*Click* 

*Click* 

*Click*

 

Staring at the computer so late at night while refreshing your email page with an obsessed-like fervor wasn’t healthy, but for Moon Ga-Eul, it was the only thing in existence right now. He’d sweat with anticipation if he weren’t so dehydrated from forgetting to drink water the past few days.

 

*Click* 

*Click* 

*Click*

 

Moon Ga-Eul was silent as he waited to hear the results of his job interview, hands clenching his sleeves and knuckles turning white with worry. He practiced so many times, staying up late during the nights to practice his skills and refreshing his mind on subjects, resulting in the dark rings under his eyes.

 

‘Come on already, it’s been two hours past the initial update agreement time…just email me back already! Please! Even if it’s a rejection, just tell me how I did!’

 

A recent college graduate, near the top of his class in fact. He was supposed to have gone to work for a prestigious tech company as a computer engineer, but due to unfortunate circumstances, he remains unemployed to this day.

 

His viridescent eyes were going a bloodshot red, straining themselves when it wasn’t necessary. Moon Ga-Eul sighed as he began to resign himself to the fact he may not receive an email in return once again, shifting his glasses back in place and leaning back in his chair like a lifeless corpse.

 

Rejection without words hurt like a bitch.

 

“Did I do something wrong in the interview after all? Did I ask too many questions? Not enough? Did I answer the questions too quickly? Was it my hair? They said they were lenient on personal appearance, but white hair on a young person is pushing it a little. No–maybe my breath?! I only got to brush my teeth for less than a minute before I ran out the door that day, could they smell my failure at personal hygiene then? Am I too ugly to work for them?! I’m doomed!” Moon Ga-Eul continued to shout his rambles anxiously on in his room endlessly, looking glum as he wilted away in despair.

 

The job Moon Ga-Eul had applied for with so much passion and stress had been for an entry-level computer engineer opening within a well-off tech company in his city. Formerly every professor’s favorite at his school for his intelligence and grades, he believed he could have had a chance at this with their recommendations given, but alas, luck was never known to be in Moon Ga-Eul’s vocabulary.

 

Moon Ga-Eul recalled that a few of his old classmates had applied for the position as well from what he heard through old group chats he was forgotten to be in. If he hadn’t gotten this job, then it likely meant one of them did instead.

 

The young man had already slumped down all the way to the floor at this point, but was practically melting in a depression now.

 

How many times was this again? Just how many more times was Moon Ga-Eul going to be rejected for every job position he applied for?

 

He wanted to cry. This was unfair! He wouldn’t be able to survive off of his savings for much longer. In the past year, he even won a good amount of money through a few writing contests, but it wasn’t something he wanted to make a habit of. He needed a steady flow of money to support himself and his sister if he wanted them to live a healthy lifestyle.

 

It didn’t have to have a high salary, just a stable one! Please! He was on his knees here!

 

Moon Ga-Eul was actually on his knees here. He thought a new angle of staring at the computer would yield a new result.

 

It didn’t make sense, but he was losing his mind already from the lack of sleep.

 

Sighing in defeat, Moon Ga-Eul turned his computer off, at last, the light of the device fading, and the reality of the dark room Moon Ga-Eul was in settled in. His vision blurred a bit, but soon got used to the environment again.

 

His room was small, tightly packed in with piles of boxes filled with books, clothes, and a random assortment of personal objects. His bed–already small enough–was half-covered with even more books, barely giving the young man any room for himself to sleep on. There was a lamp on his bedside drawer, but the lightbulb had long been out of any juice to work properly. The trashcan was filled to the brim with paper, all rejections from jobs he applied to.

 

He didn’t have much, but whatever he did have to call his own, Moon Ga-Eul tightly packed them in his room for safekeeping. A habit of his that he didn’t see anything wrong with.

