A looked at him, still trying to catch his breath. K started walking toward a door."Come on, get up. We don't have all day."A stood up and looked at the door. "Where… where now? Why do you keep following me? And what was that door?"K turned and said, "Are you talking about this one or that one?" He placed his hand on the knob. "Or are you too scared of seeing death so close?"A calmed his breathing and asked, "What are you hiding from me? What's with this mask?" He pointed at the mask.K tilted his head. "What do you want to know? Oh, about this?" K touched his mask. "You know, this mask holds a lot of stories. Stories of sacrifice, love, betrayal, happiness, sadness… stories of the rise and fall of humans. The question is, which story do you want to hear?"A replied without wasting time, "How did you get it?"K walked past him and stood behind him. "Interesting. As expected. Do you want to hear it?"A turned and stared at him. K laughed. "You really want to hear how I got it? Well, it was passed on by the previous owner. She gave it to me, and I am going to give it to another."A kept staring at him. "And how long is this process going to take?"K looked at the door and said, "Long enough until a suitable person takes it. By the way, why are you interested in it all of a sudden? Is it because you found something that was never supposed to be uncovered?"A noticed K change his stance, as if he would attack at any moment. "Oh, nothing. Just curious."K towered over him and looked directly into his eyes. "You know I don't like it when people try to hide something from me. Now tell me the truth or…"A's hands shook with fear. "I… I told you. It's just because all the things happening here again and again. I don't even understand if I am alive or dead."K just looked at him, noticing every small detail. Then he said, "A, do you still believe I really don't know what kind of game you are playing? A person with knowledge as vast as mine cannot understand what you are hiding under that innocent mask of yours. You can lie as much as you want. Just remember one thing…"K stood beside him, facing the opposite direction. "I know what you have done in the past and what happened that night. That Lotus Hotel incident."A was shocked. He looked at him. K remained in the same position."I saw how you let your rage consume you. Do you remember how those people screamed? You still try to believe it was an accident. A, what are you hiding?"A fell backward. "No… no… nothing. That's none of your business."K stared directly into his eyes. "Still, you say you have no memories of the past. So you are not going to confess how your rage killed a lot of innocent people in that incident."A fell back and saw he was surrounded by a group of burnt people, including children. They all started walking toward him. A's body locked in fear. He moved his eyes, taking in everything. His mouth opened, but no voice came out.As they were about to grab him, A started running. He didn't care where he went or what was in his path. He just ran as fast as he could. He only heard their voices."We died because of you! What was our fault? Why are you running? Come back here!"A didn't look behind or slow down even a little. He just kept running."RUN… HAHAHA… RUN… RUN!"A saw a door and entered it. He looked around. It was a small room with a bed and a desk. The windows looked like they hadn't been touched for a long time. Then he saw a photo on the desk. A picked it up with shaking hands."It's my room…"K stood behind him. "It's your room, and it's your family photo. Well, I must say your family looks happy in it."The photo showed A's parents and a younger version of him. A turned back and looked at K as he took the photo from his hands."Your parents looked happy, but I am sure they had no idea how their kid was going to kill a lot of innocents just because he wanted revenge for their death."A didn't look up at him. He kept staring at the ground.K continued, "So, A, are you still going to say you have no memories of the past? Or should I remind you how your parents died just because of a…"A cut him off. "SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THEM? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING!" A grabbed K's collar. "DON'T YOU EVEN DARE TO SPEAK ANYTHING ABOUT THEM!"K spoke with a delighted voice, "This anger, this aggression… it's the same as that day."A's hand fell back.K said, "Speak the truth or I will. Look at them. They want answers."A fell to his knees. "My family… my home… everything gone just because of that person." He took a long breath. "That day started normally. Dad and Mom… I went to my part-time job. I remember greeting everyone there. After one or two hours of my shift, I received that call from the hospital. My parents' car had crashed. The last thing I remember is crying outside the operation theater when the doctor came and said sorry to me. I lost everything that night. Two days later, that person appeared. He was standing in front of me. His men took me out of my house and they destroyed it. I tried to stop them. They just held me on the ground. That person held the paper saying my parents had sold the house to him before their death."A laughed bitterly. "I lost my parents and my home in just three days. I filed a case against them, but what I got in return was not justice but three years in prison because of fake allegations. I cried every single night until the day of my release. I decided to kill him when I became free. On the day I was released, I started collecting information about him—every single detail—until one day I finally found the opportunity: the Lotus Hotel. I had information that he was going to stay there. Because I had worked part-time at the hotel, I knew every way to escape or enter without being noticed. I started the preparation. Finally, that day I had been waiting for—my revenge."A continued, "That night, I entered the hotel from the back door. I was ready to kill him. I walked toward his room, but his guards stopped me midway. As expected. So I started my plan. I went back to the storage room—the only room where no CCTV cameras were installed. I started a controlled fire just to trigger the fire alarm…"K finally moved, took the photo from his hand, and sat on a chair. "You thought that fire wouldn't harm anyone. You left it there, but you forgot that the hotel was old—maybe half a century old. You left the burnt paper on the floor."K continued, "You went to take your revenge, but that burnt paper became the main cause of the deaths of all those people. The hotel didn't have a secure exit. Even you entered through that secret door you accidentally found while cleaning that room."Tears fell from A's eyes."I… I was ready to kill him when the alarm rang. Everyone rushed toward the exit, but the fire spread rapidly. I don't know how it happened. I didn't try to help anyone. My anger blinded my vision and my humanity. I ran. When I spotted him, his guards opened fire. One bullet hit the gas pipeline. The gas leaked and…"K laughed. "Oh, how can I forget that magnificent fire show by you? How the explosion destroyed the only exit. And how you survived? Well, because you were near that large window. You were lucky that the explosion force threw you outside."A covered his ears. "I… I saw them crying for help. My fear of what I had done made me r… run. Run away from it. I ru…"He broke down completely.K walked and stood behind him. "You are still running away from what you have done in the past. Because of you, a lot of innocent people died. And look at yourself—still breathing, still living. You know it's better for you to die."A turned to look at him. The surroundings suddenly changed. They were both standing at the edge of a mountain."What are you thinking, A? Just end this life now. Look at those people who are still asking what their fault was. Why did they all have to die? Just end this life and give them the answer."A stood up and started walking toward the edge. He was about to jump."You are right. I am not going to run anymore. I am going to accept what I have done."Tears covered his face while a smile formed. He moved forward, about to jump.
— END OF CHAPTER 19 —