Chapter 1. Into an Unpleasant Moment
【October 24, 2035, 03:14】
【Coordinates: 71.61100, 52.44808】
Yuzhny Island, Arkhangelskaya Oblast, Northern Russia.
Baek Shin-woo, the leader of the special unit Triad Eye, classified as S-class in the mercenary market, was running with blood pouring out of his side, supported by his teammate Rick.
The last mission for Triad Eye was to prevent the launch of a nuclear missile.
However, the enemy was formidable. All members were heavily injured, but they managed to annihilate the enemy and halt the missile launch.
But then, the base’s self-destruct button had been pressed. The countdown had begun, and everyone was running for their lives.
“We can’t block the door from the outside, so we need to get to the helicopter as quickly as possible!”
“I know! That’s why I’m running!”
They reached the base entrance, secured by a thick metal door.
However, it was only open wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.
While his comrades passed through, Shin-woo checked the self-destruct countdown on his watch.
There was less than a minute left.
‘At this rate, we’re all going to die….’
Though the helicopter was ready to go, even if they all boarded it, escaping the blast radius in time was impossible.
Unless the base’s thick metal door was closed…
Thunk—
Without hesitation, Shin-woo pushed Rick forward. Rick stumbled, barely squeezing through the edge of the door.
Shin-woo then activated the door switch without a second thought.
“…What?”
Rick, startled, turned around immediately.
Rumble—
As the metal door started to close, Rick saw Shin-woo’s smiling face.
It was just a split second.
“Captain—!”
The door shut completely.
Shin-woo had stayed behind to close the door for his comrades.
Thud— Thud—
He heard banging on the door from the outside.
Voices from his comrades echoed loudly through the earpiece.
[Captain! Open the door!]
[Open it, now!]
[Open the damn door before we kill you!]
Feeling his strength leaving him, Shin-woo leaned back against the door and slumped to the ground.
He then took a deep breath and pressed the button on his radio.
“…I’m sorry, you bastards. This was the only way… So just get the hell out of here—! Ugh!”
The self-destruct countdown set on his wristwatch continued to decrease.
【00:00:32】
【00:00:28】
【00:00:15】
.
.
The blast door was closed, so it should be able to withstand the explosion’s force to some extent.
“How can we leave the captain behind―!”
Rick, the deputy leader, shouted loudly. However, Shin-woo knew his life was nearing its end. Blood was still flowing from his abdomen, and his strength was quickly draining. His twelve years of living as a mercenary told him so. Even if he made it onto the helicopter, he would die from excessive blood loss… This was the end…
[Bang—! Bang—!]
The sound of the helicopter blended with the final cries heard over the radio. His comrades, who had pulled themselves together, were starting to escape.
“Ha… At least you guys survive…”
The Triad Eye mercenary unit had planned to retire after this mission. Each member intended to enjoy the rest of their lives in places of their choosing. Shin-woo had also made up his mind to return to his homeland, South Korea, where he was born and raised.
But he never imagined he would be retiring through death. As his breathing gradually ceased, his life flashed before his eyes. He recalled his encounter with his birth mother, who had abandoned him as soon as he was born, just before leaving South Korea twelve years ago.
‘Damn… Why am I thinking of that woman here?’
【00:00:03】
【00:00:02】
【00:00:01】
【00:00:00】
Beep— Beep—
‘…Shit.’
The moment the timer on the clock beeped, an explosion resounded, and a wave of fire filled the corridor, engulfing Shin-woo.
*
The red hue in his vision was instantly swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
‘Is this what death feels like…?’
A life not easily chosen by anyone. While the end was regrettable, he believed he had lived a life without too many regrets.
‘What happens now? Do I go to the afterlife?’
He couldn’t feel his body. In the darkness where nothing could be seen, he could only think. Then, a light appeared in the distance. It grew closer and larger, filling his vision with pure white.
‘Ugh―! What is this?’
Suddenly, Shin-woo squinted his eyes. Then, music, which he hadn’t been able to hear before, reached his ears. As he slowly regained his senses, he could feel the saliva passing through his throat and esophagus and the sensation of his heart pumping blood throughout his body.
At that moment, a familiar woman’s voice called out to him from ahead.
“Shin-woo. What are you thinking about? Are you okay?”
As his vision returned, Shin-woo could tell who the owner of that voice was. She had short wavy hair reaching her shoulders, a sharp gaze on a thin face, and a look filled with various meanings.
He recognized her immediately.
“You are…”
“Phew―, even if our relationship is what it is, isn’t this a bit too much?”
It was Im Hee-yeon, his biological mother, who had abandoned him right after he was born.
Listening to her words, Shin-woo looked around. It was a sophisticated and luxurious cafe. The music that continued to play was classical music streaming from the cafe’s speakers. It was the cafe in the outskirts of Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, where they had met for the first and last time twelve years ago.
‘What is this? Why is this situation replaying in front of me?’
Sensing that something was wrong, Shin-woo’s mind raced. Meanwhile, familiar words flowed from Im Hee-yeon’s lips.
“What do you mean you’re suddenly going abroad? Are you leaving Korea because you resent me so much?”
He couldn’t help but resent her. That thought hadn’t changed even after all these years. Without answering her, Shin-woo picked up the phone on the table.
【Friday, February 14, 2023】
【14:23】
‘It is indeed twelve years ago… But how did I return to this time? Is this a dream?’
