Chapter Text
Chapter 01
- (The Beginning: Chapter 530)
"Regarding that."
"Nothing will change even if you know."
"Daniel Park..."
"Do not regret what you have done."
"Now... go."
Those were the last words Daniel Park heard before Gun himself stepped forward to return to his private solitary confinement cell.
Daniel Park exited the Seoul Police Station with an outward calmness, though his features contradicted his serene aura. He was angry—not entirely angry, but rather annoyed...
and perhaps sad as well.
'He stood by Charles Choi until the end,' Daniel thought to himself. Just the mention of that old man Charles’s name brought back bad memories.
'I just don’t understand...' Yes, Daniel didn’t understand. Why did Hyung stay by Charles Choi’s side even knowing everything he had done? Why does Hyung think nothing will change? Why does Hyung... take the blame for Charles Choi's crimes?
Daniel turned to face the gate of the Seoul Police building. Two grown men were guarding the gate with a semi-military stance of experience.
'It won’t be easy to visit Hyung for a while...' Daniel thought to himself, preparing to turn back before hearing this announcement:
— "Jinrang is being released!"
'Hmm?' Daniel wondered at the sudden release.
As soon as the two policemen guarding the police station/prisoner gate stepped aside, a massive figure of a powerful man appeared. He had an aura screaming with prestige and majesty, standing with a straight posture that highlighted his broad shoulders and massive muscles. Not to mention the suit he was wearing—a formal dark black suit that didn’t quite match the look of a mafia boss... or perhaps matched it too well?
Daniel’s eyes widened at the sight of this figure, the man nicknamed "Jinrang," walking out of the gate with noticeable strength in his rock-like fists.
'Who is this?' Daniel thought in pure amazement. This man almost surpassed Hyung in height and bulk.
Jinrang passed by Daniel to exit the police station grounds. Their eyes met for a moment. Daniel’s eyes looked smaller and softer compared to Jinrang’s sharp, precise eyes, which reminded Daniel of a wolf’s eyes.
Daniel couldn't help but feel an unconventional attraction to this huge man. Daniel’s wide, amazed eyes followed Jinrang’s back as he passed behind him.
'His aura is extremely terrifying...' Daniel thought to himself.
And right in front of the man Jinrang... was another man, with lighter and longer hair, wearing an elegant light green striped suit and a tidy white shirt that seemed to be from a luxury brand.
"You’ve had a hard time, Hyung-nim," said the long-haired man. Daniel didn’t recognize him, and from his accent, he didn’t seem to be from Seoul.
"I brought you food. you haven't eaten yet, right?" The man held out a black bag, presumably containing some food.
"Not yet," Jinrang replied in a deep, sharp tone. Daniel wasn't surprised; he couldn't have imagined his voice being any less deep than that. It seemed this man wasn't from Seoul either... were they from Busan?
From the corner of his eye, Daniel noticed several men in black suits gathering near the two elegantly dressed men.
"Give your greetings!" the long-haired man finished his sentence.
Every one of those men in black suits bowed, repeating a single phrase.
"Welcome back, Hyung-nim!" Their collective voice rang out like a war cry, or an army calling to their leader... perhaps both.
Daniel Park watched this massive amount of loyal chaos, destructive power, and great authority before him.
The man Jinrang took a bite of the sandwich brought by his long-haired partner, before the large man disappeared with his followers like a pack of wolves returning to their den.
"That was... something..." Daniel Park muttered to himself in astonishment, forgetting his worries about Hyung for the sake of the reunion he had just witnessed.
'Who are these men...' Daniel thought curiously before he, too, moved on.
He had a long way back home. After all... tomorrow was the first day of his second year at J High School.
□ - Zoe Park
Inbox: 3 unread messages.
> Daniel!! I'll stop by your house tomorrow so we can walk together~
> Is Piggy home? (Deleted)
> Never mind! Good night~.
Daniel couldn't suppress a soft smile from forming on his lips. It had been a while since his last conversation with Zoe, or any of his friends... away from matters of crimes, gangs, and fighting.
He truly missed when things were simple.
