69.
The deliberation wasn’t long.
“You’ll ride too, right?”
At Haseo’s words, Choi Mujin nodded willingly. Though it seemed quite out of character for him, considering everything that had happened, perhaps he actually enjoyed such things?
Choi Mujin always wore suits and acted as if he wouldn’t touch anything that wasn’t expensive. But if asked whether he was always like that, the answer would be no. He knew how to sit on newspaper spread on the ground, grill pork belly, and drink soju, and he ate without complaint even when Haseo ruined a dish. Adding to that the childhood stories Haseo had heard before, his current behavior wasn’t so strange.
The two stood in line side by side in front of the carousel, waiting for their turn while looking over the horses.
“I want to ride that white horse.”
When Haseo pointed to one specific horse, Choi Mujin indicated the one next to it.
“Then I’ll take that one.”
It was a bit embarrassing for grown adults to have such a conversation, but there were other adults riding the carousel too. They could endure standing in line with children.
The carousel, which Haseo was riding for the first time, was quite fun. Though it just spun slowly in circles, he felt strangely excited. Haseo was looking at the sparkling pole on the horse when he turned his gaze to Choi Mujin. He was staring intently at Haseo on the horse before raising his phone.
“Ahhh!”
A scream escaped his mouth without thinking. That damn phone—he should have thrown it away when he had it earlier.
“Don’t take pictures!”
Haseo hurriedly turned his head away.
“Why?”
“Just don’t take pictures when I say don’t!”
Though he was enjoying himself, he didn’t want this moment captured in a photo. What was so special about a grown adult riding a carousel that it needed to be photographed? Haseo kept looking outward for the entire ride. When they got off the horse, he checked Choi Mujin’s hand but didn’t see the phone. He seemed to have given up on taking photos. Only then did Haseo breathe a sigh of relief as he exited with the children.
“Then shall we ride that next?”
Choi Mujin grabbed Haseo’s hand and pointed to a ride spinning wildly in the distance.
“…That one?”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“Well… I haven’t particularly been afraid before.”
“Then let’s go there. Since we got unlimited passes, we should try everything.”
“What?”
The ride he was dragged to crossed in an X-shape, cutting through the air and dropping. In the end, Haseo enjoyed that one quite a bit too. Each time they dropped from the air, his heart seemed to drop with it, and that thrill wasn’t bad at all. He had hoped that perhaps Choi Mujin might be scared, but that wasn’t the case. He rode with a bored expression throughout and stepped off afterward.
The Viking ship and train-type rides were all similar.
‘My heart, I feel like I won’t have any heart left!’
But he loved it so much. Later, Haseo took the lead in riding attractions, again and again. When they got tired, they sat on nearby benches and bought snacks to share.
“I don’t really like sweet things.”
Choi Mujin said this while tearing into a long churro.
“You’re eating it too well for someone who doesn’t like sweets.”
“Throwing away food is sinful.”
That’s true. They had paid money for it all, so they absolutely couldn’t leave any. It wasn’t extraordinarily delicious, but it wasn’t bad either. Perhaps it was because of the setting, but the food went down easily.
After finishing the churro, Choi Mujin gathered the remaining trash and said to Haseo:
“Now we should eat lunch.”
“We just had churros and shakes.”
“Those were snacks.”
Aren’t they usually eaten after meals? Since Choi Mujin had bought churros around lunchtime, Haseo thought that was lunch. As if reading Haseo’s thoughts, Choi Mujin denied it.
“Snacks can’t substitute for meals.”
“Then what do you want to eat for lunch?”
“I heard there’s a decent stew restaurant in here.”
“In an amusement park?”
“Thinking stew restaurants don’t exist in amusement parks is prejudice. This isn’t a place only children visit.”
Choi Mujin properly disposed of the trash and stood up. Haseo also stood up reflexively, and once again, Choi took his hand and began walking with large strides. Occasionally, passersby would look at their joined hands, but he didn’t care in the slightest.
“Is it okay to walk around holding hands like this?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? It would be troublesome if we separated and got lost, wouldn’t it?”
“Who would get lost? Me?”
