#123
“Oh, is Mom coming?”
“Yes. She said she’ll be here soon, so let’s wait a little.”
“…Is Mom angry?”
“The teacher doesn’t know for sure.”
After saying this, the teacher left Ho-woo and went to what looked like an office. Time in his memory seemed to flow quite subjectively, as not long after, Ho-woo faced his mother with his own eyes for the first time. The person he had only seen in photos was moving so vividly.
“Ho-woo.”
It was an affectionate call mixed with a sigh and difficulty, but the small child’s body shrank. Looking around nervously, it seemed he was already feeling guilty, having committed similar acts before.
“Why did you fight today?”
Yeo Na-kyung’s face was gentle as she bent down to meet his eyes.
“You wouldn’t have fought for no reason, right?”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
Young Ho-woo answered grumpily and then tightly closed his mouth. Yeo Na-kyung didn’t scold him but held out her hand. Young Ho-woo firmly pushed his hand into hers and silently followed her.
“Since Ho-woo is going home early, we need to go to Mom’s workplace today.”
“……”
Yeo Na-kyung calmly continued speaking, as if soothing young Ho-woo, who had puffed up his cheeks and was pouting.
“There will be an older boy there.”
Young Ho-woo pretended not to listen but perked up his ears. His fidgeting hands fully revealed the small child’s curiosity.
“That boy is a bit sick, so he’s alone at home all day. How about you spend some time with him?”
Yeo Na-kyung carefully suggested to young Ho-woo. Young Ho-woo’s lukewarm sentiment was conveyed to Ho-woo, who shared his vision. Young Ho-woo didn’t have high expectations.
The time spent moving while holding his mother’s hand passed quickly, as if fast-forwarding a tape, perhaps because memory is subjective. As the surrounding space stretched out, Ho-woo found himself standing in front of a massive mansion in an instant. Unlike young Ho-woo, who was hesitant in the unfamiliar space, Ho-woo was speechless at the sight of the mansion. His confused mind felt dizzy, as if about to vomit.
How, how…
The view of the garden they crossed after passing through the large gate, and even the interior, were exactly the same. Although the furniture arrangement was different, the structure was a space Ho-woo couldn’t mistake.
It was the place where he was lying even now.
A faint anxiety raised its head above the surface. The monster of doubt revealed itself more clearly, flicking its forked tongue. Following Yeo Na-kyung’s guidance, young Ho-woo climbed to the second floor along the corridor Ho-woo knew well and stood in front of a door.
“Young master, I’m coming in.”
Creak-
Though opened carefully, the hinge made a small sound. It was a familiar scene inside the room, with dark curtains blocking the light. Only the bed had changed; most everything else was the same.
Nausea rose. He struggled to escape from the memory, but the memory was merciless. Like water that never flows backward once a channel is opened, Ho-woo was swept up in the fierce memory, rushing only towards the sea.
Yeo Na-kyung carefully lifted the child collapsed on the table and laid him on the bed. A familiar figure lay on the bed as if dead. Though the pale complexion and emaciated body were different from Ho-woo’s current memory, this face was unmistakable.
Young Ho-woo approached the bed quietly, full of curiosity. Standing on tiptoes like a cat, his eyes sparkled with pure fondness.
“Pretty.”
It was a pure admiration. As if instinctively drawn to beautiful things in their purity, the child clung to the bedside for a long time, gazing at the Oh-yul in his memory.
The delicate features, red lips contrasting with the pale face, eyelashes settled like down – all were beautiful. Yes, these were all the emotions his younger self had felt.
Ho-woo struggled with the rush of thoughts and emotions.
“You shouldn’t wake him up because he’s sick, okay?”
Yeo Na-kyung firmly instructed Ho-woo in a low voice, and even as she left the room, she peeked inside several times, seemingly worried. Young Ho-woo was staring at Oh-yul as if entranced.
It’s unclear how much time passed like this. Young Ho-woo, now accustomed to the sparkling face, quietly sat in a chair by the window and opened a fairy tale book that was in the room.
It was his favorite fairy tale. Young Ho-woo loved the part where the despised gray duckling became an elegant swan and spread its wings. Yeo Na-kyung said that every book has a lesson and told him to think about it carefully, but Ho-woo just liked it because the swan drawn in the book was pretty.
