used to smile so easily.
A weightless smile... hiding what lay beneath.
But inside me was only a crowd of silence.
No one listened. No one cared.
Between the walls, I learned to hide behind empty words.
I pretended to be strong—just so no one would see the weakness.
And then came the night...
the night when everything ended.......
Hello. My name is Kim, just an ordinary man.
I used to be simple and cheerful — at least, that's how I appeared on the outside.
But inside... I was trapped.
Alone. With no one truly by my side.
Even when people were around me, I barely noticed them. They were just empty shells.
I always wished to be strong, to protect the weak — just as someone once told me:
> "A man must protect his brother from evil."
I tried helping everyone... but as time passed, I stopped caring for myself.
Was I really helping others? Or was I only deceiving myself?
No one ever helped me.
People... days... fate. They were all conspiring against me.
I was neither strong nor important.
My school years — my entire youth — were nothing but a chain of pain.
Bullying... mockery... insults.
All of it just for fun.
Just to kill time.
Why? Why was I like this?
Ah... how painful this feeling is.
... Ringing.
The phone screamed in the room.
I opened my eyes. Ah... it's Mary.
— "Hello... Mary."
— "Mary: Where are you, idiot?!"
— "I'm... at home."
Kim smiled as Mary spoke loudly. He asked:
— "Why is your voice so loud?"
And he thought to himself: Even in my dry, lifeless days... Mary was always there. I truly loved her.
A sharp cry through the phone cut him off:
— "Idiot! Are you even listening to me?!"
He smiled and answered:
— "Sorry, Mary... I was distracted."
— "Don't tell me you forgot! We're shopping today for our new house!"
— "Ah... right. I'm on my way now."
But Mary shouted:
— "What? Damn you! You forgot? You idiot! I'll kill you!"
Kim replied with a faint smile:
— "Thank you, Mary... that's a reason for me to stay home. Goodbye."
She cut him off:
— "What are you waiting for?!"
He ended the call quickly. Then another call came.
— "Hey... I'm really coming. Wait for me. Goodbye."
Then he heard a soft knock on the door.
— "My son, are you awake?"
— "Yes, Mom."
She opened the door and asked:
— "Where are you going?"
— "I'm going with Mary. Do you want to come?"
His mother smiled: "Of course."
He said: "We're buying things for our new home."
---
Later, in the mall parking lot...
Kim called:
— "Mary, where are you?"
— "I'm outside, near the parking lot."
He replied:
— "Why didn't you tell me you were here from the start?"
Mary smiled softly:
— "To surprise you."
She had bought so many things for the house. Kim looked at the bags in amazement:
— "Wow, what's all this?"
Mary smiled with a small laugh:
— "These are things for my children."
Kim thought to himself: We're only just engaged...
But his mother whispered: "Kim... she's truly happy with these things. She wishes to be a mother from you."
And he told himself: And I too... I only want her to be the mother of my children.
Mary spoke as she approached with heavy steps:
— "When will you come? Come carry the bags... I'm tired."
He smiled as he walked toward her:
— "Don't you see I'm coming to you?"
She shouted angrily:
— "Ah! I'll kill you!"
And she rushed toward him...
Suddenly—
Gunshots! A speeding car!
He screamed: "Watch out!"
He threw his body toward her, taking a bullet in his shoulder. He fell while holding her tightly... but she was safe.
But his eyes widened... his mother?!
She was on the ground... blood spilling from her mouth. Her final breaths.
— "Mom!!"
A stray bullet... she was gone.
He turned to Mary:
— "Mary! Help me! We must save Mom! Let's go to her quickly!"
She ran toward him... but — bang! — bullets pierced her back.
She fell in front of him with a faint smile, her hand touching his face:
— "I wished... to have at least two children from you... damn it, is this the end?"
She smiled sadly:
— "You fool... don't ever sleep with another girl after me, or I'll curse you. Got it?"
Tears streamذed down his face as he screamed:
— "Mary!"
But her eyes closed forever...
---
Sirens... the police arrived. But too late.
The doctor spoke to the officers:
— "Seven dead."
— "Any survivors?"
— "Only one..."
The doctor approached Kim:
— "Are you alright?"
But Kim looked at his hands, at his body soaked in blood...
And answered inside: Do I look alright? I was already dead.
---
In the hospital...
The nurse begged him to eat his food. But he remained silent.
Time had stopped inside him since the incident. He could not accept the truth.
At last, he realized... they were gone.
His mother... Mary... they would never return.
Tears choked him as he whispered:
— "Forgive me, Mom... Mary... I'm sorry."
He had wanted to be strong, to protect those he loved... but he couldn't.
And what use is strength if it cannot protect the ones you love?
Something inside him shattered.
And from his wound, a new darkness was born.
A dark laugh escaped... not from joy, but from fire.
Once, he wished to be a hero...
But now?
He swore...
He would kill them all.