30 minutes ago.
Michail wiped his nose as he walked, dragging the fallen teddy bear along the ground.
“Sniff… I’m such an idiot.”
He felt terrible.
He had said some said them.
-You don’t even know what your mom looks like!
It was something he said in a fit of emotion.
Seeing how everyone else’s parenht affect the listener.
If he had been just a bit more mature.
If he had considered how those words would feel to the other.He wouldn’t have made such a mistake.
Michail had easily touched and torn open his friend’s wounds.
He knew only his own feelings to be understood.
And so, he had treated the secret his friend revealed as if it were a weakness, using it to wound him.
Michail deeply regretted it.
Consumed by guilt, he walked on, wishing he could turn back time and stop himself from saying those awful words.
He walked endlessly.
By under the bridge.
“He’s not here….”
Hugging ht his friend would be there, waiting as usual, but seeing the boy nowhere in sight made his chest ache.
Maybe he was too angry.
Of course, he’d be mad.
Even Michail wouldn’t want to see someone who said such things to him.
Feeling down, Michail squatted against a pillar. The rain-soaked his clothes, making him shiver, but there wasn’t much he could do.
Without the boy, Michail was helpless.
The weather was gloomy.
The thought of saying goodbye left him anxious.
And the guilt from the harsh words he had spoken was a burden he couldn’t easily shake off.
The longer he was alone, the deeper Michail’s mood sunk into darkness.
Michail began practicing how to apologize.
He wanted to apologize as soon as his friend returned.
“I was too harsh… I’m just, Lee Kuminyuek… No, Lee Koomee… What an idiot…”
Even when cursing, his friend’s name was so difficult to pronounce. Michail complained petulantly, wondering why his friend’s name had to be so complicated.
‘Idiot.’
Michail had relied on his friend a lot.
Mentally.
Physically.
He had leaned on him heavily.
Because this boy was the person who saved his life and the first real friend he had, he couldn’t help but depend on him.
He was like a hero from a fairy ranted.
His friend never got angry and always listened to his stories.
Michail ht it would be the same this time.
Even though he was just a young boy like Michail.
Time passed as Michail wallowed in his regrets.
Then, Michail heard the sound of unfamiliar footsteps approaching.
Michail quickly stood up.
“He’s here…!”
He thought he should apologize.
Before i his friend’s feelings.
That he shouldn’t have done it.
e mistake.
Without even looking up, Michail ran towards the footsteps, shouting.
“I’m sorry…!”
“…”
“I’m… I’m sorry. I said mean things and shouted at you without understanding your feelings. I’m really sorry.”
“…”
“I was really upset before… I know you must’ve felt worse than I did, that you must’ve been even sadder…”
“…”
“I’m sorry for being such an idiot. I won’t do that again. I promise I won’t. Will you forgive me…?!”
Silence followed.
The eerie silence brushed against Michail’s skin.
“Heh… Heh heh…”
A chill ran down Michail’s spine.
“Heh heh heh…”
He heard a middle-aged voice that sounded as if it had found an amusing toy. The sinister laughter, like that of a gossiping man overhearing something in the street, made Michail slowly lift his head.
Curious about who the uninvited guest in their secret space was.
“Who’s…”
Slowly, the stranger’s face came into view.
Dark, rugged skin.
A face full of blemishes.
And a twisted smile contorting the man’s expression, as he covered his mouth with one hand and trembled with laughter, met Michail’s eyes.
“…there?”
The man smirked and answered.
“Me?”
As Michail forced himself to nod, the man spoke.
“A giver of happiness.”
Everything about him was strange. The words he spoke, and the faint but foul smell emanating from his body—all of it was eerie.
Michail swallowed hard and asked.
“Are you a good person…?”
“Who knows…?”
“Then, are you a bad person?”
“Hmm…”
The man smiled faintly and replied.
“You won’t know until you experience it for yourself, right?”
The man slowly reached out towards Michail. As the giant hand nearly touched Michail’s shoulder, Michail instinctively stepped back.
The smell was strange.
A terrible, pungent smell of blood emanated from the man’s hand, causing Michail to recoil in disgust and furrow his brow.
He knew it was rude to avoid the touch, but he felt like he’d vomit if he didn’t.
“Cough… Ugh…”
Michail looked up at the man with trembling eyes, worried that his actions might have offended him.
But.
“Kiddo, your instincts are sharp.”
The man chuckled as if he found Michail’s reaction amusing and even clapped his hands together with a bright smile.
“Uncle…?”
“What’s wrong, kid?”
