1 The End
The dark sky, the pouring rain, the heavy air…
Everything crushed Ji-ho, whose body could not endure it anymore. It was as if the weight of the world had suddenly become too much to bear.
His life, his family, his friends…
Down on his knees, he couldn't grasp reality anymore. His mind was in turmoil, raging like a wild sea, and through all the chaos, a series of words kept echoing over and over again: Where did it go wrong?
"You were this millennium's prodigy, someone who could have drastically changed the course of history. Instead, you chose wrong and went astray, all to end up here. You're an absolute disgrace"
The grave and hoarse voice made Park's body shiver. He wanted to scream, fight, but his body simply refused to heed his command.
Deep down, he suspected, no, knew, that it was his fault.
The only thing left was to ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for letting his ego rip apart the entire fabric of his life.
With a wavering heart, he spoke.
"Colonel… Do you know why I did it?"
The large man smirked at the question, but his curiosity wouldn't let it rest.
"Why?"
Park raised his head, first meeting a gun's barrel that was directly pointed at his head. The sight shook him at first, but he kept going until he arrived at his counterpart's face, which he had seen thousands of times before.
When their eyes met, he felt an unknown hatred well from the deepest part of his being.
In front of him was someone he had trusted, confided in and once called a friend…
Yet there he was, on the verge of taking his life.
The torrent of emotions was just too much to repress. If it was going to end, he wanted to go without regrets.
Whilst filled with disdain and anger, he sneered.
"You thought you were taking advantage of a weak and spineless researcher, didn't you!? Too bad you're as stupid as they come. Seeing through your scheme was too easy"
The Colonel's demeanor immediately changed to one of hostility and madness.
"You shitty brat… Do you really think I won't kill you!??"
His voice was filled with ire and spitefulness, resulting in the trigger being halfway squeezed. The mechanism was now just itching to send a bullet straight through Park's skull.
However, Ji-ho didn't flinch, staring even more intensely into his gaze.
It was the first time, in his 22 years' old life, that the consequences of his actions didn't matter. He instead felt relief, relief that it was all coming to an end.
This triggered a flood of memory that sent him all the way back to his childhood.
Since as far as he could remember, he could always deconstruct any item he got his hands on, be it its characteristics, parts, mechanisms…
Nothing escaped his eye.
It was like he had conceived it himself. This had made his curiosity insatiable and his desire for knowledge limitless.
This gift allowed him to disassemble and reassemble a complex miniature toy car at the incredible age of 2. Evidently, his dexterity and intelligence astonished his entire family.
During this period in South Korea, climbing the social ladder was an arduous task for 'lower' families. The only ways to do so were to either have individuals accomplish extraordinary feats, or become highly respected public servants.
For the Park family, it was clear where the child was heading.
While using all of their financial resources, they tried to send Park, then aged 3, to a private elementary school, de facto opting to skip kindergarten.
After all, Ji-ho was a genius in their eyes, which meant that sending him with 'ordinary' people would be a waste of his talents.
However, their inexperience caused them to overlook one important fact : connections were just as important as money.
Thus every time they tried to contact prestigious establishments, they were laughed at or thrown out before even having the chance to plead their case.
These many setbacks eventually made the family give up on their plans and caused them to put Park in the public school system. Their last hope was that someone would recognize his genius in the end.
Luckily, their gamble paid off, and the child was soon acknowledged as the country's youngest and brightest mind.
His achievements, which ranged from re-engineering firearms to optimizing rocket propulsion systems, placed him at the forefront of the world, where Korea's influence began to grow exponentially.
Of course, this also meant that the Parks' social standing soared, to the point where they stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the most influential families of Seoul and Busan.
But it wasn't over yet.
After graduating at 14 years old from the prestigious Seoul National University, where he had earned the nickname "Crazy Park", the military, an institution that had obviously taken a keen interest in his potential, immediately approached the teenager.
Their offer had been simple : a salary making him one of Korea's richest men, no budget restrictions and an undefined research scope. Essentially, he was being given Carte blanche.
This much freedom made Ji-ho accept right away, which effectively took him away from the international spotlight.
The military also approved all his requests, from letting him pick his team members to allowing him access to whatever projects they were already working on.
His insatiable curiosity and probing terrorized the chain-of-command, but his incessant breakthroughs and advancements more than outweighed any of their objections.
In simpler terms, he was South Korea's military crown jewel and its innovative motor.
Even the U.S. and China paid close attention, an 'honor' that certainly wasn't lost on him.
However, this wasn't enough.
All his work, in his mind, was just centered on improvements to existing concepts.
He wanted more…
He wanted… something that would immortalize his name with the forefathers who previously sent Humanity to new heights.
He also didn't care how long or hard it'd be, and that even if it brought him to an early grave. He was convinced that his determination would be rewarded.
Fortunately, he had been right.
After years of seclusion and top secret research, his team, which he now considered family, made a revolutionary advancement.
They had harvested "light".
All of its properties and secrets had been uncovered and created, be it its speed, its radiations, its frequencies… Nothing had escaped them.
The practical uses were endless : traveling, medical equipment, weapons…
Humanity would finally be ushered into a new Era!
The machine and proof of concept was Park's lifetime achievement. It was an engineering masterpiece that had cost a fortune to develop, and it was so cutting-edge he was positive only he could recreate it.
After conducting a few tests validating their conclusions, they had requested an audience to show their results, which caused the officials to be completely blown away.
But before they could even recover from the shock, Park had hurriedly spoken.
"Let's show this to the world!"
How naïve…
After that, everything was a blur…
He remembered their grand speeches, their attempts to make him reconsider, but at the time, his indomitable nature and pride had completely ignored their pleas.
His vanity had simply overtaken his rationality.
And so here he was at the outskirts of Seoul in the mud and alone.
He should have known better…
Who would want to share such a discovery?
Still, he found some solace in the fact he had fought back.
When he noticed that his team members had begun to vanish one after the other, it didn't take long for him to realize he had made a terrible mistake.
While overflowed with rage and regret, he had hastily gone to the lab to destroy parts of his prototype and research, thus setting back the entire project several decades, perhaps centuries.
If his usefulness had 'expired', then nothing of his would be left behind.
Of course, his actions enraged the military, which immediately took action by issuing an execution warrant to his name.
Barely a day later, and here he was…
After this trip down memory lane, his rage slowly turned into melancholy.
If he had another chance, he would do things differently…
The relationships he hadn't pursued, the friends he had ignored, the things he hadn't enjoyed…
He had had so many choices, so why was he now facing death?
No…
He knew why.
His entitlement, his pursuit of immortal recognition, his stubbornness...
He was the sole responsible for his team's deaths, the fall of his family and the desecration of his name.
Strangely, taking on this burden gave him a sense of comfort and closure. It was the least he could do if he truly wanted to earn forgiveness.
When the Colonel saw Park's resigned face, he became angrier. How was this weakling so calm during his last hour?!
And for the last time, the sturdy man spoke.
"You should have known that being alive was better than being a fool"
The final squeeze and metallic sound of the gun's hammer was the last thing Ji-ho heard before everything faded into obscurity...
***
[System… Initiated]
[Evaluation… Passed]
[Recovery of memories and abilities… Achieved]
[Reboot sequence… Initiated]
…
…
…
[Reboot sequence... Successful]
[Welcome to Arcadia, Engineer Ji-ho!]
