Prologue.

  “Aigoo, Your Majesty Seo Tae-hyuk. I apologize for bringing you to this humble place.”


  Tae-hyuk narrowed his eyes and glared at the other person.

  Son of a bitch.

  He always called Tae-hyuk by that term.

  It was a form of slang that inmates in a prison were called.

  Those with a jail sentence of less than three years were called ‘commoners’, while thosethat received more than 10 years in prison were ‘nobles’. The prisoners with a life sentence were called ‘kings.’


  Of course, the meaning didn’t indicate respect at all.

  It was a very insulting nickname that was filled with scorn and ridicule.

  “I see.”


  Seo Tae-hyuk sat down in the chair in the middle of the room.

  He was one of the few inmates who didn’t feel helpless in front of the guards.

  “Your Highness has nothing to say. Would you like the coffee that I have leftover?”


  Tae-hyuk drank it all at once.

  "Thank you.”


  “Kuk. Your Majesty. You are still as free as always. Has it already been 10 years? Tears are flooding my eyes at the thought of not being able to see you anymore.”


  “.……”


  "Yes yes. That day is here. It will happen in one week.”


  Tae-hyuk’s eyes violently trembled.

  A moan escaped from his tightly closed mouth. The last 10 years. He had thought that all his emotions had weathered away.

  "Your claims of innocence have flown away. Your lawyer has run away. In the end……”


  "It is like this.”


  The guard held out some documents.

  “What is it?”


  “Write down the meal that you would like to have on your last night. If you also have anyone you wish to visit then write it down as well.”


  It was the so-called last dinner and last visit.

  Tae-hyuk did nothing for one minute. However, his head was filled with thoughts of his life.

  He slowly filled out the documents.

  “Hoh. Kimchi stew. It is alright for you to choose a fancier meal.”

  "This is my little brother’s favourite food.”


  "Additionally, to not put any pork in? This is quite an unusual order. Surely you don’t mean you were poor?…… Oh, was I right?”


  “.……”


  “Haha. Yes, I see. You’ll be busy for the time you have remaining. This will be the first death penalty in 30 years so please excuse anyone if they are inexperienced.”


  Tae-hyuk didn’t move from his spot for a while.

  Falsely accused.

  He was falsely accused and imprisoned. Now, he was doing to die without seeing anything.

  The guard had a strange thought that he found amusing.

  "Ah. I thought of something. Isn’t a criminal who receives a life sentence called the king of crime? Then what should I call a criminal who is going to be executed? Perhaps,a god? Haha! In a week’s time, Your Majesty Seo Tae-hyuk will become the God of Crime!”


  In the room where the guard had left him, Tae-hyuk furiously roared for a while.

  * * *

  One week passed by quickly.

  It seemed that his name appeared on TV more than the celebrities.

  The death penalty system had been just revived after 30 years, so it couldn’t be helped that the nation was interested.

  Human rights organizations protested outside the prison every day but it didn’t change athing.

  Tae-hyuk sat in a chair in the visitation room.

  His mind calmed down after he had accepted his death. He was waiting for his younger brother and older sister, who he had asked to visit. It had already been over a year since he last saw them.

  What would they talk about? He wanted to thank his younger brother for believing that he was innocent until the end.

  Did his sister, who took over as a mother when their parents died when he was a child, live happily every after?

  Tae-hyuk looked at the clock on the wall. The kimchi stew on the table was already cold.

  Tae-hyuk tried to make his expression as casual as possible as he heard the door opening.

  “.……”


  Tae-hyuk forgot what he was going to say when he saw the person who came in.

  "Aigoo, Your Majesty. I’m not the one you have been waiting for. I’m truly sorry.”


  It was the familiar guard.

  He sat down on a chair in the visitation room.

  "You look very uncomfortable at my appearance.”


  Tae-hyuk didn’t deny it.

  "Your family. Was it Seo Tae-min ssi and Seo Ha-ran? You won’t be able to see the both of them.”


  "Is that so?”


  Had they decided to give up everything?

  He didn’t mind that he wouldn’t be able to see his family in his last minutes.

  ‘Thank you for treating me as family, even though I was unable to get rid of the false accusations.’ He only wanted to say those words.

  Yes.

  This was what happened……

  It would be best if they saw Seo Tae-hyuk as someone who never existed in the first place.

  Then he would pray that his remaining family would live on happily. He decided to be satisfied with this thought.

  Then the guard smirked.

  “Seo Ha-ran ssi, Your Majesty’s older sister, Seo Ha-ran, committed suicide last month.”


  “Huh?”


  “Is this surprising? No, not really. She had a murderer in her family,of which the media talked about every day. Reporters kept bothering the family. Then. by chance, the mosaic covering her face didn’t work properly, and was revealed to her workplace. Oh dear, oh dear. In the end, she was fired. Furthermore, I was told that she had quite a large debt. She eventually lost her remaining assets in a multi-level marketing scheme. Thus, in the end……”


  The guard pretended to strangle himself.

  "T-that is ridiculous!" Why would Noonim do that?”


  "Anyways, what happened to your younger brother? Seo Tae-min ssi was it? He was truly smart,unlike a certain someone. Didn’t he enter S Law University to save his hyung? He was then caught looking for evidence from politicians and large corporations. Not long after, he disappeared. I guess he thought he was a detective. He should have known not to overrate himself.”


  “.……”


  "My guess it that he is encased in concrete in a barrel drum at the bottom of the Yellow Sea. He should be getting friendly with his new neighbours. Well, what is the exact location of the Dragon King?”


  Tae-hyuk struck the table with his fist.

  The prepared kimchi stew was strewn about, and the room became a mess.

  "Don’t lie to me, you bastard! Are you completely crazy? What? My sister committed suicide after losing everything in a pyramid scheme? Don’t take me for a fool! And Tae-min went missing after trying to save me? Don’t play around! I will kill you!”


  The guard held his side as he laughed.

  “Hahaha! Your Majesty Seo Tae-hyuk. What, you will kill me? You, who has never even killed a single ant in your life?"

  It was the right answer.

  At that moment, Tae-hyuk thought it was strange.

  Until now, he thought that this was the guard that he had known for 10 years; however, that was not the case. There was no such guard here. In the first place, there was no way a prison guard could know that much. Why did he ever think that the person before was a prison guard?

  "…… You. You aren’t a guard.”


  “Yes. Then what am I?”


  The guard laughed.

  Tae-hyuk, who saw the man’s face, screamed.

  "Aaaaack!"

  In the sockets where one’s eyeballs were supposed to be was replaced by a hollow space.

  The mouth was ripped from ear to ear and something red dribbled down his chin whenever he laughed.

  The thing smiled and said.

  "I have a very mouth-watering proposal. Would you like to hear it first?”