Chapter 122 – 122- The Story of the Past (1)
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Woo-jin, who could not stand the bullying and left early without notice.
Woojin headed to a nearby, remote playground.
And inside the slide, the deepest in the playground and invisible from the outside.
“I… Did something wrong…”
Woojin muted the sound inside the slide and began to cry out her unjust feelings.
“Kuuuuu”
Woo-jin, who wanted to shout and let go of this injustice, but died from the bullying he had suffered so far.
In case anyone else heard him crying, Woojin stood on his knees and lowered his head, slowly venting his emotions.
While I was sobbing, I heard someone’s voice.
“Why are you crying?”
It’s a woman’s voice, but it’s a bit low and hard-looking.
Woojin was startled and raised her head.
Blurred vision from tears.
It was hard to see, but Woojin, who thought he had to get out of here, changed his posture and tried to climb up the slide.
However, it was impossible to go up because it was a circular slide, and when I tried to break through, I couldn’t break through because the person who talked to me was blocking the entrance.
“Is there too much reaction? It’s the first time I’ve seen it today, and I’m not doing anything wrong…”
Perhaps because it was a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time, Woojin unconsciously tried to look at the other person’s face.
Woojin removes the tears with his sleeve and shifts his sight to look forward.
Then, a woman’s portrait was reflected in Woojin’s eyes.
The space I was in was blocked, so it was backlit, so I couldn’t see the other person’s figure, but I could infer that it was a woman based on her voice and silhouette.
“Who… Who?…”
“Who are you?”
“I am…”
Woo-jin was about to say her name, but she said it for nothing, but she didn’t say that she would be disadvantaged.
So, the two continued their silent confrontation with each other.
In the meantime, a loud sound came from somewhere.
Growling-
It wasn’t a sound coming from Woojin himself, it was a sound coming from someone blocking his way.
“Do you have anything to eat?”
“Yes? Um… Hang on… Here.”
Coincidentally, there was bread in my bag that I had received from lunch, so I handed it to the person in front of me.
Then she opened her bag right on the spot and pushed the bread in.
The bread was gone in an instant.
“Thanks. I was worried about what to do today, but I survived thanks to you.”
The voice is more lively than before.
“Because I can’t see your face well. Shall we go out and talk?
The woman blocking her entrance opened the way, and she told Woo-jin to come out.
It was a short time, but it was dazzling because I suddenly came out of a dark place into a bright place.
Woojin, who finished adjusting to the sunlight by raising her body, moved her gaze to a place where she could feel the presence of people.
Then, a woman taller than her stood in front of Woo-jin.
“Hey!”
Woojin screaming strangely.
Woojin’s height was still in the early 160’s because she was still growing up, and this woman who made her scream strangely at Woojin seemed to be well over 170 tall.
It could be said that she was quite tall for a woman.
“Why are you making weird noises?”
“Ah… No… No.”
As I said before, Woojin was in a state of high spirits.
To Woo-jin, this woman’s appearance was enough to bring Woo-jin’s PTSD.
Her clothes were moderately shortened, and her skin, which was visible here and there, was dyed with ink that was not flesh-colored, as if saying, ‘Let me play.’
The woman looked at her Ugin with her head snooping at her Ugin’s reaction.
“How old is your friend?”
“I’m… Fifteen… I’m…”
“I’m 19, am I a 4-year-old sister?”
…
“So, what is her name?”
Sia crosses her arms and glares at Woo-jin.
“Uh… What was his name… I can’t remember…”
In fact, Woojin remembered her name, but she was vague with Shia.
She would be uncomfortable as a girlfriend, and she didn’t want to hear Sia talking while calling another man’s name, so she didn’t want to make Sia uncomfortable by saying his name.
Sia frowned on her expression, but as if she understood Woojin’s intention, she untied her arms and relaxed her expression as well.
Seeing that, Woo-jin resumed her story.
“I’ll tell you later, with that sister and after that…”
…
The two, who had determined their rank by age, exchanged each other’s names.
Woo-jin was reluctant to say her own name, but she had nothing to do to tell him because her name was clearly written on the chest of her uniform.
“Baek Eun-seol?”
“Yes, silver. Baek Eun-seol.”
“Hmm…”
Silver snow
I don’t know if the Chinese character for her real name is correct, but the image of Eun-seol she sees is completely different from her white eyes.
Her slightly burnt brown skin and, as I said, the sparse tattoos all over her body, made her look far from what her name meant for her snow-white eyes.
“Why?”
“No… No…”
Woojin hid his gaze from her gaze at Eunseol and lowered her eyes.
She made Eun-seol uncomfortable for no reason, and it must be because she thought she could be hit.
“…”
Eun-seol, who was looking at Woo-jin like that, also brought up words to change the topic of her conversation, probably thinking that Woo-jin was scared.
“By the way, why were you crying in a secluded place like this? As far as I know, it’s still time to be at school.”
“That’s…”
Woo-jin said she didn’t want to tell others about the problems she was experiencing.
It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by telling others, she thought it was a problem she had to overcome herself.
And more than anything else, she thought telling others that she was an outcast was an act of shame, and she didn’t want to say it even more.
“You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to.”
Eun-seol stretched himself and headed for a nearby swing.
“Because at a glance, I think I can understand why.”
Eun-seol moves the swing by rolling his feet.
“I’ve been through it too”
“…”
Eun-seol gave a rebound by repeatedly folding and unfolding her long legs.
Woojin blankly watches him.
Eun-seol’s words were short, but had a great impact.
And he knew roughly that he was a person who had gone through the same pain as himself.
