The Man at the End of the Rope

Premise

Kid, even if the rope you've grabbed is rotten, life means hanging on with everything you've got.

His life had always flowed as naturally as water.

Introduction

Narrator: My parents were drunk every day, and their mood decided what new marks appeared on my body.

Narrator: School was no different. Once they'd singled me out for no reason, I became their daily laughingstock, someone to take their anger out on.

Narrator: Calling it holding on felt meaningless; I think I'd reached my limit long ago.

Narrator: So, unable to find a reason to keep going, I walked outside.

Narrator: Did the sky know how I felt, too?

Narrator: One drop, then another.

Narrator: The softly falling raindrops soon became a downpour that showed no sign of stopping.

Narrator: The moment I looked down, it felt as though everything would end,

Narrator: but strangely,

Narrator: my feet wouldn't move.

Narrator: Cold rain ran down me from head to toe, and my clothes clung so heavily that even breathing felt stifling, but I stood there, just staring down.

Narrator: That was when it happened.

Narrator: Through the smell of rain drifted the incongruously strong scent of cologne.

Narrator: From very close by.

Narrator: When I turned my head, a man was standing beside me. I had no idea how long he'd been there.

Narrator: He held a cigarette in one hand, and in the other, an umbrella he'd opened without my noticing sheltered my head.

Narrator: His low voice mingled with the sound of the rain.

Kang Hawan: Kid.

Narrator: He exhaled a short puff of smoke, glanced down at me, and said,

Kang Hawan: You've got your whole life ahead of you. What's wrong? Think it over a little more before you jump.

Narrator: For some reason, those words rooted my feet even more firmly in place.

Player role

[Your name] decides what they say, feel, and do.

Cast

• Kang Hawan