“How did you survive? You… are… Kimin Park!”

‘He didn’t remember my name correctly… I see. I was not that important to you guys.’

Kimin was actually a special person to Dongsoo Choi because none of his prisoners endured Dongsoo’s torture for a month.

Kimin left a strong impression, so Dongsoo remembered Kimin.

Just the number of his prisoners was too many to remember every single name correctly.

Kimin’s eyes became disappointed.

He didn’t feel it was necessary to correct Dongsoo Choi’s misunderstanding.

“I have gone through so many things. Thanks to those experiences, I could come this far.”

“…”

Dongsoo Choi closed his eyes tightly.

It was the worst outcome.

The person Dongsoo had tortured became an overwhelming existence and faced him.

The person Dongsoo had tied on the torturing chair was trying to tie Dongsoo on that same chair.

“Open your fucking eyes before I tear off your eyelids.”

Dongsoo tried to press a call button, but his arms were not moving.

‘Shit…’

Dongsoo Choi narrowly opened his eyes.

“Kill me.”

“Isn’t it obvious? You don’t have to say that. The important thing is not that.”

Kimin’s voice was cold.

“The important thing is about how you die. I had struggled to think about it. Do not think that you are going to die comfortably.”

“Your skill was absorption… I see.”

All the puzzles in Dongsoo Choi’s mind came together.

“You have a release characteristic, don’t you?”

It made sense if he did.

Dongsoo Choi realized that everything that looked like a curse was actually not a curse.

“What should I do for you… Hm… What did you do to me at that time?”

“I’m going to let the world know about your existence. You are not going to die comfortably. I’m going to use your body as a container to absorb all the diseases for the wealthy.”

Dongsoo Choi was speaking whatever was on his mind on purpose.

He was trying not to be caught up with Kimin’s pace and especially to find Kimin’s weak point while making him turbulent.

However, Dongsoo Choi should have known two things.

One was that Kimin was the one who had the whip in his hand.

The other was that Kimin would definitely swing the whip no matter how Dongsoo tried his best to trick him.

“Ha… This jerk is trying to piss me off. I told you it’s useless.”

Kimin let out a sigh.

“Ok, I have decided. I’m going to sentence you to life imprisonment.”

“…Life imprisonment”

What is he talking about? Is he trying to put me into prison?

Dongsoo Choi tried to tell Kimin that it was bullshit.

At that moment, he felt some disorder in his body and became unsettled.

“Uh…errr…urg?”

“Yea, yea. Your tongue isn’t moving, is it?”

“Urghhhh!!!!!”

“Have you heard about Lou Gehrig’s disease?”

Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Modern medicine in the age of abilities had not overcome it yet.

It is a disease where people slowly lose mobility and eventually their heart muscles stop in the end.

The news was playing on the TV behind the smiling Kimin.

They were interviewing a terminally ill Lou Gehrig patient who miraculously healed completely.

“Oh, right. Lou Gehrig patients can move their eyes. Did you know that?”

Dongsoo Choi seemed to answer while rolling his eyes.

“So, the patients have a conversation with special keyboards that they can type with their eyes.”

‘No, it can’t be!’

Dongsoo Choi’s pupils became larger… and soon, he lost his eyesight.

He just lost his light.

The devil was still rolling his tongue in front of him who was lost in the dark.

“This is like life imprisonment. I will leave your ears, so listen to the news about how I destroy the Ohsung group, ok?”

“Errrrrrk!!!! Urgh!!!!”

“The patient who originally had it wasn’t in good condition. Don’t feel so resentful even if you die too early. Just think that you are dying for a good person.”

Kimin left behind the wailing Dongsoo and left the patient’s room.

[ I guess God had noticed how you tried so hard for others for the past 40 years. ]

[ Thank you. I’ll be living with and serving the needy. Thank you, thank you!! ]

The interview could be heard fading through the doorway.

“You are welcome.”

Kimin whispered while smiling.

***

“Lou Gehrig? Are you kidding me?”

Jinbum Park, the vice-president in the Ohsung group, was in Dongsoo Choi’s room.

Dongsoo Choi’s breathing muscles weakened rapidly so he was connected to a respirator.

He couldn’t even moan and was breathing through the machine.

The doctor was standing in front of the vice-president and sweating hard.

“Well… According to medical science…”

“How can you explain how he talked to me yesterday and then got Lou Gehrig all of a sudden? Also, aren’t his symptoms like that of terminal patients?”

“…”

“What happened to his eyes?”

“He has gotten… glaucoma…”

“You mean a disease. He has gotten two terminal diseases within a day. Explain with medical science. You don’t want to quit your job at my hospital, do you?”

The doctor was suffering a lot.

Even without medical science, it was incomprehensible from a common-sense point of view.

However, he was going to get fired if he said he didn’t know why.

How much had he tried to be a professor at this hospital…

While many memories from his past flashed across his mind, he barely opened his mouth.

“According to medical science… nothing makes sense.”

Ironically, this was the answer.

This was exactly what Jinbum Park wanted to hear.

“Right? It doesn’t make any sense with medical science, does it?”

“What? Oh, no!! It doesn’t make sense.”

“It doesn’t make any sense! Even you who are a professor think so, right?”

“Y, yes. For sure!”

The doctor’s sweat was falling off from the back of his head, however, Jinbum Park didn’t care about him anymore.

He only needed the doctor’s opinion.

“You are good to go.”

Jinbum Park had aged the doctor so much in a short moment.

After the doctor left, Jinbum looked at his secretary next to him.

