"Why are you all suddenly wearing glasses?"
Mary Kim stood with her arms crossed, her blonde hair catching the afternoon light. Her white judo gi was pristine as always, but her expression was anything but calm as she stared at the four young men before her.
Jewoo, Taebong, Wooseok, and Hyungjae stood in matching white and black jackets, each sporting dark sunglasses that looked ridiculous on their faces.
"Because men equals sunglasses," Taebong declared with absolute confidence.
Mary blinked. "What? What happened all of a sudden?"
Then it clicked. Her eyes widened slightly. "Is it because Vin Jin always wears them?"
Wooseok quickly waved his hands. "I-It's not that! We're not wearing them because of Vin Jin!"
Hyungjae added loudly, "It's just—he's always hiding his eyes, you know?"
Mary's stern expression softened. She shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips despite herself.
"You guys are really something," she said, her tone caught between mockery and genuine warmth.
---
Before anyone could respond, a cheerful voice rang out.
"VIN JIN, YOU'RE HERE!"
Jewoo spun around, grinning confidently behind his dark lenses. He pointed at himself with dramatic flair. "Don't be shocked, you rascal. For you, we're also wearing sunglasses...!"
His voice died.
Standing before them was Vin Jin—transformed. His trademark long, shaggy hair was gone, replaced by a short, neat crew cut that exposed his entire face. Most notably, both of his eyes were now clearly visible—the polycoria that had marked him as cursed, the double pupils that had made villagers call him a demon.
He wore the same uniform as the others, but the change was seismic.
"What do you mean by 'for me'?" Vin Jin asked, genuinely confused.
The four men stared, mouths hanging open.
"W-What the hell, Vin Jin!" Jewoo stammered.
Vin Jin simply looked at them, his unique eyes—each iris doubled—now on full display. His expression was calm, almost serene.
"I cut my hair," he stated.
"HUH?!" the four chorused in unison.
"Now I can see what's in front of me clearly," Vin Jin continued matter-of-factly.
"ARE YOU OKAY WITH SHOWING YOUR EYES?!" Taebong yelled, his voice cracking. "HAVEN'T YOU BEEN HAVING A HARD TIME BECAUSE OF THEM?!"
Vin Jin paused, then spoke with quiet conviction. "I don't care anymore. My eyes are fine the way they are."
The simple statement hung in the air, carrying more weight than any grand declaration could have.
---
The Cheonliang Fam stood speechless, their grand gesture of solidarity rendered meaningless in an instant.
Vin Jin, completely oblivious to the emotional moment he'd just trampled, smirked. "But what's with you all? Keke." A touch of genuine amusement entered his voice. "Did you really decide to wear sunglasses for me?"
Wooseok's face flushed red. "NOT AT ALL, YOU BASTARD!"
Jewoo threw his hands up in exasperation. "DAMN IT! I thought you'd be touched!"
Then, without warning, Vin Jin dropped into a wide wrestling stance. His weight centered, knees bent, hands ready.
"TIME TO WRESTLE!"
The four men charged at him simultaneously.
"ALL OF A SUDDEN?!" Vin Jin shouted in genuine shock.
---
*THWACK!*
Jewoo was the first to go down, slammed face-first into the dirt before he could even register Vin Jin's movement. The impact drove the air from his lungs.
"WHAT—"
Before anyone could process what happened, Vin Jin pivoted smoothly. His hands found Taebong's center of mass, and with a powerful twist, he lifted the larger boy clean off his feet and drove him headfirst into the ground.
*CRACK!*
"SHIT!" Hyungjae barely got the word out before Vin Jin was on him. A devastating hip throw sent him spinning through the air. His sunglasses flew off as he crashed into the earth with a sickening thud.
Wooseok, the last one standing, managed to raise his hands defensively. "WAIT—"
Too late. Vin Jin closed the distance in a heartbeat, grabbed Wooseok's arm, and executed a perfect shoulder throw that left him gasping on the ground.
In less than ten seconds, the entire Cheonliang Fam lay scattered across the training ground like fallen leaves.
---
Jewoo pushed himself up on trembling arms, staring at Vin Jin with a mixture of awe and resentment.
