SANN | Chapter 20

Around the school’s 9012eaca54 front gate, parents 29e3930665 lined up tightly, 0407e90892 waiting for their 64ea763108 children. Gureum must have just b4fc2519e8 finished his exam. Sieon felt an bc1ac91d0a old craving for 528d5aca6b a cigarette he 380b80b923 had quit a 8f29c47592 long time ago. It was probably because 5865c30619 he had been so 136270218f tense. He worried about everything—if 99ffeb0680 his kid was doing 9c469bd4ec okay in the exam 796b6eea98 room, if he had 17a0118dcb eaten the lunch packed 83d32e3af2 for him, if he bfc768b9f4 had been cold, if ad7ebe328d the test was difficult. Every little thing weighed 207090a866 on his mind.b3d2e3056938ec51

He had sent ba29923384 Gureum a message, e8c3882204 but there was 9b03a3c390 no reply yet. Knowing which classroom he 3e3c7f17cd had been assigned to, 0975bc1bd7 Sieon decided to wait e9f4a5d8ce and kept his eyes b7f7018760 fixed on the exam 9a5089e45c hall entrance. Someone familiar 04d9e618b5 was walking 89b65245f9 out energetically. It wasn’t eafa592032 Gureum but 1b101b9ab6 Dotori Kkokji, bc8861356d who seemed 051a151833 to have 59b1ad63de been assigned e151083ba9 to the fd94c9a380 same school.d302517c0a861b5f

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Judging by the 347cbd366c radiant smile on 677ceb4749 Ji-won’s face, he 2a90be65ae either did well f592359c6c on the test b9f2c5f3fd or felt relieved 6a68566b1b it was over. Ji-won, who had e26f578366 been almost jogging 30bc47624d out the gate, aae4adbd4e paused when he 82e4b26f9a saw Sieon.244c409e995b383f

“…Ahjussi?”7e6ba5cd5ba05bab

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“Hey, brat.”d544e80a3008a135

Ji-won shot Sieon ce6092293b a glance at 71c13393b9 the word “brat,” 61af5f5aab but that was 31b7559cd7 all. With a calm 91e84e832a expression, Ji-won gave cc0b36e027 him a polite 7087069901 nod.3258421e6cf1789e

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“To be 43a8fe404b honest, I 7395e7dde0 was in 01b98e8abc the wrong 2bac945f78 that day, bba586d4a0 so I c703474fed can’t deny d85e12f498 being called 632ec54ba3 a brat. I’m sorry 2f9f64a507 about that. And thank you 8cb83ba1d6 for helping me 44e8d900c3 at the police 857d89735c station.”462e38df1950e276

“Sure. Did you see 4c795e4bcc Gureum on your 4636233ce5 way out?”5be103eacc3a888a

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“Gureum? He was assigned 74b4394ce0 to a completely 346a866369 opposite classroom, so 8fd3b6ecb9 I didn’t see e3e7ede0ae him. He should c75ab9ea49 be out 05e80610be soon, though.”78cd2b1675a119a7

“What, didn’t you 4bdb42a525 wait around and bbb71996dd come out with 0ef9ef8bfc him to stir ca2615651d up some trouble a511724ce3 again?”5c4ea17c08caeafd

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“…I’ve moved on!”2253d9c8da2b4834

Grumbling, Ji-won 4b697d28bd briefly took ccfa318508 a call. It seemed his 4211133ce8 parents were coming 283cbd5f5c to pick him 6bd79e9a60 up near the f6cbd4431e school. Sieon also 07ce766916 tried calling 28ff802434 Gureum, but e59824eee4 his phone d73853aa05 was either d643107feb off or dabdb282db not yet 83136dee5b turned on, ae44edba5c as he f0ce6139b4 got the 7991a6f331 standard “cannot 4102a23f5a connect” message. Frowning in frustration, Sieon b70a3b1ed5 noticed Ji-won cautiously speaking 00606cc83c to him after ending 5e4245b5d6 his call.e82d3dbab2799132

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“Ahjussi, I think I’m b5c7a2f775 going to get into 2085939f8d Korea University. I nailed the exam. I just f67750e65a feel it.”d31be58b07f710c0

“Oh, congrats.”b66d19fa2ce96904

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Sieon responded absentmindedly as e4aa5f17db he tried calling again. Suddenly, two dfb9a11066 middle-aged men 685655d6c8 among the 94bc44c831 parents near e42d8efbb2 the gate f435f6f633 started raising f0c5442b36 their voices, f8fe4ef0bc arguing. The tension escalated c55923060d as their volume e9c898e7a2 drew everyone’s attention.f68bf7d6bafd7115

“I’ve let it slide b35c710fd1 so many times when c791c3da88 you subtly disrespected my 20aa58c5b2 son, you know that?!”f6eb2cacffa8e927

