"Your Highness, please, I ask you to be reasonable," a servant asked Hassan.
However, he did not listen. Instead, he put his jacket on. "Amir, I understand your worries, but you cannot stop me."
The rank list kept repeating itself in his mind. The numbers he saw will forever remain ingrained in his soul. He even almost walked into a wall, as he was lost in thoughts. The Inheritor of the Universe. Goosebumps overwhelmed him, but he could not help smiling.
Harsh winds kept enveloping him as airplanes flew past him, either arriving or leaving. Surrounding the airport was only the desert. Lights blinked in the distance, and he heard metallic buzzing noises, but except for him and the servant following him, there were no signs of life. He looked up into the sky and squinted his eyes. The sun shone brightly, with no clouds in sight, a perfect day for lift-off.
"Sir, you are being unreasonable." The servant said and gasped for breath. He had been running after the prince the whole time. His Highness was known for his eccentric behavior but this was still too much. "What will His Majesty, your father think of you leaving the country during these unruly times? And what about your siblings?"
Hassan arrived at his private jet. It was smaller than the planes surrounding it, but it was painted black, with gold lacquer enveloping it, making it look more luxurious than any other vehicle in the vicinity.
He turned to Amir and spoke, "Did you know? Before I turned twelve, my older brothers didn't even look at me. They'd treat me like air as if I didn't exist." He laughed out. "There was a time where I followed them through the desert," he stretched his hands out, "one, that looked almost identical to this one. Yes. And at one point, while constantly trying to keep up with them, I broke down and slumped into the sand. Do you know what they did?"
The servant didn't understand. "Your Highness, I'm not sure I follow."
"Nothing. They did nothing. Leaving me there to die. If it weren't for my mother searching frantically for me even at night, I'd probably be part of nature now." He licked his chapped lips, a grin appeared on his face. "But now, my mother is not here anymore. I only have myself, Amir. You have to realize Amir, it doesn't matter if you are a king, a hero, or the devil. In the end, we all die alone."
He stepped up the plane, turning his back at his home. The servant did not follow him anymore. Though it did not matter even if he did. As he boarded the jet, the outside noise dimmed and was instead replaced by soft orchestral music. The heat of the desert disappeared and made way for a comfortable breeze to embrace him. A beautiful stewardess took his jacket, and he took a seat.
Waiting for the jet to take flight, he rested his chin on his palm and stared out the window. His thoughts swirled again. Inheritor of the Universe. Now, not only his stupid brothers but even his own father, the king, had gotten wind of that person—though it had been far too late.
"I know it. Only I do." He chuckled to himself. A sharp glint appeared in his irises but it quickly waned, hidden behind a playful smile. "Wait for me, brothers. When I come back, you won't be able to forget me, even if you bloody tried."
5 days before The First Advent—
The Inheritor of the Universe reaches the top 20 of the rankings.
...
Lee Dojin cracked his neck. The shadows around him—or the remnant of the shadows—receded and returned to normal. He sighed, for he had grown bored of the whole exchange. Today, he hadn't even broken a sweat.
Every day, he'd do the same thing alone.
If possible, he'd have loved to tell people about the system. Hell, why stop at only a few? Why not the whole world? He didn't mind if The Mirage eliminated him afterward if the world would be saved in return.
However, there were many reasons why he couldn't, and that frustrated him.
"Well, it's not like I can change it for now." He dusted the sand off his shirt and placed the backpack on his shoulder. The park returned to its normalcy. The only traces left were some scratch marks and his footprints shuffling around on the ground. The clouds above him were dark, so he wanted to leave before it started raining.
He took a sip from his water bottle and then wiped his mouth. "That reminds me, didn't Heeson tell me to meet that Park Wonho." He remembered vaguely, it was the big guy he had pummeled to the ground. The current Lee Dojin did not have any connection to him, but it may still be good if he were to lay his old regrets to rest.
In the first place, he already knew the location, so there was no harm in checking it out.
...
"I'm sorry, uh, Dojin, is that correct?" The nurse at the counter typed something into the computer. White light reflected on her face, brightening her screen. She squinted to properly read the info. "You said he was an acquaintance of yours?"
"That is correct," he said and nodded.
"Hmm, this will be difficult," she replied and rubbed her temples. "The patient you are looking for is a special case you see. I'll have to ask the doctor, please take a seat over there."
