"W-Where am I?" The black-haired man muttered.
The black-haired man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on a sky-blue ceiling.
He couldn't feel his body as if devoid of any sensation.
Seeing a new environment and a strong sense of liberation, He thought with an amusing smile, 'Did I get transmigrated like in the novels??'
Though he felt something wrong about his transmigration because,
"You are still alive, young man" a voice reassured him.
As he turned his head, he found himself still in the same place.
Something caught his attention behind him....a brown-haired middle-aged man holding the back of his collar as if he had yanked him out of harm's way just in time.
Rising to his feet, The black-haired man expressed gratitude, "Forgive me, sir, and thanks for helping me".
The brown-haired middle-aged man patted down his clothes as he stood up, "It's alright, young man. Please stay alert. Nowadays, there have been many truck accidents" he advised, giving the black-haired man a reassuring pat before swiftly leaving the scene.
The black-haired man looked at the brown-haired man with a profound sense of gratitude. Turning his attention to the truck, he observed that it had hit a dog. The sight made him sigh with relief, knowing it could have been him under those tyres.
Inwardly thanking the man who pulled him from the brink of danger, the black-haired man couldn't shake the lingering feeling of escaping death. The mere thought of being crushed under the truck sent shivers down his spine…..He wiped the beads of sweat from his face, the intensity of the ordeal etched on his features.
"But damn, did I really just think I transmigrated?... Shit! Chuunibyou" he thought, feeling awkward. The idea of being transported into an anime world seemed absurd, and he chided himself for letting his imagination run wild.
He pondered over the fact that he needed to decrease his 'intake' of these fantastical anime stories.
Despite being an adult and a 'responsible' member of society…. he couldn't resist watching and reading them.
"Tsk, this is all thanks to those idiots" he complained about his friends.
Talking about a friend,
"AETHER!!!"
Hearing his name being shouted with urgency, Aether looked down at his right hand, still tightly gripping the phone as if his body automatically gripped it.
"Yo" Aether answered with a carefree attitude.
"What the fuck happened? I heard lots of noise"
"It's fine, just a truck that was about to hit me, but someone saved me" Aether said in relief, glancing at the driver who was being scolded by the onlookers.
"You didn't get hurt, right?"
"I'm totally fine" Aether replied, a smile breaking through as he felt the genuine concern in his friend's voice.
However, the conversation took an unexpected turn.
"Sigh…Anyhow, you said truck, right?"
"Yes?"
"Damn, man, you just missed the straight ticket to Isekai… tsk, tsk… Nowadays, Truck-kun is not doing his job correctly, tsk, tsk"
Aether's eyes twitched in annoyance, fully aware of the reference due to his friends' insistence on watching and playing those 'unnecessary things'.
He cannot possibly say he also thought that… Shit!
'gggrrrrlll'
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and his empty stomach grumbled in protest due to the lack of breakfast.
"You bastard, if I die, I will definitely come back to haunt you as a ghost" Aether said with mock seriousness, pushing aside the gnawing hunger….because he doesn't have much money to waste on a restaurant.
"Hahahahaha…. I'd like to see, but if you were a girl, I'd like to see more… you know what I mean, right?"
"You horny dog!!" Aether exclaimed, a mix of exasperation and disbelief in his voice as he walked away from the incident.
"hahahaha…"
As Aether distanced himself, a sudden haze blurred his vision, and his stomach grumbled loudly,
'ggrrrrrrrrrrrllllll'
"Anyhow, I'll let the other bastard know we are having a party at my house today…"
'GGRRRRRWWWWWWLLLLLLLL'
'Shit, it seems I have to eat; otherwise, I will really die…' Aether thought, feeling the hunger. With a sense of urgency, he decided to look for a more affordable fast-food option.
It was then,
'Thud'
He suddenly collapsed to the ground, "Huh?" he felt his eyesight slowly disappearing, his lower body going numb. He attempted to move, but his body seemed to have lost all strength.
Then, he felt something…. a chill sensation ran down his back, prompting him to move his trembling hand to touch it. A shiver coursed through his body as he realized there was something gushing out from a small cut on his spine.
With hazy eyes, he looked at his hands and saw a crimson colour staining his trembling fingers.
'Who?' That was the only thought that came to his mind.
"He…Heh..Heheheheh" a strange, eerie laughter echoed from his mouth as tears poured from his eyes uncontrollably.
"H-He…hahah…lp…hahaha…me…" Aether tried to ask for help, but the people around him stood away, treating him as if he were a maniac laughing while fully drenched in blood.
The platform around his body was covered in crimson, yet no one came to his aid.
"H-Hey, is he manic?"
"Why is he laughing in this situation?"
"Maybe this is just a prank??"
"Yeah, just a prank, making us call the ambulance, and in the end, he is going to say 'It was all a prank'"
"Yes, Fuck these shitters"
People around him took out their smartphones, recording his laughing face as they complained about the heartless society, all the while he was drenched in blood.
"W-Why n…now?....hahaha....Fuckers!!...hehehe.hhh..eeee.. Help hhheeee!!" Aether shouted, unable to comprehend their mutterings. However, no one came to his aid even after his desperate cries for help.
"Come on, Do you think we fall for the trick?"
"Haha.. Yes, look at his face, he must be mocking us inside!"
"Damn man, you really going too far with a prank"
"H-Hey, I-I think he is real—"
"Just how many blood packets he brought….urh… look at the ground, it's spreading everywhere! Arrhh"
From the people's perspective, it seemed like he was laughing at them with a mocking expression, though it was far from the truth.
Feeling no one coming to his aid, the black-haired man glanced at his phone and noticed it was still on the call.
