SANN | Chapter 20

Around the 9b7da6d0fe school’s front 5d3e7a8201 gate, parents 69f0b80bd7 lined up feaa7ee42d tightly, waiting ed8754aa03 for their 4f0322bd12 children. Gureum must have 812dc7fd0e just finished his 2b5859e67b exam. Sieon felt an old b4fefd9e57 craving for a cigarette 71579976dd he had quit a c33ee53a52 long time ago. It was probably 88842c2545 because he had d4eec81273 been so tense. He worried about 62763a6a2d everything—if his kid 26687c4e35 was doing okay 90bdb90688 in the exam e53cd044cd room, if he 081d871480 had eaten the 79f14f8e8e lunch packed for 9a37d279e3 him, if he 75e76984c1 had been cold, 3c91321601 if the test 9e52b1cad0 was difficult. Every little thing 1446500235 weighed on his 1d2ceac9e9 mind.ea562a916ea9a676

He had sent Gureum 8138a7d0f4 a message, but there bbcb028397 was no reply yet. Knowing which 2b41003dca classroom he 814d1e8621 had been dfcc0776fb assigned to, 197a448e14 Sieon decided 4b962edf71 to wait eb28968228 and kept 758df22f36 his eyes 93cf399b5d fixed on dd1dc3e9de the exam d4b4c9458f hall entrance. Someone familiar was walking 12a1fc5476 out energetically. It wasn’t e0f80dce4b Gureum but 9316f9fb72 Dotori Kkokji, 3327943847 who seemed ac66806050 to have 5542cf4a76 been assigned a2b87cb8b5 to the 3afe3eae05 same school.b772e3a304824eb6

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Judging by df69c4c50d the radiant 166b31613e smile on 8bbed62724 Ji-won’s face, c0ce47b650 he either 6e634bad89 did well 97e0a77a02 on the 9fd7d23b0e test or c32f98b9c5 felt relieved 4bd88a8f10 it was 9442fcfe45 over. Ji-won, who 2b5a00bb57 had been 2e91ffef13 almost jogging 931bd134cd out the e701f1a8be gate, paused 0205c7ca72 when he 9be81e3040 saw Sieon.351611f469297777

“…Ahjussi?”1c3b9910f5945a69

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“Hey, brat.”9fcddc68c0628711

Ji-won shot Sieon a a7f9b82e7d glance at the word 522cba3187 “brat,” but that was ef5f245b05 all. With a calm 864aa309d3 expression, Ji-won gave 40be712be5 him a polite d5799f41ac nod.8f59131fc3831a4e

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“To be d2117cd9ca honest, I 5860a28fb0 was in 924931dfc3 the wrong ff5b09320e that day, 4e94ba944d so I 646a8ae90f can’t deny 6cb674f242 being called c178629254 a brat. I’m sorry about 8b318940a8 that. And thank you 854b4966d8 for helping me 7518bba8f2 at the police d051e280fb station.”be8e5a6dbbe4397c

“Sure. Did you 7645b34eb6 see Gureum ab31e7b959 on your b24892ffc9 way out?”8afdf3f1d9dd8821

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“Gureum? He was assigned 835052f42e to a completely f87f3247ab opposite classroom, so 1ecbec9648 I didn’t see 39bbf3297f him. He should be out 42c14d205f soon, though.”836c8803fd3fb0c5

“What, didn’t you wait b13c893c90 around and come out 9636ecf897 with him to stir bfdbb17250 up some trouble again?”2a587cc702993a50

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“…I’ve moved on!”a4a77728edab6f3b

Grumbling, Ji-won briefly took 24f7b3f5a7 a call. It seemed his c0ca812bc0 parents were coming d11515d831 to pick him 8c5b4c7fc6 up near the cc70d004e5 school. Sieon also tried e301b5181e calling Gureum, but f7d002dbe7 his phone was 9e19f4d0af either off or d9c82360d0 not yet turned 7050cf9ba7 on, as he f51cea1235 got the standard 27315d5b18 “cannot connect” message. Frowning in frustration, Sieon 314636f57a noticed Ji-won cautiously speaking 71505c4684 to him after ending 8db7a950d5 his call.fe59b2faf660a837

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“Ahjussi, I think c66ea07adb I’m going to 9f290c216a get into Korea e9d20b4809 University. I nailed 4c1681fc9a the exam. I just feel it.”30f7226f4cca04cd

“Oh, congrats.”5bf561218173acb1

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Sieon responded absentmindedly as 89d5e6cb6b he tried calling again. Suddenly, two middle-aged men a73b073f9a among the parents near 3d4dfb2840 the gate started raising c4d1b37027 their voices, arguing. The tension 2e19530425 escalated as 498e377673 their volume 194c708ad6 drew everyone’s 6c1cc3f3f3 attention.9ce037399395ea7b