But, after all, he was ignorant back then. He had no specific goal other than living in his perfect body for fear of being bullied in his original body.
Now, he had a goal carved into his mind... he would protect his friends from any evil, no matter what.
Even if it required protecting them from himself, or from his second body... which had been experiencing fluctuations lately.
As soon as the clock hit 7 AM, Daniel switched bodies, leaving his original body asleep in pajamas (clothes gifted to him by Jay—consisting of a white shirt and loose dark gray pants).
His consciousness returned to his second body, the "Perfect Body" that had faced legendary fighters... and the body that hadn't suffered a single scratch after the "Hunt for Gun" incident.
Daniel tied the blue tie of his school uniform before turning to pick up his gray bag.
'Zoe will arrive soon. I don't want to be late for her,' Daniel thought with a smile, before a strange sensation washed over him.
He felt a strange dizziness... the same feeling he had when he woke up to find himself tied up to be a lab rat for... that mad doctor.
"Wha—..." Daniel felt as if he had been struck by an iron bar directly to the back of his head.
He hoped to wake up in his second body quickly to find out who did it and why.
But... he didn't wake up in either of his bodies.
Daniel opened his eyes with difficulty as he felt the residual pain from the blow, before being struck by an unusually bright light.
"This hurts... and it's so bright," Daniel muttered, placing his hand as a barrier between him and the light before slowly reopening his eyes.
Soon, the feeling of the blow vanished as if it had never been. Daniel didn't know if this was a feature of his strange body—recovery—or if his body was undergoing strange fluctuations due to the frequency of fights. But neither hypothesis convinced him.
Daniel ran his other hand behind the back of his head; he felt no blood there. It seemed he had been imagining it then.
He really needed more sleep, or he’d start hallucinating now.
"Daniel!!" a female voice rang out from nearby.
Daniel turned as an instinctive response to hearing his name, finding Zoe running toward him at incredible speed before throwing herself into his arms.
"Zoe! What's the matter?" Daniel said, somewhat confused. He could no longer tell if this was a dream or a hallucination.
"Daniel!! I thought I was alone here~, don't leave me!" Zoe whined.
"Wait, what are you talking about—"
"What the hell do you mean you're alone?? I bet every resident of Seoul is here!" A shouting voice rang out that Daniel could easily recognize.
"Zack!" Daniel recognized his friend Zack Lee.
"Yes, yes, it's me. Were you expecting someone else??" Zack said in a tone of annoyance but sarcasm—his strange mix of tones reserved for his "friend."
"Be nicer, Zack!" Mira warned as she pinched Zack’s side.
"Sorry, Mira!"
'Wait... where am I?' After thinking about it, this place didn't look like Daniel's house. This place... was brighter, more spacious... and very empty. And not dilapidated like his house...?
Looking around... there really were a lot of people. Could it be...
Daniel looked behind him quickly and found what he was afraid of: his first body was sleeping beside him.
'Oh my God...!!!' Daniel thought in panic.
"Hey Daniel! I'll wake Piggy up too! He can't sleep while we're in this situation!" Zoe called out before stepping toward his first body, sleeping peacefully... without a soul!
"No, Zoe!"
"Little Daniel is sick! Yes, he is sick! Please don't wake him up, it might take him a long time to sleep! He'll be upset if someone wakes him up!!" Daniel called out in the slightest possible tone of worry and latent fear,
"Oh my! Is Peggy sick?? Poor thing~!!" Zoe said sympathetically after hearing Big Daniel's reason,
Big Daniel breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Zoe believe him.
Daniel turned around again to see the environment around him... a wide expanse of... emptiness? Not really, he could see gray walls... but they seemed far away... very far away. And around him, most of the J High students, if not all, recognized him and were at a closer distance to him. Zack was talking to Mira, Zoe was next to him, Jay was looking at him worriedly, and here he was slowly approaching,
“Hello, Jay!” Daniel said with a reassuring smile at the boy's proximity, before the latter extended his hand to help Daniel stand.
Daniel took his hand before standing with the help of his blond friend,
"Thank you, Jay! That's very kind of you." Daniel replied with a wider smile, to which Jay responded with a small nod, which was barely able to hide the blush on his cheeks before he looked at Daniel with a soft smile.
