Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 198: The Price of a Life Lived (8)

Yoon Hyeon-min’s eyes shot open.

His body trembled uncontrollably.

After spending time in this hellish place, he had vowed that when he met Kim Hyunsung again, he would kill him.

But his body refused to move.

Whatever had been done to him, he couldn’t even twitch a finger.

“It’s nice to see your face in person.”

Sshh.

Kim Hyunsung’s gaze swept over him, from head to toe.

Looking at Yoon Hyeon-min’s emaciated appearance, he couldn’t suppress the smirk tugging at his lips.

“Shall I tell you something amusing?”

Yoon couldn’t respond.

His lips barely moved.

At first, he thought it was because he lacked strength, but the overwhelming pressure emanating from Kim Hyunsung made it impossible to speak.

“That story I told you back then—about spending ten years as a vegetative patient—you probably found it unbelievable. But it’s true. Do you understand what that means? You’ve only been here for a month. Out of those supposed ten years, you haven’t even completed one, yet look at the state you’re in.”

The past month.

Kim Hyunsung had been itching to visit him.

As the new year brought changes and opportunities, he barely suppressed the growing desire to confront him.

But it had to be this way.

Only then could he witness a face marinated in fear and despair.

“Ordinary people can’t comprehend how painful your experience is. The despair of having a clear mind but being utterly powerless. The helplessness of being trapped, spending all 24 hours of your day consumed by your thoughts. Negative ideas spread like a virus, consuming everything. You think endlessly—how long will I stay here? Will I ever leave? What if something goes wrong? But the worst part is the futility of those thoughts. Just like me, there’s nothing you can do on your own.”

Kim’s voice trembled, betraying his satisfaction.

“Why? Do you think otherwise? Because your father promised he’d save you someday?”

How laughable.

Kim Hyunsung had never trusted Yoon Byeong-ho.

Though he had cornered the man and forced his hand, he knew a father so devoted to his son couldn’t entirely abandon him. He had deliberately left a way out, one that wouldn’t make Yoon Byeong-ho realize he was being backed into a trap.

Kim smirked derisively.

“Unfortunately, that will never happen.”

* * *

Kim Hyunsung’s offer had been simple:

“Send Yoon Hyeon-min to a psychiatric hospital. Ensure he never sets foot outside again, allowing him to taste even a fraction of the suffering his victims endured. Not just a token admission but a truly despairing environment. Prove to me that the result is satisfactory, and I will ensure Taeyang Group can deny any allegations. Show me this much ‘sincerity,’ and I’ll keep the scandal from escalating further.”

The arrangement.

Everyone had to walk away somewhat satisfied.

Taeyang Group would abandon the son to protect the company.

The Golden Line members, by betraying Yoon Hyeon-min, avoided being discarded themselves and redirected public scrutiny toward him. This prevented the flames of public outrage from spreading to them.

Chairman Yoon accepted the deal.

The outcome before him proved it.

But.

It wasn’t enough for Kim Hyunsung.

Yoon Hyeon-min needed to suffer more, and Hyunsung had no intention of absolving Taeyang Group or the Golden Line members of their sins.

Hyunsung continued.

“The world is in chaos right now. Representative Kim Pan-ho, celebrated for eradicating the Golden Circle, is riding a wave of public support, with analysts predicting a landslide victory in next year’s presidential election. One day, he may become president. He made me a promise—he would never reveal that his achievements were born out of our deal. As long as he keeps that secret until the day I die, I agreed to let him take all the credit. In return, once he becomes president, he will launch a massive investigation into the Golden Circle. By then, the Golden Line, Taeyang Group, and all their past misdeeds will be laid bare for all to see. With no power left to protect itself, the Golden Circle will crumble, and what was once dismissed as conspiracy theories about your role will become undeniable fact.”

“You…!”

Yoon’s jaw dropped, his dry lips parting as his wide, shocked eyes darted frantically.

This was the reaction Kim Hyunsung had wanted to see.

As though urging him to maintain that expression, Hyunsung didn’t stop talking.

“Taeyang Group will be embroiled in massive lawsuits. Victims of the Golden Circle will file complaints, and prosecutors, armed with public and governmental support, will tear into Taeyang Group and all Golden Line members. And your father? He’ll spend his remaining years in prison, paying the price for raising a son like you. Do you still think you can escape this place? That the father who abandoned you to save the company will later sacrifice himself to save you? No. That’s not how it works. Once he abandoned you, you were already discarded.”

“…Stop. Shut up.”

“Think whatever you want. The people left in Taeyang Group, after you and your father are gone, will focus solely on saving the company. They’ll relinquish any authority over you, which I’ll then claim by any means necessary. And what will happen then? You’ll only leave this place with my permission. And of course, I have no intention of ever granting it—not until the day you grow old and die.”

Sshh.

Hyunsung stepped closer.

He gently caressed Yoon’s face.

The sensation of the sunken, emaciated contours pleased him.

“You can’t even die on your own now. And, Hyeon-min.”

