Chapter 1: The Sky Above The Mountain
The air in Ansan smelled of rust, wet asphalt, and dried blood. Zack Lee stood over the unconscious body of Jacky Lee, chest heaving, hands shaking. He had won—but it didn't feel like victory. Not when he'd been forced to fight like a thug instead of a boxer.
He had stomped Jacky's foot.
Gouged his eyes.
Headbutted him like a street animal.
As Zack wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, shame crawled up his throat.
A few meters away, Daniel Park stood tall. Hudson Ahn—the man with iron fists, the King of Ansan Public—lay defeated at Daniel's feet. Daniel's breathing was steady. His clothes weren't even wrinkled.
He shone like someone born to win.
Then there was Vasco.
The leader of Burn Knuckles was kneeling in the mud, sobbing uncontrollably. His massive frame shook, but not because of pain. It was because he was staring at his own chest—covered in fresh, ugly scribble-like tattoos.
Before that, Vasco had floored one of Channing's tattoo-machine assistants with one strike, dropping him so fast the man had collapsed to his knees, begging like a dog:
"P-Please! I'm sorry! I'll stop—just don't hit—!"
Vasco's fist silenced him instantly. One punch. Lights out.
But then Channing's needle carved its way through Vasco's skin, and even Vasco—the strongest delinquent of his division—had been overwhelmed and beaten down afterward.
"Jace got hurt because of me…" Vasco cried, mud and tears mixing on his face. "And now I look like a villain… I look like a monster…"
Zack felt heat building inside him—hot, choking, humiliating.
Vasco cried because he cared too much.
Daniel stood straight because he was perfect.
And Zack?
Zack was just standing there, useless.
I promised to change… but I'm still nothing.
The ground trembled.
A massive shadow swallowed the alleyway. Ma Taesoo stepped forward—the 1st Generation King of Ansan. A man built like a walking boulder, wrapped in a heavy fur coat. His eyes dragged slowly across Zack's weakened frame.
"You beat my subordinate?" Taesoo said flatly, lifting his thick right fist. "Let's see what you really are."
Zack raised his guard automatically, forcing his battered body to respond.
Iron Boxing. His last defense.
I can take one. I have to—
BOOM.
The punch wasn't a punch. It was artillery.
Taesoo's fist shattered Zack's guard instantly. Pain detonated through his bones. His ears rang. His ribs screamed. Zack's feet left the ground as his body slammed backward into a brick wall with a crunch that echoed across the alley.
He slid down, paralyzed. The world vibrated like a broken TV screen.
One shot…
All my training… all my effort…
And he crushed me like garbage.
"Disappointing," Taesoo muttered. "You are an ant."
He stepped forward to finish Zack—
—when a blur dropped from the sky.
A slender figure in a high school uniform landed lightly on the asphalt. A white mask. Bright pink hair that glowed unnaturally under the streetlights.
Not human.
Not normal.
Zack didn't know his name.
He only knew he had never seen anything like this monster.
The Pink-Haired Masked Guy stood straight, hands tucked into his pockets. And suddenly the alley felt colder.
Even Taesoo—the Mountain of Ansan—flinched. Sweat dripped down his cheek.
What happened next wasn't a fight.
Taesoo roared and swung. The masked guy blurred aside, balancing effortlessly on Taesoo's arm, flipping off his fist, weaving through death-blows like wind slipping through cracks. He didn't remove his hands from his pockets once.
A finger hit the ground. Taesoo screamed.
Seconds later, the King of Ansan was face-down in the dirt, sobbing like a broken animal.
Zack stared, unable to move.
I'm an ant staring at a Mountain… and that Mountain is just a toy to… whatever he is.
He felt something inside him collapse.
He would never reach that level.
Never.
Daniel and Vasco ran toward him.
"Zack! Zack, stay with me!" Daniel said urgently, checking his breathing.
"Jiho Park is still out there," Daniel added. "I'll take care of him. You two are too hurt to keep going."
"No!" Vasco cried, grabbing Zack's shoulder with his tattoo-covered arm. "We go together! We're friends!"
Zack flinched. The heat in his body—his self-hatred—was boiling him alive.
He couldn't save Johan.
He couldn't help Johan's mother.
He couldn't stand beside Daniel without looking pathetic.
"Get off me," Zack whispered.
"Zack?" Vasco blinked.
"I said GET OFF!" Zack shoved him away, staggering to his feet. He couldn't look at them—not at Vasco's broken face, not at Daniel's worried eyes.
"I'm tired of being a burden. Just go, Daniel. Take care of him… take care of our Smart Google Boy."
Vasco didn't understand the nickname. Daniel did.
And that hurt worse.
Zack turned his back on them and limped into the night.
He wandered onto the main road of Ansan. The "Heat" radiating from his body made his vision swim. His skin steamed. Every breath burned.
People stared.
"Whoa, look at him…"
"He's so hot—like an actor!"
"Is that makeup? He looks crazy handsome!"
Compliments stabbed deeper than insults.
Handsome?
I'm trash.
Weak.
Useless.
Nothing.
He saw the Pink-Haired Masked Guy's silhouette laughing at him.
He saw Johan turning away.
He saw Vasco crying in the mud.
I should disappear.
He stepped off the curb.
He didn't see the red traffic light.
Didn't hear the tires skidding.
Didn't register the horn screaming at him.
He only turned his head when blinding headlights swallowed his vision.
A massive cargo truck was inches away.
He didn't flinch. Didn't freeze. Didn't feel fear.
Ah… so this is it.
Relief washed over him.
At least now… I don't have to lose anymore.
CRASH.
The world went black.