Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 189: The Long-Awaited Moment (9)

It was a secluded place.

An unfinished construction site, seemingly chosen to avoid prying eyes.

A barren space.

At its center stood Yoon Hyeon-min.

Accompanied by what appeared to be bodyguards, he watched as Kim Hyunsung walked steadily toward him.

Once face-to-face, Yoon Hyeon-min spoke.

“What gives you such confidence? I could kill you right here, and yet you came along without protest.”

The Gangnam apartment incident.

Compared to then, Yoon Hyeon-min’s face was visibly worn.

The dark circles under his eyes betrayed his unease, and his words carried the genuine possibility of murder. The sequence of events following Kim Hyunsung’s revelations had undeniably placed immense pressure on him. While he struggled to appear unfazed, his very presence here revealed his sincerity.

Kim Hyunsung glanced around.

It was the perfect place for someone to die—isolated and in the heart of Seoul, yet entirely unnoticed.

“Feeling nervous?”

“What?”

“You used to seem unshakable, no matter what. Now it’s as if killing me is your only option.”

Kim Hyunsung’s eyes swept across the room before meeting Yoon Hyeon-min’s gaze again.

Yoon Hyeon-min’s pupils trembled.

A chill ran through him.

Kim Hyunsung smiled.

“Go ahead and kill me if you want. While I was being questioned by the prosecutors, I wrote a will. If I die, the culprit will undoubtedly be Yoon Hyeon-min. You’ve been thorough enough to leave no illegal recordings or traceable evidence, but luckily, I’ve managed to secure one piece of proof for this exact scenario. Right now, someone has filmed me being taken to this location. You’ve blocked tracking or recordings during transport, but the people tailing me know I’m here. Even if they don’t act now, my death will serve as undeniable proof.” (TL Note: Damn. Typical Hyunsung madness)

“…You crazy bastard.”

Yoon Hyeon-min was impressed.

Despite the suddenness of the situation, Kim Hyunsung had prepared contingencies.

This was why.

Despite being a mere high school student, Kim Hyunsung countered and exploited his moves as if executing a meticulously planned strategy. For the first time in his life, Yoon Hyeon-min felt powerless. No matter how much power he wielded, every attack seemed to be met with equal force, making him question if he was truly dealing with just a teenager.

“And you don’t intend to kill me here anyway,” Kim Hyunsung continued. “The timing isn’t right, and the Yoon Hyeon-min I know is far too meticulous. Your presence here means you’ve ensured no evidence can implicate you in a murder.”

“Pfft.”

Yoon Hyeon-min suddenly burst into laughter.

“How do you know me so well? My own father doesn’t even know me this well. You’re right. I could kill you right now, but I don’t plan to. Aren’t you curious why I went to the trouble of meeting you in the midst of this chaos?”

He leaned in closer.

“I’ll tell you why.”

—

Yoon Hyeon-min began.

“To be honest, I was surprised. When I first became aware of you, I was only irritated because the request had failed. I never imagined a mere high school student could threaten me. You’re truly remarkable in many ways. The malice that drives you to risk your life to bring me down, your schemes against my power—how on earth did you manage to enlist Kim Panho, Kang Dongchul, Jeongan Ilbo, and Im Cheol-hyung? What did these people, all with so much to lose, see in you to stake their lives?”

He paused, then continued.

“Your plan worked. I’ve been driven to the edge, and I admit I’m anxious about the consequences. But that’s all there is to it.”

In the midst of these events, Yoon Hyeon-min had reached one conclusion.

“This is your limit. You spent six months preparing one powerful strike to bring me down. If you had ended it here, perhaps your revenge would have been complete. But I’m still standing in front of you, an innocent victim. Isn’t it amusing? Some people still want me investigated, shouting about conspiracy theories. But now that Lee Kyung-chul has been identified as the mastermind, their voices are just more noise.”

He gestured.

The public, having devoured their scapegoat, Lee Kyung-chul, had moved on.

“South Korea is such an interesting society. People get so worked up and angry, but when someone offers themselves as a scapegoat, the issue resolves so easily. Of course, Lee Kyung-chul didn’t make that choice willingly. Using the corruption records I had on him, I didn’t just threaten to destroy him but also his entire family. In the end, he chose suicide, pleading for his family’s safety. He dirtied his own name and ended his life, but at least his family survived.”

“So what are you trying to tell me?” Kim Hyunsung asked.

“This is power. Even with Lee Kyung-chul’s death, there are still those in power who bury the truth, prosecutors who close cases prematurely, and forces that manipulate public opinion. Without that perfect trifecta, I wouldn’t still be here. Kim Hyunsung, your plan failed. You exposed the Golden Circle, and yes, we suffered damage. But in doing so, you proved that we’re resilient enough to withstand even a full-scale attack. From now on, we’ll dig deeper underground, using even more cunning methods to control this country. And anyone, like you, who seeks revenge, will hesitate. They’ll know that even if they match your efforts, there’s no guarantee they’ll succeed. Ironically, your actions have made us invincible.”

This meeting.

It was just like the beginning.

Yoon Hyeon-min mocked Kim Hyunsung.

He aimed to crush Kim Hyunsung’s spirit, flaunting the outcomes achieved through his power.

