Just Before The Dawn [DaeJae]

One

Only one step.

One single step which decided over life or death.

The boy stared at the cars rushing over the street right in front of him. It felt a bit like in a trance.

He stood right at the edge of the pavement. The fast cars not even a meter away from him.

One step and it would be over.

He knew there were people behind him, but they didn't even seem to take notice of his dangerous closeness to the street.

One step and he would never have to go to school again. The place he feared the most. The place he was going to right now.

He was late again, which was no surprise after the drinking last night. But he didn't really care. The later he came, the less time he had to spend in that place.

The cars stopped and the traffic light turned green for him. He slowly crossed the street, a biker passing him, hitting his shoulder in the process, then yelling at the boy for being in the way.

He hated them. Those bikers, riding without even looking at the way, one hand in their pocket, the other on the phone.

The boy reached the big bridge leading over the train rails. It was windy here, so he reached up to his beanie and pulled it down over his ears a bit more, when he suddenly noticed something and stopped walking.

He looked at the barrier of the bridge. Saw the words written with red marker. He remembered being here Saturday night when he was drunk, writing the lyrics on the barrier. The words written in red were his, but... There was more.

Words, also a part of the same song, written in black next to his.

Somebody had recognised the lyrics and answered him.

For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt his heart jump from something that wasn't fear.

Unluckily, this tiny positive spark only survived until he arrived at school.

He entered the classroom, as quiet as possible. His maths teacher stood in front of the board, writing something onto it with red chalk. 

The boy hoped to get to his seat without the man noticing him, but the giggles of the other students ruined his plan. He had only just sat down, when the teacher already stood in front of him. 

"Oh, look who decided to join us... after half an hour!" 

The boy jumped slightly, when the teacher started yelling at him. 

"What's your excuse today? Let's hear!" 

"I- I overslept..." he stuttered, then the man's hand landed on the desk loudly. 

"Get an alarm then! I have enough of you being so disrespectful and being late ever single day, Mr-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Yes?" he said and took a step back from the desk, standing back up straight. 

The boy used this opportunity to wipe the tears off from his cheeks with the end of his sleeve. Then he looked at the door. 

A guy from the neighbor class came in. "Excuse me, Mr Kim, but Ms Park sent me to get you. She needs your help with something." 

The man smiled. "Of course, Daehyun. I'll be right there." 

A minute later, the teacher had left the room.