Chapter 1

On the high-speed train, a baby wouldn't stop crying, and the noise left no one in peace.

But no one complained. If anything, people smiled at the young couple and warmly passed on their own tips for soothing a baby.

I was the one who couldn't take it. I opened my mouth and let them have it.

"Can you people handle your kid or not? Can you stop wrecking my sleep?"

The couple looked at me, pitiful.

"We're so sorry. He's still little, and when he cries there's nothing we can do. Please bear with us."

That answer only made me angrier. I snapped, out of patience.

"Being little means he gets to do whatever he wants? If you don't know how to calm your kid down, just toss him out the window. Stop bothering me!"

The young couple kept apologizing and decided to get off early, but I blocked them.

"You've disrupted my whole ride. A few million in emotional damages, or forget about getting off this train!"

Every passenger was furious. They thought I was a lunatic, jumping in to condemn me, and someone even called the police.

But the moment the officers appeared, I wasn't angry. I was glad. And the couple, they came apart completely.

1

As the baby's crying grew louder and louder, the quiet air of the whole train broke apart.

I was sitting across from the couple, one row back, and I pulled off my earbuds to watch the two of them fumble to calm the baby down.

The woman held the baby, bouncing it as she cooed.

"Oh, don't cry, don't cry. Mommy's got you. Don't cry, baby."

Her man, all humility, kept nodding and smiling at everyone whose eyes drifted their way.

"So sorry. He's still little, we've disturbed you all. Really, we're sorry."

You don't strike a smiling face, as they say.

And this was a baby, on top of that.

The people around them all looked on kindly.

An older woman in the front row smiled and said, "One look and I can tell you two are young, no experience with kids. Just like my daughter-in-law."

Another woman put in, "Right, my daughter-in-law's the same. The second she's got the kid she gets all frazzled. Where's the patience to soothe a baby?"

"Say, why don't you check whether he's hungry?"

The nudge sent the young couple hurrying to thank them.

The man laughed. "Oh, right, right, right. Let's get him a bottle. He must be hungry."

The two of them said their thanks and took the advice, though they were a bit all over the place.

"Where's the bottle?"

"In the bag."

"Water, did you bring water?"

"The formula's in that black bag, right?"

I watched the man pull a can of formula out of a black bag, still sealed, along with a bottle that still had the label on it, never used.

My eyes went wider and wider.

The man poured bottled water into the bottle.

Then added a scoop of formula.

He twisted the cap on any old way and handed the bottle to his wife.

Sure enough, once the baby had some, the crying slowly died down.

The man immediately thanked the two women in front. "Thank you, really. We're so sorry."

The two women smiled kindly.

"No need to thank us, no need. We've been through it, we've got experience."

"A kid under one crying, it's either dirty diapers or he wants his bottle. Nothing else to it."

The man smiled and thanked them. "This is our first, mine and my wife's. We don't have much experience. Thank you, thank you."

The kid had stopped fussing.

They were all thanking one another.

Just as the mood turned warm and easy.

I glanced again at the thing tucked under the seat.

The formula can with half of it sticking out.

And the anger boiled up in me from all directions.

After thinking it over carefully.

I shot to my feet and shouted at the man, who was still apologizing.

"Thank you, my ass, you jerk. Do you have any idea you've been bothering me!"

The man turned back, eyes gentle, hands pressed together. "Sorry, sorry, buddy. My apologies. Truly sorry."

I sneered.

"What good is an apology that's just words?"

"If you really want to apologize, then get down on your knees and bow to me!"

The man froze.

And every passenger around us was staring at me now like I was something strange.