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Then at Lucy’s words, Chayeon added that he had worked hard. Duho grumbled that it had been difficult waiting for Lucy, who was the next to film but had chickened out saying it was scary after only dipping his toes in the water before even going in.
It was, how should he put it. The conversation had a strangely good back-and-forth, and only then did Bunhong really feel that they were a team.
But strangely enough,
‘We’re all together, there are so many people around me like this.’
……it also felt like he was alone. It was starting again. This sensation like an impurity that couldn’t mix in and was floating around by itself. While everyone was chattering away, Bunhong felt emptiness and pulled his knees up, hugged them with both arms, then continued watching the music video. They were watching it on repeat when the manager checked something in a corner where he wouldn’t be caught on camera, then shouted.
“Wow, amazing! This is crazy!”
Everyone rushed over at that scream and hurriedly checked the rankings, and surprisingly, they had succeeded in charting. Not only that, but they were in the top 10. Considering that before Lee Hanbit joined they hadn’t even made it into the rankings at all, it was an amazing achievement.
They posted a thank you message along with a selfie they all took together through the official account the company had prepared in advance. Everyone disbanded in good spirits and got in the car to go to the dorms, when the manager who was driving suddenly spoke to Bunhong as if he had suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
“Oh right, Bunhong, a package came for you.”
“A package?”
“Yeah. I picked it up and put it in the back, so take it with you before you go into your room later.”
Bunhong, who had been puzzled, rushed into his room carrying the package the manager had mentioned as soon as they arrived at the dorm.
“……What is this?”
When he unwrapped the outer packaging, it was carefully wrapped several more layers with newspaper inside. When he completely peeled all of that off, something rolled onto the soft blanket with a thud. When he turned over what had fallen upside down, glitter spilled out. The object was a water globe.
Bunhong looked at the glitter falling over the small house embedded in the glass sphere, then picked up what looked like a letter that had fallen on the bed with trembling hands. He seemed to have been so distracted unwrapping the package that he didn’t notice it had been pushed all the way to the foot of the bed.
‘This is definitely……’
“I’m a fan. I hope you’ll always be filled with good things.”
It was definitely familiar content, familiar handwriting.
After examining it for a while, Bunhong quickly realized that this item coming to him wasn’t simply a coincidence. Because not only the handwriting and content, but even the letter paper all matched what he had received from a fan before his regression.
However, the watch he had received back then was already in Bunhong’s possession, and everything was identical except that the contents had changed from a watch to a water globe.
‘How interesting.’
Back then and now too. How could someone know about the rookie group BLACK, and among them, know about him specifically to send such a gift? He was curious about the path that led them to like him.
When he observed the inside of the water globe, there was also a small boy inside the tiny house. He was holding a telescope and looking out the window. Bunhong thought, trapped inside this small glass sphere, what could the child be endlessly watching? When he lightly tapped the water globe with his finger, the glitter poured toward one spot. The destination was within the boy’s field of vision.
“Hey, he looks like me.”
Like the boy in the water globe, he was born to be that kind of person. Rather than focusing on reality, he always looked for stars that couldn’t even be seen. Like the star-shaped glow-in-the-dark stickers that revealed their subtle presence on the ceiling the moment the lights were turned off, he believed that stars existed somewhere even if they weren’t visible right before his eyes.
That’s why he might have been lonely, Bunhong reflected on his emotions. Before darkness came, even if they existed, they couldn’t be seen, so it couldn’t be helped. That’s why in broad daylight, it felt like he was left completely alone in this world.
“……Wow!”
But now, at least in this moment, the water globe that sparkled even in daylight was a star to Bunhong.
‘Who could it be? The person who sent me this gift. My first fan.’
This was the first time he’d felt like this. All this time, he had always felt like a foreigner on a distant planet. What always comforted such a Bunhong was songs. Unlike the comfort that others casually uttered and forgot, songs were beings that truly and genuinely soothed the heart.
Perhaps the reason he first started music was also because he hoped that if the narrators in the songs whose frequency uniquely matched his were scattered throughout various places on the planet Earth, they would recognize him. Just as Bunhong had recognized them, someday they too would recognize him.
