A young man wipes the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead, as he pushes his way against the current of people that were trying to go out of the entrance of a mall. It was kind of hard to do, though, when everybody else keeps on pushing him back outside.

“Just let me go in already…” He muttered, slightly irritated that it was taking far too long to get inside, while the scorching heat was burning him down quicker.

It was fifteen minutes past ten on a weekday, and most young people of his age would probably be attending school, while they listen to those boring lectures in class at this time of the day. He was still wearing the navy blue uniform and black pants from the educational institution that he was attending at, though, since it would be quite a hassle for him to go back to his apartment and change his attire.

“Phew…” He released a sigh of relief, as he finally managed to get inside to cool off. It would’ve been bad if someone were to catch him walking around in this place in the middle of the day, but the busy crowd poses as a cover, so that the adults that would normally reprimand him for being here couldn’t get a clear view of him.

“Why are there so many people right now anyway? Don’t they have anything better to do?” He said, as he stabs a bendy straw into a juice box just before he sat down on a nearby bench. He’s not one to talk, though, when he’s clearly doing the exact same thing as them.

“…” Boredom got to him quick, as he used the passersby as some sort of entertainment to alleviate it. Arcades are fun and all, but from experience, saving his money for an emergency was for the best. That, and he was still a student with a limited allowance. So, spending it all on some momentary entertainment wasn’t a good idea.

It didn’t take too long before he found what he was doing to be rather dull and plain stupid, as he sighs and then switches his attention to one of the wide screen TVs that were hanging on the center pillar. It was currently showing a game of American football that some people tend to watch on their past time, while the fanatics of that game would watch it like devout believers listening to some kind of religious preaching from their church.

“Huh…” It was a live game where two old college rivals were facing off against one another in the semi-finals. The home team was losing by a devastatingly large margin, that it would likely take a miracle for them to make a comeback. But, who knows? Their loss wasn’t set in stone yet, and they might just be able pull it off and make wonders. As he just thought of that, the other team makes another touchdown and a successful kick. Well, miracles don’t happen very often, do they?

Truth be told, winning and losing are two very familiar words to him. Not just something familiar, but it was more of a defining thing for him. Why is that, you ask? Well, it's because he is an oddity, or he thinks he’s one. He realized it ever since he was old enough to understand the concept and meaning of someone being astoundingly triumphant, and someone bitterly weeping due to the loss. Or maybe he realized it from a hundred games of rock-paper-scissors with his former friends from a long time ago.

And the reason that made him consider himself as an oddity, is that he can’t possibly LOSE.

That sounds so absurd, right? Well, it’s been tried and tested by his past experiences throughout his whole life. With all of the ridiculous things that he’s been a part of, like his fun and totally not gambling games at the arcade with other people, his encounters with street thugs that tried to pick on him on the way home, catching the interest of a shady organization that ran below the prying eyes of the public, and even bumping into the more unexplainable things that people couldn’t exactly put a label on. He still came out on top, be it by his wits, skill, luck, or something else that couldn’t be explained. It was still a fact that he did.

But, not losing doesn't mean he’ll always win something in the end of everything that he ever entered at or was a part of. Even if he won a hundred games of rock-paper-scissors back then, you could say that he lost that one. He wasn’t filled with the excitement or euphoria from winning. No. What he felt was sadness and loss. He became like that because his friends from back then had left him for the childish reason of ‘not being fun to play with'. And they didn’t come back. Not even after a few weeks of crying and waiting for them at the same old spot where they used to meet. They just wouldn’t want to play with the young him anymore.

You might think that that may not have been too devastating of an event, or that he can still befriend the other children in the neighborhood, but who’s to say that they won’t leave him too? And remember, he was still a small child back then, with a very simple and fragile way of thinking. One small thing could cause a huge impact to his ego and character, and it certainly did. He discovered a valuable truth after he stopped crying and thought to himself. You could either just win and be happy by yourself, or you win, but you lose something in return, and vice versa. A very simplistic and childish way to put it, but that view stuck with him ever since.

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His bitterness for it grew as the years flew by. He doesn’t understand why his life was like this when he can’t possibly ‘lose’. With how it was, he should be one of the happiest men on Earth, right? But, he was still a loser after all of that. Undoubtedly so.

