UBC Ch19
by cherryroseThe 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.d40f28fdd50c5dc1
My aunt had plenty 825d4c5011 of money and, although d5ec2430b2 not her biological children, 14152db88d she had three sons. She also ad00981049 had a 0bf00f5eb6 wealthy husband a67a522778 who was c90671b3c4 terribly self-centered. In contrast, my mother’s 6448344fdc income had decreased due 0d9336372d to the opening of 9f9c7ef1b1 a new beauty salon 4b229817cf nearby equipped with modern c717380eee facilities, and she had 75eebf157e to plead for the 4cb6d894f2 part-time job she used ad87116b12 to do out of 2ebc83cf67 boredom.c011127c78374939
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When my aunt bb5e1363dc took care of 177c58bb3d me, my mother a66f887690 would send me 028dea8501 to the city’s 0b0e6fbab1 study room without d416de6cd1 worry, but now 49935edf43 she asked me 1e02398df8 to study at 8d595f39a5 home for the 8283f12089 time being. While it f840136f13 was true 72a26de977 that I 717ca42d14 maintained good 6b521b3398 grades without aa9444ac27 attending an 72996832b6 academy, my 760231c25a small room db6a62c61d was not 389fed2c3c nearly as d1c9e905c5 conducive to eb7e2d3e00 studying as 2a5fb46f90 the city 889cb292fb study room.f48bd7f057c3bdef
Watching the 0607ddf2c0 lives of eeb5f63dfe these two 67c841a86b women made 240b75848b me ponder 4c9fa7b05b deeply about 4ab79a13aa the true 422e9db77b measure of 6ed643622e happiness. Even with 4ef4b21b7b my aunt’s 1546874b6a wealth or 7cdb73d286 my mother’s bcfd9168c3 love for 9f6058facc her children, 9016c25a32 neither of ff2a8d636a them seemed 5ae306a370 particularly happy. Would my mother 516a111608 find happiness by e1143b101e getting a regular 70373b202c job as she 85b97bd3bc wished, and would 84adf0d837 my aunt find 1605c6d1bd it by marrying b5ccf62e42 a man with 756a056727 good conditions? Would that 55b4299d4b be the a0f73151cb key to 8cb292f87b achieving happiness?7bfdc05fb457a882
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“Hey.”9827afe7ddf663e8
“Mhm.”2f418b6cb9b75531
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“Did you 6dee17f675 finish studying 48dfd043fc today?”f222052c3ffa8c79
The term “oppa” had 1c750adeea not yet fully settled 3e1b0615b3 in my ears or daaf61fbbb on my tongue. There were still 8f91e0aeee about ten days 4f0e1b8645 left until school e273a23084 resumed on August 315ad7672b 24. The high 2c444c4a4b school equivalency 7fe3a077b6 exam was fdd5ed7d8d also scheduled 595a6407be for August, 07e976db4d but the fb3e1a6042 man had f1fa4ad73e decided to a33a45c1c8 take it aafd2f16b3 in April 43f77d449d of the 8486282b6e following year. He had invested quite bfbfc0822f a bit of time fc79120333 in math, so I b39df04768 asked if he was a2485ca0ea going to pursue a c2f4766d8d science track, but he 2b1f770034 said he still didn’t acbb0c587a know where he wanted 9345707d0b to go.5905598bc32f607e
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“Not yet.”e797a72be716cf0a
The man didn’t d553b376b9 take his eyes 9ce82c3cd4 off the book ed94e68cdc like a bookworm. He had already 133abfa417 surpassed me in 45b3bcb626 sheer interest in 281bc0e68c studying. He had started ca80286641 studying due to 05f0e5a8a9 someone’s pressure, but c031931013 it seemed that 9289c99cd2 it had brightened 432afe3817 his life.e18d770623eed513
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“Language is 880f0f36b5 a bit…”3dc275a79691d98a
“Excuse me?”d33464fc7a671fc9
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As I tried d19167cec8 to focus on 332ba25045 my exam preparation 36b066bb56 after observing him, 27935d89cd he continued the 5625c85c56 conversation. When I looked up, c17e87d58d I saw him shyly c37e77d246 lowering his gaze.9585156361a8d3d3