“By the way, do you know where we are?” Daniel said, and Jay responded by shaking his head, 'No.'
'No one knows where we really are..', Daniel thought curiously as he turned his head. He saw a person he recognized in the distance..
"Mary, you bitch! Where are you?!?"
"I'm here you idiot! Take off those silly glasses! I bet you can't even see me!"
"bullshit!??"
'Oh yes.. here is Jin..' Daniel thought. Besides Mary, there were two other boys that Daniel recognized from last year's school festival..
and also..
"Daniel Park!" It was a comfortingly familiar voice, "deok !" Daniel recognizes the voice again, his friend deok hwa . He hasn't really seen each other for many months. He's really happy to see him again.
"You've really changed, Daniel," deok said in a tone of amazement and curiosity, a pure tone devoid of an ounce of contempt.
Daniel smiled warmly at his kind friend. he truly felt deja vu.
Looking behind deok hwa, there were the members of Burn Knuckles!
"Vasco!" Zack called out to their friend, as if he had read Daniel's thoughts.
Vasco turned with his crew and Jace Park upon hearing his name, before their shoulders relaxed at the sight of familiar faces.
"Daniel!!" Vasco called out in a worried voice that didn't match his imposing appearance with his gang.
"Hello, Vasco!" Daniel replied with a smile as much as possible, amidst the circumstances that had now become more tense.
'Everyone I know is here... Zoe, Zack, deok... and Vasco,' Daniel thought with internal concern.
"Oh, Little Daniel is here too?" Jace Park said after noticing the smaller figure behind Big Daniel, with Zoe beside him.
"Little Daniel!!" Vasco's tone became more cheerful at the mention of Little Daniel’s name.
"No, Vasco—!!"
"Where am I..." Crystal looked around anxiously. She hadn't moved past the shock of her father’s death yet... and here she was, somehow dragged to a strange place when she decided not to go to school in her second body. Was fate punishing her now or what?
Crystal turned her head slowly before recognizing the face of a specific man.
"Oppa!" Crystal called out, having recognized the figure of the nearby man.
Jong Gun!
'Crystal...' Gun thought upon seeing the daughter of his late boss again.
It was strange to see her suddenly in this weird place.
More like a dream... or just a white hell.
"boss Jake! Boss Jake?!!" Jerry called out in a panicked tone as he held his leader's body.
"Jerry, don't worry, Jake is just sleepy," Sinu tried to comfort his friend, but that caused Jerry to break down again.
"Mmm... five more minutes, Jerry..." Jake answered sleepily.
"The President is alive!!" Jerry announced with overwhelming tears of joy, making the Big Deal crew behind him happy.
Lineman was watching with Sinu with a mixture of confusion and doubt about how mature these men were to actually be gangsters.
"Sigh... this is Big Deal for you..." Sinu said.
"Did you just say 'Sigh' out loud?..." Lineman replied.
"Tch..." Samuel spat, watching with sharp looks from afar. Of course, Jake’s lazy ass wouldn’t get up until he kicked it himself.
"Waaaah!!" Yenna’s crying voice in Sally Park’s arms was a common sound in the Hostel crew’s home... but it wasn't the same in the middle of this strange environment.
"Calm down, sweetheart... your aunt and father are here!!" Sally tried to calm Yenna as best as she could, but she was terrified as well!
"Eli! (Where) are we!?" Warren screamed with concern mixed with shock at seeing a place like this before even dying!
"I don't know! Warren... and finish your sentences!" Eli Jang replied, scanning the surroundings with sharp looks before returning to the crying Yenna with a sad gaze.
"Oh my God... is this heaven?" Derek said.
"Stupid! We're not going to heaven," Max replied.
"What is this place!! Scary?!!" Natalie Cho said.
"Oh!! I think I saw that handsome man!" - Amy Lee.
"Where?!?!" - Natalie Cho.
"Eugene... this isn't one of your weird schemes, right?" Samuel said after approaching the boy with the cunning eyes... Eugene, the leader of Workers.
