[Short Story] Making Each Other Heroes.
“Once upon a time, there was a boy who wanted to be a hero~”
“Wow~!!!”
The children's cheers filled the classroom. Just hearing these delightful sounds brought me joy in a kindergarten on a warm, sunny day. It was now the children's favorite, most anticipated storybook reading time.
Today's book was "I'll Be a Hero," a title that captivated the children. As expected, the teacher's first sentence caught their attention. Even children who normally struggle to focus would find themselves immersed in the story, their eyes sparkling as soon as they started reading.
The teacher's soft voice filled the class, blending in with the story, and the story, which was soon reaching its climax, further amplified the children's immersion.
“Then, a hero appeared, pushed the evil villain away, and saved the people!”
“Wow!!!”
“And so the hero drove out the villain and received a lot of applause from the people~”
The story ended with the teacher's applause, and the children who had been so focused cheered and couldn't forget the lingering emotion. It was so lovely to see everyone running to the teacher and asking questions.
“Teacher! How can I become a hero?!”
“I want to be a hero too!!”
“I want to have cool abilities like a hero!!”
“That’s right, but heroes don’t necessarily have to have cool abilities.”
"sure?"
The children, their eyes wide open, listened attentively to the teacher's words.
“Even if you don’t have any great abilities, as long as you help people,“Our friends can be heroes to that person.”
“So, you shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to anyone in need. Okay?”
The children nodded confidently and shouted, "Yes~!!" at the teacher who spoke with a bright smile. The enjoyable reading time passed, leaving a lasting impression, and nap time, when most children would be dozing off, approached.
“Good night everyone~”
As the teacher blew out the lights and left the classroom, the children who had been squirming under their blankets suddenly huddled together and began chatting. Their conversation revolved around the topic of "heroes," perhaps because the book had made a lasting impression on them.
“I will become a hero like my teacher said!”
"how?"
“I will help people in need!!”
“Me too me too!!”
The children, each one chiming in, shouted that they would all become heroes. The teacher must have been struck by their lovely voices, for as soon as the door swung open, they quickly returned to their seats and pretended to be asleep.
“Everyone~ You should go to sleep soon~”
"...yes..."
The children pretended to be asleep, but perhaps unable to deceive, answered timidly with a "yes..." Before long, all the children, breathing softly, fell asleep, and silence descended upon the class.
Before we knew it, another day at kindergarten had passed, and the children, having finished preparing for school, were huddled together and boarding the van. Today, there were unusually many cars passing by on the road in front of the kindergarten, and the teacher was having a hard time calming down the excited children.
“Everyone! There are a lot of cars, so be careful!”
“Yes~!!!”
“Okay, let’s get on, our heroine!”
The teacher, who barely managed to pick up one child and then wanders around looking for the next girl, forgets her turn and goes to the back to chat with her friends, only then slowly creeping forward.
"lol..."
“Okay, let’s get on quickly, Yeoju~”
Hehe- If you laugh so innocently while walking, you won't be able to scold you. The female protagonist, who disarmed the teacher with her unique cuteness, can't stop smiling brightly as if she's so happy.
At that time, the teacher briefly moved away from the female lead to see if all the cars had passed.
“Huh? Teacher!!!”
“There’s a car!!!”
A large sedan rolled down the alley, speeding down the hill without a driver, threatening to pounce on Yeoju. Yeoju's legs were frozen in fear, and she couldn't even hear her teacher's cries.
“Hey lady!!!! Get out of here!!!!”
“Gyaaaaah!!!!”
bang-!!!
“Ugh... huh...”
“Hey lady!!!”
“Teacher... Whew... Eww...”
The car that was speeding towards Yeoju crashed into a wall, and fortunately, Yeoju fell to the side, leaving only a slight bruise on her knee. However,
“Jungkook... Jungkook!!!”
“......”
“Hello?!! Is this 119!!!”
