Ki System.
'Ki… System,' Jiho thought, eyes locked on his palm as he walked to school. He clenched it again. It didn't feel any different.
'After I accepted it... nothing changed. No surge of strength. No enlightenment. Just this—'
He opened his status window.
NAME: Jiho An
Sex: Male
Class: Ki User
LEVEL: [null]
STATS: [null]
SKILLS: [null]
That was it.
'Nothing... All of it's gone.'
He'd already tested his strength. He was barely stronger than when he'd first awakened as a Player. Maybe not even that.
'No… shit. Did I make a mistake?'
His fist tightened. 'It said "infinite potential"… but what does that mean? There's no skills, no unlocks… Was I scammed? Fuck…'
His teeth ground together.
'I'm back at square one. If someone like Joon-Seok shows up now... I won't be able to do a damn thing!'
[Calm down, Jesus.] The message prompt jumped to life.
[I can hear your heartbeat from here, boyo.]
"You scammed me!" Jiho snapped. "I'm weaker than ever!"
[I didn't do a thing to you, boyo.]
[I never said it was something necessarily good for you. Just something you unlocked. You're the one who picked it.]
"Fuck… FUCK... What am I supposed to do now? I gave up everything for nothing!"
[Hm... 'Fraid I can't tell you what you have. Even if I wanted to.]
"Why not?!"
[Restrictions and the like. Can't elaborate here, too.]
Jiho scowled.
[Also...]
He narrowed his eyes at the prompt.
[I genuinely have no clue what the Ki System is.]
"…What?" he muttered.
[Again—can't elaborate. But let's just say I know more than most. And even with all the OVERWHELMING know-how I've stacked up… This is a first. I've never seen anything like it.]
"Haaah…" Jiho sighed, eyes trailing up to the sky. "It sounds rare… but the fact I'm back at square one…"
He exhaled through his nose.
'I even waited outside Hyung's house… and he never came out. Whatever.'
The school building stood ahead of him.
'Guess I'm going alone. Maybe I should've asked Yuna and Seokjin… Too late now.'
As he drew closer, a familiar silhouette caught his eye.
"Ah…" Jiho slowed to a stop.
Sarah. The punk girl who always stood by the gate—greeting him every morning. Jiho didn't know what to make of her. Why she did it. Why she kept doing it.
He had no idea she felt guilty for helping Daniel spread those rumors—and decided, quietly, to be there for Jiho ever since. At least, until he found out about Daniel's ploy.
To him, it just felt like he'd missed her simple presence.
'I'll say hello…' he thought, stepping forward.
But before he entered her line of sight, three tall figures stepped in. Upperclassmen. Seniors from his school.
"Hey there," one leaned beside her with a smug grin. "You waiting for someone?"
"Holy shit, she's gotta be a college chick. You know someone from our school?" another asked.
Jiho stopped and watched.
They were circling her.
Sarah sighed, folding her arms. "Don't you boys have a lesson to crawl into?"
"Aw, don't be like that! We're seniors who skip class religiously. It's not like we're gonna make it in this world."
"Let's go to a mixer or something, noona," the third one grinned.
'...I just killed someone,' Jiho thought, clenching his fist.
'I've killed before. So why… why is this so scary?'
His heartbeat thudded in his ears.
'Why does just walking up to her with those guys around feel more terrifying than anything?'
'I've been through a zombie apocalypse. Talk to her. Talk to her, goddamnit!' Jiho urged himself.
'I may be back to square one… but I'm still stronger than any human. And I'm almost as tall as Daniel, maybe even just as much. Definitely more built.'
'I could just shove them away.'
He pictured it. Just a quick motion. Easy.
Then a darker thought slithered in.
Killing them would also be easy, he realized.
People like that—who got in his way. Who blocked him from what he wanted. People like Daniel... This is the same, isn't it?
He could kill them.
Just like Joon-Seok.
The rage curled in his chest, his breathing quickened. The moment Joon-Seok died, was the moment the Joon-Seok problem went away.
