'The protest against Criminal Tendency Act continues to grow stronger day by day. Women, men-'

Huh?

Heeseung woke up from his slumber. He had fallen asleep while watching the TV again. His feet felt the remote. Empty plastic containers of instant cup noodles occupied every other empty spot on the bed.
Groggy and dazed, Heeseung reached out for his phone to check the time. 'Ah', he winced. The bright light hurt his eyes. The date and time flashed before him.

MARCH 15, 2022

2:27 P.M.

Heeseung inspected the room, trying the find the reason behind his unbearable headache. He stepped out of the bed and stumbled onto one of the five soju bottles lying on the floor. He squealed in pain. 'What the actual fuck', he muttered. He switched the TV off and walked towards the bathroom.

The bathroom floor was surprisingly clean. Heeseung felt proud of himself, but this mirth lasted only for a moment. His smile faded as soon as his eyes fell on the sink. His eyes widened and lips began to tremble. His slender body slipped down on the floor, quivering like a leaf.

Blood.

He covered his mouth with his hand as an attempt to stifle a scream but no sound escaped his throat. Slowly but steadily, Heeseung got up and leaned over to the sink covered in drops of blood. He struggled to turn the faucet with his trembling fingers. He held his right hand in his left to one stop it from shaking. He took a deep breath and frantically proceeded to turn the faucet. The water started pouring out, slowly making all the blood stains disappear. Heeseung sat on the bathroom floor again, heaving a sigh of relief.

The phone in his sweatpants rang all of a sudden, throwing him completely off-guard. He placed a hand on his chest, breathing heavily.

He took his phone out and squinted at the screen.

Soo Ahra

'Soo Ahra?,' Heeseung whispered to himself. That name certainly rang a bell, he just didn't know how. Nevertheless, he decided to answer it.

'Annyeonghaseyo?'

'Oppa?,' the girl said.

'Oppa?', Heeseung mouthed, confused.

The girl's voice cracked. She started crying over the phone.'Why,' she sniffed. 'Why did you ever ask me out if you were going to end up treating me like this all the time?', she sobbed.

'Ahra,' he whispered. His eyes widened. Slowly, the realization started to hit him.

'You always make plans and end up ditching me. You-'

'I'm sorry, Ahra,' Heeseung apologized. 'I promise I'll make it up to you,' he pleaded.

'Forget about it, Lee Heeseung,' the girl said sharply, her voice still thick with tears. 'This isn't your first time doing this. I always ended up making excuses on your behalf and tried to find stupid reasons for every time you hurt me. I always felt like you were a nice person, it was just a bad situation', her voice was shaky. 'But you've proven me wrong, time and time again,' she said.

'Who are you, Lee Heeseung?', she demanded. 'I feel like I don't know you anymore,' she sniffed. 'Ahra,' Heeseung said beseechingly. 'I have no idea-'
'You don't have to explain anything,' she said dryly and hung up. Heeseung held his head in his hands. This was the last thing he wanted right now. He suddenly felt bile rise to his throat and dragged his face to the sink.

His face flushed pink. He threw up.

He panted as he looked into the mirror. His large doe eyes were surrounded by thick, dark lines. Saliva and bile dripped from his lips. He used his sleeve to wipe it off. His t-shirt hung loosely on his shoulders, exposing his collarbones.

'Who am I?', he stared at himself, repeating Ahra's question.

His sphinx birthmark stared back at him in the mirror, glowering pink.

Author's note
Oppa - A term used by Korean females to refer to older Korean males or to their boyfriends.

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