The Beginning

The refreshing morning air immediately hit exposed skin. There was nothing to do but harden the skin and bear it.

The same went for Elver. He sneezed a couple of times as the icy wind blew across the back of his neck. His right hand clung to his thin jacket, while the other gripped the broom to keep it from falling.

"Damn, is it always this cold these days?" He grumbled in frustration.

Elver Wallace. A 24-year-old man was working as a street sweeper in the city park.

Of course, it wasn't his choice. It was just that no job seemed willing to take him on. He found the reasons given for not wanting to work to be absolutely absurd. Some said he wasn't qualified for the job. But there were no qualifications required. Some said he was too weak. And the strangest claim of all was that he had an unpleasant aura around him.

Elver didn't know whether to curse or burst out laughing. He didn't want to be an entertainer with a pleasant aura, he wanted to be someone with a decent job!

As he thought about it, Elver angrily slammed down his broom and fell to the ground, ignoring the scattering of leaves he had just picked up. His head lifted slightly, gazing at the blue sky and contemplating his fate, when a small face appeared.

"Brother El!" The small, sweet face was adorned with a wide smile.

Before Elver could respond to the greeting, a small hand rose unexpectedly. It slapped him hard across the face, leaving a dull thud that stung.

"What the....?" Elver groaned and covered his face, his eyes watering slightly as a physiological response to the blow. He was sure there would be a red mark on his face, even though the blow was light.

"Mom says it's not good to look straight at the sky. It's going to hurt your eyes." This innocent explanation made Elver both angry and laugh at the same time.

"Your mom is very clever, but she forgot to teach her child how to behave," Elver replied. Of course, the little girl didn't understand.

The little girl crouched down beside Elver. She pulled a wrapper of chocolates out of her pocket and handed one to Elver. "This is for Brother El."

For a moment, Elver forgot all about his annoyance. His eyes widened, startled. "Really?"

In truth, the little girl often came to visit Elver with snacks. However, she had never offered her snacks to him first; instead, Elver had snatched them from her without asking.

The little girl nodded seriously. "I've made them especially for Brother El."

Elver gave her a suspicious look. He stared at the wrapped chocolate in his hand and asked, "Is today a special day?"

Once again, a deceptively sweet smile appeared on the face of the little girl. Innocently, she replied, "No. But tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I want to make some chocolate for my friends. But first, I want Brother El to taste it."

Another way of saying it is like this: I want to make some chocolate for my friends, so let you be my guinea pig first.

The previously forgotten annoyance was back with a vengeance. He waved his hand and chased away the little girl who was crouching next to him. "Go away, I don't want to see your face again!

The little girl let out a sweet laugh and ran off at a safe distance, then shouted, "Brother El needs to get a girlfriend soon. Otherwise, you won't be able to eat chocolate."

Then she ran off. She giggled mischievously, pleased with herself for teasing the older man.

Meanwhile, Elver just rolled his eyes. He felt his time was wasted dealing with a child. He tossed the chocolate into his mouth and winced at the sweetness of it all.

At least that girl didn't poison him.

As he savored the lingering sweetness, his mind wandered. Incidentally, he remembered that tomorrow was Valentine's Day.

But as far as he was concerned, Valentine's Day wasn't any different from any other day. They were all just dates on the calendar, nothing more. Besides, did you really need a girlfriend just for the sake of eating chocolate? He could buy his own and indulge himself.

Then Elver's thoughts came to a halt for a moment.

It seemed that it was necessary to have a girlfriend in order to eat chocolate, because at the moment he had no money to buy chocolate.

Elver sighed. He reached for his broom again, intending to continue his interrupted work. But as he stood up, an inexplicable shiver ran down his spine. It was as if someone was watching him with a murderous stare.

Elver immediately turned to look behind him, squinting his eyes sharply. Unfortunately, he didn't see anyone suspicious at all. Besides, the area was quiet. Only a few elderly people walked by.

Elver put his hand to the back of his neck and muttered in confusion, "Just my imagination?"

It was a dreadfully boring day. There was nothing to do but sweep the leaves, rubbish, and other debris that littered the streets.

Sometimes he would be approached by kind-hearted elderly people with offers of food and drink. Perhaps they had a feeling of pity at the sight of his emaciated body.

Actually, they weren't wrong to feel pitying. After all, it was true that Elver's body was too frail and weak. His pale skin, in combination with the pitch-black hair that fell on his forehead, gave him the appearance of a blood-starved vampire. And even if he didn't understand what it was, there was always that unpleasant aura emanating from him.

And that's how Elver's tedious work came to an end. He handed his tools and his work jacket back to his boss before he walked home with a weary step.

His mind was filled with a recurring thought. He was incredibly tired, and all he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed. But suddenly, his thoughts were shattered by the high-pitched screams.

Anyone who heard them could tell that they were women screaming. They would scream at the top of their voices over the most trivial things, as if the end of the world had come. That's why Elver didn't pay any attention to it and just kept walking without turning his head.

However, after taking only two steps forward, a ball the size of the palm of a hand passed in front of him. The ball came to a halt about a meter in front of him and began to tremble. Just as Elver thought that the ball was about to explode, it suddenly and unexpectedly partially opened up, revealing a large red eye.

It blinked several times. It looked eerily similar to a human eyeball that had been removed from its socket.

Elver's lips moved silently, 'Fuck'. The next thing he knew, he turned. Without a second thought, he sprinted away.

Damn, that thing was absolutely disgusting!

However, the big eyeball wasn't going to let Elver get away so easily. Its speed was on par with Elver's, even faster. Sneering, the eyeball opened wide next to Elver.

Elver's eyes opened wide with fright. His hand was on the verge of swatting away the repulsive object in front of him, but he failed to do so as his left foot tripped over his right.

His body leaned forward from the momentum, and he fell uncontrollably to the ground. The next thing he knew, he was lying face down on the ground in agony.

Elver lifted his head slightly with a grim expression on his face. His hand was touching his forehead, which had been hit quite hard on the ground.

"Is today my bad luck day?"

Immediately after his words, Elver remembered something. He turned his head carefully. He was looking for a trace of the eyeball that had disappeared somewhere. When he couldn't find the repulsive object anywhere near him, he stood up, ignoring the dull ache that was starting to hurt him.

It was at that moment that he realized that he wasn't the only one who had been a witness to this horrible incident.