Ancient Ruins: ???
Seojin's chest heaved with ragged, desperate breaths as his eyes darted across the twisted, mocking faces surrounding him. Blood smeared his armor, his muscles screamed in pain, and the copper taste sat heavy on his tongue, yet it was the cold, cruel amusement in their eyes that hurt him the most.
At the center stood Kang Hyunwoo, his former best friend, and beside him Shin Eunha, his girlfriend. Both wore the same slow, satisfied smirk, savoring his suffering like it was a show made only for them.
"Wh—cough… cough… why?" Seojin rasped, coughing up blood as it bubbled at the corner of his lips and slid down his chin.
"Hahaha, look at this pathetic bastard asking why," Eunha said, covering her mouth as she laughed, shoulders shaking, eyes bright with mean delight.
"You know damn well why we did this!" she shouted, her voice cracking with heat and spite as she stepped in and drove her sword into Seojin's chest.
"Argh," he grunted in pain, breath hitching, ribs seizing around the blade as his fingers clawed at the stone for balance.
"Hahaha, you're one cruel woman, Eunha," Hyunwoo said, laughing low and pleased, the sound thick with pride in what they were doing.
He came near Seojin and squatted down so close that Seojin could see the flecks of dust on his greaves and the relaxed, almost bored way Hyunwoo's fingers tapped the hilt of his sword.
"You should have taken the offer the big shots were giving and everything would have been fine," he said, voice soft like a friend's and rotten underneath.
"We could have kept on playing family. But you had to refuse them, didn't you? They were giving us Transcendent-tier loot. Transcendent, you bastard," he snarled, face twisting, spit flying with the word. "That kind our trashy guild could not have gotten if we spent our whole pathetic lives fighting."
Seojin still couldn't believe what was happening. One moment, they were celebrating after defeating their guild's first-ever mythic-level boss, and the next his girlfriend had plunged a blade in his back.
"But thank God it's over," Eunha continued with a twisted grin that showed too much gum, "I can finally get rid of you. Do you know what a pain in the ass it was sticking with you? Family this, family that, just shut the fuck up, you orphan bastard," she said, and everyone around them laughed.
"If you hadn't gotten a high-tier class, I would have dumped you the moment this all began. You should be thanking me that I stuck around this long," she said, rolling her eyes, lips curling as if the word "boyfriend" tasted cheap.
Sticking with me was a pain in the ass? Seojin thought, and memories flashed raw and fast—the raids where he held the line for her, the number of times he died for her, protected her from the paib of death, the nights he stayed awake to plan routes so Hyunwoo could sleep easy, giving all the better items to him so he could get stronger, all the moments he believed were real. All the times he told himself this was what family looked like.
Seojin's eyes swayed toward Hyunwoo. He wanted to ask him, how can you kill me, how can you kill your brother, how can you look me in the eyes and do it for some loot and a title and applause, but he had no strength left, no breath that wasn't burning and wet.
Hyunwoo stepped forward, shadow falling over Seojin's face, the blade easy in his hand like this was just another pull.
"In your next life, don't be so naive and live for yourself a little," he said with a mocking smile that never touched his eyes, and he swung his sword.
"Goodbye, brother."
…
"Boss, we've collected everything that'll fit in our inventory, but there's still some loot left," one of Hyunwoo's goons reported.
"Then tell someone to carry it and let's move," Hyunwoo said, already bored, already thinking of the speech. "We need to get back to the guild and report that the bastard's dead."
"B-but Boss, will everything be alright? Even if he was pathetic, the guild members liked him. Will they really accept you as the new leader?"
"Haha, don't worry," Hyunwoo laughed, tilting his head like he was telling a joke at a party. "If I tell them it was his dying wish for me to lead, they'll accept it. I was his best friend, after all. Hahahaha!"
"That's right, I'll shed a few tears to help, and everyone will believe it," Eunha chimed in with a giggle, dabbing at the corner of her dry eyes with a clean fingertip as if she were already practicing.
As Hyunwoo and his goons planned their rise to power, a loud crash echoed through the cave.
Crash!
"Oi! What's going on? You idiots can't even carry the loot properly?" Hyunwoo barked.
"S-sorry, Boss! This guy tripped over Seojin's head."
"Even when he's dead, that bastard causes trouble," Hyunwoo muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers like he had a headache. "Oi, newbie, pick everything up and move out!"
The terrified newcomer quickly gathered the scattered loot and ran after the group, afraid of being left behind.
No one noticed the two golden orbs that rolled out of one of the boxes the newbie carried.
Slowly, they drifted toward Seojin's head like lazy fireflies finding home. When they reached his temple and settled there, a blinding golden light filled the cavern.
When the light finally faded, both Seojin's body and the orbs were gone—as if they had never existed at all.
South Korea, Seoul
A man suddenly shot up in bed, gasping for breath.
"Haah… haah… wh—what was that? A dream?" he whispered to the empty room, heart rattling like a loose lock.
Fresh from sleep, he was still a little groggy, his mouth dry. He went to the fridge and gulped down some water in deep, greedy swallows, but still felt a little disoriented.
He stumbled to the bathroom sink to wash his face, palms shaking, and when he looked up, the reflection staring back at him made his blood run cold—two golden eyes glowed faintly in the mirror, dim like embers and steady like judgment.
"Wha—"
Before he could react, a shock shot through his body. His confusion evaporated, replaced by perfect clarity.
"I was reborn… wasn't I?" Seojin muttered.
He snatched his phone and checked the date.
"I've come back… ten years. To when everything first began."
The memories of betrayal burned vividly in his mind. Sorrow flickered within him, but anger burned brighter.
Just as he was lost in thought, the doorbell rang. And knowing who it was, his frown deepened.
When he opened the door, a familiar figure leapt into his arms.
"Did you miss your cute and lovely girlfriend?" Shin Eunha asked sweetly.
Seojin looked at her face—so innocent now, but in his mind, he saw her laughing as she drove a sword through his chest.
Disgust twisted in his gut, and he shoved her away.
The sudden roughness left her stunned; he had never treated her like this before. His next words shocked her even more.
"I don't ever want to see your face again. We're done," Seojin said coldly and slammed the door in her face.
Eunha stood frozen, disbelief etched across her features. A moment later, she scoffed, assuming he was just in a bad mood.
"Seojin, you can be upset all you want, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on me! Don't think I'll forgive you later, even if you come crawling back!" she shouted.
As she was leaving, she thought to herself with a smirk, 'See how I embarrass you later when you come to apologize.'
She had completely ignored the breakup as if it had never happened. The idea that someone could leave her never crossed her mind.
"Crazy bitch," Seojin muttered, collapsing onto his bed.
'How did I endure her all these years?' Seojin asked himself and sighed.
Though he had just woken up, he felt drained. His mind drifted to his past life—to helping Eunha survive those early days, helping Hyunwoo and his friends, giving them high-tier items, dying again and again just to protect them, losing countless opportunities for their sake.
When did I ever live for myself?
He remembered Hyunwoo's last words: In your next life, don't be so naive. Live for yourself a little.
After thinking for a long while, Seojin opened his golden eyes again—burning with determination.
"I don't know how I came back," he whispered, "but that doesn't matter. Since I've been given this chance, I'll live it to the fullest. I'll be greedy. I'll be selfish. And I'll become the strongest."
His lips curled into a dark smile.
"And those bastards who betrayed me…" he murmured. "I sure as hell won't give them an easy death."