Questism and Lookism: Am I Suhyeon Kim?

The hallways of Gangbukseo West High School were silent.

I walked ahead, with Gukja Yang by my side. His steps were clumsy but steady. No one spoke. No one stopped us.

There was no need.

That was the new normal.

I stopped suddenly and glanced at him.

"Gukja," I said without raising my voice much.

He stopped too. He looked back at me expressionlessly, as if he already knew what I was going to say.

"Do you want to join my team?"

He nodded before answering.

"Yes," he said, with that simplicity I already knew.

That was enough.

We continued walking silently down the hallway. In the distance, the echo of hurried footsteps began to bounce off the walls.

When I turned my head, I saw him.

Hyeondong Lee was jogging toward us, agitated, with a mixture of excitement and sweat on his face.

"Suhyeon Kim!" he shouted as he approached. "Suhyeon!"

He stopped in front of me, breathing heavily, his eyes shining with excitement.

I stared at him.

"Hyeondong," I said. "Do you want to join my team?"

He blinked, confused by the coldness of my tone... but then, as if he suddenly understood everything, he smiled and knelt down with an almost theatrical conviction.

"The time has come!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms as if he were in a play. "It's time to form a group to unify Gangbuk!"

I smiled slightly.

"Fine," I replied. "Then you're part of my team now."

Hyeondong jumped up, happier than anyone else, while Gukja crossed his arms with his usual indifference.

But this time, he spoke up.

"Just to be clear..." he said quietly, without looking at anyone in particular. "I'm number two, right?"

I paused for a moment.

I looked at him.

And I said nothing.

I just patted him on the shoulder as I kept walking.

"And that's how you get two out of four... Very easy," I thought.

I shook my head, amused.

"Sometimes I think the original Suhyeon was given the cards... The missions are so easy."

I laughed inside, silently.

All that was left was to wait for the other two.

And while I did... the day died.

The afternoon slowly faded away, like a curtain drawn by invisible hands.

The warm lights of the sun went out one by one, replaced by dying streetlights and the dirty reflection of distant neon.

The city changed its face.

And so did I.

Because when darkness fell over Gangbuk, I was no longer the leader of a high school.

I was something else.

A specter with a mission.

Suhyeon walked silently, blending into the darkness.

His entire body was covered in black: a loose-fitting hooded jacket that hid the gleam in his eyes, a mask that covered half his face, and thin gloves that absorbed the light.

It wasn't just for caution.

It was part of the ritual.

The city must not recognize him... not yet.

Each step was silent. Calculated.

His shadows glided between the broken streetlights and cracked walls. No one looked at him. No one followed him.

And that was the idea.

"Tonight... I'm not looking for recognition."

"Just experience."

The system hummed softly in his mind as if sharing his excitement.

Suhyeon stopped at the intersection of two forgotten streets. He watched a group of students joking around, confident, unaware.

They weren't threats.

But they were targets.

And this time, not for glory.

But for letters.

And if the system continued as it had been...

Soon he would get more than bronze.

Suhyeon watched from the shadows, his hood casting a shadow over his eyes.

The students had gathered in an irregular circle in front of a closed store. At first, they looked like simple nighttime troublemakers, drinking cheap alcohol and laughing like idiots.

But when Suhyeon narrowed his eyes, something in the center of the group caught his attention.

A slender figure. Forced to kneel.

Loose hair. Wrinkled uniform.

A girl?

No. Not just a girl.

His pupils contracted.

It was Baek Chaerin.

The same girl who, until recently, had watched him from a distance in the hallways of Gangbukseo.

Her face was bruised. One cheek red. Her gaze lowered. And yet, firm.

An idiot pushed her shoulder while another laughed with a nasal squeak.

"What happened, little one? Very quiet now?" said the largest one.

While the others laughed.

It was then that the system activated a notification, bright and sharp in his mind.

[System]

Rescue Baek Chaerin from her abusers [0/6]

Reward: 1 gold card.

The night breeze couldn't cool the blood boiling in my veins.

My expression, which had remained neutral for days—perhaps weeks—suddenly changed.

My eyes darkened. Not because of the shadow of the hood... but because of something deeper. Something more visceral.

My pupils contracted. My jaw tensed.

And when I saw Baek Chaerin's face...

Hurt.

Broken.

A twisted, sick smile crossed my lips, like a crack splitting my face in two.

"Damn... bastards," I muttered in a raspy voice, distorted by rage.

My fists clenched so tightly that I felt my knuckles crack. The veins in my neck and face began to bulge like snakes under my skin.

"I'M GOING TO KILL THEM!"

I didn't care about the letter.

I didn't care about the reward.

I didn't even think about the system.

At that moment...

There was only one thing that existed.

Baek Chaerin.