“You smell weird.”
Clutching his teddy bear tightly, Michail took more steps back, putting more distance between himself and the man.
One step.
-Step.
Two steps.
-Step.
The further Michail tried to move away, the closer the man came without waiting.
“What’s wrong? Uncle isn’t a bad person.”
“Minhyuk told me not to follow strangers.”
“And who is this friend?”
Michail shook his head.
“I’m not telling you.”
“Why not?”
The man began rummaging through his pockets.
The clinking sound of coins accompanied the sight of countless gold coins spilling out onto his hand. Smiling kindly, the man spoke to Michail.
“Kid, I’m someone who gives you things like this.”
Michail shook his head.
He no his eyes to tremble in fear.
‘Blood…’
He was scared.
The scene unfolding before Michail’s eyes was terrifying for such a young child—scarier than any encounter with a street thug, making his heart race in terror.
In a trembling voice, Michail said.
“I don’t need it…”
“Really? Don’t you kids like things like this?”
“I do, but… I don’t need it.”
“If you had this, you could buy anything you want to eat, anything you want.”
“We have enough of that.”
“Is that so?”
The man gave a chilling smile as he spoke.
“Is it that friend who brings it to you?”
“Huh…?”
“The friend you mentioned, Minhyuk—does he bring those things?”
“N-No?”
“Lying…”
Michail struggled to calm his pounding heart and desperately looked for a way to escape.
Hugging e question as he distanced himself.
“Is that friend your most precious person?”
“…Huh?”
“Tell me, is that friend of yours the most important person to you? A precious connection filled with treasured memories?”
The man smiled; it was a twisted smile.
“Then, how about I let you trade it for something you value most?”
He shook the jingling purse of coins, beckoning Michail over. The sinister grin on the man’s face sent chills through Michail’s bones.
Michail instinctively felt that he shouldn’t answer the man’s question, so he pressed his lips together tightly.
“I don’t need the money…”
“Who said anything about money? It doesn’t have to be money.”
The man’s sharp laugh gradually faded into silence.
“Kid, I asked you what’s most precious to you. It could be today, or it could be a single happy memory.”
“I’m leaving now… My mom’s calling me.”
“Kid, I’m someone who brings happiness.”
“I’m going home.”
“Really?”
In a split second, the man snatched the teddy bear from Michail. Looking at the bear full of stitched-up patches, the man’s smile widened as he stretched his hand behind his back.
“Then, I’ll just take this.”
“Oh… You can’t…!”
“There’s nothing ‘uncle’ can’t do.”
With that, the man pulled a dagger from behind his back. Swiftly stabbing the teddy bear in the belly with speed too fast for the eye to follow, the man licked his lips like someone savoring a delicious dish, letting out a small hum.
Watching the man with his eyes closed, Michail realized something.
Now is the time to escape.
He instinctively knew that this moment, with the man’s eyes closed, was his only chance to run. But Michail’s feet wouldn’t move.
He couldn’t abandon the teddy bear his mom gave him.
The teddy bear his friend had sewn up, which his mom had insisted he carry everywhere—Michail couldn’t leave it behind, so he hesitated, unable to decide.
After three minutes of dithering, the man smiled sinisterly and finally spoke.
“Kid, you better run.”
“…”
“I may have seen something too good to resist.”
“…”
“If you don’t run now, I might just do something that could bring the Imperial Army down on me.”
“…”
Michail ran.
He snatched the teddy bear from the man and sprinted away with all his might.
“Huff… Huff…”
He couldn’t get caught.
He felt that if he were caught, something terrible would happen.
Michail ran with all his might.
But.
“Kid, you’re far too greedy.”
-Thud!
rasp, flailing in desperation.
“Let me go…!”
“No.”
“Please…!”
“No.”
The man laughed as he spoke.
“It seems like it’ll be fun.”
The strong grip tightening around his neck made Michail’s eyes well up with tears, like those of a terrified rabbit.
And then.
“I’m sorry…!”
He started to plead, overwhelmed by terror.
It was unbearable.
it made Michail want to vomit.
The man looked at the struggling Michail and spoke.
“Where is that kid—Lee Minhyuk?”
“…”
“Oh…”
He then spotted the boy running in the distance and faintly smiled.
“So, it’s him?”
The man grinned as he gazed at the child in front of him.
And the boy…
“Let go.”
Was glaring back with murderous intent, his eyes glinting dangerously.
This was the first time Michail had ever seen him so angry.
And.
“Let go of him.”
It was the first time Michail had ever seen him so terrified.
End of Chapter
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