CHAPTER 40: NIGHTMARE OR MEMORIES? (EXTRA)

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Author’s Note: This is just Khan’s past. It can be skipped. For those who want to understand why Khan is so cold, I recommend reading it, but please read the important warning.

Important Warning: The content below contains domestic violence, death, and suicide. Do not read if you are sensitive to any of these themes.

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In an office already lit up due to the night, a programmer sat in his chair, while the sound of mechanical keys echoed through the place.

Tak Tak Tak-

Stopping his typing, he began to frantically analyze the lines he had written, after noticing a small red dot in the debug.

What the hell... where did I mess up this time?

As his eyes ran through the lines, he grabbed his cup with the last of the coffee and took a sip while searching for the mistake.

Placing the now-empty cup back on the table, a small sound was heard as it hit the wood.

Looking at the long code, he kept searching.

Seriously, did I mess up that far back?

Sighing while scrolling up, he thought.

Did I mess up a class declaration? A function? Or was it a variable?

The more he thought, the more anxious he felt. Looking at the bottom-right corner of the screen, it showed 9:00 PM.

I’ll just fix this and go home...

Scrolling further, he found the problem. Just a missing line closure in a function.

After fixing it, he put his hand on his face and leaned his head back, a long sigh leaving his lips.

Seriously, it’s always this damn semicolon.

With the issue fixed, he shut down the computer. The screen reflected his image.

A tired man with huge eye bags and lifeless eyes. He looked like someone in his thirties, yet his hair had no receding lines or wrinkles on his face. His hair was black and messy.

When did I end up this worn out?

Placing his hand on the desk and getting up, his chair slid slightly back.

The place wasn’t completely empty. There were still others, just as drained, finishing their work at their desks.

Not caring about his coworkers, he simply left the place.

On the streets, he wasn’t the only one leaving work. Many people with briefcases and ties walked the sidewalks like him.

The scene wasn’t pretty. Young people were drinking loudly in the corners, women were trying to lure clients to some shady place, and in the alleys, usually known for violence, bright lights were on, and various shops were open, receiving customers.

Walking without paying attention to reality, a young girl with heavy makeup and a schoolgirl look bumped into him and fell to the ground.

"Kya~, that hurt!"

She looked up at him, seeing empty eyes with no expression.

He looked back at her, seeing a girl with empty eyes who seemed to have gone through a lot.

Without saying anything, he simply continued walking. From behind, a frustrated female voice spoke.

"Tsk, thought he was a tourist."

Even hearing that, he didn’t care. He just kept walking home.

So typical... I’d have fallen for that ten years ago...

While he walked, even though it was night, the sky was filled with clouds. A sign of coming rain.

It really is going to rain... I didn’t bring an umbrella...

With a sigh, he hurried his steps to a convenience store, almost getting caught by the rain on the way.

Leaving the store, he now had a transparent umbrella open and continued his walk home.

Arriving at the building, he was greeted by a large iron gate with a fingerprint lock.

Placing his finger and entering, he walked up the stairs and closed his umbrella.

As he climbed the stairs, a couple flirting came down, forcing him to make way. Leaning his back against the wall, he could feel it dirty his suit.

Fucking couple...

Finishing the stairs and reaching his floor, he let out a tired sigh.

I hate when the elevator’s under maintenance...

After that thought, he walked down the corridor lined with dark wooden doors, each marked with silver numbers.

Passing by door 305, he could hear shouting, followed by the sound of someone falling, and then more violent noises.

Outside the door, a child sat hugging their knees, crying.

As he walked past the child, he stopped in front of her.

Noticing the feet in front of her, she looked up and saw his tired face.

Putting his hand in his pocket, he pulled out three energy candies.

He offered them to the child in front of him.

I know this doesn’t help... but I already tried my best...

That couple was well known in the building. He had already called the police before, but it was always the same; they got back together. He eventually gave up.

The girl reached out and took the candies while speaking.

"Thank you..."

Her voice was a raspy whisper, her eyes still wet with tears.

He just continued walking to the next door, which had the number 310.

With his keys in hand and the sound of rain in the background, he inserted the key and turned it.

Unlocking the door and twisting the knob, he entered.

Closing the door behind him, he took off his shoes right after.

These dress shoes always pinch...

Putting on slippers in place of the shoes, he continued, loosening his tie and taking off his suit.

The laundry was near the entrance, so he turned right and dropped the dirty suit in the basket beside the washer.

I’ll shower first, then start the laundry...