"THAT BASTARD," he muttered, voice shaking with disbelief. "He's the last one to learn, but why is he already the strongest?!"
Vin Jin stood over them, barely winded. He cracked his neck and turned his attention to Mary Kim.
"YOU'RE NEXT, ELEPHANT."
Mary's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Before Vin Jin could react, she moved with terrifying speed. She closed the distance, grabbed his collar and belt, and executed a devastating *tomoe nage*—a sacrifice throw that inverted Vin Jin completely. He was driven headfirst into the ground with such force that the impact created a small crater.
"GUHK!" Vin Jin gasped, seeing stars.
Mary leaned down, her face inches from his, her voice cold as winter frost. "Who did you call an elephant, you bastard?"
---
Several minutes later, after Mary had released him and walked away, Vin Jin sat up slowly, rubbing his head.
"I still lost to the Elephant," he grumbled, pride clearly wounded despite his attempt to sound casual.
Taebong, dusting himself off nearby, shook his head in amazement. "Isn't it surprising though, Vin Jin? I thought you were just loafing around being lazy all this time."
Vin Jin didn't respond. Instead, he looked toward the figure approaching from the mountain path.
"Teacher," Vin Jin called out. "I want to learn your secret technique."
Suddenly, Seongji Yuk appeared behind him. His muscular arms wrapped around Vin Jin's torso in a perfect demonstration hold, the kind used to teach body positioning and leverage.
"I wasn't expecting you to follow my guidance so diligently," Seongji said softly, genuine approval in his voice.
---
**That Evening...**
The old traditional house stood quiet beneath gathering storm clouds. Rain would come soon—you could smell it in the air. Vin Jin lay on the wooden porch, bare-chested under his jacket, trying to ignore the oppressive humidity.
"Good night," Vin Jin said, staring up at the darkening sky.
"Good night, Oppa," a soft voice replied from inside the house.
A moment passed before she spoke again. "You should sleep inside too."
"No way!" Vin Jin shot back, frowning dramatically. "A man and a woman sleeping in the same room isn't proper!"
"It's not that unusual though..." she said quietly.
"Are you planning to sleep out there forever?"
Vin Jin hesitated. "O-Of course!"
"If you catch a cold, you won't be able to train in wrestling."
"...You might be right, but—"
"Just come inside already."
He eventually conceded, grabbing a blanket and stomping into the room with exaggerated reluctance. "FINE! I HAVE NO CHOICE! I'LL SLEEP HERE!" He wrapped himself in the blanket like a cocoon, deliberately facing away from her.
"You can share the blanket though..." she teased gently.
"SHUT UP, YOU DEVIL!" he yelled.
"Hehe," she laughed softly.
The girl—Sujin Kim—watched Vin Jin's bundled form for a moment. "I honestly..." She trailed off, warmth softening her features. "It's nice to see you..."
"What?" Vin Jin asked.
"Looking happy," she finished.
"...I see," he said quietly, still facing away.
Silence settled between them like a comfortable blanket. Outside, the first drops of rain began to fall.
Then Vin Jin spoke, his voice different—hollow, distant.
"I seriously have no luck, you know? Keke." The laugh was bitter. "I was brought into this world by a shitty mother. She's probably burning in hell right now, isn't she?"
Sujin stiffened. "Stop," she whispered.
"As if you don't know how aunt died," she said.
Vin Jin's entire body went rigid.
Slowly, he turned to face her, and his expression made Sujin's blood run cold. His eyes—those distinctive double pupils—were wide with shock and something deeper. Something dangerous.
"What did you just say?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
Sujin realized her mistake too late. Tears welled in her eyes as she saw the look on his face.
"Who are you?" Vin Jin demanded, sitting up completely. "How do you know about my mother?"
Sujin couldn't speak. A horrific memory flashed across her mind—silhouettes struggling in sickening red light, the terrible sounds, the moment everything changed. The murder she had witnessed but never spoken of.
Her face twisted in silent anguish.
Vin Jin's voice dropped even lower, shaking with barely controlled emotion. "You know..."
He swallowed hard.
"...about the reason my mother died."