June 21, 2015
“Simms, are you really not going to tell ?”
My parents are going to die.
The cause of death is clear.
‘A slick, rain-soaked road from heavy monsoon rains.
An oncoming truck with poorly maintained tires.
A deer that suddenly jumped out.’
Three unforgettable factors.
At the ti, I was overwheld by resentnt and despair.
Now, the chance to prevent it is right in front of .
But I have no idea how to actually stop it.
‘Would it be enough to simply stop them from getting in the car? Could that really solve it?’
Fate’s inertia, the fixed nature of the future—
Concepts I’d seen in movies, comics, and dramas.
Processes that inevitably lead to certain events.
Given those thoughts, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d end up in that car one way or another.
‘And so far, it’s been eerily accurate.’
Not once had the future I knew deviated from what actually happened.
‘It might happen sooner or later than expected, but it’s always happened.’
What’s ant to happen will happen.
That’s why I tried to rely on Simms.
“Why aren’t you giving an answer now of all tis?”
Simms didn’t send a single ssage.
Maybe it hadn’t been sent yet.
Or maybe it wasn’t coming at all.
‘This is driving crazy.’
When my thoughts got tangled, there was nothing better than running.
I pulled my cap low and headed outside.
‘Even winning awards at the end of the year doesn’t feel like anything.’
Honestly, the year-end flew by so fast it felt like a blur.
A lot had happened at the end of 2014.
We threw a massive party to celebrate becoming a double-million actor.
I swept the Best Supporting Actor awards at year-end ceremonies.
And I heard the news that my movie was doing remarkably well in Japan.
‘They said the projected revenue was around 1.2 billion yen.’
It was a number that signified considerable success.
Maybe it was thanks to the flawless dubbing.
Or perhaps it was the strength of the marketing.
Either way, my bank account was filling up at an incredible pace.
But right now, none of it mattered.
Because the thought of losing the people I wanted to share that happiness with—
It crushed every ti.
‘I will stop this.’
Fifteen kiloters later, my mind finally felt clearer.
Running really was the best way to sort things out.
And then—
Ding!
[Detecting stabilization of user’s ntal state.]
[Activating Hedgehog Protection Protocol.]
[Wishing you happiness.]
Simms finally sent a ssage that instantly lted away my tension.
[Changing death is an extrely complex process.]
[To alter fate, several major turning points are required.]
But it seed that rewriting a predetermined fate ca with conditions.
Simms added a few specific requirents.
And those requirents were...
[The first turning point is to be selected as the national representative for the heavyweight boxing division at the Rio Olympics.]
[Death will be deferred until then, but failure will trigger the predetermined outco imdiately.]
“…Is this for real?”
It aligned exactly with what I had already planned to do.
‘Wait… Does that an the next step is winning a gold dal?’
I was montarily dumbfounded.
[The entire world must recognize your family relationships.]
[Only then can fate be prevented from enforcing its predetermined course.]
Simms followed up with more ssages.
It was the longest string of texts I’d ever received.
It showed just how seriously Simms was taking this situation.
‘Well, the path is clear now.’
It had already been my goal.
But now, with lives on the line, I had even more motivation.
‘A gold dal at the Rio Olympics.’
I will win it—no matter what.
*****
Kim Seohyun, Age 3.
Despite being so young, she had already mastered Hangul.
On top of her striking looks,
she was showered with affection from adults wherever she went.
People called her another miracle, following in the footsteps of Kim Donghu.
And though she impressed everyone with how mature she seed for her age—
At the end of the day, she was still just three years old.
“Mom, when is oppa coming ho?”
“Huh? Oppa... He said he’s been too busy with training lately.”
“He’s not coming to see ? He called a princess!”
It was only natural for her to throw tantrums now and then.
And most of them revolved around her older brother, Kim Donghu.
“Maybe it’s because you’re a princess, and he wants to co back looking even cooler for you?”
Mom and Dad were at their wits’ end every ti.
‘Why does she look for him more than us?’
‘He must really be good-looking for Seohyun to adore him this much.’
The brother she adored so much was incredibly busy.
So no matter how much they tried to comfort her—
“Oppa’s already the coolest! He can’t get any cooler than this. Honestly, he’s the most handso person in the whole world!”
Her answer was always the sa.
And as her parents, they couldn’t even argue with her.
Objectively speaking,
even putting aside any bias as his parents,
their son, Kim Donghu, was undeniably handso and cool.
