Kim Rok Soo

* Novel
* Manhwa

A South Korean man who was a reader of the novel **The Birth of a Hero**. He read five volumes of the novel in one sitting before waking up the next day and finding himself transported into the world of *The Birth of a Hero* as the minor villain Cale Henituse.

It is slowly revealed that Kim Rok Soo was not so ordinary and vain. He was actually part of an important organization of supernatural humans that dealt with monsters.

## **Appearance**

Kim Rok Soo was a 36-year-old man with a stoic but handsome face, who describes himself as a typical fit South Korean with black hair and dark eyes similar in appearance to Choi Han, though it is revealed later on that his eyes are actually reddish-brown, the same color as Cale's. He is a fit, muscular South Korean male ability user who is 182 cm in height.

His entire body was covered in "disgusting" scars which was the main reason as to why he would only wear long-sleeved dark shirts. It is revealed later on that they were actually an effect of the backlash that came with using his second revealed ability, Instant, of which his body was unable to fully support the strain of violating the laws of time and space.

His work attire consisted of a black outfit that was made from advanced materials, later on said to be something akin to a tracksuit.

Cale Barrow is said to bear an uncanny resemblance to him.

## **Personality**

His motto was pretty simple: *"Living long without pain. Enjoying the small joys of life. Living a peaceful life."*

Kim Rok Soo's appraisal of himself to the readers makes him seem apathetic. He didn't particularly enjoy his old life and had few bonds with his old world. He fears both death and pain and would rather live in misery than be dead.

He appears to have had a love for consuming media in his old life—whether it was comic books, novels, or movies. He especially enjoyed fantasy novels. He had a knack for remembering details about characters he enjoyed, but conversely would completely forget about anything he didn't like in a story.

Kim Rok Soo seems to not be very close to other people. The only person which he recalls is his old "Team leader", whom he remembers with great respect, as well as Choi Jung Soo, who thought of him as a brother. The members of his second team—of which he became the leader of following the death of his previous one—felt distanced from him and Kim Rok Soo didn't care much about their thoughts, though it is revealed later on that one of the concerns he had upon waking up as Cale Henituse was how his team would cope without him being there anymore.

His apathetic exterior is also due to his inner fear of being alone again and having to live with the grief that comes with the loss of his treasured ones, stemming all the way back from the tragedy that happened to his old team.

He views himself as a bastard in order to find false peace with his deep sadness. At heart, he is caring and worldly-wise, but his subconscious fears make him seek distance and fewer connections for self-protection. Part of his desire to distance himself from most matters unrelated to him might be related to his inability to forget things, thanks to his Record ability. Kim Rok Soo also once said that *"the human who could never forget always had to protect himself"* in response to receiving his Team Leader's memories. In other words, for Kim Rok Soo, not knowing things is a way to protect himself.

It is later revealed that he was, in his old life, actually quite vicious, with some even admitting he might be even scarier than Lee Soo Hyuk.

## **Abilities**

> *" Kim Rok Soo, Grade 1 Ability User.*
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> *First brain-related special ability, ‘record.’*
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> *Medium to use ability, ‘eyes.’ "*
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> — Chapter 358: Record (3)

At the beginning of the cataclysm, Kim Rok Soo had no abilities, only awakening them after he joined the company. It is even mentioned that they only started developing much later on after the passing of his old teammates.

It is known that he was one of the "ability users" or super-humans of his old world, with his power being the ability to Record the things that happen around him. He is able to achieve a sort of 4D photographic memory.

He also has a few other abilities that have not been mentioned as of yet in the novel.

