I am a 29-year-old man.
The company I worked for went bankrupt.
Right before the bankruptcy, the boss gathered all the money he could and fled overseas, leaving all the employees unemployed.
Naturally, that included me.
I tried my best to find a new job, but perhaps because the economy was in a slump, it wasn't going well.
But even if the company went bankrupt and I lost my job, the world moved on as if nothing had happened, and rent day always came around.
Left with no other choice, I searched for jobs during the day and worked at a convenience store at night.
With a reduced income, I moved from a small studio to a tiny studio room, and my meals consisted of expired food discarded by the convenience store.
Today, I once again attended a futile job interview, trudging my way afterward to the convenience store.
Seeing the interviewer's face and attitude gave me a sliver of hope, but the last few companies I had visited also seemed promising.
They spoke favorably, as if I'd start the next day, but no call ever came.
It's been over a year now that I've been job hunting.
The dark night sky seemed to weigh heavily upon me.
I wasn't carrying anything, yet my back felt heavy, and my shoulders drooped of their own accord.
Sigh, why is my life so pathetic and devoid of success?
All I wish for is to meet someone, fall in love, buy a small house, have kids, and live a modest and happy life. Was that really such a difficult wish to fulfill?
It seemed like a pretty ordinary and humble dream.
But at this rate, such a life would never come to me.
I let out another long sigh.
Damn life.
Damn boss.
Damn this world.
…And damn that boss a hundred more times.
As I thought that, I noticed a crowd gathered in front of the convenience store.
Beyond the crowd, I could hear the voice of the store owner.
"Where do you think you're going, trying to steal something?!"
"Did you see me steal? Did you see it, huh?!"
"You kept putting things in and taking them out of your pocket! This isn't the first time, is it? You've done it several times before! I've seen it all!"
"I always put them back, didn't I? I never stole anything. I never even left the store with any of it. What stealing? Come on, everyone! You all saw this, right? This convenience store is accusing innocent people of theft. You saw me just now, didn't you? Getting chased out without having stolen anything… you saw it, right?"
The argument between the two was loud.
'That guy must be….'
From his voice and what he was saying, I realized he was someone I'd seen a few times.
'Probably that guy who always smelled a bit of alcohol.'
He wasn't stealing anything. He'd come in, fiddle with stuff for an hour or two, putting things in his pocket and taking them out again, then leave empty-handed.
Occasionally, he'd buy a bottle of soju, but even then, he'd still act weird.
I wondered if he had some sort of mental issue, so I avoided talking to him.
I didn't want to build any bad blood and have something weird happen.
Maybe the store owner thought the same way because, though he swore about the guy to me, he never actually confronted him in person.
Until now.
Maybe today was the limit.
'Still… why does this have to happen right at my shift change? Would have been better if it were during the day.'
With a small sigh, I pushed my way through the crowd to the front.
Sure enough, it was the same guy standing in front of the store owner.
Unlike the furious store owner, whose face was flushed, the guy was grinning provocatively, clearly trying to aggravate him further.
The guy whispered something under his breath, too low for others to hear, and the owner's face turned from red to nearly black with rage.
Ah, no. This is getting dangerous.
Just as I was about to intervene to hold the store owner back, he grabbed the guy by the collar, yelling.
"Shut up! You broke bum who can't even afford a bite to eat, buying nothing but a single bottle of soju!"
"…."
The man's eyes narrowed as the owner grabbed him by the collar.
The smirk he'd had until a moment ago instantly vanished.
"!"
Not good.
The moment I instinctively realized that, I saw the guy pull his hand out of his pocket.
I didn't even see what he was holding.
I wasn't really trying to save the owner either.
I just moved before my brain could think anything through.
I wedged myself between them and shoved the store owner away as hard as I could.
At the same time, I twisted my body to grab the guy's wrist.
My eyes met his.
I could see his rage shift from the owner to me in an instant.
"…."
A chilling sensation shot through my brain, and without thinking, I pushed the guy away.
But despite his appearance, the guy was surprisingly strong.
Fueled by anger, his entire body felt solid.
He grabbed me with one arm, while shoving his other hand deep into my abdomen.
I couldn't shake him off.
'Ah….'
It wasn't a hand. It was a knife.
The burning sensation raced from my skin to deep within me, my whole abdomen felt like it was on fire.
