Three years.
That's how long it took for the world to forget about Han Dae Su.
The prison gates creaked open with a groan, and a single figure stepped out into the cold, gray afternoon. No one was waiting. No familiar faces. No calls. Just the dry wind cutting through his tattered clothes.
In his hand, a small plastic bag with his name scribbled on a tag. Inside it, the things left of his old life: a cracked phone, a worn-out wallet with an old family photo, and a pair of cheap earbuds that no longer worked.
He took a deep breath and looked around the city — the same streets, but it felt like another planet.
The bus ride home was silent. The world outside the window blurred past.
When he reached his old neighborhood, the house still stood. A little more weathered, the paint chipping off the walls, the garden dead and brown.
The key still worked.
Inside, it smelled of dust and abandonment. His parents' old things were gone. Only silence remained.
His phone buzzed with a single message when he connected to the Wi-Fi.
[Aunt Eun-Ji]
Dae Su… I'm sorry. I couldn't be there when you got out. I moved to the US two years ago… I remarried. The house is yours now. There's some money left in the drawer. I hope you find peace someday.
No greeting. No questions. No I missed you.
Dae Su stared at the message for a long time before tossing the phone onto the couch.
The house felt like a graveyard.
He made his way down to the basement — his old room when he was younger, now filled with dust and old boxes. Thick concrete walls enclosed the small space. A single bulb dangled from the ceiling, casting a dull yellow glow.
He closed the door behind him, the world above vanishing like a bad memory.
Dae Su sat on the old mattress and booted up his phone again. The Wi-Fi barely reached down here, but it was enough.
He logged into his social media account, expecting nothing.
But what he found…
Laughter. Smiles.
Photos of the ten. The ten monsters that ruined him.
Min Seok, Jae Hyun, Do Jin, Sang Woo, Il Nam, and the others — all of them living like nothing had happened. Partying, laughing, posing for photos in designer clothes and flashy cars.
My parents…
He tapped on one video. They were at a bar, celebrating someone's birthday. The comments joked about old times, about how they 'handled that crazy bastard' three years ago.
And then he saw it.
A post from one of them. A news clipping.
"Tragic accident: Couple found dead in a hit-and-run incident."
His parents.
The date was two years ago. The same year his aunt left for America.
His stomach twisted. His breathing grew ragged. His vision blurred.
They… killed them…
The walls seemed to close in. His chest tightened.
A scream built up inside his throat, but nothing came out.
Instead — his fist clenched.
Without thinking, he slammed it into the thick wall.
A sharp crack echoed through the room.
He didn't stop. Again. And again.
Fist. Wall. Crack.
Dust rained down. The concrete splintered. Blood smeared his knuckles but he didn't feel it.
His body burned. A strange warmth coursed through him.
And then…
A voice. Distant. Old.
"Mark my words… traitors. Even if it takes generations… I will return…"
The air grew heavy. His pulse pounded in his ears. The basement seemed to warp, the light flickering.
Something ancient. Something buried in this very place.
And for the first time in years — Dae Su grinned.
A savage, broken grin.
"I'll kill them all."