Metus

Metus²

Even though he was born in 1891, he didn't act like an oldie. Woohyun blended in well with everyone, and he was always up-to-date with technology and news.

Technically, Nam Woohyun was only twenty-four years old. In reality, he was 124.

He had stopped aging ever since he turned twenty four, or somewhere around there - he hadn't grown any wrinkles after he turned that age, and even ten years after, he looked exactly the same.

Woohyun had expected himself to be different from people, but he never expected himself to be that different. He had thought of the possibility of aging slower than normal, but he never thought of not aging at all.

Starting from 2008, when technology began improving, he removed himself from towns and cities and settled into the deserted rural areas. He could do his work away from people, and he could have his own peaceful time. If he wanted to be around people, then he could go to the city within sixty seconds.

Woohyun could've simply continued moving to different areas in Korea, but he decided to distance himself from civilization.  Why?

Because he was afraid.

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Woohyun whistled a self-made melody while he hiked up the mountain for morning exercise. He could've ran, but the point of his morning adventures was to appreciate the scenery.

He liked the view, especially during autumn. The leaves would change colour and cause an array of warm tones, and after falling off of their branches, they would coat the ground like a thin blanket. The only reason he liked it was because the view would always be changing.

As he reached the peak of the mountain, a boy came into his view. In the thousands of times he had stood at the top, he had never seen anyone else around before the full sunrise, let alone someone sitting beside a tree near the cliff. Intrigued, Woohyun stayed and observed the boy for half an hour before deciding to leave.

For each day that went past, Woohyun came to find that the boy was would always be at the exact same spot. Woohyun found it interesting how all of a sudden, a stranger began frequenting the cliff that was always empty.

After months of staring at the boy in the ungodly hours of the sunrise, Woohyun had learned the stranger’s schedule. The boy would arrive half an hour before sunrise, stay and stare at the horizon until ten, then he would leave. Sometimes Woohyun suspected that the boy was actually staring at the clump of tall buildings off in the distance, and it made him wonder why the stranger never travelled to the city. Four hours were enough to drive to the city, enjoy the surroundings for an hour, and then return.

Then again, it also made sense. Woohyun lived in the most rural place possible – he was an hour and a half away from the city by car, and plus he lived right on the mountain full of wildlife. Nobody lived around the mountain, and nobody came to visit for “sightseeing”.

One day, Woohyun decided to confront the boy. His courage came from the blooming blossoms that sat at the bottom of the mountain. He would grow out of his shell, and he would try and socialize with someone.