After showering and putting the clothes to wash, he went to the kitchen and straight to the fridge.

Opening the door, the light inside flickered briefly, revealing a nearly empty fridge with just water and a plate of leftover lunch.

Shit... I totally forgot to go to the market...

Another sigh left his lips as he leaned on the fridge and looked right toward the kitchen window. Outside, it was raining, and the sky lit up with each flash of lightning.

No way I’m going out in that storm...

Closing the fridge door and looking down at his belly while making circular motions, he didn’t feel hungry.

Maybe later I’ll head to a night market...

Turning toward the living room, which had a view of the kitchen, he looked at the TV that was showing the news. Not paying attention to what was being said, he read the subtitle as he walked to the couch.

"Breaking News: Young climbers vanish without a trace this afternoon. It is suspected they fell somewhere near the location."

Beside the text was the time and date below: 9:43 PM 11/11/2040.

Looking at that date and sitting on the couch, he stared at the ceiling, resting his arms on the backrest.

Tomorrow’s my birthday... I’ll be thirty-five...

With a sigh and very tired eyes, he continued thinking.

I’ve been in this country for eleven years now... was it the right choice? I guess I don’t have time to think about that anymore...

Throwing away those thoughts and emptying his mind, he kept staring at the ceiling. What brought him back to reality was a robotic vacuum that lightly bumped into his foot.

Taking his eyes off the ceiling and leaning forward, he looked at the small, flat, round-shaped vacuum.

After bumping into his foot, the vacuum changed direction.

Squinting to see more clearly with his tired vision, he thought.

How long have I had this thing? They don’t even make it anymore...

With another sigh, he got up from the couch and went to his room.

Maybe I should keep working on the project... while it’s still raining.

Remembering to turn off the TV, he just swiped his finger along the side and turned it off.

Entering his room, he turned on the light. The room wasn’t big, but it was well-organized.

His bed was on the right, and on the left wall were bookshelves filled with books. In the middle was a white kotatsu with green accents, and farther back, a turned-off computer.

He went straight to the computer, pulled the chair, turned on the PC under the desk, sat down, and pulled a cable near the monitor.

Taking his phone from his pocket, he put it to charge. While waiting for the desktop to appear, he read some notes on the wall to his left.

Notes:

Connections Between Projects (Still coding).

Death Project (In writing).

Pillars Project (Wrapping up).

...

Skipping the rest and already decided to work on the connections, he looked back at the monitor.

Now with the desktop loaded, he opened his IDE and clicked on the project shortcut.

Cracking his fingers and with the project open, he resumed his old routine of updating them.

...

An alarm went off on his phone, lighting up the screen. The time showed: 12:00 AM.

Midnight already?...

Looking out the window, it was still raining, though a little less.

Sighing and stretching while seated, he looked at the ceiling.

Ah... I still need to check on Shub, or I might get a game over... and Iris’s sanity... at least it’s all fun.

With that in mind, he opened the ’Planet Blue’ and ’Fantasy Elf’ projects.

He stayed up gaming until 2 AM. After finishing, he went straight to bed, leaving the computer on.

...

His phone rang with an alarm, waking him up.

Getting out of bed, he walked to the phone on his desk. The alarm read 5 AM.

Only three hours of sleep... should be enough...

Used to sleeping little, he swiped the screen and turned off the alarm.

With the alarm off, a message from his mom popped up.

[Mom: Happy birthday, son {heart}]

He replied:

[Thanks.]

Then turned off the phone again and left the room.

Leaving the room, he remembered he had nothing to eat and would need to throw out the fridge leftovers.

I’m not eating that... can’t even remember which lunch that was...

Putting on warm clothes, he left the house to go to the nearby store.

So cold... it got chilly fast this time...

Walking through the narrow hallway, the cold wind blew against his side.

Not far ahead, he saw a pile of clothes in the hallway.

The child is still outside? Shitty parents...

Approaching the child, he noticed something strange. She wasn’t moving.

Looking at her face, it was bruised in many places, and her eyes were lifeless.

Seeing that, something he hadn’t felt in a long time grew uncontrollably: rage.

"Today, I kill someone."

He muttered in pure hatred as he walked up to the apartment door.

With a heavy kick, he broke the door open and entered.

Walking down the narrow hallway and checking the bathroom, a blood-covered woman was still barely breathing.

Walking farther into the apartment, he stopped in front of the living room.

The man of the house was dead, sitting on the couch with a knife stuck in his throat.

Why am I the first to see this?

Looking at the scene, his once empty eyes became truly dead.