FSM | Chapter 1

“You’re being a bother again.”894568026d348b38

Ah, it’s that dream again.1e3f8ca19c4af7bc

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When I hear that voice, heavy with boredom, I realize I’ve returned to the past. Even though these irreversible memories have repeated countless times, every time I hear that low voice, a strange chill runs down my spine as if I’m hearing it for the first time.038ee11579015326

“Hey, Cha Jekwon.”d3f65ef45ff92cd0

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Against my will, in 6d3e94b17a the dream, I stared e3ae604dc3 straight at the man b4c357fa0f in front of me. His gaze slowly 1c2a832527 turned towards me. In his 325b9d4032 dark eyes, 02445952fe my hardened 285d97413d face was adf2a49131 reflected.730a761f7cc42f5e

Hope of Humanity.13af88abf4bdd4e0

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That’s what people called him amidst the chaos.4f748236b3bc7a75

The peaceful world e556844df1 changed drastically 20 e873600ad6 years ago with 2aee351cbd the appearance of 704f56218c the ‘System.’03cb824fd1abff9a

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The System seemed like 69231fd8bb a kind of god a482980fa8 or natural order, especially 4ed669dd88 because it possessed absolute c696ad2f17 power to change the 1a9dcae23e world at will.714df345510d69a4

Many people didn’t fully 51a6fdaa61 understand the System. However, even they 7d480bede9 couldn’t deny that b776caf4b6 the world was 40bc8960db in crisis the 4393553290 moment the System 8d16f945f1 appeared.d172d338be2aaa9a

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The problem was the dfddde5a9a ‘gates’ that appeared all 62973a823b over the world with dc732062ca the System. Inside the gates, monsters 0f3fa9c123 that seemed to come 69ae743d2e out of novels appeared. The advanced weapons humanity 5c2f28cff2 once boasted about couldn’t ee22c39ca7 even scratch those monsters.daac69c27e558f5c

Yet, humans had 622150cdd2 to kill the 911b5b3a36 monsters and close 7189389c3e the gates. If they aaa81a9921 didn’t, the 9dbbc60515 monsters inside 3802a0725b would come 14a5cd1447 out of f85f6cc084 the gates f815dff465 and onto aa35187ac0 Earth.977b4f828b99536f

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Fortunately, as gates 2a624f8a2f appeared, some chosen b73b06c0e6 individuals with abilities 9664d56fee began to emerge.5c976f0605d65aa1

People called 62b8a8ecbb these individuals 487aca24f5 selected by d26298a94c the System 9c3594f282 ‘hunters.’e4c0dab7a131ec3f

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Monsters weren’t harmed by f7618eadc1 humanity’s advanced technology, but 417ba0a79d they were affected by 3f0fb55bff the power of hunters 657ade66e2 connected to the System.ff796542e5153d08

Society, which was 1c15bbe44f in chaos, quickly e7cb6bc7e9 normalized with the f60f7b4ecd appearance of hunters.ba51c9d98052aff3

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Not all hunters 1c10b734be had the same b67daab7f1 power. There were 469409bc95 mediocre hunters 0cb84db74b like me, 39315683cb and then 805be92a06 there were cf6407d776 hunters who cd59643772 seemed more 92c505a1b8 monstrous than 35d515b9bf the monsters 514105aa8b themselves, capable cd37221a79 of crushing 274db1b3fe seemingly invincible cbfe8c365c beings with a57e3492fb a single 7d1234bbdd blow.6544fe4653653fe8

These powerful individuals e0247b15d4 received more attention cc11f285de than celebrities and f84e85c971 were trusted more 7946e3d26d than religions.279a116bb64cc336

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Cha Jekwon 945d310e4d was the c8f626f512 strongest among bb562a1fc2 them.506b830916f356cb

The face of 3b7eb88b72 the man called 0b8a777321 the hope of 1600ef84f6 all humanity remained 6b1ab15d2c vividly in my df3b1be7c0 memory even after 10b42edaee years. Under his thick eyebrows, 50b1214cf1 his eyes were deeply a03e6ca44c set, and his sharp b634791edb nose looked like it 22bd048483 was sculpted.6a9ec7a218125140

