Dojin opened his eyes and woke up while scratching his bushy hair. He saw his mom boiling soup as he came out from the restroom after washing his face.

“Doenjang soup?”

“Yeah.”

He put on his clothes as he sniffed the savory smell and placed the script that he was reading until last night into his backpack together with the candies that his dad always brought home.

“Will you be late today too?”

“I think so, don’t worry about it, Madam Lee.”

“You should try being a parent too, that’s not as easy as it sounds. Make sure to call me if you’re going to be really late.”

His mom yawned as she went back into her room. Dojin mixed a bowl of rice with the Doenjang soup and placed a fried egg on top. The yolk of the over-easy egg popped open when he poked at it. As expected, it’s good. Dojin made a satisfied smile and brought his bowl in front of the TV. He powered it on and turned it to the news channel.

Just a few months ago, Dojin watched the game channels while eating breakfast. His day usually started by watching the highlights of big games.

However, his life pattern changed after meeting Maru and Daemyung. Those two friends had already stepped into society despite being the same age as him. People had expectations for them and they worked hard to meet those expectations. It was the world of adults.

The reason he started to watch the news was influenced by Daemyung more so than Maru. The guy that used to play games together with him until midnight no longer appeared online. When Dojin asked...