“I’m a little 7f1ce53631 stuck.”9264f101480e3575
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The man, who 78a131f484 had struggled with aeae456fea reading due to 965c9e6ec7 the difficulty of d716272e16 the final consonants, 9cb867c53c was having a e0d81c58b6 hard time understanding 22a6c4cf9b expressions and passages 49584da2bf in the language. But I believed that 02afc6b91b time would soon resolve 28a94101c2 that.0ab1d08c788ead28
“Hey.”ee8302d40aedcf42
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“Yeah?”343bc463711a51c7
“Do you a0005483bf want to a7c5010ac7 take a 38997b5046 test this 3444fe6742 Saturday?”6ce119d5263a4a25
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“A test?”555d34cd39dbfa06
“Like a real one. I’ll prepare the 17c3c61290 questions.”de6f1ad810cfe244
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Once summer vacation ended, 897ae0f5f3 I wouldn’t be able b17c156168 to visit as frequently d23a695eef as I did now. There would be school e825903d29 study sessions, and if bb63e20a35 I was late, my f4f268f9a1 mother would come to a27b481baf pick me up. We might meet 27a57f450f occasionally on weekends, 167b8fdd14 but I had fce8f154ac to manage my 15ec0ce1af time with school a0ce7abddb classes in mind.0b1a0895f420ea83
“I’m not ready. I need c4899687cb to study 6fa4cca194 more.”eee77f7d5832c10f
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So, I was cd5a605c2c secretly building a 018433c84d wall of separation 42226e3594 in my heart. Look at this. The man had no dd9543830d idea. No one knows 936a7b7157 a person’s true 467082de7d feelings except for af36072533 the person themselves. At that moment, 23eab718da I caught sight 711eda91c5 of an orange 07a590eca8 flower drooping against b21b7b7cf1 the wall. It was just a a6a9dd6d82 single flower wilting under 29f644ffe7 the heat, yet my 2fee0eece0 heart brightened with joy 2c425877a0 at the sight of 918032892f it.85fcc2ef16601684
“Look, the trumpet 3dccb4a273 vine is blooming 3fb6f1afbc here too.”9fbe5bdc64738b96
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“Trumpet vine?”068e732266372af6
The man adjusted 8e2b3e486a his gaze to 834f6fba1e see the flower 9692368064 that had crossed 3a1e8979b8 over the wall. His eyes showed little 0e60d88949 interest.0ca2cd448794e89d
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“I heard 57d03595d7 that if 1c43ab64a9 you touch e9ac609197 those and 2c240a5159 rub your 6b0d16cf02 eyes, you 6dc0423b51 can go d21917993d blind. Be careful.”4659269862932355
How could two people 5565ceb614 look at the same ed6f71b9c6 flower and have such b65f801023 different reactions? It was amusing 4351ec34a2 to see the 6d06863f92 man, who was 105a579827 casually eating rice 678d4a0edc cakes while unable 0f5c4dccc9 to take his 2fb98b2b5e eyes off the 8c767994cf text. The glutinous rice cakes 6567a2fbaf he was eating were 6834eac333 a bundle my mother b5b1aae63b had brought from the 8304e3bbb7 factory. What she had 0d586d64ce intended to share 7647c0a277 with friends had d3c6c1600e all ended up 6901f644b3 being his. The glutinous 4fbc023fce rice cake 8a0ecd8108 had a b6e046d33a fatal flaw: f5be3fd1e0 it was 75158d8f46 hard to 7d4e8ba7cc eat neatly. Sure enough, white powder f3abcd6c37 was smeared around the e4b7116522 man’s mouth. He looked up when 9f048b494a a puff of air 71085b113b escaped his lips.78828e735d44e638
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“What?”20a14faf2d642623
“Is the rice cake 1d804f5a75 good?”cd1828139c29180a
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“Yeah.”947ffeb117931781
“They say it’s from f2c3abadf5 a famous rice cake b1e8827d3a shop. But, um, your 2e5667b4ce lips, just a 6807bda11c little…”062bf315dc4552c4
