For as long as I can remember, I've been weak. Everyone who has ever known me thinks the same, I am weak. Not weak in one way, but in many ways. The truth is, in the world as it is now, there is only one weakness that counts: the lack of a strong superpower. I never had one. Although in one thing I was unique in its kind, my ability awakened at the age of six.
Back then, under the strict supervision of my father, watching from under the newspaper, I was playing in the sandbox, fiddling with dragon-shaped molds, ha, as I now recall, orange. As usual, I held the mold in one hand and the shovel in the other, and prepared to scoop up sand to make another dragon for my collection, looking at me sweetly from the wooden platform. As soon as I slipped the scoop into the sand, the center of my palm suddenly began to feel a strong, unusual itch, an urge to scratch that I overcame nonetheless. I picked up sand, poured it into the mold, it happened to be already warm, but then I did not pay attention to this phenomenon, damn, I was only six. And while I methodically, which is typical of my character, evenly distributed the sand on the mold, the plastic scoop in my hand began to deform and melted, collapsed directly on the sand, leaving me in puzzlement to look at this action. My father, sitting on the bench two meters away from me, was so surprised that his cigarette fell out of his mouth and his eyes widened in shock. He is quite understandable, the most documented manifestation of ability at the time was in some boy from the Philippines and he was, for the record, ten and a half, so the fact that I saw a shadow of horror and admiration in my father's eyes had no bearing whatsoever on the fact that only a few years later he was looking at me as if I were trash, right through me, as if I did not exist. And that was all, because of my ability alone.
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Today everything was as it usually was, got up, had breakfast, subway, office, lots of calls to clients, lots of numbers and reading paperwork under the incessant humming of the fax machine. And although superpowers were not an obligatory attribute in office work, everyone was secretly competing with each other, some in their heads and some in the office itself. Unfortunately, the whole office somehow found out about my powers, and from the day they found out, my time at work turned to hell. I felt the scornful looks, the mocking looks, the derogatory looks, but most of all I hated the pitying looks. They pierced me like a myriad of needles, preventing me from concentrating on my work. The only time I felt good was when he, my only friend, Aiden, came. His being here didn't affect anything, but at the same time it changed everything. When he was here, I didn't know why, but no one looked in my direction, no one came up to me and started a conversation. Aiden was the black sheep in this office. He was the only one who was allowed to leave the workplace whenever he wanted. And I think it was within his rights not to even come to work at all. There was a rumor going around the office that Aiden had connections at the top of the guild, a common rumor that people believed so much that it became fact.
Unfortunately for me, Aiden left just as he came, like the wind through a clear space.
An hour later, a soft tune rang out in the office, marking a lunch break. No matter how much I wanted to stay here, at my desk, I couldn't. Office rules stated that all employees had to leave the office during their lunch break. I suppose this policy served as a kind of "pill" for those who overworked while continuing to work and didn't want to leave the cubicle for the rest of the day. For me, it was a signal to panic.
With a deep sigh, I picked up my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out, trying to look at the floor to be inconspicuous. It didn't help. With my sideways vision, I noticed a few figures split off from the exiting crowd and wandered toward me.
Fuck... Again!?
I quickened my pace. My heart started racing. Rounding the corner where they couldn't see me, I ran. I ran down the stairs, to the 1st floor, to the exit. On the 2nd floor I noticed my sneakers were untied, I didn't stop. Soon I was running down to the first floor. All I could see in my eyes was the green EXIT sign I was aiming for. As I ran, I felt something pulling my foot down. An immediate realization of my mistake flashed through my mind, I had been careless after all and stepped on my shoelace.
Damn, I should have wore my shoes like everyone else!
SNAP!!!
A sudden pain in my chest and knees, the impact of the fall on them, but I managed to roll my head back so it was unscathed. Just then, I remembered that THEY were running after me. With that thought, I threw up my arms in an effort to push myself off the floor and get up immediately. But it was too late. Someone's foot stepped right on my spine and pinned me to the ground.
- Hey! Hyung Bin! Where do you think you're going? I told you last time. Again. Don't. Run. Аway."
I didn't have to turn around to see who was talking. Lee Jun. The assistant boss. The second man in our office. And my personal torturer. A few seconds later two of his henchmen came running up the stairs, always following him around and licking his ugly ass.
