September 8, 2025.
2:28 PM, South Korea.
The streets of Seoul were filled with life, but the life of our protagonist was not. Inside an office building, a man who was twenty was now working his life away at a huge corporation that couldn't care less about his health.
Ha-Eun sat in a black swivel chair in front of a desk. With his right hand holding his phone, he moved his left pale index finger toward the screen and swiped up.
"Are you really playing chess on the job, Ha-Eun?"
Ha-Eun turned around in his chair, looking down at his phone while continuing his chess match.
The man angrily swiped the phone out of Ha-Eun's hand with his right hand. Ha-Eun looked up at him and noticed his annoyed expression.
"If you're so obsessed with chess, why didn't you make a career out of it?"
Ha-Eun stood up and did a cross-arm stretch before reaching out his pale right hand directly toward his coworker.
"You want your phone back? You're crazy if you think you'll be getting it back, Ha-Eun," the coworker said.
"Can I have seven thousand won?" Ha-Eun asked.
His coworker's face twitched as he heard Ha-Eun's request. In the next moment, the coworker backhanded Ha-Eun on his left cheek with his left hand.
"YOU ARE FIRED!"
Ha-Eun grabbed the red tie from his suit and took it off with his right hand before holding it out to his coworker.
"I can't take my suit off right now since I don't have anything underneath besides my boxers. I'll bring it back another day."
This man, who had just fired him, wasn't just his coworker but also an executive at the company. Ha-Eun ran his left hand through his jet-black hair.
"So, are you going to take the tie, or am I going to be left here holding it out for you?"
The executive snatched the tie from Ha-Eun's hand with his left, the same way he had snatched his phone.
"I don't want to see you here again. Go live the rest of your valueless life in that shitty apartment of yours."
Ha-Eun walked past the executive, who headed toward the staircase that led down. As he reached the floor below, he jumped in excitement as he looked down at his hands.
In his right hand, he held his phone once again, and in his other hand, he held a ten-thousand-won bill.
"With these skills, I should be a spy."
Ha-Eun arrived on the first floor and walked toward a vending machine, a smile of pure happiness on his face.
"Should I get her something?"
he thought.
Ha-Eun inserted the bill into the vending machine and grabbed two chocolate bars. He slipped the bars into his left pocket and then took the change from the machine.
Ha-Eun walked for over an hour before arriving at a track field. He walked toward the bleachers and took a seat before unwrapping a chocolate bar.
As he took a bite out of the chocolate, his brown eyes were mesmerized by the girl running around the track.
"Arin… you are amazing, you run from morning to night,"
thought Ha-Eun.
Arin had jet-black hair styled in a bun, with a few strands falling across her forehead. She had a small, slender figure, her skin pale like snow and her orange eyes resembling autumn leaves. She wore a black tank top, black shorts, and running shoes.
Arin ran and kept going for a few more laps around the track. Eventually, she stopped, her whole body covered in sweat.
She bent over and grabbed her knees in exhaustion, letting out heavy breaths.
"I'm so weak… I could've done one more… no, two more …"
Arin looked around and saw Ha-Eun watching her; her eyes widened as a faint smile formed on her face. She waved at Ha-Eun before jogging toward him.
Ha-Eun smiled and waved back at her.
"Ha-Eun! What are you doing here? You don't get out of work until four."
"I got fired."
Arin's smile faded, and a serious look formed as her orange eyes pierced Ha-Eun's brown eyes.
"Huh…?"
"I got fired. I didn't try my hardest in school just to be some office worker."
"Ha-Eun… I agree with you; you were extremely hardworking in school, but… maybe you should've tried finding another job opportunity before quitting."
A cocky smirk formed on Ha-Eun's face.
"I already know what I'm going to do with my life…"
Arin walked over to Ha-Eun and sat beside him on the bleachers. She hugged him, letting his head rest against her breast as she gently played with his hair.