He looked down, his breathing erratic, eyes widened with anger.
And then—
CRACK.
The memory of his elbow smashing into that girl's nose burst through his mind like lightning.
A bloodied dog at his feet.
His own mother looking terrified, flinching at him.
He loosened his body.
===========
"HE'S A ZOMBIE!!"
===========
The memory surfaced. How the whole school nearly united against him.
But then he remembered something else. His mother's words... To be himself.
'The me right now... Wants to talk to her. I don't know why… but I want to.'
Jiho stepped forward.
'She was always there. Waiting for me, specifically.'
The seniors turned to him as he approached.
"Huh?"
"Look, it's that stink manipulator," one snorted.
"Go away, zombie. Nobody wants to look at you. Even if—"
Jiho brushed past them, slow and calm. He stopped an inch in front of Sarah.
"Noona…" Jiho said, his voice low and steady, but with a tremble underneath. "Were you—"
Her eyes widened.
She drew in a sharp breath, her chest rising.
Jiho met her gaze.
"...waiting for me?"
Her lips parted as she took a breath, taking the sight of his face in.
"Hey, you know this freak—" One of the seniors said, but before he got to complete his sentence, Sarah suddenly grabbed his palm and led him away into the school, leaving the three seniors confused.
He followed without question, eyes fixed on her back, confusion blooming in his chest.
Soon, the two were behind the school.
"..."
Jiho's mind scrambled. Sarah looked down, biting her lip—visibly rattled.
'I guess I didn't tell her I was alive. Was she worried?'
Jiho swallowed hard.
'Weird,' he thought, looking down at her. 'I used to be so short. It's strange… seeing her from above like this.'
His gaze lingered on the top of her bowed head.
'Maybe she's thinking the same. I'll say the excuse Marcel told me to use…'
"The reason my height changed was—"
She suddenly leaned into him, grasping his shirt.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered.
He gasped softly as she buried her face in his shirt, hiding her expression.
"Sorry..?" he murmured.
"I was the one who helped… Daniel spread those rumors about you."
Jiho froze.
"...."
A beat.
'Do I scream at her now?'
He clenched his fist at his side.
'Maybe hit her?'
'I bet…' He narrowed his gaze, looking down on her.
'I bet she'll take it silently. She brought me somewhere private for this, didn't she?'
He shook his head, pushing the thought away.
"...Why'd you do that in the first place?" he asked, his voice composed.
She stepped back, rubbing her arm, still not meeting his eyes. Then let out a bitter chuckle.
"You're… willing to hear me out, even… Man…" Another chuckle escaped her lips. "You're such a twink." She bit down, still looking away.
"Too much of a bitch to hit me?" she muttered.
"..."
Jiho didn't respond. He wasn't sure how.
Another pause.
"...The reason… I told you, back then, didn't I? I have my pride. And that guy, Daniel, helped me with something. I promised I'd pay him back. Me doing that was just that. Something I had to do."
"Then, did you wait for me out of pity?" he cut in, and she flinched.
"..." She gulped.
"All those times you greeted me, noona… was that guilt? Not because…"
He looked down.
"I was… interesting to you, maybe?" His voice came out looser. Subdued.
"Or because… you liked seeing me?"
She stared at the ground, narrowing her eyes.
Another dry chuckle.
"Man, you're… really forward, huh? Aren't you embarrassed, saying something like that?"
He took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Just say it," he let out.
She swallowed.
"...Sorry. I just… don't really know you enough to say I'd date you or anything… or be a part of your life."
A long pause. Jiho's brows slightly furrowed, as he replayed the times they greeted each other.
'...So it was nothing but guilt and pity. Got it.'
He tightened his fists.
'Of course it was.'
He took a deep breath.
"I made a promise to myself," he said, stepping forward again. She looked up, meeting his gaze.
"...!"
She flinched. His eyes were cold and disgusted.