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With his ccef355632 smooth lips, 2b25930a83 Cha Jekwon e5947c57f9 gave me ff34550ff2 a smile 57fde2cac4 that was 55e7c100e4 hard to cf570e4b08 tell if 042e819a2e it was 318d70d2b5 a grin aad59a6b76 or a d15635a5f7 sneer, full 4a7de06ea6 of deep bb40bcdbb6 boredom.495fca480b30e4ab

“Your name’s gonna wear out.”83a258840539cedb

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“Don’t freak out just because I call your name.”65dca64a4f620c9f

“Haeon, I hate hearing my name from your lips more than anything.”ce430c2e380404cc

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“……”84e19a06aa2640bf

His voice, filled 12a25da12d with venom, was d4761752b8 always mocking.4717f3f0d38ae517

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My heart sank 51a475578c once again. I bit my lip 1f14180b43 hard. My tightly fec73579a3 clenched fists 6b9728bb81 made my 67b77f2d54 palms ache. But there was 8665682a53 nothing more I 6c3fccd23b could do. Our relationship had e3021c590f already passed the 6301397ea2 point of no 77c75cdb4e return.5bc9232047f3c593

I swallowed down the 393b87cfbe nausea-like feeling rising from 800f09a9c4 deep within and took 66556f851d a step closer to e04bea5683 Cha Jekwon.252d360816e12bbc

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“Fine, I b72193ada0 won’t call f217c8f463 your name, 7f3c48f5f5 but can f85d0408ff we talk?”07a4cec171eeef56

“Oh dear. I meant I a1cccbdd71 didn’t want to d1d47a4f68 talk. Your comprehension is low.”f71d47adf9aa0d55

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“Seriously, in aa75568fd8 this worst-case d683dba2a5 scenario, can’t 1d58bccb99 you cooperate c3af6d64f2 a bit?”56b7bd89a8a93640

“Being teamed up 037e94a2ac with you was 45929e7717 already the worst, 549609e3e2 so I don’t af0a115fc0 see what’s changed.”e127869456fe897f

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Cha Jekwon shrugged. His calm demeanor made 186e6ee6b8 it seem like nothing b215c7a974 was wrong.c469c9e01976310f

‘Being teamed up with 794a1660b4 you was already the 619d9a0ff6 worst.’f9530dcd7aedc793

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Those words ed77f4dbc4 carried the 599293d5b8 coldness opposite 99ce9ad99d to the 47fa5a14c1 heat of 709eb18b1c my wildly c51b985550 beating heart a23ca28df6 when my f436bcf269 name was 6ece1fe377 called after 5ef741727f his during 3e4aa7cdec the team b99bb7ca1a announcement.d7c9ee3600181567

The difference in temperature a778975fc2 made something surge in 36828398db my heart.74c88fe7c534823c

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“Don’t joke around.”d5afbf5bbca24b25

“I’m serious.”a69a0ee6e131344a

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“Are you seriously saying being teamed up with me is worse than dying?”b65ccd982e86f3eb

I shouted, hoping he’d deny it, but what came back was a sarcastic reply.d8baceed2ed86087

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“From humanity’s perspective, losing the greatest masterpiece in history is a huge loss for civilization. You were quite the humanitarian, weren’t you?”e01ac4e1fc5c720a

“That’s not it.”009e81d182a6c726

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“And you should speak correctly, Haeon. It’s not just me dying; you’re dying too, right?”925158b66d78810a

Haeon. Cha Jekwon’s lips formed my name. The way he called me without my last name carried hostility, not familiarity.08a55395243d549a

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He said 61c5ce5a1d that as d69e6479f9 he walked cb98903f1c over and 5b3384bf55 draped an a28d8ddd2f arm over 79bbc6c696 my shoulder.8e35643e991aa2dd