Instead of answering, Choi Mujin returned a smile. While Haseo was dumbfounded, they arrived at the restaurant. The restaurant located in a corner didn’t just sell stew. The menu also included snacks like tteokbokki and fish cakes, as well as dishes like pork cutlet and omurice.
“Let’s go in.”
“Ah, yes.”
Haseo watched with curious eyes as the bunny ears dangling from Choi Mujin’s head hit the top of the open door. He was already tall, and with the added bunny ears, it was too much. As if just realizing he was wearing bunny ears, Choi Mujin removed the headband. Seeing this, Haseo quickly took off his bunny ears too and entered.
Choi Mujin unhesitatingly ordered stew at the kiosk and asked Haseo about his menu choice.
“What do you want to eat?”
“The same as you.”
Two servings of kimchi stew. After ordering that and sitting at an empty table, a ding-dong sound rang out soon after.
“It’s self-service here.”
Saying this, he handed the number tag to Haseo. It made sense that Choi Mujin, who was paying for the food, would do this, but it felt strange somehow. Usually, even when ordering something, Choi Mujin would often be the first to get up from his seat.
Haseo awkwardly stood up with the number tag in hand. He didn’t think he had been this shameless originally. At some point, he had become accustomed to Choi Mujin doing everything for him.
‘That’s not good.’
Who knows how the relationship might change later? From now on, he should take the initiative to prevent this kind of situation. Haseo inwardly vowed this as he approached the serving counter.
“Number 542~.”
The employee at the counter called the number again.
“Here’s number 542.”
Haseo handed over the number tag and casually looked up. And suddenly he realized. The face of the middle-aged woman standing before him was strangely familiar. He looked at her slowly, raising his eyes to meet her gaze.
In his childhood, one late night. Haseo had curled up on the cold floor, covered with a blanket, sniffling. This was after his mother had left, and he was alone with his father. His father rarely came home properly, and as a result, Haseo, left alone, couldn’t even have regular meals. The landlady occasionally brought him food out of pity, but she didn’t provide for him daily. Of course, she was still plenty kind.
It was just that Haseo was still too young, and even that wasn’t enough. He still remembered that time clearly. Holding his hungry stomach, he squeezed out dry tears as he thought of his departed mother.
What if mother never returns? What if father leaves too? Would he forget his mother’s face if he didn’t see her for a long time?
Haseo had raised his heavy body and searched through the drawers. He was hoping there might be photos left by his mother. But his mother had taken all the photos when she left. Among them were pictures taken with Haseo.
“Mom, Mom.”
Calling for his mother and crying, Haseo eventually fell asleep from exhaustion. And a few days later, his grandmother came looking for him. Perhaps if his grandmother hadn’t come then, Haseo might have died. Still, he didn’t resent his mother. She had protected and loved Haseo for a long time in the face of the threat that was his father.
Knowing this, he was able to refuse when Choi Mujin asked about his mother. If she had found happiness now, she should continue living that way. He didn’t want to drag his mother into his current situation. But now.
‘Why is my mother here?’
Haseo stared at the middle-aged woman, forgetting to take the stew.
“Number 542?”
The woman called the number again, and sensing something strange, she looked up. When she saw Haseo, her eyes widened.
“Huh?”
He wanted to shout “Mother” right away. Emotions he thought he had forgotten as he grew up crept out and urged him. Quickly, call her mother. And pour out resentment, anger, and love. But Haseo didn’t.
“Yes, I’m number 542.”
Haseo lifted the tray with the stew, raising the corners of his trembling lips. Then, pretending to be as calm as possible, he carried it to where Choi Mujin was sitting.
Clunk.
He put it down as if dropping it, causing the stew to splash here and there. But even in such a situation, Choi Mujin didn’t get angry at all. He just smiled with his eyes curved into crescents.
“Let’s eat quickly and leave.”
There was much he wanted to say, but he suppressed it heavily. From the serving counter, the gaze continued. Haseo deliberately ignored that gaze and forcibly pushed food into his mouth.
“You’ll get indigestion eating like that.”
Only then did Choi Mujin reach out and take the spoon from Haseo.
“Whether I get indigestion or not.”
Haseo said this and lowered his head deeply.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
