ALL NOVEL Chapter 38
While I was walking, I got hit on the back of my head.
Back in the days when I was still on the school lunch program, after finishing class and heading home, someone whacked me on the back of my head. Who the heck would hit the innocent lunch eater on the back of the head?
Was it that guy from yesterday? The one who yelled, “It’s my turn!” and then jumped channels with a massive area skill. I didn’t know he’d be so persistent after doing that once, chasing after me with whispers.
Looking back, he really was quite something. Even when I escaped to another channel, he followed me to the end. Was it that important? It was a game I barely played, but the craziness of that time still makes me a bit scared when I think about it.
Anyway, if it wasn’t that guy, then there was no one else who would hit me on the back of the head.
“Who was that?!”
Fuming, I turned around and found a guy grinning at me.
“Is that you, Yoon Ho! It’s been a while!”
“Who… are you?”
“Don’t you remember uncle? You used to visit your parents’ place when you were little!”
“I’m sorry. I really don’t.”
No matter how much I searched my memory, I couldn’t recall who he was.
“Kang Yoon-ho. You’re in high school here, right? You’re in your first year this year, right?”
“Yes.”
Wow, he even remembers my age. Who is he?
“Seriously! You really don’t remember me? I used to buy snacks for you when you had those chubby cheeks!”
“Ha ha.”
Not a shred of memory of someone who bought me snacks.
“So, how’s your dad?”
“Yes, he’s healthy.”
“Good. When you go home, tell your dad you ran into Mr. Choi, who used to work with him ten years ago. Take care!”
The guy who hit me on the back of the head waved goodbye and vanished.
What lingered after he disappeared was a tingling sensation on the back of my head, confusion, and guilt for not recognizing him.
That day, I went home and told my dad what happened.
“Huh? Who’s Mr. Choi? I don’t know anyone like that. Who is he? I can’t remember, no matter how hard I try.”
What on earth? What am I supposed to do if Dad doesn’t remember?
The questions from that day continued until I finally stole someone else’s “It’s my turn!”
The question was answered months later.
That guy went to the police station.
As it turns out, he was just a crazy dude who liked to hit kids on the back of the head for fun.
First, he’d smack them and then check roughly to see their name tag. Name, tag color. From that, he’d figure out their age and what grade they were in. Then, if he acted friendly with their parents, it was game over.
Though most students were somewhat stiff-minded now, if they said they were close to their parents and that they were seen by someone who knew them as a kid, it was tough for them to get mad.
Of course, they could be really furious about being hit. In that case, your best bet was to keep a calm, smiling face.
With a smile, nobody would spit on your face; with a smile, you could at least pretend to know the student with minimal info. That way, no student could just lash out for no reason.
The crazy guy ended up in the police station because he got caught by the parents of a student he happened to meet.
In the end, that’s what a scam is.
Even if you plan it meticulously like in a movie or drama, it’s still a scam, but throwing just enough information to let the other person imagine and deceive them can also be considered a scam.
The method I used to survive with the Heavenly Killing Star was a similar one.
“Wake up.”
Someone shook my shoulder to wake me.
I felt tense, but it seemed I had dozed off for a moment. Hearing animal sounds in the mountains at night helped me fall asleep, it seems.
“Who? Gasp!”
Starting off strong. Before my sleepy head could fully register, just as I turned my fuzzy sight toward the Heavenly Killing Star, her hand lunged at me.
Pain shocked an odd part of me, and my throat felt weird. Did she hit my pressure point? I couldn’t make a sound at all.
Is this blood stabbing? In the martial arts world, humans have this all-purpose switch in their bodies. If you hit it, they can’t speak or are forced to sleep.
I looked at the Heavenly Killing Star with a shocked face. She pressed her hidden knife against my neck.
“You know me.”
I shook my head left and right. No, I have no idea. This face is brand new to me.
“We met not long ago at the Assassin’s Guild.”
I stared hard at Cheon So-hee before tilting my head. No, I’m telling you, I’ve never seen your face before.
“Oh! Right.”
It seemed Cheon So-hee finally realized something, and her body and face began to change. This girl is surprisingly clumsy.
The face of a man shifting into a woman’s face, the male body morphing into a female one. Fascinating. Is she using both the Reversal Technique and the Transformation Technique?
Feigning surprise at watching Cheon So-hee’s body transform before my eyes, I thought, “I’m just an ordinary person. I can’t understand this situation. Let’s use self-hypnosis.”
“Now do you understand?”
Cheon So-hee’s face had transformed into the one I saw just a few days ago.
I nodded vehemently. I can’t speak because my mouth is sealed, so just hurry up and unseal it.
“I saw this.”
Cheon So-hee showed me a fake diary right in front of me. Thank goodness. I worried she’d use another method if I didn’t see that first. At least the diary had done some groundwork.
I glanced back and forth between the diary and Cheon So-hee. Now we just need to start. Please, release the seal on my mouth.
“From now on, I’ll let your voice out. But if you scream, I will kill you, so be prepared.”
Cheon So-hee found and pressed a voice switch on my body. Fascinating. I wonder if I could learn something like this. It’d be useful to know about a horniness switch.
I purposely thought lightly and relaxed my body. I couldn’t let my voice be tense. Let’s keep it natural.
