What kind of evil mad scientist designed this couch?

It was the perfect couch to destroy a back.

“I’m sorry I was going to make you sleep on that”

That couch was truly something no one should be forced to sleep on;

Even if it was one of the things I really wanted to do.

We’ll have to get a good couch,

and then I can force him to sleep on it.

“Well, I guess back out we go then?”
He said; jokingly,

But it kinda made me want to send him back to the couch.

We left my backpack and purse lying on the carpeted floor.

Just as we were leaving I realized the Kimchi he had brought,

Was gone.

“Wait, what about the Kimchi you bought?”

I asked;

Shouldn’t we go out there before buying new fu-

“Yeah, we’re grabbing some furniture from your place,

And the Kimchi I forgot.”

Oh yeah, I forgot.

He was broke. Apart from the whole rich CEO status;

He actually had nothing to his own name.

“So, how do we plan on carrying it back?

Wheelbarrows?”

“Wait, wheelbarrows?”

“Yeah, y’know the thing farmers use to-”

“Do you have one?”

“They probably sell some…

…by the countryside”

“So should I wait inside for you?”

I stopped walking.

”What?”

He turned around to look at me;

Confused.

“You’re going to go buy one right?

Let me know when you’re back.”

I walked back toward the apartment.

I was fully aware I couldn’t go back unless he gave me the key,

But he wouldn’t call my bluff…

“Why would you wait in the Lobby,

And not your own home?”

So he did remember, and called me out on it.

Shoot.

“Maybe I could convince the girl in the lobby to let me;

Because she saw me go up with you?”

“Good luck!”
He started walking again.

Towards the subway.

Okay, he won today’s battle.

“Okay, I’ll go with you to buy the Wheelbarrow.”

I said, as I jogged next to him;

Before I slowed down to a walking pace.

“I was kidding about the Wheelbarrow”

“What then how ar-”

”I already have a Wheelbarrow”

“Why didn’t y-”

“You agreed with me when I said

Ditch the Furniture!”

I did say that, but like…

“Why do you have a Wheelbarrow?!”

“I got it for a project in University;

Because I was studying the history of farming and stuff…”

“So they just gave you a Wheelbarrow?”

“No… I convinced my mom we needed one;

Because modern kids don’t do much anymore.

That the teacher wanted us to feel what it was like to be there.

In the farms.”

“But?”

“I just wanted a Wheelbarrow;

Because she kept taking away anything else I owned.

Plus, she could probably install some secret camera on my computer.”

He seemed uncomfortable talking about this.

'Well, why a Wheelbarrow?’

“No one suspects the Wheelbarrow…

Think about it!

We have all this machinery,

special carts, and automation.

It’s common nature for most people to use them now”

“Yeah and?”

How was this going to connect to pretend farming?

“Well, what kind of CEO of technology would think her son,

Would use such outdated technology to move…

Anything!”

I hate to admit it, but he did have a point.

She’d probably think he threw it away;

Since it was a useless wheelbarrow to her.

Wait.

What kind of household did he grow up in,

Where he had to manipulate his mother to get a Wheelbarrow?!

“We’re here”

I was so focused on talking to him,

And following him, I didn’t realize where we were going.

We were in a small shop still around the same area;

Since most of the buildings still looked the same.

It was a place where they sold storage.

Storage lockers, where hundreds of the solid white lockers lined up against each other.

It was weirdly futuristic.

The old guy who was waiting there recognized Li Woo-Jin,

But weirdly as a man named “Jason”

“Oh hey Jason, come to get your stuff again?”

“Yep.”

He went past the old man,

And grabbed my hand, as we took a left to the lockers.

These ones were much bigger;

Like the ones you’d see in a junkyard.

But if this locker was so big…

“I thought you had no money…”

Was he scamming me?

Like a weird reverse Honey Trap…

What did he even gain fr-

“My mom had this locker specifically designed.

Says it’s for all the stuff I might get at meetings.”

“So like gifts from your fiance?”

“Yeah, basically…”

“Why would you use a locker she knows about?”

”She doesn’t care about me.”
He  chuckled to himself.

It was kinda sad.

Sure it was convenient,

But what a sad existence

For someone who people probably saw as blessed.

“How sad…”

I accidentally said those words out loud.

“Not really,

I’m happy right now”

He smiled while opening the locker.

It was a fake smile.

His eyes were filled with sorrow.

I looked inside;

As he rummaged through the pile of stuff

You could tell he randomly threw in as he got it.

