My head feels dizzy.
The lights on the operating table. And the hands holding scalpels moving back and forth.
One of the hands calmly traces my abdomen, which is clearly visible under the operating table light.
There's no pain. Is it because of the anesthesia?
I couldn't smell it properly through the oxygen mask in my mouth, but the unpleasant smell of blood was vibrating.
A monitor is soon thrust into front of your eyes, accompanied by the sound of someone muttering.
A blue screen of light came into view. The dizzying vision, as if drawing a whirlpool, made my already dizzying vision spin even more.
I can hear people in scrubs chattering. Is there anyone else besides me?
Even though I tried to turn my head and look elsewhere, my gaze quickly turned back to the monitor.
Wheein-
The sound of the electric drill rang like tinnitus. There was an unpleasant sound of something being cut with a sticky sound.
Where am I? Where the hell am I?
I asked myself the question dozens of times in my head, but no answer came.
Something black flowed through the tubes and into the veins from the sickening black blood pack.
I tried to move my limbs to resist the cold sensation, as if an awl was being pushed into my blood vessels, but with a creaking sound, my limbs were bound in shackles and handcuffs and I couldn't move.
And then, beyond the reflection of the protective glasses worn by the people in scrubs, I soon felt the gaze of something looking this way.
It was so creepy it was looking at itself in the dark, and I was sure it was laughing.
It was like a beast watching its prey from which it cannot escape.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Eww!"
I kicked off the bed, sweating profusely.
What was that unpleasant feeling from a little while ago?
A dream so realistic.
It seemed as if he could still feel the countless gazes and hands looking at him.
Even the sensation of having your insides ripped apart by a strange tool.
"no way..."
I take off the t-shirt I was wearing without realizing it and stand in front of the mirror.
What appeared in front of the mirror was a reflection of myself looking at myself with a dazed expression, wearing black trunks and a pair of underwear.
There were no visible surgical scars or any traces of hands on the body.
"Are you okay?"
When I ask myself in the mirror, even though no one is listening, the person in the mirror just looks at me with a bewildered expression.
Well, it's a mirror.
"What are you doing this morning?"
When I turned my head in the direction of the sound, my younger sister, Jeong Ah-in, was looking at me as if she had seen something unsightly since morning, frowning while holding onto the doorknob.
"No. I had a nightmare about having a nasty surgery. I was just checking just in case..."
"You said it was a dream. Then of course you're fine. Did you hurt your head?"
"No, I told you it was really real. I blocked this place-"
"Oh, okay, let's go eat."
bang-!
As the door closed loudly, I started to get dressed by myself.
But I definitely felt it.
The cold sensation of the operating table, the stomach being cut open, and the many people performing the surgery.
Above all, the 'cold murderous intent' that made me laugh at myself.
"I guess it was a dream."
In the end, nothing happened, so I guess I was just really unlucky.
As I got dressed and walked out of the room, an empty seat at the table immediately caught my eye.
"What about your sister?"
"I'm eating at work again today."
"today?"
"They say they're busy with meetings or something. It happens all the time."
Nodding to Ain's words as if I was now used to them, I put the toast on the table down in my mouth, plopped down on the living room sofa, and turned on the TV.
"Hello. Today's top news. Thanks to the efforts of the A-class hero, Blaze Storm, we've once again successfully apprehended Mr. Lee, the mastermind behind last night's hit-and-run in the Gangnam district of Seoul. This time, Blaze Storm—"
Huh? Wednesday?
"Wasn't today Tuesday?"
"What are you talking about? You've lost track of time since you lost your job? It's Wednesday."
It's Wednesday?
In my memory, it was Monday lunchtime when I parted ways with Mr. Jeong, receiving his last severance pay.
and,
What did you do?
"Huh?"
The memories from Monday lunch to Wednesday morning completely disappeared from my mind.
It felt like someone had cut out that part of the film and spliced it together.
"Ain. Do you know what time I came home yesterday?"
"Huh? It's 9 PM. You must be tired. You didn't even say hello and went straight to your room to sleep without even taking off your clothes. Was your work that hard?"
"Work? Did I say I was going to work and then I left?"
Without realizing it, I jumped up from my seat and grabbed Ain's shoulders with both hands.
Ain looked up at me with a frown on her face, a piece of toast with jam in it.
"At that time, you said you were going to check on the place where the flyers were received with Jeong-hwan and Tae-su, and you left."
"I went with Jeong-hwan and Tae-su."
An ominous dream I had this morning.
Memories of a day gone by.
For some reason, my heart was pounding with an inexplicable excitement.
"Something feels off. I'm sure-"
Tiring-
As I was clutching my head in confusion, a text message notification rang on my phone.
I stared at the phone in my hand and slowly opened the text message window.
I immediately stopped for a moment at the content written inside.
-----------------------------------
[205X. 04.1X. 07:57 ]
Mr. Jeong Woo-jin.
We sincerely congratulate you on passing the physical examination and first interview.
You have been selected for the second interview at Black Crown Co., Ltd.
Through the second interview with the interviewer in charge today
I would like to determine whether or not I will pass.
The interview time is 13:00.
Please refer to the attached map for the location of your interview with the interviewer in charge.
For inquiries, please contact the number on the flyer provided during the first interview.
------------------------------------
"What does this mean?"
Physical exam? First interview?
I was confused by the acceptance notice from the interview, which I couldn't remember anything about.
Where the hell have I been and what have I been doing?
What about Black Crown? I've never heard of that name.
"Damn it."
He cursed without realizing it and headed to his room.
He said that besides himself, Jeong-hwan and Tae-su also went to the interview.
Then, if you ask them, you might find out something.
What on earth happened during that blank time?
I ran out of the house in a hurry without even realizing it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunny morning.
Jung Woo-jin, who had kicked open the apartment entrance, started running out with his smartphone pressed to his ear.
A black Benz car stopped at a distance, observing the scene.
The man in sunglasses sitting in the driver's seat swept back his bare head and opened his mouth.
"Interviewee Jung Woo-jin, you came out of the house."
"I know. I have eyes too."
The woman sitting in the backseat responded calmly to the driver's report.
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror of his car.
A woman with a petite build who at first glance looks like a doll.
She was wearing a gothic lolita dress with red lace frills on a black background. Her legs were slightly crossed, and under the hem of the dress, her snow-white thighs and the sharp black garter belt stockings above them came into view.
The black shoes she was wearing had quite a high heel, and her long, pure white hair, combined with her youthful appearance and black and red odd eyes, made her look even more like a doll.
"So, what does it look like?"
"Rather than looking happy, he looks more bewildered. It's as if his memory has vanished."
"Hmm. Really?"
At the driver's words, she closed her mouth for a moment, as if lost in thought, and then smiled.
"It doesn't matter. He'll definitely come to the interview anyway. Let's go first and wait."
At her words, the vehicle slowly started off.
The car is speeding along and soon passes the traffic light.
As she passes by Wooin, who is on the phone looking urgent, the girl and Wooin make eye contact through a window.
However, Wooin's gaze quickly turns elsewhere, and the girl stretches back against the backrest, still smiling.
The time of meeting is soon.