20. Jeong Su-yeon (1)
Written by Malranggong.
*Please note that this article contains depictions of domestic violence.
In that dream, Jung Soo-yeon was only five years old. Naive and oblivious to the ways of the world, Jung Soo-yeon knew only fairy tales, such an innocent and cute five-year-old. The atmosphere at home was always cold, but whenever Jung Soo-yeon, who was too young to notice, would burst into laughter, the atmosphere would quickly warm up. Her parents, who always had cold smiles on their faces, and her older brother, who always smiled but seemed to be crying, would break into a warm, sincere smile whenever Jung Soo-yeon smiled lovingly. That's how Jung Soo-yeon was happy. Until the age of five, when she lived ignorant of the ways of the world and unaware of what kind of people her parents were, Jung Soo-yeon was happy.
When Jung Soo-yeon turned six, her parents started to get a bit busy. They started looking into elementary school academies for Jung Soo-yeon, who wasn't even eight yet. They also forced Jung Soo-yeon to change her diet to help her manage her weight, saying she had to start school soon and avoid being teased. Jung Soo-yeon wasn't obese. In fact, she was closer to being underweight. But her mother, anxious about something, started feeding her only vegetables and chicken breast. Every time this happened, her father would get angry at her mother, telling her to eat more, and her mother would get angry, telling her not to tell her what to do when she wasn't even preparing the meal. Every time this happened, Jung Soo-yeon's older brother, Jung Ho-seok, would cover her ears. It seemed like he wanted to keep Jung Soo-yeon, who was still so young, from hearing their arguments. And it soon became a routine.
As her parents' fighting became a daily routine, Jung Soo-yeon began to become more and more aware of the situation, and realized that no matter how much she smiled, the atmosphere wouldn't become warmer. After that, Jung Soo-yeon, who was only six years old, developed the ability to read other people's feelings and began to become quite perceptive. Perhaps that's why, from then on, Jung Soo-yeon began to notice the bruises all over Hoseok's body. It was clear that they had been there before, but for some reason, after he turned six, when their fights became a daily routine, Jung Soo-yeon started to see the bruises on Hoseok. Jung Soo-yeon was quite straightforward, so she asked Hoseok what the bruises were. But all she got in return was a dismissive remark and a bitter smile.
“…Is it really nothing, Oppa? You look so sick?”
“Yeah, it’s okay. I just bumped into the corner of the desk. Don’t worry. By the way, our Suyeon, you’ve grown so much, worrying about me.”
Hoseok's face was blooming with a smile, but somehow the flower looked like a withered flower. Jung Soo-yeon had a vague sense that the bruise on Hoseok's arm wasn't from bumping into the corner of the desk. The bruise was clearly from being hit with a cane, and every night when he went out to the living room to get a drink of water, she would hear groans of pain and the sound of skin being slapped from her father's study. But there was nothing Jung Soo-yeon could do right away. He was only six years old to raid his father's study and save him, and more than anything, Hoseok's face seemed to be filled with a sense of relief and a thought that told him not to report her.
But who would have known how much trouble that liberation, that liberation that was briefly filled with regret, would bring to Jeong Su-yeon?
***
What changed the pure and innocent Jeong Su-yeon so much was ‘that’ incident that happened on Jeong Su-yeon’s sixth birthday.