Maverick (Blank)
Chapter 1: Prologue (Maverick Start)
In a room as vast as a basketball court, the elevator doors slid open. A young man with golden-blond hair stepped out, his expression awkward.
"Wow, it's cold in here."
Ding.
Pat pat pat.
"Am I alone? Where is everyone?"
His gaze swept across the room. Eight distinct open spaces stretched before him, each unfamiliar, each waiting.
The young man opened the book he carried in his right hand. It had a black cover with white text focused on a single point, reading 'maverick'.
He flipped to the middle section and read, "September 22, 2035, Private Hall KD Company, 30th floor." He scratched his head where it didn't itch. "This is the address, right?"
He walked, and his gaze fixed on something. A room in white and green. A single plush grey sofa. Rows of trophies with golden engravings.
[Best Channel 2033]
[Best Entertain People 2034]
[Best Channel 2034]
On the wall, a name was engraved: Omega.
"Ah, that one's mine." The young man stepped inside. His foot crossed the boundary line.
Click.
All the lights turned on. He smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "Haha, finally." He then sat on the provided sofa and leaned back. "Man, I finally made it here."
He felt the soft velvet of the seat. He sighed and stared at the ceiling. "It's been a while... Blank." Then he placed the book he brought on the table.
The young man yawned and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and began circling the room one by one. "Hm... I guess I'm the earliest."
He checked his watch. "Still 40 minutes before it starts."
He put his hands in his pockets and looked into a room filled with glittering trophies. The walls were white as snow, and there were several photos of a young man with his younger sister.
"This room is cool. Whose is it?" He started walking in and looked at the trophies lined up one by one. "MMA Champion... Boxing... Is the owner of this room an athlete?"
He opened his phone and looked at a chat app. He started typing something.
[I'm already at KD Company. When are you coming?]
He tapped his left foot like someone waiting for something. But...
"What are you doing?" A heavy voice broke the silence.
A young man with white hair stood behind him. The previous youth startled. He turned his body and directed his gaze at him. "H-huh..."
The white-haired youth narrowed his eyes. He squinted his vision. "I said, what are you doing here."
The earlier youth walked forward and extended his hand. He smiled and gave a warm greeting. "I'm Lucky. Are you the owner of this room? Nice to meet you."
The young man just stared at him. His eyes were still sharp. The cold room froze the hearts of the two who had never met before. He walked past Lucky with his hands in the pockets of his white jacket.
As Lucky was passed by the young man, his eye twitched and he turned his body. "Hey, I just wanted to introduce myself, so unfriendly."
The young man looked at Lucky. He glanced at the white and green shoes he was wearing. "Ever heard of privacy?" He turned his face away again and left the young man behind.
Lucky kept watching him. He saw someone who didn't want to be acquainted with him pick up a photo of himself with his sister and wipe it with a grey cloth available on a small cabinet. Lucky thought, (Why does his face look so gloomy?)
He glanced slightly to the right.
[CEO UpperWings] and mumbled, (No wonder.)
But after hearing his earlier words, the hand that was previously extended was withdrawn and put back in his pocket. "My mistake. I apologize for that." He then walked out with a downcast expression. His mind acted, (Huh... Why is he so cold? I thought Maverick would be more friendly. This is a big mistake.)
His feet kept moving forward. He returned to his room and sat back on the sofa. With a sour expression, he took a bottle of plain water and drank it. The water could refresh his heart that had almost frozen.
Lucky stared at his bottle, then crumpled it until it was dented, and his brows twitched. There was one thing he remembered at this moment. (There's only one person who can really calm me down.)
[6 years ago]
A 15-year-old boy was staring at a lake in the afternoon. The wind brushed his hair, which was then swayed by the air currents and the sunlight illuminating the world with an orange hue that warmed his body at dusk.
But the boy's gaze was blurry. His eyes weren't focused even though he was looking at the sun's reflection. He just sat curled up, his hands propping his face on his bent knees.
Then a 24-year-old young man came from behind him. He carried two bottles of slightly ionized water in his hands as he approached the boy. "Hey Lucky. It's been almost a week, when are you going to stop brooding?"
The boy looked at the trees far across the lake. His fingers began tapping his other arm. "Bro Blank. I still can't believe it."
"Why did he have to die so quickly." Lucky began to shed tears. But the young man behind him then sat beside him.
The young man named Blank offered one of the fresh bottles of water he brought. "Drink this," he said, extending his hand to the boy.
The boy looked at him. He also wiped the tears that had flowed on his cheeks and took the drink. "Thank you, bro. You're so pushy."
Blank lifted the corner of his mouth and chuckled softly. "Well, you're a kid who's always talkative. Suddenly quiet for a whole week." He nudged the boy's shoulder with his hand.
The boy opened the bottle cap and drank slowly. The water immediately flowed from his mouth down his throat with a bland but refreshing taste. He bit the flesh inside his mouth. "Well, what can I do, bro. I already thought of him like a best friend. He was shy but full of care."
