His hands moved before his eyes opened. He grabbed the phone by his head and took two breaths. Ring - the alarm rang. He probed out for the button on his phone due to his blurry vision. Today was the last day of November. The early morning air was cold even indoors.

He washed his face lightly and put on his jersey.

“You leaving?”

“Yes, father.”

“It’s cold outside. You should wear warm clothes.”

“I am. You’re going down today again, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Look after your mother and your sister while I’m gone.”

“I’ll try to look after my sister, but I don’t think I need to look out for Mrs. Lee. She’s very reliable.”

“That’s true.”

“There’s medicinal tonic in the vegetable compartment in the fridge. You should have one and take some for when you go down.”

Maru put on his trainers and left the house. The outside air seeped into his clothes. The air was frosty. He felt like he could produce a crispy sound if he breathed in deeply and bit the air.

He exercised before walking down the stairs. He walked along the hiking course up the mountain before doing some vocal exercises. He took it slow so that the muscles in his neck and his vocal cords had plenty of time to warm up. He did some more exercises until he started sweating before returning to his house. His father had left, and his sister was eating breakfast.

“Good for you, not going to school.”

“You also won’t be...