Messiah

Well, after that, the girl kept doggedly coming after me.

I played along with 'Jimin' until she calmed down, and after being tormented almost senseless, I finally managed to get away from her insistence that I become her little sister.

No matter how excitedly someone rambled on, even a child seemed to lose interest quickly if the other person didn't respond with much enthusiasm.

If anything, maybe the curiosity peculiar to that age heated up and cooled down as quickly as a tin pot, so it ended before I passed out.

We hadn't talked about much.

We asked each other's names, ages, and schools—ordinary, trivial things.

It felt strangely nostalgic, as if I were watching little kids go through the process of becoming friends.

Ever since I started middle school, no one had shown any interest in me or approached me.

With such a dark and complicated background, I was someone the other kids' mothers and teachers...

...talked about behind my back—a pitiable child, but also a ticking time bomb no one should get involved with...