"No matter what you decide to do… I'll support you with all my heart, Ha-Eun."
Ha-Eun smiled as he pulled away, gazing at Arin's beautiful face with a soft, faint smile.
"How's track coming along?"
Arin sighed at the mention of track. She turned to look down at her legs as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"Nervous. The competition is in just a few weeks. Will you be able to make it to the competition, Ha-Eun?"
Ha-Eun's smile faded. Arin turned to look back at Ha-Eun and immediately noticed his calm, serious expression.
"Will you be able to make it?" she said, her voice filled with worry and a hint of fear.
"I'll try my best to see what I can do…"
Ha-Eun reached into his pocket and pulled out the chocolate bar, holding it out toward Arin.
Arin smiled, her slim, pale hand reaching for the chocolate. She grabbed it with her right hand, and before taking a bite, she put the wrapper in one of her shorts pockets.
"He struggles with money… yet he buys me treats. I truly hope my future husband is like you, Ha-Eun,"
thought Arin.
Ha-Eun stood up, looking down at Arin as a faint smile formed on his face.
"I should get going."
Arin smiled.
"If you have time tomorrow, you know where to find me."
Ha-Eun walked on the sidewalk; there was never a single moment without a car beside him, not a single moment without a person next to him. As he walked, Ha-Eun rolled up his right sleeve, revealing two bracelets.
Five years ago.
Ha-Eun stood outside a giant school, with Arin standing right in front of him. The two of them wore the same blue uniform: Arin had a short blue skirt with black stockings, and Ha-Eun had blue trousers.
The grass was green and bright, and the sun was setting. The wind blew Arin's beautiful hair back, while it blew Ha-Eun's beautiful hair into his face.
"Arin… I love you."
Arin's eyes widened, and she looked away with a saddened look on her face. Ha-Eun looked down, expecting the worst.
"I understand if you don't feel the same…"
"Ha-Eun, I'm sorry…"
Arin looked at Ha-Eun and saw tears flowing down his face, falling onto the grass. Arin jumped toward Ha-Eun and gave him a tight hug.
"I love you too, Ha-Eun."
Ha-Eun's eyes widened.
"But I'm sorry, I can't accept you as my lover, Ha-Eun. My parents won't allow me to be with a man, as I have an arranged marriage planned once I turn twenty…"
"But hey! We can be lovers until then."
Tears began flowing down Arin's face as she put her face into Ha-Eun's chest.
"If we spend five years as lovers, I'm afraid I won't be able to let you go. Even as we are now, I find it hard to stop talking to you…"
As days passed after Ha-Eun's confession, he found himself growing further apart from Arin.
As Arin spoke to Ha-Eun each day, Ha-Eun couldn't even look at her in the face anymore.
Eventually, a month passed after the confession.
Ha-Eun sat on his bed. He looked down at his pale hands as he thought.
"Why am I being like this…? I'm ignoring her more and more just because I can't have her as my lover. When did I become so selfish? I can't be selfish like them… Arin is still speaking to me as if nothing had happened. I should try to make the same effort as her…"
Ha-Eun grabbed his phone, which he had placed next to him on the bed with his right hand. He began typing away at his phone.
"Hey, how about we spend some time together tomorrow?"
"Send"
The wooden door to his room opened slowly. Ha-Eun looked up and saw a girl in her twenties walk in. She had jet-black hair that reached her shoulders, pale skin, and brown eyes, and her face had features extremely similar to Ha-Eun's, both of them extremely beautiful. She had her hands behind her back, as if she were hiding something.
"Hey, Ha-Eun…"
"Yea?"
The woman took out a phone and smiled at Ha-Eun.
"Consider this a late Christmas gift.
Ha-Eun placed his phone next to him on the bed before crying frantically. He ran toward the girl and hugged her.
"DA-EUN, I PROMISE I'LL PAY YOU BACK ONE DAY, I SWEAR I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!"