Everything was vividly remembered, so it couldn’t have been a dream. He recalled the intense heat of the hellish explosion that had engulfed him in the end…
While lost in various thoughts, Im Hee-yeon stared intently at Shin-woo.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Sure, I had to let you go out of my own greed. But there was a reason…”
Her words were exactly the same as back then. With his thoughts in order, Shin-woo looked at his reflection in the full-length glass window of the cafe and spoke.
“You left your child for 23 years. I still can’t understand what reason could justify that.”
The response this time was different from before. It carried more meaning. Facing the face of his biological mother that had come to mind at the moment of death, Shin-woo found it difficult to control himself.
“If only I hadn’t separated you from me back then…”
But the response, cut off mid-flow, was unchanged from that time.
Im Hee-yeon seemed to have more to say, but she struggled to continue.
In the future, Shin-woo had not waited any longer. He had immediately left and never met her again. But this time was different.
Perhaps it was because he had returned after living a life up to death. He became a bit curious about the reasons and other matters he had never heard from his biological mother.
“I will wait, so please tell me. What was the reason for abandoning me at the orphanage right after I was born? And who is my father?”
At first, it was hard to believe that Im Hee-yeon was truly his biological mother. However, she had come prepared with the orphanage placement documents, birth certificate, genetic tests, and more.
These documents were now laid out on the table.
Naturally, these materials only fueled Shin-woo’s anger further. It was more evident that he had been abandoned not due to circumstances but by her own choice.
“That is…”
“Why can’t you explain anything? Did someone threaten you with death if you spoke?”
Thud—
Agitated, Shin-woo slammed his hand on the table.
At that moment, he felt people moving simultaneously at the 10 o’clock, 8 o’clock, and 6 o’clock positions from his current location.
‘…Surveillance? No… judging by their movements, they are closer to bodyguards. I had thought it was strange before…’
In his previous life, Shin-woo had never been introduced to what his biological mother did. He never learned what she was involved in up to the moment before his death.
Of course, his anger at that time had prevented him from seeing clearly.
After leaving Korea, Shin-woo’s life had been filled with missions and comrades.
“Just tell me one thing. What do you do?”
“…You’re curious about that even though you’re about to leave for abroad?”
Such sharp questions. Shin-woo was genuinely curious if such a tone could come from a mother.
With a sigh, Shin-woo looked at Im Hee-yeon.
“There’s no need to force an answer. If what you have to say ends here, I’ll take my leave.”
As before, the answers spun in circles.
As Shin-woo was about to leave, Im Hee-yeon urgently called out.
“If you want to know the reason, you should decide to live with me!”
The same conditions as before…
Shin-woo’s expression, momentarily frozen, contorted with anger.
“Why should I live with you when I am no longer a minor?”
“Because there is a reason!”
Shin-woo looked around at the bodyguards surrounding her.
“Is it something that involves risking your life?”
“That is…”
The incomplete answer turned into silence. It could only be seen as a positive indication.
In such a situation, Shin-woo, who had been meeting eyes with her, sighed while wiping his mouth with his left hand, seeing something that caught his attention.
‘…Why is this tattoo here…?’
As Baek Shin-woo lowered his left hand, he noticed a tattoo protruding from his wrist, outside his watch strap. It was a white eyeball with a thin black hexagonal star embedded in the center. This tattoo was one he and his team members had gotten when Triad Eye, the mercenary unit he last worked with, was formed, about six years ago. Naturally, it shouldn’t have been on his current body.
In the midst of confusion, Im Hee-yeon spoke again.
“Can’t you just do as I say right now…?”
It was impossible. Shin-woo no longer wanted to hear any more.
“It seems there is no more worth in hearing. I would prefer not to see you again.”
Ultimately, Shin-woo stood up and prepared to leave.
“Shin-woo!”
Even at Im Hee-yeon’s cry, Shin-woo exited the café and headed towards the car he had parked in the lot. Then, he felt a hostile gaze from the direction of the forest behind the café.
‘Who is it?’
Without looking back, he got into the car, drove it to the road side, and then got out again. He circled back to the café while minimizing his presence and entered the forest near where he had felt the gaze.
‘Is it that guy? But did I really feel that gaze from such a distance?’
He could see the back of a man dressed in military green. However, the distance from the man’s location to the café parking lot was easily over 40 meters. It was a distance where sensing a gaze was nearly impossible, even for someone highly sensitive to presence on the battlefield.
‘My body at this time must not be as good as in its prime…’
Even as his thoughts deepened, his gaze remained fixed on the man’s back. Initially, he had thought the man might be from the same organization as the bodyguards inside the café. However, the intense aura of hostility made that unlikely.
‘What kind of person is my birth mother, to be receiving such threats?’
Watching the man from a distance, Shin-woo searched for “Im Hee-yeon” on his phone.
【Actress Im Hee-yeon】
【△△ Church Im Hee-yeon’s Recommendation Letter】
【△△△ Nursing Home Director Im Hee-yeon】
Although several items came up, none were related to the Im Hee-yeon he had just met.
‘What is that guy planning…?’
The man emitted a scent similar to Shin-woo’s own, and the hostile feeling he was giving off suggested he had more in mind than mere surveillance.
With this in mind, Shin-woo made his decision and quickly ran towards the man.
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