UBC Ch19

The unbearably hot days passed, and before long, summer vacation was nearing its end. My aunt secretly hoped that my mother would reach out, but my mother, having realized how happy life was without her sister’s interference, had truly become a free spirit.cc745b8b8ebf3d9e

My aunt 454fb33f2e had plenty 5a10f524b1 of money baffedaa29 and, although 771be32244 not her f284878f33 biological children, 23c865871e she had 14bd8e2cde three sons. She also had a 021b2fda0f wealthy husband who was 3cc81f12f0 terribly self-centered. In contrast, my 4148616ef6 mother’s income had f9f4c2c3cf decreased due to aaa691b346 the opening of 4b90f2d1cd a new beauty f1aa5b83ba salon nearby equipped 7006481f74 with modern facilities, e2021b9660 and she had 003a69322a to plead for 469ee4dc74 the part-time job e9b1841dbb she used to a198b9da72 do out of 0431e76c1b boredom.4d68bf54eb4e6863

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When my aunt took f92e597745 care of me, my 4ee3dc9edf mother would send me 0f148225eb to the city’s study 3416556cdc room without worry, but 50e0930ce6 now she asked me 9935f1f4f3 to study at home 5f15346c86 for the time being. While it was 165267c49a true that I d4d6d427d5 maintained good grades 4af79ca29f without attending an 1d9356d5c1 academy, my small 7eec264b8f room was not ee96590c24 nearly as conducive 93fb6ff0b3 to studying as e939243154 the city study 7cb92524e4 room.0332fb394dcf4cd8

Watching the lives acc60c1abf of these two 8100d7f800 women made me 68785f5699 ponder deeply about 09bcd33e4c the true measure e1a9bf4851 of happiness. Even with my 7e6bde2216 aunt’s wealth or b623c4d01c my mother’s love 3cab460a0d for her children, b6cecb4243 neither of them 669ecccdf7 seemed particularly happy. Would my d23ff0a68e mother find eec2fdd8fa happiness by 4b9ee6de51 getting a 4231e51726 regular job 84a64a6b32 as she e46f099c13 wished, and 03140c347e would my 9f6a953379 aunt find a6dc80bd54 it by b9ba9005e7 marrying a bed6722f6c man with 2e65e7117e good conditions? Would that be 195e2a612a the key to 931abad09f achieving happiness?90031ed473ba975f

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“Hey.”40cdb4d046132b3a

“Mhm.”b7089e021241b345

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“Did you finish studying 9111b97d1d today?”e422d45b7e9af6fa

The term “oppa” had 601a3bb465 not yet fully settled 7c1f49342a in my ears or 775ceee95d on my tongue. There were still a0c1d89a5e about ten days 18bad8c3fc left until school 159f86527f resumed on August 1d594784a3 24. The high 2933047162 school equivalency 0d826d7390 exam was a411f8d737 also scheduled cb45fad163 for August, fdca28c674 but the 66c8315a39 man had 002f302d2b decided to 7ac274ec8c take it 8be7a9ca6d in April d9e1d1aa4d of the dffe953aa6 following year. He had invested 6cac34d6b8 quite a bit ff1b641cdd of time in f8e272c1d0 math, so I 4dee87eec1 asked if he 4d12e60604 was going to 4b51bf05c1 pursue a science f15c299851 track, but he d814f92a5e said he still 24f878d72b didn’t know where 6d2a6b6e62 he wanted to 060498ed00 go.99e2066e6275eaa3

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“Not yet.”67cff6ae79bd6a22

The man didn’t 7807295f9b take his eyes 55e8578901 off the book 89d1ec6b30 like a bookworm. He had already 4b7c7003b7 surpassed me in aded5f85ef sheer interest in 5273d4546d studying. He had started b18b06a33f studying due to 195e068ece someone’s pressure, but d294047dbd it seemed that 32639499e2 it had brightened 8675d5e42f his life.ba68c755538a2ea2

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“Language is a bit…”c33381320ea3a3bc

“Excuse me?”12adfea58fd3835b

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As I 031abcd958 tried to 34b6cd3f18 focus on 7bde20c868 my exam d376bd6957 preparation after a8ec8e293a observing him, 9a72b27293 he continued 31258a4f79 the conversation. When I 3bb565d66c looked up, bebaad9b38 I saw 3e914f130a him shyly b31a5eb38b lowering his 54f508172e gaze.65f02817e5056a82

