Who Are You, Really?

Jinsu remained sitting on the bed for a few moments, his eyes moving from one face to another.

There were eight of them.

Four girls and four boys.

They stood before him calmly, as though his collapse and loss of consciousness had been nothing worth worrying about.

As for Jinsu, all he saw was a group of people who had attacked him without him even knowing why.

He slowly turned his head and looked around the room.

The walls were white.

The ceiling was white.

Even the bed he had been lying on was simple.

Nothing about the place suggested that he was inside the headquarters of a squad of assassins.

Jinsu frowned.

Then said irritably:

"Headquarters?"

He looked at all of them.

"We're just in a house. What kind of headquarters is this?!"

He threw the blanket aside and got out of bed.

He could still feel the effects of the blow he had taken, but he ignored it.

He stood on his feet.

Then walked toward the squad.

Ivo tried to calm him down.

"Wait, Jinsu. Calm down."

But Jinsu didn't stop.

He stood directly in front of them.

His eyes were filled with anger.

Then he asked:

"Which one of you hit me?"

No one answered at first.

The members of the squad exchanged glances.

Then one of the girls stepped forward slightly.

She looked at Jinsu coldly.

"Who do you think you are?"

Ivo immediately raised his hand, signaling her to stop.

But Jinsu had already heard her words.

And he didn't like them.

Inside, the girl thought:

This bastard... Does he think he's strong just because the captain is protecting him?

The resentment in her eyes was obvious.

But before the situation could escalate, one of the squad members spoke.

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"It was a test for you."

Jinsu looked at him.

The man continued:

"But you failed."

Ivo looked at him.

His expression alone should have been enough to make him stop.

But he didn't.

Instead, he continued:

"And there's something else..."

He slightly raised his chin.

"You're quick-tempered."

He looked Jinsu up and down.

"And you're not strong."

Jinsu's expression changed slightly.

But the man continued without hesitation:

"You don't deserve to join this squad."

He took a step closer.

"Who do you think you are to stand in front of us like this?"

Jinsu didn't answer.

His body still felt heavy from the blow he had received.

He began to stagger slightly.

But he remained standing.

Another person stepped forward.

He stood directly in front of Jinsu.

Closer than the others.

"Answer me, you."

Jinsu slowly raised his eyes.

He looked directly at him.

Then said a single word:

"You."

In the next moment...

A powerful energy began leaking from Jinsu's body.

It wasn't merely a simple aura.

A sudden pressure filled the room.

The air itself seemed to change.

The expressions of the squad members changed as well.

Ivo immediately raised his head.

He knew that the situation was about to get out of control.

He shouted:

"Back off!"

But the warning came too late.

One of the squad members tried to move away quickly.

Jinsu reached out and grabbed his arm.

The man stopped abruptly.

He looked at Jinsu's hand gripping his arm.

Then at his face.

Jinsu said:

"Where do you think you're going?"

The man tried to pull his arm away.

"Let me go!"

But Jinsu's grip didn't move.

The pressure around him continued to grow.

Then Jinsu said in a frighteningly calm voice:

"Kneel."

Suddenly...

One of them fell to the ground.

His knees slammed against the floor under the pressure of Jinsu's energy.

He tried to resist.

He tensed his muscles.

He tried to raise himself.

But something was pressing down on him from above.

Something he couldn't see.

"What... is this?!"

He continued struggling.

But his body couldn't withstand it.

He sank further beneath Jinsu's feet.

One of the squad members looked at Ivo.

"What is this, Ivo? What's happening to him?"

Ivo continued staring at Jinsu.

Then he smiled slightly.

"I don't know."

His smile remained.

"But he seems angry."

Jinsu raised his foot.

Then kicked the man standing in front of him.

The man was thrown backward.

At the same moment, Jinsu disappeared from in front of the group.

Their eyes widened.

They couldn't even follow his movement.

And suddenly...

He appeared in front of the girl.

He looked directly at her.

Then said:

"Found you."

The girl froze.

"You..."

Jinsu raised his fist.

"You're the one who hit me."

He swung his fist toward her.

But before it could reach her...

Ivo caught Jinsu's fist.

The punch stopped.

Jinsu looked at Ivo's hand gripping his fist.

Then raised his eyes toward him.

Ivo said:

"Stop."

Jinsu glared at him.

"Move, Ivo."

He tried to pull his fist away.

But Ivo didn't let go.

"She hit me."

Ivo froze for a moment.

He looked at Jinsu as though he were seeing him for the first time.

Then said:

"You..."

His expression changed.

"Are you really Jinsu?"

Jinsu looked at him in confusion.

"Who else would I be?"

Before Ivo could say anything...

The person who had been forced to kneel under Jinsu's pressure suddenly charged forward.

He kicked Jinsu hard.

Jinsu was thrown backward.

He crashed into the wall.

BOOM!

The wall shook from the impact.

The man charged toward him, intending to attack again.

But Ivo shouted:

"Stop, Kyako!"

Kyako stopped for a moment.

Then turned toward Ivo angrily.

"Move, Ivo!"

He drew his sword.

"He insulted me."

His eyes remained fixed on Jinsu.

"I won't forgive him for that."

Jinsu slowly began to stand.

He wiped the side of his mouth with his hand.

Then stood upright.

His face was strangely calm.

He looked at Kyako.

"You bastard..."

He took a step forward.

"Looks like you want me to beat the hell out of you."

But before anything could happen...

Jinsu's eyes suddenly stopped.

Something caught his attention.

There was a small crack in the wall behind him.

It had appeared because of the impact when he crashed into it.

Jinsu moved closer.

He stared at the crack.

Something was moving inside it.

Something small.

Then he saw something sliding down through the crack.

Jinsu frowned.

He moved closer.

He reached out and removed some of the stones.

Then removed more.

The more stones he pulled away, the wider the crack became.

But what he found behind it wasn't another wall.

Jinsu remained silent.

Then, suddenly, he turned toward the door.

He opened it.

And the moment he saw what was beyond it...

He froze.

His eyes widened.

There was no hallway.

No ground.

No other building.

The entire building...

was standing in an empty space.

There was nothing surrounding the headquarters except an enormous darkness.

A dark void stretching in every direction.

Jinsu slowly stepped forward.

Then placed one foot outside the door.

He expected to fall.

But nothing happened.

His foot remained firmly in place.

He looked down.

He couldn't see anything.

And yet, something was supporting his foot.

Something invisible.

As though the ground existed...

but simply refused to be seen.

Jinsu slowly raised his head.

He stared into the darkness before him.

Then asked:

"What exactly is this?"

Ivo stood behind him.

He answered calmly:

"This is where our headquarters is located."

Jinsu looked at him.

Ivo continued:

"You didn't think our headquarters would be sitting somewhere exposed, did you?"

Jinsu looked back at the strange space before him.

He couldn't understand the place.

From the outside, it was an ordinary building.

Inside, it was the headquarters of the Assassins Squad.

And behind the door...

There was no village.

No ground.

Nothing.

Only endless darkness.

Jinsu remained silent for a few moments.

Then said:

"It doesn't matter where your headquarters is."

He turned toward them.

His expression was calmer now.

Then he added:

"I've been to stranger places."