After being forced to live in the warehouse, Joo Seunghyuk survived on leftovers—half-eaten rice, instant noodles, whatever he could find. Even that wasn’t consistent. Sometimes, he barely managed a single meal a day. Other times, he didn’t eat at all.

It was no wonder his body failed to grow. Joo Seunghyuk, though twelve years old, looked pitifully small and underdeveloped.

On top of that, he wore the discarded clothes of the servants. They hung off his frame—so oversized that one shoulder slipped out, and his pants dragged across the ground.

He looked unmistakably like a beggar. And that sight, that wretched appearance, brought Joo Jeonghan immense satisfaction.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing! Show some respect to the young master!”

Even as Joo Taehan mocked him, Joo Seunghyuk continued scrubbing the floor in silence. Then he slowly lifted his head.

“......”

That was when Joo Taehan went speechless.

Joo Seunghyuk hadn’t bathed properly. His skin was filthy, his hair a tangled mess.

But his face—refined as if sculpted—was beautiful enough to overshadow the grime and rags. His eyes, devoid of emotion, gave off an eerie, otherworldly aura.

Joo Taehan was caught off guard. That presence silenced him.

“Tch. As if a filthy little beggar like that would know anything about manners.”

He raised his voice out of spite, refusing to admit that he had been overpowered by a mere glance. But Joo Seunghyuk only gave him a passing look, then quietly resumed scrubbing the floor.

It was as if Joo Taehan didn’t even exist.

Joo Taehan’s clenched fist trembled.

He’d come all the way to this boring, remote island just to insult that bastard. The thought of humiliating him had excited him.

And yet, it was like he didn’t even register.

Instead, he was the one trembling with humiliation.

“Fuck!”

Unable to contain his rage, Joo Taehan grabbed the bucket of filthy mop water and dumped it all over Joo Seunghyuk.

The stench from the water—murky from washing rags—was overwhelming.

“Ha! Look at this little beggar! Fucking priceless!”

Joo Taehan burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. But Joo Seunghyuk didn’t blink. He picked up the rolling bucket and quietly made his way downstairs.

He refilled it with water and began mopping again. Though he was drenched head to toe, he didn’t think to dry himself or change clothes. Not that he had anything else to wear anyway.

Joo Taehan, watching him, exploded with rage.

“Fucking little beggar! Bastard! Filthy fake brat!”

He hurled every curse he could think of. But Joo Seunghyuk ignored him completely, as if the words didn’t even reach him. In the end, Joo Taehan walked away—consumed by a defeat he couldn’t name.

***

During their stay, Joo Taehan persistently tormented Joo Seunghyuk. The household staff joined in too, eager to curry favor with the second young master.

Unlike his brother, Joo Jeonghan seemed largely indifferent to Joo Seunghyuk, but he made no effort to stop the abuse.

“This is so fucking boring! Let’s just go, hyung! That little beggar doesn’t even react. There’s nothing to do on this damn island!”

By the third day, Joo Taehan was whining.

The mansion had once belonged to their biological father, but Joo Jeonghan had no emotional attachment to the man who died before he was born.

In fact, just thinking about the truth—that his real father was Joo Gyeongchan, a powerless civilian and not Chairman Joo Wonchan—was enough to fill him with disgust.

“...Fine.”

Perhaps tired of his brother’s complaints, Joo Jeonghan agreed to cut the visit short # Nоvеlight # and return immediately.

As the two prepared to leave, the head servant Park Cheolseop bowed and groveled before them.

“Masters, please have a meal before you go. Everyone worked so hard to prepare it for you.”

“I’d like to, but we can’t delay. We have a flight to catch.”

Joo Jeonghan declined politely, then glanced toward Joo Seunghyuk, who was sitting in front of the warehouse.

“Does that thing even know how to read?”

“No, sir. He’s illiterate.”

“Teach him to read Hangul at least.”

With that, Joo Jeonghan turned and left the estate.

***

A few days later, Park Cheolseop threw a black plastic bag into the warehouse. Inside were five books.

“Tch. Telling me to educate this fake brat—our young master must be feeling generous.”

He left without another word, grumbling to himself.

By now, Joo Seunghyuk had grown used to Park Cheolseop and could roughly guess what he meant.

He must’ve been told to give him these books.

Since coming to the island, Joo Seunghyuk had learned nothing. He’d never even held a book before.

He opened one. The texture of the paper felt strange—he hadn’t touched a book since he was six.