“Lady, I apologize, I think I mistook you for someone else. Please spare my life.”
The moment my voice was freed, I carefully dodged the hidden knife in front of me, knelt down, and bowed. Please spare me. This is so scary. I gotta tremble.
“Don’t lie. You recognized me.”
“It seems my chance encounter with you shared a similar name with a child I knew. I’m very sorry for causing you to come here due to that misunderstanding. Please, just spare my life.”
I needed to lay more groundwork.
“We might not be so different, right?”
I lifted my head a bit while still bowing. Short hair and red eyes. This was definitely the Cheon So-hee I knew. But, in truth, she’s different.
“Since it was nighttime then, I mistook your black hair and red eyes. But now that I see you in the light of the guest room, you’re clearly a different person.”
“A different person?”
“Your face is different. The Cheon So-hee I remember isn’t you. The Cheon So-hee I know was a girl destined to make the boys of this town, or even of Joseon, cry. You look very different now.”
The Cheon So-hee in front of me is the one I know but yet looks different. Her ordinary female face was a result of the Transformation Technique and the Reversal Technique.
Cheon So-hee was suddenly silent.
Shocked, huh?
Because someone here knows the real face of the Heavenly Killing Star. I doubt even the members of the Salmak know her real face. But I do.
“…Wait a minute.”
Cheon So-hee started to touch her face, returning to her original appearance. Air pressure began to build in certain parts of her body.
Yeah, that face. That body. If she just keeps her mouth shut, she’s a beauty. The real Cheon So-hee stood before me.
“Cheon… So-hee? Is that really you?”
I plopped onto the ground, dumbfounded, staring at someone who shouldn’t be in front of me.
“You truly don’t recognize who I am?”
Someone who knows the name of the Heavenly Killing Star. Someone who knows the real face. The only person who is aware of Cheon So-hee’s past.
“Cheon So-hee? Huh?”
She only knew the name she recognized, which was known solely by her in this world.
But that person didn’t exist within her memories.
The day all the townspeople died, she lost most of her memory in shock.
“I don’t know who you are…”
She seriously didn’t recognize me at all. No matter how hard she tried to remember, she couldn’t recall someone who existed in her past. Cheon So-hee was lost in confusion.
[That day, all those townsfolk died.]
The content written in the diary. Only she and those who kidnapped her that day knew this truth.
‘Your face is different.’
Only a few know her true face. The likelihood of a stranger from Joseon knowing her face is low.
‘Cheon So-hee?’
She only knew a name that only she recognized in this world.
However, that person didn’t exist within her memories.
On the day all the townspeople died, the people who remembered her name perished along with them.
The Heavenly Killing Star was kidnapped and raised in an assassin group.
Since no one could call her name, her name, Cheon So-hee, remained unknown.
Even her master from the assassin group only referred to her as the Heavenly Killing Star, never bothering to discover her name. The Salmak was a place for breeding expendable assassins, not to nurture ones along with mentorship.
Cheon So-hee trained under the Salmak and became the 20th assassin. Her first assassination mission. No matter how undeniably talented the Heavenly Killing Star was, she assassinated a martial artist who was impossible to kill in a single blow. Since that day, no one doubted her abilities again.
As time passed, the 15th assassin in the group died. Cheon So-hee became the 15th assassin. The 10th assassin died, and she became the 10th. The 8th assassin died, and she became the 8th. Falsely branded, “20, 15, 8, 5.” Her name changed constantly.
To assassins, names didn’t matter. The mission was what counted.
Thus, Cheon So-hee buried her name in her heart.
The 5th assassin.
An elite assassin.
The Heavenly Killing Star.
That was her current name.
She was alone in remembering her true name.
Cheon So-hee had lived this way until now.
“Cheon So-hee.”
She never imagined the day would come when someone would call her name.
“Who…? I don’t know.”
Confusion cloaked her expression, dulling her features.
Huh?
Dull expression?
This girl feels a bit odd. No, she feels very odd.
From the moment we first met, a sense of unease washed over me.
The Cheon So-hee I knew was a crazy woman. One who killed indiscriminately without a shred of guilt. A girl who would suit having blood splattered all over her face while shouting like a madwoman.
But now, the vibe feels entirely different. What’s going on?
Once I caught a breath, my mind raced back.
Heavenly Killing Star. What’s her defining trait in martial arts? Madness. Killing intent. Murderous talent. If she was the enemy, she’d either be a murderer or a lunatic. What’s her setting? Villainy. Murder. Driven mad by the intent to kill.
Consumed by the intent to kill?
Ah! So you’re not crazy yet!
Internally, I cheered. For a madwoman, a weapon is effective, but a mouth isn’t. I pretended to be weak at the start to keep Heavenly Killing Star from getting annoyed with me, but this was a different story. In this state, my plan could work out even better.
“Cheon So-hee.”
I stood up from my spot and called the dazed Cheon So-hee. She looked shocked for some reason.
It connects. Just calling her name makes it resonate.
Now, time for the clincher.
The one person who knows her real name.
The person who knows her true face.
The only person who understands Cheon So-hee’s past.
“Cheon So-hee. Cheon So-hee. It’s me, Kang Yoon-ho, your childhood friend who used to play with you! You really can’t recognize me?”
From now on, I’m Cheon So-hee’s childhood friend.