Kim Rok Soo is also very intelligent, as well as a master strategist—though this is only shown through his actions as Cale Henituse. It's hinted that he managed to become a team leader because of his capabilities, but as he personally loathes the idea of responsibility, he doesn't "think" about it much during the course of the novel. One major factor that contributed to his success as a team leader of his own was the fact that he had all the data regarding the monsters (all possible to retain because of his ability, Record). *“Weaknesses, movement patterns, attacking styles, and destructive force. I also know the order in which the monsters will attack. All of that information is in my head.”*

His second ability, **Instant,** is revealed much later on in *Chapter 646, We Cannot Retreat (2)*. Instant allows his brain to push his body pass normal human limits, *"making him move at a speed that humans aren’t able to move in, allowing him to make movements that humans wouldn't normally be able to make."* During that time, he is the only one able to move around the world, appearing as if he is jumping through time and space—though, as it's name implies, he can only use it for about 5 seconds due to the strain it puts upon his body.*(More information can be found regarding this ability on its respective page.)*

***Chapter 646, We Cannot Retreat (2) :***

*A long time ago, when he went to see the Mercenaries Guild’s Directory… That was the first time Cale used Kim Rok Soo’s ‘Record’ ability. He had brought over a portion of the Grade 1 ability user Kim Rok Soo’s abilities to this world and had realized he could use a portion of his multiple abilities in this world.*

*Then came the sealed god’s test. His body had changed after going to the parallel world and defeating an unranked monster inside that twenty years old Kim Rok Soo’s body.*

*‘That portion became whole.’ A thick smile appeared on Cale’s face. Cale’s first ability, ‘Record,’ heated his body and put a lot of pressure on his body, but his second ability gave him a much more serious pain. ‘It’ll be troublesome if I get overloaded. But I still have to use it.’*

## **Synopsis**

He was a person who didn't have much money and, by his own appraisal, anyone he truly loved or any friends he would have died for. The only reason he kept on living was because he "couldn't die".

His parents passed away from a car accident when he was young, and he was raised as an orphan, until he was adopted by his uncle for who he was abused by to the point that he gave in and decided he never wanted to be the "main character" of a story because he didn't have the strength to fight against the world.

Before his abilities were awakened, he was an ordinary part-timer at a restaurant. Said restaurant and everyone inside of it were destroyed when the monster apocalypse occurred in early January; Kim Rok Soo survived for three days on his own in the ruins, until he was rescued by Lee Soo Hyuk.

#### **Apocalypse**

After Kim Rok Soo was saved by Lee Soo Hyuk, he along with other survivors of the initial attack gathered towards certain shelters, *"places in the early days of the cataclysm where monsters never approached, a safe place in this hell where monsters could appear at any moment."*

The central shelter where Kim Rok Soo had ended up in was a place where his former team leader, Lee Soo Hyuk, had brought him, along with all the other people he had saved. When Lee Soo Hyuk left to help out in more dangerous places, Park Jin Tae was the one who filled the hole he left, becoming the new 'king' of the central shelter (although Lee Soo Hyuk specifically left both Park Jin Tae and Grandma Kim in charge). And while Park Jin Tae was noted to be a good person, after Lee Soo Hyuk's departure Park Jin Tae finally revealed his true nature and began ruling over the shelter "like a tyrant."

> This was less than 1 year since the world was flipped over.
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> The winter of the cataclysm had passed, spring and summer had come by, and then it was fall.
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> It was that first fall.
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> It was late fall when the unranked monster appeared in Seoul and filled the world with fear.
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> It turned the world into chaos and the largest number of people died at that time.
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> — Chapter 555: Pretty Useless Bastard (1)

During that first season of fall, despite the majority of the people in the shelter accepting Park Jin Tae as the new shelter leader, Kim Rok Soo was the only initial shelter member to still consider Lee Soo Hyuk—who had by then been gone for over ten months—as the shelter's king. It was for this reason that Kim Rok Soo was disliked by Park Jin Tae and his entourage, and since Kim Rok Soo did not accept him as king, Park Jin Tae often made him run errands for him. If Kim Rok Soo refused, he would often get beaten to the point of bruising or bleeding up until Park Jin Tae's lackeys had enough of him, or until Grandma Kim came and diffused the situation.

On October 25th (starting from 12:01 PM), monsters would continuously attack for 24 hours straight, and all the shelters around Korea—both the central and temporary ones—were destroyed before a new shelter of the size of 3-5 original central shelters appeared at the end of those grueling 24 hours.

Grade 3 monsters appeared first, then followed by Grade 2 and Grade 1 monsters that would attack right after waiting for their turn.

