The World of Masks

"Do you know me?"

As the old man in front of me was old, I asked him politely. But I didn't forget to make my body a little tense. At least I don't remember seeing such an old man. It's a rare back alley where we meet now.

"Ah, I know very well. Of course I know that."

The old man had a meaningful smile.

"Hard, isn't it? After my parents died."

Are you close to your parents? But I know for a fact that they don't have an elderly friend in front of them. But when you think about it, it's not weird to have a parent you don't know. Although the speculation of accidental encounter in these alleyways is not surprising.

"Are you close to your parents? Thank you for your concern, but I'm okay now. It's been six months. We need to get rid of it."

"No, that's not what I'm saying."

The old man slowly lowers his head, gazing directly into the eyes of Jinjin as if he would not tolerate lying.

"The urge to destroy and murder within you."

"Yes? What are you talking about?"

The old man swallowed his brooding voice in the appearance of a crooked stone.

"Hmm. You're calmer than I thought. I thought you might flinch a little or get a little stuffy."

The young man in front of me was more powerful than I expected. Despite the appearance of someone who knew a secret that no one should know, the young man had nowhere to be calm. No, just the look on his face made him look normal and rather like a senile old man.

"Hey, Grandpa? Can I take you to the hospital?"

"· · · · · · · · · · Hmm. Getting treated like an old man is quite new."

However, the old man's heart was quite satisfied. The young man in front of him acted calmly despite the appearance of someone who knew what his weakness was. Rather, he was pushing himself into the old age. It means he's that thorough.

"No. I'm old, but I'm not there yet."

To that loathsome young man staring at himself with a worrying look on his face, the old man tapped the top of the staff with his finger.

"Sure thing. I don't think it's easy to admit. What I need to see is Kim Jin-seok the psychopath, not Kim Jin-seok the good guy."

"Hey, Grandpa. It's a little offensive to be driven by a persistent psychopathic compulsion for murder. Who's your grandfather?"

"You don't need to know who I am right now. You don't deserve that."

There, the old man stops talking and looks at the pouch where the dust settles.

"And I don't mean you any harm, so leave the knife in your hand."

Jinsuk grins awkwardly, holding the knife in his pocket. But I didn't let go of the knife like the old man said. No, I pulled out the knife I had hidden in my pocket.

"I don't know. I've been through too much lately. I carry it around in case anything suspicious happens to me. Isn't the situation suspicious enough?"

"Surprised. You speak like a snake over a wall. You."

Even with the old man's provocation, he never put the knife down. It was a dull look, but my mind was quite overwhelmed with embarrassment. It was proof that he was pulling out a knife that he had never pulled out even in the face of knives or puppies against an old man who didn't look like he had that kind of power. However, as opposed to the embarrassed feelings of Jin, his head was rolling coldly.

Should I kill him? Should I kill him and shut him up? No, there's no guarantee he's the only one who knows. If there's anyone else who knows the truth after killing him for no reason, things are gonna get worse. I didn't do anything, did I? Why don't we just treat him like an old fart? But how do you know that? It's not just a joke, is it?

When I was pinning my head looking at the old man with cautious eyes. A muttering old man punches his palm with his fist for a long time.

"Ah! That should do it."

Is there something that comes to mind? The old man glances at the stone and laughs.

"Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to do a play from now on."

"Theatre?"

"Yes. Theatre."

He nodded happily even though he thought it was the best idea. But his head was full of confusion. I mean, suddenly there's a play. It was an old man's speech that I could not understand.

"From now on, everything you do fits into this crazy old man's play. You're a good man, so you can clean that up."

That is, from now on, we are talking about acting, not real. In short, he told us to put on a mask called acting and express our intentions.

"· · · · I'm going to ask you about old age, but my role is also · · · · · · · ·."

"A psychopath with destructive urges and homicidal urges, of course."

He was an old man who spoke without hesitation. But Jinsuk was also tempted by this story. For good citizen Jin, the old man was a suspicious old man, but he was a target of boundaries to get information out of the old man who was suffering from destructive urges and murderous urges. It's not bad to stab someone with a hood of smoke. Even if that old man decides otherwise, he will do nothing and the proof will prove that the recorder is quietly rotating in his arms.

After finishing his thought, he nodded.

"· · · · · · · · · · Phew. Then let's do it."

Of course, he didn't forget to distort his face as if he was really forced into the play of his good, normal, old-fashioned inspiration.

The old man's gaze at him in disgust over there hurt, but he bounced off cool.

"So if I'm a psychopath, what's my grandfather's role?"

The old man smiles brightly with his arms wide open, as if he asked very nicely.

"An angel."

His expression was hard.