He had the choice.

That choice was also made in a situation that was neither forced nor unjust.

He knew very well what he would gain or lose if he chose one of the two options in front of him.

The outcome of that decision greatly affected your future.

Depending on your choice, you might have to do something you didn’t want to for a short or a very long time.

Additionally, he might have to face many things that ordinary people would never experience in their lifetime. So he had to be careful.

The first time he had to make a choice like this was when he was only seven years old.

However, no one could help him even though he was too young to make such an important decision. It was truly unfair. There were four or five other children of the same age as him who also had to make a choice. The oldest child was eight, but the youngest had just turned five not long ago.

“So, do you want to do it or not?”

The man who gathered the children spoke gently as if he wasn’t forcing them to make any choice. Every decision was entirely in the hands of the children.

Each child seemed to be thinking deeply. Even though they were young, they vaguely sensed how important this choice was. They were all given plenty of time to think carefully.

Finally, when the first child happily nodded, the man slowly nodded along. The second child also nodded. The third child seemed to think a bit longer but eventually nodded too. The fourth child hesitated, then shook their head, furrowing their brows as if they had made a very cautious decision. However, the man still calmly nodded with a kind face.

And finally, the man’s gaze fell on him. He looked straight at the man.

That man was a ‘senior’ in the family. He was also the most outstanding and noble man he knew. His father, his uncle, and the other adults he knew all had to bow before him.

This was the first time he saw him up close like this. This man always seemed like he was up in the clouds, so he never thought he could see him directly like this. He thought this man looked like a very fierce and scary ghost, but the wrinkles around his eyes softened when he smiled.

He remained silent for a few more seconds. Whether he chose one way or another, he wasn’t worried. After looking closely into those wrinkled eyes, he nodded.

The man nodded once more and looked around at the children. Then he asked them again.

“Does anyone want to change their decision?”

But no one answered, so the man nodded for the last time. At the same time, the irreversible decision now weighed on his heart like a seal engraved with a red-hot iron.

That was the first opportunity for him to make a choice, a choice he made on his own.

That first choice was also the first mistake you regretted for a long time afterward.

More than ten years after the first choice, he had the opportunity to make the second choice.

This time, he stood alone in front of the man.

He was no longer a seven-year-old child. Over ten years hadn’t changed him, but they had taught him a lot. Even though no one told him, he realized that his first choice was a mistake. The result of that first choice took more than a decade to appear, but like many other things, he could predict this quite accurately.

He shouldn’t have nodded when he had the first choice. But that choice couldn’t be changed, and now he had to make the second choice based on that mistake. This time there would be no third choice.

“Do you want to do it?”

The man with deep wrinkles around his eyes asked him once again in a gentle voice. He looked directly into his eyes for a few seconds. Just like before, he didn’t feel any worry or hesitation before the two choices. The answer had already been decided.

When he shook your head, the man looked at you for a moment, then calmly nodded. Another man in a neat suit standing behind the first man frowned as if he had just heard an unsatisfactory answer.

He had made the second choice and was satisfied with it. Because of the mistake in the first choice, he had to bear the consequences, but it didn’t matter.

What choices would the others make?

The first child, one year older than you, made their second choice last year. They said he nodded at that choice. Six months later, the second child would make their choice again, and after a year, the third child would have to make their choice.

But he had already erased them from his mind. Now it no longer concerns him. Anyway, he had shaken his head at the second choice, so it didn’t matter what they chose.

He felt light and relaxed.

He should have shaken his head from the start.

Anyway, thinking about it now was useless, and he didn’t want to think about it anymore, at least in these rare moments of relief.

Turning around, he laughed loudly. Now he could stand outside the events. Although it was somewhat frightening, he also felt incredibly relieved, so he laughed joyfully.

However, his rarely smiling face couldn’t express that strange expression, so the corners of his mouth only slightly lifted. He tried to smile again, but this time his brows only furrowed a bit. Even though he tried to laugh.

Only that was regrettable.