The Beginning of a Fate and a "Fated" Encounter

"Ugh..."

Under the scorching urban sun, I trudged along the sidewalk of this concrete jungle, my steps heavy with the weight of despair. Groans escaped me, mingling with the stifling heat as I scanned the bustling cityscape.

In my hand, I clutched a bundle of documents: job applications, diplomas, CVs. Basically everything that I would need to apply for a job. Any job, honestly, but to no avail.

Days had turned into weeks, and weeks into months, yet the cruel reality persisted as I aimed for a proper job in this economy. At this point, I might actually consider burger flipping to be a desirable job, but my pride kept holding me out of such ventures.

"*Sigh* What now?" I muttered to myself, trudging through this urban desert of scorching heat. Then, a glimmer of hope caught my eye: a nearby public park adorned with trees casting inviting shadows, promising cool respite from the relentless sun.

Feeling tempted, I walked into the public park. A convenient bench sat beneath one of the trees, offering the cool shade I desperately sought. "Lucky me, I guess," I thought as I settled onto the bench. Leaning back against its support, I felt the refreshing coolness envelop me, shielding me from the intense sunlight. I even tilted my head back, gazing up at the foliage above, trying to empty my mind and simply enjoy this brief respite.

But soon, my thoughts returned to my current predicament. I had been job hunting for quite a while. Almost half a year had passed since I graduated from college, barely passing, and I had been trying to land a job ever since.

However, as I had discovered, the job market for undergraduates like me seemed to be barren. No job applications had been successful, either because of fierce competition or because my own capabilities fell short of their criteria.

Leaning forward, hunching my back, I hung my head in frustration, sighing once again as I mulled over my predicament.

"Let's play Hero Vs. Villain!"

"Yeah!"

The shouts of nearby kids interrupted my thoughts, drawing my attention to their lively game in the park.

"I'm gonna be Ultra Guy!" One of the kids, who seemed to be the leader type, shouted, announcing his role in their little play. I seemed to remember that 'Ultra Guy' was one of those comic book superheroes that were popular right now. I vaguely recalled that he was supposed to be an alien from another planet who escaped his planet's destruction by some evil galactic empire and came to Earth as its new protector from their conquest.

"I wanna be Lady Justina!" The only girl in the group of kids announced. So she wanted to be that 'Lady Justina', huh? I also vaguely remembered this comic book character, as if she were one of those women warriors of a hidden, long-lost tribe. Though I also remembered a bit too vividly how this character was one of the popular cosplay options and fan arts on the internet.

"Then I shall be the Cape Detective," another kid announced his superhero role. Though, I seemed to remember that 'Cape Detective' was supposed to be a normal human but with super intellect and tons of money in his hand. Not to mention... I felt like I remembered how this character, who was supposed to be a detective that wore a cape as his main costume, now used some sort of high-tech battle suit of armor, forsaking his cape entirely.

"Haha, then I will be the evil genius Max Brain!" One of the kids shouted his role while also doing a maniacal laugh. 'Max Brain'? Huh... wasn't he the villain with that big head with the letter 'M' literally printed on his forehead? Kids wanted to be like that evil villain guy? Well, damn... kids these days seemed to be in tune with even the villain of the story. Though I guess being incredibly smart was a pretty desirable trait.

Then... there was one kid left who hadn't spoken about what he wanted to be in this make-believe play they were having.

"Uhm... guys? What should I become?" The last kid meekly asked his fellow friends. He seemed to not really be into this kind of play and probably not really familiar with the superhero media in general.

The rest of the kids stared blankly at the meek kid, then they looked at each other for each of their opinions.

Eventually, the kid who announced himself as the villain Max Brain came forward and approached the meek kid. "Hey, you'll be my grunt," he stated to the meek kid as if it were a matter of fact.

"G-grunt...?! B-but I don't want to be just a grunt..." The meek kid weakly complained.

"Too bad. None of the heroes nor villains would fit for you as you're too much of a wuss and a weakling," the Max-Brain-role-player kid cruelly explained his reasoning. The meek kid couldn't say anything back, as his eyes became teary.

"F-fine..." He reluctantly accepted his role as the grunt of this villain role-player kid. Said villain kid just grinned from hearing the meek kid's acceptance, while the other hero role-player kids didn't really care either way.

"Let's go!" The Ultra Guy role player kid shouted and announced to them all as he sprinted away. The other kids followed suit with his advance, which included the earlier meek kid who followed behind them, albeit reluctantly. Those kids then went along further into the other side of the park.

"... kids can be pretty cruel, huh..." I commented on those role-playing kids as they went further away. I had never thought I would witness a kid's sheer honesty of their cruelty towards others. I did vaguely remember how I used to be a troublemaker myself as a kid... but I didn't think I was that kind of cruel... did I?

"*Sigh* no point in thinking about the past right now," I said to myself while sighing. I didn't have time to mull over my past; I needed to focus on my present. I stood up from the park bench and began to leave the public park where I had just rested my tired soul. But... before I left, I looked back at those superhero role-playing kids.

In particular, the meek kid who was forced to become the grunt of their role-playing. He was being beaten down by the heroes as of right now, while the villain role-player kid stood behind him watching the heroes versus one grunt with a maniacal expression of a villain. Even if their punches and kicks were just pretend play attacks, the meek kid was showing distress over their treatment.

"Grunt..." I muttered to myself. I didn't want to imagine myself as some disposable punching-bag grunt for the heroes and villains, but... 'Maybe being a grunt is better than nothing...' I thought to myself, as I did imagine at least being a grunt if I couldn't find any job at all. Finally, I left the public park for good.

< | X | >

I resumed walking through the urban landscape as I was about to go meet an interviewer, but... I seemed to have gotten myself lost. I was instructed to meet with my interviewer, but the directions and location of the interview site seemed to be wrong.

"Where am I anyway...?" I asked myself, trying to figure out my current location. I didn't think the interviewer would give me a fake address just to prank me, because I've seen good reviews and ratings from previous applicants, indicating that this employer was legitimate. So, I needed to figure out something from the address they gave me.

I opened my smartphone and saw the address, the time of the interview itself, and even a link to the online location-share for the interview site.

"Let's see here..." I clicked on the location-shared link, and it directed me to my smartphone's map app. It was booting a bit slowly... then it finally finished calibrating my position.

"Ah! No wonder," I said to myself. I realized now that the location of the interview was just a block over from where I stood right now. I looked to the right, towards the supposed location of the interview site, and saw that it was through a wide alleyway between these large buildings. I then walked into said alleyway, hoping that I would finally be in the right place for the interview.

But... as I was walking through the alleyway, I came across to what seemed to be a fortune-teller booth on the side of the alleyway, with a cloaked figure sitting in it. As I didn't have any business or interest in fortune-telling, I casually passed by the booth. However, as I passed by the fortune-teller booth, the hooded figure within called out to me, a feminine but mature voice that carried an air of mystery and urgency.

"Stop right there, traveler," she said to me, her voice soft but commanding, causing me to pause in my tracks. "I sensed uncertainty clouding your path. Allow me to offer guidance." She continued.

I looked back to the fortune-teller booth and saw the figure of a woman under the hood of her cloak, who showed a wicked smile towards me.