"Don't be stupid, Samuel," Eugene replied sharply. He was busy—busy messaging someone on his phone even amidst these circumstances... but there didn't seem to be any signal around them.
"Eugene... I don't think there's any signal," said Mandeok, Eugene’s dark-skinned guard whose massive figure could be recognized in this crowd.
"Boring... empty... bright..." muttered Yuseong, who was sitting comfortably on Mandeok’s broad shoulders. The boy had been craving fighting and blood for a while now.
Eugene promised him he would buy him a "funner toy."
But here they were in an unknown place. his older brother was angry, and he was craving a victim to amuse himself with.
"Ryuhei, do you know where we are??" asked Kenta, one of the masked leaders from the Workers' branches that were now destroyed.
"I don't know, Kenta," Ryuhei replied in his composed Japanese tone despite his own tension.
"It doesn't look like a place Eugene would own... I think," he said, looking around cautiously.
"The timing isn't right at all... we still have to reorganize our ranks in Workers..." Mitsuki Soma said, retieing her red tie. Her long black hair tied in a ponytail fluttered freely in the calm air of the place... and her mask was hanging on the side of her head.
"Mitsuki-san..." Ryuhei said after noticing his colleague.
"Those two haven't communicated in a while... will they be okay?" Kenta said with a hint of light tension.
"I don't know," Sato replied.
'This place is really strange... no signal, and there doesn't seem to be any exit,' Jin Jang thought to himself.
"Miss Vivi, stay behind me no matter what!" Xiaolong said, ensuring the girl remained safe behind him as long as he was with her.
"Xiaolong..." the girl Vivi repeated.
"Ugh... disgusting," Logan Lee spat after witnessing this "emotional" display.
"Where are we, Doctor?? I don't remember there being a room like this in all of Seoul," Logan Lee added.
"I don't know either, Logan. The place doesn't look like part of the Workers' headquarters at all..." Baek Gyeol said, looking around with expressions of wonder and curiosity.
"So we were just pulled into this place?! Unbelievable," Taejin shouted in annoyance at the whole situation, staring around with sharp looks.
"Calm down, Mr. Taejin..." Isu Jo said.
"Oi, James. What is this place," Gitae Kim said in his deep, rough voice, a tone of majesty and latent power.
His fist was tightening on the axe handle behind his back, ready for any sign of a threat to release his sharp axe.
"I don't know, Gitae..." James Lee (DG) answered honestly. He didn't have a hand in them coming to this strange place this time... which looked like a void.
Or perhaps a dream? James couldn't stand the idea that he had started hallucinating; he wasn't that old yet... right?
"Oho? A strange place, but familiar people! Hello, James~" Goo Kim said in a casual tone... sharply contrasting with the tension that filled the air.
"Goo?" James repeated with some surprise.
"Oh, don't be surprised~, I'd bet all my Pokémon cards that everyone here is from the Second Generation, if not some from the First Generation~!"
"What do you mean?..." James Lee replied, before seeing Goo point to somewhere behind them. When he turned...
He saw what he didn't expect.
"I didn't expect to see you in this place, you fake monk," Taesoo Ma said, looking grimly at the man beside him, Gongseob Ji.
"Oh, dear Buddha, it never crossed my mind that I'd be here with you too, Taesoo," Gongseob Ji replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"My God, are we already in heaven? I don't expect so since you're here too," Na Jaegyeon said with a cheerfulness that didn't match his stoic and bored facial expression.
"Na Jaegyeon, do you want me to smash your cars with my fist or what?" Taesoo Ma replied in a cold tone, preparing his rock fist in case he needed it.
"Oh, do you really want to go there??" Na Jaegyeon said with a forced smile despite the spark of anger ignited in his eyes at the mention of his beloved car.
"Why don't we focus on getting out of here instead of fighting pointlessly?? I'm not interested in seeing you two fight," Seokdu Wang added in his deep, gravelly voice, looking around at the cold and massive base.
"Did you hear that? Be adults for a few minutes and think of a good solution to help us get out~," Gongseob Ji spoke in a provocative tone to the two who were about to fight over a trivial reason.
