The sky was a dull grey when Minjae left the convenience store, the plastic bag in his hand swinging lightly with every step. The streets were still wet from the earlier rain, puddles reflecting the faint neon signs of the shops lining the road.
He was trying to ignore it — the creeping feeling that someone was watching him.
It had been days since the first message.Since then, no new threats.No knocks at the door.No strange phone calls.
But the silence was worse.
Minjae pulled his hoodie tighter and kept walking, pretending he didn't hear the faint footsteps that matched his pace.
At the corner of an alley, he finally stopped and turned around.
Empty.
"You're being paranoid, Minjae," he whispered to himself, forcing a shaky laugh.
"Am I?"A voice echoed from the shadows.
Minjae froze as a man stepped out from behind a utility pole. He wasn't big, but something about the way he stood screamed danger — like a coiled snake ready to strike.
"Minjae, right?" the man asked, his smile calm but his eyes cold. "I've been meaning to have a chat with you."
Minjae took a step back, his grip tightening on the plastic bag.
"I-I don't know you."
The man tilted his head, amused. "Sure you do. Let's keep it simple. Tell your mom we haven't forgotten. Debt doesn't just vanish."
He tossed something at Minjae — a crumpled piece of paper.
Minjae caught it, hands trembling as he unfolded it.
PAY UP. SOON.His house address was scribbled beneath it.
"You've got one week," the man said, turning his back casually like this was just another part of his day. "Tell your mom. Or we'll come knocking."
Minjae's throat dried up. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak.
The man vanished into the crowd as easily as he appeared.
That night, Minjae sat at his desk, staring at the paper, his manga volumes untouched for the first time in weeks.
He could hear his mom humming in the kitchen, completely unaware.
For the first time, the walls of his safe little world were cracking.
He wasn't a hero. He wasn't a fighter. He was just a scared kid with no idea what to do next.
But the world outside was already moving, and soon, it would crash straight into his life.