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Chapter 2 - Chapter 2

Inner Turmoil and a Chance Encounter

After leaving the CEO's office and quickly exiting the building, Sam walked on the sidewalk, his face hidden by a hooded jacket. He hugged the wall to avoid touching anyone, as many women were walking beside him on the sidewalk. A huge battle raged inside him. On one hand, he was furious with his father and sister for making him suffer like that, but on the other, he understood why his dad made such a drastic decision, leading him to blame himself.

"Why do I have this weird illness? I mean, I can support myself, but still, being cut out of the inheritance feels suffocating, like I'm being thrown out of my own family who should care about me. But... I can't really blame Dad, Melissa, or Derek... it's painful but also confusing. Honestly though, what Dad did just now really embarrassed and humiliated me... and in front of someone else too," Sam thought to himself.

"Swooosh," suddenly a strong wind blew. Without Sam realizing it, his hood, which was covering his head and face, flew back. "Shreeeg," the women walking on the sidewalk immediately turned to look at his incredibly handsome face. But Sam didn't notice them; he was lost in his inner turmoil and thoughts. Some women stopped and turned their heads as Sam walked past them, their faces clearly wanting to get to know and flirt with him. Some college students even intentionally turned around and started following Sam, who was 23 at the time.

Feeling like he was being followed and watched, Sam stopped and looked around. His eyes widened because he was suddenly "boxed in" by women who had stopped to stare at his face.

"Oh... no, I could die now," Sam thought.

He grabbed his head and just realized his hood had come off. Without delay, he quickly put his hood back on and continued walking at a fast pace, as if someone was chasing him. When he reached an intersection and had to cross the street, his steps suddenly halted in the middle of the crosswalk because he saw a group of women lining up sideways, walking towards him. When he turned around, he also saw many women crossing the street behind him.

"Waaaaaaa!"

Sam panicked, so he took a detour, weaving between stopped cars, then leaping over the street barrier. After landing, he immediately ran to his apartment, which wasn't far from his father's office. After waiting a while for an empty elevator, he finally took the elevator alone to his floor. "Blam," he entered his unit, quickly and forcefully closing the door.

"Huuuuf," he slid down the door and sat with his back against it, sighing in relief. After that, "Thud," he rested his head against the door and looked up at the ceiling.

"Why is my fate like this? I just want to live a normal life like everyone else, but what Dad did to me today was truly cruel," Sam murmured to himself.

"Knock... knock," suddenly there was a knock on the door. Sam immediately stood up and peeked through the peephole. He didn't see anyone on the other side, so he decided to open the door. "Click," when he looked down, he saw a small girl, about 10 years old, standing at the door with a wide smile, holding a box of chocolate chip cookies.

"Big brother, Mom said she baked too many cookies. These are for you," the little girl said, offering her box.

Sam glanced at his neighbor's unit and saw a young woman peeking from behind her door, winking and giving him a thumbs-up.

"Th-thank you, Emma," Sam said, reaching out to take the box.

"You're welcome, big brother," Emma replied.

When his hand touched Emma's, nothing happened. His illness didn't flare up. But Sam's face looked even more pained.

"Bye-bye, big brother," Emma said, running back to her unit and waving.

Sam waved back and nodded to the woman, thanking her. After Emma went inside, the woman smiled once more before closing her door. Sam went back into his unit and placed the box of chocolate chip cookies on the dining table. He sat in his chair and opened the lid of the box. "Crunch," he took a cookie and ate it.

"Delicious and still warm," he murmured to himself.

If someone who touched him or was close to him was a girl under 12, his illness wouldn't act up. That's why he could only be close to small girls.

"I can only be close to girls if they're little kids, and of course, my neighbors know about my illness. That's why she sent her kid. It's messed up, I'm not a pedophile, but... Emma... they're nice, unlike my family," he said, enjoying his cookie.

After that, Sam stood up and walked to his recliner-like sofa. "Thump," he sat down and turned on his TV. He put on one of his streaming services and started watching, but his mind kept replaying his father's words, "I want to tell you, you're being cut out of my inheritance," which his father had said so lightly, without a care or thought for his feelings.

