Weak Class of Anti-Hero
Chapter 48: A New Life, A New Lie

Chapter 48: A New Life, A New Lie

I stood there, frozen, staring at the name on the screen.

Tae-Hyun. The little brother she had told me about. The one she was working so hard for.

This wasn’t a "rehabilitation center." It was a prison. A laboratory of horrors.

And I had just saved him. By pure chance.

My father saw the shock on my face. His amused smile vanished, replaced by understanding.

"It’s the girl... isn’t it?" he asked softly. "Ha-Yoon. It’s her."

I nodded, unable to speak.

Fate had a truly twisted sense of humor.

"So, what do we do?" my father asked. "We can’t just drop him on her doorstep. He needs help. Medical follow-up. And we’ll need a good story to explain where he’s been for three years."

I looked at the boy, still asleep on my shoulder. He looked so young. So innocent.

He deserved to be reunited with his sister. He deserved a chance at a normal life.

My decision was made.

"You," I said to my father. "Your organization. You have resources. Doctors. Psychologists. You can help him. Really help him."

I looked him straight in the eye. "And you can create a credible story. Say he was found with amnesia, that he was in a witness protection program, anything."

It was the first time I had ever asked him for anything.

He smiled. A real, fatherly smile.

"Of course, kid," he said. "It’s the least we can do."

He opened another portal. "Let’s go. Let’s get this kid home. Well, almost."

We took Tae-Hyun to the secret base. He was immediately taken in by the best medical team. They began working to stabilize his body and purge the last traces of Thorne’s experiments.

My father put his agents on the case, creating a perfect cover story.

I sat in a waiting room, drinking horrible coffee from a vending machine. I had done everything I could.

The rest was out of my hands.

After a few hours, a nurse came to see me. "He’s awake. He’s asking to see his sister."

I took out my terminal. I looked at Ha-Yoon’s number.

It was the hardest call of my life.

"Hello? Ji-Hoon?" Her voice was full of sleep. I had woken her up.

"Ha-Yoon," I began, my throat dry. "I... I have some news. It’s about your brother."

A silence. Then, her voice, filled with sudden anxiety. "My brother? What’s going on? Is he okay?"

"He’s fine," I said, quickly. "More than fine. We... we found him."

"Found him? How? Where?"

"It’s a long story. I’ll explain. But he’s safe. He’s in a private hospital. He wants to see you."

I heard a muffled sob on the other end of the line.

"I... I’m coming," she managed to say.

I gave her the address of a luxury hospital in Gangnam, one of the organization’s fronts. "I’ll wait for you outside."

I hung up.

I had kept a promise I had never made.

And I didn’t know how I was going to explain all of this to her. The lie. The truth. Everything.

I waited for her at the hospital entrance. The sun was beginning to rise.

She arrived in a taxi, running out before the car had even come to a complete stop. She didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were desperately searching for something.

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice trembling.

I led her inside, to a luxurious private room.

Tae-Hyun was there, sitting on the bed, wearing clean clothes. He looked a little lost, but he was whole. Healthy.

When he saw his sister, his face lit up.

"Noona!"

She burst into tears. She ran to him and hugged him, crying all the tears she had held back for three years.

I stood by the door, watching the scene. It was a private moment, a moment that didn’t belong to me.

After a long moment, Ha-Yoon looked up. She looked at her brother, then at me.

"How?" she whispered. "Ji-Hoon... how did you...?"

My father walked in at that moment, dressed in civilian clothes, looking like a hospital administrator. He played his part perfectly.

"Your brother was found during one of our operations," he said in a calm voice. "He was part of a group of people kidnapped by a criminal organization. He has suffered trauma and has partial amnesia. But with time and rest, he should make a full recovery."

It was a simple story. Clean. No monsters or secret labs.

Ha-Yoon believed it. She wanted to believe it.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with a gratitude so intense it made me uncomfortable.

"You... you saved him," she said.

I said nothing. I just nodded.

She thought I was a hero.

But I knew the truth. I was the monster who had, by pure chance, done a good deed.

The next few days were a whirlwind.

Ha-Yoon spent all her time at the hospital with her brother. I visited them several times. My father’s organization paid for all the expenses, provided the best care.