- Come on, Lee Jun, I wouldn't dream of it. I'm just hungry, you know, so I ran." - I said with a smile, trying to take all the hate out of my voice for those three bastards.
- Oh, I don't believe it, bitch, you dare to lie to me!?"
A wave of pain ran down my entire back from the kick.
-Kha!" - The impact caused all the air from my lungs to rush out.
- Hey, Minwoo, Park Geom, grab that ginger misunderstanding and drag him back to his usual spot. Let's have fun like we always do, because the whole Purple Guild thing is fucking annoying, and my boss and dad are blaming me for all of this! They ain't doing shit themselves! Fucking farts!"
-Khaa! Khaa!
Another punch, this time in the ribs. Two morons behind me, holding me by my armpits. And I knew what was coming next. So far, it was the usual scenario. They'd catch me, they'd beat me, Lee Jun would blow off steam, and then.... they'd carry me "over there" and continue their fun.
I looked ahead of me. I saw a picture I was already used to seeing. My feet trailing on the asphalt, a red untied tie sliding down my stomach, white Nike's with untied shoelaces rubbing my heels against the concrete. I know what's coming next. Fear grips me, even though it's the hundredth time, I'm still afraid. But inside me, there's more than fear. Inside, I am overwhelmed with anger.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Why do I have to go through this at every stage of my life? He was feared in kindergarten because of his abilities, beaten with sticks, shouted at him, "Get out of here monster! Die!". In junior high school they wised up and became wary of beating me, afraid of my retaliation, no one wanted to be friends with me, I was special to them or more simply called, an outcast. In middle school, all the other kids got super powers and they started to realize, realize that I wasn't a monster, I was a prey. "Hyun-Bin? What on earth can he do? Heat a glass of water? Ha! I cover my skin with fire! And his ability, like he himself, is just trash!".
Many think of children as the colors of life, forgetting how cruel, overbearing, and ugly they are by nature. Adults have pride, principles, concepts, religion, concepts of right and wrong, but children? Children have only a thought that they think is unshakable truth. "What, he has superpowers? He's a monster - fact," "He has weak superpowers? It's his own fault. He's weak - fact.", "He has red hair, he's unsociable and silent? He's not normal, he should be punished - fact." Fact! FACT! FACT! FUCKING FACT! Each and every one of their opinions, thoughts and decisions, are not thought through, have no meaning, because they don't want to look for it, they don't need the meaning to beat up a little kid in the corner of the bathroom with their hands blazing in the fire, to stalk him after school, paralyze him with a shadow and beat him up again...
Fight back? You ask? Stand up to them? Wake up! It's a new world! What will you do if you're 15 years old, you're walking home after school and suddenly a magic door appears in front of you, four people jump out of it, one of them paralyzes you with a shadow, the second sends you a spell that gives you weakness all over your body, and the third, hits you in the solar plexus with his fiery fists? Answer: You can't do damned thing.
The only thing I could do to escape the cruelty of this world was to run away. And I did. Literally. At 16, I couldn't take it anymore and ran away from home. I took my briefcase, my money, my train ticket, and left my city for the vastness of Seoul, where my only goal was to get lost in the crowd.
At the time, I thought the persecution would end once I entered adulthood. Ha! And it did. Until Li Jun found out about my ability. He was a rabid abilitionist. He hated all people with useless abilities, thinking that anyone who had one had no right to live in this world. And when he discovered one in his office, he couldn't help himself.
Getting back to the present, the two jerks dragged me to this "place". It was an impenetrable side street between two buildings that rarely anyone walked past. So it was a perfect candidate for the trio's shady dealings.
- Let him go." - Lee Jun said in an orderly tone, and his two "friends" let me go, taking a few steps back. - So, how are you doing Hyun-Bin? I heard a rumor that you're planning a date? Huh? Oh, how cute, our pretty freckled little girl has decided to become a man. Ha ha ha ha!" - Lee Jun laughed.
- Hahahahaha!" - The other two laughed pretentiously.
- Well, at least I have a chance to become one, unlike you chicks."
Li Jun's laughter suddenly broke off, his face darkened and began to look very unsightly, a shiver ran down my back, I was scared, but I tried not to show it.
- You have a sharp tongue, as usual, I see..." - Through his voice I could hear the rising rage. "Well, boys, let's teach our dear employee... to respect his seniors!"
