I felt my feet sink deep into the ice.

I stood in the middle of my empty apartment. The night was quiet but I could hear the wind outside. It was then I noticed the open crake of my window. The base of it was now dripping with water. I continued to look around without actually moving from my spot in front of the door. I was not worried about the wet floor or the warm bag of cookies I placed on the table beside me. I was more concerned because no one was home. Not that I live with anyone. "Baekgu?" I called out, hoping I would get an answer. It was silent for another couple of seconds. I stared at the door down the hall. It was wide open where I could see the rim of my bed. "Baekgu..." I called out one more time. Again, nothing. I turned back to the open window. The snow outside piled up to cover the gap but I've been gone all day. For all I know, Baekgu could most definitely be a ghostly corpse deep in the ice by now... The thought of that sent a shiver down my spine.

I turned desperately and swung my door open again! The pressure of the air outside made my throat sting in a sharp pain but I continued anyway. My gloves felt soaked but I ignored the feeling. I rushed out, using my crutch to push away the snow that went up to my knees. Now of all times the storm had begun and my view was crowded. I could only see the dim street lights flickering as I stormed down the street! I wasn't able to get far. My eyes felt frozen over before I could even reach the first lamp post. My legs felt numb as I hopelessly crawled my way into the storm... "B-Baek..." I could barely speak! My heart pounded rapidly and my eyes burned with the stress of losing my precious child! The one I cherish more than anything in this world! To others I may seem insane to run out in the middle of a raging gale, but considering my isolation, all I ask is to not BE alone in this world that was not made for me.

The next thing I could remember is laying deathly still as the snow covered me like a suffocating grave. I could see my hand in front of me. The glove had fallen off and I didn't even notice. My skin was pale and blue as if the ice burned its mark deep into my skin. I could feel the gruesome sting of the cold but I also felt so empty and dull. In my head I could only hear myself repeating Baekgu's name. She was my cat. One that I had found in a box near the trash bins of my apartment complex. I didn't care that she was missing an eye or had fleas covering her body like ants to a dead roach.

When I looked into that one staggering eye, I could see that she so stubbornly refused to die. That is why I fell in love. And for 3 years I called her name and she would come running. She would make biscuits in my lap and comfort me when I felt too panicked or overwhelmed. She was always waiting for me to come home, so I would only leave to go buy food or attend an Orthopedic appointment. We would never separate. So now all because of my love, I was drenched in frigid ice as the night continued to scream. Then it went dark. There was nothing else for me to see. I wondered if I was meant to die here. I thought it was cliché that my life would end already. But even if I were a 70 year old man I think I would still be upset. Only because it all felt meaningless.

If no one can stop death, then why do we live? Why must we suffer if there is nothing better than this? Can humans truly call themselves living if we are all fixed to this illogical path that leads to the same thing? Even if I were to ask, I doubt anyone would answer. Not that I am the only one to wonder but because we as a species have failed to ever come near a solution. The most closest thing, as in only what I can guess for myself, is that the world was never completely created for us. The concept of life itself was a mere coincidence.

Yu-jun- 

 He was handed to me. Normally I would wait. I would stalk my prey and determine the perfect way to go about my plans. I would dive deep into their backgrounds and social circles in order to be careful not to piss off some mafia boss's secret love child or some CEO's consort. I have always done things by the book. Mistakes were lethal and painfully easy to make. That's why I avoided them at all costs. But what I couldn't wrap my head around was the terrifying opportunity that was given to me on a silver platter. I first met him on the bus. A small young man with white hair and dark blue eyes. He used a crutch and slowly limped down the chilling aisle. His gloves had bits of ice on the tips and his nose was so red, it seemed more like I was looking at blood veins through his transparent skin. My perceptive eyes went to his coat pocket. A wallet hung out loosely. Anyone could have easily stolen it. Though it looked far too thin to be worth anything. His legs were wobbly and frail. When he tried to step down using the stairs, he slipped and almost fell into the deep snow below. Luckily I was able to grab his waist and hold him up.

The boy was much lighter than I expected. It felt like holding an infant above the water of a kitchen sink. One wrong move and that child could drown in such a shallow place. A death like that was worth my pity. Then after we exchanged a quick word, I thought about stalking him. It seemed that he was not the type to hold long conversations. I lit a cigarette and watched him stumble down the snow filled street. The bus steam made fog in the air beside him before the boy could even pass the lamp post in front of us. I waited and watched but I kept my eyes down glued to my phone so that I wouldn't be so noticeable. In my pocket I held his ID which I pickpocketed from him earlier. I was in no rush to kill him. There would be no fun in such an easy target. It was better to understand your prey before you begin the hunt.

His name was Hia Jeong Eunbi. There was no famous dash like other normal Korean names so I assumed it was an unfinished attempt at naming a child. I deduced that his parents most likely planned for a girl considering his name was a mash of feminine names.

I used this information to look him up. There was no social media or any relatives that could have cared for him. What I did see was an old woman with the Jeong last name who had passed away 9 years ago. I would have looked past her if the hag wasn't like a twin to Eunbi. It only took 3 minutes to have the information I needed. His address, number, social security, and even his recent hospital records. Eunbi suddenly stopped midway down the street. He lingered there for a second. I felt a chill run down my back. He couldn't possibly have noticed his missing I'D. In my head I wasn't able to understand why he just stood there with snow surrounding his feet. Then he turned. It was so sudden. My eyes went back to my phone as I memorized every bit of information I found. Eunbi dashed back my way and went right past me. At one point it looked like he would trip and fall again, but he was stubborn. I saw him push himself up with his crutch and shuffle his way to the corner where the cafe was. Eunbi leaned on the door. He tried to open it for a good long moment. His crutch slid on the icy street. I tossed my cigarette bud into the snow. It took Eunbi about 30 steps to get to the door, but I arrived in just 5 or 6. This unfortunate bunny was too delicious to pass up. I pushed the door from over the top of his head. "Oh, thank you," He mumbled with a freezing tongue. "Don't mention it," I quickly replied. "Oh, don't mind it. I just so happened to be coming here as well," he seemed to act as if I were a good person. Like he needed to be grateful for my help. But his bluntness to end our chat told me how much it annoyed him to receive help.

Although with the way he talks, you wouldn't conclude that about him so easily. I had also taken the opportunity to slip his ID back into his wallet. It was simple enough since I was able to get close to him again. I was intensely preoccupied with my mind. The boy rummaged through his pockets for small clumps of money. "Welcome, what would you like sir?" a blonde woman at the counter asked. Her eyes were full of disgusting lust. "Black coffee. That's all," I ordered so it would seem like I truly did intend to enter the cafe. Eunbi paid no mind to me. In fact he spent his time anxiously holding his money like an excited child. Once I received my coffee I stood by the appliances and added a few sweeteners. "I'll have a cookie! The chocolate one's on sale please," I listened to his conversation while thinking. How should I do this? Would it be best to lure him in or should I kidnap him while he walks home? The address I found isn't far from here so It would be better to beat him to the house. But officers have been out patrolling more often now that the winter storm is near. It would be best to wait until the streets are empty. Even downtown will seem to be abandoned soon.

"So then, sir, would you like to see our coupon offers for the store's next sale?~" The blonde woman interrupted my thoughts with an irrelevant question. She had even completely ignored the boy in order to talk to me. It was irritating that she could be so rude and immoral to such a weak person. I decided to be nice once more to the boy as a token of my appreciation for the opportunity to see his blood spill. "You have a bundle for those cookies, yes? Buy 2 get one free. I will take that and when you're done please give the order to the young man standing next to me," I ended the conversation with that. It had been decided that the boy would not live to see his next birthday.