Jungkook pushed Yeoju out of the way and crashed into the car himself. Even the teacher couldn't bear to look at the gruesome sight of him, crushed under the car. When the children became agitated, the teacher immediately called 911, and Jungkook and Yeoju were taken to the hospital.
"teacher!!!"
“Jungkook’s mother...!!”
“Uh... what happened? Our Jeongguk...”
“...I'm so sorry. I'm so embarrassed, Mother...”
“Are you... badly hurt?”
As soon as she entered the emergency room, Jeongguk's mother looked for Jeongguk. In front of her was a bloody bed, a teacher sitting next to it, and a female protagonist with an expression that looked like she was about to cry.
“Uh, our Jeongguk... what happened?”
“That’s it… I stopped making the kids go to the lower house...”
“...Ah... Ahh...”
“Ahhhh... Jungkook... Ah...”
After hearing the whole story, Jeong-guk's mother collapsed on the emergency room floor and began to sob. This wasn't a minor accident, but a very, very major one. Who could understand a mother's heart? The emergency room was filled with her cries, and no one tried to stop her.
At that time, the female protagonist, who had been blankly staring at the bed, approached Jeongguk's mother and began patting her back.
“Hey lady...!”
“Ma’am... I’m sorry...”
“I was there... Jungkook took my place...”
“But, is Jeongguk dying now...?”
“......”
Tears welling up in her big eyes. Her voice trembled. Jeongguk's mother raised her head and looked at Yeoju intently. Yeoju, who also had wounds, such as a scraped knee and a scab on her pretty face, was worried only about Jeongguk. Jeongguk's mother stroked Yeoju's cheek and wiped away her tears.
“No... it’s not your fault, baby.”
“Jungkook... will live.”
“Ugh... uh...”
Finally, Yeo-ju's tears burst out. Jeong-gook's mother sat in Yeo-ju's arms and quietly sobbed with her. Before she knew it, Yeo-ju's mother had arrived and the emergency room was deserted, but Jeong-gook's surgery showed no signs of ending.
“Why isn’t it coming out...?”
“I’ll be out soon, Mom...”
“I... I guess so?”
“It’s not wrong, is it...?”
Jeongguk's mother's hands were trembling as she became very anxious. Yeoju held her hand tightly, and the teacher stroked Yeoju's head and tried to calm her trembling heart.
At that moment,
"after..."
The doctor took off his surgical gown, sighed deeply, and entered the emergency room. He looked around, seemingly searching for someone, and then a familiar name came out.
“Is there a guardian for patient Jeon Jungkook?”
“Oh, yes!! Here it is!!”
“Come this way for a moment...”
When Jeongguk's mother waved her hand urgently, the doctor straightened his clothes and called her aside. Yeoju wanted to follow and listen, but the atmosphere was quite serious, so the teacher and Yeoju's mother stopped her and left. Yeoju, who wanted to see Jeongguk wake up, threw a tantrum and refused to go home, but she couldn't win against her mother.
On the car ride home, Yeoju, overcome with fatigue, quickly fell asleep. She didn't wake up once until they arrived home, and, following her teacher's advice, skipped kindergarten for three days. She wanted to visit Jeongguk countless times, but was stopped by her mother each time, and waited for the day she could return to kindergarten.
And the day before going to kindergarten, Yeoju heard shocking news.
“Hey, Joo-ah. Jung-kook is going to the hospital in Seoul.”
"...yes...?"
“Jungkook is very sick, so they can’t treat him here.”
“So I’ll be in Seoul for a long time. Maybe I’ll live there for the rest of my life.”
Oh my, he's leaving for Seoul overnight. Yeo-ju, who had a hard time believing this, quickly burst into tears and insisted that she too would follow him to the hospital. That day, at least, her mother welcomed Yeo-ju with a longing look in her eyes.
After tightly fastening her clothes and arriving at the hospital room, the mother carefully opened the door to the room, telling the female protagonist not to make any noise.
And there,
“...Jungkook...”
