The week "Min" spent at home was an intensive study. Jack, trapped in a frail boy's body, utilized every minute.
Day One and Two: Understanding the Environment
Min's body: weak, unathletic, slightly poor eyesight (thick glasses found in the drawer). Jack began covert training: stretching exercises in his room, breath-holding to increase lung capacity, walking on tiptoes through the halls to regain the balance and coordination he knew.
Min's family: The father (Mr. Lee) is rarely present, coming home late and sleeping in a separate room. The mother (Mrs. Choi) works part-time; her physical presence doesn't mean communication. Conversations are superficial: "Did you eat?", "Your homework?", "Don't cause trouble." Love was a transaction: be invisible, and we promise not to bother you. Jack understood the reason behind part of the system's responsibility towards them. Emotional neglect is a slow death.
Min's memories: flow like broken films. Jack organized them. Park Ji-hoon is not just a bully; he's the class star, athletic, handsome, from a wealthy family. His bullying was "entertainment," calculated, soft sometimes (public embarrassment) and rough other times (shoves, stealing money). His followers, Choi Seung-min and Lee Min-ji, were his entourage: Seung-min executes orders strictly, Min-ji spreads poison and reshapes truths through social media.
Day Three: Discovering System Resources
Jack tried speaking to it mentally: "What are your capabilities?"
[System: "Vengeance of the Living" focuses on user motivation. Rewards are granted for accomplishing tasks or advancing justice. Penalties for failure or abandonment.]
"Give me an example."
[Task: Obtain sensitive information about Primary Target (Park Ji-hoon) from outside the internet. Time limit: 48 hours.]
[Reward upon success: Basic Stealth skill (reduces attention towards the user by 15% in public places).]
[Penalty for failure: Re-experience the host's suicide moment (suffocation) for 60 seconds.]
A chill ran down Jack's spine. The penalty wasn't just physical pain; it was an immersion in Min's destructive emotions—the absolute despair that drove him to suicide.
He acted immediately. Using Min's old computer, he started searching. The phishing and tracking techniques he knew as a professional assassin returned to him, albeit with less skilled hands. He found Park's social media accounts, but they were clean. He focused on Park's circle. Through comments on group photos, he identified a private club frequented by Park and other elite kids. Closed forums.
After six hours of quiet, dangerous browsing, he found it: a deleted picture but cached on a hacked site's server. It showed Park Ji-hoon at a party, seemingly under the influence of drugs, next to a girl who looked much younger, uncomfortable. The face was unclear, but the club logo visible in the background was enough. Jack saved everything.
[Task Completed. Reward Granted: Basic Stealth skill.]
A strange feeling, as if a thin film covered him. When he walked to the kitchen for water, his mother looked at him then immediately looked away, as if his presence became less noticeable.
Day Four and Five: Training and Planning
With the "Stealth" skill, Jack practiced walking so his footsteps made no sound. He learned to relax Min's facial muscles, hiding any expression that might draw attention. The goal: to become background, an ordinary ghost.
He planned his observation method. Min's school was chaotic, full of eyes. He needed an observation spot outside the school, on Park's route home. He identified a location: an abandoned building near the bus stop. Min's memory told him that Park walks this route with his followers after sports practice.
Day Six: The First Test
Under the pretext of "needing air," Jack/Min left the house for the first time. He wore Min's usual clothes (loose, faded) and his glasses. He walked with his head down but his eyes scanning his surroundings.
He went to the abandoned building. He carefully climbed the broken stairs (his enhanced coordination helped). He found a window overlooking the sidewalk.
And after an hour, they appeared.
Park Ji-hoon: taller than the others, confident in his stride, laughing loudly. Choi Seung-min: beside him like an obedient dog, carrying Park's sports bag. Lee Min-ji: laughing, touching Park's arm occasionally.
Jack watched them push another smaller student out of their way, taking his juice box. The victim hugged his books and left without a word.
A surge of anger—not Jack's anger, but Min's remnants—rose in his chest. But Jack suppressed it. He only observed. He recorded details: Park's walking style (an old injury in his left knee?), how Seung-min always checks his pockets (anxiety?), how Min-ji talks fast when nervous.
He heard parts of their conversation:
Park: "... Tomorrow after school, the usual place. Bring the 'entertainment'."
Min-ji (in a flirtatious tone): "Oh, is it the new boy from Class 1-3? I heard he's sensitive."
Seung-min: "It's done, Boss."
Park smiled. Jack's smile in the shadows was colder.
[New Task Created: Intercept the alleged "entertainment" of Park Ji-hoon. Prevent harm to the new victim.]
[Potential Reward: Critical information about the primary target's weakness.]
[Warning: Direct intervention at this stage carries a high risk to cover.]
Jack left his post. The boy from Class 1-3... Min's memory provided the name: Kang Da-wool. A quiet kid who draws a lot. Min sometimes envied him for seeming unfazed.
Upon returning home, his mother was waiting at the door.
"Where were you?" she asked, her voice carrying a slight reproach.
"I went for a walk. To get some air." Jack answered in Min's timid tone.
"Don't go far. Enough trouble." She said as she walked away.
Jack looked at her. In her eyes, he saw something like... fear? Fear of scandal? Of her "problem" son causing more disturbance?
In his room, he opened the system menu.
[Guilty Parties List:]
Park Ji-hoon (89%) - Under Observation
Choi Seung-min (67%) - Under Observation
Lee Min-ji (58%) - Under Observation
Mr. Kim (42%) - Inactive
Parents (38%) - Inactive
Tomorrow. School. Min's first return after the suicide attempt. All eyes will be on him—mocking, scornful, curious.
But Jack was ready. The assassin learned to move in the shadows. And the shadow can sometimes be the body of an outcast child.
This is what they will see: Min, the scared, broken boy, returning in disgrace.
This is what will hide: Jack the hunter, studying his prey, planning to achieve the system's "justice"... and perhaps a justice of his own.
Tomorrow, Jack thought as he adjusted Min's glasses on his nose, I will see the crime scene up close. And the first rescue... or the first step towards revenge, begins.
He turned off the light. In the dark, Jack/Min's eyes—the eyes of a child—glowed with a cold, hard light that belonged neither to this world nor to this body.