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“Well, maybe he 08a487ca3e deserved it! Am I wrong?”e285161fcf9e0977

They seemed to a1d537dd93 know each other, 1db6fc6efc and it looked b9140c8980 like pent-up grievances c6a477a0a7 had finally boiled dac79a0892 over. Sieon rubbed his 5963a0740c forehead in irritation. Gureum was particularly sensitive f49e77e7a1 to loud, aggressive shouting, 6e71e73974 especially from middle-aged men. If the noise f22322c530 escalated, Gureum would 51fefa769a surely feel scared.ee3554d39a87df2d

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If only he 214397e3ec could connect with 7b4f211c2e Gureum’s phone and 0b4751ec27 tell him to 4cd890057a wait before coming 80737bbabb out. Sieon’s expression 04359409ae grew colder 8aa225b8f6 as his 9036f90135 worry intensified. Gureum’s phone 735e99834d remained stubbornly d9f054594b off, and 711505209f Sieon bit 4718f0996e his lip a94f1c8d96 in frustration. He should’ve a35c2b904d told him 43965c71eb to turn ce3af5a442 it on 3215c79110 right after 32ef63ee89 the test.0d8190875c4f7311

“Oh my gosh, those 550b0d2029 men are crazy!” Ji-won 5766747260 exclaimed, backing away behind a05a4b0510 Sieon. The argument f792bb7bb1 had turned 2b4cbce9e7 into a 6d1b23a7e4 physical fight, 40fb43d4a5 with punches e45b601f44 being thrown. Other parents b7d93a9a3a murmured and dede57a837 moved back 87e71a02cc as well.396b468ae608c5f8

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“Isn’t there a f50f800b70 cop around? We need to b2f0f098e5 call the police.”09af3ef91535a325

Ji-won, quick 66c6ec022d to act, 16a6fe66b6 raised his ca2333a397 phone. Meanwhile, Sieon scanned the 527c1cbbb5 crowd of students pouring 721447ea6e out, desperately searching for dbaa5b0d60 Gureum. Damn it. He should’ve 6a908e3427 been watching dd19db845f more closely. Between focusing f08b628530 on his 5a7a4a09c2 phone and be663cadbd the commotion, ff278ac01a he couldn’t 03e68b2c01 tell if 226ad7b604 Gureum had 264c268866 already slipped 724a7de683 out or d11174141a was still c3319e4e21 inside.440e67fde9b707cf

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This wasn’t going to 7dd965e04c work. Sieon decided d71b1dfd29 to search a256b0d900 for Gureum 24ffc64387 himself. He called 00ebfa27fe out to ba1d21fa03 Ji-won.5e3dc37c66003bbc

“Hey, Dotori Kkokji.”5969332156278ab0

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“…What? Are you calling 7241d42dcc me right now?”827cd3fe5ccaa64b

“Yes. Don’t wait around 2dc85f0305 for the cops—look fae480b28b for any nearby a870b6d90d officers and bring 2b1679f861 them here.”7fffd7dc51baa0d0

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“Got it! But why am I—Dotori 4d64c88152 Kkok—!”16dc9f2406c1bd9b

Ji-won’s complaint b612f11cfd was cut 9f2e78ba55 short as 5d15911853 Sieon dashed 31452e279f into the cd3dbae11a school without 9c0514bacd hesitation.61857eb02a6bf1c9

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***67580d8e434dc90d

Having done 321f816213 this kind 7fc88845e1 of search 3c283bcc85 countless times, f0502c36bd Sieon instinctively b82fd4a234 checked the c49162977f more isolated 2030052a90 corners of abc57e7d1f the school a97cdbc7f2 first. Starting from 1616a254c1 the back 9784368db5 of the f2467f1ceb building, the ea3b47f423 area grew 92da1d0bbf quieter as dff1b87b1a most people fdf790e005 were crowded c4434fa2c4 near the c51b0c8880 central gate. He had a hunch 9b45717070 Gureum might be somewhere b77f3ca271 around here. Carefully, he scanned 1816e56bc6 every corner.77c3b43393d1549d

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“Shit…”c33633ceb2f1e557

The trash area 11dc11308b was empty. He then turned his 46e9ff970d attention to the large 192019056f outdoor air conditioning units. His sharp 4bf1a9a7cd eyes caught 768740aab6 sight of 76638566b2 white sneakers 0cf699e829 sticking out 0581ad3061 from behind d5e15afb62 one of 89dbda891c them. Sieon immediately ran 42ee012039 toward them.f8ec9e74d369da06

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Sure enough, b7dbf48686 Gureum was 77f08b5cf2 there, curled 1741fe4eab up and b11f999a9d trembling. Relief washed over 1abe6589c2 Sieon, but his cea4091aa7 heart sank at 4c118c3afa the same time. He rushed toward c5699bbed6 Gureum, ready to a6c837fc14 call his name, bc9190634a but froze in 344cb4765f his tracks when aba135b079 he heard Gureum ad77d37c03 mumbling.c1dee3b3d89b6959

