Shadows in the Dark

"No!"

"Don't hit me!"

Jimin woke up, scrambling. He took a deep breath.

"Oh! It was just a dream."

Jimin's voice indicated that this wasn't the first time he had experienced a bad dream. He wiped his sweat and got out of bed.

He is a second-grade high school student.

"Jimin, are you not ready yet? We're going to be late!"

A loud but firm voice came from outside the house.

It was Yoon Inna. Jimin quickly shoved a piece of bread into his mouth, put on his shoes, and rushed out of the house.

"Oh, I forgot to lock the door!"

Inna said, "Hurry up, it's 8:45 a.m. We have only 15 minutes left before our class starts."

Inna is younger than Jimin, but she acts like his older sister.

Jimin locked the door behind him.

Inna said in a slightly tired voice."we are going to be late"

Jimin: Sorry, sorry. Okay, I'm done. Let's go.

Actually, Jimin's parents are workaholics, so he learned how to take care of his own things.

They both set off for school. Inna started speaking...

" I can't handle math class anymore. Why does math have to be a subject, and why do teachers have to teach it? Every time I look at those math questions, I lose my appetite for lunch."

Jimin was a bit distracted."

Inna looked at Jimin and said, "Are you even listening to me?"

Jimin: Huh? What?

Inna: What am I talking about?

Jimin: Your constant complaints about math.

Inna: Then why didn't you respond when I was shouting my lungs out? You seemed lost in thought. What were you thinking? (with a mischievous smile)

Jimin: Nothing! Can you stop wildly guessing?

Inna: "Okay." (with a disinterested tone)

Jimin was preoccupied with a recurring dream where someone was hitting him. He felt sad and wondered why he had been having this kind of dream over the past few days. He thought to himself, "Could this be because of my recent mental stress?"