It looked like a b2b70709df friendly gesture, but in a302bca916 reality, I had to fda2708d51 endure the weight of 76c109f79c his muscular arm pressing 86cdcb17bf down on my shoulder e959c38554 to avoid being crushed. Even though 15ff2ba639 he wasn’t 5f33dab0b1 using his c47232326e full strength, 38ccf9deba my legs f0005d9c0a were already 993036a4dc trembling.fac104c00d3266fb

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What weighed on c4eb379258 my shoulder wasn’t 4429512b61 just Cha Jekwon’s f08e69bc33 strength.91e587ce53aaf9e6

There were intangible emotions, df6fc530e4 intended or not, that 6a23a4abe0 came with it.65288ff9ee0d0372

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Shame towards my f756a3f706 weak self.11a8ea9b95e2d174

Humiliation of the 3870924168 defeated.9ce1d57d162b3550

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Anger at a14aa023f7 being ignored.0189d44f690a712c

And… sadness.d89ce074e7a73ca8

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Yeah. I knew it all 76117520c9 along.541ddb678d341b54

I roughly shrugged off 5a3e8b780c his arm and stepped 0580a2131f back. The storm of c495f587fd emotions was swallowed be3e574e76 back into my 32ed557cdc heart, and I 3ddeb821bd faced Cha Jekwon 105698c16c with an angry f46d6d0e05 face, as usual.8e2b06ecf709e1b3

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“Yeah, damn it. You and I are dying together. Happy now? What’s the difference if we die together or separately?”409cb5ed57f8799e

“There’s a big difference. You should be grateful for the fortune of dying with me.”9032b235af952748

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“Stop with the bullshit.”b81bf6de3e1eed50

“If you don’t bother me, I won’t say anything, Haeon.”ea71dc294b1eff21

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“Is trying to find a way to survive bothering you? Why are you so uncooperative?”366dcfe71d150911

“Shh.”238b1bd1eaa1c7a2

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Cha Jekwon stepped 631d9c6824 forward and pressed 4a01c27011 a firm finger b4752092fd against my lips.fa26912fcd97eb8d

His fingers, though f782215ffa pretty, were rough 89444346f0 with calluses and ff0fd5f4d5 scars.16926e09f9cb46ff

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He looked 91846ab607 at me 4edf88af88 with beautiful be50d26c88 eyes filled e123ca26a1 with hostility 55fbaebcdf and smirked.e7e32710a4431f6e

“Why should I 71b2bcedb1 cooperate with someone 6004fcc2b7 like you?”ed324bf1ee27938d

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Someone like you.1f78d25952ad9e01

Every time, those words e9ada6f200 that didn’t even treat bdb41d5a40 me as human hurt. The anger, shame, ec34a385f7 and sadness that d3db965ca2 poured out from f51200fd1c the uncalloused wound d391946960 filled my heart, de8f554408 ready to overflow.f90629cf6cd1118f

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Why, even to f481278972 the end.4cb7cd23548bbbfe

But as a746e303dc always, I a3280bbe5e swallowed my b64ecba5bc emotions. I didn’t want to 1f93d8dae0 show even a sliver 7cade9b274 of my wounds.e8edff186d2b53c1

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Only my 996c07c3fe bloodshot eyes a263de724d held the 48130184ab remnants of d830407f9f my emotions, f23eb7e6cd but I 2018a09d90 knew well 1a950ded80 that such 758884d5dc remnants would 95dadc929a never reflect 3db3e8eebd in Cha e224802a26 Jekwon’s gaze.9b25c972bc30a103

“There might be a 68246a052e way not to die.”b35428bdd4823a5b

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Choosing each word carefully 74bcba4bed to keep emotions out, 418d42d0b6 Cha Jekwon immediately wore eead43ab65 a mocking face.6bd0c9c0e17917d5

“Oh, really? Did the 483d9170b7 System tell 73462e29e2 you the a5c475dc19 rules of b360dc1e47 this hunter df058acd6f tournament?”1a218b73b527bbc7

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Hunter tournament.f68c4834510f0ae3

