I was stuffed—completely. I had never been that full in my whole life. Smiling to myself, I looked through the palms of my hands."Sigh… I was really tired. And I don't even know why I was in despair back then."Still smiling to myself.
The old man smirked."Haha, you kids always think the suffering of today is the end of it all. But that isn't too bad."
His plate was small, and only a fraction of it had been eaten as he slowly chewed.
"It just means," he continued, "that you know you shouldn't be suffering like that. And that something should be different."
Adam stood up awkwardly, embarrassed yet grateful for the food that was given."Thank you… Why did you trust me?"
"I just did. There's nothing to it," the old man said, finishing his meal."Just head right back here if you want work."
Adam walked away from the old man's house as the cold breeze fluttered in the air. He made his way to the hotel, the sound of his footsteps echoing up the metal stairs. It was quiet—no light was lit.
As I walked to my room, a window was open. Mai was there, waving at me with a smile."I see you're still depending on my kindness," she said, smiling faintly, trying to forget the things that happened back at school."I'm sorry…"
"It's fine," Adam replied with a smirk. "Only a crazy person would sacrifice themselves in that riot of a school. Yeah… I hate that place, and I only experienced two days of it. I'll try to pay you back."
"Alright… see ya then. It's my birthday three days from now," Mai said.
As I opened the door to my room, I muttered, "Happy birthday…" and closed it behind me, locking it. It was tiring—a lot had happened today. Lying down on the bed, I felt uncomfortable, even though I'd been through worse things in my life.
I was still in despair… and I couldn't even explain why."Hahh… the old man was right. I am filled with hope," I whispered to myself. "At the end of the day, this world is fake. And I shouldn't feel despair. I'll escape, no matter what."
Suddenly, a voice came from beside my bed.It was the freaking schizophrenic guy sleeping right there. I almost screamed like an idiot and kicked him off the floor."Why are you in my room!?" I shouted, furious and angry.
He tried to stand up, but I didn't let him."Dude, relax! I managed to create a vent hole escape between rooms," he said, pointing at the vents.
I stared at it, confused why something like that even existed."Can you get the heck out?" I said, trying to calm my nerves.
The man looked panicked, his eyes darting everywhere."I told you it was a bad idea… What do you mean it isn't!? Dude, the reason I'm here is because the world's gonna end in a week! I'm telling you!"
He tried to grab me, and I quickly checked if he was armed—he wasn't. I shoved him out and dragged him toward the door."Leave."
The man rolled on the floor, hurt."Ack… ow… man, I'm telling you! It's the end!" He punched the ground, bleeding."And I don't have any reason to believe it!" he yelled, tears streaming from his eyes.
"A person's gonna believe what he wants to believe…" He laughed weakly. "Man… I'm… not crazy, right?"
Adam felt a flicker of empathy."I don't know. Just get out."
"But there's this old man… if you wanna get some cash for your supplies or something, just answer me…"
I locked the door, went to the vents, screwed them shut tight, reinforced them with planks and barricades. Then I lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling fan.
Thoughts burst through my head. I didn't even know if I was asleep or not—overthinking blurred the line between waking and dreaming.
A mouth—large, endless—formed before me, eyes peeking out of the darkness, circling around me. Then, suddenly, the void swallowed it all.
I sat up, huffing and puffing, waking from that nightmare.An eyeball with tiny legs and arms stood on the bedside table, staring at me. I squished it without hesitation.
Then I went back to sleep—tired.
Days passed by. Working with the old man wasn't that bad. Delivering sacks of hay, tilling, planting the land in the afternoons, or feeding the pasture animals. Managing school. At least the old man gave me food every time.
I just hoped I wouldn't get fat in this world. It was a tight schedule… but I managed to earn 36,000 won for working four hours a day. At least I had that crazy guy with me. Though most of that money went to buying school supplies and paying the 26,650 won monthly rent.
Sitting beside the window while her family celebrated inside, Mai was playing on her console.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be studying?" I said.
She pointed at me, and we both smirked at the same time.
Time passed for a couple of moments. The stars blinked above, the wind howling outside.I thought to myself, Why do I think I'm alone when I have everyone with me?The only person who tried to cover themselves from others was me. That's why I was always bored and blank.So stupid.
Mai looked at me, noticing I was lost in thought."You have that in you," she said.
"What?"
"Something different… you're kind."
"Nope."
"Well, I can see it."
I tried to cover my face, smiling a little. "How can you know?"
"Every person has that something in them. I can't explain it." She smiled softly. "You're kinder than anyone I've ever met. One of a kind."
"Please stop punning me."
It had only been three days. That was a start. Mai didn't nag me about the rent anymore. I sat beneath the trees, resting in a hammock, watching that trashy schizophrenic guy trying to convince the old man of something again.
The old man just laughed, joking about the guy's predicament—but still believed him, like a man who'd never had an education at all. Like two drunk men talking nonsense together.
Truthfully, I needed connection. If I hadn't met that person who trusted me—and didn't underpay me—I wouldn't have made it this far. I drank some water. It was refreshing.
"I'm telling you, man," the schizophrenic said, "I'm seeing monsters."
The old man laughed. "I guess the world's gonna end, right? Well, heck of it… it's gonna end anyway. I don't care."
Time passed. I went to school. No one bothered me, though someone was absent—it was Mai. That was strange. Her friends talked about her, and I felt odd, as if something shouldn't be happening right now.
Scratching my neck, confused, I thought—I'm definitely not kind.Sighing, I wondered if I should do something, find out what was going on. But something inside me refused...
As the bell rang, the boys in the classroom started to look at me.Then, one by one, they stood up.