would want something like this, but he didn't ask questions. In the dim light of the shop, the needle buzzed against Hyun-Jae's neck, etching a jagged, dark line that perfectly mimicked the mark of an E-Rank.
As he stepped back out into the night, his phone buzzed. It was his mother.
"Hyun-Jae! Where are you?" her voice was frantic but carried a strange note of relief. "The doctor... he released your father. He said he stabilized faster than expected. He told us to put concealer over the mark so nobody sees it and to just let him rest at home. But where did you go? How could you run off at a time like this?"
Hyun-Jae leaned against a cold brick wall, closing his eyes. A wave of relief washed over him so strong he felt dizzy. The doctor had kept his word; his father was safe at home, hidden from immediate sight.
"I'm sorry, Mom," he said quietly. "I had things to take care of. You should get some sleep. I might take a while to get back."
"Hyun-Jae," she said, her voice dropping, filled with a mother's intuition. "Are you hiding something from me? Why do you sound like that?"
He swallowed hard, the lie burning in his throat. "Just take care of Dad, okay?"
Before she could demand an answer, he cut the call. He couldn't risk saying more.
When he arrived back at the hospital, the hallway was nearly empty. The doctor was waiting in the shadows of the intensive care wing, his face pale. He led Hyun-Jae to a secluded room with a single bed.
"Everything is set," the doctor whispered. "Your father is home. Now, we just have to hope this works." He gestured to the bed. "Put the ring on your toe or something, it needs to stay out of sight during the physical exam. Then get under the covers. Tomorrow morning, the transport will arrive. We'll see then if the artifact still has enough life in it to fool them."
Hyun-Jae nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled off his shoe and slid the heavy, vibrating ring onto his foot.
The moment the metal made full contact with his skin, his world tilted.
A sharp, searing heat bolted up his leg, followed by a crushing pressure in his lungs. He bent over, coughing violently, his ribs aching as if they were being squeezed by a giant hand. It felt like his blood was turning into liquid lead.
"Easy, easy," the doctor hissed, rushing to his side and pressing a cold cloth to his forehead. He checked Hyun-Jae's pulse, his expression grim. "I expected this. The artifact is damaged; the energy it's putting out is jagged and raw. Your body isn't used to Etherea. It's a shock to your system, but it should subside once you stabilize."
Hyun-Jae gripped the bedsheets, his knuckles white, as the invisible fire inside him began to dull into a heavy, throbbing ache. He lay back, staring up at the flickering fluorescent lights.
"Get some rest," the doctor said, his voice trailing off as he moved toward the door. "At sunrise, your life changes forever."
Hyun-Jae didn't answer. He just watched the red glow of the countdown through the window, waiting for the morning that would claim him.
---
The next morning, Hyun-Jae woke with a jolt. Two figures in clinical gray uniforms were leaning over him, their faces obscured by breathing masks. One held a glowing handheld scanner to his neck, while the other examined the tattoo with a pair of magnifying goggles.
Hyun-Jae's heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic, uneven rhythm that he was sure they could hear. He felt a dull, heavy pulse coming from the ring hidden on his toe, a rhythmic vibration that seemed to be fighting against his own blood.
"Easy, son," a voice said from the foot of the bed. It was the doctor. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink, but his eyes were steady. "These are the verifiers from the Ministry. They're just doing their job."
The verifier with the scanner watched the digital display for a long second. The device which was developed only a couple of years ago emitted a low, continuous drone. Finally, it gave a sharp, green chirp.
"Signature confirmed," the verifier said, his voice muffled by the mask. He pulled back, scribbling something on a digital tablet. "E-Rank. His Etherea levels are barely hitting the threshold, but it's a match."
The second man finished his visual inspection of the fake mark. "Placement is standard." He looked down at Hyun-Jae with a look of bored pity. "Since your Awakening happened so late, the Ministry is only granting you a three-day grace period. Get your affairs in order. We'll pick you up at 8:00 hours on the third day for transport."
Without another word, the two men turned and walked out, their footsteps echoing in the sterile hallway.
Hyun-Jae let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding since the night before. His entire body went limp against the mattress. "That's it?" he whispered, his voice hoarse. "It was... that quick?"
The doctor stepped closer, wiping sweat from his brow. "Most people don't realize how little they care about the E-Ranks," he said quietly. "To them, you're just a statistic, another body to put in a uniform. They only spend time on the High-Ranks. As long as the scanner sees a spark of energy and there's a mark on your neck, they don't look twice."
