Maverick (Blank)
Chapter 8: Blank's Childhood (7)
[1 Year Ago: Family Mission (Duration 3 Months)]
"Bro Kaeri, do you like reading books?"
Kaeri shook his head at the 11-year-old boy.
"Why not? Reading books is fun!"
Kaeri just looked at him, then his gaze focused on the little boy's father and mother.
(Don't get too close, kid... or I might develop feelings.)
When evening came.
"I must take my leave. Thank you for giving me almost 3 months to work here," said Kaeri.
The father and mother smiled. They were all happy, although their child was very sad when Kaeri went home and was no longer here.
The father said, "Yes, take care. If only your family weren't sick, you might have stayed longer. My child really enjoyed playing with you."
The child was shy even though his face was streaked with tears. "Brother... see you again..."
Kaeri smiled at them all and left the house.
That night.
"Wah, the book has so many pages."
Click.
"Eh... why did the power go out?"
The little boy searched for a flashlight in the dark night with no electricity. He crawled and tried to feel around.
"Ugh... where is it..." then he found the flashlight after searching for a while. "Ah, here it is... I'll tell Mom and Dad so they can turn it back on quickly. I was studying, you know."
The boy opened his door. He walked along the pitch-dark second-floor hallway, his hair standing on end, but he quickly ran to his parents' room.
Creak creak.
"Why is the door locked?" Then he heard a voice from outside. "Hello, sir, is anyone home?"
It was the voice of the security guard on duty. The boy shouted, "On the 2nd floor here, sir!"
Then the security guard went up to the 2nd floor and asked, "Are you inside, sir?" The boy nodded. "Hello, sir!"
No answer, even though they should clearly be home now. Then the security guard quickly acted.
Crash.
The door was kicked open, and the flashlight beam pointed at them. But the security guard who saw it was utterly shocked. His body trembled, his eyes widened, and his legs went weak instantly.
"What is it, sir?" The boy also saw the same thing. Suddenly, he fell and screamed hysterically. "HAAAAA!"
In a narrow alley at night, Kaeri was seen calling someone.
"Hello, it's me. Codename Kaeri. Target: family embezzling $1,000,000 in community funds has been dealt with."
[Haha, that's good. The client will be very happy. They were scumbags who were immune in prison even as suspects. Is everything taken care of?]
"That was easy. 3 months was enough to learn all the security. The remaining child wasn't with the two of them."
[You're cruel... you could have just killed them all. The child is traumatized because of you.]
(...)
[Back to the Present]
In an old house with natural wooden material beginning to rot, a boy walked over to his brother.
"Hey bro, are you free?"
The young man answered with a nod. "Of course."
Blank smiled, returning to his room and happily bringing the book 'Shattering the Status Quo'.
"Let's read this together!"
His brother was curious. "What's that book about?"
"I don't know either, that's why let's read it together."
Kaeri looked at the book cover, interested in the written title. Although the book looked a bit old, it made him a little curious. He began flipping through the front pages.
---
[Table of Contents]
[Chapter 1: How to Accept Yourself (1-54)]
[Chapter 2: How to Accept Circumstances (55-105)]
[Chapter 3: How to Change Yourself (106-198)]
[Chapter 4: How to Change Circumstances (199-278)]
[Chapter 5: Analogy of Systems and the Habit of Questioning (279-385)]
[Chapter 6: How to Create Your Own System (386-458)]
[Chapter 7: Ready to Change What You Have (459-508)]
---
"Whoa, the book seems interesting, huh."
Blank was excited, his eyes sparkling, hoping to study together. "Bro, try reading this page. I don't understand."
Flip.
The young man began reading. "Whether black or white... nothing is perfect..."
"Do you understand, bro?"
The young man smiled. "White is usually symbolized as good, black as evil. So the point is, good things aren't necessarily perfectly good, and evil things aren't necessarily completely evil."
Blank scratched his head, still not understanding.
The young man patted his brother's head. "Maybe you'll understand when you're older."
"Hmm... is that so?"
The young man smiled until his teeth showed from the corners of his lips. (This book is just like my story.)
"Eh, do you understand the next part, bro?" Blank asked with a curious face.
