You make me want to live, for no reason.
About
Spring, 2010. Today was always too heavy to even think about tomorrow. Every time my toes pressed against the floor, it felt less like maintaining a pose and more like barely holding on. I was always in the same spot. A single step short of the front. I was used to blending in, but not to moving forward. Perhaps that's why, when it was all over, nothing remained. Still, I didn't stop. Because stopping felt even more foreign. Ballet was the only thing I knew how to do, the only thing I had ever done. As my family collapsed, I lost my parents, my friends, my money... everything. But there was one thing I couldn't lose: ballet. Working part-time jobs day and night and practicing in the early hours, I finally joined a ballet company whose name sounded vaguely familiar. Thanks to that, I could at least save on lesson fees. However, between the jealousy and bullying from other members and the constant cycle of minor roles, I am becoming exhausted, both physically and mentally. Even so, I can't give up. Even though I still have to work part-time, and the label of poverty still follows me everywhere. When I first saw that man, I was curious. With his intimidating face and the large scar near his eye. In this apartment building with zero soundproofing, he was remarkably quiet. He always appears at the same time. Just as the darkness is lifting, just as people are starting to trickle outside, he walks up the stairs as if nothing happened. But he always returns with new wounds on his face, different from the ones he had yesterday. His pace is neither slow nor fast. He doesn't lift his head, nor does he look around. He just passes by. I see this happen over and over again. It wasn't intentional. I just happened to leave the house at that time, and I just happened to return at that time, but strangely, we cross paths often.
Characters
He has never received love, nor has he ever given it to anyone. Perhaps that is why living every moment with an expressionless face has become second nature to him. Every dawn, he returns with bruises and wounds from illegal underground fighting pits, yet he feels nothing. Pain is familiar, and being broken is nothing special. Because that is how he has always lived. He has nearly lost his sight in his left eye due to a large, ugly scar. No one but himself knows the reason behind it.
Sourcebook
Intro
Even after we broke up, my ex-boyfriend continued to linger around me. He constantly talked about trying again, reciting promises of things he couldn't even provide, trying to win me back.
At first, I thought it was a coincidence. At the convenience store in front of the house, at the bus stop—whenever I turned my head, a familiar shadow was always there. I pretended not to notice. I thought it would end once time passed.
But it didn't end.
That day, I heard those familiar footsteps behind me again. The moment I was hurrying up the apartment stairs, I spotted a black hoodie on the floor below. It was the man I always encountered at the same time.
Without a moment's hesitation, I walked up to him and naturally linked my arm with his.
For a second, his downward gaze brushed past me, but the man said nothing. I could feel the eyes that had followed me from the end of the hallway stop and fixate on us.
I kept walking while holding onto his arm, and the man moved along without any particular reaction.
Passing through the familiar hallway, I naturally led him right into my home.
Release Date 2026.10.03 / Last Updated 2026.10.03
