The room was shrouded in darkness. An old, turned-off TV, the distant hum of the refrigerator, and the flicker of a floor lamp that no one had bothered to fully turn on.
I was sitting on a sofa that wasn't mine. Chaerin was asleep beside me, her head resting on my shoulder. Her breathing was slow, uneven, and her face still bore the marks of what she had endured, but at least… she was sleeping.
She wore my black jacket, wrapped around her. I just watched her in silence. Occasionally, her fingers twitched.
Then my phone vibrated in my hand, and I answered with a sigh.
"Mom…"
Fatigue and tension seeped into my voice without me being able to hide them.
"Sorry… I won't be coming home tonight. I'm with some friends. We're having a sleepover."
There was silence on the other end. Then her voice came, soft, surprised.
"With friends? You?"
"Yes."
"Well… okay," she said after a few seconds. "Just… take care, okay? Make sure you eat something."
"Yes, Mom. Everything's fine. I just… needed to be out tonight."
"I understand."
But she said it without understanding, without imagining that just an hour ago I had been covered in blood, that I had destroyed six people with my own hands, and that now I was in the house of a beaten girl.
"I love you, Suhyeon."
"I love you too, Mom."
I hung up.
I stared at the phone for a few more seconds and felt dirty—not just for hiding the truth from her, but for pretending I was with "friends" when, in reality, I could barely consider myself human.
I exhaled slowly, tilted my head back, and let my gaze drift to the ceiling.
Chaerin was still asleep, her brow slightly furrowed even in dreams.
Suddenly, without warning, the screen appeared.
— — — [System] — — —
The Challenger Card wants to meet you.
— — — — — — — — —
"Damn, I'm not in the mood for the system right now," I muttered, frowning in frustration.
— — — [System] — — —
The newly acquired card will be used automatically.
— — — — — — — — —
"What…?"
— — — [System] — — —
Using the golden card "Encounter & Greeting."
— — — — — — — — —
"Wait a second… that card is…" I thought, sitting up slowly as a growing unease prickled my skin.
Chaerin had disappeared.
The warmth on my shoulder was gone. The room too. No furniture remained, no lights, no walls. Only a void suspended in mechanical silence, a space frozen between one second and the next.
And then it appeared. The card materialized before my eyes, massive and overwhelming.
It wasn't made of paper. It was a floating golden structure, impossible in its design, formed of gears spinning in perfect sync like a divine mechanism awakening. The frame glowed with its own light, and every detail seemed carved as if it were a relic from another world.
In the center, on a slowly spinning blue gear, was the symbol: a white exclamation mark.
"You…" I muttered.
The card didn't respond with written words. Instead, a voice emerged—not human, not completely robotic, but something that brushed the unnatural, as if speaking from inside an abyss.
[Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Challenger Card. I know this isn't the best time to speak… but I couldn't miss the chance to meet you.]
The card floated before him, illuminating the shadowy room.
[Suhyeon Kim… or rather…]
"....."
[…the presence that shouldn't exist. We need to talk about many things, little anomaly.]
At that moment I understood. I wasn't being observed by just any card, I wasn't simply another player in this game.
I didn't know if I was still myself or if I had become an error walking in human form. A glitch.
One month later.
At the top of an ordinary building, a scene unfolded in silence.
Down the building's stairs, bodies fell like rag dolls: beaten, unconscious, or simply too terrified to get up. Suhyeon's knuckles were stained with the blood of others, but his face… remained completely intact. Unperturbed. As if almost none of it mattered to him.
He wore a completely black formal outfit: a buttoned-up shirt to the collar, fitted pants, and shiny shoes not a single drop of blood on them. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but not his presence.
His black hair was precisely styled in a comma shape framing his face as if every strand had been placed intentionally. Elegant. Sharp. Intimidating.
And beneath his left eye, like a warning mark, was a black spade ♤.
One of the last men standing, a boy with a torn shirt and a bloodied face, stared at him with wide eyes. His voice, broken by rage and fear, burst into a shout:
"You… who the hell are you! How could you defeat my hundred men all by yourself? You crazy bastard!"
But his scream faded, turning into a trembling whisper when he looked at him again.
"You… you… are…!"
He took a step back, trembling.
"Fuda Yaburi… the Card Breaker!"
That name was no ordinary nickname. It was a whisper in alleyways, among gangsters: if you see the black spade ♤ under his eye, run.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know it was you, Fuda Yaburi. We won't meddle in your affairs again."
Suhyeon looked at him emotionlessly. And finally spoke, calmly.
"Why do bastards like you think you're so tough just because you have a large group without being strong? Can't you leave me alone just once when I'm with my girlfriend?"
Then he stepped forward and, without warning, lifted his hand and grabbed the boy by the face.
His fingers closed firmly around his jaw, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. The guy kicked in the air, panting, trying to break free.
"Your group is worthless if you yourself are weak," murmured Suhyeon, his voice muted by indifference.
From Suhyeon's palm, as if something ancient had been activated within him, a dark purple aura began to emanate.
It wasn't visible to everyone, only he could see it, but its effect was impossible to ignore.
[Master Card]:
— — — [Attack Card] — — —
(Mana Drain)
You can drain an opponent's stats and permanently increase your own.
*This card cannot be used on opponents that are too strong.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
The aura spread slowly like thick smoke, curling around the boy's body. First covering his chest, then his arms, then his face… and finally, enveloping him completely.
The attacker's eyes opened wide. His skin began to lose color, his muscles to contract, and his cheeks to hollow. He was dehydrating… but not from a lack of water, from a lack of essence.
The aura seemed to feed on him, devouring everything that made him strong, everything that kept him standing.
And Suhyeon, his arm still extended, simply watched. His face reflected neither anger nor satisfaction. It showed nothing.
When the boy's body became thin, as if drained to the very depths of his soul, Suhyeon released his face. It fell to the ground like a broken doll.
The aura slowly returned to him, receding without looking back.
— — — [Suhyeon Kim] — — —
❖ [Status: Sealed – Limited Stats]
Height: 180 centimeters
Weight: 70 kilograms
Strength: S
Speed: S
Potential: S
Intelligence: S
Endurance: S
❖ Active seals: 2 / 2
— — — — — — — — — — —
[Golden Card]:
— — — [Activation Card] — — —
(The 2 Limit Seals)
While the seal is active, your apparent stats remain low.
*Festival Effect: Each seal reduces your stats by 2.
— — — — — — — — — — — —