The scene begins with narration, and a child asks, "Were you scared?" At the same time, Max walks toward Mikey. In the narration, Mikey replies to the child, "Nah, I'm not." But in reality, Mikey is frightened when he sees Max.
Max approaches Mikey closely and hugs him directly. Mikey is confused, wondering if this is how Max intends to kill him. But Max says, "Don't worry, I won't kill you. Take deep breaths. Let's have a chat like old buddies."
Mikey keeps himself calm and says, "Fine."
In his mind, Mikey thinks, He's not the Max I knew. As he says this, he adjusts his hair and adds, "Let's take a walk down this path."
The scene progresses, and Mikey and Max walk together along the path.
Max says, "You really don't know how to start a conversation."
Mikey replies, "Actually, a lot happened since you were gone."
Max says, "Not so different here either."
Mikey asks, "Married yet?"
Max replies, "Nope. Didn't think about it."
Mikey says, "Well, you still have time."
Max responds, "Nope, I don't."
In his mind, Mikey thinks, At that time, I felt like Max was trying to say something to me—or maybe I was wrong.
Max asks, "Did you study further, or did you just stick to your childish dream?"
Mikey replies, "I just completed my bachelor's this year. Still nowhere close to decent work."
Max asks, "What are you doing nowadays?"
Mikey answers, "Working part-time at a grocery store."
Max says, "Weren't you into hacking or whatever it was?"
Mikey replies, "I stopped that too."
Max says, "You had opportunities to live a better life. Then why are you still stuck in that pathetic job?"
Mikey answers, "It's just… I don't know."
Max mutters, "Pathetic soul."
Max walks ahead toward a cliff and tells Mikey, "Let's sit here."
Mikey stands behind, hesitating slightly, but Max encourages him. "Come on. Just this once, trust me."
Mikey replies while standing behind him, "I'm fine."
Max says, "Good grief."
They both remain there for a while, feeling the cold breeze near the cliff.
Max says, "Life is the cruellest thing a person can have, yet people still see it as a blessing."
Mikey counters, "Life might be cruel for those who live against their will, but that's rare. Most of the time, the circumstances of one's birth don't determine what kind of life one will live. Rather, it's up to you how you choose to live in this so-called blessing."
Max replies, "You talk so much. Why don't you fix your own life then?"
Mikey says, "I'm not into this. Besides, I thought you were going to kill me."
Max responds, "Can't I talk to someone before they die?"
As Max says this, he begins standing at the edge of the cliff. He had been sitting before, but suddenly Mikey grabs Max by the collar.
The moment Mikey grabs his collar, the scene turns tense, and heavy rain begins under strong winds.
Max says, "Brute strength won't do anything to me."
Mikey shouts, "Shut up! You know how long I've waited for this moment—so I could die by your hands—but you keep delaying my peace again and again!"
Mikey yells, "Why didn't you kill me earlier when you knew I was THE MASCOT? You had so many chances to kill me. I let my guard down for all those years just for this moment. I didn't want to meet you, but that girl made me realise that I was forgetting my last wish."
Max remains silent as he watches Mikey break down, while Mikey still grips his collar.
Mikey continues, "You want to know why I never moved on? Listen then. I always knew I was never going to be happy. I knew the moment I found happiness, I would die. I just… I just… I just don't want others to suffer because of me again. I don't want to walk that path again. I only wanted to die by your hands so no one would have to bear the pain of losing me.
Will you say something, damn it?!"
Max grabs Mikey's hand and throws him away. Mikey falls backwards.
Max says, "You want to die, right?" He pulls out a gun from his back pocket, aims at Mikey, and fires.
Mikey realises he is afraid. He sees that the bullet did not hit him. Max had fired a blank shot as a warning.
Mikey's breathing becomes rapid.
Max walks calmly toward him and says, "Let me give you my reason for not killing you all these years." He stands near him and continues, "Look at you—scared of death, yet still wanting to die."
The rain intensifies as both of them are drenched.
Mikey asks, "Not going to tell me the reason?" Mikey doesn't raise his head while saying this.
It's like he doesn't want Max to see his face. Mikey is bleeding from his nose.
Max replies, "You're such a cocky guy for provoking me like that." He sits down and taps Mikey's head firmly with his hand. "Alright, listen. I wanted to give you a chance. I wanted to let you go. I thought if I left you alone, you would do something with your life. Chasing you all my life wasted my life as well. Don't you think it's frustrating to watch someone do nothing with their life when they've been called 'Visionary' their whole life?"
Mikey lifts his head and looks at him.
Max continues, "You know what, Visionary? I completed my childhood with you. Even though you were good at everything, there was something you were never good at. Want to know what that is? Narcissism."
Max places the gun back into his pocket and adjusts his coat while saying," You know what, you've hated yourself your whole life, pretending you're the sole reason for everything that's happening around you. It's not. I wanted to see you happy, not because you're my friend, but because you deserve happiness as a human being. You did a good job walking away from all those things you should have left a lot earlier. I thought things would get good if I let you be."
Max takes a pause, and Mikey says," You would not be happy as well if you were in my shoes"
Max says," The situation would be different if I were you; at least I would forgive myself instead of cursing myself every day."
I never thought I would give you empathy for your situation.
"You know, I made a promise to someone as well—that I would kill you when I saw you happy. Guess what? I never saw you happy once in all these years. It's not fun killing someone who has no loved ones. As a result, I let you be. I tried to let you go from my life, to fill the wound you once gave me."
Both of them stand in the rain. Max turns to leave and says, "You know why I met you today? Because this is the last time I will see you. After this, I'll be gone from your life."
Mikey sits there with his head lowered. And says," those words don't look like those of someone who kills people for fun or profit."
Max turns his face, then looks away without any emotion. He walks away.
As Max walks away, he says, "I'm bored of watching your life, and I don't want to see it any further. You're free now, Visionary."
Max leaves. Mikey remains seated in the rain, his hands hanging loosely. He cannot process what just happened.
Mikey says, "What is this? What kind of response is this? I told you to kill me, not to leave me be. I killed your parents—why are you letting me go? I didn't make my life miserable just to be forgiven." He clenches his fist and says, "Who even told you that I killed your parents?"
He pauses.
"Right. I know who killed his parents."
As soon as Mikey says this, an evil smile forms on his face. Completely drenched in rain, he does not move at all.
Mikey says, "Last meeting, huh?"
The scene shifts to Max and his men. They hold Max's wet coat, and one of them carries an umbrella.
One man says, "Boss, I just received a message from Mascot."
Max asks, "What?"
The man reads, "Hunter is out now."
Max shows no reaction. In his mind, he thinks, I hope everything turns out for the good. In the narration, Mikey says, "That day, I realised I was so miserable that even death rejected me. Maybe it was because of the unfinished work I once left behind."