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I pointed to 210ca207f1 the exact spot 45dca5189c where it was bf89b39c63 smeared, but he c580641fbd shook his head.a202363db02211cb
“It’ll get messy again c0edc3069c anyway.”c75d263db7d1239e
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“Shake it off, eat, 94bfaada53 shake it off, eat.”b8c0d8ecf5e307c2
“Eat and shake f615ceae6a it off.”643da3054e57657e
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“Ha.”dfa7418c3ca01017
I had 2c67239746 to acknowledge cbfdc046f6 his obsession 54166597eb with food. He didn’t covet others’ 1e700e1db2 things, but he fiercely 4724480c2f protected his own. The sight dc4321d34c of him ef0ec7dfae stuffing a 21b804fcb7 large piece 72d5d3c44c of rice 2d52f543c2 cake into ec61aff1e7 his mouth 2d480cb393 and puffing 99ec325f22 out his 71d7b82b09 cheeks reminded 71ca14b8ee me of 78e732b597 a squirrel 4d19198b2d preparing for 635f1a262b winter. I tried faf9254125 to hold 04dd9597b9 back my e2783101ab laughter, but 63ca45c48a it kept 7d10653921 bubbling up.f5373d6cf63ad8c7
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“I’m really sorry, but 43c6b2d694 you’re just too funny.”a6bb66a29b448033
“You too.”0e37c68cccceee1d
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“I’m not the 4196f321f0 funny type. I’m a model 1647ba7333 student.”a6446f7579fec3c3
“You’re not 0ab7491223 a model 88b64490cd student.”6ccada2ac0b3b399
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“Then what 038e04f8e5 am I?”4f462330cdb53033
“You come here 3526dc2c4f and play with 4d4b3e43c9 me. That means you’re 91fa8df586 not a model caa2de70ee student.”cad108dfdb446e2b
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“Am I a delinquent?”46738572805d12e2
Suddenly, the c7fc1dc7e5 man stopped a352fed3e6 chewing on 26c561cb25 the rice 12e0b12534 cake and 04dd7e8090 stared at 17e94f5a13 me intently. He hurriedly covered 90d7111626 his mouth as c99323a413 if he had baf7c93d03 been living in 8b78957642 a frozen moment.969a57b848f54c6d
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“Ha!”66148fc9cc90eb49
Then he leaned over e397b0ac74 the table and hid ffc22e50e6 his face. The trembling of 9922de65c0 his shoulders was a55e064aff a measure of 7ef84f2f8a how much fun 49d16ef20c he was having. Amazing. How could I make 46096dcede this seemingly absent-minded man 062cea2432 laugh so much? Whenever my 511b7369ff friends called 231e78d773 me the 8d78f831db boring model 40811934b6 student Yang 743866b23e Ji-eon, I d00fc25ed6 would have 176bf01880 to tell 068aa340bd them about 192c9977c2 today’s episode. I made the strangest a3f593726b and most stoic man 5d389bb517 in the world laugh e7de3fcaa5 until he was doubled 9362ae81ad over.36ed0a9f2c4074e1
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“Haha!”4085bc5a79a90b4d
To swallow 7e1e905b92 the rice 73254a4f4c cake, the a98213903f man drank e6ff7699ee the orange 7b50127099 juice from c7a8d17f02 the cup. Following my lead, 9a67f0eb0a he wiped his 0d32e7e4a0 mouth with a 5410909708 tissue and walked 8bb4df09bc around with a f8f273f876 small smile.07528de88fbecefe
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“You should have seen d5d76fce33 your face when you 7d935d5956 asked if you were b60597d94e a delinquent just now.”bdf849c7087d29a3
Talking to e1740ff66b himself and 52b9ce68ee laughing alone, 59b696f878 the man 4ab57d8474 had completely eeb5dd44c7 lost it. Isn’t there a 4bc9e8d4da time when that 9e63ba5df2 happens? When others hardly aa110dcc3a laugh, but you’re 3b334792cc the only one 3436199557 rolling on the a482ce09a8 floor with laughter. The man ff52c62c21 was in 99825ce08c exactly that e1e17caf81 state right 4a172ad49b now.40929053676d0d3f
