“Step on it!”
“You damn bastard!”
The children gathered around, surrounded someone, and kicked them. The children were also awake and looked twice as young as my age.
“Huh! “Huh!”
The children, who seemed to be in poor condition at first glance, were out of breath as if they were quickly exhausted after just a few kicks.
“this… … “You damn bastard.”
“Well, there are all these guys… … .”
They looked down as if they were tired and exchanged glances.
“… … let’s go.”
“Just like this?”
“Then are you going to kill me?”
There was silence. A look of conflict appeared on everyone’s faces. But soon everyone nodded their heads nervously.
“let’s go.”
“Sigh! “Because it’s unlucky.”
The children turned around, spitting phlegm with expressions of frustration and frustration. Meanwhile, his eyes contained emotions that were difficult to describe.
Someone muttered in a dead voice.
“… … “Should I starve today too?”
“If those damn bastards hadn’t started a war, they would have been able to beg for food.”
“It sounds like begging. It was said that only those who starved to death in the neighborhood below were over ten. “What are you going to give us when not only the beggars but also the decent noblemen are starving?”
“damn… … .”
A similar light appeared on the faces of the children trudging along.
It might be a feeling of despair or fear. Or maybe it was a feeling of helplessness over suffering that I could not do anything about on my own.
It is the powerful who shake the world, but the repercussions are felt by the powerless. The despair of those whose lives were shaken and collapsed without their will was so deep and heavy that it is difficult to describe.
“Why do you keep looking back?”
“… … “Wouldn’t I die like that?”
“Damn it, if it falls, it falls. What does it matter what I look like right now! “Don’t waste your energy with bullshit!”
In the end, the child nodded his head in agreement and continued walking. But even then, she kept looking behind her as if something was catching her.
The object he kept looking back on was probably the humanity that he had no choice but to leave behind, and the guilt that he had no choice but to abandon in order to survive in this world.
Long after everyone had left.
Rustling.
A person who had been lying down as if dead after being stepped on by children suddenly gets up.
A skinny, tiny body. He was a child who looked like he would collapse at any moment even if he had not been stepped on by many people.
The child, who had endured with his entire body such harsh violence that even an adult would have difficulty withstanding, touched the floor with trembling hands.
With his clothes so shabby that it would be a luxury to call him a beggar, and even his hair that had grown haphazardly and scattered, he was a type of person who would be more suited to being called an animal than a beggar.
“Sigh.”
The child spit out blood. But the fishy taste that filled my mouth did not go away.
The child looked around like a weak animal, and only after confirming that there was no one around did he rummage around in his arms.
Eventually, what was held in my kinky hands was a black dumpling that had been trampled and flattened, and had never been given away despite the harsh assault.
The child tore into small pieces of dumplings covered in dirt with his small hands. And then I slowly pushed it into my mouth.
There was so much blood and dirt that it was disgusting. But the child just chewed and swallowed it without any reaction. Rather, it seemed as if he was savoring an unprecedented delicacy.
Thin fingers tear open the dumplings again.
In order to obtain this, the child had to be beaten to the point where every single part of his body was scratched, but the child did not resent that fact. It would be better to be beaten than to starve to death.
The child clearly recognized it.
Someone dies today too. Among those who trampled on him, someone will die within a few days.
If people don’t eat, they die. The same goes for children. In that case, this amount of beating in return for this one dumpling is a bargain.
Survive. There is nothing more important than that. At least here.
That was when the child stole the blood from my mouth with his dirty sleeve.
“Are you okay?”
As soon as someone spoke, the child stuffed the remaining dumplings into his arms and showed his teeth. The crouching shape of his body was fierce, like a wild animal wary of its surroundings.
Seeing that, the beggar who had been talking to me from a distance made an awkward expression.
“No, I’m just worried… … . “I was wondering if it was okay.”
“… … .”
It was definitely a worried voice. It is a kindness that is difficult to hope for in such a cold world.
But in reality, the child only gave that warmth a cold, cold look.
Even though the beggar knew this, he did not easily withdraw his kind attention.
“Don’t be so guarded.”
The beggar crept closer to the child, as if he was really worried.
“If you sleep in the cold when your body is so damaged, you will freeze to death. I… … .”
The beggar, who had taken a few steps forward, paused for a moment. This is because she saw the child taking out a sharp blade instead of a dumpling from her arms.
A moment of confusion appeared on the beggar’s face.
The beggar’s face, which was looking at the child and the cutlery alternately, was distorted viciously as if he was lying. It was hard to believe that this was the same person who had spoken so kindly to him just moments ago.
“This damned brat… … .”
The beggar, who was staring at the child as if he was measuring something in his head, gritted his teeth and took a couple of steps back. Apparently, they decided that taking the risk of using cutlery on leftover pieces of dumplings was too risky for business.
“Do you think you can survive a few more days like that?”
“… … .”
“The kid who is falling apart… … . When you die, I will make sure to boil you and eat you. I’ll be watching. “What a dog.”
The beggar, who hurled insults and curses that you would never expect to be directed at a child, nervously turned around and quickly walked away.
Even after the beggar had gone away, the boy, who had been wary for a long time, stood up as if he had made up his mind. The limping steps continued slowly and steadily toward a deserted place.
A dark night.
The child climbed halfway up the mountain, which was dangerous even in broad daylight, and plowed through a pile of fallen leaves with his familiar hands.
After touching it a couple of times, a space appeared that could barely fit a crouching person.
The child squeezed himself into it and stretched out as if he was tired.