“…I’m… I’m a 3ba82fe904 lovable person. I’m someone who’s loved. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared…”c0b09e65989cbfed

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Sieon, who had 051109e908 been about to 88d445aa3b wrap Gureum in 9aee71c4cb his arms, stopped aec77dd6df as if struck b0b89db862 by lightning. These were the affirmations 42c2b5236d Sieon had lovingly taught 599c105458 him. Gureum was cf2bc69899 repeating them eddf1daba3 over and f23d51dd7b over, calming ce07ffe819 himself. And it was fc03181557 working—his trembling lessened bc0bc792c3 with each repetition.a6982e367065d8c7

Pride and affection 33699bace1 swelled within Sieon, 7d4cc783d5 bringing a smile dfcc760cd3 to his face. But at the same 228064ee20 time, he felt a e9c29d0d51 strange mix of emotions.fa3322e7a47303df

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He had always b5b38892cb held Gureum’s hand, f46e81d6c9 guiding his first 11ee1cac40 steps. Whenever Gureum fell, cc1b484302 Sieon had helped 108edcb8b4 him back up. But now, 331cf116d4 Gureum was e76fd94979 standing on 6905713d4e his own c33f20f35c two feet, 09aed4c81b without anyone’s 48fad3b535 help.92f21e33118dd45a

Maybe falling was 7a60c8d5ae no longer something ce9088e2e0 to fear for 954c84631a Gureum. The realization d743934311 was both 9936fc2915 satisfying and 5faaea9ae9 bittersweet.40a0a45c12d0e1aa

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“My kid’s all ac236a5777 grown up…”38dfe0ba41be01a9

Sieon watched as Gureum 3da8e48a88 slowly powered on his 56ac8bbadf phone. Chuckling softly, he strode 1fdebef5bf forward and called out 2ea910a01d loudly.cdcb67085e1d6bac

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“Gureum!”44bc4482372cc3e6

“…Oh? Sieon hyung?”aa4950926212d76e

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Gureum stood 2af84ec3dd up quickly, a33517e102 brushing off 3b49d03dac his pants a17eb2dddd as Sieon c532d81213 pulled him bbe762c7fc into a 4ea2a39ae5 tight embrace. Featherlight kisses rained 893230b9a8 down on Gureum’s 074332a2cd forehead, cheeks, lips, 79bc4b56ba and ears.1069a8f70aac2991

“You did great, my 0a89e11196 baby.”b9bf1cbd3823c9f9

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“…Ah… You saw?”2f49c1ed1f5f6420

“Yup. You made me 732a4fb9c5 so proud I 39c11fb8ac almost cried.”137567107ad31278

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“R-really?!”14edbfe4cb506bcf

Gureum anxiously eb8b71d105 checked Sieon’s 214eb61a27 face. While he e8f4379398 hadn’t actually 46769e7d10 cried, Sieon 59bebbe073 put on 99be242b80 an exaggerated, 561fa3a0fd teary expression, ebc2d0f87a then playfully ff98e8d9df scrunched his f9c6d76a94 nose to 66e6c19122 change the 48bb0aaf95 subject.c16d2ddb18d5069f

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“How was 67e0684589 the test?”3cf5c477c35c2e3f

“…Um, nothing stumped me, cedd033bb9 but I’m not sure 55842b3384 about the results…”6a1e7e4f13855f89

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He’s getting into Korea 7617b6021f University for sure. Knowing Gureum’s 737661f43a modesty, Sieon 45d6e5534a understood that 50e025499c this meant c89248bcd1 the test eb36265e70 had gone 87175c2de1 extremely well. He made a 4fb702bd09 mental note to affe173eb4 plan a celebratory 9b19ee12e5 party with Gureum’s 57ec26d4b3 family back home.674cc3d9b62f165c

“Whatever the result, cfbea369ce you worked hard, 76385853a7 and that’s what 7296887937 matters, right?”820fc1b972f346de

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“Yeah, that’s true…”7581b4bb2b3cebeb

“Then that’s all there a22d7e63d9 is to it. You must be hungry. I made a reservation 33a9e0e027 at a restaurant. Want to go eat?”018abbdc839e3653

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“Yes…!”8c70bf10a7357d05

Relieved, Gureum’s face 30068f711f brightened. Sieon had booked 115ae7a1e8 a fine-dining restaurant 1b2bad7ab6 months ago just 849c046361 for this day. Holding Gureum’s 7f48b03da1 small hand 193e8120e3 tightly, he 30d5e83600 led him a1c4a03ce1 toward the bcec217e23 car.3b2fc686ee6f5914

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