HKWM | Chapter 1

Lee Hyunjin. 30 years old. Single. Broke up with his girlfriend a few months ago and is currently single. No debt. No savings either. I was an ordinary office worker, too ordinary to describe in detail, who died of overwork due to the extraordinary workload.

But when I opened my eyes again, I found myself turned into a demon. Specifically, an Archdemon of the Seven Deadly Sins.

I’d have to clean, so I can’t take questions now.

𓆩☾𓆪

For an orphan with no innate abilities, just growing a big head by the time my identification card was issued, living an ordinary life was harder than one might think. Just getting to the same starting line as everyone else was quite a struggle.

Even so, thinking ‘I just need to run while others walk,’ I hustled, managed to get a job, and started dating, but eventually, my life ended in overwork death. The scene just before my collapse, asking a junior who was slamming mixed coffee like it was elixir from behind the partition for a cup, was pathetically uncool.

Was it because I abused my body with all-nighters every day as I entered my thirties? Or was it my fault for putting too much faith in energy drinks? If I had always remembered that downing a Hot6 doesn’t give you bonus health but just borrows it on high interest from my future self, would things have been different?

Either way, it was all futile speculation after death. Yeah, what I should be worried about now is what happens next.

I had no idea thoughts could be so vivid after death. If I hadn’t remembered the moments before my collapse, I might have thought I was having a particularly vivid dream.

If there really is an afterlife like in the movies or dramas, where you reflect on your life before a verdict is rendered, maybe the higher-ups in the afterlife were giving me a chance to quickly review my sins and decide how to repent.

What did I do wrong in my life? It would be quicker to think about what I did right, but still, if I wanted to avoid going to Hell, I needed to be as blameless as possible. Yeah, I’m not hoping for Heaven, but at least not Hell…

“You’re going to Hell.”

“What?!”

No way, who starts off like that? I deserve a chance to argue. I don’t know where the voice is from, but it’s unfair to just proceed without a trial. I would have protested if my mind hadn’t started to blur again.

Screwed. I’m probably waking up in Hell.

𓆩☾𓆪

“Aaaagh!”

I jerked up as if my back was on fire, with a bizarre scream as a bonus. I panted heavily before squinting my eyes shut. Could there be a ceaseless chariot nearby, or something unbearably fiery like Hellfire? Or maybe something even more terrifying?

While praying that nothing worse than my imagination would come out, I suddenly realized that the place I was sitting was unusually soft.

Soft…?

The texture seemed totally out of place for Hell, so I hesitantly reached down to feel the ground near my buttocks.

No, it wasn’t the ground. What I was sitting on was a blanket, softer than anything I’d touched in my lifetime. Shocked, I opened my eyes but then closed them again to pretend I was still unconscious. Had there not been a gaze fixed on me, I would have gotten up to explore every corner and figure out what was going on.

“Going to sleep again?”

“No.”

The voice full of intent to make me open my eyes made them snap open involuntarily. I paused at the sight of black hair that fell to the waist, but what was more strange were the deep and endless black eyes that could make one’s mind drift off.

They weren’t just eyes but like gazing into something profoundly dark and deep, prompting me to quickly look away. I couldn’t help but ask with a voice that wouldn’t steady.

“Who are you…?”

“Your father.”

I don’t have a father, I thought, biting back my own sarcastic retort. The bizarre nature of this man and my own identity flooded into my mind.

This person was indeed my father. The ‘new me’s’ father.

After dying from overwork, I was reborn as a demon. The man before me was the Demon Lord, father to all demons. As I processed a massive load of information, I cried out desperately.

“Father, please disown this unfilial son!”

I had not lived a life pure enough to boast about, but I also didn’t think I was such a mess to become a demon. Especially considering I had never committed a crime.

Why would I become a demon? Is this how the underworld always works, or was it a glitch this time? Either way, being a demon made absolutely no sense.

Almost in a panic, the Demon Lord frowned at me. He seemed perplexed, but the atmosphere was so menacing, it felt like he was pondering how to slice me up.

“You remember your past life, huh? How strange.”

Were you supposed to forget everything? The ancient Demon Lord commenting that it was strange meant I was an extremely unusual case. Yeah, me, a demon? Ridiculous.

“No, you are ‘Wrath.’”