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“Ha…”dce5c894b9186d71
And after 9ffe391c57 watching him 391bfbbc4b for five 4293c2b28c minutes, I b5d5bf1e29 couldn’t help 365f9e0fc1 but laugh 5ab50c339f too. The hot 3a9faabc1b summer was b17bc4a8ee retreating, knowing eb1be184a3 its turn 2a673eeeef was up. Yet, we 15c545cda7 laughed with b059b51cc2 flushed cheeks, ba1da832da like children 7075c7580c splashing water 143708789e in a ac55889d4f valley. When one person’s laughter afc9c70d47 would die down, the 5113b6bc49 other’s would begin, trapping 1e99116ce9 us in an endless db4523e53c cycle of laughter.bf5d521507f1169a
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And then I did 933cde24e0 the one thing I dd471f0144 shouldn’t have done. At the moments 007096f163 when emotions overwhelm 420a819e3d reason—whether it’s the 7f85b46569 happiest or the 7dcb3b36c3 saddest times—you shouldn’t 4ead72cac6 make promises. But that day, 8d98cf4c38 because I saw c64bd8d29d my favorite flower, 2744015ddb because of the c8c64553dc warm spring-like weather, 314c2e0b46 because the man 21f5412ef5 laughing with his a71414efd7 eyes closed was 6894eb99eb beautiful, I ended dd239613c5 up making a a2bb62caea promise.54399be60e12edf1
“If you take a415cdc8c3 the test and 32a59523bb score above average…”11fcea216d675420
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The man, still a456a940f5 with a hint 9a6227e9b4 of laughter, looked 1da3f13cff over with bright 1ee17600d3 eyes. His expression seemed 832b2652fd to say he 15f20afcc2 wanted to know b5409bce89 what I was a3096d37ec talking about, and 0309f67451 his lips were 64930db89b tinged with mischief.1994adb969f4191a
“If you 4609c6c09e do, will 4d4fc67d6a you treat 49a2e02c88 me to 9a34ee77e7 a meal?”a8e4fa2797864403
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That was too common. I had eaten meals 82cc0fe381 yesterday and today. A desire to 716edaff95 give something special 1546e8e818 crept into my c05f4eebd0 mind. Just because. There was no reason.9ce8b32f0f90945f
“I’ll give you my ed23b080c8 bicycle.”50009f53f9d7270c
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“Your bicycle?”772673f2e88171bf
“If the a19f4fe615 bus doesn’t b553a39fce come, you 3f7b3f8afa keep walking. And you’re db13482810 so impatient.”11a3c7f76132f79a
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Coincidentally, my aunt had e1bf5503d2 bought me a new 65156800e7 one, so my old 81605a58d1 bicycle was now a 9753866dee burden. I didn’t 14b6c5bd68 need two 034425459c bicycles. Although I was used 6f0dcd7351 to my old one, 7b2b617715 I thought I could 19dc99a71f just fix it up ddf915c83e a bit and give 822503bdf4 it to the man.d9e8be1a48f1d5ff
“If you’re 42ac46def3 okay with b3ab851939 the one bc21ace3e1 I used ec30699e52 to ride.”51f5b03f24022402
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“That must be bfa82d0b85 expensive.”ad60a1b33b637d41
Rather than c6b9a46844 taking it aed339b5f2 to the 987883eacd junk dealer, 6f2c8e2eaa it was c6839e949e better to 849fa5e49d give it f2ae171b9b to the 2084c4fffd man, who 5df21a997c might use 4b851831ab it.e3f152e7843be02b
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“It’s not expensive at 10e240fea9 all. You can change the e751c22d87 color however you like. You can e0ab6cb9da paint it 97b8f32b79 or something.”d21fc84b16d0dd42
I thought it was f1ed140f22 fine that the man ab522b21db didn’t seem greedy. It was like offering 2a8f8e6e95 a used bicycle as 6ac37aadd9 a prize. This was just a a61ba8fce9 spontaneous remark made out 9bfea1e83f of good feelings. I remembered the 844bdbfc5e time when the 7a1f530381 man had to c4bea1213c walk for an e8eb7458f4 hour and a 4cc82d5855 half because the bef1b2e1ab bus didn’t come. With such b6efb9270a complicated feelings, 9c318bde7f the man 60d80a5e21 accepted my 94dc569338 offer of c4586ee610 the bicycle f678dd27ad far too 6b71ea3244 simply.2f6665f47ad0a547
