The alleyway was silent, save for the heavy, ragged breathing of the ten men sprawled across the damp concrete. I stood in the center of the carnage, the adrenaline slowly receding, replaced by a cold, clinical detachment. I waited until the last of them—the one I'd hit with the wheel kick—stopped twitching and that kid was gone. Only then did I move.
I didn't head for the exit immediately. Instead, I walked toward the first thug, the one who had been acting as the leader. I knelt beside him and began systematically checking his pockets. It felt strange. In my life as Arya in Delhi, I had never been a thief or pickpocket . Now, as Choyun, the heir to a political titan, I certainly didn't need the money. My bank account probably had more zeros than these guys had ever seen in their lives. Yet, as I pulled out a crumpled wad of cash—mostly 10,000 and 50,000 won notes—I felt a grim satisfaction. I counted it quickly. About 450,000 won.
"Just this much?" I muttered, stuffing the bills into my own pocket.
It wasn't about the money. It was about the principle of the street. In this world, the victor takes everything, and the loser is left with nothing but their bruises. If I was going to play the part of the monster that the North needed me to be, I couldn't leave resources on the table. Besides, having cash that couldn't be traced back to my mother's credit cards was a strategic necessity. I stood up and tapped the air, calling forth the purple interface.
[SIDE QUEST COMPLETED]
Objective: Defeat Street Thugs (10/10)
Reward: Gold Card x1
I looked at the shimmering rectangular icon hovering in the void. With a thought, I flipped it over.
[GOLD CARD: UPGRADE]
[POLYGRAPH]
Allows the user to detect any lies told by the target for one minute.
* Can be used 3 times per day.
A grin touched my lips. In a world of politicians like my grandfather and snakes like the leaders of the other Gangbuk schools, a card like this was worth more than gold. It was leverage.
I checked my phone. It was getting late. The sun was dipping below the horizon, casting long, jagged shadows across the maze-like streets of Gangbuk. I knew Mom would be expecting me soon. I dialed her number, leaning against the cold brick wall as the line connected.
"Hey, Mom," I said when she picked up. "I'm going to be late for dinner today."
"Choyun?" Her voice was tight with the usual maternal anxiety, but there was a new note of surprise. "Why? Isn't your school over?"
"Yes, it's over ." I replied, glancing at the blood on my knuckles. "But I'm with some friends. We're... hanging out."
The silence on the other end lasted for several seconds. I could almost hear her processing the statement. To her, the old Choyun didn't have friends; he had subjects and rivals. "What? Do you have friends? You really have changed, Choyun," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.
"I'll be home by dinner. Goodbye."
I hung up before she could start her emotional drama . The guilt pricked at me again, but I pushed it down. I had a schedule to keep, and the night was just beginning.
I didn't head home. Instead, I spent the next few hours wandering the 15-kilometer radius of Gangbuk. I avoided the main roads, sticking to the places where the neon lights flickered and the law was a suggestion. Every time I stepped into a new territory, the System hummed in the back of my skull.
[SIDE QUEST GENERATED: CLEAN THE TRASH]
I didn't care about the names of the quests anymore. I just followed the red markers. I found a group of high school dropouts shaking down a delivery driver behind a convenience store. I dismantled them in three minutes. I found a mid-level crew from the East trying to scout our borders.
They were stronger than the street thugs—trained, disciplined. One of them actually managed to graze my cheek with a brass knuckle, and another landed a heavy kick to my ribs that left a blossoming purple bruise.
But they weren't enough. Not against me . By the time I was finished with the last group, my school uniform was a ruin. The blazer was torn at the shoulder, my white shirt was splattered with a mixture of my blood and theirs, and I could feel the sharp sting of a dozen minor cuts across my arms.
I didn't feel tired. I felt alive. I had collected a haul of cards that made my vision swim with purple icons.
I reached the estate well past dark. I didn't go through the front gate where Alfred would be waiting to take my bag. Instead, I scaled the back wall, dropping silently into the garden. I moved like a ghost through the shadows, slipping through the servant's entrance and heading straight for the basement laundry room.
I stripped off the ruined clothes. They were evidence of a life Mom couldn't know about yet. I threw the blazer, the shirt, and the trousers into the industrial incinerator we used for yard waste, watching as the flames licked the fabric, turning the blood and the sweat into ash. I already had many sets; she wouldn't notice one.
I took a long, scorching shower, scrubbing the grime of Gangbuk from my skin until I was red. By the time I walked into the dining room, I was wearing a fresh set of clothes, my hair damp, looking for all the world like a student who had just finished a long study session.
Mom was waiting for me. She looked at me, her eyes lingering on the small bandage I'd placed over the cut on my cheek, but she didn't ask. She just served the food—Galbi-jjim and a dozen side dishes.
"Tell me about school life and your friends," she said softly as we ate.
I thought of Sechan's sheepish grin, Daniel's cold eyes, and Haru's confusion. "They're... interesting," I said. "The kind of people staying with you makes you feel better."
She smiled, the most genuine one I'd seen yet. "I'm just glad you're not alone anymore."
I nodded, focusing on my plate. I was far from alone. I had a System, a dozen souls to crush, and a mother I had to keep safe from the man I was becoming.