One Shove at the Crosswalk

'I'm exhausted.'

My head had been spinning all day from the accidents erupting around me.

At lunch, when I tripped over someone's foot, Oh Seung-hyun wasn't even involved this time. The kid who tried to stick a foot out at me was some boy from another class whose name I didn't even know, and whether by chance or not, he ended up catching his own foot, tripping over himself, and going down flat. Then he grabbed onto his friends on the way down, so they ended up smearing food all over each other and raising a whole ruckus.

It went on like that for the rest of the day, too. Maybe because my misfortune factor had dropped, the accidents veered away from me without my even having to pay attention — but the constant commotion around me still left me far more tired than usual.

'Will tomorrow be even worse than today?'

I pressed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hard at the corners of my aching eyes. The number of times Oh Seung-hyun had tried to use his friends to torment me today came to a grand total of seven. Seven. At that point, you could safely say he was obsessed. With an obsession that deep, tomorrow would only get worse, never better.

I'd originally planned to observe things for three or four days, but I didn't think that was going to work anymore. By tomorrow, I'd get my hands on a single piece of evidence that Oh Seung-hyun was the instigator, and then have a talk with him.

"It's crazy how chaotic today's been."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Nothing had directly involved us, but Noh Bi-hyeok muttered, puzzled — perhaps because of the accidents springing up around us without pause all day. I had nothing proper to say, so I gave a vague answer, but I felt guilty all the same. Well, at least today's share of misfortune was used up. Small mercies.

I packed up my bag and headed out of the classroom with Noh Bi-hyeok.

"I'm walking home today."

"Huh? What about your manager hyung?"

"He's got a meeting today."

"Ooh — then how about we hang out for the first time in ages? Karaoke!"

Noh Bi-hyeok's face lit up visibly, his voice earlier as tired as mine. It was a hassle, but I had no particular reason to refuse, so I said sure — and his footsteps, walking beside mine, grew noticeably lighter.

"Karaoke — seriously, it's been forever. Should've called Park Ha to come too."

"We can go all three of us next time."

"Yesss! Great, great."

He was so hyped he even started humming. I guess he really does love singing — his eyes brightened just from imagining it. It was fascinating to me that simply recalling something could make someone's eyes shine like that. I wondered if I could ever come to love something that much, too.

"Let's go to Golden. They give you lots of freebies there."

"Sure."

We stopped at the crosswalk light to get to the karaoke place across from the school. I was spacing out at the red light, which seemed unusually stubborn about changing today, when Noh Bi-hyeok tapped my shoulder.

"What?"

"Behind you."

Behind? Following his chin-jut, I turned my head — and there stood someone I never expected.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

Well, this was new. Him approaching first?

I quietly studied Oh Seung-hyun, standing there with a composed expression. Noh Bi-hyeok couldn't stand the silence and spoke up first.

"We're heading to karaoke."

"...It won't take long."

"If it won't take long, then do it tomorrow."

What is wrong with this kid. To signal him to knock it off, I smacked his arm, and he looked down at me with a face that said why are you taking his side.

When I asked Oh Seung-hyun what he wanted to talk about, the answer was that he wanted to speak with just the two of us. I held back Noh Bi-hyeok, who got even snippier at that, and with the light finally turning green, I pushed him toward it — go on ahead.

"Go in first. I'll be right there."

"...Fine. Hurry up."

Noh Bi-hyeok hesitated with a sour look on his face, but finally sighed and crossed the street ahead of me. I watched his back recede for a moment, then turned around.

"No need to move somewhere else, right? What did you want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to talk about?"

It was a crosswalk with cars whipping past right beside us — hardly a great environment for a conversation — but I had no intention of relocating. I had thought I'd have to deal with Oh Seung-hyun by tomorrow, but honestly, the desire to avoid talking to him at all was far stronger. Of course I didn't want to hold a conversation with someone who wore his hatred that openly.

And yet I'd kept up basic courtesy and never once let my discomfort show — so who did he think he was, making that kind of face?

"Seung-hyun, you said you wanted to talk. If you just stand there glaring at me, what am I supposed to do with it?"

