The Problem With Keeping Your Eyes Closed

Kara walked down the street.

Two turns to the right.

Then took a left.

Then another right.

His eyes remained completely shut.

He walked with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where he was going.

Which was impressive...

Considering he had absolutely no idea where he was going.

Eventually, his hand brushed against a wall.

Kara stopped.

"Hmmm..."

He tilted his head.

"Strange."

His fingers traced along the wall.

"There should be a door here."

Then he shrugged.

"But oh well."

He simply continued walking.

"Who cares about such minor details?"

He opened his right eye slightly.

There it was.

The door.

Kara immediately shut his eye again.

A proud smile appeared on his face.

"Haha! See!"

"I knew exactly where I was going."

He reached the door.

Opened it, his eyes were still closed.

And immediately shouted—

"Meowwwww!"

He stepped inside with his arms stretched outward.

"Mama! Do you know?"

Then bounced happily on his feet.

"Your good boy attended all his classes today!"

Kara raised both hands dramatically.

"Today, I deserve at least a hundred head pats!”

And nodded firmly.

"Nothing less than that, okay?"

Silence. 

Kara waited.

...

Nothing. 

His smile slowly disappeared.

"...Mama?"

Still nothing.

He cautiously opened his left eye.

Then froze.

A fifty-six-year-old man stood in front of him.

The man had apparently just finished his bath.

Three small children stood nearby.

Two boys.

One girl.

All three were staring directly at Kara.

Kara stared back, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

The children stared even harder.

Kara's smile twitched.

Then—

The children burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha!"

Kara's face went completely blank.

One of the boys pointed at him.

"He's weird!"

Another laughed.

"Why was he calling Grandpa 'Mama'?!"

The girl covered her mouth, but she couldn't stop laughing.

Kara's jaw dropped.

"..."

His face slowly turned red.

"Wait."

He looked around.

Then at the old man.

Then at the children.

Then at last, himself.

"...Oh."

The old man opened his mouth.

"Hey—"

Kara disappeared.

He sprinted through the streets.

Fast.

Very fast.

His bag bounced wildly against his back.

His shoes nearly slipped several times as he raced around corners.

He didn't stop until he reached a medium-sized green house near the forest.

His house.

Or rather...

The house he was currently staying in.

Kara slammed the door behind him and sprinted straight toward his room.

He threw himself onto the bed.

"...Haa..."

Kara lay there for several seconds, trying to catch his breath.

Then—

He slowly scratched his head.

"...Shit."

His expression became unusually serious.

"I forgot."

He instantly sat up.

"I'm not on my home planet anymore…”

Then stared blankly at the wall.

"Thank God I didn't tell them anything important."

A relieved smile appeared on his face.

Then it disappeared the next moment.

"...W-Wait a minute."

His eyes widened.

"Shit."

He punched the wall with his right fist.

"I told them my real name!"

He immediately started pacing around the room.

"What if someone does a background check?"

Kara stopped.

"There's probably no one else with the surname Shirugae on this entire planet."

Then started pacing again.

"And I told them how my mom beat my dad with a pole!"

He grabbed his hair.

"What if they get suspicious?!"

 The tension in his mind continued increasing.

"...Besides, this is a lower world.”

He slowly relaxed.

"They probably can't do something like that."

His expression remained troubled.

Then—

Kara blinked.

"Hey, wait a second."

He slowly scratched his cheek.

"Why am I worried about them finding out who I am?"

Then shrugged like nothing can happen to him.

"It's not like they can kill me."

Kara confidently puffed out his chest.

"I'm from a higher world, after all."

He paused as he remembered something.

Then his confidence disappeared again.

"...Although..."

He raised one finger, wearing a painfully awkward smile.

"I'm the weakest Monking on my planet."

"I can easily imagine the girls on my planet bullying me if it weren't for my mother's protection.”

He thought about that for a moment.

"So there should be plenty of humans here who could kill me, right?”

Silence.

Kara stared at the ceiling.

"...Ahhh."

He waved both hands dismissively.

"Forget it!"

And just like that...

He forgot about it.

Kara wandered into the kitchen.

Then he opened the refrigerator.

Cold air hit his face.

His eyes lit up.

"Ice cream!"

He grabbed one and immediately started eating.

"Mhmmm..."

His shoulders relaxed.

"Delicious."

He nodded seriously.

"Mom was right."

He took another bite.

"When overthinking starts hurting your brain…”

He pointed his spoon toward the ceiling.

"Eat whatever you want."

He continued eating happily.

Then he stretched his arms above his head.

"Aaaahhh..."

He yawned.

His body relaxed as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

Then—

His phone buzzed.

Kara glanced at it.

A notification from Thrika had appeared.

He unlocked his phone and opened it.

It was a post from a random girl he'd accidentally followed earlier that day.

Apparently, he'd meant to like one of her posts...

But somehow, he'd tapped Follow instead.

He hadn't even noticed until now.

The username caught his attention.

User: #kiphio987

"My favourite animal is crocodile. I am not boring, right?"

Kara stared at the post.

He thought for a moment.

How could anyone think they're boring just because they likes crocodiles?

They're basically cute, fat, harmless lizards.

And that was enough to make them cool.

Kara finished his last bite of ice cream.

Then he typed a reply.

"Boring? No. Not at all.

You're one of the coolest people I've ever seen.

You should be proud of yourself.”

Kara posted the comment.

Then he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Done."

Kara wandered back toward his bedroom.

Once inside, he dropped his bag gently beside the bed.

He reached into it and pulled out his notebook.

He flipped through the pages until he found the one he'd written earlier.

Mission 1: Investigate Nerdy Buddy

Kara stared at it for a few seconds.

Then—

He tore the page out.

And folded it carefully.

A few seconds later, it had become a paper airplane.

Kara aimed toward the dustbin.

"Alright..."

He threw it carefully.

The paper airplane glided across the room.

It landed directly inside the dustbin.

Kara's eyes widened.

"Nice shot."

He smiled with excitement.

"Either way..."

He glanced at the empty space where the page had been.

"I don't think I need a notebook to keep track of him anymore.”

Kara paused for a moment.

Then he remembered Rurouni.

His quiet responses.

His strange honesty.

The way he'd laughed during science class.

And somehow, without even trying, the way he'd managed to make Kara curious.

A small smile appeared on Kara's face.

He looked toward the window.

"He's already interesting enough...

...for me to not forget him."

And for once...

Kara didn't need a notebook to remember someone.