Another day of school, but Lee Dojin saw no reason for going. Instead, he had a different idea in mind. He went towards the Seoul tower, climbing the steep staircase in Namsan, The steps weren't a particular issue to him, though he felt a queer sense of melancholy as he passed the old houses, the peaceful children in the park, and the empty convenience stores blinking occasionally.
He bought some ice cream while on his way. His change had started to run low. He still needed some money to buy the basic necessities when all went down. Though it should be fine, since society would still be trying to function for quite some time—even prosper for a short while—until The Shadows and The Mirage overwhelmed them. There was nothing he could do about that, not with his strength, not with someone else's strength either; He only had to make sure that humanity managed to prosper even with all these seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
There was no one at the Seoul Tower. It did not open for visitors at this time. But naturally, that did not matter to Lee Dojin. He activated his Cosmic Steps. The stars appeared in front of him, and he felt the faint connection to the ones further away. Even though he did not see them, he could grasp them—a rather overpowered ability.
He passed any janitors or staff, without them noticing, and made his way to the top. Arriving at the park at the top, he climbed up the gondola. It shook, though Lee Dojin did not fall off. Instead, he balanced himself on the strings going further upward. At this point, the houses he had passed on his way had turned into little bricks, with humans as the ants. Far away, Lee Dojin saw the spot he bought the ice from. The hefty breeze of winter battered his face and shook his body off-kelter, but he quickly balanced himself. With the popsicle stick between his lips, he climbed up.
He was reaching for the top, as high as Korea allowed. And stretching his arms out, walking carefully, he managed to reach it.
He pivoted to his side, and as he looked down the stick almost fell out his mouth. He stretched his hand out. It felt like the whole Seoul could fit in his palm. The infrastructure spanned far and wide until overshadowed by the mountains. The skies had never felt closer before. The winds rang in his ears, while it kept breezing his hair away. His clothes fluttered fiercely.
A bird passed by him, letting out a whistle. Lee Dojin followed the animal with his eyes. His brows slightly furrowed, as he muttered out, "To be free, to soar through the sky and dance with the stars..." He closed his hand and let it fall. His clear black irises reflected the sun. "I want to be free."
He covered his mouth and nose, then threw the sand in his bag into the air.
...
Walking around the city, he suppressed the emotions of turmoil within him. There was no point thinking about things that could not be changed. In his mind, he only saw what he alone could do. This was neither the time nor the place to daydream.
Still, to dream, to hope, such was the human nature. As long as that light continued to flicker, humanity still stood a chance.
Lee Dojin walked past the ever so familiar convenience store when a familiar figure appeared in front of him. "Is this your spawn point?" He chuckled.
Kim Heesons shoulders shuddered as he heard Lee Dojin's voice. He cautiously turned around. "...you've got to be kidding me."
"Should you not be in school?" Lee Dojin shook his head in disappointment. "Good students shouldn't skip. What if you get expelled?"
Kim Heeson decided to not engage with that guys obvious logical fallacy. He placed his cigarette back into the package and brushed the tobacco off his pants. Right after, he went sprinting, this time turning in the other direction. He felt like he was breaking records, focusing all his energy into his legs. He turned at every corner he could see, hoping this would confuse that bastard. In the end, he stood behind a tree, at an unknown playground, with strangers around him. His vision had gotten blurry, and he knelt down in exhaustion.
He looked up, with great pain in his eyes. "How the hell do you do this thing?"
Lee Dojin squatted down and faced Kim Heeson. As always, he wasn't out of breath at all. In fact, it looked like he had always been here. "I'm pretty fast."
Kim Heesons closed his eyes, as his brows furrowed. His head hurt, thinking about the weak Lee Dojin in the past. What made him change this way? He'd like to have what he's having.
He propped himself up. His body cast a dark shadow onLee Dojin. He was still panting heavily, but the fierce glimmer in his eyes told Lee Dojin that something interesting would be happening. "I'm telling you, I may not look like it, but I've done karate in middle school. And I wasn't that bad either."
"I haven't even done anything." Lee Dojin remained squatting. He rested his chin on his palm as he looked up at Kim Heeson. "Yet."