Kaeri read it again silently. (White can be interpreted as good, black can be interpreted as evil, but when black and white move in rhythm together, nothing is truly good or evil.)
(...)
(Oh my God, this means...) He glanced at the boy. (So Kaelan is dumb, huh?)
Kaeri looked at Blank and smiled. He said, "I don't know."
Blank's face fell disappointed, his expression gloomy, and he returned to his room.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm a bit tired. I want to take a short nap."
Kaeri looked at him, then turned his face to the book. "An interesting book. Rarely are there books like this."
Kaeri watched Blank lie down directly in his room. (I can't just give him the drug now.)
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment without a spoken word until night finally arrived. Both were seen having dinner together at 7:20 PM.
"Hey, do you want warm milk? I bought some."
Blank, with an excited face and sparkling eyes, answered. "Of course! Make me some, bro!"
Kaeri made it in the kitchen. He added powdered milk along with the sleeping powder he carried in his pocket.
(If he drinks now, it will at least make him pass out later. This is a bit tricky.)
He looked at Blank's bag stored on the table. (All my belongings have been sent to the destination location while Blank was asleep. I asked him to keep all his valuable belongings in one bag. Luckily, he agreed.)
After finishing, Kaeri brought a glass of warm milk while smiling. "One warm milk is ready, oh my brother."
Blank laughed upon hearing it. "Haha, so weird. It's like playing king."
Then Blank, with his excited face, took the glass and was about to drink it. Kaeri waited with certainty. As the little boy's mouth opened, he began counting.
(Three)
(Two)
Bzzzt.
Crash!
"Huh... bro... the power's out."
Kaeri was shocked. The power suddenly went out at a time like this. What annoyed him was that Blank didn't get to drink his milk and instead broke the glass.
(This is getting more difficult... but it seems this power outage didn't happen naturally.)
Kaeri intended to check the small window of the house. Because his eyes were always alert, he could see someone in the darkness.
"Come on, quickly pour it there. That's house number 20."
"Let's finish this within 10 minutes."
Kaeri grimaced. He didn't expect the arson plan to be accelerated like this. Cold sweat began to soak his forehead, but he tried to stay calm and find a solution.
He looked at the sky. (It's cloudy now, no moonlight... damn!)
Then little Blank started looking for his brother. His eyes weren't as good as Kaeri's, which were more sensitive, so the young man had a plan.
"Be careful, Kaelan! There's something above you!"
Blank was startled. Then Kaeri ran and hit the back of Blank's head with a pan he could see, making the boy fall back.
Thud.
Kaeri added forced paralysis at a nerve point. Blank instantly passed out on the spot, and then Kaeri took the bag Blank considered important and carried him.
(I need cloth to tie this child.)
Then he used the curtain from the door and tore it so Blank could be carried while unconscious.
(I'll go through the back. There's a forest there, so it should be safe.)
Then he began to move. His left hand held Blank's body along with the bag, while his right hand wore a fingerprint-proof glove to be used for...
Swipe.
Kaeri took a kitchen knife. He was prepared to exit through the back door. Then he pondered for a moment and took a deep breath.
(Whether locals or criminals, I apologize if this knife touches you.)
Then he opened the door carefully to avoid making noise and ran as fast as he could.
The tattooed man from earlier that day, carrying a jerry can, saw Kaeri running.
"Hey, you—"
In the dark night without moonlight, the young man dressed in black directed a shiny object from back to front in a measured, quick arc. It hit the throat deeply.
Slice.
"Ugh..."
Then another person, his earlier companion, asked.
"Hey, boss, I can't see. Why are you shouting—"
Sharp eyes were watching. A knife already prepared in front of the chest was drawn horizontally until his body bent, precisely hitting the deep position of the heart.
Stab.
"Gack..."
The blood-stained knife returned to its owner's hand. Kaeri quickly left them, running as fast as possible and looking for another path.
(Sorry, I take back the apology because I have a bit of a personal issue with those two.)
Kaeri ran. He immediately threw the knife as far as possible with his right hand to make it difficult to find.
Swish.
