The teen walked outside their office's door.
The darkness and murkiness of the hallway greeted him.
It was quite scary… If people would visit this place, they would run off immediately…
However… For our protagonist, this doesn't faze him a bit. He was used to this darkness… It was a darkness that never felt foreign. It was home for him..
Yes, the office they were staying at was also the teen's home.
He walked through the hallway of their office's building. There were no windows and the lights were broken, so it was understandable that it was dark. Fun fact, this building was also a former home to numerous 'black' businesses, which in the present, was now gone.
When peace was restored throughout the whole world, the 'black' businesses had also been eradicated.
The teen walked through the silent hallway. His soft footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway… devoid of people… devoid of any life…
After a while, the teen had already reached the outside world.
In contrast with the dark and suffocating hallways of the building, the outside world is bright and free. It was… liberating.
Numerous cars were honking their horns. Birds' feathers flutter with the wind. There are also children laughing while telling stories with their friends. Families walking hand in hand….
It's peaceful huh…
Yes, it is peaceful.
Too peaceful… In fact, the very land he is standing on, is formerly a 'black' zone. It was a den of murderers, thieves, grapist, and anything evil you may know of. In this place, everyday, people die.
That was 5 years ago.
5 years…
Those 5 years turned a 'black' zone into a place that is colorful.
A place which takes lives, turned into a place full of life.
A place where bodies of starving little children are common, into a place where children's laughter drowns the air.
This is a peaceful place.
The teen closed his eyes, and memories of the past returned to him.
The days where he was fighting with the gangs for his training.
The days where he was infiltrating different groups for training.
The days where….
Anyways, the teen opened his eyes again.
The former monochrome coloured memories turned into a colorful stream of reality.
It really is peaceful.
He started walking towards his destination.
His destination? The movie theatre.
This movie theatre is one of the go-to destinations within his zone. It was immediately built after the place was derecognized as a 'black' zone as a symbol of peace. Now, people of all kinds go to this theatre to have fun.
The movie theatre was packed since it was a weekend.
The teen walked up towards the steps of the theatre, each of his steps carried a sense of emptiness… like a ghost, drifting through the hallways of an abandoned building.
He evaded people, sidestepping them. The others didn't notice him, hell, they didn't even give him any attention.
After a while of walking and dodging, he had reached the place where the movie posters were framed.
In front of him are 5 movie posters. Looking at it, he had deduced that the movies this weekend have different genres, ranging from kids to adult horror.
He knew he needed to watch at least one of them, but… he looked outside again.
The sky started to orange.
He only has time for one movie…
He didn't know what to watch. He hasn't watched any movies in his past years. He was busy… assassinating…
"Hey! Hey! Let's watch this! It's trending in TokTok! It is quite a good movie, they say! It is scary…. Will you hold me later if I get scared?"
He looked towards the voice. There, he saw a couple, with the girl clinging onto the boy's arm like a baby orangutan clinging on its mother. The boy had his attention on his phone and nonchalantly said.
"Hmm, sure. Let's watch it. I am quite a big fan of the female lead. She's beautiful y'know?"
The girl immediately moved away from the boy. She then looked at him with eyes as daggers. The boy felt coldness that was akin to the glaciers of the South Pole.
"What did you say?"
He immediately jumped towards the girl and hugged her.
"But my love, you are the most beautifulest person in this whole wide world! You know I used two superlatives because you really are the most beautifulest person in this world."
The girl turned around and gave him a smirk.
"That better be true."
They then walked towards the counter and bought tickets.
Amused by the two people, the teen looked at the movie poster.
The poster was a simple poster. A girl wearing highschool clothes, a sailor uniform, looking straight in front, towards the reader of the poster. Half of her face was covered by a noh mask, while the other half is a bloody mess. Her eyes brought chills to people who viewed the poster. It was moving.
He admired it. He liked it.
The teen knew based on the poster, that the movie would be good.
As a master of disguises, he applauded the girl on the poster.
He decided that he will watch this movie.
The teen then went on towards the counter to pay. Once he reached the counter, a woman dressed in uniform asked the teen.
"Hello! What movie do you want to watch?"
The teen pointed towards the viral poster.
The woman looked at the poster and gave a nod. Then she looked at the teen…
He might be deaf… what a shame, he's handsome too…
The woman immediately signed language. The teen was surprised….
Oh! She knew how to sign….. But…. she might have thought I am deaf…. Oh dear…. I am in a movie theatre…. How would I watch a movie if I am deaf…..
While signing, the woman smiled at the 'deaf' teen. She signed:
"It is a nice movie! Though… the theatre is full… with only a seat at the frontmost and leftmost side available… Will you still want it?"
The teen nodded.
" I hope you enjoy watching it. The cost would be 15 credits!"
He nodded again.
He reached to his back pocket for his wallet, opened it, and grabbed 15 credits worth of money.
In this world, credits are the main currency of all of the countries. They made it so that there would be a sense of 'identity' which would foster peace among all countries.
The teen then gave his money to the woman to which the woman, in return, gave him a ticket. It was a blank ticket..
The teen was visibly confused… so the woman signed again.
"You would need to insert this at the atm-like machine near the theatre door."
She then turned around and pointed at the machine.
"You need to insert this ticket and it will automatically give you a paper band which you need to wrap around your arm."
The teen nodded. He then went towards the machine, inserted the blank paper, and a thin paper was ejected from the top.
He wrapped the thin paper on his left hand and looked back at the woman, who was closely watching him. He then gave a small thumbs up towards the woman.
In return, the woman smiled widely and gave him a large wave. She then returned to his job.
The teen was amazed at how kind the woman was. It was a far cry from his previous life… a life of a dog eats dog.
Anyways, he entered the massive doors of the movie theatre and sat at his designated seat.
It was honestly… a bad fucking seat. He cannot see the screen properly… The faces of the people in the 'ads' are also distorted…. It is a bad spot.
Well… the game's the game.
The teen slouched deeper into his uncomfortable front-left seat, craning his neck to catch a clear view of the screen. He could already feel the slight ache building in his spine.
He waited for a bit until the move started showing. It was entitled… Kurohane.
It followed the female lead's "normal" daily life.
Megumi Yuki, the female lead, a plain, short-haired high school girl, wore the expression of someone who permanently hovered between mild irritation and sleepy resignation. The kind of person you'd sit beside on a train and instinctively decide not to talk to. She was quiet, awkward, and had the charisma of a damp sponge…. Yet, she was still beautiful… due to the actress.
The scenery of the movie focused on an urban jungle. Underneath tall concrete buildings, people's lives are continuing. Faded bicycles leaned against fences. Cats stretched lazily atop parked cars.
That first act played out like an indie slice-of-life film. The camera followed her through mundane routines… waking up, ironing her school uniform, carefully making tea, feeding the same stray cats.
She was normal…
Too normal.
The movie started lackluster.
The first third of the film felt like a test of patience. A cinematic dare.
It was… boring…
By the fifteen-minute mark, the audience began to shift. Some even yawned.
"How does this even become viral?"
One of the audience members said.
Our teen protagonist in the frontmost, leftmost seat? The one with the neck pain and questionable view angle?
He continued watching intently.
He knew… something was up.
By the thirty-minute mark, something did shift….