His Reason to Live - Hwang Inyeop Short Story

Chapter 2: Start of something different

"Go with me, be with me for 24 hours. Then decide if you still want to kill yourself." She seriously said and I gave her a confused look.

"Are you hearing what you say?" I scoffed. "Are you seriously asking a stranger to be with you for a whole day?"

"Yes, I'm serious."

I feel like my eyebrows meet from too much frowning. I heaved a heavy sigh and stared at her intently. "Look, I don't know what your deal is." I walked up the railing of the bridge once more, ready to finish what I started before this woman interrupted. "I don't have time for your shit. Go find someone else to annoy."

"There's nothing to lose here, In-yeop," she blurted out my name like she used to say it before as she had already said it a hundred times. I stopped on my tracks and stared confusedly at her.

"How did you know my name?"

She got something from her pocket and held it in front of me. It's my identification card. "You left this at the bar."

I quickly snatched it from her while my eyes never left hers. "What do you want?"

"I already told you what I want. As I said earlier, there's nothing to lose here. Be with me for 24 hours, do things you never did before, see things you've never seen before, then decide." She stares at me intently and I'm starting to feel the sincerity of this woman's words in front of me. "The decision is up to you, In-yeop."

My eyes unconsciously looked at the river, up the dimming sky, then back to her. I'll be back. Just one day. I promise to come back after this nonsense. She stares at me and waits for my response. I don't know for how long but I think I'm already staring at her for almost a minute... and yet she patiently waits.

"One day," I finally said. "Just one day of this shit."

She smiles upon hearing my answer. A genuine smile that I never experienced nor have seen before. "I promise..." she said with her teeth showing like she's a kid who has been given candy.

Promise. A word I never believed before. A word I hated before. But why do I feel fine hearing it from this woman? "It's a deal then," I extended my hand out to her and she gladly accepted it.

"Deal..." She gripped my hand and gave me a sweet smile.

"This is crazy," I blurted out and inwardly chuckled. She chuckled as well and we both released the grip of our hands.

"Let's start this craziness, shall we?" She starts to walk away from the bridge and I follow her.

"Where are we going?"

She looked at me over her shoulder. "Follow me and you'll see."

It's been thirty minutes of walking with her being talkative. Her mouth moves nonstop and tells me stories which I surprisingly enjoyed. She talks about how her neighbor mistaken her as a ghost since her complexion is very pale, that she has three cats and she names them doughnut, pepper and snow, and much more random stuff.

She's facing me while she tells me these stories, that is why she walks backward. She's not scared she might bump into something.

"There was even a time when my cat, Doughnut, had a fight and I immediately stopped them. I'm afraid they might---" She was not able to finish what she was saying when I pulled her by her wrist to avoid her being hit by a passing bicycle.

"I told you to face the front while walking," I said and worry can be heard from my voice while I'm still staring at the bicycle which is already far from us. I looked at her and that is when I realized she's so close to me and she's smiling... again. When will this woman stop smiling? I let go of her wrist and made the distance between us.

"For how long are we still going to walk?" I asked as I avoided her stare.

"We're here," she beamed and waited for the light to turn green before we crossed the street. I look at the sign of the building we are going to.

"A museum? You wanted to bring me to an animal museum?" I asked in amusement.

"Yes," she cheerfully answered.

"At this time?"

She glanced at her watch and looked at me. "It's still 5:35, so... Yes."

Is this woman in her right state of mind? Did she interrupt me from jumping off the bridge just to go to a freaking animal museum? I frowned at her but she still gives me that smile. I'm starting to want to rip that smile off her face.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," she answered cheerfully again. "Trust me, you'll enjoy it here."

"When did museums become enjoyable?" I irritatingly asked as I placed both my hands in my pocket.

"Have you ever been to one?" She asked like she knows I haven't. Yes, I haven't been to a single museum before. I just don't see why people love going to these kinds of places. You only see bones and figures of animals which I find creepy.

I gave her a defeated sigh and walked my way to the building when I saw the light turned green. By the sound of her footsteps, I know she's happy and feels victorious. She ran and grabbed my hand which made me run, too.

We were greeted by staff as we got inside the museum and explained the dos and don'ts and all precautions for the displays and people's safety. As we went inside, replicas of reptiles were displayed in huge transparent boxes.

She immediately went near each box and explained every reptile we see. Their origin, their capabilities, the danger if we try to be aggressive touching them and so much more. She always wears that smile throughout her explanation.

We saw different replicas of animals inside the huge building. We even saw real alpacas and I was not able to stop myself from laughing when she started copying one of them.

"Stop! You look stupid!" I said between my laughs.

"Do I?" She said and I laughed harder when one of the alpacas licked her face. The staff immediately gave her tissue to wipe off the animal's saliva.

"That's what you get from being crazy," I said as I wiped some tears from the edge of my eye. It's been ages since I laughed this hard.

"You should smile often. It suits you," she said, giving me that sweet smile. My body instantly reacted upon her comment and immediately put up a straight face. I have to admit, I feel good after that laugh.

"So," I cleared my throat. "Where are we going next?"

Instead of answering, she smiled at me and made her way out of the building. No one asked me to follow, but I found myself following a stranger.