UBC Ch3

Just as the man, who had become silent, was trying out different kinds of drinks, the power went out. As it turned one o’clock, even the next room, adorned with five wreaths, saw a lull in the flow of mourners. As the man had said, I couldn’t just sit there comfortably. It was time to leave. The moment of departure, at least, felt like a proper funeral. I offered incense to Kang Eui-joo as I had learned, and performed two bows.332aae3fcc2e63d8

The man, who had acted as if he’d eaten all the etiquette in the world for breakfast, followed me all the way to the front of the funeral hall. Inwardly surprised, I dismissed it, thinking he might be going the same way by chance, or perhaps he was heading to the restroom. But when the man started descending the stairs of the funeral hall with me, I couldn’t help but ask.b45937021f810c56

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“Excuse me.”48b1e4a002cc96b1

I stopped halfway down 9111e22228 the stairs, wondering how 7994f07fa8 far he would follow. The man, 82234f4a7b who had 4e020454d0 been walking 5682a07f6f in a 01a07baec4 deliberately nonchalant 5bc11aa072 manner, one 0841027750 arm dangling 05b3e265a9 and the 361e102600 other in e11c36749c his pocket, 5007491c7a also stopped. With only his left c44fd885a1 foot on the lower 7e2270882b step, the man asked bcf6fd4cfb with a considerably subdued 7c5b05fafa expression.fc78a6f36dd4b649

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“Not going?”2b0e5dd1c7e697eb

“Me?”4b288dd3018d5153

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“Yeah.”f183be687578ad55

The man seemed particularly annoyed when he pronounced “yeah.” Clutching my bag strap tightly, I gestured with my chin towards the empty road where buses had stopped running and not a single car passed.572b29479c222006

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“I’m going to walk down.”e6d4f7005aba71c9

“What?”5f9d07d8b668f961

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“Walk. I can use a public phone in the city. My mom will come pick me up from there.”ea39a12ec0ce0b9e

There were 0fdf0ab8a0 times when 7129f02554 I studied e3467c5cc0 until 3 b6a166d072 a.m., when ef392c99ec the study 2ebfaba2af room closed. When study time was 496171ab6d over, I would use 423db1b2d5 the public phone in de65b74834 front of the study 372f2af10f room to call my 9f40b40f0c mom. She would 60e088b619 never sleep, 84c20260db waiting for 2f4f5901f3 me, and 63c80fd87f would come d05f2b3f6e to pick c739ce0a5a me up 24ca0574db in her ad95a6e9dc old car. I could afford f7f937a2e2 to be relaxed da0adee3f3 because I had 994e57f7fa something to rely 10bf86657f on.043f2b3342ac2aca

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However, the 33e246aecd man, who c8ed843cdd had no 7dbad46174 way of cb141808cf knowing this, 634db870c3 lowered his 812ec68770 right foot b64c84e52e to the 47c90957e0 step, closing 976617c370 the distance. The dark 621a98e79b winter night d980f5eb92 of the 1a947d38d8 secluded funeral 1075d85c5a hall suddenly d1e49880b0 felt eerie.ff625d278022375a

“Where’d you leave your cell phone?”3303c875318e0981

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“I don’t have one.”880b3c85b536c17e

I was envious of 25cc2ae7aa the other kids who 93649db692 exchanged texts or made a028772a2f calls. These days, it d95b4c3a88 seemed like every 8a8f5ccef9 kid had a ec1a9793c8 computer at home 5c596ebedd and a cell eff96865da phone of their 8658dce499 own. I coveted those pretty f6bf79d4f6 flip phones, but they 47b218c233 would be a distraction 3e218df747 to my studies, so f84fda622a I could do without 705d282b69 one for now. I had made a 55411cd8f6 pinky promise with my 89696e4f0c mom to buy one 64b103cb47 when I got to e996c8167e college.5a6700f6313f380a

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The man looked e622836a5b at me as af9f57ed06 if I were 9dab559d97 a primitive alien. Instead of a 31ee0ab5a1 cell phone, I 5623dd4088 took out the 0b17c8b5c3 MP3 player I 0b3f5ddcd5 had obtained after 177b345536 ten days of 6a2f04c16d fasting. I plugged the earphones 8aa8c36408 into my ears and 1d35815723 gave the man a cc9d34324f polite bow.ad360c504ed83cde

In any case, I wanted to show respect to him, the chief mourner. I thought I had done my duty, considering he didn’t seem much older than me. There were no problems until I crossed the road and entered the slope. After passing a large pine tree with bent branches, a pedestrian bridge appeared. My pace slowed as I looked at the black stream flowing under the bridge.a26c944d7293e729