Even though he tried to tell himself he understood his father's decision because of his incurable illness, another part of him said his father no longer cared about him. Without realizing it, he looked down at his hands, and his face turned sad, his eyes starting to well up, though he didn't cry.

While he was pondering, suddenly, "Dling," a message came in on his smartphone. He picked up his smartphone from the coffee table and read the message,

"Bro, I already heard from Dad and Melissa. You must be really hurt, right? I'm coming over."

"Derek... he wants to come here. Probably shouldn't. Since when were we that close?" Sam thought to himself.

He replied to Derek's message, saying that Derek probably shouldn't come over yet. Not long after, "Dling," another message came in on his smartphone.

"But you're okay, right, bro?" Derek asked via message.

Sam was silent for a moment. Clearly, he wasn't okay, and his mood was a mess, plus he felt hopeless about his illness. But he didn't want to make his brother worry.

"Enough is enough. I don't want to be a burden on my family anymore. From now on, I'm cutting ties with them. Not because I'm hurt, but... well, I am hurt, and I need to face reality," Sam thought to himself.

He replied to Derek's message saying he was fine, then he blocked Derek's, Melissa's, and Robert's (his father's) numbers. He felt he no longer wanted to trouble his family or cause them problems. Then he put his smartphone back on the table. Cutting himself off from his family really hurt his heart, but he felt he had to do it, and to him, the drastic step he was taking now was the right way, and he felt a little relieved.

"I'll find a way to get cured and become normal. I won't contact my family anymore. Now, I'll go to a quiet supermarket, buy some food," Sam thought to himself, wiping his watery eyes.

Without further delay, Sam stood up, walked towards the door, and went out. "Emma!" a hysterical scream came from the unit next door. Without thinking twice, Sam immediately ran to the next unit and knocked on the door. He heard loud noises and shouts for help inside the unit. Sam opened the door and ran in. He saw the woman, Emma's mother, standing at the edge of the balcony, seemingly trying to pull something. Without another thought, Sam rushed to her, and his eyes widened as he saw Emma crying, dangling from the balcony railing.

"Get out of the way!" Sam yelled.

The woman moved, crying, but her face was extremely shocked to see Sam entering and approaching her.

"Don't, Sam!" the woman yelled.

Too late. Sam was already convulsing because he was close to the woman, Emma's mother. "Gasp... gasp... gasp," his breath hitched, but he forced himself to crawl towards the edge of the balcony, his hands gripping the railing, trying to climb it. After succeeding, he immediately grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her up, even though his breathing was labored and his whole body was seizing. "Thud," he finally managed to pull Emma up, and the woman immediately hugged Emma. But, "Swoosh," Sam lost his balance because he couldn't hold onto the railing due to his stiff, convulsing hands. He fell from the balcony.

"Sam!" the woman screamed, too late to help him.

Sam fell downwards. Even though his body was convulsing, his mouth foaming, boils appearing, and his breath ragged, his eyes were still open, and he clearly saw the balcony from where he fell getting farther and farther away. He also saw the woman screaming and reaching out from the balcony.

"It's fine... this is probably for the best, now my illness will be cure," Sam said, closing his eyes.

Sam only felt his back hitting the air, falling further, keeping his eyes closed because he didn't want to see the impact.

[Host found]

"Huh?" Sam thought to himself.

He opened his eyes in surprise, but his eyes immediately widened because everything around him looked black and white and had stopped.

"H-hey... what's this ?" Sam asked, floating in the air with time stopped.

[Activated HDS?] [Yes] [No]

"Huh... what? Who?" Sam asked.

[Activated HDS?] [Yes] [No]

"V-voice in my head.... w-who are you?" Sam asked.

[Activated HDS?] [Yes] [No]

"Ugh... fine, yes,"

[Confirmed.....resuming time]

"Crack," "Splat,"

"Kyaaaaaaaa.... someone fell!"

A woman screamed, seeing Sam fall flat on his back on the ground, his body shattered and his head broken, lifeless. His blood spread around him, soaking the pedestrian sidewalk. Everyone immediately crowded around Sam, and many captured the shattered Sam with their smartphones.

[HDS (Happy Death System) activated.]

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