"Oh, do you want me to knock you down too, monk?" Na Jaegyeon challenged in a provocative tone that accurately highlighted the distortion of his usually handsome face into angry and disgusted features.
"As if you could, kiddo. Go back to your beloved car, maybe you'll gain some strength from it~"
"Come here!"
"Step forward!"
"Are they really going to do it..." Seokdu Wang muttered in a frustrated tone at these two men. "They are crazy enough to fight amidst this stifling tension, so yes, they will," Taesoo Ma answered calmly, as if he were on a tourist tour and not in the middle of a battle between two First Generation Kings who were kidnapped for unknown reasons.
"Daniel Park!" Jihan Kwak’s voice called out, approaching with his brother Jibeom Kwak.
"Jihan! Jibeom!" Daniel Park repeated with a smile, recognizing the faces of the boys he had known for a long time.
"Oh, I see Daniel introduced us to you?" Jihan said, not remembering meeting "Big Daniel."
Daniel realized his mistake too late; he forgot for a moment that he had met Jihan in his first body and not this one!
"Ah, yes! Little Daniel told me a lot about you guys..." Daniel scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Really!? That's good then!" Jihan was immediately optimistic.
"By the way, why is the other Daniel sleeping?" Jibeom asked the question that had been on his and his brother’s minds since they saw them.
"Ah!.. Daniel is a bit sick. He stayed up late last night and couldn't sleep until a few hours ago. I don't want to wake him, as he might get annoyed..." Daniel began to feel the bitter taste of his lie on his tongue. He didn't want to lie to his friends... but it was for their own good too.
"Ah, believe me, Daniel is too sweet to be annoyed by anyone," Jihan said without thinking twice.
"Eh?—"
"Little Daniel!!? You poor thing!! This is all my fault!! " Vasco cried bitterly at the body of Little Daniel sleeping peacefully like an infant.
"V-Vasco, how could this be your fault??" Daniel asked in surprise at his poor friend taking the blame for something he had nothing to do with.
"Yeah, what were you going to do, fight his illness??" Zack mocked impatiently. He was worried about Little Daniel too, of course, but he knew this wasn't anyone's fault either.
"Yes!!" Vasco cried more, causing Zack to be suspicious of what was going through Vasco's mind... how did this boy even pass the entrance exams??
Jace sighed with exhaustion mixed with embarrassment. Vasco doesn't really feel shame, does he?
"No, Vasco!" Daniel grabbed Vasco’s shoulders.
"This isn't your fault! Little Daniel was just busy yesterday! And that led to his exhaustion and illness. It's just a cold and it will pass!" Big Daniel tried to reassure the big child in his arms, but it seemed like talking to a rock... he wasn't even listening.
"Daniel Park..." a girl called out, stepping slowly toward the group.
"Crystal!" Daniel recognized the girl’s voice, characterized by a calm and feminine rasp that was unmistakable.
Daniel stood up straight as soon as the girl reached them.
"Crystal? Wasn't that—" Zack was cut off by Mira’s hand, which slapped him quickly to silence him.
"Zack! This is her older sister, don't be rude to someone older than you!" Mira warned again, and Zack quickly apologized, seeking forgiveness from his beautiful beloved Mira.
"Do you know where we are, Daniel?" Crystal asked, ignoring the conversation of the two behind Daniel and the looks of the men around him on her.
"Ah... sorry, but I really don't know. It seems we were all pulled here... out of nowhere? I really don't know..." Daniel scratched the back of his head pessimistically. He truly didn't know what brought him and his friends to a strange place that looked like a void... but much brighter.
"Hmm... I found Oppa here too... what a strange place," Crystal said.
"Oppa?-- Wait, Gun-Hyung?!" Daniel was surprised at the mention of Hyung. Is he really here too??
"Ah, yes... it seems there are really a lot of people here... Uncle Tom is over there too..." Crystal pointed to a place a bit further away, where Tom Lee, one of the former Ten Geniuses, was standing with a glass of drink in his hand, along with Ms. Kim with long brown hair and a striking appearance. With them was a man Daniel presumed was Reporter Kim.
