Prologue
*** 3rd September 2013***
Drop-out. Failure. Those were the two words that came to mind when I met him. Opposing each other, separated merely by a stain of glass. The wrinkles of his attire, as with all the others lining him on the row, merged into a state of inescapable anonymity. If only the stories hadn’t promoted his name, made a brand of his past, maybe then society would have forgotten the 12th October 2007. Except, that never happens, does it? Humans prey on one another, sinfully shame and outcast one another and beat one another until there’s no life left, no fight and will to carry on.
He looked as though he were reaching the end of his tether, as I examined his face. Faint outlines of stubble lining his jaw suggested hints of maturity, of which was argued by the personal information I had pre-read online. 24th August 1996; only 11 when it happened, now little over 17 years old and still paying for that singular night. I observed him fiddle with his fingers, fidgeting, tapping his foot on the concrete. His eyes never met mine, he directed them to the floor, as though he were reluctant to face anyone, as though he believed this would never be any different to the replicas over the last 6 years.
Urged by a stocky man, stone cold in face, that visiting hours were almost over, I contemplated whether it was stupid of me to have ever come. Maybe I was just an attention seeker, like the rest of them. Maybe I just wanted my claim to fame. I knew with only five minutes left that it was either make or break; the last 3 years had been resting upon this moment, on a moment which I had only ever been able to fathom in my mind.
My ballpoint began to nervously shake against the pad of paper resting on my knee. The words I had prepared blurring into a cascade of words, indistinguishable. My nerves were getting the better of me, but why? Had I too fallen victim to the scandals of the media, the twisted lies and exaggerated myths all calculated with the means of profit? Composing myself I raised my head meekly, directing my focus on the man, or should I say child, in front of me.
“Jeon Min Jae.”