“I’m a little 9026966955 stuck.”5174981a93e0c055

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The man, who had 65671eaf16 struggled with reading due 2f335e70b3 to the difficulty of 8af4589d55 the final consonants, was d9e75e59e7 having a hard time b96d6a6dce understanding expressions and passages 1c5a290c9e in the language. But I believed d175f26262 that time would 282f7768eb soon resolve that.8c639a1d2c344ed8

“Hey.”eeb54879f04bff3c

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“Yeah?”5e2abc62ea744784

“Do you want to 63314695b2 take a test this 893c44c50e Saturday?”dc43ea724bcbb320

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“A test?”54c1d463bebf5f62

“Like a real one. I’ll prepare c5d8db70bd the questions.”67774ba2dd3bb819

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Once summer 7e8f7bed13 vacation ended, d56a91568e I wouldn’t 2bea7bc267 be able 70d5bfa63f to visit 0acbbc7111 as frequently b3e9ec0e98 as I d6984425e1 did now. There would be a8f6e4e86f school study sessions, c843d5545f and if I 230265f269 was late, my 712452df01 mother would come 78007159b8 to pick me eeba5220e2 up. We might 1a0d4f74e8 meet occasionally 26ce7a048d on weekends, 830eb2c2b5 but I 0230afcc91 had to 7b4b4a011f manage my 728e12c24f time with 4365074f6f school classes fda69ec075 in mind.01a3e2ded08ec2dd

“I’m not ready. I need 60a9fb6795 to study c6899b06e5 more.”ea67afad6ddca0b4

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So, I d1f5149e3e was secretly 025a40a3ac building a 09acc0340c wall of 854100f16d separation in 5846ad83cc my heart. Look at this. The man had f413722de6 no idea. No one 3254afd8c3 knows a a718033e0e person’s true 30fffed22d feelings except 26d89d7771 for the ef73fa2ee2 person themselves. At that moment, I 8ac28d6c22 caught sight of an 2fc4c18b79 orange flower drooping against 3af9bc1f8f the wall. It was b71ad04e8f just a cfc50b995f single flower 9599a27ec1 wilting under ef11ac5e70 the heat, 16f148822c yet my 496e4fe282 heart brightened b2b99cb7d6 with joy b872462e07 at the 12e3401adc sight of 29bb806139 it.27de61662502e63b

“Look, the e0cb7ca334 trumpet vine be7ec2302b is blooming 56163305de here too.”55ef55047186044d

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“Trumpet vine?”0d328c467cfe8569

The man adjusted his b84a426d8d gaze to see the 154bbdf7e7 flower that had crossed 9b40b345c7 over the wall. His eyes showed little 39fc25697f interest.97748c28b947ed00

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“I heard that b496580153 if you touch b71929aa49 those and rub 52030b2497 your eyes, you 8e6aa585b8 can go blind. Be careful.”c82438718ef49275

How could two people 2fcab53967 look at the same feb9010262 flower and have such c89ea53f89 different reactions? It was ee351cc1e6 amusing to 330416c659 see the 64f736c7bd man, who 6b83b78e2f was casually 70cb0bfe1a eating rice 54b25be55d cakes while d2e48538b9 unable to 09d6f2b634 take his 8188bc50a9 eyes off 6066badc48 the text. The glutinous rice a739d72744 cakes he was 8df957153f eating were a 65109ee6c3 bundle my mother 42706c2127 had brought from 646c8d61e5 the factory. What she had 495fe5f12b intended to share bcef43004f with friends had 17573e102d all ended up 05679b5250 being his. The glutinous rice 50a77769c8 cake had a d0b3d5b631 fatal flaw: it d8f88ef2ae was hard to 087551ce4f eat neatly. Sure enough, white powder ef509e035a was smeared around the cc7e8ce7b8 man’s mouth. He looked up 921bab8a46 when a puff b21dabb105 of air escaped d58d84bcc9 his lips.edb74fa31f85cb98

