His mother stood in her place…
She didn't fully understand what he meant with his words.
She felt that something inside him had broken,
but she didn't know where… or when.
As for Kim…
He didn't want to explain any further.
Some things, if spoken aloud,
can turn into wounds that can never be closed again.
So he passed by her quietly,
and climbed the stairs slowly…
step… then another.
Until he reached the room upstairs.
He paused at the door for a moment.
Then he opened it.
The room was just as he had left it…
the same bed,
the same desk,
even the curtain swayed slightly with the breeze, just as it always had.
It was as if time inside that room
hadn't noticed what had happened outside.
He entered slowly.
And closed the door behind him.
He sat on the edge of the bed for a while…
looking around in silence.
The room hadn't changed.
But he…
He was no longer the same person who had left it.
He reached out and touched the pillow.
It was slightly cold.
Kim let out a quiet sigh,
then finally lay down.
For the first time in a long while…
he wasn't thinking about fighting,
nor the past,
nor the endless questions.
He was just tired.
Deeply tired…
as if his very soul needed to pause for a while.
He closed his eyes slowly.
And in that moment…
something strange was happening.
As if the night itself
was reaching out quietly to cover his wounds.
The quiet in the room
enveloped him like a silent embrace.
Some pains…
don't need answers.
Don't need words.
Sometimes…
all a person needs
is a quiet room,
a simple bed,
and a little darkness…
to finally let their heart rest.
Minutes passed…
and his breathing grew slower.
Calmer.
As if the pain that had been screaming inside him for years
was starting to fade a little.
Sleep…
a strange thing.
It may not change the past,
nor fix what is broken…
but it gives the heart a small chance
to stop bleeding.
And that night…
within the silent walls of that room,
Kim finally slept.
And for the first time in a long while…
he wasn't fighting.
He was just…
a human trying to heal.
---
Kim woke to light piercing through the window.
He looked, then fully woke up and said:
"What… is it morning? Did I really sleep like this?"
Perhaps I needed this for longer.
He stood up and headed to the living room,
and found his mother looking worried, with his father there as well.
Kim looked at him and said:
"Strange… you're not supposed to be here."
His father looked at him and said:
"Really, I had to come in case something happened to my son."
Kim looked at him sarcastically as he was heading to the bathroom and said:
"You're a demon, Mac!"
His mother was startled, and Mac looked at him with concern.
Then Kim continued:
"How can a demon worry about a little girl? Didn't you leave my mother? You're a demon to me now."
Then he noticed the worry on their faces.
His mother told him not to speak to his father like that.
Mac looked at him:
"Whatever, I don't care. Just stand still now."
Kim stopped and looked back.
Mac said: "How have you changed in two days?"
Kim looked at him, his eyes closing slightly, and said sadly:
"Ha… ha… two days? Were they really two days? Perhaps they were two days to you… but to me, they were millions of days."
Then he left him.
He was getting ready to go to school.
When he arrived, he found that Mary hadn't come.
Kim spent the entire school day feeling transparent and silent,
not knowing what to do.
It was all because of his mother…
because the crimson eyes had been used unknowingly on his mother, and he found that her real name above all was Leona.
Truly… she was of the angelic lineage, but what surprised him was that she was among the cursed saints.
He didn't understand what this meant, but amid the tangled knots in his mind…
A punch suddenly came toward his face.
There was no time to think.
The fist hit his face hard…
and Kim fell to the ground.
Soft laughter came from around him.
He lifted his head slightly…
and standing in front of him was someone he knew well.
Sonic.
The same annoying smile…
the same look he had seen for years.
Sonic said mockingly:
"Why are you so spaced out, you fool?"
Then he kicked Kim's bag with his foot.
"The school day is over."
He laughed lightly.
"Or are you still dreaming of becoming someone important?"
He expected the usual…
that Kim would quietly get up,
brush off the dust from his clothes,
and leave while everyone laughed.
As it always happened.
But this time…
it didn't happen.
Kim stood up slowly.
A strange slow…
as if his body were heavier than usual.
He lifted his head slightly.
His eyes were neither angry…
nor sad.
They were terrifyingly calm.
Sonic paused for a moment.
Then said mockingly:
"What?"
He stepped closer.
"You want more?"
But Kim didn't answer.
He just…
looked at him.
A fixed, silent gaze.
A second passed…
then another.
And suddenly…
the smile vanished from Sonic's face.
There was something strange in that gaze.
Something that made his chest tighten for no reason.
Sonic said, trying to mock:
"What's with that look?"
But this time…
his voice wasn't as confident as it had been moments ago.
Kim stepped closer.
Very slowly.
Until he was near him.
Then he said in a very low voice:
"Do you know something…"
He paused briefly.
Then continued:
"The strange thing about humans…
is that they think the quiet person is weak."
Kim lifted his eyes directly to him.
And at that moment…
Sonic felt something cold run down his back.
As if those eyes…
were not only looking at him,
but seeing something inside him.
Then Kim said quietly:
"But the truth…"
He paused for a moment.
Then stepped closer until his voice was a whisper.
"…is that quietness is sometimes the last thing that happens before everything changes."
Sonic's hand trembled slightly without him noticing.
Why did he feel like this?
It was the same Kim who always used to hit him.
But…
this time…
he stood before him like a completely different person.
Sonic stepped back without realizing it.
Kim looked at him a moment longer…
then bent slightly to pick up his bag from the ground.
Brushed off the dust.
Then passed by Sonic quietly.
But before leaving…
he stopped.
And said without turning back:
"Sonic…"
The place fell silent for a moment.
Then he continued in a calm… cold voice:
"Enjoy being brave today."
"Because some people…"