 

The room had a feeling of misery to it, and the addition of its inhabitor only amplified the feeling. Wearing an oversized shirt, and tacky sweatpants, with his hair strewn all over his face, he didn’t give the image of someone with confidence–or anything at all, for that matter.

 

“...How am I supposed to continue living like this?... Areum said she wanted to eat at a restaurant for her birthday, will I even be able to afford water for her?... I want to be a good older brother-I have to be-I need to keep trying! I still haven’t gotten a nosebleed yet, so how can I say that I’ve been working hard yet?.”

 

The soft sound of a grumbling woke Moon Ga-Eul out of his despair, picking himself off the floor and walking out of his miserable room, heading into the kitchen. He hesistantly grabbed a bag of salted peanuts and ate a few before returning to his job search. He didn’t eat often, but when he did, it really couldn’t be considered to be eating at all. 

 

This young man was in dire need of a real meal–seriously, he needed to get a job soon or else he’d wither away from starvation. Snacks and cup noodles could only get someone so far.

Moon Ga-Eul may not have gotten the last job, but he still had some time to get another one. His landlord was an kind grandmother, and thankfully, she was sweet on him and his sister, so their rent was often given extensions to pay off. She also gave him some chores to do in exchange for meals, so he could rely on that for a little while. Thank god for grandmas!

 

Moon Ga-Eul could also work some temporary jobs at night–although he’d have to avoid being a janitor again, his sensitive nose couldn’t stand the scent of chemicals and the migraines they gave him. There was a new pet store opening up a few blocks away, if Moon Ga-Eul was quick in turning an application despite his overqualifcations, he might have a chance. Ugh, but the uniform that certain store required was…less than optimal. But, it didn’t matter, Moon Ga-Eul supposed. If he wanted to stay alive, there were things he needed to do, which included wearing kitten paws and ears…

 

The young man couldn’t help but die a little in his groan.

 

Munching on the peanuts, Moon Ga-Eul scrolled through his phone for other available jobs. For every single one, he was qualified for and hadn’t applied to yet, he jumped to submit his resume immediately. His face was pale and sickly in the blue light of his phone as if this was an unhealthy routine of his.

 

He knew fully well that most of these jobs, if not all, wouldn’t accept him, but he had to try. He had a feeling as to what the reason was for his inability to get a job, but he always pushed it to the back of his mind. There was a shortage of jobs recently anyway, it didn’t matter how qualified he was, the person to get the job would more often than not be someone the interviewer or boss was related to, and with him having no relatives, there wouldn’t be anyone to help give him a boost.

 

Not that it was a good thing to have nepotism in the workplace, Moon Ga-Eul just wanted to start earning money already and wanted to bite the leg of the last person who chided him for not having a job already.

 

“...a…Oppa! Stop ignoring me! I want some peanuts, too!” A sudden loud voice shook Moon Ga-Eul out of his trance, making the man almost choke. The only person who could possibly sneak up on him and be able to enter the apartment was none other than his younger sister, Moon Areum; a high school student in her 2nd year. Unlike her brother, she was attending a technical school for the fashion industry, wanting to be a professional stylist for movies.

 

At least someone in this family had a sense of style.

 

“Hey–hey, be careful! Don’t die because you choked on nuts!... Haha, nuts.” Moon Areum cackled, enjoying her little joke, no longer worried about her older brother’s safety. “You okay? Good, now hand them over, I’m hungry.” She smiled, reaching out for the snack without waiting for her brother to process her request after almost dying.

 

“Mm! I like this brand, we should get it next time, too. These taste great with that cheese dip I made, I’ll get that out of the fridge–you like it, too, right?”

 

A horrible choking sound came from behind Moon Areum, who didn’t notice her brother was going paler than ever before.

 

“*cough* *cough*, Ah-oh, but there’s only a little left though, I want you to have the rest! I’m not that hungry, anyway.” A growing growl echoed from the depths of Moon Ga-Eul’s stomach, but the man turned on the television to muffle the sound.

