I, the Weakest Traveler, Start by Taming the gods of the Old World.
Chapter 65 - 65: Masking

Sometimes, the most dangerous people are not those who strike with fists, but those who endure in silence, hiding their true selves behind a mask. Laughter is the armor, but inside, a storm brews—waiting for the moment it can no longer be contained.

"Stop! You're hurting him! Stop!" The little girl's voice was raw, trembling as she watched the boy with black hair being pelted with stones.

The small rocks hit Ha Joon on the head, blood dripping over his eyes.

"Please stop it!' the girl tried to interfere, but she was pinned to the ground by another young boy.

"Hah! Stop what?!" one of the kids sneered, tossing another rock. "Look at him—he's loving it! Come on, hit him harder!"

Laughter bubbled up from the small crowd as more stones flew. Ha Joon Kim sat in the dirt, shielding his face but never moving to defend himself. His body tensed with each hit, but he didn't flinch.

He smiled. "Hahaha! You're really stoning a defenseless boy? That's rich. No shame, huh?"

'Leave me alone.'

His voice sneered internally, oh to rip them apart, limb by limb.

"Come on! Throw harder, I can barely feel it!" His voice was taunting, but inside, his thoughts boiled.

The rocks hit violently against his body, but yet he smiled, embracing the pain.

'I hate you. I hate all of you. I wish you'd just disappear.' The rage simmered just beneath the surface, hidden behind his laughter.

The small children noticed this and were immediately freaked out by it.

"He's smiling again! What a freak." One of the boys snorted. "Let's go. It's no fun when he acts like this."

The kids dropped the remaining stones and shuffled away, muttering. The laughter faded, leaving only the silence and the quiet rustling of leaves in the wind.

As soon as they were out of sight, the little girl rushed to Ha Joon's side, her small hands shaking as she kneeled beside him. "Are you okay? Please... let me take you to my mom. She can help."

Ha Joon turned to her, grinning despite the blood trickling down his forehead. "What, worried about me? You must love me already." His words were light, teasing, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

The darkness within him had surrounded his heart, a faint light, keeping them from fully devouring him.

'I want to kill them. I want to watch them bleed. I want them to feel the same pain I feel every single day, watch them burn to the ground.' The thought ran through his mind, dark and relentless, gnawing at him.

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at his wounds. "You're bleeding, Ha Joon... they were hurting you, and you just sat there, laughing. Why are you like this?" Her voice cracked. "It's not right. I don't like it."

For a moment, the grin wavered, flickering like a dying flame. He looked away, his hand running through his messy hair, struggling to keep the smile intact.

His mind flashed back- brief images of a face, stern, cold.

"Hey now, don't cry. Pretty girls shouldn't cry." His voice softened, and he reached out to pat her head. "There, yosh yosh. See? All better."

But as he comforted her, his thoughts spiraled. 'Why do I feel this way? Why does the hate never leave? Why do I want to hurt everyone who hurts me?' He swallowed hard, forcing the grin back onto his face.

'But I'm not like him. I can't be like him. I'll keep joking—laughing—until all this hate is gone. Until I can fight back without it.'

The girl sniffed, wiping her tears. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know."

Ha Joon chuckled, the sound empty. "Maybe I do."

'One day,' he thought, 'I'll stop smiling. And when I do… it'll be too late for all of them.'

A smile is a fragile thing—an illusion of peace when the world within is crumbling. But when the mask slips, when the smile fades, the truth is laid bare. And in that moment, the world will tremble, for the smile of the wounded is the last barrier before the flood.

The flash back ends.

And there Ha Joon stood, his hand around Sinex's neck as he looked at her with a detached gaze.

"Those eyes~ you see them too, don't you? They are beautiful. So much hatred, ahh~ I thought I could handle it but I can't." Sinex had a crazy expression on her face as she spoke, drooling just from the sight before her.

"Do I need you to remind you of the deal you made, or should I kill you repeatedly before you submit?" Ha Joon uttered, his voice dripping with malice.

'Is this what you really want?' He battled with himself.

Merlin who was still seated on the side, watched with surprise, the man standing before her, looked nothing like the Ha joon she knew.

"I…I will, I can't take this anymore, keep looking at me like that…and I..I'll…"

Sinex looked to the sky, her thighs clamped together as she screamed, feeling her lower lips filling up with her nectar.

"Just like I thought, Disgusting." Ha Joon released his hold on her, leaving her to lie on her knees, breathing heavily with an obsessed smile on her face.

He watched her for a good second, voices echoing inside his head, pleading for him to not cross over, telling him how comfortable he was getting, telling him -

"Ha Joon?".

His eyes snapped.

"..."

"Pfft- hahaha!" Ha Joon laughed, sitting on the table, his voice echoing throughout the entire area.

At that point, Merlin was simply confused, she didn't know what to make of the moment. One moment he seemed like he would kill anyone who looked at him the wrong way, and the next he was laughing like the cute boy she remembered.

Was that really Ha Joon?

Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled at her, a soothing look on his face, he asked-

"You look confused. Why? Did I scare you?".

Merlin felt a chill run through her body, her eyes locked with his.

It couldn't be, she was probably overthinking the whole thing.

She picked her broom and suddenly slammed it on his head.

"Ouwww!" Ha Joon placed his hand over his head.

"Stop joking like that! You scared me for a second there." Merlin sighed as she closed her eyes.

"Sorry sorry, I couldn't help it, you should have seen your face!" Ha Joon laughed even louder.

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