That girl with the stern gaze and few words. The one who watched me with a mixture of distrust and curiosity. The one who had been close without trying to understand me, but without walking away either.

I spent little time with her.

Yes.

But it was enough.

Enough to notice how different she was from the rest.

The way she held the gaze of others without flinching.

Her silence.

Her sharp logic.

Her piercing sincerity.

The way she stayed... even when she could have left.

And now she was there, on the floor, surrounded by human trash.

"Those bastards..." I spat through clenched teeth.

"They laid a hand on her."

My vision clouded over for a moment.

And not because of weakness.

But because of something I didn't remember feeling since I woke up in this world.

Hate.

Pure. Raw. Unstoppable.

I lowered my head slightly.

My hair partially covered my forehead.

But my eyes remained fixed.

And darkness embraced me like an old friend.

I sprang into action.

Without thinking.

Without strategy.

Without a plan.

I ran straight toward the group like a bolt of lightning covered in shadows, my hood dancing in the wind and my rage setting the pace of my steps.

"Now you're going to learn..."

"What happens when you touch what's mine."

The footsteps echoed. Not because of the sound...

But because of the fury.

The first to notice my presence was the one closest to Baek Chaerin. He turned around with a stupid grin still on his lips.

"Who the hell—?"

He didn't finish the sentence.

My fist broke his jaw with a dry crack, dislocating it to one side with a grotesque snap. The guy fell to the ground like a broken doll, spitting teeth and blood before he could even scream.

[1/6]

The others turned around in shock, but I didn't give them time.

I slammed my fist into the second guy's stomach with such force that he vomited blood before hitting the ground. He doubled over, squealing like a pig before slaughter, but I had already grabbed his head with both hands.

"YOU DON'T DESERVE A SINGLE LETTER!" I shouted as I smashed his face against the concrete.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The floor was stained red. His nose disappeared under the collapse of bone. Gukja would vomit if he saw this.

[2/6]

The third one tried to pull a metal stick out of his backpack.

Too late.

I kicked his knee in the wrong direction. It sounded like a dry branch breaking. He fell to his knees, screaming.

I ripped the stick from his hands.

"You think this will make you strong?"

And with that, I hit him in the face.

One.

Two.

Until he stopped screaming. Until he stopped moving. Until the stick bent into the shape of his skull.

[3/6]

The fourth one came screaming, with a rusty knife.

He cut my arm.

But I didn't even feel it.

I just looked at him.

"You... you dared...?"

I grabbed his wrist and twisted it back, hearing the bone crack as it gave way. The knife fell. I kicked him in the chest so hard he flew into the wall. He fell among broken glass.

He screamed.

But I was already on top of him.

I stepped on his face.

Hard.

Until the scream turned into a gurgle.

[4/6]

The other two tried to run.

Mistake.

"Do you think you have the right to escape...?"

One stumbled. The other screamed something unintelligible.

I caught up with them like a shadow tearing through the air.

I grabbed the first one by the neck.

I dug my thumb into his windpipe until he stopped moving.

[5/6]

The last one fell to the ground, trembling.

Crying.

"Please... no... it wasn't my idea..."

My shadow covered him.

"Did you beg her too when they forced her to kneel?"

"No, I didn't—!"

"Then die anyway."

I threw him against the rusty metal pole.

It sounded like flesh against scrap metal.

Blood.

Teeth.

Wails.

[6/6]

[…]

[System]

Mission complete: Save Baek Chaerin from the abusers [6/6]

Reward: 1 gold card.

[…]

The sirens weren't sounding yet.

The city remained silent.

But the echo of my screams...

had already gone further than I could have imagined.

The lights flickered as if the neighborhood were holding its breath.

The blood was still warm on my knuckles.

And I... could barely remember to breathe.

I didn't hear the sound of the system.

I didn't care.

I was panting, covered in blood. My hands were shaking, not from fear... but from lingering rage.

—...

While the air smelled of blood and despair.

My breathing was heavy, ragged. I could still feel the furious beating in my temples, the echo of muffled screams, the crunch of bones shattering under my knuckles.

But then I saw her.

Baek Chaerin was still there, kneeling among the defeated bodies, her gaze lost on the floor, as if she still didn't understand what had just happened. Her hair covered part of her face, but I could see the dried blood on her cheek, the tremor in her lips.

And something inside me... broke.

Without saying a word, I slowly raised my hands.

First, I removed the hood covering my face.

Then I slid the mask down, letting the cold night air hit my sweaty skin.

I no longer needed to hide.

Not from her.

Chaerin looked up just as I dropped the mask.

Our eyes met.

Hers were crystallized, filled with a sadness that hurt to look at.

Mine... still stained with rage.

And without thinking, I walked toward her.

Each step left behind the monster I had been a second ago.

Each step brought me closer to a more human truth.