Blank smiled until his eyes closed. He ruffled the golden-haired boy's hair. "No one knows fate, Lucky. Maybe you can fulfill his wish someday, and he'll be proud from up there."
"Yeah... Maybe..."
Blank tilted his head slightly with a raised corner of his lips. "Good. I believe it." He pinched the boy's ear. "You said you wanted to be number one in the entertainment world. How can you not even entertain yourself?"
Lucky winced in slight pain and moved Blank's hand that was pinching his ear. "Ah, alright, alright. Besides, I'm still a kid; surely I'll manage when I grow up." Blank listened and chuckled softly.
That was the moment Lucky remembered when he was still a child, lonely without a family and grieving for his friend who had passed. Only Blank came and saved him from the difficult situation he faced.
[Back to the present]
Lucky remembered that moment well. His face looked around the room and counted them. "One... two..." Lucky held his neck. "There should be 10, but there are only 8."
He glanced at the book he had placed on the small table and lifted it to his line of sight. (This book holds many stories.)
But suddenly, his hand clenched tightly until his veins became visible, and he wrinkled his nose with a sharp gaze. His heart beat fast, and he said something in his heart, (But why isn't his here?)
Lucky waited for all his comrades in the room as minutes passed. The awkwardness had begun to fade from him. Meanwhile, in another corner of the city, in a different country...
A man walked while scrolling through news on his phone.
"Crime up 30%? Underring still exists? Or others?" he looked elsewhere. "Hey, what are you doing?" The tall man addressed the young man curled up in a black leather jacket.
The young man drank a soda and swallowed. He glanced at the man behind him. "Nothing."
The man scratched his non-itchy forehead. "I'm curious, why did you choose the name Blank 2?"
The drink can in the young man's hand was crushed until it was ruined. "To destroy him."
The tall man sighed. "What's with Blank? You're not a bad person either, but you recruit criminals instead. Your thinking is unique."
He then stood up and faced him. "I don't care if they all die. If they're useful, it's fine." Blank 2 exhaled. "Do you know who slaughtered 60% of the people in Underring?" The man shook his head.
"It was Blank."
The man was in disbelief. "Well, I thought so, but the name and background are different."
Blank 2 stared. "Today, the chosen Mavericks are gathering."
"Wait... how do you know?"
Blank 2 showed a book. The man read.
"Ma... ve... rick..."
His eyes widened. "Huh? So you should..."
"I'm not interested." Blank 2 continued. "Blank, the serial killer who wants to save the country, they say. Haha, funny..." His body trembled. "A devil wanting to be an angel, huh, you bastard... haha..."
The young man walked towards a high table. He held a photo—himself with someone when they were young. "I'm 90% sure it's him."
The tall man was startled. "90%? For you, maybe, but not for me."
Blank 2 stared at the photo. His hand trembled. "I... Lucky... And the others... Back then, we were all saved by someone incredibly kind, each in different ways. He was like an older brother to me."
His hand trembled more. "I have no family. Everything changed when he came. But it's useless. He's already dead, and so is my friend..."
His fingers trembled. Tears fell slowly. His hand clenched so tightly that veins bulged.
"If this world needs a real protagonist, I would wholeheartedly agree if it were my brother."
The tall man muttered, "Troublesome, hey, come on—"
The young man looked with an empty gaze, tears flowing. "All those who were saved are siding with a stranger named Blank. They are traitors."
The man felt slightly anxious as the young man's face started to turn wild again. He caught a glimpse of the name on the photo. "Kae—"
Crash.
The young man knocked over a cabinet beside him. His face was flat, his eyes sharp. "I don't trust anyone else."
"Then... let me..." His gaze pierced the man's vision, and the veins in his neck were visible.
"Hunt down these Mavericks."
---
On the other side, after 30 minutes passed. On the 40th floor of KD Company, a servant came towards a room filled with countless books inside. A young man was seen standing in front of a glass wall looking at the city.
"Servant, the Mavericks have arrived, right?" A soft tone smoothed the silence. The servant bowed his head slightly. "That's right, Sir Blank. Please proceed to the elevator."
The young man turned around, his hair swaying, and a smile came to the servant. Blank walked slowly towards the elevator and left his room.
Meanwhile, on the 30th floor of KD Company. Eight people were waiting in their respective rooms in front, all eyes fixed on the main elevator that lit up green in the vast space at the very front.
"Haha, I can't wait." Lucky was excited.
Everyone smiled and waited, facing the elevator.
(Three.)
(Two.)
(One.)
Ding.
Lucky was enthusiastic, squatting on the sofa. "Oh my god, I feel like jumping." Everyone stared in the same direction with hopeful faces.
Whirr.
The doors opened. A black cloak stepped out. What caught attention was Blank smiling. Not a warm smile, but the smile of someone who has defeated the world.
Tap, tap, tap.
The room grew tenser. A warming silence accompanied them. This is a story that has just begun. We call it...
[Maverick Start]