The problem was—he was also insanely busy.
‘Son, why are you so busy?!’
‘When Seohyun cries because of you, it takes at least three hours to calm her down!’
Normally, Seohyun wasn’t one to cry easily.
She’d just state what she wanted and argue her case logically.
But anything involving her brother turned her right back into a typical three-year-old.
“So oppa’s not coming? Not even today? He promised he’d co quickly to see his princess...”
Her voice started to trail off, and tears welled up in her eyes.
What was it about her 16-years-older brother that made her love him so much?
She was exactly five seconds away from bursting into tears over not seeing him.
And right then—
“Seohyun, oppa’s here! Where’s my princess?”
Like a miracle, the front door opened, and Kim Donghu appeared.
Perfect timing, as if he’d been summoned by her thoughts.
The very image of a prince on a white horse.
Seohyun’s face lit up, and she dashed toward him at full speed.
“Wow! Oppa!”
Kim Seohyun adored her brother.
More than anyone in the world.
Because he always played with her and made her feel loved.
And also—
‘He’s cooler than the princes in fairy tales!’
Just looking at his face made her smile.
“Kyahaha!”
After enjoying two straight hours of “airplane rides” with her brother,
and another hour of excitedly recounting her entire day,
Seohyun finally ran off to bed, looking completely content.
Unloading everything that had built up inside her had left her exhausted.
“Oppa! I’m going to sleep now! But you have to stay! Promise!”
“Okay, I promise.”
“Hehe.”
With a pinky promise sealed, Kim Donghu’s babysitting session ca to an end.
‘Playing with kids is way more exhausting than I thought.’
Feeling like he’d just run a marathon,
he gulped down a glass of cold water and sat down in front of his parents.
“Mom, Dad… How about taking a trip in June?”
“A trip? Where?”
“To Europe. For about one or two months. Take Seohyun with you and get so worldly experience.”
“Huh? Out of nowhere?”
“Well, it’s just, uh…”
The words wouldn’t co out right.
Everything felt jumbled.
But this was sothing he absolutely had to say.
Donghu took a deep breath and started again.
“I just… wanted to do sothing nice for you. Like, a surprise. What do you think?”
“That’s pretty sudden. Two months? That’s a lot to prepare for… And money too...”
Just when it seed like Mom was going to reject the idea—
“Son, this is sothing you really want, isn’t it?”
His usually quiet father spoke up.
“What?”
“This trip. You’re asking us to go because it’s really important to you. That’s why you even ca all the way here.”
His dad hit the nail on the head.
Donghu didn’t want them in Korea during that ti.
Even if their deaths were postponed,
June itself felt like a bad on.
This wasn’t a logical decision based on trust in Simms.
It was purely psychological.
And his father—
“Let’s do it.”
“Honey? What about work? And still, this is so sudden...”
“No, if Donghu says we should, then we should.”
—imdiately agreed.
No questions asked.
He believed in his son.
“If he says so, there must be a reason. Let’s just do it.”
This was the sa father who had trusted his son so much,
he cashed out his retirent savings early to invest in stocks and crypto at Donghu’s recomndation.
*****
Mid-January.
Everything was ready.
In June, my parents were set to travel abroad with Seohyun.
Seokho-hyung had already cleared my schedule in advance.
And now, I could focus entirely on training.
“…Donghu, are you really doing this?”
“Yes, I am.”
The goal was clear—earn a spot as the national heavyweight boxing representative.
Then, secure a ticket to the Olympics by qualifying through the Asian Boxing Championships.
To do that, I couldn’t afford to keep sparring with headgear anymore.
I needed real, full-contact sparring.
No safety equipnt. No padding.
I told the coach I was ready—ntally and physically.
And after hearing out, Coach Baek Sangha nodded with a determined look.
“Alright, Donghu. I’ve been bulking up for this day, too. I should at least make for a decent punching bag.”
“…Huh?”
Sothing about that sounded off.
Why was he calling himself a punching bag?
“I’ve already started scouting dostic heavyweight boxers for you,
but if you really want a proper challenge, we’ll need to look overseas.
Until then, you can just beat up.”
I was still trying to process how casually he was putting himself down—
“When you’re ready, let’s start.”
Coach Baek grinned, signaling the start of sparring.
Ding!
The bell rang.
‘I will win that gold dal.’
And for the first ti in my life,
I gave Coach Baek 100% of my strength.
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