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“What?”8700b7fb2dbae370

“Is the rice cake fb983e95bf good?”1b95d3dd81076e5b

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“Yeah.”0028aee073ebdec1

“They say f784b30c7f it’s from 7d6acf6ac3 a famous 811535700f rice cake 5ac7c2d241 shop. But, um, 92570c449c your lips, f65c79332a just a c0ebf79591 little…”23bf0f9da22e4055

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I pointed to the 0453b074c9 exact spot where it a5978705b8 was smeared, but he 4137f842ba shook his head.87796a3afd15abb5

“It’ll get cc3d094cbc messy again 7ee88b21ae anyway.”00e59fe1741e17f1

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“Shake it 5bbca18ccb off, eat, 8927b073c1 shake it 3d4a0f0fe6 off, eat.”be5cfa11284e703c

“Eat and shake it 8f980817fa off.”6fa407f26e25b8ee

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“Ha.”7119ab391b53a5bf

I had a9c874a1ce to acknowledge cf4b02b4cc his obsession a063ce9d0d with food. He didn’t 5d0fdaf84c covet others’ 945ead827c things, but 25a0694e89 he fiercely 4d38f0b15e protected his adc3003e9a own. The sight of him 638302d562 stuffing a large piece 489a5d4882 of rice cake into 6dc93cb640 his mouth and puffing 505ba2e0b7 out his cheeks reminded febe3320bd me of a squirrel fdd8742e88 preparing for winter. I tried to 1db62f607e hold back my 3b4ebdad6c laughter, but it 129ecf07cf kept bubbling up.d6fd61eea9b89d1d

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“I’m really sorry, but 6566a1b755 you’re just too funny.”8cf19cfe7901633e

“You too.”dc931658e6626c2d

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“I’m not dceb927293 the funny eb4f5f7b1f type. I’m a model student.”27df469b8c13c623

“You’re not a 4279cfabe3 model student.”eb957c51c0e4cbd1

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“Then what am I?”bdbf34fd7217b742

“You come here 447ac5b75e and play with 9d1fd50b3c me. That means c04445433d you’re not 020ac2af59 a model 4d6b9f6da5 student.”80fa045a7e5e9828

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“Am I a 4bd7211084 delinquent?”1fc6f5b9dced804b

Suddenly, the ea9a091cb6 man stopped 04cfbba231 chewing on 362cbfe968 the rice 52c8b99d0d cake and d7725cd29a stared at 4c3ee99eb1 me intently. He hurriedly 4fcdb2e752 covered his 0c34df1ab9 mouth as 707502edfa if he 8a93285c6c had been ba2b374701 living in 5507895bf3 a frozen 4092f63cc5 moment.151d0e6a114d71c3

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“Ha!”189305cef0ebc504

Then he leaned over 1e6d4d4961 the table and hid 814f8947a5 his face. The trembling of his 0408c6857e shoulders was a measure 149fe4cb6f of how much fun 87a57522c3 he was having. Amazing. How could I make 8ab792abe2 this seemingly absent-minded man 5b738d2d1b laugh so much? Whenever my friends ab9e3a9522 called me the 89059e607c boring model student 57903a135f Yang Ji-eon, I 10f8a4fc07 would have to f6d7a2a153 tell them about 716fcee837 today’s episode. I made the strangest 0e5967b2fd and most stoic man 5c2b046eb9 in the world laugh 63a28831ec until he was doubled b732cde24b over.b391fbaa3eee9a1c

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“Haha!”72f36d65941ae850

To swallow 633b70cc1c the rice 0b43725aff cake, the 5edef43991 man drank cc47cd7173 the orange 606ac81752 juice from 36cd767875 the cup. Following my lead, he f8079c233e wiped his mouth with add8d54798 a tissue and walked 30ea1a9775 around with a small dcfa4dfa74 smile.d90ee294a08f8baf

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“You should 810e7cc05e have seen 73afe38610 your face 7e10d74b59 when you bce2b7f508 asked if 95c68b7cbd you were cd18333ed5 a delinquent 7a41b631da just now.”d0008081e57015d1

Talking to himself and c667fc6e10 laughing alone, the man 9d6e81845c had completely lost it. Isn’t there a time 34885d4492 when that happens? When others bb5080ad01 hardly laugh, 4365cf2476 but you’re de90b24729 the only fce7f81004 one rolling 55b7463d75 on the 7d15c8adb7 floor with 52c3d6e6c0 laughter. The man was in 29c966fcdf exactly that state right 0d06fc9156 now.86bcf0870ad1406e