"To answer your remark about me being forward... I promised myself I'd be me. You've apologized to the young pup you pitied. I'm touched." His tone was cynical and cold.
He stopped an inch from her.
"The me right now wants you to fuck off. I don't want your pity anymore, noona."
His words came with a barely restrained growl.
"Not yours. Not ANYONE'S. EVER."
She stepped back, exhaling short and anxious, her gaze dodging his.
She opened her mouth, hesitating.
"I—I'm sorry, twink, okay?" she muttered with a shaken voice, turning around, beginning to walk away.
"I'm sorry," she repeated. "Can't do anything about it anymore," she added, disappearing around the corner.
Jiho stood there alone, staring at the spot she vanished behind for a beat too long.
Meanwhile, just behind a wall nearby, two students crouched in silence, having witnessed the whole exchange.
"Seokjin... Why are we hiding? They're done talking..." Yuna deadpanned.
"This is an important moment in a man's life!" Seokjin whispered back with gusto. "Rather than take comfort in a convenient lie and fake feelings just to feel like he belongs, Jiho-senpai chose truth. He cut ties with someone who felt nothing for him... As expected from the man I've acknowledged!"
"You otaku. This isn't Japan," Yuna replied, completely deadpan.
** [Seokjin and Yuna are Jiho's former assailants. Seokjin can transform into a hulking brute; Yuna's ability is still unknown. After Jiho scolded them during their attack, they re-evaluated their paths and turned over a new leaf. Like Jiho, they're students at Pineapple—an institution built for those who lost their schools after the outbreak. Both are immune, and now fight for experience by killing zombies and completing quests.]
'...' Yuna glanced toward Jiho, still frozen in place.
"...I'm going out. Stay if you want," she sighed, standing up and walking toward him.
"H-HEY! Yuna! You mustn't interrupt a man when he's contemplating alone!" Seokjin hissed behind her.
She ignored him completely.
"Oppa," she called as she approached Jiho.
He turned, lips parting.
And when he saw her, his shoulders relaxed.
"Ah, Yuna," he murmured. "You heard us?"
"Yeah."
She stopped right in front of him, folding her arms as she looked up.
"Unlike some people, I don't care that much. Everyone's got their own dramas. Me and the big oaf were looking for you. We thought..."
She hesitated, glancing aside.
"...If you had no one to come to school with... you could've talked to us, you know." She murmured, twirling a strand of her silky dark hair, her dark-lipstick lips shifting ever so slightly.
By then, Seokjin—tall, broad, and absolutely not subtle—emerged from hiding and joined them.
Jiho blinked, then let out a breath.
"Uh... Yeah. I..." He scratched his head.
"I had someone in mind to come with, but... he stood me up."
The three of them began walking in a row, heading back toward the school.
"...And, Oppa?" Jiho asked.
"Yeah. Me and big guy here are—"
"YOUR KOUHAI!" Seokjin shouted, interrupting her with a deep bow. "Pleased to make your acquaintance!"
"I see... My... uh... kouhai..." Jiho said slowly.
'He looks a few years older than me, though? But at the same time, he acts much less mature. He's a far cry from when we've first met, and from when we've met at school... I guess this is his real self?'
Jiho thought, eyeing Seokjin's enthusiastic grin.
He let out a quiet chuckle. "Nice to meet you, kouhai."
"H-hey! Don't play along with this!" Yuna barked, a second too late. "You'll just excite him more!"
"YES, SENPAI!!" Seokjin bellowed, face flushed, slamming a massive fist to his chest. "WE'RE IN YOUR HANDS!"
"Ahh... Now we won't hear the end of it..." Yuna sighed with her palm rubbed against her face.
Meanwhile... as Jiho and his two kouhais stepped through the school building's gateway—
"Who..."
Eunhee stood at the entrance, baffled.
"...Who are they...? J... Jiho...?" Her voice trembled, lips parting as her eyes widened—caught on Jiho's distant smile.
A smile that is no longer hers.