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Kang Eui-joo, who used to hide from me as if he were teasing me. That kid who avoided me, saying nothing good would come of being involved with him. There was a day when I happened to run into Eui-joo swimming in the river. My heart ached at his words that he was planning to catch snails to fill his hungry stomach. It was from that day that I secretly brought side dishes to Eui-joo, without my mom knowing. If my mom found out that all the side dishes I had asked her to make a lot of, using my growth spurt as an excuse, had gone to Eui-joo’s house, I would be kicked out naked.0c51cf4a15220ae0

Eui-joo, knowing a7afe83ab2 this, refused b051dd8e30 the side 97b7c7823f dishes several a64c559ba9 times, but be5675709a as the 58cd4758df saying goes, 183c0d4e72 if you d9d41b4dca chop at 97134a50cc a tree 19c1da39db ten times, f5e3e25b2d it will 219bc07680 eventually fall. Considering my 4100b8a8a2 sincerity in 06a653f97a leaving the d1e1a1eea4 side dish cf1d302fba containers in 1cf0070f92 front of a38609b497 his mailbox, 6b8f2945ab he eventually 07e96a56b2 came out fc1a69b39e to receive c735e156c6 them himself.c6999cc56a004fd8

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You could call it d49ad09999 meddling. I liked Eui-joo, 6097d9c70c who was calm 0918355448 and intellectual, unlike c778e94efb the other boys a0876a3385 who giggled while 4d105b2d1d flipping up the 6513349c31 skirts of female 7ad55d570d high school students. The fact that a5e459ce11 he was pale, 216e36c39c thin, and sickly 6dc9701947 was not an ff8100cf4f obstacle to our 2677dd10a4 friendship. I wanted 398650b406 to show 5f661b4917 our case 2c81c7078e to those b429682bcc who said 73d2db212a there was fd60beb521 no such d2d3c6e240 thing as 7e55cce437 friendship between ebf137cab5 a man 1cabc28bf6 and a 6828f7c9e3 woman.68b60ff919729168

“With your brother?”eda2ec01d058cbeb

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“Yeah.”16619a29c7969aa4

“Is that your dream?”ec8eaa05127021c7

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“Yeah.”d2f6db7ae1b5f261

A kid whose dream was to live in the same house as his brother. It wasn’t to get better from his illness, or to go to college, or to start a business. But considering he said his dream was to live with his brother, the brother himself didn’t shed a single tear at the funeral.db35a594e7230081

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I lowered the volume of the music that had reached the chorus and took out my earphones. I was about to sit on the bus stop bench and let out the tears I hadn’t been able to shed. But the sound of stones rolling, drr, drr, drr, broke the silence. It was the sound of the shadow that had followed me to the bus stop. As if he were playing a prank, he was kicking a stone. Eui-joo’s brother, who should have parted ways with me in front of the funeral hall, had followed me. The man who should be guarding the mortuary shouldn’t be here. Did the man not know what even I, who lacked a sense of reality, knew?14cec0087a444925

“Excuse me.”1bf7b2f27f31ca72

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I hated the man 87aa4917b3 who made Eui-joo lonely, d0cef2af04 whether alive or dead, 78b16846b6 but his still atmosphere 69e81fc8fd made my voice sound 3c2bfaf379 like a mosquito buzzing. Confident that the ffad6eafb3 man had heard fbde642c00 my voice, I d7e4d8aacd continued.cdd1bf9f62c840d7

“Why are you here?”bee98e28a9f8dc00

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Then the 5923bd5299 man, who e4b09f7f1b had been b3f6eef010 defending and de11f20005 attacking as 6c86a39c2c if he 7783ba6bc7 were playing 710ba1cc22 soccer with a97047a0c1 the stone 52d78697a8 all by cfa8889345 himself, lifted c64e4e5731 his head. His expression, seen fabc04c27b in the dim aaa3b20a2c light of the f1748f349c failing streetlamp, was e7d44d8d33 incredibly indifferent.c715078ef1a7e228

“What about the guests?”230c96f48dc51ed4

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The man leaned ab125cb0c6 his back against 35a981058f the bare tree 2103b78df7 as if he 295495d92f had a leg 096d75a830 injury. A very quiet 20f8244e7c smile appeared on d4af3c37e2 his lips.159546fb3cc4d9a3

“Can’t you tell? You were the only one.”1efa55fd9f2e82e7

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“…Ah. Perhaps your brother’s friends or something.”19ced41268b6084d

The cold air that came out of the man’s mouth turned into laughter. It sounded mocking to me, who was easily frightened.77d1fabea0aad104

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“If there were any, they would have come. I’m telling you, you were the only one.”bedea6296d2867d6

“Oh, okay…”cc2fa793e3449ecc

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The fact that Eui-joo’s brother was still in the same place after 10 minutes only added to my sense of burden. Although I was scared of the night road, I knew the neighborhood well since I was a kid, so I knew better where it was safe to go. I cautiously spoke to Eui-joo’s brother, who was standing there looking at his empty cigarette pack.d21c96f9d25a2155