#### **Joining the company**

Some time later on, Kim Rok Soo ended up joining a company in an "awkward position as it was neither a guild nor a government entity, but it was able to take on all sorts of jobs because of this ambiguous status." Him and Choi Jung Soo, who was his age, were the only two rookies upon the time they joined. They gradually become close despite Kim Rok Soo acting relatively stoic and blunt with him, but he genuinely came to consider Choi Jung Soo as a brother (though he never admitted it out loud).

During his first year in the company, *"Grade 1 monsters suddenly appeared in section C-1 of Korea. The abilities user’s guild responsible for the area and the hunter bastards had all run away, leaving the company employees to come to hold out until someone showed up from the government."* Thus, while waiting, Team leader Lee Soo Hyuk and his squad all focused on defense to stop the monsters while holding out. Choi Jung Soo had to support and drag an injured and impulsive Kim Rok Soo away from danger during that event.

***Chapter 306, From the bottom (2) :***

*[ “Hey! Hurry up! You stupid bastard who hasn’t even fully activated his ability! If you weren’t my one and only fellow first-year! Sigh!”*

*Cale remembered what he had said in the past when Choi Jung Soo had supported and dragged him out of here.*

*Kim Rok Soo in his twenties had said the following:* *‘I’m going to kill all of those damned bastards and be a slacker for the rest of my life with my pension. I’m definitely going to do it. I’m going to kill all the monsters. I’m also going to kill the ability guild members who got all the advantages we gave them to protect the citizens and defend against the monsters but ran away when we actually needed them to do something.*

*I’m going to kill them all.*

*'…And then I’ll live peacefully in a peaceful world.’ ]*

While surrounded by falling buildings, company employees, and running citizens, Kim Rok Soo and Choi Jung Soo had a rather casual conversation, sharing ambitions and dreams for the future, most likely to keep their spirits up during the tense situation.

*[ “Hey! Don’t you know our team leader’s motto?”*

*‘How could I not?’ (Kim Rok Soo) knew it too well.*

*“Being alive is the best! Why don’t you take those words to heart, huh?”*

*He had indeed taken it to heart.*

*“Hey, the team leader says he’s going to own a farm once he retires. I’m going to own an orchard next to him.”*

*He had scoffed at Choi Jung Soo back then. ‘How can you say something so relaxed in a situation like this?’*

*That made Choi Jung Soo let out his unique clueless laugh as he answered back. He said the same thing he was saying in this dream. “What do you want to do?”*

*‘What else could it be? I want to be a slacker. Damn it.’ ]*

Later on when he was less of a rookie who was still green behind the ears, Kim Rok Soo worked as part of the Rear support team under Team leader Lee Soo Hyuk, where he oversaw the strategical planning, making use of his ability that allowed for him to calculate and consult the numerous records in his mind regarding every monster that had appeared in the world since the very beginning of the cataclysm.

#### **Fight with the unranked monster, end of Team leader Lee Soo Hyuk's Era**

At some point, a monster appears in an unspecified area, so devastatingly strong that it caused the large guild in charge of the area to flee. At that time, Kim Rok Soo was in his mid-to-late twenties and *"had so many records and data that he could use his ability to foresee the appearance of the second strongest monster ever seen in the history of the Earth."* Because of his predictions, he was able to save them one hour, which was enough for him and his company to contact the guild responsible for the area to prepare and evacuate the area. *"However, while Kim Rok Soo could foresee the location the monster would arrive but not its strength. That was why his teammates who had already come here knowing that they might die had to face an existence beyond their expectations."*

At some point, Kim Rok Soo left his position at the rear, where he should've stayed put at supporting his teammates with directions, in order to save Choi Jung Soo from a blow heading in his direction while the man was distracted by the God of Death communicating to him in his head. On his way there, Kim Rok Soo managed to pick up a metal board that he managed to use as a makeshift shield, and upon jumping forward to deflect the blow directed towards Choi Jung Soo, he ended up falling and breaking his arm.

