IWDAR Prologue
by tsukkie𐙚“Little one, do you want to play hide-and-seek with me?”
A slimy voice slithered past the tightly closed bedroom door.
Wooyoung tightly covered both his ears as if to clutch them.
Unfortunately, it was hopelessly inadequate to block the noise from outside.
The boy’s small ears, who used to perfectly read the flow of every musical note, were doing their job even in this kind of moment. His curled-up body trembled, and his fingertips grew cold.
‘Remember. Today is a very important occasion. Don’t you think you have to properly repay the investment I’ve made in you?’
The amount of money the woman had poured into Wooyoung was immeasurable. Studying music was like that. Private lessons from renowned professors, tuition fees for studying abroad, competition preparations—all money, money, money. But, even so…
“Where could our little cutie be hiding?”
If the price of all that investment was this, he would have run away far, far away…
‘…Run away?’
Where to?
The bizarre humming sound gradually approached the very spot where Wooyoung was hiding.
Wooyoung’s eyes, wide with terror, stared blankly into space. He couldn’t understand why he was hiding like this in a place like this.
‘Where did things go wrong?’
What exactly was the problem in the first place?
Was it holding his stepmother’s hand?
Was it playing the old organ and singing at the orphanage?
Was it being captivated by the music the director played for him?
‘No, no.’
Click—
The moment the tightly locked doorknob turned sharply, Wooyoung realized.
‘It was wrong from the moment I, this vermin, was born.’
The clear eyes staring into space sank endlessly.
Click, click!
“Here you are.”
A low chuckle scratched at Wooyoung’s entire being.
As he always had, Wooyoung, who had been hiding at the bottom, slowly rose from his spot. Beyond him, a cool breeze blew in through the wide-open terrace of the bedroom. The fluttering curtains were beautiful.
‘Yes, I shouldn’t have been born.’
His legs, exposed because the man outside had forcibly taken his underwear, were skinny.
It felt like the monstrous man would break down the door and come in any moment, but Wooyoung was no longer trembling with fear. Wooyoung’s pale white face, strangely calm and settled, was clearly visible under the bright terrace light.
The terrace floor felt cold against his bare feet. His round eyes gazed only at the endless sky.
‘I shouldn’t have been born.’
His slender fingers gripped the high railing of the terrace.
The disgustingly loud noise that had been ringing in his ears had stopped at some point, but Wooyoung no longer cared about such things.
Freedom was right in front of him.
Within reach if he just stretched out his hand!
Wooyoung, climbing onto the terrace railing almost crawling, exhaled the breath he had been holding in.
A breath of fresh air flowed through his lungs, the suffocating, sticky feeling that had been pressing down on his lungs was released.
It was a strange sensation.
It felt like the heavy feeling that had been crushing his heart had finally disappeared for the first time.
Facing the end of his life, Wooyoung smiled.
The stiffened muscles moved strangely as if distorted, but it was definitely a smile.
The wind swirling around his entire body was harsh. A chaotic noise pierced his ears dizzily.
He stared down at the dizzying depths below.
There was no fear.
No regrets either.
If there was one memory that suddenly filled his mind, it was this:
‘Did you sing that song just now?’
Ah, yes. There were moments when I felt my heart flutter…
Endlessly chasing something just beyond his reach, Wooyoung closed his eyes. His pathetically thin body plummeted.
He was finally free from his restraints.
The moment his body, floating in the air, grasped ultimate freedom—
“Han Wooyoung!!”
Someone… seemed to have called my name.