I knelt down beside her.

And I hugged her.

Not as a savior.

Not as an avenger.

I embraced her as someone who couldn't allow her to bear that pain alone.

She didn't react immediately.

But when she did... she collapsed against my chest.

Her fingers clung desperately to my jacket, as if I were the only anchor in a world that was falling apart.

She buried her face in my neck.

And then... she cried.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, almost without a voice.

"I... couldn't..."

I couldn't answer her.

Because her voice...

Pierced me.

I held her close.

As if that were enough to erase her fear, to tear away the wounds they had left her with.

"It's over," I murmured, my throat tight.

"It's over, Chaerin. No one else will touch you. I swear... on what's left of my soul."

The tears kept falling.

Silent. Bitter.

But real.

And I, my fists still stained with blood, held her.

Her sobs began to subside, but her body continued to tremble, as if the invisible wounds refused to heal.

I just held her tighter.

Part of me still wanted to go back, pick up the bodies, and destroy them once again for what they had done to her.

But now... all that mattered was her.

Gently, I pulled away just a little.

Baek Chaerin looked at me with swollen eyes, filled with tears, but also with something deeper.

Something broken.

I brought a hand to her head and slowly stroked her hair, brushing away the strands that clung to her forehead.

It was a small gesture.

But it had an immediate impact on her. Her eyes widened slightly, trembling, as if she didn't understand why... I was being so kind.

"You're safe," I whispered softly, barely audibly.

"I'll take care of it now."

I took off my black jacket, still warm from my body heat, and carefully placed it over her shoulders, making sure to cover her torn uniform.

She stood still.

She didn't say anything.

She just looked at me with that mixture of confusion, gratitude... and something that hurt.

Without asking permission, I knelt down in front of her and offered her my back.

"Come on. I'll take you home."

At first she didn't move. But after a second of hesitation, I felt the slight touch of her arms around my neck. Her body was still shaking, but no longer from fear... but from exhaustion.

With a gentle push, I carried her on my back.

She was light.

Too light.

Her chin rested on my shoulder, and although she tried to hide it... she continued to cry silently.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered for the second time.

And I just replied in my mind:

"You don't have to apologize."

I walked under the silent night with her on my back, the streets of Gangbuk stretching out in front of us.

The lights were flickering, the wind was cold...

but for the first time in a long time, I felt something that kept me warm inside.

As I walked with Chaerin on my back, wrapped in my jacket, with the night wind blowing against the silent buildings, I thought no one had seen us.

But I was wrong.

Some students...

A couple of pedestrians...

Perhaps a night worker who was more curious than sensible...

They had all stood still, hiding in alleys or behind poles, from the moment they heard the screams.

From the moment they saw my shadow explode against the abusers.

From the moment rage turned me inhuman.

And as my fists sank into flesh, and blood splattered the walls like grotesque brushstrokes...

Someone was recording.

A shaky phone.

A camera trying to focus on me even though everything was moving.

And just as my fury reached its climax...

"YOU DON'T DESERVE A LETTER!!!"

The scream pierced the night like a gunshot.

It wasn't just recorded.

It was recorded in everyone who heard it.

The video was shared in a matter of minutes.

First among Gangbukseo students.

Then among other high schools.

And then... it became impossible to stop.

People didn't know who he was.

They didn't know his real name.

They only saw a hooded, faceless silhouette...

breaking bones with his bare hands

and screaming something that didn't seem of this world.

That's how the nickname was born.

"The Card Breaker."

Or, as a Japanese student who posted the video on social media called him:

"Fuda Yaburi."

A phrase that spread like wildfire across forums, comments, and screens:

「札破り」— Fuda Yaburi.

The one who breaks cards.

The one who ignores the system.

The one who needs nothing but his fists.

They didn't know if he was a hero or a psychopath.

But they knew one thing:

He was real.

And now...

everyone was talking about him.

Even as I, oblivious to all that, continued walking under the flickering light of the streetlights, carrying Chaerin in silence...

While she silently tried to forget what she had just experienced...

The world was already beginning to fear me.

---

Message from the author:

Hey! What's up?

I hope you liked this chapter, because I'm not going to lie: I put more effort than usual into writing it. And that's because this is where the ascension of Fuda Yaburi — The Card Breaker — officially begins. From this point on, the story is going to start changing pace, and so is Suhyeon.

I want to make something clear:

What happened to Baek Chaerin was only minor physical aggression. Nothing beyond that happened. Even so, the situation was enough to provoke a brutal reaction in Suhyeon. Because for him… that was already too much.

In the next chapter there will be a small time skip, so get ready to see how both he and his new subordinates have evolved.

Interesting things are coming, more intense fights, and decisions that will shape the protagonist's path.

Thanks for continuing to read this story with me.

See you soon!!