The World of Masks

A branch of a small shrub falls to the floor with a thumping sound. It may seem cruel in some ways, but branching is important for the reproduction of plants. It was just like Gandhi said, 'A seed must not die for barley to be sown.' Of course, there may be a controversy about whether we cut branches to grow as we see fit, but that was always individual disagreement. At least he thought that the plants should be good at pruning in order to grow healthier.

Bang.

The scissors fall with the other side, engaging again. With this, shrubs will grow more beautiful and straighter.

"You're doing great."

Alba, who was watching what Jin was doing next, said. Jinseok smiled in disgust.

"What's wrong with pruning? I just need to learn a little more and I'll do it."

"But, you know, the pruning, the godliness, that kind of thing."

It is godliness. Perhaps that's what it looks like to unconsciously focus on the imagination of pruning someone's fingers and torturing them. If anyone had heard such a thing as living a life of faith with godliness, he would have thrown up his feathers all over his body. No, it would be quicker for Alba in front of us to run away with her eyes wet with fear. Jinseok put the shrubs in place. Along the side, Alba put nutritional supplements on the plants. At first, I felt very uncomfortable working with my boss, but now I'm almost used to working with him. There must be a reason why Jin is not doing this to make a profit. I think if I worked as a career, I would have cared about small things and worked hard.

Daughter.

The door opens with a bell.

"Welcome, sis!"

Alba was about to get up and say a reflective greeting to the customers after stopping the plants from being trimmed. Then he prankingly shouted to the truth.

"Ms. Grant, your wife is here!"

"My wife. This one."

Yurin slapped Alba like he was shy. However, he smiled shyly at his mouth whether he hated being treated like a wife or like a man. Yurin frequents the store to meet Jin, so he was already quite familiar with the manager or Alba.

"Hello?"

Jinseok also welcomed Yurin. I didn't mean to make any promises, but I said, "Why are you here? Is something wrong?" I didn't say anything fancy. Yurin was disappointed when he said that, and Alba was sure to look at himself with the eyes of garbage. I could have made a bet.

"Yeah, I just came by. Am I interrupting?"

"No, I'm not interrupting anything. It's my job to take money for a living."

Rather, he seemed to have lost access to the masked world for the last month, so he seemed to be returning to his free time. The boss, who was away for several days after doing other work, was suddenly only leaving the store, so the manager was worried that something else might be wrong.

Jinseok left the shop with Alba and left with Yurin. Once the store is finished, the manager will take care of it.

"Hee-jin quit, by the way."

Hee-jin was the name of the current manager. He said that the job position came in on good terms. I was a little embarrassed that I didn't expect to find a job so soon.

"Oh my! Then I'll have to find another manager."

"That's it. I didn't know you were leaving so soon."

Hee-jin felt very sorry for seeing the stuttering truth that he thought so too.

"Too bad. If I had just graduated from college, I'd be managing your store."

Jinsuk grimaces his head roughly as he sticks out his mouth.

"Thank you for saying that."

There was still time. Since the first shift was about a month from now, I had to save it until then. I had already posted a job advert on the internet. The manager did some pretty good work, so he didn't know if he was going to get the resources he needed, but that wasn't something he could do.

'Most of all, it's time to get back to the game.'

I've had to endure murder for the past month, which has resulted in withdrawal symptoms. The Masked World game was already quite deeply rooted in the life of authenticity.

'Now it's a right to safety.'

A month in real time. It's three months in game time. Don't tell me those guys with the guns aren't just wandering around like this.

'But just in case, I have to leave the city immediately.'

Of course, if you meet after you've grown old enough, you should literally leave the meeting. Jinseok left the store with Yurin.

Beep.

Eun-hee sighs low, looking at the account from the ATM stage. Balance 0. I pressed down as if the balance of an empty account had added a lump of iron to my heart. Eun-hee left the ATM booth. I walked home with a passage that felt as light as the weight of my balance.

'I can't wait any longer.'

I wanted to postpone it a little more, but the current situation did not crush Eun-hee's expectations. As soon as Eun-hee entered the house, she started packing some clothes in a small bag. I couldn't delay playing the masked world any longer. A month. It was a time when Eun-hee could barely endure the wealth she had earned so far. As a minor, I couldn't even do anything about it. As soon as I stopped playing, my family's income was cut short. In order to do Alba, a guardian's consent was required, but his father couldn't do anything about it. Rather, "Handle it, bitch!" I was lucky not to swing violence. If there is no more income, the debtors will come immediately. Eun-hee got up with her bag. Once connected, we want to go back to the rooftop room designed to play the world of masks where we can't be sure when to disconnect. I walked to the front door and put on my shoes. The door in the room didn't open even as my daughter was leaving. It was probably just pouring in the drink. But it was better this way. When I first left home to play in the masked world, my father took out his sword. Did he know what would happen if the daughter who feeds him ran away? If you run away, I will surely find you and kill you.

'I was really surprised at that time.'

Thinking about that time, it was a hundred times better to be quiet in the room like that.

Eun-hee went out the front door. The time had already come in a sudden spring. The warm spring wind seemed to celebrate a new season of life. In the blue sky, a few puffy clouds float. Under this vast sky, it seemed only to me that many of these people were currently feeling depressed.

Should I run away? '

When I walked, I thought many times. But I couldn't. Other people might think it was better to face the world with my eyes closed. However, the world Eun-hee had to overcome was not as green as others thought.

"Eun-hee? Hello again?"

"Are you off to work? Be diligent."

Screw you Humans. I don't think I'll be so lucky today. Eun-hee ignores the two scoundrels approaching her and tries to get past her.

"Huh? Ignore?"

Two of them chuckled and blocked Eun-hee's way. Eun-hee shot the thugs.

"Come on, don't stare at me like that. We just want to say one thing."

Then the scoundrels close their faces to Eun-hee.

"I'm just checking again just in case, but you're not running away or anything, are you? If you're gonna do it, don't do it. We're a bunch of hooligans in the neighborhood, but we don't have any brothers we know. If Eun-hee owes us half of what she owes, she'll foam her mouth to find it. You don't know how good you are at finding people these days in gangsters and errands, do you?"

Eun-hee's face turned white. There were a group of people who felt confident that Eun-hee, who was still a minor, would accept threats that even adults would fear.

"What if Eun-hee got caught running away? Since we ran away and got caught because we didn't want to repay our debts, we must sell Eun-hee's body or organs to repay our debts."

I tapped Eun-hee's shoulders, which were fluttering. I don't know what she was doing, but Eun-hee was giving her a lot of money. The thugs never wanted to miss Eun-hee, who is like a golden goose.

"Have a good day at work. We'll take good care of him."

The thugs leave Eun-hee behind. Eun-hee stood there for a long time like a nail. I don't know if that's true or not, but at least it was enough to give a big scare to Eun-hee, who is still a minor. Debt, father's violence, and the threats of thugs all stopped Eun-hee from leaving. Police? I was afraid that if I called the police and it didn't go well, I'd get stabbed by my father's knife or kidnapped by thugs.

Of course, if you call the police, if you ask for help, things might get resolved. But every time it ended badly, the nightmare thought did not leave my head. Eun-hee didn't have the strength to endure it all and be brave enough. Even though she was playing an illegal game called the Masked World, Eun-hee was only a fortunate, abused minor. Eun-hee made fun of her steps to make some money.

Artwork Reviews

There was a lot of controversy on the other side.

I think it's because you're looking at my writing so well.

In that sense, I'll just say one word.

I'll say it in writing.