Feeling the angry emotions in him well up, Kim Heeson took a deep breath. Though he had no energy left, he still tried throwing a punch. Who knew? Maybe everything that Dojin had done was just a fluke. Or maybe he'd succeed in a fluke, and against all odds strike him unconscious. At least, just maybe, he'd scare him away.
Naturally, nothing of that sort happened. Lee Dojin caught Kim Heesons fist, then flicked his wrist. He flew over Lee Dojin's head, doing a spiral at the same time, and then fell to the ground. Were it not for the painful thud sound on the ground, it almost like a circus act.
"Urgh," Kim Heeson groaned. He already knew that he stood no chance, but how could there be such a difference between them? Lee Dojin approached him. He bit his lips, closed his eyes, and braced himself for the pain. Though, after a minute, he realized nothing came.
He reopened his eyes, Lee Dojin stood before him. "You're closing your fist wrong." He pointed at his fingers. "You have to keep your knuckles even, or you'll break them." He grabbed Kim Heesons hand and indicated what exactly he should do. "See, right here. Did they not teach you that at the karate place."
Kim Heeson stared at Lee Dojin, at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say to that?
"Don't believe me? See it for yourself." Lee Dojin punched the ground. The trees around him shook. When he lifted his fist, there was a large imprint on the concrete floor. Kim Heeson gulped. He doubted that his skull was any harder than that.
He fell to his ground, laughing wryly. "Ah, what the hell." He gave up any thoughts on resistance. What a monster that guy was.
"You good?"
"I think I am now. That really cooled my mind." Kim Heeson breathed out. He let the breeze wash over his face. After a few seconds, he asked, "And you? What's your deal?"
"A lot."
"No, I mean, why are you talking to me? If I were you, I'd never forgive people like me." Kim Heeson looked away. "You know, if you are softhearted, you won't make it far in society."
"Social norms, bullying, kissing ass," Lee Dojin shrugged his shoulders. "It all seems rather pointless, don't you think?"
"I've actually had the same thing in mind lately." He propped himself up. "Hey, you play any games?"
...
"Die, die, die!" Kim heeson clicked on his keyboard. His character moved to slash Lee Dojins. "Hahaha, you suck at this. I'm going to kill you!"
The various clatter of electronic mouses echoed in the room. The whole place was dark, except for some monitors with colorful light shining dimly. They were in a PC room.
"It kind of feels like you aren't talking about a game." Lee Dojin stared at his K.O.ed character on the screen.
"Come on, man. I'm paying for you." Kim Heeson took his headphones off. "You want something to drink? My treat."
"Sure." They ordered through the computer. Waiting for their water to arrive, they paused the game.
"Since when did you do your hair like that," Kim Heeson pointed out Lee Dojin's slicked-back hairstyle.
"It's better like this, right?" He threw his head back. "I quite like it."
"Maybe if you had done that sooner, you'd not look that gloomy all the time." Kim Heeson laughed loudly, scaring the other customers. "I wonder if we met under different circumstances, would we have been sitting here much sooner?"
"So how's the, uh, the one big guy?"
"Really, I mean that in the least offensive way, did you get hit on the head or something? Or some kinda memory loss?" Kim Heeson was baffled. "It's Park Wonho. He's getting discharged soon. That dude's got great vitality. Though about his mind," Kim Heeson pressed his forehead. "Well, I dunno about that." He laughed once more.
"Hmm, nice for him," Lee Dojin said. The conversation took a break there. The drinks had arrived, for which Kim Heeson, as promised, paid for.
They both took a sip. "You know," Kim Heeson said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Well," Kim Heeson scratched his cheek. "Ah, shit this is so awkward. I'm sorry for everything in the past." He continued, unsure how to communicate his thoughts, "I'm not doing it for you to forgive me or something, and I don't think this clears everything we've done to you, it's also not because you suddenly got strong, well, yet it kind'a is, but. . . No, what I'm trying to say is, if maybe I had talked to you sooner. We'd have gotten along. That's all."
Lee Dojin placed his water down. "I wonder if these words were what my past me had wanted to hear the most," he muttered under his breath.
The two continued gaming until the night, much to Kim Heeson's wallet's chagrin.