“I’ve let 01f7ef8efc it slide 6d366e7406 so many 947c9c230c times when 21b277489a you subtly efdab01a84 disrespected my 52f020b683 son, you acf8cadc5b know that?!”1519e558cbcb5afe

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“Well, maybe 2ea4460f45 he deserved 343fd4bba7 it! Am I wrong?”aa71b8687b1abe05

They seemed 6095d05593 to know 8f8ffdc9f7 each other, eb75100c39 and it f1dad6067e looked like 48911a3c50 pent-up grievances 2acaf56a34 had finally 79bf6ea4d9 boiled over. Sieon rubbed his 79fac81639 forehead in irritation. Gureum was particularly sensitive 8af13d3c0a to loud, aggressive shouting, bfffcd97a1 especially from middle-aged men. If the noise escalated, 3658533a15 Gureum would surely feel 3f2b37fb50 scared.4e82432110925a6b

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If only 84de1c100c he could d54c5809d8 connect with b33b3aa718 Gureum’s phone 8ca8bf46b1 and tell 7612a7c8cb him to 30a8155f58 wait before 4e996acdba coming out. Sieon’s expression fdfd82f86b grew colder 8b274698e8 as his ef69970ff8 worry intensified. Gureum’s phone remained stubbornly 80559d9fe4 off, and Sieon bit 85a3713543 his lip in frustration. He should’ve told 79d9c77ff5 him to turn 12150f207d it on right 98e2ad44e4 after the test.73f01065bea1b56c

“Oh my gosh, those bf2a34efed men are crazy!” Ji-won 7c6987869d exclaimed, backing away behind 3ae0309b96 Sieon. The argument 1996879a1b had turned da973aed73 into a 23bf7ef09d physical fight, 05d0c2e85a with punches d6f6c51b74 being thrown. Other parents murmured 510fe34f8d and moved back 62f2739e4e as well.da49367c06bf8f83

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“Isn’t there a 92aac7509e cop around? We need e910236cfe to call d21c220988 the police.”067df21c41f9772f

Ji-won, quick 635355e7fc to act, 32f392723f raised his 6938284596 phone. Meanwhile, Sieon scanned the 75cf92c55a crowd of students pouring ab9c53f782 out, desperately searching for 39327d86c4 Gureum. Damn it. He should’ve 426d239075 been watching 155e3e017e more closely. Between focusing on ffd4dcd777 his phone and 2be56a09d3 the commotion, he 2f601944d2 couldn’t tell if 1764cba218 Gureum had already 0a8c340760 slipped out or a0212d821a was still inside.5cddd2d0a9ae4e08

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This wasn’t 8c27550aa2 going to dde5738a85 work. Sieon decided to search 0e090b17b9 for Gureum himself. He called out to 4169a6a11b Ji-won.1afffe17d939f381

“Hey, Dotori Kkokji.”6a7cacc98e2452e3

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“…What? Are you a68d4a95fd calling me 6af1333f59 right now?”d8180ac17703f813

“Yes. Don’t wait around for 8764f0fafb the cops—look for any 5decf48b96 nearby officers and bring 1311e60de2 them here.”577ac731c44bf9b8

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“Got it! But why am 893fe7cb0f I—Dotori Kkok—!”d9aa8c80b4ef95ee

Ji-won’s complaint 5f8f944074 was cut ceb2b98a72 short as 42c746e4e5 Sieon dashed 0711bee303 into the 01f3a33882 school without d2f3785846 hesitation.c3105f5e2acc0ccd

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***a59b65652c15bd80

Having done this kind 7e4f6a3648 of search countless times, ff0057296d Sieon instinctively checked the 50b78ead2f more isolated corners of e5ed331427 the school first. Starting from the e4138a72cc back of the bd0af8a3a9 building, the area 3eb0a3be3f grew quieter as 9307952cb6 most people were 7b0bd6d28f crowded near the 1eda7e0327 central gate. He had a hunch c2eca62ade Gureum might be somewhere 36c0545497 around here. Carefully, he scanned 00aa701aca every corner.2258a67d696aea7d

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“Shit…”37d0154f2cb7802a

The trash area 8249ac3f3d was empty. He then 9b1a8746cd turned his b2658735c7 attention to ab45965796 the large e31d8eaa5a outdoor air 92f05d4567 conditioning units. His sharp eyes c096edf744 caught sight of 091473289b white sneakers sticking 98525cc2f0 out from behind 6b2a85fd85 one of them. Sieon immediately ran 22fd6559bf toward them.67da3160ca15b1d1