Had I spoken out loud? No, my lips were still firmly closed.

“You mean I was angry? Well… it’s absurd but kind of true.”

“No, you are ‘Wrath.’”

What kind of bull— Before I could finish, another wave of information crashed into my mind.

I hadn’t just come to the afterlife’s Hell; I had crossed into a downright nefarious place.

“I crossed dimensions?”

“Yes.”

Could it be… Was it not my fate to die, but rather this man—the Demon Lord—who had pulled me here? It was a reasonable suspicion, but the realization caused the Demon Lord to narrow his eyebrows.

He seemed falsely accused, yet his furrowed expression sent a chill down my spine, as though I were facing the cruellest sentence.

“Wrath was needed, and it just so happened you died.”

Damn, it was my destiny to die after all. That’s when it truly hit me that I had died, and this wasn’t someone’s prank or a dream about to end.

I mulled over my memories in dismay.

The place I was reborn into was unlike the reality I had known. It was divided into three realms: the Demon Realm, Heaven, and the Human Realm. These realms were populated by gods, demons, monsters, and a myriad of other nonhuman beings.

Among them, I had become the Archdemon overseeing ‘Wrath,’ one of the infamous Seven Deadly Sins, known from my previous life. The information naturally entered my mind, but I pleaded again, ignoring it.

“Father, does this make any sense? A human-origin Archdemon? Moreover, I’m not even from this place!”

“It doesn’t matter. You were chosen because you were the most suitable among the suitable ones.”

What nonsensical talk this is. Like choosing between salt and sugar and saying salt is saltier.

“And you already know why you are ‘Wrath.’”

Many scenes flashed in my mind as I gazed into those black eyes, stirring something dark and sticky inside, much like the eyes themselves. This too must be some cunning trick of the Demon Lord, so I clenched my teeth and averted my gaze.

“Ah… How do I deal with having human memories still intact? I’m still scared of ghosts and can’t stand grotesque things… Frankly, you look too frightening…! Can there even be such a humane demon?!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why does it end in a question? What kind of father ignores his son’s struggles? Don’t do this, and please…”

“Here you are. Don’t cause trouble. It won’t be pleasant if we meet again.”

“Father…!”

The Demon Lord cleanly ignored my desperate call and vanished without a trace. I was left alone in ‘my castle.’

Should I be glad that I didn’t end up in Hell as a sinner, paying a harsh penalty? Or should I think it’s utterly insane that I lived as a human and now have to exist as a strange being, an Archdemon, with human memories?

It was all so absurd that, after the Demon Lord left, I voluntarily fell into a deep sleep. For a brief moment, I hoped that all of this might just be a dream. Yet, ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and nothing had changed.

“Still, sleep is good.”

Even though it’s quite extreme, ten years of deep sleep were incredibly sweet for a former office worker who died from overwork, allowing me to view the situation a bit more positively.

“At least I don’t have to worry about Director Kim’s glares anymore…”

How many stomach medicines did that horrible person make me take? Anyway, my denial of reality ended there.

Lee Hyunjin, who had lived tenaciously till 30, died of overwork, and now, just over ten years old, had become a demon. Think about it simply. As I lived fiercely as a human, now I should live fiercely as a demon.

“No! There’s no need for that.”

Yeah, being born as one of the highly regarded Seven Deadly Sins in the Demon Realm means I was born with a silver, no, a diamond spoon. I have a good pedigree, so it’s okay to be a bit lazy.

“Archdemon or whatever, if I was chosen because I was suitable, then I just need to live suitably.”

If Dad had a problem, he should have said something first! Fuming, I soon remembered that the Demon Lord could read thoughts and quickly glanced around. Fortunately, nothing happened.

The luxurious carpet, the atmospheric fireplace, and the chandelier that seemed to be crafted entirely from jewels all sparkled as brilliantly as before.

Persuaded by the opulent scenery, I nodded. This is what it means to turn your life around. Sure, my life had become that of a demon, but who cared? The important thing was that all the conditions for slacking off were perfectly in place.

Suddenly feeling motivated, I confidently got out of bed—for the first time in ten years since arriving at the castle.

I began by drawing back the thick curtains of the windows in my spacious room to peer outside.

“Wow, this is amazing…”

But what first caught my eye wasn’t the scenery beyond the window—it was my reflection in the glass.