***Chapter 394, The crazy one, the innocent one, and the laughing one (4) :***

*[ Kim Rok Soo was standing there unable to speak properly while Choi Jung Soo was kneeling in front of him with his sword stabbed into the ground.*

*‘What is it, you punk.’*

*Choi Jung Soo who had no blood left to cough up was jokingly responding as he died. ‘I leave it to you.’*

*He could also see team leader Lee Soo Hyuk close his eyes while leaving the rest to him.*

*All of them. All of his teammates had died just like that.*

*‘Mr. Kim Rok Soo! Mr. Rok Soo!’*

*Once Kim Rok Soo was the only one remaining, he had snapped out of it after someone from the reinforcements team grabbed his shoulder. (...)* *Cale recalled how Kim Rok Soo had acted back then on the battlefield where all of his team members were dying. He looked once toward team leader Lee Soo Hyuk who had closed his eyes, and then once at Choi Jung Soo who had his head down. After that…*

*‘Here is the status report.’ He looked toward the government officials, guild members, and ability users who had come to fight against this monster and calmly started to speak. His team leader and his friends had left the rest to him. 'I will explain the fighting patterns of that monster.’ He first explained about the battle. Then he asked the person next to him for something once he stepped back and the reinforcements moved in to fight against the monster because he had no fighting power.*

*‘Please collect their bodies.’*

*It was because Kim Rok Soo could not move at that time. He had explained about the monster’s abilities with his remaining strength even as his nose continued to bleed. The reinforcements all focused on his explanation, but nobody said anything about wiping his bloody nose.*

*Kim Rok Soo had felt as if the world was crashing down at that moment.*

*‘…It’s too late.’*

*The reinforcements had been too late. ]*

#### **Years as Team leader Kim Rok Soo**

It's later revealed that he was a member of the Rear support team, as well as the first Mental support team member to become a team leader. He unified the Vanguard first team and the Rear support first team.

Despite personally having been chosen by Lee Soo Hyuk himself to be the next team leader, since he didn't have as much achievements as his former superior as well as because he had first started out as a Rear support member, coworkers of the same company, the government, and leaders of guilds or other organizations all doubted his capabilities since they didn't trust that he had the capabilities of being a good team leader. Kim Rok Soo was also looked down by people he had to report to or request assistance/cooperation from because he wasn't *"even an ability user at the beginning of the cataclysm. We know better than you do. We will just do things according to our guild’s methods. You understand?’"*

However, Kim Rok Soo didn't let them continue that behaviour towards him for long, despite *"not caring about all those gossips or gazes back then."*

***Chapter 591, Before the sun comes up (3) :***

*[ ‘Of course, I didn’t just let things go either.’*

*Later on, people would say that they understood why team leader Lee Soo Hyuk named Kim Rok Soo as the new team leader. Some even said that he was even scarier than Lee Soo Hyuk. ]*

Because he never let his true feelings show after he lost them, he grew a reputation as cold but efficient bastard among others.

As he grew older, and likewise, more into the role of team leader for an era of ability users different from Lee Soo Hyuk's time, Kim Rok Soo pointedly treated his new team differently, drawing a clear line between himself and the people he worked with—very much different from the close atmosphere of his old team, whom he regarded as family.

By the time he reached 36 years of age, Kim Rok Soo ended up borrowing the *"The Birth of a Hero"* series by Nelan Barrow from the library. He read up to the fifth volume before he fell asleep, only to find himself waking up in the body of Cale Henituse, a minor character that got beaten up by the protagonist of the original novel.

## **Relationships**

###      **Choi Jung Soo** and **Lee Soo Hyuk**

*(See pages: Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk for more details)*

Without a doubt, Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk were the two individuals he was closest with during his time lived as Kim Rok Soo. The former was his first friend who he met when they were both rookies at the same company, and the latter was the person who saved him after the initial attack from the rubble of the restaurant in which he worked part-time at, who eventually became his team leader upon joining his team. The three of them were incredibly close to the point where they saw each other as family (though, Kim Rok Soo would never out-rightly confirm it), especially since they came from a time where many people had lost their families, and as fellow members of the same team, they gradually became each others' new one.

Lee Soo Hyuk was also the one who personally suggested for Kim Rok Soo to succeed him as team leader.

