“I’m the new student. Please take care of me.”

            There I was, standing in front of organized lines where humans were seated. And there I saw him. His vibe was completely different. I did not recognize him.

“Hello,” he said to me.

            That’s his voice. Never did he talk to me before. Or maybe he did, but it was so far in the past.

I have no name.

But he calls me Cheondung.

You must be wondering how I met the almighty Yang Seungho.

If I recall, he was three years-old when we were first introduced to each other. That woman probably traded her papers and coins for me because I am a bunny, and the young lord is a rabbit as well. I don’t know if it was luck to be chosen among all the identical figures and to not be roughly handled, but I know well enough I am lucky for the young lord has not discarded me after all these years.

The young lord has a brother, Seunghoon, the childish lad who throws me carelessly and mistreats me. The woman mistreats me as well. They threaten the young lord to dispose of me. I am powerless in front of them, they who despise yet tolerate my existence.

Before knowing who or what I am or where I am from, I came to this world with the knowledge I have now. I never questionned myself about why I can think, although I am certain that my head is only composed of soft material. There are also rules and functions that I have to keep in mind :

Live as the human/animal/thing that you are :

The DICE has chosen. You are a plush.

1.    You cannot move, talk, nor express your spiritual existence.

2.    As a plushy, you cannot express emotions.

3.    When you are discarded, you will stop living.

4.    You are a creation of humans, you need to have an owner. If not, you will stop living.

5.    If you leave your first owner, you wil stop living.

6.    Your owner will give you a name and you will keep it.

7.    Not all plushies are like you: do not try to communicate with them. […]

My life has never been exciting. It was only dull, especially when the sun still illuminates the room through the glass covered by a thin veil. The room is very bright, almost pure I find. It’s so clean, but sometimes, strange terrifying legged creatures lurk and crawl around me or even on me! They stare at me blankly... almost through my soul. I can’t stand their beings. There are also somewhere within the wall, colourful fabrics behind a sliding door – a mirror to be precise – before the bed. At times, I look through the glass to see what I really am. My fur is baby pink. My expression is indifferent. I have this little white bow around my neck. My black plastic eyes glisten, reflecting the light from outside, and I feel no emotions through them. Every day, I stay tucked in the young lord’s bed, and I am grateful that he does instead of thrashing me anywhere. Nevertheless, I have no means of entertainment; my only entertainment is observing the room and waiting patiently for him to come back from school.

When he comes back home, it’s so fascinating to see him focused at work, tidying up now and then, dancing at times while listenning to music, leaving and coming back after a satisfying meal… The smell of his shampoo as he, reading a book, lies next to me, making up for my loneliness earlier in the day. At night, he hugs me; the warmth from his strong arm muscles makes me forget about the coolness of the bed.

But sometimes, the young lord comes back, his eyebrows furrowed, hastily finishes his work, takes a quick shower and goes to sleep. I am happy that he joins me sooner, but his mood worries me. Why is he like that? Is this what they call stress? Anger? What does it mean when he tightly grips me at night? Or when his glare is so cold, as if he built walls around himself? Questions keep making me apprehensive because I cannot find hints to clear them, cannot ask him anything whatsoever, cannot tell him anything to reassure him. I can’t even understand how he feels. For all I know, I’m only a toy!

What can a mere plushy do?!

“A LOT OF THINGS, Cheondung”

And that was when I met Soonja.