Unexpectedly, the knife stuck into a wooden plank floating down the river. So, even though Kaeri didn't know it, he could be safe with evidence that could be far away.
Kaeri stopped. He saw many villagers outside their houses lighting candles. He was cornered now.
But the current state of Grandpa's house...
Drip.
Whoosh.
The house slowly caught fire completely. Everyone there immediately ran and left the place.
Kaeri, seeing the location behind him beginning to glow red, panicked because he was still in the village.
Then his gaze fell on a hut with a hanging wooden alarm. He immediately ran there and took the striker.
(Let me try to remember... fire... ah!)
Tak tak tak, tak tak tak, tak tak tak.
(Three times three. Now I have to hide.)
All the villagers heard the sound, meaning there was a fire occurring but not yet visible. Everyone who was initially in front of their houses went to search for the source of the fire.
"Hey, there's a fire over there!"
"Mr. Neighborhood Head, there's a fire!"
"Hey, call the fire department quickly! Otherwise, it'll spread!"
Everyone began shouting and also running around. Because the location was near the forest and houses close together, it certainly caused immense panic.
(Good, this worked. I'll leave now.)
Kaeri intended to pass through the crowd while there was still a chance, but suddenly...
"Ah... my head is dizzy." Blank began to open his eyes. He saw for himself that there was a fire.
"Wait... that looks like..." His eyes opened instantly and widened. His face paled, and he fell silent.
(Ah, no, he's already awake. It seems I made a mistake about the nerve point.)
Thump.
Blank hit his brother from behind. He was hysterical. "Bro! Stop! What's happening!"
Kaeri gritted his teeth. He said, "No time, Kaelan! This is very dangerous, and we have to go!"
"But! That's the house..." Blank's legs weakened instantly. He knew the location and shape all too well. "Grandpa's house..."
He then flew into a rage until the cloth tied to him came loose. He then ran towards the crowd and approached his burning house.
(Ugh, damn!)
Blank ran with tears flooding his house. He remembered all the memories that had happened in that house.
"NO! GRANDPA'S HOUSE!"
His face grew paler, and his running grew weaker. He was absolutely certain it was his grandfather's house. He looked around.
"Wh-why..."
He looked around him. Many people were trying to extinguish the fire by carrying water, but it wasn't enough. That made Blank even more desperate.
"Don't... not Grandpa's house too..."
His heart shattered further. His lifelong memories were burning before his eyes. Everything vanished, and he didn't know the cause.
"Gr-grandpa..."
He began blaming himself again. His promise to protect that house had failed. He lost once more, and it tore his feelings apart.
His gaze was red like blood, his body trembling. Tears wouldn't stop and kept soaking his cheeks. He raised his hand, trembling violently as if trying to save it, but he didn't know what to do.
Grab.
Kaeri caught the boy and started running again.
"Bro... let go!!"
The little boy hit his brother's back hard. His heart was utterly shattered seeing the flames begin to blaze and grow. His vision began to blur.
Blank bit Kaeri's neck. It made the young man feel sharp pain. The bite was so strong.
"Kaelan, snap out of it!"
Kaelan, who was biting his brother, cried again. Even though his bite weakened, he asked.
"WHY! WHY, BRO!"
"WHY IS GRANDPA'S HOUSE BURNING!"
"WHY."
"BASTARDS!"
The child began to lose control in his brother's embrace. Kaeri gritted his teeth again and answered with a shout.
"IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!"
The boy fell silent, hearing the loud voice in his ears now.
"It's not your fault! Do you already know about your family!? This is the consequence for them!"
Blank didn't understand. His body began to weaken, and his eyes grew teary again. His teeth were visible from his lowered lips.
"What about Dad... Grandpa... Mom..."
Kaeri also began to get frustrated. It was difficult carrying the heavy load, Blank who was already quite big, and having to calm his mental state now.
"You don't need to know!"
Blank fell silent.
"If you search for it, this is what will happen to you."
Blank looked towards the blazing flames. His eyes began to blur, and his body began to weaken. He couldn't even shed tears anymore.
His heart felt torn to pieces. His breathing slowed, and the boy closed his eyes.
(Dad... Mom... Grandpa...)
[What happened to you all]