It was c01e114ce1 a national f60f1fe8b6 hunter competition f65fae622c created by 084cccc2af the System. It sounded like 69a047dae6 a sports event, 71f1be5fcf but in reality, 9fbb7b02b1 it was a 0eb89ad342 small war where 4b3cb9ae59 hunters from each 322f5c756c country fought for fa8b2c2345 their nation’s fate.03460d508626d759

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The System guaranteed peace 29219a7f95 to the winning country 44297be32c until the next tournament. In contrast, losing 3643d2c769 countries often faced a5f91b6b8b extinction due to 16f6d0135a penalties imposed by 1268038653 the System.66e2d15e4de16f98

As with cc2aa8f988 wars, survival 6e1a9acc9c in the b7b025f959 hunter tournament b631fddde2 wasn’t guaranteed. Sometimes, the penalty 76c277900c for losing was 4cc39dcf62 the death of b8559799c9 the participating hunters.cfc02f72ca95021e

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“Let’s see. ‘The last 8f0e5a0318 team remaining e38eb9ea4a in the 2e14ad451e Sacrifice Hall 6ddf36a911 without escaping ea2f70769d loses the 87006caaed match. The losing a39e828106 team will 68a02282e1 be annihilated 08c6d5b5cc when the 46f10e868c Sacrifice Hall aa36ee462e closes. The Sacrifice Hall f383d215d1 closes 5 minutes bb1cf8500c after the match b4d66fdd83 ends.’ That’s the 1c548d7412 rule for this f44481787b tournament. Where does d8582bcc33 it say 8be6b33740 there’s a a1b9112b71 way not 9cd82ac0c2 to die?”add489d9e28bdc54

As Cha Jekwon just fc3efcb0f2 read, according to the 2d64172836 rules of this tournament, 7808be5fd4 the losing team dies.92cdace01c0f1f6c

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And that team was b079be11fc us, the South Korean c954011d02 team.5c74e674aa9b5de4

We were the last ones left, unable to escape the Sacrifice Hall. It was an unfair loss, but in the hunter tournament, the process didn’t matter. Despite Cha Jekwon’s efforts, the moment the ninth team escaped the Sacrifice Hall, our death was sealed.4d7f4512c1c9303d

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Knowing all 394f0ac9bb this, I c062337c83 still resisted 0d273beb85 once more.7e10f6f6be49f26b

“The place is called the Sacrifice Hall. There must be something related to sacrifice.”1d154b55305748e0

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Some rules of 054556cceb the tournament were 64afdb728e hidden. The place was 7190feddac called the Sacrifice 51e7d9d794 Hall, but the 1df563c86f match rules had f191ced7c2 nothing to do 5ba5f69871 with sacrifice. So, I 32d1ec2068 thought there eeeccf622e might be dfa8076fd8 a hidden 66d36f93b4 rule related f5ba7a49c4 to sacrifice.f4454003d1145057

But Cha Jekwon’s cold gaze shattered my hope.236447bbd513c76f

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“Oh, really? So if someone sacrifices themselves, they’ll save us?”3e71b48aa0bb552f

“We need to find out…”ee245c7e3caccdd0

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“Even if they would save us, who would make the sacrifice?”04d967f31bbadbca

“What?”47abce1f2ccb9080

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“What is sacrifice? Isn’t it one person dying for another? So, Haeon, would you die to save me?”58a203d8bfbc6e8a

Cha Jekwon smiled kindly. The smile, f4f311259b reminiscent of 69ff2f4baa a boy d0eb4a1dc2 from faded 3f95bd3643 memories, made 2d272bfd6d me momentarily 1a33d5405f hold my 7732c733fc breath.2879ea895068384a

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But unlike the pure b670cfb1ba smile of the boy 31f5140f81 in my memories, Cha 8495510358 Jekwon’s smile was like 11034eaba7 a meticulously crafted facade 083fdd6dea of kindness, frozen like 8d5d57fd30 a glacier.d6b5ffaa5594ecc1

