A white-gray moon hung high in the western sky, its gentle moonlight casting soft shadows on the northern city. As usual, black clouds drifted across, painting the peaceful city black and white, making it ominous. But it wasn't the end—today another hue would be added—the color of blood.
On a corner of this city, "Tick… tock… tick… tock." From an ancient building, a pendulum's swings echoed. An antique one-meter-radius clock hung on its wall. It was 1 a.m.
Below the building, "Creeeak." A sudden gust of wind pushed one of its rusty windows open. Moonlight slipped through it. Two glowing red eyes stared back at the moon.
Moments later, the black clouds wafted away, revealing the bright moon.
Now the red eyes were much clearer. No, those weren't eyes; they were glowing red cards, like those sold in any shop. But the only difference was that they were floating in midair.
"Hehehe… Finally," a dry, scraping laugh echoed. From one of the cards, a red light shot toward the sky. Instantly, the sky was covered with dark clouds. "Crack!" Lightning flashed.
"I never thought we'd also need to play trickery one day," a low, distorted voice whispered.
Those cards shifted their position toward a circus tent. In the dark, it looked like two red eyes were staring at the tent.
"Hey… the show was amazing, right?" a youth, slapping his friend's shoulder, spoke with a teasing smile.
"Yeah… but that joker… something felt off about him." While answering, his friend hit him back with much more force.
And the youth acted like he didn't notice it. Remembering the joker's performance, both of them fell silent.
The two stepped out of that same circus tent, followed by a crowd murmuring about a specific joker.
This show wasn't that famous, but recently its business was booming because of the joker's eerie performance.
In the crowd, a short, yellow-toothed man whispered, "Big brother, wasn't I right?"
A muscular, scar-faced man replied with a nod. "It seems he earns well," he thought to himself.
"So… big brother, should we make a move… hehe?" the short man asked.
The muscular man looked at his younger brother's silly smile and nodded again.
But who would have thought the place that had been full of life a moment ago would now turn into a living hell?
Inside the circus tent:
"Manager… isn't this too little?"
Looking at the small amount of money, a skinny youth with a painted white face, a stretched red smile, and a round red nose complained to a fat man.
"Ouch!" With a stick, the fat manager struck the famous joker. "So, the dog finally learned to bark?" he shouted.
The joker's body started shaking from anger and pain. Zi Fan forced a smile—out of habit, not courage.
"Hah, isn't it my kindness that keeps you alive?" the manager paused. "How could you question me!" he spoke softly, as if he were the victim and the joker was slandering him. But
"Smack! Smack!" his stick never stopped hitting.
Something shifted inside the joker, but he hid it well and endured in silence.
Without that, what could he do? Manager Chen's bodyguards were surrounding them. And, as always, they were watching the show with enjoyment.
Some time later, the beating stopped.
On the joker's body, many red lines were visible. The joker, Zi Fan, had grown up in an orphanage without any family.
So he tried to fill the gap by making friends. That's why, from childhood to adulthood, if people mocked or ridiculed him, he never responded. This often led to him being tormented.
After coming of age, he thought he had finally broken free from that torture and, with many dreams, stepped outside. But it seemed his luck was very poor.
Not long after leaving, he met this manager who, with sweet words and promises of a big dream, successfully fooled him into signing a contract without knowing anything about it.
From that day on, he stepped into this abyss.
After the thrashing, Zi Fan collapsed to the ground. But it seemed Manager Chen didn't want to let him rest even a little.
"Throw him out," Manager Chen ordered his men with disgust.
Two muscular bodyguards came forward. One grabbed Zi Fan's arms, the other his legs, and lifted him before they could walk.
"Tomorrow, come at the same time; otherwise… hehe… live the rest of your life in prison," Manager Chen warned with a faint smile.
Zi Fan gritted his teeth. "Should I kill this bastard?" he thought to himself.
Those two bodyguards carried him out. Two minutes later, they threw him in front of the tent entrance like a dead dog.
"What's wrong with Manager Chen today? Couldn't he beat this bastard much longer?" one of them asked, kicking Zi Fan in the abdomen.
"Pfft!" Some blood came out of Zi Fan's mouth as he grabbed his stomach.
But the bodyguards had no intention of stopping. One lifted his leg again to hit Zi Fan, but the other stopped him and said:
"Don't waste your time on him. Let's go. I don't want to miss tonight's entertainment."
"Yes." The bodyguard who had been beating Zi Fan paused a little and said excitedly, "Manager Chen caught some new girls again. Let's go have some fun… hehe."
The two of them went inside.
Zi Fan, who was half-conscious, shivered all over after hearing those words.
A chill ran down his spine… he didn't dare imagine their fate. One's out of curiosity, he followed them, and after watching those girls' fate, he couldn't sleep for three days.
"Should I call the police?" he murmured. "No, no, if Manager Chen somehow manages to deceive the police, then…" Cold sweat fell from his forehead.
Outside, two fat and muscular men were waiting under a tree.
"Hey, big brother, why isn't that joker coming out?" the fat man asked.
"Who knows," his brother replied.
"Then should we leave?"
"No, wait a little more," his brother answered after some silence.
Ten minutes later, Zi Fan recovered a little and stood up to go home. But when he stepped outside, he noticed the gloomy sky.
"Wasn't the sky supposed to be clear today?"
Feeling the pain across his body and seeing the cloudy sky, he decided to take the shortcut toward the clock tower. His house was behind it.
He usually avoided that road because of the haunted rumors. But today, it was like he had totally forgotten about it.
Behind him:
"Brother, he is going toward the tower," the fat man paused. "Should we continue, brother?" he asked with some fear.
His brother looked at him and answered, "Of course. And now that road will be deserted. It's good for us."
"Are you sure, brother?" the fatty questioned him again.
"Don't worry. I'm here with you," his brother assured him.
"When did my brother become so brave?" the fatty thought to himself and began to follow Zi Fan with his brother.
As Zi Fan came closer, his eyes darted here and there. He didn't know why his body was trembling—was it because of the beating or something else?
Suddenly, a pot-bellied figure appeared before him.
He flinched violently. "W–what—?"
"Crack!" Lightning flashed. The brief light made his vision clear. He realized it was a human.
"Hah, it's a normal human." He opened his mouth and took air greedily. He steadied himself and wanted to ask why this fatty appeared so suddenly, but… the pot-bellied man took out a knife with a grin.
Now he didn't need to ask anything. Zi Fan immediately understood his situation. He turned to run, but a muscular man blocked his path.
"W–wait… what do you want?" He tried to speak with a forced smile, but his words stuck in his throat.
One step, two steps. The two of them came closer, and he stepped back until he was cornered against a wall.
"Hand over all your money," the fat man demanded.
"Of course, here, take it. Don't hurt me." Zi Fan reached into his pocket and took out all his money.
But midway, a whisper like a devil echoed from all directions in his mind:
"Do you want to continue living in fear? Don't you have any shame?"
In his mind, a flashback appeared. A thin and pale-looking little kid was trying to sleep, but hunger and the cool weather wouldn't let him.
He had food and a blanket, but another kid forcefully took them away. And he was too cowardly to take them back, so he suffered.
The memory ended, but it didn't stop. Every bad memory of his life began to replay.
The voice whispered again, "Do you?"
"No," he answered.
"Then… hehehe… fight back, don't be a coward," the whispers kept repeating again and again.
Zi Fan's eyes turned red. His sense of fear was gone; all his hidden resentment now was coming out. His whole body language changed, as if he were a different person.
To be continued…