But there was something I didn’t understand.
No matter where you look, it doesn’t look like you’re going to be bullied…
Woo-jin decided to think that he must be pretending to comfort himself in moderation.
Watching Eun-seol on the swing, Woo-jin started asking questions about Eun-seol.
“Does your sister not go to school?”
“School?”
Eun-seol gave the swing a rebound to go higher and higher, and jumped from the high point and landed on the ground.
“I know. It’s been a while since I haven’t been.”
“…”
I didn’t ask why I didn’t go.
As Eun-seol said earlier, I don’t know the details, but I thought he might have quit because he was roughly similar to himself.
“I didn’t quit because of what you thought.”
“?”
Woo-jin is taken aback by Eun-seol’s words.
Woojin wondered if Eunseol was reading his mind.
“It’s just for a number of reasons. Just like you don’t tell me either, don’t you have any reason to tell me that we’re seeing each other for the first time today?”
Woojin has nothing to say.
Woojin could not stand up to Eunseol’s theory and just looked at Eunseol’s back.
Eun-seol turned around and looked at Woo-jin.
“I spend time here at this time. If you have nothing to do, come visit once in a while.”
Then he headed to a nearby corner bench, smoked a cigarette, and lit it.
When Woo-jin saw Eun-seol like that, he thought, “I shouldn’t get involved with that person,” And just headed home.
Fortunately, my parents were busy that day, so I didn’t mind myself.
…
Next day.
Woojin forgot yesterday’s promise and headed to the backyard playground again.
“I thought you wouldn’t come, did you?”
Eun-seol welcomes Woo-jin.
As Eun-seol said, Woo-jin had no intention of coming.
At first glance, I thought it was dangerous to get involved with Eun-seol, who looked like a bully, but Woo-jin was someone to talk to. Or maybe he went there because he wanted a friend.
“So, your name is…”
“Woojin. Seo Woo-jin.”
“Oh it was.”
As if their communication skills were up to that point, the two sat quietly on a bench under the shade of the same tree without saying much.
In such darkness.
Dull-
Eun-seol lit a cigarette in his pocket and lit it.
Worried about the smell of cigarettes permeating his clothes, Woo-jin walks away.
Eun-seol continued to smoke, and at some point threw the shortened cigarette on the floor and stepped on it to extinguish the embers.
While thinking that there would be silence again, Eun-seol opened her mouth to talk to Woo-jin.
“Do you have anything to eat?”
After hearing Eun-seol’s words, Woo-jin wanted to say that it’s okay to buy something to eat with the money you bought for cigarettes, but he didn’t hesitate to say anything to the person he thought was scary.
“Even bread like yesterday is fine. If you have it, I would like you to give it to me.”
I didn’t have any leftover bread like yesterday, but I had some money on hand.
Since his parents were busy, they gave Woo-jin a lot of money on his check card, claiming it was pocket money, so he had some money to spare.
“Wait a minute.”
Woojin got up and headed to a nearby convenience store.
She took snacks and drinks for herself and Eunseol and headed to the playground.
Someone might ask if he’s a bread shuttle when he sees himself, but Woojin just lives because he needs a friend to talk to.
More than that, he thought, nothing less.
At least for Woojin.
“It’s not because I’m scared.”
…
Upon returning, Woojin looked at Eunseol eating.
Eun-seol puffs up his cheeks like a hamster to the point where it’s questionable if he’s chewing.
As if to prove Eun-seol’s tall body, she ate almost all the snacks and drinks she bought so that the two of them could easily eat them.
It’s like being starved for days.
Seeing Eun-seol like that, Woo-jin felt that the fear he had felt from Eun-seol was halved.
Because of that, Woo-jin, whose wariness went down, was finally able to talk to Eun-seol properly.
“Are you starving?”
“Yes.”
Eun-seol replied immediately.
“What about the house? Aren’t you going home?”
“House?”
Eun-seol stopped holding the snack.
“I go in sometimes, but it’s not where I belong.”
Then he put on a slightly sad expression.
It seemed that something was going on at Eun-seol’s house.
I was curious about what was going on, but I didn’t ask.
It’s the second time I’m seeing it today, but you can’t dig deep.
While Woo-jin is thinking separately.
Eun-seol opened a can of ionic beverage and did a cool one-shot.
Just like that, Eun-seol’s meal(?) Ended.
“Thanks. Honestly, it was my limit, but thanks to that, I survived.”
Woo-jin felt that Eun-seol, who had been wondering if he had any vitality, had a little vitality.
I made a note in my head, saying, ‘This person will come alive if you give him something to eat.’
Woo-jin became curious about how Eun-seol, who is living a starving life like this, usually eats.
“Then how do you usually get something to eat?”
“When I’m really at my limit, I go home and eat, but I usually get scrap gimbap from a nearby convenience store and eat it.”
I don’t know if Eun-seol ran away or not, but it didn’t seem like a normal situation.
“Something… Something…”
Woojin felt a little sorry for Eunseol.
Even though she was bullied and bullied at school, she had a family to lean on and a home to return to.
However, as if Eun-seol had her own circumstances, it seemed that such a family and home did not exist.
To be precise, the house and family exist, but Eun-seol was not included in the family and felt strongly isolated.
It was true that Eun-seol’s appearance created a sense of incongruity to the point of being reminiscent of a bully, but perhaps it was because of these points and the way he treated himself amicably, Eun-seol started to feel less scary.
“Are you coming tomorrow too?”
His tone was a little stiff, but Woojin, who felt as if he wanted to come again tomorrow, had no choice but to nod at Eunseol’s question.
