“In a world where justice is dictated by power…”
The screen faded in from black. The sound of heavy rain poured over a dark alleyway. Then, the sound of chains breaking loose cracked through the relative silence.
“Beom Kang, you’re a free man,” the police officer said.
The camera was focused on a man’s legs, following his journey out of the prison cell.
“…and where goodness is nothing more than an illusion.”
Then, it all turned black once again, followed by Daniel’s low and chilling voice.
“I thought prison was my punishment. I was wrong.”
Quick cuts flashed across the screen. A blood-stained knife, a shattered family photo, and a pair of handcuffs clicking shut. After that, the sound of a little girl’s scream echoed through the night.
“Bound by a shared pursuit of justice and a past neither can escape.”
Then, another character whom Zeno recognized as Hyunbin Lee, a veteran actor who had been in the industry since he was a child, was shown on the screen. He was wearing a detective’s uniform, standing in front of Daniel and slamming his hands on the table.
“You’re a criminal, Beom. You’re the last person I’d trust with anything.”
The camera panned to Daniel, his face half-hidden in the shadows and his eyes burning with rage and grief.
The scene changed to a crime scene—a body covered by a tarp with police lights flashing in the rain.
Daniel whispered to himself. “They took everything from me. Now, I’ll take the truth.”
A fast-paced montage was now shown. Daniel flipped through old cases while Hyunbin’s detective character watched him suspiciously. Amidst that was someone’s shadowy figure lurking in the background. The tension continued to build with each cut.
“Why do I feel like you’re the only one who can see what I can’t?” Hyunbin asked, appearing amazed.
The screen flashed to a close-up of Daniel’s hands gripping a photograph of his family. The music became louder, creating an ominous feeling.
“If the justice system is broken, then the only way to fix it is to break it even more,” Daniel said, his face coming into view with a cunning smirk.
The screen cut to black. The sound of a heartbeat grew louder and faster. Then, a single line of text appeared.
BROKEN CHAINS OF JUSTICE
“That was so freaking cool!” Minji exclaimed, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
“It’s alright,” Eli shrugged, leaning against the bedpost.
“Alright?” Minji said in disbelief. “It’s the most anticipated drama of the first half of the year!”
Doha nodded in agreement. “With the combination of Daniel Byeon, the rising actor; Hyunbin Lee, the actor of all generations; Director Man-shik, “The Man” of action dramas; and Ari Bae, the beautiful, talented writer—it could not go wrong!”
Minji nodded. “It’s the dream cast. Wouldn’t it be funny if one of us was there?” she asked.
Eli scoffed. “Stop joking. Why would we be there? None of us aspire to be actors.”
Minji chuckled. “You’re right.”
Doha hummed, too, going back to his meal.
Zeno, on the other hand, observed their dynamic. Minji appeared bright but a little bit stupid. Eli was grumpy but had a soft heart. And Doha was the real-life male version of Dora, that explorer girl who could never find anything.
He stared at his system and saw it was still unawakened. If he only had one year left for this mission, then he needed to act fast. The way to arouse his meter was to find out more information about his host.
And Zeno already had an idea. This guy must be pathetic, and he needed to upgrade his lifestyle! Usually, for such a vague mission, the host actually wanted something specific to fulfill his deepest desires.
“So, we’re all friends?” he started off.
Minji was the first to turn to him. “Yup,” she said.
Surprising. He wasn’t a loner.
Time to move on to the other character cliches!
“Then, I must not have a mother,” Zeno continued.
“Oh, you have one,” Doha said. “She sends us kimchi every month.”
“I’m adopted. That’s why my name is weirdly Greek,” he said. Maybe, he had to find his real parents!
“No, your mom just likes Greek mythology,” Eli said.
“Hmm,” Zeno hummed, placing his hand under his chin. “Then, I don’t have a father.”
They looked at each other with pursed lips, making Zeno smirk.
A-ha! He needed to find his father to feel ordinary.
“Your original father left you when you were young,” Doha explained. “He’s dead now.”
Zeno frowned.
“And you have a stepfather,” Eli added.
“That I am not on good terms with,” Zeno assumed.
“Hmm, no,” Doha chimed. “He’s a good man. A bit stupid, at times…”
“Just call him a simp!” Eli said.
“Yeah, he’s a simp for your mom,” Doha chuckled. “You have three siblings, too.”
“Who hate me,” Zeno completed.
Minji laughed out loud and shook her head. “No! I mean, you’re the only one with a different father, but they still treat you like a real brother.”
This was getting even weirder.
“With that many people in the family, we must be struggling financially,” Zeno continued, determined to get to the bottom of this.
“You’re not rich,” Eli said. “But your family is probably the richest out of all of us. However, you’re right when you said it’s hard to raise four kids in this economy, so you moved out and started becoming independent.”
“Damn it,” Zeno said. What did he need to fulfill?
“You guys are my fake friends,” he deadpanned.
Doha’s eyes immediately watered. “How could you say that?” he exclaimed. “We’ve been friends for more than eighteen years! We grew up together in the seas of Busan.”
“Alright, alright. I believe you,” Zeno said just to stop him from crying.
“I can’t get a girlfriend,” he tried. “Never even talked to one, huh?”
“You’ve had a few girlfriends,” Minji said, turning to the side. “Most of them broke up with you because you were too plain, apparently.”
“Plain?” Zeno asked. “So, I’m just an ordinary man. No great qualities, but no significant problems either.”
“Yup!” the three of them said at the same time.
[Meter awakened]
[Mediocre Meter: 86%]
[+14% left for success.]
Zeno stood from the bed, staring at the system to see if it was real.
Then, a small smile appeared on his lips.