"Hahaha! Look at that kid over there! I heard he's an orphan."

"Really!? Hahaha! No wonder he's always alone!"

The other kids laughed at me for not having parents.

Hearing that, I started talking to myself in my head. "You guys just don't get it! You're all laughing at me because your lives are perfect, never feeling lonely even for a second. You have no idea what it's like to not have parents! You can't even imagine the loneliness I go through!"

They always excluded me, like I was some sort of parasite, a nuisance in their lives. I was shunned, mocked, and treated horribly.

"Do I really deserve to be treated like this? I'm a human too! No... no! It's not me, it's the bad luck in my life that makes everyone hate me!"

They even called me a cursed child, so no one ever wanted to get close to me, not even adults.

I always sat alone, with no one wanting to approach me or talk to me.

Sadness, loneliness, anger—I had no choice but to swallow it all and accept it.

.

.

.

.

*Ring ring...*

"Ughhh...?"

My phone rang, waking me up from a restless sleep. "Ah? Auntie, why are you calling?"

"Donghyun-ah, have you eaten yet? Don't skip dinner again tonight. You always do that."

"Ah... Yeah, I haven't eaten yet. I fell asleep earlier, so I didn't get to buy food."

"Huft... You're always like that. You should eat first, or do you want me to bring you some food?"

"N-no, it's okay! No need, I can buy it myself."

My heart always feels at ease when I hear her voice. There's something about her tone—soft, caring, even if it sometimes sounds tired—that always makes me feel better. We kept talking to each other, like usual.

*Beep...*

Even though that woman isn't my real mother and is just a caregiver, she's the one who's taken care of me since I was little, ever since my parents died when I was a baby. She's always by my side whenever I feel sad and discouraged, like tonight. To me, she's more than just an aunt; she's the only mother figure I have.

I then opened my laptop to continue the chapter I was writing earlier today. Even though I'm just a not-so-famous writer, it's the only hope I have to make a living. Besides, what else can I do? I've applied for jobs everywhere, but no one wants to hire me—they all think I bring bad luck. But that doesn't make me give up! I have to keep going so I can break free from all this misfortune. I can't just keep relying on my aunt to support all my living expenses, right?

"Come on! Let's go!"

I pumped myself up with determination.

"I have to finish this chapter before the deadline." Just as my fingers were about to touch the keyboard, a loud growl came from my stomach. It made me realize that I'd forgotten to eat dinner.

"Oh yeah... I forgot to eat tonight."

I muttered softly, rubbing my empty stomach. "I'd better go get some food at the minimarket, or my aunt will worry even more if I don't eat."

The walk to the minimarket felt pretty long from my apartment. As I walked alone on a quiet night, I noticed two people standing under a streetlamp. They looked really different from the people I usually see; they were wearing clean white clothes and had a pair of wings on the back of their heads.

"They look handsome and beautiful," I mumbled, captivated by their unusual appearance. I walked past them, curious. When I was far enough away, I felt their gaze on my back. There was a strange feeling, like they were staring at me intensely. But I chose to ignore it and kept walking toward the minimarket.

I was almost at the minimarket, just a few steps away, but I had to wait for the traffic light to turn red so I could cross the street.

My attention was caught by a kid playing with a ball, happily oblivious to the people around him.

He was doing all sorts of tricks with the ball, and then he bumped into a man. The ball rolled onto the street while the traffic light was still green.

"Hey kid! DON'T!"

The kid chased after his ball, running right into the street.

"Damn it! This is dangerous!" I sprinted as fast as I could to stop him, but...

*BEEEEP!!! BEEEEEP!!!*

"No!! HEY, STOP!!"

The blaring horn of a speeding truck pierced the air. Without thinking, I pushed the kid with all my strength so he could get to the sidewalk first. "He's safe!" Yeah, the kid was safe—just the kid. The speeding truck was about to hit me. "It's too late... I'm gonna..."

I closed my eyes, resigned to the fact that my life was about to end.

Silence. Everything suddenly went silent, not a sound to be heard. I opened my eyes and was shocked to see the truck right in front of my face.

"W-what the...."

"Huh? W-what the hell is going on!?"

I was stunned to see the truck that was supposed to hit me, stopped, but there was something off. Not just the truck, but everyone! Everything... everyone seemed frozen! "What's happening!? They're not moving!?"

I was scared and totally shocked by what was happening.

Birds, wind, cars—everything stopped moving.

With my mind filled with confusion, my eyes suddenly caught sight of two familiar figures. Among the frozen crowd, the two people I met earlier were there.

"Those two from before!"

"Wait... they're not frozen like the others!?"

No! They're different; there's definitely something going on with them!

I rushed towards the two, but they disappeared into the crowd. No... they didn't just vanish—they smiled at me before disappearing from my sight.

Still confused, time resumed. The mother of the kid I saved rushed to him, crying and panicking.

"They must be connected to what just happened. I'm sure this isn't just my imagination." I thought to myself, trying to process what was going on. I was sure this wasn't a dream or anything like that.

---

To be continued...