After a moment of hesitation, Haenul decided not to meet up and went to sleep instead.

The next morning, as Haenul entered the classroom, he saw everyone gathered around his desk. He approached to find his desk defaced with chalk-written messages.

"Dog."

"How dare you spy on me?"

"Go die."

"Don't you ever think of stepping foot in this prestigious school again."

Haenul didn't know how to react. The students began bombarding him with questions.

"Haenul, are you okay?"

"Do you have any problems with someone?"

"Can someone get me a board cleaner?" Haenul said.

One of the students handed him the cleaner, and Haenul tried to wipe away the cruel words that had been written. Throughout the class, his mind kept replaying those insulting messages. When he got home, he opened his phone after a tiring day. He saw there were 99+ unread messages. He opened them to find insults from last night until early morning. The most recent message was from just now!?

"Did you like the gift?"

And there was another hidden message, which he had to accept the chat request to read.

ACCEPT CHAT REQUEST Haenul clicked on it.

The username popped up: @strangeok

"The consequences of not meeting me." The hidden message revealed.

"What do you want from me?" Haenul trembled as he typed a reply.

"If you want me to let you off, then show up at the place I told you, like yesterday, 15 minutes after this message."

Haenul looked at the message, but didn't reply. His mind was in turmoil, but he decided to go. From his room to XXX Park was just a short distance. Checking the time, it was still early. Haenul looked around and saw a drink stand, so he decided to buy a cup of Cookie Ice Blended to calm his nerves.

Haenul walked to the counter, staring at the menu and said, "One Cookie Ice Blended, extra cream with lots of cookie crumbs, please." When he looked up, he was shocked to see the staff member was none other than Seok. His heart began to race, and he froze.

"That'll be 5,000 won," Seok said with a fake smile, speaking in a gentle tone.

Haenul handed him the money, and after a while, his drink was ready. Seok handed it to him and whispered in his ear, "Wait for me to finish my shift. Don't think about running away."

Haenul could only lower his head and nod silently. He took the drink and left the shop, looking for a place to sit. It was spring, and the fallen leaves from the trees created a picturesque scene. Haenul sipped his drink while watching children playing in a sandpit with swings and slides. Staring at them, he suddenly remembered his dark past when he had never experienced anything like this. He took his drink and walked toward a solitary swing, separated from the others. Unconsciously, he felt a chill down his spine. Haenul turned around but saw no one. He sighed in relief, but when he looked back, he saw a figure sitting on the swing next to him. As he slowly focused his eyes, he was surprised to see Seok sitting there, smiling at him.

"Have you been waiting long? I know I make a great drink, no need to praise me. The cream is also my own addition, though it wasn't meant to be this much," Seok said, his smile unsettling.

"T-thank you. W-why did you call me out here?" Haenul stammered.

"Still asking? You pissed me off yesterday when you saw me and that girl. Do you like the words I left for you early this morning?"

Haenul didn't know how to respond and just stared at the ground.

"If you had just come to the park like I told you yesterday, this wouldn't have happened. I waited for you all night. I can't decide whether to punch your face or kick you."

"Please don't do that! I-I'm just a new student who accidentally explored the school area. I didn't mean to spy!" Haenul pleaded, panicking.

"Stop lying. Now you have to do as I say, or it's fine. I'll make sure you live in isolation and suffering," Seok said with a smile.

"W-what do you want me to do?" Haenul asked, trembling.

"Now's not the time to tell you. Just get out of my sight," Seok snapped.

"B-but..."

"I said GET OUT," Seok yelled.

Haenul stood up and walked home, feeling resentful and distressed.

When he entered his room, he rushed to his old cabinet to find what he was looking for. After rummaging through it, he pulled out a large box containing six notebooks, a tarot deck, and a needle.

The six notebooks were none other than the "SALVATION" journals he had filled with words. He set them aside, took the deck, shuffled it, and drew a card. This was the first time in a year that he had used the tarot deck. The card he drew was:

THE BEGINNING
"THE BEGINNING"

He taped the card into the SALVATION notebook and wrote down what had happened.

END CHAPTER 2

"THE BEGINNING"
THE CARD MENTIONED