So stared blankly at the white mound of rice that sat in front of him. He held a pair of chopsticks absentmindedly, his hand hovering above a plate of seasoned vegetables. 

His mother frowned.

“I made all of your favorite dishes, So. Are you not hungry?”

He blinked and redirected his gaze towards his mother.

“It’s not that… mom.”

He sighed, as if the mountains of the earth held him down by the shoulders.

“What’s on your mind?” She was concerned.

“If I find a place without loneliness… come with me to that place.”

Her gaze of concern was replaced with that of curiosity.   

“Have you ever heard that song before?”

She hesitated before giving him a small smile.

“That song has been around for ages. It originated from the Goryeo dynasty.”

“The Goryeo dynasty?”

She chuckled.

“Did I perhaps… like history a lot? I just... can’t seem to remember. But there would be no other reason… as to why I remember that line so clearly.”

“So… you hated history. I’m surprised you even know of such a song.”

He flinched as he felt a sharp pain at the side of his head. An image flashed before his eyes, but before he could register it, it was gone. He excused himself from the table and retreated to his room.

He closed the door and sat on the wooden floor, his back against the wall. So was frustrated—he felt so helpless and lost. As if he was stranded in the middle of the ocean, with the menacing water up to his throat, surrounded by nothing but infinite waves of blankness. It was suffocating.

He needed answers.

--

A deep, ghoulish shade of red stained the ground. Bodies drenched in blood lay scattered around him. The air reeked with the nauseating smell of death.

“It’s only… a gift that you can give me.”

He tried to run. But he was unable to do anything but watch. The man that was… him.

He knew he had no choice. It was what the boy wante