Hi fiction lover! I have a confession… which you’ve probably found out by the title. I chickened out on reviewing a fanfic work again. *crying face emoji.* Anyway, I’m happy to be giving you my thoughts on 7FATES: CHAKHO, or at least the first chapter.
Here’s the premise:
“It’s the day of visitors.
But the visitors to Sin-si are unwelcomed, vengeful beom.
Unforgotten animosity fills the air and rage collides, soaking the ground with blood.
Seven boys take up their weapons to end this fight, once and for all.”
First of all… beom. Did I hear Beomgyu? I don’t exactly know why the writers chose this name, but I’ll be gladly reminded about my TXT bias whenever I read. Anyway… besides that one glaring thing, I’m intrigued! It definitely sounds more violent than The Star Seekers, but I don’t mind seeing the BTS members, or at least their characters, fight it out a bit. Just like with TXT’s story, each character has a different name.
Zeha — Jungkook
Haru — Jimin
Jooan — V
Hwan — Jin
Do-geon — RM
Cein — Suga
Hosu — J-Hope
First off, the first chapter’s titled, “Murder Cases At Inwang Mountain.” I’m getting Detective Conan vibes. And then we’re hit, smacked in the face with the official book cover including all seven members. They look badass and majestic, in their sleek outfits in a futuristic city backdrop. And the colors? I’m convinced the person behind this photoshoot woke up with the right vision.
After a particularly suffocating dream, Zeha awakes in the hospital. With an intense pain in his chest, he reflects on how he met a strange man, who offered him the answer to what happened to his deceased parents. Zeha’s described as just trying to survive, taking part-time jobs without any time to wonder about how his parents died. He is a “cynical and pessimistic young man” who gave the middle finger to the guy who offered to show him the truth (at the time of writing this, there are over 3000 comments about the middle finger line—we love bad boy Jungkook!).
The man claimed that Zeha could uncover the secret at Inwang Mountain. In fact, Zeha used to live near Beom Rock on the mountain. Seeing that it was the anniversary of his parents’ death, he decided to head there.
Back to the hospital! Apparently, he’s been out for three days. A policeman questions Zeha because twenty-four mutilated bodies were found around the area where he got knocked out. The policeman shows him photo evidence. The gruesomeness makes it seem impossible for a mere human to be responsible. The chapter ends with a promise that this is just “the start of something malicious.” And then we get a picture of Jungkook staring dreamily at us through the screen. He definitely served with his mismatched earrings and heavy necklace. That lip ring though. And are those gray colored contacts?
Ahem. The first chapter definitely brings a lot of mystery, and although we don’t meet the other six characters just yet, which is a bit of a disappointment, we do get to spend a lot of time within Zeha’s mind. My first reaction is—maybe Zeha will get his memory back piece by piece, and recruit the other members one by one to make a team? Maybe he’ll be motivated primarily by whatever (whoever?) caused his parents to die.
I’m gonna be honest, I’m a little terrified. If twenty-four murdered people is just the start of it all, I can’t imagine what’s about to go down in Sin-si. If Zeha’s going from part-timer to full on fighter, I do expect some pretty intense training scenes.
I’m also questioning whether the other six members will have equally riveting backstories. I’m guessing Zeha will have the strongest character arc. Also I’m wondering how the author will distinguish their voices? Seven characters are quite a lot, and each member should have something to make them unique, for example in their dialogue.
Again, I’m so happy that HYBE decided to partner with Wattpad. We have the WEBTOON and also the physical comic version. Maybe a movie’s in the works? Let me know what you think of 7FATES: CHAKHO! And check out my blog for other reviews!