"산토끼 토끼야 어디를 가느냐?"
(Mountain rabbit, where are you going?)
"풀밭에 앉아서 배나 먹고, 놀다가 가네."
(Sitting on the grass, eating your fill, playing, and then leaving.)
The car was filled with the soft melody of Amir's mother humming along as she always did. The familiar tune echoed in Amir's mind, but this time it felt distant—like he was floating in a fog, just repeating the motions.
"산토끼 토끼야 어디를 가느냐?"
(Mountain rabbit, where are you going?)
"풀밭에 앉아서 배나 먹고, 놀다가 가네."
(Sitting on the grass, eating your fill, playing, and then leaving.)
Amir glanced at his brother Jihoon, who sat next to him, eyes shut, clearly drained from the day's events. Amir stared out the window, his mind wandering.
"Dad, can you open this for me?" Amir asked softly, holding up a chocolate canister.
His father glanced back briefly, weary from work.
"Amir, I told you—too much chocolate, and you won't be eating your lunch," he replied, his tone tired but firm.
"Please, Dad, I swear this is the last one. I promise!" Amir urged, his eyes pleading.
"You always say 'last one,' but here we are again," his father muttered, frustration creeping into his voice.
Amir turned to his mother with wide eyes.
"Moooom, Dad's not opening it!" he whined, hoping for a reprieve.
His mother smiled, always the peacemaker.
"Honey, just let him have it," she said, gently encouraging.
His father sighed, then grabbed the chocolate container, holding it between his legs to twist off the cap.
But before he could pass it to Amir, his mother's voice suddenly rose.
"Honey, there's a big truck ahead!"
Amir's father stiffened, looking quickly at the road.
"Huh-huhhh?" he muttered, confused, realizing too late.
The truck was directly in their path. Amir's father jerked the steering wheel, swerving the car in a desperate attempt to avoid the collision.
But it was no use—the car began to spin, the tires screeching against the pavement, the world outside warping into a blur of motion and chaos.
Amir's stomach lurched as the car flipped, everything spiraling out of control. His family's voices, his mother's calm, his father's commands—fading into nothing. And then, the world went dark.
——————
Back to reality, Amir was about to be asked by the teacher how he solved the problem, even before she had finished writing the entire question.
"Ahhh—haha, that wasn't an actual answer! I was just, uh, reading part of the problem," Amir said awkwardly.
"Maybe I just read it a little too loud, haha…" He scratched the back of his head, trying to play it off.
Amir's academic performance was, to put it bluntly, terrible. Even solving the simplest equation felt like torture because his brain just couldn't process numbers. It wasn't just him struggling—his teachers were at a loss on how to make him pass. His grades were beyond saving, and the only thing keeping him from completely failing was his perfect attendance.
"Well then, let's solve a new problem," the teacher said, writing on the board. Amir sighed, already bracing himself for another disaster.
Suddenly, floating mathematical symbols and complex equations appeared right in front of him—apparently, only he could see them.
"Huh? What the hell is this?" The numbers and symbols seemed to move in his vision, almost like they were guiding him.
"I've seen this before… in those movies where the main character randomly awakens some kind of insane ability." His mind raced as the symbols danced in front of him.
Then, without even thinking, his hand started moving on its own, writing on his paper. It wasn't just random scribbles—it was a complex formula, something way beyond anything in their textbook.
"Shit…" Amir muttered under his breath. "This is crazy. I've seen this happen in movies so many times." He let out a small chuckle. "But yeah, no way I'm gonna show off. That'd be so cringe. I'm not trying to be one of those cliché protagonists."
But something felt off. He narrowed his eyes at the paper. "Wait… why am I writing something completely different? This isn't even in the book. Is this… ancient mathematics or something?"
The teacher's voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. "Time's up, everyone. Pass your papers forward."
Amir stiffened. His paper was filled with something that had no business being in a high school math class. There was no way he was turning this in.
"Shit," he mumbled, glancing around.
Instead of passing his paper, he casually folded it up like trash and walked over to the trash bin.
Seojin, sitting nearby, noticed his weird behavior. She frowned, watching him toss the paper away.
For a second, she thought about asking him what he was doing. But in the end, she just let it go.
The bell rang, signaling the start of break time. Students poured out of the classrooms, chatting, laughing, and heading toward the cafeteria or their usual hangout spots.
Meanwhile, at the back of the school building, away from the teachers' prying eyes, Amir was cornered by a group of bullies.
"So, what can a piggy bank offer us right now, huh?" one of them sneered while digging through Amir's pockets.
This wasn't just any ordinary school bully—this was Kreg. The guy had repeated high school five times, not because he was dumb, but because he wanted to. He had no interest in graduating. Instead, he stuck around just to terrorize the weak. To make things worse, he was an underground fighter with a solid win streak. No one dared to mess with him, and the school couldn't do anything about it because, well… his father founded the place.
But even with Kreg's reputation as a savage thug, Amir was somehow an even bigger idiot.
Kreg yanked something out of Amir's pocket and laughed. "Come on, 500 won? Is your aunt's business also going bankrupt? HAHAHA, poor bastard."