When they knew each other pre-company, Lee Soo Hyuk would often ask Kim Rok Soo to call him hyung, although fruitlessly, since *"Kim Rok Soo wouldn’t call (Lee Soo Hyuk) hyung no matter how many times (he) told him to do that"*. Though despite this, Kim Rok Soo thought of him as *"the person who had saved his life and was his mentor and family"*. And likewise, upon getting to know him later on, Choi Jung Soo thought of him as his brother, claiming that he saw Kim Rok Soo as both his hyung and his dongsaeng, seeing as they were born on the same day (though, Choi Jung Soo was a few hours older, since he was born in the morning.)

###     **Kim Rok Soo's Team**

Assistant Leader Kim Min Ah *(in charge of team leader Kim Rok Soo's attack squad)* and Agent Jung So Hoon *(in charge of the team's support squad)* first appeared in *Chapter 502: It works? (3)* after Cale got hit by Queen Elisneh's illusion/attack. Though his subordinates show obvious care and respect for him, Kim Rok Soo makes a point to draw a clear line between them following what happened to his former team.

###      **Members of the Seoul Central Shelter**

* **Park Jin Tae**

**Park Jin Tae** was the one in charge of the shelter after Lee Soo Hyuk left in his care in order to go help other areas in need. Park Jin Tae hated Kim Rok Soo since he was one of **Lee Soo Hyuk's people** who didn't accept him as 'king'.

* **Grandma Kim**

Upon seeing **Grandma Kim** again in the test forced onto him by the Sealed God, Kim Rok Soo was nearly pushed to tears. While unable to go against Park Jin Tae's misbehaviour, she never hesitated to use her healing abilities on Kim Rok Soo when he gets injured for disobeying.

* **Lee Jin Joo and Lee Seung Won**

**Lee Jin Joo** *(older sister)* and **Lee Seung Won** *(younger brother)* were two siblings—in university and in highschool, respectively—who were close to Kim Rok Soo in the shelter. They were intimate enough for them to be concerned over his well-being whenever he got hurt. Lee Jin Joo is older than him, while Lee Seung Won is three years younger than him. They are said to have abilities that even ability-users look down on, because they are "useless". They remind him of On and Hong.

* **Jang Man Soo**

**Jang Man Soo** is a middle-aged man who lived near Kim Rok Soo's usual spot on the first floor of the shelter. He shows concern for Kim Rok Soo and is able to joke around with him, and knows Kim Rok Soo enough to know he isn't the type to lie. Kim Rok Soo also seems to frequently nag at him for his snoring. His deceased daughter was the same age as Kim Rok Soo.

###      **Original Cale Henituse**

**\*\*\*SPOILER 650+\*\*\*** *Their bodies have been swapped across space-time by the intervention of the God of Death, who had offered the original Cale Henituse a deal on his death bed on the battlefield.*

## **Trivia**

* His motto is: *"Living long without pain. Enjoying the small joys of life. Living a peaceful life."* Although, he also occasionally uses his former team leader's: *"Being alive is the best,"* which he takes to heart even several years later after the former's passing.
* He is noted to be a shy kid by those extremely close to him (notably, by Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk).
* According to Lee Soo Hyuk, he easily remembers whatever it is he wishes to remember, but forgets anything he wishes to ignore as if he hadn't learnt it at all.
* He has a habit of undoing the first few buttons of his shirt, due to the heat up that came whenever he used his Record ability.
* Greatly dislike sour things, such as lemonade.

## References

1. ↑ | Munpia official website
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 340
3. ↑ Chapter 351
4. ↑ Chapter 358
5. ↑ | Munpia official website
6. ↑ Chapter 336
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 646
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chapter 306
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Chapter 502
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 2
11. ↑ Chapter 4
12. ↑ Chapter 423
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chapter 557
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Chapter 591
15. ↑ Chapter 559
16. ↑ Chapter 20
17. ↑ Chapter 556
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Chapter 415
19. ↑ Chapter 394
20. ↑ Chapter 345
21. ↑ Chapter 352
22. ↑ Chapter 583
23. ↑ Chapter 582
24. ↑ Chapter 447
25. ↑ Chapter 561
26. ↑ Chapter 655
27. ↑ Chapter 417