The doctor looked toward the door, then back at Hyun-Jae. "The ruse worked. But now the clock is really ticking. Are you... are you going to tell your family the truth?"
Hyun-Jae sat up, his head spinning for a moment before he steadied himself. He reached down, feeling the weight of the ring still hidden on his foot. "I have to. I can't just disappear. They need to know Dad is safe, even if they don't like how it happened."
"Good luck, Hyun-Jae," the doctor said, handing him his jacket. "You're going to need it."
Hyun-Jae walked out of the hospital into the crisp morning air. The rain had stopped, leaving the city smelling of wet concrete and ozone. He looked up at the sky, where the massive, crimson countdown hung like a wound over the horizon.
[09 : 14 : 22 : 05]
Nine days left.
He had three days of freedom left to say goodbye, and then he would be heading toward the very thing he had spent ten years chasing, except now, he knew he was walking into a war with nothing but a broken ring and a fake mark.
He pushed open the front door, the heavy scent of home, stale tea and the faint trace of his mother's perfume, hitting him instantly. The house wasn't quiet. The moment he stepped inside, his mother was there, her face a mask of worry that quickly sharpened into anger.
"Where have you been?" she demanded, her voice trembling. "Do you have any idea what time it is? We've been calling you for hours! Your father is sick, the world is falling apart, and you just disappear?"
Yuna and Yuri stood in the hallway, watching with wide, frightened eyes. Hyun-Jae didn't snap back. He didn't even look annoyed. He just looked tired.
"Mom," he said quietly, his voice heavy. "Please. Sit down. I need to tell you something."
The seriousness in his tone dampened her fire. She sat at the small kitchen table, her hands clutched together. Slowly, Hyun-Jae explained everything, the deal with the doctor, the fake mark, and the fact that the government believed he was the one who had awakened.
For a moment, there was a deafening silence. Then, the explosion came.
"Are you insane?" she shrieked, tears instantly blurring her vision. "You're going to lie to the government? To go to the front lines? You're not an Awakened, Hyun-Jae! You'll be killed in the first hour!"
"It's for the best, Mom," he said, his voice a flat, dead calm. "Dad is safe now. The doctor fixed the records. If I stay, they'll eventually find out Dad has a mark. This is the only way to keep them away from this house."
"I won't let you!" she sobbed, reaching for his arm. "We'll find another way! We'll hide!"
"There is no other way," he said, pulling back. He couldn't look at her, if he did, he'd break. "It's already done. The verifiers have my name now."
Before she could say another word or the girls could start crying, Hyun-Jae walked down the short hallway to his room and shut the door. He turned the lock with a soft click, ignoring the sound of his mother's frantic knocking and her pleas for him to open up.
He sat on his bed in the dark, staring at the wall. The adrenaline was gone, leaving only the dull, rhythmic throb of the artifact on his foot.
A few hours later, a different knock came. It wasn't the frantic pounding of his mother; it was three slow, heavy thuds.
"Hyun-Jae," his father's voice called out. It was weak, but it carried that old military authority. "Open the door."
Hyun-Jae hesitated, then stood up and unlocked it. His father stepped in, looking pale and fragile in his pajamas. He looked at the bandage on Hyun-Jae's neck where the tattoo was still fresh.
"Your mother told me," his father said, leaning against the doorframe for support. "You didn't have to do this, son. I've lived my life. I've seen enough war. It should have been me."
Hyun-Jae remained quiet, his shadow stretching long across the floor.
"It's not your fault that the world is like this," his father continued, stepping closer. "There's still time. We can tell them the truth. The doctor can—"
"No," Hyun-Jae interrupted, finally looking up.
His eyes weren't filled with the despair his father expected. Instead, they were cold, burning with focused intensity. "I'm going. I've spent ten years preparing for this. I'm going to find the Celestials, and I'm going to make them pay for what they did to my Uncle. I'm going to make them pay for what they're doing to us."
His father froze. He looked deep into Hyun-Jae's eyes and saw a clarity he didn't expect. This wasn't just a son sacrificing himself for a father; this was somebody who had finally found a way into the woods. His son had no intention of being a victim or a "suicide soldier."
The older man sighed, a long, defeated sound. He realized then that no amount of arguing would stop him. Hyun-Jae had made his choice years ago.
"Then return alive," his father whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Do you hear me? Whatever you have to do... just come back to us."
His father turned and left, closing the door softly behind him. Hyun-Jae sat back down on his bed, the silence of the room closing in. He reached down and touched the ring on his foot, feeling its cold, jagged pulse.
Nine days. He had nine days to turn a lie into a reality.