Nowadays, we are living in a society in which everyone is working hard every day just to make ends meet.
In this society, much like everyone else, our protagonist, "Lee Soo-woon," a 27-year-old office worker, is also barely scraping by, making ends meet.
It was just another ordinary evening. The city buzzed with the usual energy of people rushing home from work. Among them was Soo-woon, dragging his tired self toward his apartment after a long day at the office. Exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders, he rushes home to get some rest.
"Haaaaaaaa......." he sighed inwardly, his mind clouded with fatigue.
It's already been three years since I completed my studies and found myself a job.
Although it's been tiring and I am barely scraping by, I am somehow managing everything.
But everything feels so dull and boring.
What am I even doing with my life? Have I achieved anything? Have I lived any of my dream? Do I even have dreams? Just getting through each day is already a pain in the ass.
I never seriously played any sports, never dated anyone, I don't even have real friends. And money? Not enough to spend on things I actually like and enjoy.
"Haaa....."
As he reached the gate of his small, aging apartment—a two-story building tucked away in a quiet part of town—his pace slowed. He climbed the old-slippery stairs and stood in front of his door. Looking at the old worn-out door of his room he thinks about all the emptiness and sorrow in his life. After a moment of reminisce of his life, He opens the door, gets inside the room, and closes the door.
Being exhausted and all, he doesn't even bother turning on the lights or even changing out of his office clothes. He tossed his bag onto the floor and collapsed onto the bed, face-first. The worn-out springs creaked beneath him.
Just sleep, he thought. That's all I need right now.
His eyes shut, and within minutes, sleep took him.
.
.
.
The sound of wheels turning. The rhythmic clop of horse hooves. Muffled voices, speaking in a language he didn't recognize.
Soo-woon stirred. His brows furrowed as consciousness slowly returned. Something felt... wrong. The texture beneath him was hard and cold—not his bed. The air was musty, with a faint scent of animals and hay.
He opened his eyes.
He sees Bars.
Steel bars surrounding him.
Panicked, he sat up quickly, and starts looking around and finds himself trapped in a steel cage, surrounded by a Dozens of small cages filled the dimly lit wagon, each containing strange beasts—none of which he recognized.
He looked down.
His hands were tiny. Child-sized.
"What the hell...?" he muttered, his voice noticeably higher.
Where am I?
Wasn't I in bed before I fell asleep?
Why do my hands look like this?
Wait does my whole body shrank or something?
Did I turn into a kid? How did this happen?!
His heart pounded in his chest as the reality of the situation began to sink in. This wasn't a dream. The cold metal floor of cage under him, the soft growls of nearby creatures, the clatter of the wagon wheels—it was all too real.
Outside, two men conversed in a strange language he couldn't understand.
"Xcgsf h may Jaxrysh kaiauay jauatwgwu Kadian iajaywm ba le..."
I can hear two people chatting outside the wagon, but what are they saying?
I can't understand a word of what they are talking to each other about.
Is this another country?
Another world...?
Just what the hell is happening right now?
Haaaa...., Anyway how can I get out of here?
As he was figuring out the situation he was in, the wagon suddenly stops. The horses neighed loudly, as if they are terrified of something
"Neighhh!!!"
Outside, the two men also began yelling, their voices sharp and frantic.
"Hgurgeyr hrhgrry huh fury hfjfufbrhrur jfjfhfufuf Keisha jfhudvr jsiehrv jfiuurfb—Kyaaaaa!"
Soo-woon shrank back into the corner of the cage, alarmed by the sudden chaos outside.
What's happening?! Why are they screaming?!
Roars and screeches erupted all around the wagon. The beasts in the surrounding cages began growling and snarling.
A few moments later, all the yelling and screaming stops.
A heavy, suffocating stillness settled in.
Why did it suddenly go quiet...?
A chill crawled up Soo-woon's spine. The curtain covering the wagon's entrance fluttered gently in the wind, but the air felt unnaturally still. Something about the silence felt... wrong.
He takes a glance at the blowing curtains of the wagon, eyes narrowed.
Ooo... it's just the wind blowing. But what is this ominous vibe that I am getting?
And then—
"ROOOOAAAR!!!"
A monstrous roar shattered the silence, echoing across the landscape.
Soo-woon's blood ran cold.
To be continued...