As far back as Jin-ho could remember, his only family had been his grandfather. Even in his eighties, the old man never stopped caring for him.
He cooked for him, made his bed, woke him up in the mornings, slipped pocket money into his hands, taught him how to shave, gave him birthday gifts—every small joy a child should experience, Jin-ho experienced because of him.
And now that same grandfather was gone.
With his passing, Jin-ho was left completely alone in the world. It felt as if the purpose behind all his hard work had simply evaporated. Nothing had ever felt as heavy—nor as painfully empty—as this loneliness.
He walked along the road, returning from his shift like a bird with no sense of direction. His body was exhausted, but so was his spirit. He didn't even know who he was working so hard for anymore—it had simply become habit. Two part-time jobs, night shifts, no rest… it was grinding him down.
If he was being honest with himself, it wouldn't have felt this draining if he hadn't been masturbating three times a day.
It was the last bit of "joy" left in his life.
Wake up → squeeze out some relief → go to work → come home → repeat it until exhaustion → fall asleep on a bed that barely deserved to be called one.
This has been his routine for the past 2 years. Every day of the week, every week of the month.
Fourteen hours of work every day left no time to socialize. Not enough for chasing after girls, and definitely not for getting close to one.
He found himself walking along the harbor—the path he always took home.
It was 5 a.m. The sun wasn't fully up yet. The world was still dark, but the faint light made everything barely visible.
That was when he heard voices up ahead.
Someone was talking—no, multiple people.
They sounded like they were carrying something… or someone… onto a boat.
"Oi, rookie! Why'd you tie the rope so damn loose? Do I need to do everything? Do you know what she'll do if her hands get free?!" one man hissed while tightening the bindings on a woman.
"But I did tie it well. How did it become loose so fast?!", the rokkie replied in a confused voice.
"It became loose cause ya didn't tie it good in the first place. Boss, why did you have to bring a rookie on a sensitive mission like this?! I don't understand," the man kept complaining.
"You don't need to know the details," said another man, who was clearly the boss. "Quit whining and get her on the boat before someone sees us."
When Jin-ho came within about twenty feet close to them, he finally saw the scene clearly.
Gangsters.
And they were kidnapping a woman dressed in office clothes.
He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed emergency services, but at this rate, they'd get away long before help arrived.
He needed to stall them somehow. Even if it was reckless, he couldn't just watch and let them take her.
He took a big breath, then shouted at them:
"Hey! Who are you people? Where are you taking that woman?"
"Oh shit. Boss—someone saw us," the rookie panicked.
"I can see him, idiot," the boss muttered.
"Hey man. Did you not hear me the first time. Why is that girl tight up? What are you going to do with her?" Jin-ho repeated his question, stepping closer.
"Kid, this has nothing to do with you," the boss replied calmly. "Walk away before you get hurt."
"What I get involved in is purely my business. What you're doing is clearly illegal. She's not going with you willingly, is she?"
"Heh… look at this punk." The boss snorted. "You must have a few screews loose, ain't you? Boys—install some screews in him, will ya."
Jin-ho frowned.
Jin-ho didn't like being called a kid. Only his grandpa gets to call him a kid.
'Second—these skinny guys? They really thought this was enough to take him down?
Fine.'
That might just work in his favor.
As the first thug approached, Jin-ho raised his fist like he was about to punch. Instinctively, the thug lifted his hands to guard his face.
But the punch never came.
Instead, Jin-ho grabbed the man by the hair and flung him straight into the harbor.
Splash.
'One down. Two to go,' he thought with a small, satisfied smirk.
Just as planned.
It would take at least a minute for that guy to climb out of the freezing water.
The second thug panicked and pulled out a knife, spinning it to look intimidating.
Jin-ho didn't give him the chance.
He lunged forward, kicking the man's knee sideways.
A sickening crack followed.
The thug collapsed, screaming, dropping the knife near the unconscious girl.
He was now screaming at the top of his lungs.
Seeing his subordinates fall so quickly, the boss's face twisted with pure fury. His eyes became bloodshot with anger.
He rushed at Jin-ho, kicking him in the chest.
A punch followed, but this time he missed.
Ji-ho barely dodged the punch.
He staggered, his chest aching from the kick. His movements grew clumsy.
Seeing the big man approaching him while cracking his knuckles, Jin-ho started to throw around wild punches, aimless kicks at him.
It was obvious that he had never been in a real fight before. Now that his plan had ended, he was facing a real threat… and his face was paying the price for it.
The big guy grabbed his collar and punched him repeatedly in the face. Jin-ho felt like his face was exploding from all that punching.
After an Eternity later, the man paused. Admiring the bruises he'd left in Jin-Ho's face. Then he glanced toward the rookie who was now screaming for a rope from the river.
That tiny distraction was all Jin-ho needed.