Rustle-, rustle-
The sound of pages turning echoed in the quiet room. In the silence where even breathing couldn’t be heard, young Ho-woo read the book seriously. It wasn’t clear whether he was looking at the book or the pictures. Because he could barely read half of the written words. Still, young Ho-woo, who was concentrating in his own way, suddenly felt a gaze on him.
When he turned his head following that gaze.
Ho-woo, trapped in the small body, faced the most shocking scene in the world.
“Wow!”
The small exclamation didn’t quite reach his ears. Until the small body jumped up and rushed to the bed, Ho-woo’s thoughts were frozen.
Small hands cupped the soft cheeks. The gaze of two wide-open eyes met in midair.
“Your eyes are so pretty!”
Eyes dyed in clear purple sparkled like jewels.
At that moment, while finding those eyes beautiful, Ho-woo was overwhelmed with despair. He felt like he was dying. He wanted to escape. He desperately wanted to fold this memory again and throw it in the trash.
“Ah! I was told to use polite speech with people older than me.”
Belatedly recalling Yeo Na-kyung’s words, Ho-woo climbed down from the bed and bowed at the waist. Oh-yul’s gaze followed young Ho-woo. The faintly wary purple eyes glistened like those of a wounded beast.
“Hello! I’m Lee Ho-woo! Is this how Mom told me to do it?”
But regardless of such wariness, young Ho-woo smiled gently with a blank face. A pure desire to be liked by the other person was reflected on his face. Small hands fidgeted, gripping the hem of his clothes. Though the tension between them had different meanings, a strange atmosphere filled the room.
“……”
“……”
Silence swirled around them once and disappeared. Oh-yul was the first to speak.
“Aren’t you scared of me?”
“You’re pretty!”
Young Ho-woo, openly expressing his pure fondness for Oh-yul, slowly approached the bed. Surprised by the fearless approach, Oh-yul on the bed instead moved back, looking bewildered.
One step forward, that much backward, another step forward, that much backward.
This retreat, repeated about three times, finally ended with Oh-yul cornered. Young Ho-woo at last reached the front of the bed and stretched out his hand again. Oh-yul, who had tightly closed his eyes at the approaching hand, let out a bemused “Ha” at the force patting his head.
Though troubled, Oh-yul didn’t push young Ho-woo away. He purred like a cat unable to bear the achingly nostalgic feeling of the awkward hand stroking his head.
“Are you really not scared of me at all?”
“Huh? Why would I be scared?”
Young Ho-woo tilted his head as if hearing an incomprehensible question. At this reaction, Oh-yul muttered, “Right. Why are they scared?” casting a dark shadow on his face unlike a child.
But the pure child, unaware of this subtle shade, straightforwardly expressed his pure impressions.
“You’re pretty. You’re sparkling.”
Oh-yul gently embraced young Ho-woo, who was clinging to him with puppy-like sparkling eyes. Feeling the child’s unique warm body temperature and smelling the soft milky scent, the purple eyes closed slowly.
“You said your name was Ho-woo, right?”
“Yes, I’m Lee Ho-woo.”
“How old are you?”
“Seven years old!”
Young Ho-woo lay down on the bed, using Oh-yul’s leg as a pillow. The child, bold enough not to be shy at their first meeting, found the deep purple eyes that everyone in this house feared merely fascinating.
Like sparkling jewels.
Young Ho-woo’s thoughts flowed to Ho-woo, who was watching the memory. Oh-yul’s eyes, shining in the light, were as beautiful and elegant as precious gems.
Once, Oh-yul had persistently asked Ho-woo which part of him was the prettiest.
At that time, he had answered that Oh-yul’s eyes were the prettiest.
Oh-yul had paused briefly at Ho-woo’s answer then. If he had recalled this moment, it wasn’t because the answer was unexpected…
‘Then, how about purple instead of blue?’
What thoughts had prompted this question? Why had Oh-yul pretended not to know anything when dealing with him?
Why, why did this memory have to be forgotten?
Many things were still confusing.
Even as Ho-woo failed to concentrate on the memory, young Ho-woo and Oh-yul sat leaning against each other, holding each other tightly. Until the tea-colored sunset rippled through the window.
As they told each other their names and Oh-yul listened to young Ho-woo talk about the fight that had happened today, he nodded. It might be trivial or boring to some, but at this moment, he was the most understanding person in the world for Ho-woo.
