WebNovels

Chapter 2 - CH 2 "Mystery Box"

The scene begins with Mikey walking down the road at night. From behind him, the girl comes running and tells him to stop. Mikey does not stop even after hearing her and instead starts running faster. The girl shouts that no matter how far he runs, she will not let him go. Eventually, both Mikey and the girl stop, and Mikey is panting heavily. Mikey says, "Looks like I left her behind."

From behind him, the girl says, "Are you done running?" She is breathing heavily as well.

Mikey says, "Why are you even chasing me?"

The girl replies, "Why did you even run?"

Mikey says, "That's because—" but he stops mid-sentence. Mikey realises he's running away from her for no reason.

The girl says, "Don't worry, I'm not filing any harassment case against you."

Mikey responds, "As if you were about to."

The girl looks at him and says, "Oh, really? But i can file one." 

Mikey narrates, "At that time, I sensed no comforting aura within her." As he narrates this, he gives a faint smile.

The girl asks, "Were you heading home?"

Mikey does not reply, but his stomach growls.

The girl says, "Looks like you haven't eaten today."

Mikey replies, "Kind of, yes."

The girl says, "Looks like you're heading toward the station as well."

Mikey says, "No, my house is nearby."

The girl says, "I thought you would say that you'd walk me to the station, but you're ready to leave from here itself."

Mikey asks, "Why would I?"

The girl says, "Oh, look at this world—a man trying to desert a flower-like girl in the middle of the street."

Mikey replies, "Seriously."

The girl sits down and starts blabbering like a child.

Mikey says again in a tired tone, "Seriously…"

The girl says, "By the way, an ice cream can stop me from throwing a tantrum."

Looking at the ice cream and food in his hand, Mikey says in a tired tone, "Seriously…"

The scene moves forward. Mikey is holding her purse while the girl walks ahead of him, eating ice cream. As he walks, Mikey thinks, "What kind of girl is she? She's walking like this with anyone and doesn't seem worried at all. I wonder what her name is?"

The girl says, "We've arrived."

Mikey hands her the bag and says, "You'll go from here on your own, right?"

The girl replies, "Yes, there's no problem now. Anyway, it's almost time—" She checks the time on her wristwatch and says, "Damn it, I'm late!!"

Mikey mutters, "Good grief."

The girl says while leaving, "Thanks for the treat, and yeah—my name is Angel, and I have a gangster boyfriend, so don't come close to me again, OK??" She walks away while talking on her phone.

Angel says on the phone, "I'm coming. Don't worry about me, OK?"

Hearing her fading voice, Mikey says, "That is the only name I did not want to see on her phone. That dumbass didn't even change his number since then." Mikey begins to smile and says, "She isn't in good hands."

Mikey takes out his phone and calls someone, asking them to trace a number that ends with 78023.

Mikey says, "It's a personal request."

The person on the call says, "I know who you're trying to track."

Mikey asks, "You know something about him?"

The caller replies, "Want to hear?"

Mikey says, "Sure."

"Well, after you left him, his life changed him a lot."

Mikey says, "It was necessary, considering I had no other options left."

The caller continues, "He became a feared gangster, as you probably already know."

Mikey replies, "Yes, requests for his assassination appear every week on the forum."

The caller says, "There are people even claiming that he killed his own parents, which I think is not true."

During this conversation, Mikey is walking back home.

The caller asks, "What do you think about that?"

Mikey says, "It might be true, considering his parents' behavior."

The caller continues, "It's true that he has become a feared gangster, but due to extreme circumstances, he has also gone underground and rarely appears in the spotlight. His last known involvement in anything was about one and a half years ago."

Mikey says, "He might want to live a peaceful life. I mean, who doesn't?"

Mikey reaches his house while talking, unlocks the gate, and walks inside.

The caller says, "He has spent his entire life searching for one person, and you know who he's after."

Mikey replies, "Don't worry, Uncle. He won't be able to find me in his entire lifetime."

The caller says, "But that's not the case. Actually, he's the one ruling this city, and you're nothing but a hacker who can only hide. I would recommend you stay silent. It's a miracle that you're still living here."

Mikey says nothing. He clenches his fist and says, "Uncle, I think you forgot—I am THE MASCOT."

The uncle replies, "I know who you are, but you have to think clearly. It's been more than eight years since you last met him. Don't tell me you're going to contact him."

Mikey says, "Don't worry, Uncle. I'm not going to do anything like that."

The uncle says, "Don't you dare do anything on your own—and eat properly."

Mikey replies, "Thanks for your help. Talking with you gave me enough time to breach your phone. Now I can access his number."

The uncle says, "For your own sake, don't call him—or it will be worse than before."

Mikey says, "Uncle, actually, we made a promise to fulfill each other's dreams back then."

The uncle says aggressively, "You don't have to fool yourself with such nonsense. You are the prodigy, Mikey. You can't make such silly excuses. Tell me—for whom are you doing all this?"

Sitting at his computer, Mikey says, "There's one task I forgot to complete. That's why."

The uncle says, "Mikey, don't tell me you're going to cut the call."

Mikey says, "See you later, Gramps." The call disconnects.

At the same time, immediately after ending the call, Mikey dials another number. His food is still lying on his desk inside a plastic bag.

Mikey says, "Looks like someone is getting angry tonight." He seems slightly tense.

Eventually, the call is picked up, but the person on the other end does not speak first. Mikey begins the conversation:

"Let's play a game. One of us will not sleep tonight. Can you tell me who's going to guard the entrance—the hunter or the wanderer?"

The person on the other end replies, "Aren't we too old to play this game?"

Mikey says, "Did we ever even complete our childhood?"

The other person replies, "Well, that's something we should talk about in person."

Mikey asks, "Want to meet?"

The caller replies, "It's good to see your nightmare in person, doesn't it?"

Mikey says, "It might be a good opportunity for you to kill me."

The caller responds, "Come on, I'm not that evil. Let's meet like we used to before."

Mikey says with a faint laugh, "You really think I will come?"

The caller replies, "Oh, you will surely come. You made a promise to me, if you remember."

Mikey says, "Then it's settled."

The caller replies, "It's done."

The call disconnects. Mikey remains seated on the chair without changing his clothes and begins staring at the ceiling.

In the narration, Mikey is speaking to someone and says, "At that time, I was a little excited."

The other person asks, "Why were you excited?"

Mikey replies, "Nothing. It was just an atonement for my sins."

As the narration ends, the scene shifts to Mikey and Max standing among ruins. Mikey looks up at Max, who is standing above the rocks. The weakened rays of the sun cast a golden-brown hue over the scene, while rainy clouds gather overhead.

A faceoff between the two is shown—on Mikey's side, the atmosphere turns dark and stormy, while on Max's side, the background remains golden-brown.

In the narration, a child asks, "Were you scared at that time?"

The scene returns to the present, and Max greets Mikey first:

"YOO VISIONARY."

 

More Chapters