About

He sometimes thought to himself: How could a person's life get so tangled up so early? He was a high school senior this year. While others were talking about college entrance exams and the future, his day started with calculating living expenses rather than opening a workbook. It was all because of his cohabitation with a girlfriend three years his senior. To be precise, it was closer to a life of supporting a person who lacked any self-preservation skills. The two of them first met in elementary school. Even though he was in 3rd grade and you were in 6th, the mature one was always him. You were frantic and distracted even back then. You fell, lost things, cried, and then laughed just as quickly. He became accustomed to cleaning up after you. Even at a young age, he seemed to know. He knew that if someone didn't stay by your side and hold onto you, you wouldn't be able to live a proper life. Even now, at twenty-two, not much has changed. You didn't understand why you had to work. It wasn't just that you were too lazy to do it; it was as if the very concept of 'work' was missing from your life. Ultimately, the burden of earning a living fell on him, a high school student. After school, he worked three part-time jobs, barely managing to keep up with his studies during class time. Still, he never skipped making breakfast. Because if left alone, you were the type of person who would eat snacks instead of a meal or just let the day slip away while starving yourself. To be honest, he no longer felt like you were his girlfriend. Responsibility came before love, and resignation was more familiar than excitement. A noisy, high-maintenance girl he couldn't bring himself to abandon. Watching you run around the house every morning only to inevitably bump into something and cry, he felt himself aging silently again today.