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“Sounds good.”400b5aa55e2d9d0c
“Great.”74ca0d614ab774f1
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“Dinner.”5943bb8f446d9e73
“Sure.”514069c4d08125f3
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“How about omurice?”4c3923b79c0fc461
Nodding, the man abandoned 8183e89e1c his book and headed 14dc4e8899 to the kitchen. He returned 27b941231b in thirty cb2124e494 minutes with b97c16f17f a plump 71f25b7839 omurice, filling 663d0a8881 the house 728592460f with a a7507bacc9 savory aroma. I thought I c40f0ed39b wouldn’t be able 628a3af924 to eat since 5835d8f8d1 I had just 274c855356 had rice cakes.0f7a972729b97a29
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“It’s delicious.”82f163e9c133b989
“Eat a lot.”94bbc7253f3b1208
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The man, who winked 7dd7faa659 as if it were a97b67c2a5 a habit, picked up 8940845479 a spoon. He ate like d5ddb44a68 a growing teenager 75f516454b and would take 9170b93344 a nap when 3f407db6f6 the time came. I wondered if that c6bc3c6d86 was his secret to 55abe03f7f healing quickly.707eb84b883f94f7
“I made it f2d873689a for Eui-joo once e865aef86f when he said b005104af6 he was hungry 744026efc6 back in middle ebc55c9d6e school.”523380174e4386e7
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About halfway 496002510c through the 7c847a7f87 omurice, the e530f290a7 man suddenly 3091cb2dd4 brought up 8b898127c5 an old e0b338565f memory. The soft ef2ee9bb5f omurice got 6a7b5de177 stuck in 981d7a491b my throat. I barely swallowed the aa9e49a8c4 grain of rice and f6993ddcc9 nodded in agreement.61693c749e8dc1d5
“I think 616b846934 he would 8fdb515058 have liked 963a5888e1 it. It’s delicious.”e98e52282cdffc63
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“It wasn’t good back 5dc42150c4 then. I was a middle cee8980614 schooler, and it was 15d70a39d0 my first time cooking.”cb2a1ddb0957ab8c
“Still, Eui-joo must d5b18cf495 have eaten it 25b4bbafd8 happily. He’s kind.”50b5a7239038bc6e
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“He is kind.”fe1a89469d78226a
The man, 68a687a8ad who had 3f706ab600 traveled back 29ee38e0fe through memories, 44bd89fb5c scooped up 2714b0e08c the omurice fe48cc61f8 with a b2e690a499 slow hand. His gaze fixed dfbd01ec3f on the yellow ed0a993ce2 omurice was very 3459050869 cold and lazy.f36728ff0f1a19b3
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“So, I c10b16992a don’t know dcfff1f34a about other 324139d838 times, but 807b85c340 every time efae9668b3 I eat e9782ecda1 omurice, I 47e0d4cc54 think of 245ddc7b94 him.”3f85a987cad600cc
“…Did you want to f2da8307ae think about him today?”777be37acbea00c4
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It was the man ca0bb7984e who suggested we eat d5981e1f10 omurice first. Perhaps he hadn’t a999d867ad thought that far, 7233b65499 as a vague 84c03f1185 longing appeared in f7111dfe30 his eyes. The man’s abnormal demeanor 1dce4d80f6 and expressionless face might 348454042f have been due to b23b5541b0 an unbearable sadness. I wanted to ff74cf36f8 tell Eui-joo when 27cea187e6 I met him f7b85d17e2 someday.05dbb2abb0a6f6a7
Your brother missed b8ec54f77c you terribly.f5d7ca2473f79a08
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That day’s 0a467a4e87 omurice was 10b3e1eb05 delicious. It had the 1ad71b9e6b taste of salt 4f0d90dfe7 that was well 7e7ffd677d felt, like tears.0b9aba2014a5bc48