Although he was barely conscious, instead of surrendering himself to the rushing water, he took out the dumplings in his arms, tore them into small pieces, and started chewing them.
The child’s expression did not look like that of a child at all. While chewing the dumplings, the child looked down the mountain.
It’s a hellish world.
The value of life is not always the same. Only in a peaceful world does human life have greater value, but in this world, human life is not worth as much as half a soggy dumpling.
The value of the child’s life would have been less than that.
In the most miserable place, the lowest person has no choice but to be pushed out to a place where no one lives.
Numerous lights came into the eyes of the child looking down from high above.
It’s a village. It was still too far and scary for him.
That light was the dividing line between the village where people lived and the mountain where they were. It’s dangerous, as if it might go off at any moment, but it’s so beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off it.
The child tore the dumpling with indifferent hands and stuffed it into his mouth, staring fascinated at the river of lights unfolding below.
The deep taste of earth, the scent of rotten leaves entering your nose.
The child’s gaze turned a little further away.
The lights in the distance are several times brighter and more colorful than the lights seen up close.
It is a place where children today cannot even set foot. Those who enjoy that brilliant light are strong enough to be incomparable to those who depend on this dying light.
The child slowly stretched out his thin hand.
The light felt so close that I could catch it. It felt really warm when I held it.
But of course it didn’t reach the child. Not even a single trace of warmth that would be filled with that light.
All he could enjoy was the bone-chilling chill.
But the child was not discouraged or regretful.
Because I found out.
Those lights weren’t there from the beginning. Those who stole and robbed someone else’s light and had more light took over that place.
If they could take it from you, you can take it too. Like the soggy dumplings he stole today and shoved into his arms. Those lights will someday… … .
The lights in the child’s eyes grow bigger and bigger.
The light, which spread ever warmer, soon enveloped the world as if it were burning brightly. The dividing boundaries are broken down, and every place in the world is filled with bright lights.
I’m ecstatic. The child stretched out his hand again, even though he knew he would not be able to catch that warmth.
But at that moment.
Damn it!
The world the child was staring at cracked. A spiderweb-like crack appeared in the world that seemed warm and stained red, and soon dark red blood poured out through the crack.
The child’s eyes trembled.
Dark red blood quickly covered the world. There is no warmth at all. A cold, disgusting nothingness swallows everything.
“ah… … .”
A voice came out of the child’s mouth for the first time.
But that’s all, the voice that couldn’t speak properly just pours out like the moans of a wounded animal.
“ah… … . iced coffee… … .”
The whole world goes black. Without leaving anything behind. The child’s eyes were filled with harsh despair.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
* * *
“Ryeonju.”
“… … .”
“Ryeonju?”
The long eyelashes that were tightly draped along the closed eyes swayed gently. The eyelids slowly lifted, and pale eyes appeared.
My eyes, which had been blankly scanning the desolate room, eventually turned to the person standing in front of me.
“We are ready.”
Instead of answering, I looked down.
A flaming red long robe, an ornate dragon pattern embroidered with gold thread, long fingers exposed under wide sleeves, and colorful and colorful rings on top of them.
It’s reality. He is not dressed in torn and dirty rags.
I turned over the hand I had placed on the armrest. Cold sweat gathered on her exposed palms. He stared at it for a while and finally opened his mouth. It was an expressionless, meaningless face.
“… … east longitude.”
“yes.”
At his command, Shibi quickly held Donggyeong in front of him.
I looked at my own face reflected in longing as an unfamiliar sight.
A face with a splendid decoration. A fully grown adult can be seen through the crown draped over the face. It’s different from that beast-like child. A pure white face, red lips, and gloomy sunken eyes.
Has it changed?
Is the man in this admiration different from the man he was in the past? Just because your face has changed and what you wear on your body has changed?
I bit back the longing and slowly got up.
The priests rushed to him and gave him the final touches to his clothes, but he didn’t pay any attention to them and walked towards the door in front of him.
Jerk. Jerk.
I grabbed the door handle and paused for a moment.
– Are you convinced?
There is no answer to that question yet. No, maybe I won’t be able to do it in the future.
but… … .
He opened his closed eyes and finally opened the door roughly.
bang.
I could see at a glance the scene unfolding beyond the door that was wide open as if it were about to break.
A lot of people are lined up.
Suppressing the boiling excitement and desire that felt like it was about to explode.
Armed with blade-like eyes, they are waiting for that one person.
The red corners of the man’s mouth, Jang Il-so, gradually twisted up into a deep smile.
His gaze turned to the side.
My eyes met with Hu Jiaming, who was standing next to the group of people lined up. Hu Jiaming stood there staring at him for a moment, then lowered his head gravely.
“Preparation… … It’s over, Lord Ryeon.”
“… … .”
“Order.”
Jang Il-so’s eyes slowly turned to the sky. It was blue without a single cloud. The sun rising in the east was shining brightly, as if welcoming him.
“It’s a good day.”
His eyes become similar to those of a child who was staring at a light that could not be reached one day in the past.
Still he couldn’t get what he wanted. so… … .
“Let’s go.”
Now I have to go get my hands on it. Things I’ve been looking at forever.
Jeez.
I took a step. A deep smile appeared on Jang Il-so’s lips.
The most gorgeous place in the world. A place where the most powerful people in the world live. The road to there is already clear.
“first… … Shall we start with Hanam?”
Two oily eyes were curved like a crescent moon.
“Let’s go. To take control of the world.”
“yes!”
People lined up follow him.
The blade, which had been holding its breath for a moment, now began to swing towards the world. There was no way to stop until everything was over.
