novelraw Chapter 171 : Hong Gil-dong (3)
Chapter 171 : Hong Gil-dong (3)
Rain Man heard the whole story.
From the monster who was his mother, his Godmother, and now Brain—he heard her entire past, her every plan.
He stared at the villain before him with new eyes.
She was, without a doubt, a villain. But she was a villain of terrifying purity, one who had lived for a single, obsessive purpose.
“I know, Hong Gil-dong.” Brain, having confessed everything, smiled bitterly. “I’m a monster beyond redemption. I’m bound for hell, no question.”
“…”
“I chose this path knowing full well that’s where it would lead.”
Even now, Rain Man hesitated.
If he so much as lifted a finger, the villain before him would be reduced to a puddle of blood.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he kept listening to the monster who had once been his mother.
“You know it as well as I do. That one day, that Door is bound to open.”
“…”
“And when it does, humanity must advance to the next age.”
“…”
“I simply wish… if the Door is destined to open anyway… for my beloved to find happiness in the world that follows.”
Rain Man, too, had stood before the Door at the moment of his Awakening. And so he knew, with absolute certainty, that her words were true.
Brain’s plan was by no means a path to save everyone. In fact, as she’d admitted, it was a plan designed for one person alone.
But it was impossible to save everyone. The world was going to end one day, regardless.
If that was the case, then perhaps Brain’s proposal…
If I could just guarantee salvation for that one person…
Unconsciously, Rain Man’s hand tightened around the MP3 player in his raincoat pocket.
He remembered her smile as she fit the earbuds in his ears.
He remembered her voice, the one who had given his empty life meaning for the first time.
I am a Hunter.
Beneath his hood, Rain Man gritted his teeth.
As a Hunter who protected people, he had to strike down the monster before him without a second thought.
But as a human being, he couldn’t help but empathize with her.
The entire world, or the one person you hold dear.
If one must be sacrificed, which would it be?
“Then, how about this?” Brain proposed, “Stand right beside me and monitor everything I do.”
“…?”
“It doesn’t matter if you help or not. Just watch. Watch the conspiracies I weave, the evil I will commit to overturn this world.”
Brain smiled faintly.
“Hesitate until the very end. And if, at any point, you feel the urge to stop me… kill me then.”
“…”
“But if, on the off chance, you come to understand me and find it in your heart to follow my plan… then join me.”
Seeing Rain Man’s hesitation, Brain chuckled. “What do you say? For old times’ sake, isn’t an offer like this worth considering?”
“…I have no intention of cooperating with you.”
After a long deliberation, Rain Man finally answered, “I will only observe your actions from the sidelines.”
“That’s fine by me, Rain Man. Fulfill your duty as a Hero and keep an eye on this villain.”
Brain produced something from within her robes and handed it to him.
“But if you have a change of heart… wear this, and come find me.”
Rain Man took it, caught off guard.
It was a Nobleman’s Mask, the kind used in traditional masked plays.
“When that time comes,” she said, “I will treat you not as the hero, Rain Man, but as my comrade in villainy, Hong Gil-dong.”
With a faint smile, Brain’s red eyes glinted before she melted into the darkness of the alley.
Staring into the shadows where she had vanished, Rain Man clutched the Nobleman’s Mask.
He couldn’t bring himself to throw it away… and slowly tucked it into his pocket.
All the while telling himself he would never wear it.
***
A few years later.
The present.
The hem of his traditional robes billowed.
With every long stride the man in the hanbok took, the jet-black fabric rippled like water in his wake.
The man wore a wide-brimmed gat pulled down low, his face concealed by a Nobleman’s Mask.
What a pathetic sight.
Beneath the mask, Hong Gil-dong laughed at himself.
And yet here I am, faithfully serving as the Party Leader’s right-hand man.
His mother, Godmother, Brain, Chun-hyang—the monster of many names was terrifyingly skilled at seducing people with her silver tongue.
Call it grooming, call it gaslighting—it didn’t matter. With that venomous tongue of hers, she manipulated others.
Hong Gil-dong, too, had been soaked through, little by little, like a man caught in a drizzle. He’d started by granting small favors, until one day he found he had become her faithful subordinate, carrying out her directives without question.
He dressed as she instructed, spoke as she instructed, and acted as she instructed. He had slowly been shaped into the villain “Hong Gil-dong,” becoming one with the role.
By the time he came to his senses, he was already the Deputy Leader and chief enforcer of the Crimson Poverty Front.
But Hong Gil-dong also knew the truth.
He had become a party to Chun-hyang’s evil because, without a doubt, a small part of him had wanted to.
He couldn’t deny that he had, at least once, indulged in the sacrilegious fantasy of seeing the city he risked his life to protect engulfed in a sea of fire.