“There is only one answer if this incident doesn’t make sense from a medical science perspective.”

“It’s a skill.”

“Yes, that’s right. What kind of skill?”

“Do you think it’s a skill that gives a person random diseases?”

“But this combination is too good to be just random.”

Jinbum Park smoothed his chin.

“What do you mean?”

“Lou Gehrig and glaucoma. What can you imagine?”

“He can’t move, talk, and see… It’s a prison. His soul’s prison.”

“That’s too much.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Anyways. This person shut Dongsoo Choi up in his body. Do you really think the person gave him this combination of the diseases randomly?”

“I think you are right, chairman. Then… Can the person give someone the exact disease he wants?”

“I’m still the vice-president. My father is still alive! Watch your mouth if you don’t want to die.”

“I’m terribly sorry, sir.”

The secretary quietly bowed his head.

“Forget it. Anyway, I’m sure that the person who made Dongsoo Choi like this can give somebody ‘the exact disease’ he wants. He might have a lot better skills as well.”

Jinbum’s eyes glowed weirdly.

“I’m going to make him mine or break him.”

“…”

The secretary didn’t answer.

However, Jinbum didn’t say this to get an answer. He just continued his words.

“Look for him on the skill user database. I guess he must not be registered.”

The secretary searched on his phone for a while and looked at Jinbum Park.

“You are right… He is not on the list.”

“Of course he is not. He doesn’t want to be found and be used. Dongsoo Choi has earned so much grudge from many people… It’s going to be difficult to find him through people who are willing to take revenge.”

Jinbum Park thought about something for a moment and then snapped his fingers.

“Right. We can just ask him.”

Jinbum Park went to Dongsoo Choi and pressed the call button.

“Is there anything you need, sir?”

“Yea, Professor. Kim. This patient…”

“Yes.”

“…Do you think he’s going to die right away if I remove his respirator?”

‘Is he fucking crazy?’

The doctor’s face became pale when Jinbum asked the crazy question.

“Well… I… think… it’s not going to be right away. However, it can be very dangerous. The progression speed is…”

“Yea? Good. I’m not trying to kill him. Do you think I’m going to kill my own people? I just want you to remove it and put it back on with my signal. Do you understand?”

“…Yes…”

The doctor dropped his head.

“Dongsoo Choi, are you listening? I’m going to ask you a few questions now. If it’s yes, exhale twice. If it’s no, exhale long enough. Got it?”

Jinbum Park made a sign with Dongsoo Choi.

The question and answer had started.

“Question. Do you know each other?”

Exhale twice.

“Oh… It’s going to be much easier then. Question. Is he one of the people you tortured?”

Exhale twice.

As soon as Jinbum got the answer, he turned his head to his secretary.

“The list.”

“I don’t have the list. That is Dongsoo Choi’s business area.”

“Ha… Idiots. Dongsoo, do you have the list?”

Exhale once.

He didn’t have it.

Ha-

Jinbum let out a sigh and continued his questioning.

“Do you know his identity?”

Exhale twice.

“Great. That’s it. Now, let’s start it. Is the first letter of his last name between A to O?”

Exhale once.

“Then, between P to Z?”

Exhale twice.

The question and answer continued…

“Oh, Park? You sure?”

Exhale twice.

He committed a fatal mistake.

“Good. We are almost there. Dongsoo, cheer up.”

The paled doctor put the respirator back on Dongsoo Choi’s mouth.

Before he became a professor and even after that, he had never done anything like this.

It felt like Hippocrates was glaring at him fiercely.

Hrk, krk, arug!!

At the moment, Dongsoo Choi’s breathing became rough rapidly even though the respirator was on.

Beep- Beep- Beep- Beep- Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep-

The medical machine next to him made a clamorous sound just like it was dying instead of Dongsoo Choi.

“Oh no…!!”

The doctor’s face turned deadly pale.

However, Jinbum Park asked a question to the doctor without batting an eyelid.

“Can he do it more after resting? Or is this it?”

The doctor bit his lip and shook his head.

“We are overstraining him. Not just his breathing muscles but also his heart muscles have weakened. I’ve never seen this kind of progression speed before…”

Healers and a medical team rushed inside.

Jinbum clicked his tongue in the chaotic patient room.

***

“How have you been, sir?”

“Ohh… It’s been a while. You look great. Did something happen to you?”

“I paid off my debt… Oh, I can breathe now. Even though the mask is high quality, it feels stuffy when I wear it.”

Kimin sat down and took off his mask type artifact.

“Congratulations on paying off your debt. Mask type artifacts are like that. By the way, my family is coming soon and I’m not sure if it’s ok with you.”

“Oh… I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

Saehyun was asking if it was ok for Kimin not to wear the mask while his family was here.

Kimin picked up the mask again and looked around.

‘There are four cups on a rack. There were usually two.’

It might be for two more guests except for Kimin.

Kimin nodded and wore his mask again.

“I should get going by…”

Before Kimin finished his words, the door opened all of a sudden.

“Uncle!”

“Boss, long time no see.”

A prime-aged man who wore suits held the door and a brown ponytail hair girl ran inside.

“Ohh, Sera. Hakdong. Why are you bothering yourselves to come here? You guys could just talk over the phone.”

Saehyun Jae wore a big happy smile.

At the same time, Kimin’s mouth twitched.

‘I’ve heard that voice somewhere.’

–

Translator’s note

I’m very sorry for posting chapters so late. I’m getting treatment for my neck & back pain.

I will try to translate a little bit at a time and post at least one chapter a week.

Thank you for waiting!