Hyun-Su stared at the wall, arms wrapped around his knees and head resting on the wall behind him.
The residents had found a room in the far back of a hall that was empty and, according to them, comfortable enough for Hyun-Su and that old man to be quarantined in.
Hyun-Su thought back about how everyone acted.
He was standing next to the daycare room the whole time everything happened.
He could hear everything and it was enough for him to know what they were thinking. He could hear how many people opposed, how many were in favour and who thought what about Hyun-Su. Everything. He heard everything.
Hyun-Su wasn't going to lie, it made him feel sad.
He hadn't done anything bad, had he? It wasn't his fault that he was turning into a monster. Why was everyone treating him badly?
Hyun-Su sighed, looking down.
He then thought back to the way Hae-Rin saved him, and Hyun-Su kept wondering why.
He told her to run, told her to get away from him. He thought he was sure about his warning, he thought that she would listen but no. Instead of listening to him, she returned and saved him from that big monster.
Hyun-Su wanted to thank her, wanted to tell her how relieved he was despite how much he thought it was a bad idea.
And then when he fell from the ninth floor, before he fainted, he heard her shattering scream and thought that maybe he mattered a bit more than he thought he did. Hyun-Su thought that maybe, as his eyes closed and everything went blank, maybe Hae-Rin went to save him because he mattered.
It felt nice, to matter to someone.
It felt nice to know that he mattered, that there was someone willing to go back for him and save him even though they didn't know each other for too long.
Hyun-Su felt guilty for feeling that way, though. He felt guilty because he knew that he was a monster, that it was too late to kill him now, too late to die. But he also felt guilty thinking about dying, thinking about disappearing from the world forever.
Before, it felt fine.
Now he didn't wish for that.
Suddenly, the old man, Seok-Hyeon, jumped up from the couch, waking up.