"Is everyone we know really here..." Daniel muttered with curiosity mixed with awe. In that case, Daniel wouldn't be surprised if he found Uncle Jinyoung here too... wait, could it be—
"By the way, who is the sleeping boy? The situation doesn't seem appropriate for sleeping..." Crystal said in a rebuking tone, moving her gaze toward the boy relaxing on the ground, sleeping peacefully, surrounded by Zoe, Vasco, and two other men she didn't recognize.
'Ah! I haven't had the chance to meet Crystal in my first body after losing weight... maybe this will be a good opportunity.'
"Crystal... this is Little Daniel," Daniel said with a small smile to lighten the mood a bit.
Crystal’s eyes widened upon hearing Daniel’s words, and she quickly focused more on Little Daniel.
"Little Daniel? You mean the other Daniel Park? The one who works at the convenience store??" Crystal said in a somewhat fast tone, almost in disbelief.
"Ah, yes! That's him—" Daniel said, before hearing Zoe's complaints.
"Little Daniel~!! Wake up for me~"
"No! Daniel!! Stay asleep!"
"Stupid, he can't even hear you, he's sleeping!"
"So... why is he sleeping?" Crystal asked.
"He's a bit sick, just a cold," Daniel replied.
"The poor thing... the timing isn't right at all," Crystal thought aloud, feeling guilty for judging the poor guy so quickly.
"AAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A loud scream rang out, sounding like someone being slaughtered alive in a slaughterhouse.
"Charles Choi!! You despicable bastard!?" Jinyoung grabbed his head so hard his knuckles turned white. He looked like he was having another hallucination episode... but the old man was right in front of him, in his brown robe, white beard... and those dark black eyes.
Eugene appeared completely pale. Why wouldn't he be? He had seen his worst dead enemy alive again.
It... didn't seem like it, but amazement was clear in the eyes of James and Goo.
"Charles Choi..." James Lee muttered.
"The Chairman... is alive?" Goo spoke in a low voice, not believing what he was seeing.
"Dad!" Crystal gasped with a tone of fear and awe, but also longing... her father was alive!
Daniel was going through a panic attack. Charles Choi was alive... alive?!
How could this man be alive... he died right in front of him... he was sure of it—
"OLLY!!!" Max's loud voice rang out just seconds later.
The Hostel members turned toward the man standing in his place.
Even Olly Wang himself was looking at his hands in wonder. The guy was sure he had committed suicide by choice... what was he doing here?
His eyes met Sally’s for a moment, before meeting Eli’s eyes.
Despite his different appearance now, Olly could recognize those eyes well.
"Eli," Olly muttered.
Eli looked toward his deceased "friend"... just a few meters away from him.
How was it possible?
"Olly-..." The words caught in Eli’s throat. Many emotions were sweeping through his heart...
Awe, fear, fascination, longing, hate...
He didn't really know what to do.
Even Warren was blinking in shock.
Is this a dream?
It had to be.
Daniel’s eyes stared in disbelief. This couldn't be...
"Ji-.. Jiho?.." Daniel spoke in a low voice, but his group caught the whisper.
"Huh?" Zack was the first to recover from being frozen by the situation, which had grown more tense and cold.
"Ji-Jiho?? Daniel, what are you saying??" Zoe said in a hesitant, stuttering tone. The whole situation was becoming more serious as people appeared, and the people around them would get surprised and shocked upon seeing them as if they were dead...
Mira looked in the direction Daniel was staring, before holding back a loud gasp.
"Ahh?!!"
"Mira! What's the matter? —" Zack said, before following the direction Mira was pointing.
A boy with short black hair and eyes with dark circles was standing there... he looked short... and familiar...
"Ji-Jiho.." Zack muttered, realizing late.
His deceased friend... right in front of them.
Zoe and Crystal gasped with even more fear.
Jay grabbed the shoulder of Daniel, who almost fell.
"What is this place..." Daniel muttered with more seriousness, looking around, wishing for anything that could explain it to them.
Why are dead people here with them?!
Olly Wang, Jiho... Charles Choi...
W-.. what is happening?