 

Let it be known to mankind that Moon Areum, precious younger sister of the world–sweet and charming–could not cook to save her own life. Whatever meal or mutant food abomination created by her hands could only be enjoyed by her mysterious stomach. If anyone else should eat the food made by her, may mercy be upon their soul for a quick death.

 

Having grown up alongside his younger sister, Moon Ga-Eul knew full well the fatal effects of her cooking. He had grown a tolerance to her cooking by now, but with each passing year, her odd demonic cooking skill seemed to grow in power. He’d suffered the most when she went through a baking phase last year. Thankfully it wasn’t something she wanted to pursue after a few weeks, but his stomach still screamed in terror when in proximity to her creations. Moon Ga-Eul still could not pass by a bakery without shivering a little in fear.

 

Really–how is someone to mess up making a muffin?! How could someone dare to put zucchini and carrots inside of a baked good?! An assassin with no heart that is!...and his sister who had good intentions.

 

sigh.

 

“Are you sure? You ate the entire thing the last time I made it? I thought you liked it?” Moon Ga-Eul didn’t have to look at his sister to know that she was upset at his words. He’d have to be careful if he didn’t want to discourage her.

 

‘That was because you were having a bad day and I didn’t want to upset you further after you failed an exam!’ Moon Ga-Eul shouted in his mind.

 

“Ah, about that– I just feel bad that I ate it all last time without letting you have any. Go ahead, I’ll eat the next batch you make next time. I promise, Areum.” A smile shined through his face, a fat lying one that his younger sister was blissfully unaware of.

 

“Fine, fine~ But you’re missing out, it’s even better when it’s cold!”

 

Moon Ga-Eul watched as his sister ate her cold creation, hiding his shivering fear of the thing on the inside behind his smile. ‘Areum!...Please, I beg of you, meet someone in the future who can cook for you! You’ll kill them if you don’t!’

–

“Do you think this looks okay, Oppa?” Moon Areum pointed to her hair, trying out a new style by curling it. She often tried out new styles on herself and her poor brother as practice. Thankfully this was something she was good at, if she hadn’t been then Moon Ga-Eul would have become bald long ago. “I like how this looks, but it might not match the seasonal trends that well.”

 

“I think it looks great. You shouldn’t adhere to the seasonal trends, those things always change, and I know you’re going to change the fashion world with your style. You’ll blow them all away, kid.”

 

“...Thank you, but it’s not really fashion, I don’t plan on making the clothes themselves. Yeesh, that is a whole other thing that I don’t want to dive deep in. Do you know how bad the world of fast fashion is? A mess! Don’t even get me started on how capitalism works against fashion despite all the sales the industry makes!” She groaned, annoyed from her own ranting. “I’ll just stick to styling people, thank you very much. It’s more satisfying to dress up pretty people even more prettier.”

 

Moon Areum had learned a lot and put many hard efforts into her studies, but seeing her get so passionate about her career and its obstacles, Moon Ga-Eul couldn’t help but worry a little through his pride.

 

“Hm. Well, you do have a cute face, you’ll do great with helping others become as pretty as you, Areum.” Moon Ga-Eul didn’t often understand his sister’s ramblings or rants, but he listened anyway. He loved hearing her go on about her interests.

 

Moon Ga-Eul spoke so casually with his sister, saying the heartfelt compliment like it was the same as breathing air for him. He was scrolling on his phone, eyes on his screen, unaware of the thankful smile shining on his sister’s face next to him on the couch.

 

The two remained like that for a while longer, bonding through small conversations and talking about related topics. School, work, friends, all the typical sibling conversations one can have with another. Typical as it was, the two were happy they could talk at all.

 

Moon Areum spoke more than Moon Ga-Eul, but he didn’t mind. Hearing his sister talk just gave the older brother more motivation to work harder for her.

 

He wanted his sister to be healthy and happy always–to not have to worry about money, so that she could talk for hours on end about whatever she wanted. It stung him that this was the best he could do as her older brother. With no other living relatives to help them, it was just the two of them in a sea of strangers it felt like. 