Tae-Hyun was recovering quickly. His amnesia was real, but selective. He didn’t remember the lab. Just a long "bad dream." It was a blessing.

But there was a shadow hanging over it all.

A shadow named Yoo-Na.

Ji-Soo tried to call her. To tell her the incredible news. Her phone was off.

She hadn’t returned to the academy. She hadn’t gone back to her parents’ house. She had disappeared.

Every time Ji-Soo talked to me about how worried she was about her sister, a knot formed in my stomach.

I knew where she was. Or rather, where she was no longer.

I knew I was the one who had made her disappear.

How could I explain that to her?

How could I look at Ji-Soo, the girl who thought I was her savior, and say, "By the way, I killed your sister because she pushed the monster in me to its limit"?

It was an impossible truth to tell. A poison I had to keep to myself.

This secret began to create a rift between us. I became more distant, colder. I couldn’t be close to her, not with this lie between us.

One afternoon, as I was about to leave the hospital, Ji-Soo stopped me by the arm.

"What’s wrong, Ji-Hoon?" she asked, her gaze searching mine. "You’ve been so... distant, these past few days. Did I do something wrong?"

"No," I said, looking away. "It’s not you. It’s me."

It was the only truth I could give her.

Ji-Soo’s face was full of confusion and pain. I couldn’t bear to see her like that.

"Listen," I said, placing my hand on hers. "It’s complicated. Very complicated. But I promise... we’ll talk about it. One day. When all of this is over."

She didn’t seem convinced, but she nodded.

Just then, my terminal vibrated. A call from my father.

"Excuse me," I said to Ji-Soo.

I went out into the hallway to answer.

"We have a problem," my father said, without preamble. "Or rather, an opportunity."

"What’s going on?"

"The academy’s board of directors," he explained. "They know. I had to reveal part of the truth about Jae-Wook’s high treason. They’re in a panic. The academy is headless, and the scandal threatens to erupt."

He paused.

"They need a new leader. Someone strong, respected, who knows the secrets of this world. They offered me the position."

I was surprised. "And you accepted?"

"I accepted," he confirmed. "It’s the only way to clean up the system from the inside. To reform the academy so it becomes what it always should have been."

There was a silence.

"And this concerns you directly," he added. "I can’t lead and be in the field at the same time. I need someone I can trust on the inside. I need my eyes and ears on campus."

I knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

"You’re going back to Apex. Not as a shadow agent. As a student. The S-rank Kang Ji-Hoon is back. And you’re going to help me change everything."

Going back to Apex. The idea seemed strange. It felt like returning to a past life.

After hanging up with my father, I went back to the room.

Ha-Yoon was sitting by her brother’s bed, who was sleeping peacefully. She looked exhausted, but happy.

"Ha-Yoon," I began, my voice soft. "I need to talk to you."

She turned to me.

"I... I’m leaving," I said. "Soon. I have to go back to my ’school.’ My work there isn’t finished."

Her smile faded. "You’re leaving? But... for how long?"

"I don’t know. But I wanted to tell you... if you ever need anything, for your brother, or for you... you can call me. Anytime."

It was a way of saying goodbye.

But she shook her head. Her eyes filled with a determination I had never seen in her.

"No," she said. "I don’t want to call you. I want to come with you."

I was stunned. "What? But... your studies? Your job?"

"I don’t care," she said, standing up. "My place is with my brother. And if you leave, how could I ever thank you? How could I...?" She blushed. "I want to be with you, Ji-Hoon. If it means leaving Itaewon, I’m ready. Take us with you."

Just then, my father, who must have been listening from the hallway, entered the room, a big smile on his face.

"Excellent idea!" he said, as if nothing had happened. "In fact, I’ve analyzed your brother’s file. The residual energy in him... he has the potential to become a high-level Awakened."

He looked at Tae-Hyun, then at Ha-Yoon.

"This would be the perfect opportunity for the boy to integrate into Apex Academy. Under my guidance, of course. He’ll receive the best training and education there."

Ha-Yoon looked at me, her eyes full of hope.

My father was building my new life, whether I wanted it or not.

And it seemed that this new life included a family.