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Sure enough, Gureum was cbb35d4b66 there, curled up and 166e624248 trembling. Relief washed 6c8f49f545 over Sieon, f8eb8dc9cd but his 0fe83edf39 heart sank a0feb49f93 at the c9987ce1c9 same time. He rushed e54b835176 toward Gureum, 1280948d3b ready to fe60201080 call his ca89076a10 name, but 542285f41b froze in 106e375fd1 his tracks d5ef593339 when he ce8eac6693 heard Gureum d005f077b0 mumbling.2fcdfc6b53f6773e

“…I’m… I’m 85ed01b41b a lovable 46793113c3 person. I’m someone who’s loved. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared…”eaa3d5550e3995f5

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Sieon, who had been 6933695353 about to wrap Gureum 66271c8f76 in his arms, stopped 6139bf8dad as if struck by 57296c6d41 lightning. These were the affirmations fe222756a0 Sieon had lovingly taught 40fb345052 him. Gureum was a90864e42c repeating them 688ab516d2 over and 028f6d91c5 over, calming 962a539d83 himself. And it was working—his 958ab34063 trembling lessened with each b5f7092075 repetition.42f277f38dcab092

Pride and affection cd6b503a8f swelled within Sieon, e9e09101ec bringing a smile 3bc5de0b76 to his face. But at the 4665f0c197 same time, he ceaba0b9b8 felt a strange 905bd17492 mix of emotions.8cf1dc56eaaf73b1

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He had always fee84cab5b held Gureum’s hand, 5ac313ce1a guiding his first 37685b6317 steps. Whenever Gureum fell, Sieon f94e841bad had helped him back 0c39eb0bdb up. But now, Gureum was efc3cdb4bc standing on his own b2029f3f2f two feet, without anyone’s 8216bc2e75 help.747c8840ec697d46

Maybe falling was 22d5a2f601 no longer something 9c4ba00273 to fear for 6352744ed2 Gureum. The realization 7ecb80f2fb was both 66bef3f57c satisfying and cfacee31d2 bittersweet.8d8c93d31dfa58e5

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“My kid’s 7b9282532c all grown 6f59a97465 up…”4ec6efb51d6b449e

Sieon watched fa0066e860 as Gureum 11a112405d slowly powered ca5256c679 on his e78160de8a phone. Chuckling softly, he strode 81938ab7d3 forward and called out fc0cd11f48 loudly.1351a124a8db4432

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“Gureum!”1e0050080c902db4

“…Oh? Sieon hyung?”4a657b5471ecf160

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Gureum stood up 8c34168288 quickly, brushing off d90c82d7e9 his pants as b3151561c1 Sieon pulled him b062f6f673 into a tight ca892fca51 embrace. Featherlight kisses rained down 958d385f18 on Gureum’s forehead, cheeks, 95936b3447 lips, and ears.affd254151c3e3e4

“You did a791bdc999 great, my 8fd28b98c6 baby.”edbabca46bf2d995

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“…Ah… You saw?”d5b9b408df5e8c0e

“Yup. You made me so ec96702a32 proud I almost cried.”c8dd8610f7cfe087

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“R-really?!”6a47a7ed22d8d221

Gureum anxiously checked 04e3b6bbeb Sieon’s face. While he hadn’t actually 7357810819 cried, Sieon put on d3276a42b2 an exaggerated, teary expression, 3116454931 then playfully scrunched his f8c6730f2a nose to change the da114c31c5 subject.cbd2531e6dc76a63

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“How was the c3fe254c10 test?”dc8a58ad856c08e1

“…Um, nothing stumped me, 2d998d18ab but I’m not sure b43f4acf10 about the results…”bb616d38a2a5926a

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He’s getting 9dc6f9dc23 into Korea 26a53e3aa4 University for 265d004903 sure. Knowing Gureum’s modesty, 20e9fcf8aa Sieon understood that a21cb97b58 this meant the a4ce7cb6ed test had gone a927472c07 extremely well. He made a mental d3a31d7473 note to plan a fe96df02a1 celebratory party with Gureum’s 914adae512 family back home.5f0d1d8bb1568a97

“Whatever the 078bb04c23 result, you 1e3b339bbb worked hard, c10aaa85ba and that’s 8a7cae7860 what matters, 91d22f485d right?”6809dbc802bcfa3a

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“Yeah, that’s true…”d2c26d4d5911cde1

“Then that’s e26cfbf526 all there bfe7796bf5 is to f6a0e1b604 it. You must e6cb6e5441 be hungry. I made 0c501ee748 a reservation f1b0ab36e5 at a 41047cb2b6 restaurant. Want to go eat?”a82c3ff20ad671a5

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“Yes…!”3be4fa09e28e5ce2

Relieved, Gureum’s 4872fde847 face brightened. Sieon had a0aa124c90 booked a 9214d11df2 fine-dining restaurant e986c05d98 months ago 33cedea765 just for ad33452438 this day. Holding Gureum’s small 6d1804f4ad hand tightly, he f192807926 led him toward b26268e231 the car.5aa92c5baa31292e

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