Chapter 54: Chapter54-A Villain's Backstory

I leaned back against the cabinet, trying to steady my breathing, when something on the floor caught my attentiona piece of paper lying just a few steps away. Curiosity mingled with caution as I crawled over to it, my eyes narrowing on the bold letters printed across the top: "Viral Outbreak." What the...? My heart sank. The implications of those words were chilling, conjuring images of chaos, sickness, and possibly the very situation I found myself ina school overrun by monsters. Then, a sudden realization hit me hard, and I muttered, "No way, no way, those zombies... They were all caused by this virus." Then, my eyes darted toward a red radio sitting on the desk. I picked it up, surprised. This radio... It's here? I was surprised because radios were common in my previous world, but in this current, ruined world, most old artifacts and instruments, including radios, were lost. In the human domain, they had radios, but they were powered by monster cores. This one was different... I looked at its back... It was powered by batteries. Who left it here? Come to think of it, I never actually figured out where exactly I was in this world... And why is the elevator still working even after not being used for centuries? As I pondered all of this, my hand accidentally hit the switch on the radio. Oh no, I turned it on. Hello My friend, I'm Lee Chong San, 47 years old, and I teach at Hyosan High School. Even if you know everything about me already, I'm introducing myself just in case someone else is listening instead of you. Today, I want to talk about something serious: I tried to switch off the radio but stopped immediately when I heard the next few words. A viral outbreak. What is a viral outbreak? It's when a virus spreads rapidly among people. Who created it? No one knows except for me. Why? Because, I created it. Why did I create it? I created it to make humans stronger than the average person. This all started on April 8th, 2030. When my son, Hyun Su who was also a student of this school, accidentally fell from the roof of this school building. At least, that's what his friends and fellow students who were there said. Do you know how it feels when the world you imagined turns into a nightmare? I know this feeling very well because I experienced it deeply. Luckily, Hyun Su survived after falling from the building. Everything changed forever because of this. He was quickly taken to the hospital, admitted, and he pulled through. It was then that I learned from him that he didn't accidentally fallhe was actually thrown from the rooftop by bullies at school. From the start, I knew those bullies posed a threat to my son Hyun Su. In the past, I had tried to stop them from harassing him. When they didn't listen, I filed a complaint with the school authorities, specifically with the principal. However, nothing came of it because those bullies' parents were the school's biggest donors. Yet, I refused to give up. I filed a police report against them, but it was quickly dismissed due to the money and influence wielded by the bullies' parents. And finally, I lodged another complaint with the school, this time directly to the principal, who was my best friend, but... The principal, teachers, and other higher-ups dismissed the case. Instead of punishing the students who had bullied and thrown my son, they called me and asked me to withdraw the complaint, saying it was just kids' mistakes. I felt betrayed by my closest friend, whom I trusted to support me no matter what. Before this, I was a scientist. I gave up my career in science at his request to become a teacher at his school. What a betrayal. I was stabbed in the back. I didn't realize at the time that some part of my heart had changed or been broken. When my wife and son discovered what happened, they were furious with me for withdrawing the complaint. My wife and son called me as an incompetent father and husband. Do you know how it feels for a man when his own wife and son call him incompetent? You can't understand because you've never experienced it. How could you understand? You... You were... I need to calm down a bit... Let's continue from where I left off. Yes, so, after my wife and son called me incompetent, they suggested that we should leave this town and settle somewhere else, enrolling our son in a new school. The suggestion had merit, but I had made a promise to my mother before she passed away. I had promised her that I would never leave the town where she was born, where she had given birth to me, and where I had spent most of my childhood. You know, it wouldn't have bothered me if it had been anyone else, but my parents were like real-life gods to me. In the end, I turned down my wife and son's suggestion and proposed that we enroll our son in a nearby school and move away from the current one. However, my son promptly refused my suggestion, explaining that he was too traumatized by this city. After numerous attempts to persuade me failed, my wife ultimately filed for divorce. She wanted to leave me. I accepted her decision without protest. Why? Because it was her choice, and we had married out of love. I respected her decision, even though I had hoped she wouldn't choose to divorce me. But there was nothing I could do. And so, my wife and son left me. My friend, do you recall when you asked me what turns a human into a villain and a villain into a monster? In my experience, I became a monster because I witnessed the harsh reality of the world: a world that favors the wealthy and oppresses the poor, a world where justice can be twisted into injustice for a small sum of money, a world that stays silent when it should speak up and speaks when it should stay quiet. Lastly, it's a world that watches people struggle without offering help, even when it's within their means to do so. After that, I became a broken man, living each day in a personal hell, with my mind not in the right place. I decided to destroy the world that had made my life so miserable. So, I created a virusa virus that could either make a human stronger or turn them into the living dead, a zombie. I named the virus "Yonas." Then, the radio cut off and opened to a new scene. "Hey, my friend. Today is April 25, 2030. I tried my virus on the first human, and guess what? It failed. The first human died. I experimented on ten more people until the 12th person finally survived. But he transformed into a dead, dreadful being which I now call a zombie. He immediately attacked me, and I had to kill him. So, today at 10:45 p.m., April 25, 2030, I created a deadly virus that would eventually wreak havoc in all of Hyosan, Seoul, South Korea, and, lastly, the whole world. Lastly, my friend-No Hansan, if you want to learn more about the virus and me, come visit me at my Green Home apartment, room number 222. We can talk further there, but you must stay alive. Goodbye for now." Then the radio stopped, and a buzzing sound indicated the recording tape had ended. "So... It's finished," I muttered. I put the radio back on the desk where it belonged. What a tragic story. A man killed millions just because the world showed him no mercy. I wouldn't blame that guy, though. I have to admit that destiny or fate was too cruel to him. If this were any novel, that guy would have been a villain. Now that's what you call a perfect villain. But if anyone saw my reaction, they'd see I didn't quite believe it. Anyone who hadn't read the history of this world might have believed it, but not me. When that guy mentioned Seoul, I immediately understood that this place is a South Korean city known as Hayson. Now that I think about it, I did see a sign for Hayson High School, but since I didn't know which country it was in, I left it alone. Back to this virus thing. According to history, the pandemic started on August 1, 2030, and the virus was named CONTAGI-30 by every organization at the time. I don't think this virus is the same as that one. Still, it might be possible that the guy who made CONTAGI-30 named it Yonas. But there are still many questions. History also stated that the first case of the virus was found on July 18, 2030, so if this guy already made the virus on April 25, why did it take another 3 to 4 months for the first victim to appear? Secondly, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the disease spread with the help of another disease similar to rabies. And, this guy never mentioned anything about another disease. Another thing I don't understand is how that guy created a virus in just a few days. Even if he was a scientist, what kind of genius could create something like this right after he got broken? Thirdly, according to human history, the virus transformed humans into monsters, not mindless zombies like this guy's virus did. I looked around once more and saw a small square board on the desk with "PRINCIPAL" written in capital letters. So, this is the principal's office. Then, I looked at the floor, where papers were scattered. I couldn't understand how these papers were still in good condition after a century. For now, I was confused about whether to believe it or not. And then, my eyes were drawn to what looked like a map hanging on the corner walls above the chair where the principal would have sat before the pandemic or virus outbreak. That could be helpful now, at this time of crisis, when I didn't know what to do.