All five were used.

Three were children’s Hangul workbooks. Someone had already filled them in, every exercise solved.

The remaining two were outdated web novels, riddled with deliberate spelling mistakes and littered with emoticons on every page—not remotely suited for learning.

The selection reeked of spite.

But Joo Seunghyuk showed no anger or resentment. As if he couldn’t be bothered, he simply immersed himself in reading.

***

Learning alone, without any foundation, was painfully difficult.

So he asked the staff for help. They normally would’ve ignored him, but with Joo Jeonghan’s command, they grudgingly answered—though never completely.

“What’s this word?”

He pointed at an emoticon in one of the web novels.

By now, he’d finished the children’s books and moved on to the novels—but he kept encountering unfamiliar terms that weren’t in the textbooks.

“Ugh, why are you asking that?” 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Annoyed, the staff brushed him off. No one ever explained anything properly.

‘ㅠ_ㅠ, >_<’

What on earth did these mean...?

He copied the symbols with his fingers over and over, but no matter how many times he wrote them, he couldn’t figure them out.

“Ugh...”

Just as he went back to puzzling over the book, a sudden wave of heat surged through his body.

Then he collapsed.

***

When Joo Seunghyuk collapsed, the entire staff went into a panic.

Was it the rotten food? The expired instant noodles? Maybe it was the freezing water dumped on him in the middle of winter?

There was an old cauldron right next to the warehouse. Since Joo Gyeongchan’s death, no one had used it for cooking. But Park Cheolseop kept lighting fires in it daily just to torment Seunghyuk—filling the air with acrid smoke.

He’d been breathing that smoke constantly. Maybe it made him sick.

There were too many possible causes. It was impossible to pinpoint the reason.

“What should we do? Should we call a doctor?”

They hesitated—should they summon the island’s only doctor? Contact the Sungan main house?

“Call a doctor, my ass!”

Park Cheolseop roared.

“But he might really die!”

The fever was dangerously high. He was unconscious. It wasn’t just a cold or indigestion.

“She’s right. Maybe we should move him to a room...”

“You idiots! You don’t get it, do you? Don’t you know what the Chairman wants? He was dumped here to die! The fact that he’s still breathing is a miracle. Leave him.”

If he died, they could just say he drowned while playing near the water. Sure, an autopsy might reveal he died of illness, not drowning—but that could be covered up too. Bury the body early and say it was never found.

Who would question it? The Chairman wouldn’t care.

But if they called a doctor, things might spiral. The island doctor was a nosy local. If he got suspicious and reported them to the police or child welfare...

That could drag them down too.

“But...”

“No buts! Do you have any idea what kind of shitstorm would break out if this got out? You ready to take that fall?”

Joo Seunghyuk had been brought to the island at six. He’d just turned thirteen.

They’d been abusing him for seven full years.

If that ever came to light, the public backlash would be catastrophic.

Silenced by Park Cheolseop’s outburst, the staff nodded grimly.

In the end, they all agreed not to call a doctor, even if Joo Seunghyuk died.

“Alright. So we’re all in agreement. If that little bastard dies, we’re all responsible. Don’t any of you dare pretend otherwise later.”

“Yes.”

They all nodded.

KRAAAAK!

Suddenly, the ground trembled and a horrific screech rang out.

“Mother of God!”

“What was that?!”

Startled, they rushed to the windows.

And froze.

A swarm of monsters was flooding through the broken gates, pouring into the estate.

***

“Haa... haa...”

Joo Seunghyuk’s breath came in searing gusts. His joints felt like they were shattering. His entire body felt like it was melting away.

“Haa... haa...”

Any ordinary child would’ve cried for their mother. Or father. Or grandmother. Or even a pet.

But Joo Seunghyuk had no one.

He had no family to depend on. No friends. Nothing he cherished, nothing he liked.

He bore all the pain alone.

Barely clinging to life, panting in agony, he suddenly heard a massive crash.

CRASH!

The door exploded inward.

A two-headed wolf-like monster burst in.

Joo Seunghyuk forced his head up. The monster lunged, jaws wide open.

And in that moment, something inside him exploded.

It was his Awakening.

Joo Seunghyuk hadn’t fallen ill—his fever had come from the massive surge of mana blooming inside a body too small to contain it.

And now, with the monster’s attack, his Awakening had finally triggered.

He released his mana in a blast—directly at the charging beast.