[Contest] Destiny

1. A twist of fate

I opened my eyes. I had a strange dream. In the dream, the face I hadn't seen in a long time was standing before me, weeping like someone suffering from a terrible fever. Why was I dreaming this? I sat there for a moment, lost in thought. Then, realizing it was too late, I hurriedly prepared to leave.

As I opened the rickety, bizarre door and stepped through, the chill I'd felt from the crack in the door quickly enveloped my entire body. Ugh. I groaned, stuffed my hands into my pockets, and took a quick step forward.

강다니엘

You there, stand there for a moment.

A man's voice was heard. The rather low voice made me flinch, and for a moment, my body froze, and the sound of someone walking behind me, scurrying along the ground, rang clearly in my ears.

For a moment, I was afraid I might be attacked, so I calmed my still body and quickly turned around. Then, a man, a stark contrast to the gloomy alley, approached me, peering down at me. He was tall, with distinct features and broad shoulders.

Strange. What is this? I thought it couldn't be happening, but as I stared at the man, who seemed familiar, his eyes widened in surprise, and then he spoke to me with a cold expression.

강다니엘

Why are you here?

A familiar face flashed through my mind as if a light had passed through the different accent from before, overlapping with the man in front of me.

김여주

Daniel..?

Daniel, who I knew but didn't know, was standing before me, completely different from the way he had smiled and said he would go up to Seoul and contact me.

강다니엘

Why are you here? You...

김여주

Then why are you here..?

I think it's a luxury to expect a greeting from someone I haven't heard from in a long time, but an inexplicable feeling of sadness and joy arises inside me at the same time.

Daniel, who had been hesitating for a while with a still stiff face, hands over a piece of paper that he had been holding tightly in one hand for some time.

Looking at the long fingers that handed me the paper, I realized anew how much time had passed since that day, but soon I looked down at the paper, wondering why Daniel, who had never contacted me before, had suddenly appeared in front of me.

김여주

....

A familiar name written on a piece of paper, a name I hadn't heard for a long time and didn't want to hear again, and numbers that had tormented me and my mother so terribly, all those hellish days were contained in this small piece of paper.

김여주

Why are you... doing this...

강다니엘

..I can't say much. It's just as it is written on the paper.

강다니엘

I hope we never have to meet again.

After saying that, Daniel walked away without even looking at me.

I had to stand there for a long time, caught in the absurd twist of fate.