My legs gave way as strength drained from my waist.
Screams echoed from all directions, and the owner was shouting something.
The owner struggled to pull the guy off, someone else seemed to be helping him.
Faintly, I saw the shadows of several people.
But the crazy guy didn't let go of me as I collapsed.
He held me tightly, twisting the knife deeper.
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
With that thought, I fell to the ground, eventually collapsing flat on my back.
Ahhh, Fuck Life….
***
Above me, the dark sky was littered with faint stars staring down at me.
"…."
That's what I saw.
But why am I seeing a bear now?
A huge bear, with enormous trees towering behind it.
"What is this?!"
I couldn't help but shout.
There wasn't just one tree.
Countless enormous trees stretched upwards into the sky.
They were massive and thick.
Easily several times my size.
I had never seen such trees before.
At the very least, they weren't the type used as street trees in the city.
High above, beyond the towering trees, I could see a bright blue sky.
And against that backdrop, a bear's thick claws came slashing towards me.
Whoosh!
The heavy sound of air being sliced rang in my ears.
Ah….
This time, I really might die without understanding what's going on.
No scream came out.
But just before the massive bear paw struck me, my body moved instinctively.
Twisting aside, I rolled to the ground just as the bear struck where I had been, leaving a deep impression on the earth.
What incredible strength.
The solid ground crumpled like tofu.
The bear, having missed me, angrily pounded the ground again and rose up with a growl.
In the meantime, I found myself effortlessly leaping up like a grasshopper.
This whole situation was strange.
Not just the forest without a single building in sight, or the giant bear—but I myself was strange.
The ground seemed closer.
Not just because the surrounding trees and the bear were tall, but it felt like my own height had lowered slightly.
More importantly, my body moved with an agility that was incomprehensible.
I moved too easily.
Almost as if I'd always done this.
Out of curiosity, I looked at my own hands.
'Yeah… this isn't me.'
My hands used to be slender and long for a man.
I was often told they looked like a woman's.
But now, they were thick, rough, and somewhat stubby.
They looked like a child's hands.
It seemed I had somehow ended up in someone else's body.
And that body seemed to belong to some large kid living in the forest.
The bear charged towards me again.
My body moved before I could think.
I jumped down like a frog, grabbing an axe nearby.
The axe looked nothing like a modern one.
It was a big chunk of steel with just the end sharpened, and a thick wooden handle attached.
It was massive and heavy.
It seemed like my new body was quite large for a kid, but even then, the axe was oversized.
But I held it as if I'd always wielded it.
It felt natural.
The bear roared and lunged towards me, and I jumped without hesitation.
I swung the axe with my whole body.
The blade lodged precisely between the bear's eyes and nose.
The bear howled in pain, its paws flailing.
It wasn't clear if it was trying to grab me or pull the axe out.
I kicked off the bear's chest, using the rebound to pull the axe free.
And then, once more, I struck the bear's head.
Crunch.
The impact reverberated through my hands as the axe hit the bear's skull.
Ah, I broke it.
The sensation in my hands spread through my entire body as a thrill.
It wasn't my own feeling.
Clearly, it was the emotion of this body's original owner.
The bear paused for a moment, shuddered, and then collapsed.
With a heavy thud, the bear fell over completely.
The axe was still embedded in its head.
I stepped onto the bear's body and pulled the axe free.
Raising both arms high, I let out a loud roar like Tarzan.
"Waaahhhhhhhhh!"
It seemed like a cry of victory.
Even though I was the one doing it, I didn't know why I was doing this.
All I knew was that I felt proud.
If a kid killed a bear with just an axe, that was something to be proud of.
Although, that being said…
"!"
My victory shout, which had shaken the entire forest, suddenly ceased.
Between the trees, a bear three times bigger than the one I had just killed appeared.
The size difference was too much for it to be male or female. Could it be its mother?
The bear I had just killed seemed fully grown, but it must have been a cub.
It had been much larger than me.
But this new bear was far bigger.
I'm no expert on bears, but I could tell enough to know that there was no way I could beat this one.
I had to run.
But soon enough, I realized I couldn't.
The mother bear moved as fast as a car, and although I'd only just noticed it, it was already almost upon me.
No escape.
'This time, I really am going to die.'
Being stabbed to death wasn't enough; I was now about to be mauled to death by a bear for a second time.