“...Kim Yeo-ju?”
Jeongguk was lying there with bandages wrapped all over his body.
“You... why are you here...?”
“You said you were going to Seoul...!!”
“...Why is that...”
“Why...! I... did that because I was worried about you...!!”
“...Are you okay...?”
Even as he struggled to open his eyes, Jungkook worried about Yeoju. Yeoju, seeing him, burst into tears once again. Jungkook panicked as his sobs grew uncontrollably, but even in the midst of all this, Yeoju managed to choke out what she needed to say.
“Really really... thank you, Jungkook...”
“You are my hero.”
"...what..."
“So... even if you go to Seoul, don’t forget me...”
“Okay...?”
“...Yeah... I won’t forget.”
What was so important about their friendship when they were only 5 years old? Jungkook and Yeoju ended up having a long separation with the wounds they had inflicted on each other.
Fortunately, the female protagonist's wound healed quickly and there were no aftereffects.
But for some reason, a feeling of emptiness continued to linger in a corner of her heart. Having graduated from kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school, Yeoju, now a respectable 17-year-old, was about to begin her first day of high school.
The air in the classroom felt fresh and fresh, like the start of a new semester. Sitting quietly in a corner, Yeo-ju, still feeling awkward, became silent. The silence was broken by none other than her homeroom teacher.
“Well, a transfer student has arrived on the first day of the new semester.”
“Come in, Jeongguk.”
"...huh...?"
"Jungkook? No way. This can't be the Jeon Jungkook I know," the female lead thought, trying to shake off her surprise. "That kid from kindergarten wanted to be here...
Knock knock-
“Uh... hello...”
“...!!!”
I could tell. It was clear.
Although his facial features had changed a lot, it was undoubtedly Jeon Jungkook.
“I’m Jeon Jungkook, a transfer student from Seoul...”
“...Please take good care of me....”
“Okay, Jungkook, go sit over there.”
"Today is my first day, so let me introduce myself briefly. I..."
The homeroom teacher's introduction didn't even register. Yeoju's attention was entirely focused on Jeon Jungkook. Was he feeling okay? Was he feeling better? Why did he seem so anxious earlier? A thousand questions raced through her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. Does he even recognize me?
As I was trying to calm my complicated thoughts, the day passed by in no time. I had made some new friends, and the class atmosphere was decent, but Yeoju just couldn't adjust. As soon as class ended and the homeroom teacher finished the closing ceremony, the kids poured out, and Yeoju ran after Jeong-guk, who was slowly disappearing into the crowd.
“Ugh... over there...!!”
"jungkook jeon!!!"
"...why?"
“Huh... You, don’t remember me...?!”
“Me...!! Kim Yeo-ju!!”
“...Kim Yeo-ju?”
“How did you...”
We each grabbed a cup of coffee and went to the park behind the school to settle down. There was a slight awkwardness, perhaps because it had been years since we'd seen each other, but the occasional waft of spring seemed to lighten the mood. We chatted about old times, about our kindergarten days, and more, and I cautiously brought up the story of the accident.
“...Are you better now? Your body.”
"...ah..."
“...?”
For some reason, Jeongguk was hesitating, and his lips were strangely trembling as he hesitated. When I intervened, telling him to speak slowly without rushing him, Jeongguk sighed and spoke in a calm voice.
“...Actually, it’s not that good.”
“I can barely see in my left eye due to optic nerve damage...”
“My legs are almost limping.”
“......”
“Actually, this is why I transferred.
“I was bullied in middle school because of my disability.”
"ah..."
I was dumbfounded. I hadn't heard from him since he left, and now that I know he was still living like that, I feel so overwhelmed that I can't say anything.
“...That’s how it was... I guess it’s probably the same here.”
“...I'll help you.”
"you...?"
“You helped me then, so I’ll help you now.”
“Let me be your hero too.”
“...”
Just as you saved my life, I will save you from the darkness.
“Okay, good.”