Days passed.
But for Kang Min-Jae—
time didn't feel like it was moving forward.
It felt…
stuck.
Everything around him continued normally.
School.
Friends.
Home.
But inside—
something had stopped.
The Silence Inside Him
He still woke up every morning.
Still wore his uniform.
Still walked to school.
But the boy who used to run—
was gone.
Now—
he walked slowly.
Head down.
Hands in his pockets.
Avoiding people.
Avoiding attention.
Avoiding himself.
The Mirror
There was a mirror in his house.
Small.
Cracked slightly at the corner.
Before—
he used to stand in front of it.
Make faces.
Smile.
Laugh at himself.
Now—
he walked past it.
Every time.
Without looking.
Because he knew—
if he looked…
he would remember.
And he didn't want to remember.
Losing Care
His mother noticed small things.
"Min-Jae… fix your hair."
He didn't respond.
"Your uniform is messy."
"…okay."
But he didn't fix it.
He stopped caring.
About how he looked.
About how people saw him.
Even when his clothes were wrinkled—
even when his face looked tired—
He didn't try.
Because in his mind—
it didn't matter.
Thoughts That Stayed
At night—
his thoughts didn't stop.
They repeated.
Again.
And again.
"It's my fault."
"I should have stopped it."
"Why didn't I do anything?"
No matter how much time passed—
those thoughts stayed.
And slowly—
they became beliefs.
Emotions Fading
Before—
he used to feel everything.
Happiness.
Excitement.
Curiosity.
Now—
everything felt distant.
When his friends laughed—
he smiled.
But he didn't feel it.
When something funny happened—
he reacted.
But it felt… empty.
Like acting.
With Friends
"Hey, Min-Jae! Look at this!"
Park Min-Kyu laughed loudly.
Min-Jae looked.
Nodded.
"Yeah… it's funny."
But his voice had no energy.
Choi Ji-Hoon frowned slightly.
"You've changed."
Min-Jae looked away.
"I didn't."
But even he knew—
that was a lie.
A Growing Distance
His friends still stayed with him.
Still talked to him.
Still included him.
But slowly—
a gap started forming.
Not because they left him.
But because—
he wasn't fully there anymore.
Alone Even When Not Alone
He sat with them.
Walked with them.
Talked with them.
But inside—
he felt alone.
Like no one could see
what was happening inside him.
Like no one would understand—
even if he tried to explain.
The Start of Numbness
One evening—
he sat alone.
No phone.
No noise.
Just silence.
He waited—
to feel something.
Anything.
But nothing came.
No sadness.
No anger.
No fear.
Just…
emptiness.
And that scared him more than anything else.
End Line
"He didn't just lose his happiness…
he slowly lost the ability to feel anything at all."