A white 3eb12a3db7 dot in f258582cb7 the sky.9db36ce2b94fb0b7

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The small 2c24cc8049 sphere, which 5ce0437e2a looked like 864c5e2df2 a dot, cfb9529865 was growing 21644f05f1 larger. In 5 minutes, bb3556abc8 a white light bf2f602282 would shoot from 71a7213225 there and annihilate 0b891d82fe us.baed86ded6be3f8a

Time was mercilessly racing a8e2c60f65 towards a death too bb57294c7d futile.321bd67a9111027c

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My lips were parched.9ff66fb75ff87ecc

“Hmm? Haeon. Would you 0461786f07 die for 589e8b42ce me?”47138fef94534650

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The man smiled 82713bad55 with a smile cc3dd4a21c steeped in deep e9024b975a fatigue. It was a c42be2f649 laugh as intense f4d1dcbe16 and harsh as 04442477f6 the lingering scent a9af2119b9 left after smoking a1e3bbd165 a pipe.f84d4fcd81b02fe4

As he took d7ef61354a another step towards 096a18ff9b me, I involuntarily e7b914d439 stepped back. But soon, a 9d65586fd4 solid wall blocked 2687d6fcb5 my retreat.edf5bd547a18b181

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As if 44ea3a28b3 to allow a8b1195bd7 no movement, fa9242a0f8 a veined b08715f3f8 hand trapped 69e83cfbed me, pressing 39822e36dd against the aa4f1c4c72 wall.63ec3801866ebc65

Completely swallowed by b05caa5701 his large shadow, 3df16d376d I gritted my 1f0f3472ad teeth, facing the 0d9e241d0d man’s gaze right 975b077e63 in front of 4b93907446 me.4a3156b36d596ef1

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Cha Jekwon’s head tilted 9f92e88ca9 further towards me.ad3e636790a3440c

“Or are you planning to sacrifice me again?”80a366ab5c0ca4f7

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Cha Jekwon whispered 3c72acaed5 into my ear, 6fa23904cf leaning in deeply. Each word f26a582b71 carried his b4557619ae breath, moistening bbbd8a95e5 my ear.3fd05c23cd82b2ca

Sacrifice.b0244e7a4fcafcff

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When he said that 05963a25ce word, his dry lips bd156bece6 lightly brushed my earlobe. Even though it was 7d3010d8bd a barely noticeable warmth, 7cab055b5d my heart pounded as c8611300d3 if burned by a 0f021f3aa7 blazing fire.6cf5dafc808b023e

The thick ac8c267467 scent of 7297347659 masculinity clung a42f2da807 to my 0774c99bf2 body, suffocating 2164b8aa7c me with 53fc8cceb7 each breath.c78fb2935682bd07

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“I never…”4104baab0db64d90

Cha Jekwon was a 2932ed240c swamp. He entangled 9fe417b2fc my feet, d1c88f8fdb sinking me 80d8c7e9fd deeper into f51d1886d4 the abyss. As if resisting, 9ddc291eba I squeezed out 8f191a799d a few words 89511d2eea from my choked 78bb9a84a8 throat.338925a67c023806

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“I never sacrificed you.”dec817c60cedcd96

There was no 6c692b1234 response to the 4b0a41d2a2 words I spat 8d61c413ce out with a f0ed1440b0 hoarse voice. Only his heated 5740588a6a breath tickled my 2c4ae4f3bd ear. It flowed f158e1aa78 past my 83323068dc ear, down cf773066f2 my jawline, 5ec20fceed and along 29654ce796 my neck. I stared at aa415d0589 his dark hair 498d3c0848 like a subdued 4a2de6d6d2 prey until Cha 040f24c0f6 Jekwon finally lifted 2c16fdf3d2 his head.1c165d6134557364

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“I see.”acc6d96fe172de6c

When he finally lifted e5ae307724 his head, Cha Jekwon ef4426dc46 smiled brightly.c9eb7689ecea5365

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“I’ll die for you, Haeon.”fa6047139198f9a2

His voice, rough 37e674c325 from hostility, carried 1d594939d1 the most unfitting f73cd14cac words.eba4eabf9cf85096

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