The One Who Watches the World

'It's been two years today since my parents died.'

I was holding a bunch of white flowers I'd made myself for their death anniversary. Besides that, I had bought some rice balls and a bottle of beer to leave at their grave. It wasn't my dad's usual beer. But I didn't have a job, so with the little money I had, this was all I could afford.

As I was walking, a small girl was walking with her mother. Her hand brushed against mine. I turned back and looked at her. The little girl looked at me too and gave me a small, childish smile.

I smiled a little, enjoying her smile, and turned back. That was when I noticed them. A little distance away, near the signal, around eleven people in black coats were standing among the crowd, off to the side. They weren't doing anything unusual. They were looking at each other strangely. They kept checking the smartwatches on their wrists.

I thought it was weird, but I didn't care enough to stop. 'What a bunch of fools.'

"Mr. Zekai, wait!" I heard a voice behind me calling out to me. I turned around. It was Aron, running toward me with some kind of small grey card box in his hand.

'Why was he coming toward me?'

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. I looked at it. It was my grandpa Marcus calling. I immediately frowned. He never calls me in the morning. Even when he does call, he usually just scolds me about something.

Still, I answered the call to see what he wanted. Suddenly, someone bumped into my shoulder, and I almost lost my balance. "Are you blind?"

The person who bumped into me crossed the signal and walked away. Meanwhile, Aron came over and stood beside me. "Mr. Zekai, are you okay?"

"Ah..." Only then did I notice a black stone cube lying near my feet. "Whose is this?"

Aron pointed at it. "That fell out of your pocket when he bumped into you."

I picked it up and looked at it. "No, this isn't mine."

Then I looked at my coat. "I came wearing my grandpa's coat by mistake."

I put the cube back inside again. Only then did I turn around. There wasn't even a single person from the crowd around us. Only Aron was standing near me.

"Mr. Zekai, what happened here? Where did all the people go? They were here a moment ago."

Something was wrong. I looked at the sky. That's when I realized it. My body started trembling.

The world around us ripped apart, layer by layer, like sheets of paper being torn apart. Something else was already forming behind it.

The moment I saw this, the words my grandpa often said came into my mind. 'I'm the one who watches the world.' Just like he said, it was happening now.

Aron also stared at the changing world in shock. "Mr. Zekai, what is this?!"

"Holy shit..." I muttered out of habit. "Great. Just great."

Aron and I both stepped back in fear.

The main road and signal that had been around us were gone. Now, we were inside a huge, old, ruined palace. There was smoke all around us. Red light came through the windows around us and lit up the inside of the palace.

'A ruined palace? Seriously? This was the kind of thing I'd only seen in fantasy novels.'

Reality's cracks completely disappeared, without leaving even a trace.

"Mr. Zekai, please pinch me. I feel like I'm in some kind of dream." Aron kept rambling.

I also went along with his wish and immediately patted his shoulder. "I feel the same. This isn't a dream."

Suddenly, Aron grabbed my coat with tears in his eyes and trembled badly. "Zekai, somehow get me out of here."

"Hey, stay quiet for a while and don't be scared. I'm also in the same situation as you."

Aron put his hand into his pocket and started searching for something. Then his face fell. "Mr. Zekai, can you give me your phone for a moment?" he asked sadly.

Only then did I understand. The guy had left his phone at the counter. "What happened?"

"No, I need to call my lover, sara. We were supposed to go to a movie."

With everything going on, I wanted to smash his head. But when I saw his pitiful face, I couldn't do it. "Hmm? Do you even realize the situation we're in?! Are we here on vacation or what?!"

Aron raised both hands slightly. "Alright, alright, don't get worked up."

If I started panicking too, there was no point in having two idiots running around this palace. I immediately looked at my phone.

1 missed call from Grandpa Marcus. The time showed 8:43 AM. I blinked.

9:30 PM.

Before I could even close and open my eyes—

8:43 AM. 9:30 PM.

Aron leaned in to look. "Did the time just change?"

I stared at the screen for another second. "Tsk…"

I couldn't tell whether the time was wrong here, or if the time on my phone was wrong. I immediately put the phone back inside my coat.

Then Aron pulled something else from his pocket and held it out to me. "Mr. Zekai, I came after you just to give you this. Grandpa Marcus came to the shop this morning and told me to give it to you."

I took it and looked at it. It was the same small grey box he'd been holding back in the outside world. When I looked closer, I saw something written on top in messy red handwriting. 'Why did he want this given to me?'

"But I haven't seen him for three days?" I asked Aron in surprise.

"No, I'm sure it was old man Marcus," he said after thinking for a moment. "Not only that, he told me not to open this under any circumstances until he comes."

I stared at the box. Grandpa hadn't been seen for three days. And somehow, he'd come to Aron's shop that morning.

✦ End of Chapter 1 — The One Who Watches The World ✦