Lee Dojin followed her instructions and took a seat. He took a look at his surroundings. A soothing melody played in the background. In front of him was a sneezing kid, with his mother by his side. An old lady browsed through the worn-out catalogs, and a young man impatiently glanced at the clock. Many more people came and went, but it hadn't reached the volume yet, where there would be a death every day and the corpses continued to pile into a mountain.
"Uhm, Lee Dojin, the nurse called his name. She held"I'm sorry, the patient you are trying to visit is currently in a highly erratic state. It would be best if you come another time. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"It's fine," he replied, though he did not know what to do now. He walked out, thinking about his next steps. Maybe he should just wait for his mother to return and talk with her? Apart from gaining potential levels, it was generally nice seeing her lively face again, after he thought he had lost her forever.
However, as he passed the rooms, his eyes widened due to the unexpected sight. He stared into the window and said, "Baek Ji-ah?"
Ji-ah, who sat on a patient's bed, with a needle poking into her arm, turned around, realizing her name was called. Her eyebrows shot up, seeing Lee Dojin standing outside, observing her with a quizzical gaze. She did not know how to react.
"It's you, right? What are you doing here?"
Ji-ah retorted quickly. "What am I supposed to be doing in a hospital?" She then held her mouth. "Sorry, that was rude of me." Constantly staring at these yellowish walls made her rather irate.
Lee Dojin shook his head, showing he did not mind. "We seem to bump into each other quite often these days," he commented and chuckled. "Say, you aren't following me, are you?"
"That's my line," Ji-ah said and laughed. "What are you even doing here? Did you catch a cold?" She grabbed her IV and walked to the window. She wore a patient's gown. Her hair formed a messy bun, and she had no make-up on—but she still looked great.
The dark clouds hovered above them, with few raindrops beginning to form and land. The people gradually disappeared from the streets, either returning to the hospital or home. The only ones who did not mind were Ji-ah and Dojin.
"I was visiting," Lee Dojin said and leaned against the window trim. "And I suppose you are here because of your illness?"
Ji-ah shrunk back, her palm tightening around the IV. "Wait, how do you know about that?"
Lee Dojin eyed her up and down. "I mean, it's not hard to tell."
"Ugh." She groaned, thinking about her get-up. She could not refute. "That is true." She was really unlucky. To have a student see her in such a state, and it was that Lee Dojin too. There was no greater misfortune. She glanced at the boy, who waited for her to talk. So she did. "Hey, do you mind listening to me for a little?"
"I'm already here, so sure."
She smiled. "You know, I chose the school because of my older brother and was also why I chose to become a teacher. See, he was never really good at studying, and would rather spend his time around bad influence, skipping school and drinking alcohol or smoking. He'd end up fighting with our parents all the time too. My mother always told me not to become like him." She giggled. "However, there was one time he came home, silent, and went straight to his room to do his homework. We were all shocked by that. Ever since then, he never skipped school. It was only later that I found out it was a teacher that had helped him, listened to him, and cared for him when no one else did. He said he owed that teacher his life." She took a breath. "I always kept this story close to my heart, and I wanted to become a teacher like that."
The rain came pouring down, washing the world off its sorrows. Lee Dojin continued listening to Ji-ah. The water did not touch him, as he stood underneath the roof.
"He does remind me of you at times," she said. "I don't know, maybe it's something in your eyes, or your behavior. It's hard to tell. He went on to become a doctor. Though he never got to realize his dreams." She became silent. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she faced the ground. "He was hit by a drunk driver, someone who had many incidences before of reckless endangerment before. He went on living for another 5 days until succumbing to his injuries. My stoic father still regularly weeps, saying he could never forget his son lying in the bed, red bandages wrapping what had no chance of recovery." She paused. "But I only remember his face, just before he went out. His smile, his hope."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Lee Dojin told her. And he really did mean it. He too knew the pains of losing someone.
Ji-ah gently shook her head. "It's fine. It's been a while after all. You learn to move on, and the pain that used to rip me apart is now only the size of a bad toothache." She gave him an encouraging smile, though Lee Dojin saw right through it. "It's only later I found out that his moodiness came from my illness. It's hard finding joy in life when someone you love is close to death's door all the time. I'd come to learn that too. He became a doctor for me. To cure my illness." She placed her hand on Lee Dojin's head. "But there is no medicine for what I have. Just as the dead stay dead, my fate too seems inevitable."
After the death of his mother, there hadn't been many who touched him this gently. No one dared to. However, this time, he allowed it. In the first place, her eyes did not seem to face him.
She looked at the sky. There was a short silence, until she said, "Dojin, I think I'll quit being a teacher."