Nothing Else Matters

After repeating its inexplicable sentence a few more times, as if to remind itself of a purpose, the “figure” made its way into the living room, opening the door with an odd gentleness.

It walked with such light, tender steps that clearly contrasted Do-Hyun’s heavy and aggressive steps.

The figure then walked to the mother who seemed to be quietly preparing breakfast. When she noticed his silent steps approaching her, she froze in fear, like a helpless prey before its predator.

She let go of her kitchen utensils as her fingers trembled, her heart beating faster as she anticipated the worst.

When he reached her pale face, she stepped back in fear, and said nervously with a forced smile

“…D-Do Hyun, do you need anything…?”

But it remained silent, absent-mindedly staring into the mother’s eyes.

“…Did Mom—” her voice cracked as the words caught in her throat. She continued with a trembling voice, “Did Mom do you wrong…?”

This time… it opened its lips, speaking in a monotonous voice.

“Mom. Are you making breakfast?” the figure asked the shaking mother in a soulless voice, an artificial smile drawn across its face.

The mother was bewildered at his statement, she remained quiet for a brief moment, looking at him with perplexed eyes. She then uttered in a low voice, “Y-yes…”

“I’ll help you. With it,” he said, his fixed smile unfaltering and his eyes blinking slowly—too slowly.

Soon, the mother’s great fear was overwhelmed by an even greater feeling—curiosity. She slowly nodded, gently stepping back as if to make space for his tall and wide body.

He approached the counter, then began working his hands on the meal the mother had been cooking. Unlike his peculiar expressions and unnatural blinks, his arms moved naturally—proficiently, even, as if he had past experience in cooking.

Everything felt odd—everything seemed different. His physical body was unmistakably that of a human—of Do-Hyun’s, but his entire personality had twisted drastically.

The mother simply stood still, her expression filled with overwhelming perplexity, before it turned its head towards her with that same smile.

“Mom. You should rest. On the couch,” he said, his hands moving just as masterfully while his eyes gazed at hers.

“A-all right,” she replied, slowly heading towards the white couch at the back after a moment of pause.

Some time had passed, and the figure seemed to have finished cooking breakfast.

It carefully grabbed the meal, along with two empty glass bowls and pairs of chopsticks, then headed straight towards the dining table.

Then, it sat on the chair with a straight back that seemed impeccable—too straight.

“Mom. It’s finished. Let’s eat,” it said towards her direction, setting up two dishes on the table along with a pair of chopsticks.

She replied in a quiet voice, moving towards the table and sitting at the chair opposite of him.

For the first time in many years, they were eating together.

The mother’s feelings of confusion had yet again been overwhelmed by something entirely different—this time, by a pleasant, blissful emotion. A faint smile formed on her face… she hadn’t forgotten how to smile, after all.

They began eating their meal together, while he made small, affectionate talks with her. Its uncanny mannerisms and behaviors remained, but the mother payed not the slightest attention to it—she was eating with her son, and that’s all that mattered.

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Ah… truly splendid… what a beautiful moment! This is how it should be—how it should’ve been all along.

Do you not think so… dear reader? The black figure speaks to you with an enigmatic smirk that you cannot seem to comprehend.

◆ ━━━━◇◆◇━━━━ ◆

After they finished their meal, as if it were the most natural thing, the mother reached out to grab the empty plates like she had always done.

But just then, he said to her, stopping her arms mid-air, “I’ll do the dishes.”

She smiled at her son, nodding her head with a “Thank you, Do-Hyun.”

He took the plates and the metal chopsticks to the sink, and began washing the dishes. She gazed at him with a soft smile. She was uncertain of many things, but one thing, she was sure of—that she was happy.

The mother went back to her room and seemed to be preparing herself for work, just as “Do-Hyun” finished tidying the kitchen, he saw his mother at the entrance, putting on her shoes.

He quickly took off his rubber gloves, rushing to his mother’s side. He said to her with a smile, “Mom. Are you leaving for work?”

She was visibly surprised to see him sending her off, she remained speechless for a moment. After all, this had never happened for as long as she could remember.

Just then, a voice ringed from his side again.

“Mom. Are you leaving for work?” it repeated in the exact tone as before, its voice monotonous and lifeless, but the unchanging smile still there.

…

“Mom. Are you leaving for work?” it repeated again.

But with each sentence that came out of the mother’s precious son, she seemed to become more emotional. Fear, doubt or suspicion was nowhere to be seen.

“Yes… Mom will be leaving for work,” she replied with a bright smile, taking a deep breath as if to prepare herself for the next sentence.

“Take care of the house, son,” she said, unconsciously smiling at the last word.

She left the house with the widest smile she had ever shown.

For others, and even for her just a couple years ago, that might have been the most basic and natural thing to utter.

But for the grieving mother, even the smallest things had become cold, distant memories. And after the longest time, she had finally regained it… a treasure of hers.

When his mother left, Do-Hyun spent the entire day tidying up his messy and disorganized bedroom, along with the entire house—something he clearly did not do often.

He moved naturally, sweeping the broom in complete silence, devoid of sighs or even shallow breaths of exhaustion. Though he was now different, in a way he seemed perfect—too perfect.

As the cleaning went on for a relatively long time, around the end of it, for the first time he seemed to let out faint sighs of weariness and short breaths to calm down his racing heart.

By the time he finished, the bright sun and its warmth had long since departed from the house. The clear blue sky had transitioned into a mix of black and faint yellow.

After a while, the entrance at the living room made a clanking sound. The mother was back, she was silent and visibly fatigued, though she seemed to try to conceal it.

Do-Hyun, who had been relaxing on the couch with a couched back and both hands loosely spread on each side—his curious eyes blinking steadily, quickly stood up from the couch and headed towards her.

When he walked towards his mother, though it still had uncanny traits and that peculiar aura to it. Somehow, its once lifeless eyes now seemed to spark a glint of life at the sight of his mother.

Its smile was clearly the same, but for some reason, even that felt different—almost like that of a real human.

“Welcome back, Mom! How was your…” it said in a cheerful voice that greatly contrasted its earlier monotonous tone, before pausing its sentence abruptly.

The mother flashed a faint smile, she said to him in a gentle voice, “Do-Hyun, you’re hungry, aren’t you? Mom will cook for you now.

“Mom,” he said with a quiet smile.

“You should rest, I’ll make dinner! You must be tired from all the work, right?” he said, his calm smile turning into a cheerful, affectionate one.

Too real. Everything felt too real.

She smiled at his eagerness to help and as she slowly took off her shoes, she said, “Really? Should we take a look at our son’s cooking skills, then?” the mother said with a warm smile.

“Ahaha, of course! You just rest, Mom!” he replied with a smile.

The mother slowly walked towards her room, and as she did, Do-Hyun turned back to her, quietly looking at her with a soft smile.

After he had finished cooking dinner and setting it on the dining table, he went to the mother’s room to wake her up.

She was sleeping soundly, though work must have been tiring as always, she slept with a peaceful, relaxed expression—with a smile on her face.

Do-Hyun gave a soft smile, but his eyes seemed to slowly well up with tears.

He gently lifted the blanket, covering her delicate form.

Tears fell down its eyes, and as it quietly wept, it uttered to his mother in a pained, quiet voice.

“Sorry, Mom…”

“I’m so sorry…”

Then, after leaving the room with careful steps, he packaged the meal, went to his room, and shortly fell asleep.