Da-Eun smiled as she hugged Ha-Eun back.
"It's the least I could do for my little brother for being such a kind kid."
Back to present day
September 8, 2025.
7:09 PM, South Korea.
Ha-Eun had arrived at a hotel and now stood in front of a wooden door.
"242"
was the number on the door in front of him. Ha-Eun grabbed the silver knob with his right hand, turned it, and pushed the door open.
As Ha-Eun stepped into the apartment, he took off his shoes, placing them in front of the door. He began taking off his suit until he was only in his black boxers.
Ha-Eun got on his knees and began doing crunches. He worked out for two hours to maintain his athletic physique. Once this was done, Ha-Eun entered the bathroom to take a nice warm shower.
10:58 PM, South Korea.
Ha-Eun exited the bathroom, wearing baggy sweatpants and a gray shirt. He walked toward one of the corners of his apartment, where a wooden desk and a wooden chair remained.
Ha-Eun pulled the chair back and took a seat. On his wooden desk was an old laptop that Ha-Eun opened after sitting down.
He crossed his legs before opening a chess website. On this website, there were a total of six difficulty levels Ha-Eun could choose from: "beginner, easy, novice, challenging, hard, impossible."
Ha-Eun, using the touchpad, moved his cursor and clicked the 'hard' difficulty.
Ha-Eun's eyes had gone red from staring at the screen for so long. He had defeated the artificial intelligence on the 'hard' difficulty fifty times in a row in an hour and thirty minutes.
"Do I still have cup noodles?"
Ha-Eun thought as he stood up from his chair and walked towards his kitchen. He opened all his wooden cabinets, and to his surprise, there was not a single cup of noodles in his apartment.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! A cup of noodles is about to be my final straw. The only way I can overwrite my upcoming decisions is if I win a scratch-off."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!"
yelled one of Ha-Eun's neighbors. Ha-Eun looked startled, but after a bit, he was able to regain his composure.
"SORRY!"
"DON'T APOLOGIZE, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP SCREAMING. I HAVE WORK TOMORROW."
"Sorry…"
whispered Ha-Eun to himself, as he was the only one able to hear it. Ha-Eun walked back toward his wooden desk. He took a seat and placed his right index finger on the touchpad once more. Ha-Eun let out a deep breath before changing the difficulty of the artificial intelligence to 'impossible.'
11:59 AM, South Korea.
Loss after loss, outplayed countless times, Ha-Eun finally came out on top. Since the age of ten, Ha-Eun had begun his chess journey, and only now, today, was he able to win against this impossible challenge.
Ha-Eun's movements had come to a stop; he was in complete shock. He had done it—he won.
"I did it…"
Ha-Eun fell asleep at his desk after staying up all night on this endeavor. Ha-Eun stood there, his wrists and ankles bound by cold, heavy shackles that clinked softly with his slightest movement. As he glanced around, the vast expanse of an endless sea stretched out before him, its surface shimmering under the pale light, appearing both beautiful and haunting. The undulating waves whispered secrets, while the horizon blurred into a misty veil, merging sky and water in an infinite embrace.
From the mist, a man in a cloak and black robe emerged. He held out a lantern in his right hand that flickered.
"Who are you?"
Ha-Eun questioned.
"An incarnation of time itself—past, present, and future all together. Ha-Eun, it is time for you to be the protagonist."
2:27 PM, South Korea.
Ha-Eun stood in front of the gates of the tower that stood in the middle of South Korea. The giant doors were almost mesmerizing, and Ha-Eun felt himself being drawn towards them.
Ha-Eun took out his phone and looked at his messages.
"Hey, Sis, I'm going into the tower. I'm not going in to find them or anything—I'm doing this on my own accord. I love you."
"I'm coming to pick you up, just stay there."
Ha-Eun placed the phone back in his pocket. He began walking toward the colossal doors. Ha-Eun reached his right pale hand toward the door, and once it made contact with the material, everything went white.