Now, he’s just sitting idly by on a bench somewhere in a very populated place inside of a mall, sipping orange juice from a juice box while he thinks of how the world would scheme against him this time around. But, little did he know, something will happen soon after which will force him to make a move again.

“At least I got my reason for skipping school today… maybe I can use this as a reason for my excuse letter tomorrow” He said, as he saw the game of old rivals on the TV abruptly change to a broadcast of a woman alerting everyone of a sudden occurring event. All of the people that were passing by stopped walking and looked towards the center pillar, fear clearly evident on their faces, as each word she said made it into their ears.

“… but, it’s still too hot outside” Or he won’t make a move at all, since he couldn’t possibly care less, and that he just made it inside of the cool air-conditioned building just a few minutes ago. The outcome would just be the same anyway, even if he decided to go out or not, he thought.

People started panicking and ran towards the exits, while he just sat there and watched, as he nonchalantly sipped his juice. The sounds of screaming and yelling where annoying, but he endured it since it would soon quiet down, and it did, fifteen minutes later. The guards even evacuated along with the civilians, leaving him all alone. None of them even bothered to tell him to run away. I guess it’s in human nature to preserve one’s life first and foremost, rather than worrying about someone else’s.

“…” The silent and peaceful scenery was a refreshing change of pace compared to the hustle and bustle from a while ago, but that, too, didn’t last for long. Because loud banging sounds and gun fire were heard from outside of the building soon after.

“Why does this always happen?” He sighed once again, as he asked that to no one in particular. But, deep down, somewhere inside of that uncaring attitude of his, was anticipation.

“Go, go, go, go!” Men with firearms that wore vests over their tacky attire soon barged into the mall. Those very men who just came in, shouted at him to lay prone on the floor, but the boy didn’t listen to any of them. I mean, why would he?

“Maybe, I shouldn’t have… meh, whatever. This is far more interesting, anyway” He said, as he threw away the juice box towards a trashcan with a small and narrow opening a few meters away, and it goes in without even hitting the sides of it. If he doesn’t want to go out because of the heat, then trouble could just barge in through the front door and find him instead. Did I forget to mention that he was a shit magnet to begin with?

He puts his bag down on the bench, and stood up. “Ah, well, let’s just get started already” And one of the men who was on edge from seeing that the boy was resisting them, was quick to pull the trigger and shot at him with the handgun that he held. What happened to the rule of keeping hostages alive, huh?

“Heh” He found it very amusing, as he turns his body to the side, and the bullet misses its target by a mere millimeter. A bold and stupid move for him to not run away when someone just pointed a gun at him, but it didn't matter. Luck or not, the bullet missed and he was still standing straight, so, all is good. It would take a lot more than just a simple nobody with a handgun to take him down, he thought. But…

He then ran away towards a corner and jumped to safety, out of the line of sight of those people. The reason why he didn't charge at them in a head-on confrontation when he can’t possibly lose? Because, well, why wouldn’t he run away from a group of armed men that just shot at him? He’s just a normal human being after all, and it’s not like he’s unkillable in the first place. One bullet to the body or limb would already be a death sentence for someone like him.

“I wonder how this splendid day would play out for me~” He starts to hum an upbeat tune, as he checks his surroundings, and then continues to run. He hums whenever his switch has been flipped, and that wasn’t a good sign… not for anyone that he’s set his sights on, of course… and maybe to himself, too.

After all this years, he found that the journey and struggle were far more enjoyable than the result. If he were to describe it in one word, it would either be the words exhilarating or euphoric, or better yet, why stick to one word when he can use both? You could even say that he enjoyed it to the point that he became addicted to it, like a drug addict is to his cocaine. It may not have been good for his psyche, but it still felt great. And that’s what kept him from running away at the first sign of danger when everyone else did so. He just hopes that the drawbacks for winning weren’t as severe this time around, or if there were even any at all.

“I could probably… Hahahahaha!” He laughs maniacally, as his mind came up with something entertaining to do when he noticed what those men were currently carrying around with them. “I hope the locals don’t think too badly of me after this is all done… and maybe I should wear a disguise just to sell it better… Heh”

This is a super cheesy story of a bold and heroic young man trying to save the day that's full of clichés and... Nope. Definitely not. Instead, this is a story of a sore loser who can’t possibly lose, while having some fun along the way. But…