“We died yesterday too.” It took me a few seconds to understand what the boy had just said. Red letters glowed on the departure board. RETRY COUNT SECOND ATTEMPT “What do you mean, you died yesterday?” The boy didn’t look away from me. “Exactly what I said.” “We were here yesterday.” “You were too.” The other four people on the platform turned to look at him. “I don’t remember that,” the young woman said. “I’ve never been to a station like this.” “Neither have I,” the man in the suit added. The boy nodded. “Everyone forgot.” “I’d forgotten almost everything too.” “Then why did you remember?” The boy pointed at the departure board. The first time. 00:42 “Yesterday, when that countdown reached zero, I remembered.” I looked at the clock. 12:34 a.m. Eight minutes left. “What happened?” The color drained from the boy’s face. “We died.” “Who?” “The first one was him.” The boy pointed toward the man standing at the edge of the platform. The same man who had tried to climb down onto the tracks. The man shouted. “Cut the crap!” “How exactly did I die?” The boy didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at the station attendant. The attendant stood there silently. “You know, don’t you?” I asked. The attendant didn’t deny it. “Did I choose someone yesterday too?” “No.” “Then I didn’t choose anyone?” The attendant looked at me. “You couldn’t choose.” A chill spread through my chest. “As a result, all five of them died.” The woman gasped quietly. The man in the suit grabbed me. “So this was your fault?” “Wait. I don’t remember any of this.” “We died because of you!” “I have a family!” Just as I tried to shake off his hand, a sharp pain tore through the back of my head. The world changed. For only an instant. I was standing on this platform. The woman was crying in front of me. The old man was shouting. The boy was looking at me. And I was just standing there, unable to do anything. Then, in the next instant, the entire platform turned red. That was where the memory ended. I dropped to my knees. “What was that...?” The boy came closer. “Did you remember?” I couldn’t answer. I had seen it. There was no doubt. I had been here yesterday. But something even more important was missing from my memory. Why hadn’t I chosen anyone? Then, a warning tone sounded from the departure board. 00:42 5 MINUTES REMAINING The atmosphere on the platform changed. The station attendant spoke. “The first scheduled death is about to be finalized.” The man who had tried to climb onto the tracks suddenly stepped in front of me. “Choose me.” “Wait.” “I’m the first one, right?” “Then save me!” “If I choose you, what happens to the other four?” The man fell silent. No one answered. The old man. The woman. The man in the suit. The boy. Every one of them was looking at me. If I saved one, the other four would die. If I chose no one, they would all die. How could anyone call that a choice? “Why didn’t I choose anyone yesterday?” I asked the boy. He hesitated for a moment before answering. “Because you realized something.” “What?” “Among these five people...” The boy looked around. “One of them was never supposed to die.” Everyone looked at one another. “What does that mean?” the man in the suit asked. The boy continued. “Yesterday, you tried to figure out who that person was.” “And that’s why you ran out of time.” I looked at the departure board. SCHEDULED TO DIE: 5 The display flickered for a split second. Then different words appeared. SCHEDULED TO DIE: 4 INTRUDER: 1 A moment later, the original display returned. But I had seen it. “Intruder...?” I looked at the station attendant. For the first time, the attendant looked shaken. “What was that?” “Answer me.” The attendant remained silent. Then I realized. There were six people at this station, including me. I wasn’t a passenger. I had assumed the other five were all scheduled to die. But I was wrong. Only four were scheduled to die. Someone among them had come to this station when they were never supposed to be here. “Who is it?” I whispered. At that moment, the station clock reached 12:40 a.m. Two minutes left. Then, the boy leaned close to my ear and whispered. “Yesterday...” “You figured out who the intruder was.” I looked at him. “Who was it?” The boy’s lips trembled. “Me.” My mind went completely blank. The boy continued. “That’s why yesterday, you tried to kill me.”