Beyond - 8
It was a bright, sunny noon.
Player Kim Cheolsu.
He lived a life filled with misunderstandings.
"It's Kim YuWon!"
"Really?"
A commotion erupted on the eighth floor just because Kim YuWon appeared.
However...
"They mistook the person, idiots!"
As expected, Cheolsu could only lower his head and hurry through the crowd.
Kim Cheolsu.
He suffered constant misunderstandings just for being the spitting image of Kim YuWon.
Black hair, cold face, impeccable facial features.
He was like a doppelganger, identical to Kim YuWon.
"Ha-ah."
He sighed deeply and took out his kit.
[Possession Points: 102]
The balance was starting to run low.
If he didn't hurry to the next floor, even food would become a problem.
"Will I do well in the next Trial?"
He was tired of constantly being mistaken for Kim YuWon and having to get by as best as he could.
Cheolsu just wanted to be a Player like any other.
His dream was to become a Ranker someday.
So that the day would come when he would be called Ranker Kim Cheolsu, not Kim YuWon.
"I need to earn points."
Points.
The currency of the Tower. As a Player who hadn't achieved success, he didn't have many ways to earn them.
There were two ways to earn points as a Player:
Ascend to the next floor and obtain rewards, or attract the attention of a Guild and receive their support.
Otherwise, only the street awaited him.
Kkuak-.
Entering the alley leading to his accommodation, Cheolsu tightened the kit in his hand and reaffirmed himself once again.
"At least the next Trial..."
"Kyaaaah-!"
At that moment, a familiar scream echoed in the air.
A sound he had heard several times before.
Cheolsu's eyes widened as he turned his head towards the end of the alley.
"Ji-won?"
It was the scream of his younger sister, Kim Ji-won.
He ran towards the sound and saw his sister, with short hair down to her shoulders, cornered.
Kim Ji-won. His sister, who had entered the Tower with him and accompanied him in his ascent.
"Cheolsu, where did that guy go?!"
"Bastard, stop yelling and answer!"
"Hey!"
Cheolsu's voice echoed in the alley.
"What are you doing?!"
Upon hearing the roar, the Players surrounding Ji-won turned towards him.
Some shuddered upon recognizing him.
"Ah, Cheolsu is here."
"Ugh, that guy's face never stops intimidating me."
They were familiar faces.
Players who had lent points to Cheolsu for the past few months.
"Hey, the deadline for paying the interest has passed."
"Has the interest exceeded the capital already? Do you have any way to pay it?"
"Do you think shouting will solve everything, client?"
"Do you have any points left? Give it all. We can't wait any longer."
Moneylenders charging exorbitant interest to Players who couldn't afford to pay the Ascension Trial.
It had been a mistake to think that only once wouldn't be a problem.
The guys were more persistent than he thought, and they had followed him to the eighth floor from the fifth floor where he had borrowed from them.
"Even if I want to pay the capital, they won't let me. What do they want me to do?"
Paff.
There were only two ways to escape from the clutches of these guys.
Find a Guild that would protect him or become a high-level Player strong enough to protect himself.
If only he became a Ranker, he wouldn't have to suffer at the hands of these bullies anymore.
"Damn. If they take this away from me too, then really..."
While he was thinking about that...
"Hey, Kim YuWon! You arrived quickly!"
A cheerful and out-of-place voice interrupted the scene.
Rshsh.
Fwoosh.
Bright blond hair that seemed to shine on its own.
All eyes focused on his dazzling appearance that dominated the atmosphere.
It was someone anyone interested in the rankings could recognize.
"Ha, Hargan?"
Though overshadowed by Kim YuWon, he was also a Player who had ascended to the Ranker rank at an incredible speed.
Thanks to his talent and ambition, he was poised as the strongest candidate to succeed Olympus in the future.
He was a magnificent being who normally wouldn't be seen on such a low floor...
Tap.
"Who are these guys? Do you know them?"
Hargan put his arm around Cheolsu's shoulder.
"Is, is... really?"
"Are you an idiot? Can't you see? It's Ha, Hargan."
"I heard they were Tutorial companions..."
Cheolsu changed his expression as he observed the thugs who were looking slyly.
He didn't know what was going on, but this was his chance.
"What were you talking about earlier?"
"Hieeek!"
"T-That's..."
"It seems there's a misunderstanding..."
The expressions of the thugs who met Cheolsu's gaze turned pale.
While they felt a little intimidated when they thought he was Kim Cheolsu, the idea that he was the real Kim YuWon sent shivers down their spines.
"Did you borrow money?"
"Yes?"
Ji-won responded with surprise to Cheolsu's question.
"Yes... but I paid the capital a long time ago, and still..."
"Is that true?"
Shake, shake.
You could see how the bodies of the men surrounding Ji-won trembled at a look and a word.
The men surrounding Ji-won couldn't answer and only mumbled.
"T-That's..."
"Don't think about lying. It won't work."
It wasn't a lie.
Kim YuWon's ability known to the world, 'Golden Cinder Eyes,' had the power to discern the truth and lies of his opponent.
If the one here now was the real Kim YuWon. He could know it in an instant if they lied.
"I'm going to burn it right now! So please, just spare my life...!"
"Here, here it is!"
Whoosh.
The contract burned quickly before their eyes.
Cheolsu nodded slightly as he hid the beating of his heart.
"Get lost."
