Chapter 2: Back to 2016

The morning sunlight poured through the cracked window of the tiny apartment.

Kang Tae-hyun stood motionless in front of the mirror.

Everything still felt unreal.

Ten years.

He had gone back ten years.

His younger face stared back at him. No scars. No expensive suit. No signs of the countless battles that had shaped the future King of Seoul.

Just an ordinary twenty-two-year-old man.

A poor university dropout with less than fifty thousand won in his bank account.

The irony was almost amusing.

In his previous life, he controlled billions of won.

Now he was practically broke.

Kang Tang looked around the room.

The old mattress.

The cheap desk.

The small refrigerator.

He remembered this place.

He had lived here while struggling to survive after his father's death.

Back then, every day had been a fight.

Every meal had been uncertain.

Every opportunity had seemed impossible.

But now things were different.

Because he knew the future.

A slow smile appeared on his face.

"I know where every piece on the board will move."

He walked toward his desk and opened an old notebook.

Inside were unfinished business ideas.

Dreams.

Plans.

Ambitions.

All abandoned because he lacked money and influence.

This time he would not fail.

This time he would build his empire much faster.

A lot faster.

His phone suddenly vibrated.

The screen displayed a familiar name.

Lee Do-jin.

For a moment, Kang Tang froze.

The traitor.

The man who had shot him in the heart.

His fingers tightened around the phone.

Rage rose inside him.

The memory of gunshots echoed through his mind.

Yet he quickly forced himself to calm down.

No.

Killing Lee Do-jin now would be stupid.

The future version of Lee Do-jin had betrayed him.

The young man calling him now had not done it yet.

Not yet.

Kang Tang answered.

"Hello."

"Tae-hyun! Where are you?"

Do-jin sounded cheerful.

Exactly as he remembered.

Friendly.

Loyal.

Trustworthy.

A perfect mask.

"I'm home."

"Come meet us. Ji-hoon is here too."

The second name made Kang Tang's eyes darken.

Han Ji-hoon.

Another future betrayer.

Fate truly enjoyed its jokes.

"We're at our usual place."

"I'll be there."

The call ended.

Kang Tang grabbed his jacket.

A cold expression appeared on his face.

Time to meet the ghosts of the future.

---

One hour later.

A small restaurant near Hongdae.

The smell of grilled meat filled the air.

Young students laughed at nearby tables.

Life seemed peaceful.

Normal.

Kang Tang entered quietly.

At the corner table sat two familiar faces.

Lee Do-jin.

Han Ji-hoon.

Ten years younger.

Ten years more innocent.

At least on the surface.

"Tae-hyun!"

Do-jin waved enthusiastically.

"You're late."

Kang Tang sat down.

Han Ji-hoon smirked.

"You look terrible."

"I didn't sleep much."

Not technically a lie.

Coming back from the dead tended to disrupt sleep schedules.

Humans complained about alarm clocks.

Try dying first.

The conversation continued casually.

Do-jin talked about work.

Ji-hoon complained about money.

Everything appeared normal.

Yet Kang Tang noticed details he had missed in his first life.

The greed in Ji-hoon's eyes.

The jealousy hidden beneath Do-jin's smile.

Small cracks.

Tiny flaws.

Seeds that would eventually grow into betrayal.

He finally understood.

Their betrayal hadn't happened overnight.

It had been growing for years.

Slowly.

Silently.

Like poison.

"What's wrong?"

Do-jin looked at him curiously.

"You've been quiet."

Kang Tang smiled.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"The future."

Both men laughed.

If only they knew.

---

That afternoon, Kang Tang visited a place he had not seen for years.

A small bookstore.

His heart began beating faster.

Because he knew exactly who would be there.

The door opened.

A bell chimed softly.

Rows of books stretched across the room.

And near the back shelf stood a young woman.

Long black hair.

Elegant posture.

Bright eyes.

Yoon Seo-ah.

The woman he had loved.

The woman he had lost.

For a moment, the world became silent.

In his previous life, they had met months later.

This time he found her immediately.

Seo-ah was reading a law textbook.

She looked serious.

Focused.

Beautiful.

Kang Tang simply watched.

A strange feeling filled his chest.

Relief.

She was alive.

Safe.

Smiling.

The painful memories of the future flashed before him.

The tears.

The arguments.

The distance he had created between them.

His pursuit of power had destroyed everything.

Not this time.

Never again.

As if sensing his gaze, Seo-ah looked up.

Their eyes met.

For a second neither moved.

Then she frowned slightly.

"Do I know you?"

Kang Tang almost laughed.

In his previous life she had asked exactly the same question.

Some things never changed.

"No."

"Then why are you staring?"

Direct.

Confident.

Very Seo-ah.

He smiled.

"Because I think we're going to become important to each other."

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how strange they sounded.

Seo-ah blinked.

Then narrowed her eyes.

"That's either very romantic or very creepy."

For the first time in days, Kang Tang laughed.

A real laugh.

Not the cold laughter of a mafia king.

Not the fake laughter of a businessman.

A genuine one.

Seo-ah looked surprised.

Then, despite herself, she smiled.

The future shifted slightly.

A tiny change.

A small butterfly effect.

But Kang Tang knew it was only the beginning.

---

That evening, Kang Tang climbed to the rooftop of his apartment building.

The city lights stretched endlessly before him.

Seoul.

His future kingdom.

His future battlefield.

He remembered every major event that would happen over the next decade.

Business crashes.

Gang wars.

Political scandals.

Secret alliances.

Every opportunity.

Every threat.

Every enemy.

He would use them all.

A cold wind blew across the rooftop.

Kang Tang stared at the city below.

"This time..."

His voice was quiet.

"This time I won't become a pawn."

The weak young man of the past was gone.

The ruthless king of the future had returned.

But this time he would move carefully.

One step at a time.

One victory at a time.

One enemy at a time.

Far away, dark clouds gathered above Seoul.

A storm was coming.

And Kang Tang intended to stand at its center.

Even if the entire city had to burn.

End of Chapter 2

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