Moving as lightly as if walking on clouds, Hong Gil-dong soon arrived at a vacant lot on the outskirts of Seoul.
“Huh?”
A group of thugs, sitting around smoking, all turned to look at him.
“You from the Crimson Poverty Front?”
“Looks like it. That fucking… ahem. I mean, judging by that weird-ass mask.”
From among the snickering thugs, a large man who appeared to be their leader walked forward.
“What brings you here? I didn’t think the summons had gone out yet.”
“…”
“The uprising’s set for January first, yeah? Any changes to the plan?”
Hong Gil-dong slowly surveyed the thugs. “It seems you lot are the last.”
“Huh? What was that?”
“Since fate brought us together, allow me to show you a little Taoist magic.”
Hong Gil-dong opened the cap of the water bottle in his hand and flung its contents into the air.
The scattered droplets froze in midair, forming a shimmering wave.
“Whoa…”
The thugs broke into laughter at the sight.
“That’s not Taoist magic, that’s a magic trick.”
“Seriously? You came all the way out here just to show us that?”
“I never knew you Crimson Poverty Front guys were so desperate for a laugh—”
The next moment.
Swish!
The suspended droplets shot out in every direction like shrapnel. The tiny, bean-sized bullets of water pierced the thugs’ bodies.
“Huh?”
“Gack.”
“What the…”
The thugs collapsed without so much as a final scream, their bodies riddled with holes.
The blood pouring from their bodies formed a small stream.
Hong Gil-dong—that is, Rain Man—had annihilated every villain organization with even the slightest connection to the informant who had approached him.
It was to eliminate any possibility, however remote, of being suspected as the mole within the Heroes’ Association.
Five organizations annihilated in a single day. A body count of over one hundred.
With a wave of his hand, he used the spilled water to wash the bloodstains from the ground and push them toward a sewer drain. As he did, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a pool of blood.
Reflected there was a monster in traditional robes and a Nobleman’s Mask.
Slowly, silently, Hong Gil-dong lifted the mask, revealing a flawless face that seemed carved from jade.
Rain Man was a callsign. Hong Gil-dong was a pseudonym. Both were lies.
The hood, the mask, the sunglasses—even this unrecognized face was just another layer, hiding his true self.
He had lived his life fiercely as a hero, but behind the scenes, he had aided Chun-hyang’s villainy.
“Everything about me is a lie…”
With a scoff, he finished washing away the blood.
This balancing act between righteous hero and nefarious villain was becoming untenable.
On top of his own fracturing identity, he was now at risk of being exposed by these incompetent loose ends.
“…This double life is reaching its limit.”
He had put it off for too long, but now he had to decide.
He could, as the hero Rain Man, betray Party Leader Chun-hyang, drown the Crimson Poverty Front he helped build beneath a torrential downpour, and embrace a quiet end with the rest of the world.
Or, as the villain Hong Gil-dong, he could betray the Heroes’ Association, burn this world to the ground, and ensure that one precious person was saved in the world that came after.
“…”
Both options were horrific. But if this was how the world was made…
“I…”
Hong Gil-dong pressed a hand against his bare face, choking.
“I am…”
***
That night, at the Hero Tower.
Having changed back into his usual hooded attire, Rain Man returned in silence.
“…?”
But despite the late hour, someone was still in the residential floor’s living room, sitting under a dim light.
Rain Man approached him and called out cautiously, “Boy?”
“…Oh, Rain Man bro!”
It was Jae-hee.
Sitting on the couch lost in thought, Jae-hee jumped in surprise at Rain Man’s appearance and turned around.
“You’re back?”
“What are you doing up at this hour? Get to bed. We’re Hunters. We never know when the call will come.”
“Well…” Jae-hee scratched the back of his head, looking awkward. “Um, I’ve got something on my mind. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Something on your mind?” Rain Man sat on the couch opposite Jae-hee. “What’s so troubling that it’s keeping you up?”
“Well, that’s the thing… Hmm…”
“I’m not much of a counselor, but you can tell me if you want.” Rain Man’s tone was as stiff as ever, but it held a faint warmth. “It might help. Feel free.”
Jae-hee fidgeted for a moment, then glanced at Rain Man and nodded gravely.
“Well… I guess I can trust you. Ahem!”
Jae-hee half-rose and looked around the residential floor.
It was late, and all the room lights were off. He and Rain Man were the only ones awake.
Jae-hee leaned in close, raised a hand to cover his mouth, and whispered, “It’s just… I think I’ve discovered something pretty scary.”
“Scary?”
Jae-hee hesitated one last time.
Finally, he leaned in to Rain Man’s ear and breathed the words.
“I think… there’s a traitor within the Heroes’ Association…!”
“…”
Beneath the hood, Rain Man’s expression turned to ice.