When do you think a person dies?
When a bullet pierces through their chest?
When they are forgotten by others?
No.
It is precisely when, on a damn rainy night, a knife makes a hole in their belly.
"Just dieā¦ Representative Cha Tae-sik."
Representative?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Even though it's Friday night, I have no friends to hang out with, so I stopped by a convenience store to buy some beer and was on my way back.
"What, who are you!"
Surprisingly, it wasn't me who uttered that line. It was the guy who had thrust a cold knife into my belly, and hearing it was almost laughable.
My body fell to the ground, as if it had completely abandoned my will, collapsing with a sense of futility.
"Damnā¦."
It was a deserted alley. Feeling the cold rain drenching me, I closed my eyes as I sensed all my strength draining away.
I'm not Representative Cha Tae-sik.
* * *
"Oh my, it's your son!"
"Oh my! Madam, you must have gone through so much!"
The first thing I faced upon regaining consciousness was not the concerned gazes of doctors or nurses worrying about me waking up.
It was a room that looked like it belonged in the Middle Ages. As I looked around at the many eyes gazing at me with joy, I wondered if I was dreaming.
'Why am I so hungry?'
It was clear that I had sustained considerable injuries, yet the first thing I felt was an intense hunger.
It was a hunger so strong, as if I hadn't eaten for several days.
"Waaah! Waaah!ā¦ Waaah?"
But.
The voice that came out of my mouth was not one that expressed hunger.
It sounded like the whimpering cry of a small baby.
That's right.
I must have been reborn in another world.