The other bullies cackled, hyping him up.
"Maybe your family didn't give you an allowance this time," one of them added.
"I mean, can you blame them? You're literally a heavy burden. Maybe they're hoping you'll lose weight and stop embarrassing them HAHAHAHA"
Amir didn't react. Instead, he just stared at Kreg, his eyes dark and unsettling.
For a split second, Kreg imagined something terrifying, like Amir standing over him, tearing his mouth apart, splitting it in half.
The hell was that? He shook the thought off and growled, grabbing Amir by the collar.
"The fuck are you staring at, huh?!" Kreg snapped.
"What the fuck can you do now, huh?" he mocked, shaking Amir like a ragdoll.
Amir just stood there. He should have been scared, right? Anyone in his position would be, but for some reason, something felt different. He didn't feel fear. Not even a little.
Kreg, annoyed by Amir's lack of reaction, swung his fist with full force. The punch connected hard, knocking Amir straight to the ground.
"Hahahaha! You thought you could fight back? What a joke!" Kreg laughed, shaking his fist as the other bullies cheered.
But then something weird happened.
Amir got up. Just like that. No groaning, no struggling—he just stood up, like nothing happened.
His eyes locked onto them, cold and unreadable.
The bullies felt something shift in the air. The mood changed—heavy, suffocating, wrong.
"Whoa… I think you held back on that punch, bro," one of the bullies muttered nervously.
"Huh? No way—I hit him with everything I had!" Kreg said to himself, confused.
"How the hell is he still standing?"
Kreg clicked his tongue in frustration.
"You really wanna piss me off, huh?"
He raised his right hand, and one of the bullies immediately handed him a baseball bat.
"Well, the more you scream, the more fun this is gonna be," Kreg said, smirking like a devil psychopath.
The other bullies grabbed Amir's arms, restraining him. He didn't resist—he just stood there, waiting.
Kreg adjusted his grip on the bat, positioning himself for a full swing.
But before he could bring it down—
"HEY! What the hell are you guys doing back here?!"
A sharp voice cut through the tension.
Everyone turned to see a teacher storming toward them.
"You should be in class right now!" the teacher scolded, eyeing the scene suspiciously.
Kreg, thinking fast, immediately switched to his usual innocent act.
"Ahhh, sir! We were just practicing our baseball swings, y'know? Nothing serious!" he said, flashing a fake grin as he casually planted the bat on the ground like a cane.
"Yeah, yeah! We were just, uh… practicing how to hit the ball properly!" another bully chimed in awkwardly. "Right, Amir?" He nudged Amir hard.
Amir didn't say a word. He just kept staring at them, his expression unreadable.
The teacher narrowed his eyes but sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don't care what you're doing—break time is over. Get back to class. Now."
"Tch." Kreg clicked his tongue but complied, motioning for his gang to follow.
As they walked away, Kreg shot Amir a deadly glare. "You got lucky, fatass," he whispered. "Next time, no one's saving you."
Amir didn't respond. He just kept watching them, standing there like a statue.
But deep down… something was different inside him.
Later that afternoon, Amir and Seojin walked side by side, but there was a noticeable distance between them. Neither of them said a word, and the quiet between them seemed to grow with each step. It was like they were just going through the motions, together but not really there.
"What's with him? He's been acting strange all day. Maybe he's on something?" Seojin thought to herself. Then, she suddenly stopped walking.
Amir noticed and turned to her.
Seojin crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. "What's up with you? Why aren't you giving me any attention today? Is something bothering you?"
Amir blinked, clearly caught off guard by her words. His mind was already overwhelmed, and hearing her question only added to the chaos in his head. So much had happened recently, and he was still trying to process it all.
"I don't know, but… I'm not feeling well," he admitted.
Seojin stepped closer, studying his face carefully, as if searching for bruises or any signs that he had been beaten up again. But something was different. His skin looked smooth, and there were no fresh scars. His cheeks, which were naturally round and soft, looked even more pinchable than usual.
Without thinking, she reached out and pinched them.
"Hmm… that's strange," she thought. "No signs of sickness, no bruises… Did he start using beauty products or something?"
"Hey! Stop! That hurts!" Amir whined, squirming as Seojin smiled mischievously, still pinching his cheeks.
But then, before either of them could say anything else, a sleek black car suddenly pulled up beside them.
Seojin's smile faded as she let go of Amir's cheeks.
"I think I'll be going now. Take care while walking," she said softly, her tone unexpectedly sad.
She turned away and stepped into the car, leaving Amir standing there, confused. Why did she suddenly look so upset?
As the car's engine started and it began to pull away, Amir's gaze drifted toward the driver's side mirror.
And for a brief second, he saw something that made his blood run cold.
In the reflection, he swore he saw an eerie figure—one that looked almost inhuman. The driver had an elf-like face, but something was unsettling about him. He had no eyebrows, yet his grin stretched unnaturally wide.
A shiver crawled up Amir's spine, and an instinctual fear gripped his chest. There was something dark—something terrifying—coming from that man.
And just like that, the car disappeared down the road, leaving Amir standing there, frozen.