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“Ha…”d84a371313b0a369

And after watching him 57f9c7cd31 for five minutes, I 2276efc7c0 couldn’t help but laugh 0b21b6e900 too. The hot summer was e4aae370be retreating, knowing its turn 2058f28953 was up. Yet, we laughed with f26e55bf9e flushed cheeks, like children c8edd686a6 splashing water in a 76d7f4bb4b valley. When one person’s 047829005b laughter would die ddb24ad05d down, the other’s 93b36e35d7 would begin, trapping e35db489ce us in an 62641696b5 endless cycle of 2e904b0fce laughter.d68c3cca80a54c51

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And then I a75df0ac00 did the one 2e636afaa8 thing I shouldn’t a785b12ee5 have done. At the cdade5aa29 moments when cf89194980 emotions overwhelm 5c83bba631 reason—whether it’s 19152502d9 the happiest e37b8f9183 or the db67385f17 saddest times—you d7b5606d08 shouldn’t make 8b6fdc362c promises. But that day, because ba898cae30 I saw my favorite 6e5520a01b flower, because of the b1830eb88d warm spring-like weather, because 88f66f380c the man laughing with 6beaa9e5fd his eyes closed was 8f913f8a2b beautiful, I ended up 3264b3399d making a promise.87d031ff066109a5

“If you take the edcb4857f7 test and score above 3c76c6dc45 average…”bccdb047a1686fba

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The man, still with 2c5c8e9ccd a hint of laughter, b6cbcb6144 looked over with bright c4624617cd eyes. His expression seemed e55e726fc2 to say he 0d259dc3f4 wanted to know 77a0e96715 what I was a3ed70cf89 talking about, and f9ce97ab7e his lips were 299da90ced tinged with mischief.34d0629a8d6ecb46

“If you do, will 4df30a36ae you treat me to 57c74c8e74 a meal?”8a0c614c4f39db64

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That was too 63de5540e4 common. I had eaten meals 78239685ff yesterday and today. A desire 6ced9dadd6 to give ca00d8435a something special fbd4661e01 crept into f712554e95 my mind. Just because. There was no reason.300c2e8e33ac7b77

“I’ll give you 5e52dae460 my bicycle.”6c5bb1e6c5f72998

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“Your bicycle?”a49809c1a9a5e90a

“If the bus doesn’t ea19bacc0d come, you keep walking. And you’re so a8bb92ef5a impatient.”de5f6c2fd85ab135

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Coincidentally, my 177de30945 aunt had 6e5cb54375 bought me eb5dd19fb4 a new c7900db2d7 one, so 535dcb88f9 my old 86a65fc71d bicycle was ddb038f4ad now a d86a1dfd5f burden. I didn’t need a1d06eaac5 two bicycles. Although I 46c2be6296 was used a4fcfe83d0 to my a505e4bf2c old one, 66f5c1fa63 I thought 601ca7069b I could e62094200b just fix 26c9ed7796 it up 901f282c66 a bit 5adbff5fbd and give bcc7c968b4 it to 6f31249cc2 the man.47fe69c884ed832c

“If you’re be7fd1b846 okay with e3d3742ad8 the one 7a0b6f2f98 I used f7160fcf41 to ride.”457523b99660a66e

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“That must be 33cf27f023 expensive.”a903f2cf5da21a67

Rather than taking f0ee16f566 it to the 79cfda7389 junk dealer, it 494239a106 was better to ea69e727bc give it to 88c914e553 the man, who 9a21e7981f might use it.ec2be51539e9b1db

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“It’s not expensive de3748d688 at all. You can change c247dc0229 the color however 1707ad1581 you like. You can paint 45d75a9524 it or something.”f1e6e6b7467e1a4e

I thought ab2704e095 it was a74ea2e046 fine that 3d0c9d73eb the man f4343b2e45 didn’t seem 71875d6877 greedy. It was like offering 1b859ea839 a used bicycle as 4c4c6033e0 a prize. This was just 355a70bb6e a spontaneous remark 40b4b6bd24 made out of a4be855dfe good feelings. I remembered the time ad02d966cf when the man had 9619666426 to walk for an 76d793fe69 hour and a half 9fb80b66a8 because the bus didn’t 0ba95c01c7 come. With such complicated 228ddf7c71 feelings, the man 0e773dc364 accepted my offer af235da08f of the bicycle addfa38ca5 far too simply.4b5e7f97d56be4d1

