Lookism: Choi Sunjae

Chapter 9: Scarlet Glare 

Vin Jin remained on all fours in the gravel, breath ragged.

The fight had stopped minutes ago, but the silence still felt louder than any crowd.

Not even the birds chirped nearby. The breeze itself seemed to hold its breath.

He flexed his fingers against the ground again—gravel bit into his palms, but he needed it. He needed the sting to remind him this wasn't a dream. This wasn't some twisted hallucination.

He had blinked.

And when he opened his eyes—Sunjae was there.

Closer than anyone had ever gotten before.

No warning. No motion. No sound.

After looking at him, he noticed the bangs that Sunjae had were slightly parted. Then... he saw it for the first time.

Sunjae's eyes—

They were red.

Blood red.

They were empty.

Unfeeling.

Like looking into a predator that didn't hunt for sport or hunger… but for silence.

Vin's mind raced.

"That movement… no wasted steps. He didn't dodge. He let me commit and redirected me like I was a bag of sand."

"That chill—my body didn't react. It froze."

"It felt like the old days when I was the offering."

His jaw tightened.

Memories surfaced.

Cheonliang alleyways.

Blood-slicked floors.

Breath was visible in the air, even when it was hot.

That one fight he lost—not from pain, not from injury, but from pure instinct telling him he would die if he took another step forward.

That's what it felt like again.

Sunjae stood a few meters away now.

Still silent. Still cold.

He didn't walk away. He didn't smirk or gloat.

He just stood there, arms by his side, eyes once again hidden behind those long, unbothered bangs.

But the pressure lingered.

Like something in the air hadn't been reset.

Vin finally stood up, slow and steady.

He didn't say a word.

Not because he didn't have something to say.

But because he didn't know what it would mean anymore.

He just watched Sunjae.

Waiting.

Testing.

Sunjae exhaled slowly—calm, not fatigued.

"…Is that all?" he said. His voice was flat. No amusement. No disdain. Just an honest question.

Vin's jaw clenched.

But he didn't move forward again.

He couldn't.

Above – Music Room Window

Mary Kim was still watching the fight.

She'd seen vin's fights when he was serious before.

She'd seen him break arms, knock out teeth, slam heads into walls even kill someone.

But this—

This wasn't expected at all.

Even if Vin lost she expected him to atleast put up a fight.

But

This was dominance. Measured and quiet. The kind that didn't need shouting. The kind that whispered directly to your instincts:

You are not the predator here.

Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest.

Something crawled beneath her skin.

She thought of what Vin said days ago.

"He's dangerous. He knows something."

"He's pretending not to care."

Maybe it wasn't pretense.

Maybe that was the scariest part.

Sunjae didn't need to care.

...

Vin Jin – Internal Monologue

"What kind of person does that?"

"What kind of monster just stands there after making someone kneel on all fours—steps on them like they're a stool—and then stares at you like you never mattered?"

Vin finally spoke, voice low and gritty.

"…What are you?"

Sunjae looked at him for a long, empty second.

Then, slowly, he turned away.

No response.

No farewell.

Just… silence.

And footsteps in gravel.

Vin watched him leave. A small part of him wanted to call out, to challenge again.

But the smarter part—the part that remembered what death looked like—told him not to.

System Notification – Sunjae's Perspective

[Sync 40% → 46%]

New Trait Activated: Predatory Grace

Your presence no longer demands attention. It commands it.

Enemies with martial instincts may hesitate in close combat.

Cold mode duration extended.

System Alert: Behavioral Shift Detected

"Emotion suppression state remains active. Neural tension exceeds baseline. Recommend emotional decompression soon."

Sunjae didn't react to the message.

He just walked through the school gate.

And for the first time since he arrived—

He looked like the kind of person you didn't want to meet at night.

Mary Kim – Final Line (Internal)

"That wasn't the real Sunjae we've seen all week."

"That was something older. Something deeper."

"And now that I've seen it… I'm not sure if I should warn someone."

"Or stay out of his way."

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