 

Later, after seeing that his younger sister drifted off to sleep on the couch, Moon Ga-Eul covered her with a blanket. He removed her glasses so that they didn’t break in her sleep again, then left to go out on the balcony, closing the screen door and opening a case of cigarettes. He propped one in his mouth, lighting it.

 

He got the case from a neighbor in his building, having seen how stressed he was the past week. He’d never buy one for himself, even if they were cheap, saving money was the most important thing right now. But, staying after staying inside for so long, the idea of earning a living became more bleak.

 

Just how long had he kept himself inside the apartment building these days?

 

He was searching desperately for a job, and only went out for the sake of job interviews, doing laundry or getting food. His days were feeling darker and glummer as they went on. Almost stagnant in a way.

 

He wasn’t yielding any results.

 

He hadn’t had a job despite all the effort he put forth, frustrating Moon Ga-Eul to no end.

 

“...Areum wants to eat those peanuts again. They weren’t expensive, but how long will it be until they do become expensive to us? I can’t keep going on like this, for her sake…” The smell of the cigarette smoke hit his nose as he breathed out, looking at the street below. Empty, but filled with the sound of the busy streets from afar, it was another night he was used to hearing. Alone.

 

He felt an oncoming migraine arrive, but he didn’t let the cigarette go. He felt as if he deserved this, a punishment for not accomplishing anything at this point in his life.

 

“One after another, I keep getting rejected from everywhere. I don’t like myself either, but how harsh is that? Haha, maybe this is karma from my past life. Was I a bad person? I hope I didn’t kill a king or anything, haha.” Moon Ga-Eul didn’t believe that was the case, but he was at his wit's end. He leaned against the railing and yawned.

 

Tired. He was so damn tired, but sleep was a luxury right now. All he needed was a sign. No, a job, to help him get going in the right direction again.

 

Moon Ga-Eul had been so caught up in his thoughts and exhaustion that he hadn’t heard the creaking sound underneath him.

 

“Hey, universe, right now would be a nice time to help out your child. I could really use a job right about now. Haha, not that you’d listen to me anyway-GWAH!” As Moon Ga-Eul was busy lamenting his life, the railing he was leaning against had given under his weight–falling to the street below him with a terrible clanging sound, but not before Moon Ga-Eul managed to grab a hold of the in-tact and still connected balcony railing.

 

He was wide awake now.

 

The height wasn’t too terrible, just a short drop from the fourth floor onto a concrete street with no one around to help. 

 

Weak arms that haven’t seen a gym or workout routine in years just barely hanging on, gripping tightly onto a broken railing for dear life.

 

Gritting his teeth while struggling to remain calm, Moon Ga-Eul was panicking a great storm on the inside. His heartbeat was going through the roof of his chest. His face flushing with color for once, but out of fear. His legs swung in the air, not knowing what else to do. One look at the street below and he’d faint from the thought of splattering across it. His glasses shattered from the fall, already making Moon Ga-Eul cry.

 

“Oh fuck–oh shit!–”

 

Moon Ga-Eul quickly started losing his grip, the knuckles of his hands going white from how hard they were holding on. Shouting for his sister wouldn’t do anything, she was a deep sleeper, and far weaker than he was in terms of physicality, and it wasn’t like anyone would be crossing this street so late at night with no stores being open.

 

The man shouted obscenities in his mind, still trying desperately to pull himself up and back to safety. No one could help him–he was in mortal danger and there wasn’t anybody who could–

 

“H-hey! Hold on! Young man, don’t let go!!”

 

A voice of an older man reached Moon Ga-Eul’s ears, right as the last remaining strength of his hands gave away.

 

All the breath Moon Ga-Eul had in his body was taken away, as he fell straight down towards the street below. The last thing he heard was the sound of racing footsteps rushing towards him before everything went dark.