THUD.
His foot connected with the boss's groin, full force.
The big man folded instantly, collapsing to the ground silently, his face turning red as he rolled in agony.
Jin-ho turned to the limping thug just in time for the man to jump at him while limping.
He responded with a decisive kick, breaking the thug's remaining good leg.
'Feeeew. That's all three,' he thought, breathing hard.
'Now… the girl.'
But as he glanced at her, he noticed she was awake, sitting with her back toward him.
'Good. At least she was conscious.'
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder to see if she was okay.
SWISH
She turned around in a flash—
And a sharp pain exploded in his chest instantly.
She had stabbed him.
He stared at her, disbelief drowning out even the agony.
"Why… stab me? I saved you…" He gasped, blood soaking his shirt.
"Saved me?" the girl replied, confusion in her eyes.
"What? What do you mean you saved me?" the girl questioned him back. Confusion was visible in her eyes.
Hearing this, Jin-ho felt that the sky had fallen over his head.
'How can she say this when it was I who saved her. Wait, did she not see me fighting the gangsters?' Jin-ho thought in his mind.
"Did you not see me fighting the people who were kidnapping you?"
Then it hit her.
Her breath stuttered—her eyes widened—her hand flew to her mouth.
Suddenly, the realization struck the girl.
She had stabbed her rescuer?!
'She really mistook me for a kidnapper…?'
'Well fuck that. Now that's what was missing in my already fucked up life, people mistaking me for a kidnapper.' Finally, Jin-ho realized this whole fucked up situation, crystal clear. He really wished he hadn't heard that sentence, though.
'So this really did happen, huh?! Just my luck.' while he was thinking this, his legs gave out.
THUD
He fell backward, staring at the sky as the knife was still lodged in his chest.
'So this is my fate… dying because the person I saved stabbed me. Not a great way to die. Not that I have any attachment to this life… except maybe that I never lost my damn virginity…at least you could have let me lose my virginity for fuckes sake,' he cursed at the sky in his mind.
Slowly, his body felt weak. His whole body was drenched in his own blood. The girl whose name he didn't know took out the knife from his chest and pressed his wound with a cloth from god knows where she found. She was pressing down with all her might to stop the blood from pouring out of his body.
All the pain in his body was going away.
Jin-ho felt in his heart that this was it. This was the moment of truth. He really was dying now. His eyes blurred, and his hearing was getting cut off slowly.
Staring at the sky, he took his last breath. Even death couldn't close his eyes, staring at it.
His body grew colder. Death took him. Just like that.
***************************************
Time passed.
He didn't know how long it had been.
It felt like an eternity of nothing.
And then—all of a sudden, everything became so loud, he felt his ears would burst.
All of his senses slammed back into him suddenly.
His whole body ached. It felt like he had been beaten on every inch of flesh on his body.
The first sensation was the cold. It wasn't the clean, biting chill of winter, but a penetrating, subterranean dampness that clung to the skin like oil. The air tasted foul, a thick, suffocating mix of urine, unwashed bodies, and the sharp, metallic stench of stale blood.
He slowly opened his eyes.
He was in a dark room, which was half wet and half dry. Rats were running around as if this were their home ground.
When he tried to move, a heavy, cold weight pressed against his throat. A rusty, barbed iron collar dug into his neck, linked by a short, thick chain to the wall, as if He was a beast, shackled in place. He was confused by the absurdity of this experience.
After turning his left side, He finally saw them. Scattered around the perimeter of the small, cramped cell were a half-dozen other figures, chained to the wall just like him. They were a presentation of silent misery. Their skin was unnaturally pale, almost blue-gray color, dusted with the grime of the floor and streaked with dried dirt and blood. Most wore nothing but rags; their ribs were showing.
He noticed the sheer volume of injuries: deep, yellowing bruises mottled their exposed skin; old wounds were crusty and festering; and a few captives had weeping welts across their backs and legs from recent beatings.
Seeing the bruises and the wounds on the bodies of the people who were this close to him, he understood the origin of the pain in his body, which he was feeling from the moment he woke up.
'Is this hell? no. No hell would look like this, and why would I need to be chained up in Hell? Then where the fuck am I? Was I abducted and sold somewhere as a slave? no. That can't be either. Cause then there should be a wound made by the knife? It can't be healed this well, not even leaving any scars. Then where am I?'
Even after thinking up countless possibilities wasn't getting any idea which could justify what he was experiencing.
Just then he he saw something. He saw a single detail in his surroundings, which was the weirdest thing he had seen in his life. It literally shook his imagination upside down. It was a fantasy that came to life.
It was the ears of the people around him. They all had something in common.
IT HAD A LONG AND POINTY END.
*THEY WERE FREAKING ELF. AS IN ELF FROM FANTASY STORIES*
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