“Now it’s my turn. Once public interest fades and people grow indifferent, I’ll destroy everyone who targeted me. I’ll make sure everyone knows the cost of crossing Yoon Hyeon-min. You, your family, and everyone who sided with you—I’ll leave them in utter despair as examples. You said you prepared for me to kill you? Why make such a foolish plan?”

Yoon Hyeon-min’s gaze sharpened.

His malice was palpable.

He no longer wore the face of a human being.

“After all, you’ll end up taking your own life anyway.”

—

The figure before him.

Could this even be called a human?

He crushed people like ants and unleashed his malice without hesitation.

He declared publicly that he’d lead the charge against the Golden Circle, but in private, he held a knife to Kim Hyunsung’s throat.

He was a devil.

A scourge of society.

With a strange expression, Kim Hyunsung spoke.

“You asked how I could know you better than your father.”

Did Yoon Hyeon-min realize?

At this moment.

The emotion Kim Hyunsung felt.

“There was a child. Because of the Golden Circle, he became a vegetative state. For over a decade, he lay in a hospital bed, completely still. The real tragedy? His mind remained intact the entire time. For ten years, he listened to his family sob beside him and watched news reports of his abusers’ success. Gradually, his mind crumbled. So he began to imagine revenge. Without that fantasy, time seemed to stop entirely.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Yoon Hyeon-min’s reaction didn’t matter.

Kim Hyunsung continued.

“The boy wondered. Who could have created an organization like the Golden Circle? Even as the Golden Gate scandal broke, there wasn’t a single clue to the mastermind’s identity. He guessed the person had to be meticulous. How old? Twenties? Thirties? Forties? Considering the history of the Golden Circle, he ruled out someone too young or too old. The mastermind would need to understand the current education system—a likely age range of thirties to forties. And they had to come from an exceptional background to connect with people like Mirae Investment Securities’ Im Cheol-hyung.”

Kim Hyunsung’s voice grew colder.

“He imagined. And the person he pictured bore a striking resemblance to you: arrogant, egotistical, and selfish. The type society calls a sociopath.”

Yoon Hyeon-min narrowed his eyes.

“Are you saying you have another ally?”

“No.”

Yoon Hyeon-min was exactly as Kim Hyunsung had envisioned.

After witnessing Lee Kyung-chul’s forced downfall, Kim Hyunsung felt one emotion pierce through him.

Satisfaction.

Because Yoon Hyeon-min was exactly the scum he’d expected.

Enough that his plan could proceed perfectly.

“It’s my story. My firsthand experience.”

Darkness enveloped Kim Hyunsung’s consciousness as he dove into the fragments of his memories.

—

For over ten years.

Kim Hyunsung had existed as a vegetative shell.

It wasn’t just mental exhaustion; his spirit was utterly broken. Yet every day, he rehearsed his plan.

It was the only thing keeping him alive.

In his imagination, even if the scenarios were unreal, he tore apart and crushed his tormentors. It was the only way to escape the crushing despair of reality.

One day, he dreamed.

A strange figure appeared before him and said:

“Speak your wish.”

He was ecstatic.

Even in a dream, someone willing to listen felt like a miracle.

Kim Hyunsung poured everything out.

“If I could go back, I’d start with Park Mincheol’s gang and rip them apart. I’d crush their faces, break their limbs, and utterly destroy them. If they tried to use their connections to suppress me, I’d recruit scum like Kim Youngcheol and Oh Daehwan to obliterate their lives outside of school. Sure, Kim Youngcheol and Oh Daehwan are trash who’ll eventually need to be dealt with, but for now, they’d be necessary. For the ultimate goal of dismantling the Golden Circle, I’d stop at nothing. And then…”

The ideas kept flowing.

Even though the plan had gaping holes and existed only in his imagination, its conclusion—bringing down the mastermind—was beautifully clear.

After listening to everything, the mysterious figure spoke.

“If I grant your wish, if I give you one chance to exact your revenge, what will you give me in return?”

Kim Hyunsung’s eyes flew open.

He begged.

He’d give anything.

If it meant getting this chance, he’d even trade his life.

The figure grinned wickedly.

It was then that Kim Hyunsung understood.

If gods existed, the being before him must surely be a devil.

“Your determination pleases me. I’ll give you a chance. The day you fell from the rooftop, you were destined to die. If I send you back, you can have your revenge. But in return, you must promise to end your life at the exact moment you were originally meant to die. Do you accept my terms?”

The conditions were cruel.

Even if he clawed his way to revenge, at the moment of his triumph, he would have to surrender his life.

But at that moment.

Such stipulations were meaningless.

The being many would call a devil appeared to Kim Hyunsung as a savior, a ray of light in a dark and hopeless world.

He knelt.

He worshipped the figure.

“Yes. If I can return to that time, if I can take vengeance on those who made me this way, I’ll willingly end my life on the day I fell from the rooftop.”

Kim Hyunsung smiled radiantly.

For the first time in his life, he felt genuinely happy.

And then, when he regained consciousness—

**Chirp, chirp.**

The sounds of birds chirping filled his ears, and the bustling noise of students reached him.

He found himself in the past.

The very moment he had longed to return to.

(TL Note: Wow, this is such a big reveal. No wonder the title is “Devil Returns…”)