A word spoken without thinking.
"Hieeek!"
"S-Sorry!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
The loan sharks surrounding Ji-won hurriedly left the place.
After all, they had insulted Kim YuWon a moment ago, and now they were afraid of curses coming their way.
“What's going on, guys?”
Of course, Hargan, unaware of the situation, was perplexed.
Hargan, tilting his head, soon slapped Cheolsu on the shoulder as if he didn't care.
Tap, tap.
“Let's grab a bite to eat.”
And so, a strange company began.
--------------------------
In the place where Hargan had been.
YuWon, who arrived at the meeting place about five minutes later, muttered with crossed arms.
“He said he would come first.”
Thinking about where he might have gone for a moment, YuWon began to wait for Hargan.
Unaware that he had already started eating.
----------------------
“You really hate crowded places.”
Hargan, who had rented an entire restaurant.
He asked while lifting a piece of meat with his fork.
“Why? Did you feel comfortable after being forgotten for a few years?”
“Well…”
What should he answer?
Cheolsu nodded after pondering for a moment.
“Yes, that's how it was.”
“Really? Yes, I guess it could be comfortable. Lately, I...”
Hargan's words went in one ear and out the other.
At this moment, all kinds of thoughts passed through his mind.
‘Is this okay?’
He had been acting to avoid the situation.
Thanks to that, he managed to escape from the thugs who were harassing them using the debt as leverage, and he thought everything was going well.
But now, this place.
This place, where he sat across from Hargan cutting meat, felt like he had escaped from the wolf only to encounter a tiger.
‘What if they discover me impersonating Kim YuWon? Isn't that a serious crime? A High-Ranker, moreover, impersonating Kim YuWon... the price to pay would probably be...’
While sorting out his complex thoughts, he didn't stop cutting the meat and calmly putting it into his mouth.
He must not be discovered. If they found out here, he would surely become an instant kebab from Hargan's lightning strike.
Gulp-.
He swallowed the tender meat with dry saliva.
He made a decision.
‘I'll act. Until the end.’
Woong-.
At that moment, Hargan's Player Kit sounded.
Cheolsu's body shivered.
He asked without letting him see.
“Who is it?”
“Oh, yes. A friend. Wait a moment.”
Hargan stopped eating and responded to text messages with his kit.
After focusing on the kit for a while, Hargan returned to the main topic.
“You said you would give me an invitation? Bring it out quickly.”
Bang-.
A thunder echoed in Cheolsu's mind.
Now that he thought about it, Kim YuWon and Pandora's wedding was coming up soon.
It seemed that today's meeting was for that reason.
“I forgot.”
“You forgot? You?”
No one other than Kim YuWon?
That was the reaction.
Certainly, even for him, it was quite an insincere excuse.
However.
“Well, that can happen.”
Surprisingly, Hargan let it pass quite easily.
“Oh, Mr. Orpheus will come here in a while. We can't have a wedding without music, can we?”
Orpheus was an Olympus Ranker known for his excellent performance.
It seemed that this place was to discuss various matters related to the wedding in addition to the invitation.
This is serious.
Things are getting complicated.
An emergency siren sounded in Cheolsu's mind.
----------------------
“Huk, huk.”
“Ssang, seriously... huk. What the hell is going on?”
“That, from over there... uf. Why the hell is Kim YuWon here?”
The men fleeing from Kim YuWon and Hargan entered a distant alley, panting heavily.
So hurried were they that one of them sat on the ground immediately.
“Curse... Is it acceptable for a High-Ranker to interfere in others' affairs?”
“Hey, shut up. Want more trouble?”
“Huk-.”
“Oh, heavens. We should have absorbed that fool a little more.”
Kim Cheolsu.
He had already been eliminated several times in the Trials, a player who wasn't much below average.
He was the perfect type to extract points in the long run.
“Let's assume that the guy with Hargan is really Kim YuWon, so where the hell is that bastard Cheol-Su?”
“Didn't the contract break?”
“How are we supposed to know? Do you think that guy would know?”
It was a valid observation.
Anyway, Kim Cheolsu had no way of knowing that the contract had disappeared.
Only Kim YuWon and Hargan knew.
Zzing-.
The Kit vibrated, and the news came.
“Hey, they found Cheolsu.”
The news was conveyed by the men's comrades.
“Really?”
“Yes, now he's alone in the alley where we were before.”
“Right in that area, really? Ah, damn.”
Although they didn't know what he was doing there alone, he surely wasn't with Hargan, considering he was far from them.
“Should we go right now?”
“......”
“......”
One of the men's question made the surroundings fall silent.
No one could answer immediately.
If by any chance Kim YuWon and Hargan were still nearby, a real chaos could ensue this time.
“Should we wait a bit more?”
“That, let's do that.”
“Yes, anyway, that guy is in the palm of our hand, right?”
“Let's wait just ten more minutes before we head out.”
In the end, they decided to move in the opposite direction of Kim YuWon.
Of course.
Resentment toward Cheolsu, who was not at fault, grew more and more within them.
“Cheolsu, this guy...”
Crack-.
Teeth crunched.
A man muttered toward Cheolsu, who was alone on one side of the alley.
“We'll see what you do.”
Not knowing who the figure they were challenging was. They were getting angry at a presence they shouldn't have revealed their teeth to in that way.
Tags:
LWTG (Novel)