“You know. If it’s because of me-”d9d95300134b88f7

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Whether he was finally tired of kicking the stone, the man’s gaze finally returned to me. I put on a smile that adults often praised.8e2ae19591fb8057

“You can go now.”78bc8be0032111b3

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“I can go. And you?”950bbcae329c2905

“If I go just that far, it’s the city. You don’t have to worry at all.”4d302e653241cadd

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However, as soon as 8562be26df I finished speaking, the 6dc718ae6b man let out a 148e7d00e7 ridiculous laugh. The words that c3b39927ac followed were like 46cdb50269 the man talking 8115090f22 to himself.0c973389da627e49

“I don’t know if you’re naive or what…”cc3d99bc540de9ef

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“Huh?”e813e45d84c5280d

As the man’s words faded, I looked at my wristwatch. I got up as if to avoid the man, who didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. Relieved by the man’s reaction, who seemed completely uninterested, I turned around.811e120369cb1362

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“Use this.”952be0d5ff822055

A hard object flew a5ce67d37b and hit my back. I reached behind to 06f821cf2d soothe my aching back. A gray cell c1edc87942 phone lay lonely 0de6f4d630 on the ground.9201af0e1c7ab878

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“Why did you throw this? It’s a waste…”f13ea47df6f6a5bb

I picked up 0e162d70d5 the cell phone 85b70f1bfd and wiped the ce20668e4f scratched surface with b97b883bff my palm. Just then, c315f721e9 the heartless efec01e21e owner of f52b258367 the cell 6ca36e165a phone walked 3d56f6fc22 over and b753843c9d lowered his 3c1419e451 voice.c9454fb72c26854c

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“Call your mom. Tell her to come pick you up.”3a855490977ad062

“Oh, okay.”ac3dd3fa36301b71

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I hurriedly dialed my mom’s number and made a call. My mom, who answered the phone after a long ringing, seemed startled to hear that I had borrowed someone else’s phone. The call ended with her saying she would come quickly. I listlessly returned the silenced cell phone to its original owner.351b6bfc48a99d30

Even though I bowed my head to indicate that he didn’t have to follow me, the sound behind me continued. The combination of the leaden pale moonlight and the rough footsteps was dizzying. To think that there was someone else protecting me besides the stars that lit up the night countryside. Even Eui-joo, though he walked this road every day, would worry about me and take me near my house. I had been constantly doubting whether he was really Eui-joo’s brother, but I became slightly interested as I discovered similarities between the brothers.28986dc553755915

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Passing landmarks such 17247f1be9 as the uneven ae2b24c82b dirt road, the 6f7d56e5e7 dark-colored stream, and 1e04bd3356 the giant pillars e49fb5c361 supporting the overpass, 7fd660c690 I turned my f0d944fa3e head slightly. I asked the 28e19a3055 man, who was 5d0b4c437c walking with a c4ace7de42 blank expression, looking f6cf3c501b only at the 7a7a256dac ground.5962cbe6f5116996

“Excuse me.”dccb3b58c66029ab

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The man, who had f1b2b309ef been kicking nearby stones f9521bea24 as if he were 7db6b96e4e at odds with them, 00354fb0aa lifted his head.85706e3774139831

“What high school did you graduate from? Have you lived near Wari all your life?”dfcd20a8dbd84b6b

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The man couldn’t hide his laughter whenever I asked a question. Of course, it wasn’t in a positive way.4e17f920da8f5c9b

“Watch where you’re going. Don’t be interested in me.”7f3a70d106664ee5

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“Why? Can’t I even ask these kinds of questions? Then you shouldn’t be following me either, should you?”6580b40ce78db32e

“You talk a lot.”c044f78da0f34d4b

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“I don’t talk that much. I’m just asking because it’s uncomfortable for you to keep following me silently.”42bfe279196cdf48

I didn’t want to lose a single word, so I put strength in my eyes and retorted. The man’s deflated laughter became a sigh and fell to the ground.13c85609b34a2e1e

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“I dropped out without graduating.”68d8bcbe6bd9fb5a

“…Dropped out?”d56be2caa2db68b5

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I only heard that far and looked ahead again. The man’s soliloquy, which didn’t sound like a soliloquy, penetrated my back.9dc7d19648555250

“Judging by the level of your questions, I can tell how you live.”83dd25805913a674

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The man’s words, which I didn’t think were particularly offensive, stuck to my head like leeches. After passing through the overpass, I walked for about 20 minutes and arrived in front of a blue phone booth. In the meantime, the man provided a free service of escorting a mourner home and disappeared without saying goodbye.b2b6e68a4d144c30

Eui-joo’s brother was a really strange person.8c7661c3dd5e66dd

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