𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐂𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 [이희승]

24. Eyes, Eyes, Eyes

The repetitive hour.

A theory that has existed for so long, indicating that while time flows regularly for everyone, it's the same loop for some people. No matter how different the events in that hour can be, no matter what emotions they experience, by the end of that hour, the memories feel the same as the sixty minutes before it, and the ones before.

and the ones before that too. 

It was the fourth hour of the afternoon, and everyone gathered their stuff to join their club activities, attend their after-school academies, or just go home. Niki couldn't tell how long it had been since he was standing by his desk, looking down at his unzipped bag with an unfocused gaze. Should he join his club? The basketball team was in their spring off holiday to focus on tests. 

Then, the academy could work. No, his professor had told him he no longer needed additional classes because he was already scoring perfect grades. 

So, that left him with one final option. Going home. The last place he go for at the moment. 

His steps were slow, almost hypnotic as he walked towards the main gate, followed by some of his classmates who fought about which snack to fetch from the local store. Lucky them. Everyone had simple lives but him. Well, he did have one, it just got complicated lately.

Too complicated.

He looked down at his phone. 16:25. The walk from his class to the school gate took him five minutes at his current speed, so that meant he kept staring blankly at his bag for twenty minutes. His mind was wandering off to god knows where. His home? Family? Aeri? He no longer knew. Every hour that had passed for the last week felt the same, giving him the same gut punch from the night his father lost his temper and ruined everything. Didn't he do that every day? Maybe the last one was the final straw for Niki to realize he had a shitty life.

But with Aeri's promise, he could still feel a bit of hope inside him, so small yet existent. All they had to do was wait for Aeri to find a good lawyer, and with the files being kept with Yeoreum, things were going fine. He was a few steps away from retrieving his ordinary life.

Maybe he would return to his grandmother in Busan and pursue his dream as a basketball player. Or he could ask for a gap year and just enjoy the beach and the shore. Maybe he would get to know Aeri more, and they would get closer bit by bit. She wasn't a bad step-mother after all.

"Niki!" His thoughts snapped back to reality as he saw some party poppers flashing right above his head, making him flinch and almost choke on the faint smoke. "What the heck?!" He coughed, opening his eyes to see Yeoreum smiling at him. He could feel a smile growing on his face in return before he noticed the guy behind her, her boyfriend. "What is Heeseung doing here?" 

Heeseung shrugged his shoulders, genuinely confused as he asked back. "I don't know. What am I doing here?" He looked down at his girlfriend who groaned in slight annoyance before she pointed at Niki. "Ugh...Heeseung. We're here to make him have fun. Well, for all of us to have fun. We're going to the carnival."