There was the Wheelbarrow,

Then there was a painting of Icarus the boy,

who flew too close to the sun.

It was almost like a reminder for him every time he opened the door,

That if he flew too close to the sun (His mom)

he would end up like Icarus.

Then I tried to get a better look,

but he seemed to notice; using his body to block my view..

He opened a tiny crack in the massive storage locker,

 and I was shorter than him so I couldn’t see over him…

Though if I-

I grabbed the door he was keeping shut with his foot,

and grabbed it and pulled it open.

I looked in for a second,

But what I saw was a Violin.

A small children’s Violin…

An expensive one at that.

Probably better than the one I had as a kid…

Then sheet music scattered everywhere barely visible;

Since the only light

was from outside the storage locker it was kept in.

Just then I remembered what he had said,

When he first convinced me to come with him:

“Could you just teach me please?”
”I... want to learn the violin.”

”Yeah I uh never learned how to play,

But I saw recordings of you playing and they were amazing.”

Weird.

He quickly closed the locker,

And stared at me, worried of what I might have seen.

Who was he really?

Though, I knew that the best response he could get,

Was:

“C’mon why won’t you let me see!”

I pouted.

“Some things I need to keep to myself;

Like your fan-fiction”

“I hate you!
This is why you’re sleeping on the couch”

I started storming off.

He quickly followed me; after grabbing

The Wheelbarrow.

“So uh do you think your apartment burned down?”
He said, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Maybe I would tell you; if you let me see what was inside!”

I turned around and pointed at the lockers,

Where we had just left.

“I’m sorry, I’ll give you-”

”I just wanted to know what was in those lockers,

So you can’t give me anything

I want to.”

“Sorry…”

He looked genuinely sorry,

As if he’d actually done something wrong.

Now I feel bad.

“It’s fine,

let’s just try to get there as soon as possible.”

“Haha! Gotcha!
I knew you were faking it!”

` He laughed,

As he sprinted around me once; taunting me,

But he wasn’t lying.

His eyes were sad.

Like someone who was used to being punished for the wrongdoing of others,

something completely unreasonable.

“I take back the couch thing then;

You’re sleeping on the couch forever”

“What? C’mon! Please?”

“Fine…”

“YE-”

”Sleep on the floor”

“Honestly, my floor is better than the couch.
Carpets are surprisingly comfortable to sleep on”

He seemed happy with that,

So I just let it be for now.

We went back down the Subway we saw a bit earlier.

It had less people this time.

We boarded the Subway that arrived a lot quicker this time.

If only this was the subway that came the first time;

He wouldn’t have kept saying things, that just kept making it worse for him.

The subway ride was uneventful.

We just stayed quiet and waited to arrive at our station.

Not as many people cared about his Wheelbarrow as I thought.

We arrived at our station and got off,

Which I had to grab him to tell him to get off;

because he didn’t know which station to leave on.

Probably because he tried to prank me…

If that can be called a prank,

Or just being weird.

We walked towards my Home.

The place, which happened to be in the same direction

as the smoke…

We both collectively thought:
Oh no.

I sprinted ahead of him, while he sprinted;

Pushing the Wheelbarrow slightly behind me.

We arrived at my Semi-Basement former home,

Which I-

just remembered I had to tell the owner I was moving out.

I looked at where the damage had been done,

And he stayed behind to watch the wheelbarrow.

 Since the entrance was so narrow;

He waited behind. Not wanting to let it roll down the stairs,

and trap both of us.

The second I left him almost as if, on queue.

That guy,

who had told me to “Shut Up” thousands of times

Appeared.

He and two firemen exited the building,

And he was probably furious.

He left the stove on or something,

But he couldn’t blame it on anyone.

It was his fault,

So he shifted it to me.

”Why didn’t you tell me?!”
He yelled; furious at me.

He was wearing

a white tank-top, and pajama pants.

His eyes were filled with hatred for me,

When I didn’t do anything.

Also his breath smelled terrible.

He looked exactly like how I pictured him,

Which was very funny to me,

So I may have accidentally laughed at him.

That only angered him more,

And he began to swing his arm back.

At that moment I had just realized the two firemen,

Who should’ve stopped him had left.

They probably thought:
”Not my problem”

Or something like that.

I was used to this,

Though it didn’t make it any less sad.

I closed my eyes

and waited to get hit.

He’d stop after that,

And then I could go grab the furniture and-

I opened my eyes and standing over me was

Li Woo-Jin,

Who had grabbed his arm.

“What are you trying to do to my Wife?”