His friend was shouting at him over the phone, but he couldn't hear properly. Unable to comprehend what his friend was saying, with a hoarse voice, Aether spoke,
"A-Allen -cough-cough- Please destroy my phone -cough-cough-and erase my zoogle every account….history-cough-cough"
Even if his phone was just a basic model, it still supported 4G, MP4, etc. Even if its display was low quality.... even if it looked like a censored version... everything was fine, right?
Even if he were to die, he wanted to die with dignity.
Just about to lose consciousness, someone in the crowd shouted, "Hey, he is seriously bleeding!"
"W-What? R-Really?'
"YOU FUCKING MANIACS. HOW COULD YOU STAND THERE AND TAKE VIDEOS!!!"
"W-What are you talking about!!"
"LOOK AT HIM YOU IDIOTS!!"
"W-Wait, Look at him, no matter how you loo—"
As someone was about to help him,
"Wee, Woo, Wee, Woo…"
The loud sound of a siren made Aether pull back his consciousness. Immediately, an ambulance arrived at the spot, and they took Aether and set off.
Leaving the people who were dumbfounded, they truly believed he was just pranking them.
"Come on, people, how could you just watch him like that?" a sensible person asked with mild anger.
"H-hey, he was laughing"
"Y-Yes, he was just laughing. Who would laugh when they were about to die?"
"I still think he was just pranking us"
"Yes, who called the ambulance? I think it was also set up"
"…"
"…"
"Who? No one? Hahaha…Then it must be his crew members. They failed to prank us, so they immediately took him out before we reported him to the police"
"…Yes, it's possible"
"Yeah, I know, right? He was laughing like a maniac and with his body drenched in blood… It almost scared the hell out of me"
People around the blood-drenched place chattered about this 'prank'…. their voices were a mix of confusion, scepticism, and… lingering unease.
….
...
'Wee, Woo, Wee, Woo…'
Inside the ambulance, the stark white walls accentuated Aether's shock-stricken face as his gaze locked with the same brown-haired middle-aged man, wearing an unsettlingly amusing smile.
The middle-aged man then retrieved a document and began to read aloud,
/
Name: Aether
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Occupation: None
Martial Status: Single
Blood type: Rh Null
Medical Conditions: PBA (Pseudobulbar Affect), Infertile.
Physical Appearance:
Height: 6 feet
Weight: 170 pounds
Hair Colour: Jet black
Eye Colour: Deep blue
Distinguishing Features: Small scar on the left cheek
/
Tucking the document away, the brown-haired man proceeded to examine Aether's eyes with a torch.
After a few minutes, he nonchalantly remarked, "Looks like I stabbed you correctly; only your lower body is paralyzed, nothing severe.....hmm" The clinical way in which he spoke belied the horrific circumstances Aether found himself in.
Aether, lacking the strength to inquire…..He only wanted to know 'Why?'.
As if sensing Aether's unspoken questions, the brown-haired man divulged the grim reality,
"I am sorry, young man.
We are organ traffickers. We have been following you for the past few months.
We have a client who was looking for some body parts with rare Rh Null blood, and you are the easiest target compared to others who have families around them." The middle-aged man's words hung in the air, each syllable intensifying the ominous atmosphere within the ambulance. He continued his explanation, all while methodically donning white gloves.
Aether wasn't sure what he heard because his mind was going blank; he only caught a few words.
"But really, boy.
If I had been a little late, you would have been knocked out by the truck and wasted our money and time" the middle-aged man muttered as if saying today was the day they prepared to finish him.
The removal of Aether's clothing, leaving him in his underwear, felt like a dehumanizing violation.
"Infertile… ah," the man muttered as his eyes lingered on Aether's crotch area.
'I guess we don't need that part' he mumbled inwardly and looked at Aether's face.
"You really had a bad life….ah" He said when he saw Aether's still smiling face, as a small light chuckle leaked from his mouth.
"They say 'Having a smile means a blessing,' but for you, it was anything but a blessing…" The middle-aged man muttered, his voice tinged with a mixture of bitterness and nostalgia.
Memories flooded back, vivid images of how people recoiled when Aether was drenched in blood. He sighed, shaking off the haunting recollections, a weariness etched into the lines on his face. He wasn't in this line of work for the thrill or the sadistic pleasure of witnessing others' torment.
Just like any other ordinary person, he yearned for a simple life... to provide for his family, to watch his children grow. Yet, he had chosen the wrong path, a decision that weighed heavily on his conscience. The gnawing guilt, however, was overshadowed by the stark reality that survival often required compromises.
Who cared about the moral high ground when the only goal was to endure another day?
See this man, Aether who could have done many more things if he wasn't a law-bidding man.
The middle-aged man felt pity for Aether after reading his documents.
He had specifically chosen Aether, aware that the world wouldn't mourn for a person like him.
Though Aether had some friends, they were inconspicuous figures, akin to low flies, and they had families. So if they trying to pry more…. a simple threat would be enough to keep them at bay.
"BOSS!!" A sudden shout pierced the air as someone opened a small window from the driver's seat.
"What is it?" Boss, the middle-aged man, inquired.
"Which hospital should we go to?"
Boss's lips twitched, a subtle sign of irritation, but he composed himself and instructed, "Take the next right, then turn third left. After around 1 km, you'll see Duk Hospital."
"Huh? I know the hospital. You could have told me the hospital's name instead of telling me the route," the other party retorted before closing the window.
Veins popped on Boss's forehead in frustration. He had been mentioning the hospital's name every time, yet this bastard forgot like a retard.
"Arrgh" he sighed, calming his nerves. Boss then turned his attention to Aether, who had already closed his eyes, his heart still beating despite the apparent stillness.