On the road, Tim, De Ra Goe, and Ha Men were walking like usual. De Ra Goe and Ha Men walked side by side, a few steps behind Tim. Tim seemed lost in thought, his eye fixed on the ground. The silence made De Ra Goe and Ha Men feel awkward. De Ra Goe looked at Ha Men and nudged his shoulder. Ha Men looked back.
"What?"
De Ra Goe nodded toward Tim.
Ha Men: "...Do it yourself."
De Ra Goe bumped Ha Men's arm softly with his body. Ha Men pushed him back.
"No, I'm not doing this!"
De Ra Goe kept staring at him. Ha Men closed his eye. "Stop staring like that!"
Tim continued to stare at the ground as he walked. Memories flooded his mind. He remembered how they had brutally tried to take the novel from Te Ra just minutes ago.
Suddenly, his memories turned dark. And when they clear. He sees himself, standing there.
He was wearing a white T-shirt with long sleeves and long brown pants. There was blood on his sleeves and under his neck. The rain was pouring down. Te Ra held a knife, pointing it at him while she shielded Ha Men's body. Ha Men lay face-down on the hard floor. Both were soaked. She knelt there, her hand shaking. Her brown skirt was stained with blood, and more blood was smeared on her face and white shirt. But neither of them had any visible wounds. The rain continued to lash down. They stared at each other.
Suddenly, he was pulled back to reality by Ha Men's voice.
"...Ah, Tim?"
Tim stopped walking and looked at him. Ha Men and De Ra Goe stopped too. Ha Men observed him closely.
"Is there a problem?"
Tim looked back at the ground.
"No... just..."
The wind blew past him. He looked at the floor and saw a leaf. He knelt down. The leaf he was watching blew away. Another memory flashed: He and Te Ra were leaning against a wall when they are standing. The building looked like a tiny hospital. The blood was still on them, and their clothes were still wet. They didn't look at each other. Tim watched her gently and carefully. Te Ra played with the edge of her shirt. She looks pretty for some reason. A leaf flew past her.
He escaped the memory again. Tim finally spoke.
"...Thinking." He looked at his friends. "Yeah, just thinking."
De Ra Goe looked at him kindly.
"Is it about the village? About what we do?"
Tim shook his head gently.
"No, no... just..." He sighed. "I don't know, guys."
He picked up a rock and said quietly,
"I'm just feeling something. Something that shouldn't be."
Ha Men:
"If it's about some bullshit tradition from your family, just ignore it and—"
De Ra Goe cut him off.
"Ha Men, seriously?"
Ha Men looked at him.
"What?"
Tim stood back up and looked at the rock. De Ra Goe looked at Tim. "Look, Ha Men. If you really think he's like you—someone who can't even handle a small tradition or something—you're wrong. That will never be the case."
Ha Men punched De Ra Goe's chest softly. "Hey!"
De Ra Goe: "What? Am I wrong?"
Ha Men stepped closer.
"You really know how to hit me where it hurts, don't you? There's no reason to—"
Tim looked at them.
"Stop fighting,"
They both looked at him. Tim threw the rock toward a small pool nearby.
"It's not about that."
Tim started walking again.
"And you guys are of the same kind. There's no valuable reason to fight."
De Ra Goe flicked Ha Men's forehead, walked past him, and smirked. Ha Men glared at him.
"What was that for?"
Ha Men stayed there, waiting for an answer. De Ra Goe looked back with a tease in his voice.
"Because you're weak."
Ha Men looked annoyed.
"You mother...! I'll show you who's real weak in Deal Place."
Ha Men finally caught up and tried to punch De Ra Goe, but De Ra Goe dodged and started running in circles. Ha Men chased after him. Tim kept walking.
That was just how they walked.