Hyunsung smiled brightly.

“I’m genuinely thrilled that you’re still young and have decades left to live.”

* * *

*Creak.*

*Bang.*

The door closed.

As Kim Hyunsung stepped outside, a familiar face greeted him.

“Anything unusual?”

“Nothing. Aside from the initial visit from Taeyang Group’s secretary, no one related to him has shown up.”

It was Baek Seong-ho.

Kim Hyunsung had stationed Baek at the psychiatric hospital.

Baek had gathered his subordinates to monitor Yoon’s room in shifts, receiving compensation more than adequate for their efforts. For them, this was now a lifelong job. Kim had assured them that as long as nothing happened to Yoon, they would be paid indefinitely.

“Tell the doctor to administer a sedative. I’d rather he not remember today’s conversation.” (TL Note: Wow, Hyunsung is more of a devil than the devil itself.)

“Got it.”

The exchange with Yoon Hyeon-min.

It would remain a secret.

If the world discovered that Kim Hyunsung still had Taeyang Group and the Golden Line in his sights, the fragile truce would shatter before Kim Pan-ho’s presidential election. For now, maintaining this win-win scenario was essential. Only then could his enemies remain ignorant of the tsunami that would sweep them away without warning.

Kim Hyunsung had already ensured the sedatives were administered.

In his dazed state, Yoon Hyeon-min wouldn’t retain a clear memory of their encounter. Soon, the doctors would come and erase any lingering fragments. Truthfully, Kim Hyunsung would have preferred to let him remember everything, but until the situation was resolved perfectly, seeing Yoon’s face contorted in despair was enough.

Leaving a shred of hope wasn’t a bad idea either.

Hope that his father might save him someday would keep him bound to the relentless march of time.

A hope with no promise of fulfillment was the cruelest torment of all.

Kim Hyunsung turned and walked away.

There was no longer any reason for him to stay.

* * *

It was the heart of the city.

While people outside carried on with their daily lives, Yoon Hyeon-min remained trapped in a concrete prison.

Kim Hyunsung reflected that his situation had been no different.

His vegetative state had been a similar prison—one hidden within the same bustling cityscape.

“…Did I succeed?”

For a moment.

His legs gave way.

He had felt fine while talking to Baek Seong-ho, but the weight of reality hit him, and he collapsed on the spot.

Thud.

He stared blankly at the sky.

From the day he fell off the rooftop until now.

Countless memories tangled in his mind.

The realization that he had become a vegetative patient, and the torment of being fully conscious but utterly paralyzed. Kim Hyunsung had endured a living hell no one else could comprehend. Trapped in the prison of time, forced to feel every agonizing second, his mind shattered repeatedly, and yet he couldn’t even end his own life. Every time he heard his family weeping by his side, his only prayer wasn’t for revenge—it was for someone to end his suffering.

So he imagined.

A second chance.

A miraculous opportunity to undo the past.

Even knowing it was impossible, clinging to that fantasy was the only way to endure.

He had lived like that for ten years.

What felt like eons of torment had consumed him.

So when the devil’s offer appeared before him, Kim Hyunsung could genuinely smile.

He had been ready to die for that one chance.

For revenge.

It was a dream he had only ever fantasized about.

Even as his plans became more refined with each iteration, he had never been certain of success. Not even he fully trusted himself. When he slapped Park Min-cheol on the day he returned to the past, it wasn’t out of confidence in his revenge; it was an eruption of all the emotions he had suppressed. Knowing that his second chance would inevitably lead to death, he had charged forward like a runaway train without ever calculating his odds of success.

And now.

He had achieved his goal.

Looking down at the powerless Yoon Hyeon-min, Kim Hyunsung felt no guilt—only overwhelming joy.

“Ugh.”

He clutched his face.

Tears poured down.

His shoulders shook as he sobbed uncontrollably.

He cried so loudly and openly that passersby stopped to ask if he was okay, but Kim Hyunsung just wept without end.

Were they tears of joy for his revenge?

Or tears of sorrow as memories of his suffering resurfaced?

He didn’t know.

He just needed to cry.

Perhaps it was regret for all that he had sacrificed for this revenge.

At seventeen, he had been young, bright, and full of potential for the future.

Now, at twenty, he stood here in this moment.

Whether or not he had succeeded in his revenge.

His high school years were truly over.

* * *

*A year later.*

South Korea erupted into cheers.

> *”Representative Kim Pan-ho, who founded a new party with overwhelming public support through the Golden Gate initiative, has been elected president by a landslide today. President-elect Kim has pledged to eradicate corruption and deliver clean politics, as well as to establish an educational system that ensures the youth of South Korea will no longer suffer. And…”*

It was an expected result.

The Golden Gate initiative was an unparalleled achievement, and even Kim Pan-ho’s competitors knew they had no real chance, so their campaigns had been lackluster.

The political landscape had shifted.

With an unprecedented approval rating, people declared it the dawn of Kim Pan-ho’s era.

* * *

*Two years later.*

Time passed swiftly.