As he said the last word, the silver necklace around his neck suddenly glowed with jade light, then, disappearing for a moment, it turned into light, which flew toward Li Jun's fist, forming a second layer around his fist. A layer that slammed into my jaw at tremendous speed.
Pain.
The only thing I felt was pain and intense dizziness. No sooner had that pain subsided than another blow came from the other side. This time, in addition to the added pain, I felt nauseous. I spit up the blood that had accumulated in my mouth. But I was still on my feet. My mind blurred, but one bright spark of emotion penetrated through the thick shroud that clouded my consciousness. My beloved anger.
Clenching my teeth as hard as I could, I glared at the smirking Li Jun. I couldn't feel my face, of course, for it was numb, but I knew I was smiling. I was smiling ear to ear. My energy was bubbling, my anger giving me strength.
- What are you smiling at? Ain't enough, huh?" said Li Jun with a chuckle as he prepared to take another punch.
Before he made it, I knew exactly where he was going to hit. In my nose. Time seemed to slow down around me, my vision catching the fist flying slowly toward me, blazing with jade light. And when it came within inches of my nose... I dodged it. The fist flew with a light whistle past my ear. My smile grew even wider.
Now it was my turn, you motherfucker.
Gathering all the strength in my fist, squeezing it with all my might, I made the fastest jab I could. A few seconds later, there was a pain in my hand, yet I was happy about it, because it meant I had hit the target.
Getting hit right in the center of his face, the flawless looking, well-dressed Lee Jun was thrown back a few meters, but at the last second he managed to keep his balance and not fall over. His face reflected shock and disbelief. For the first time, this weakling had fought back.
I stared at Lee Jun, feeling like I was fucked, I couldn't do it again, but damn, it was worth it. He was standing there leaning on his knees, breathing heavily. But after a few seconds, his breathing straightened, he got back into his usual pose, fixed his coiffed hair back and smiled and said to me, " And you call that a punch?
- Yes."
The moment I answered, blood came out of Lee Jun's nose in a steady stream, pouring all over his snow-white shirt and turning it into a scarlet mess. Two of his buddies ran up to him in a slight panic, trying to help him and holding up their handkerchiefs to assist him.
I guess this was my chance to escape, but Li Jun was no ordinary office clerk, he was an E-grade hunter. His punch was no joke. So no matter how much I wanted to run, after 2 of his punches, I was paralyzed with pain and muscle spasms.
Li Jun, now with two tissues sticking out of his nostrils, was looking at me with the clear intent to kill. And I had no doubt that he was capable of doing so. The jade layer on his fists went out, turning back into light. That light rose into the air and began to form into something. In a few seconds, the silhouette of a snake was clearly visible.
- Hyyyooooon Biiin! You're finished!" - Lee Jun shouted, almost foaming at the mouth, his shout made me shiver, all my anger replaced by despair and fear. This is not the way I want to die.
The already fully formed jade snake flew towards me and bit its fangs into my arm, I screamed out in pain.
- What are you idiots standing around for? Beat him up!" - I heard Li Jun yell as I tried to fight off the snake's attacks.
Soon, multiple snake bites were joined by fists and kicks. I could no longer stand, tears poured into my eyes, I felt sorry for myself, sorry for my weakness, but, but... there was nothing I could do... I dropped down.
As I lay there, curled up in a fetal position, feeling the warm tears pouring down my cheeks and the kicks leaving bruises on my body, my gaze happened to fall on the dark corner of the alley entrance. A figure stood there, looking relaxed, in a black parka over his jacket, his hands in his pockets, a white bag labeled "7-Eleven" hanging from his elbow. In a desperate attempt, I looked into the figure's eyes and a chill ran through me. My world collapsed. In response, Aiden's indifferent eyes stared back at me, as he smoked a cigarette in a routine manner. And while I stared at him with blood dripping down my forehead, pleading, as if to say, "Save me," he dispassionately took a bottle of Coke out of the bag, took a sip, turned, and walked away, disappearing around the corner.
A multitude of thoughts raced through my mind. Lots of emotions. But one word stood out from the rest:
Why? Why? Why?
My eyes went dim, the world went black and white, and I lost consciousness.
My name is Hyun-Bin... and my ability... to heat objects...