Before regression and after regression too. Sincerity that had traveled through time to find him. If he could write back, it would be such great comfort, and he wanted to convey that he was truly grateful. Wiping away the tears that had begun to form in his large eyes, Bunhong buried his face in his pillow.
He hadn’t even cried properly, but when he lifted his head after a while, there were completely soaked marks left on the pillow.
* * *
“……Tell me. Did I make some mistake?”
It was already the twenty-fourth question just today. The manager, who had grown properly sick of Hangeul’s endless questioning, let out a deep sigh. He was about to be ground to powder from listening to his laments.
“If you’re that regretful about it, I’ve told you countless times to contact him first yourself.”
Recently, Hangeul’s manager had begun to feel a massive disillusionment and started to think his job was an extreme occupation.
As always, it wasn’t because of the many schedules. It was purely the frustrated emotion from not being able to shut up that mouth that constantly chattered beside him, when in reality there wasn’t even a speck of intention to listen to his advice.
Whether he knew that feeling or not, Hangeul repeated in a dejected voice again and whined like a puppy.
“If I could have done that, I would have done it already…… The problem is that it’s not easy to put thoughts into action.”
“That aside,”
The manager frowned and then asked Hangeul,
“……When are you really going to cut that hair?”
It had already been several months since Hangeul impulsively started growing out the back of his hair. Was it because he had neglected it, thinking how long could this whim last, and forgotten his duty as a manager? He had thought it was simply for stress relief after finishing a project, but before he knew it, the hair length had grown long enough to touch his shoulder line.
Then Hangeul, who had been fiddling with the back of his hair, said,
“When the contact I’m waiting for comes?”
“……”
“I’m serious.”
I really mean it. Unable to confess that far, Hangeul began to sink into memories of the past.
So he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but when all this started was probably from that day when Bunhong had left him behind and moved away.
‘Contact me, I won’t even change my number and will wait obediently!’
Hangeul was sure he had spoken that honestly. But one day, two days, and even after several days passed, no contact came. Though he said he would wait, in reality, after that he was also busy living each day safely while suffering from endless schedules, so Hangeul was also out of his mind.
He thought he had forgotten completely about Bunhong like that, but then one day, he was in the car after schedules ended as usual and they got caught at a changed traffic light, temporarily stuck on the road.
When he looked out the window with more leisure, the place where past Hangeul had done street performances suddenly caught his eye from far away. At that moment, Hangeul was captivated by that sight as if time had stopped. At the same time, as if seeing the same scenery, one of the OORA members in the front seat shouted.
“Wow, it’s really snowing a lot.”
The manager said worriedly that the traffic situation on the road might get even worse at this rate.
As if those words were a preview, it soon began to snow fiercely, incomparably more than that day when the first snow fell. Perhaps because of the weather, unlike back then when the streets were overflowing with audiences, it was so quiet that not even a mouse could be seen.
The falling snow was piling up layer upon layer on the street in an instant, like a white eraser that would erase everything. Strangely, at that moment, everything that had been blurry in Hangeul’s mind became clear. The memories he had forgotten, and the emotions too.
Moisture was fogging up the car’s windows. As his finger moved slowly over it, a path was naturally drawn following its end.
Realization came suddenly like that. Hangeul hugged his head full of anguish and muttered helplessly while bending his back.
“……I didn’t know, but I was really waiting.”
Surprised by the somewhat melancholy voice, everyone looked up and peered toward the back seat. Hangeul, whose expression had changed instantly, indirectly expressed his wishes to them, asking them to please withdraw their uncomfortable interest.
“What are you looking at?”
Then, as if Hangeul’s attitude was ridiculous, someone’s laughter echoed through the car.
“Why is he like that? Did he suddenly go crazy?”
“Leave him alone. He must have been rejected or something.”
“The great Oh Hangeul……?”
“Youngest! Are you finally dating? With who?”
The OORA member hyungs started writing their own stories among themselves, chattering about what was so interesting, so Hangeul decided to properly ignore them and grumbled while hugging the seatbelt around his body.
“Tch…… You all don’t even know my heart.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