"......"

The moment the two of us were alone, his expression changed, and he glared at me like he wanted me dead. A sigh escaped me all on its own. When exactly was this kid going to grow up? They say you should feed the person you hate an extra rice cake, but watching him huff and puff like that, I had no motivation — just drained energy.

'I'll just let it go today.'

I'd let him say whatever he wanted to say. Whether it was cursing or hexing, if he spat it to my face, maybe some of what had built up inside him would come loose.

I was mulling over these thoughts, sneaking a glance at the light that had just turned red again—

"...!"

My body was already tipping backward before I had any chance to react to the hard shove against my shoulder. The sensation of going airborne. Legs gone slack. I flailed my hands instinctively, but there was nothing to grab.

In that moment, when time seemed to stop and flow excruciatingly slowly, only one thing registered in my eyes. Eyes brimming with rapture — that thrill of joy. A shiver crawled through me as I felt my head slowly tipping back. And then — the frantic, deafening blare of a horn. Wow. I'm done for.

The moment I thought the horn was absurdly, impossibly loud enough to burst my eardrums, a violent impact struck my head. In a flash, everything went dark before my eyes.

It felt as though I'd been in the dark for a very long time. The complicated circuits in my head seemed to have snapped apart, one by one. Even when I tried to think, the thoughts wouldn't connect. And yet the feeling was strangely familiar.

'This is like...'

Yes — this was exactly how I'd felt the first time I met the Fog. Just remembering the way it had once swaggered around in Teacher Lee Sihyun's form pulled a snort out of me. Ah — I could feel the corners of my mouth lifting.

Starting from there, sensation returned slowly — my eyes, my nose, my hands.

"...Where on earth am I now?"

I slowly rolled my ankles, stiff as if they hadn't moved in years, and looked around. There wasn't much to look at, mind you — just like the day I'd first met the Fog, it was pitch black, with nothing visible at all.

Last time it got like this, the Fog showed up and everything brightened, so maybe it would happen again.

I stood there dumbly waiting, but no matter how long I waited, I felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no trace of anything. Eventually my legs, aching from standing, gave out and I sank to the ground.

"Don't tell me I actually died?"

It was a grim thought I shouldn't have said out loud — but honestly, it wasn't an impossibility. I'd been standing at a crosswalk on a four-lane road, right as evening rush hour was picking up. Given how deafening that horn had been, maybe the car had hit me instantly, without even a chance to dodge.

No — I hadn't dodged anything in the first place. I'd lost consciousness on the spot.

"......"

As the situation slowly sank in, the anxiety swelled along with it. I could feel my heartbeat accelerating, so I clenched my fists.

Really? I die like this? However many people die in traffic accidents every year, me becoming one of them was another matter entirely.

'No. That's not it.'

Even if I'd been hit by a car, the cause of death wouldn't be a traffic accident. If this was what killed me, it wasn't an accident — it was flat-out murder. There would have been more than one or two witnesses, and above all, this was right in front of a school. There were cameras everywhere.

'What was Oh Seung-hyun thinking, pulling something this idiotic?'

Just picturing that smug face made my throat sting. Not from nerves — I was simply furious. I didn't care one bit what the meaning behind that last look in his eyes was. If he had a problem with me, he could have said so. He asked to talk, and then shoved a person into traffic?

"Haa..."

The irritation sent heat flooding up into my head. And that was a good thing. My breathing had been turning ragged with anxiety, but the fury welling up steadied it instead.

'If I'm not dead...'

The moment I got back, Oh Seung-hyun was first on my list. Just thinking it made strength surge through me out of nowhere. The very fact that I could still reason like this meant the odds were high that I wasn't dead. Too early to give up.

I was still debating how much longer I'd have to wait before I could get back when—

Before my eyes could even adjust to the scene flooding bright all at once, without any warning whatsoever, something came flying at me from far away.

"Ugh."

In an instant it hurled itself into my arms. The blow caught me square in the solar plexus, and while I was still gasping for breath, prying off the whatever-it-was came first — so I lifted my head urgently.

And what came into view was...