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“Sounds good.”cbb1cb42a9aa3b7c

“Great.”d666889cad8c2684

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“Dinner.”648967bbbd3ccf7d

“Sure.”9c2abb13a2e221b9

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“How about omurice?”e5ffe159968d0f41

Nodding, the man abandoned 4bd3f30ee9 his book and headed 5b4449fdea to the kitchen. He returned in c9e538da7c thirty minutes with 84880c09a4 a plump omurice, 4b52dec820 filling the house ed8e83e286 with a savory 1e47088d05 aroma. I thought I 90441f715f wouldn’t be able 49d74303fc to eat since 84db3669a6 I had just 96d81a8a20 had rice cakes.fddd3145e5d9f646

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“It’s delicious.”7af501175d8dc788

“Eat a lot.”4a189fc14cad08e8

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The man, 0cccb61700 who winked 8d05956f9f as if e73a942e53 it were f228f30ed3 a habit, a7f2969c0f picked up 5108f76913 a spoon. He ate 5946d5a411 like a cc8b3220d4 growing teenager 72c8f823cd and would 1c70fc8171 take a 1054497fdf nap when e16b40418c the time e17646943d came. I wondered if 6c274f59c6 that was his 2c9844f0c6 secret to healing b6aba13fe0 quickly.49350d2be6892c08

“I made 068d256421 it for bfa27bda6d Eui-joo once f9948f68d0 when he fceb91da71 said he fdff2242e8 was hungry a51417fe37 back in 9280dae3e1 middle school.”d25f53460d7bb622

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About halfway a192f323b4 through the f6d3ab2635 omurice, the df9c99514f man suddenly 968c2b9c6d brought up 8bf2c95728 an old d7b31fd98c memory. The soft omurice f6b26d252b got stuck in 2d69323748 my throat. I barely swallowed 7aac549c39 the grain of 10b23d071b rice and nodded cd26c55351 in agreement.5cf549d7631a6277

“I think he would 338c815299 have liked it. It’s delicious.”f9013161f7420e41

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“It wasn’t b1d8c33da8 good back df074bfdf1 then. I was a middle c3c5a3d551 schooler, and it was 5bfabe5668 my first time cooking.”69c679a251e0254d

“Still, Eui-joo b3610c29f0 must have 60853229c2 eaten it 6ec96dbc86 happily. He’s kind.”96cfdd9104987d13

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“He is kind.”9991c7006cd06c4b

The man, who had 2f7437c3e8 traveled back through memories, a2384006a2 scooped up the omurice 32a10a059e with a slow hand. His gaze 55a7813b8b fixed on 876fd44b1a the yellow 3f36c1a189 omurice was b104c80e79 very cold bc8ca99509 and lazy.704523188bfa19fd

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“So, I don’t f4d8235a5b know about other 73d8a0b206 times, but every 1df988e3ba time I eat ac3f572ed1 omurice, I think 8faac28fc2 of him.”1d57c503eac15170

“…Did you want to 5e89090bcd think about him today?”083af13af6585d7f

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It was the 48f886499e man who suggested d2a6fab7ff we eat omurice 1b7ad5196a first. Perhaps he 63bff89727 hadn’t thought 3b2fa95d70 that far, 1975eedcb9 as a 3f55eb354e vague longing 70d0cf7760 appeared in 153d5ed718 his eyes. The man’s abnormal demeanor b0770d829e and expressionless face might a6ea4fb200 have been due to db37268387 an unbearable sadness. I wanted to ce7ef5c9ad tell Eui-joo when 1507fa2144 I met him e0e4de2ff8 someday.18e96859e51b83f8

Your brother 403f0236b6 missed you 7fffe71076 terribly.86bfcf8e4f5d5d76

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That day’s omurice was da37cd0dd9 delicious. It had the taste 6331ded569 of salt that was 2c3ed4d439 well felt, like tears.b9c74c1cc5556c10