Hoseok
July 23, Year 10
It all happened when I counted to four. I was
Counting some fruits, they were either tomatoes or melons. No
I'm sure. "Four." As soon as I said it, one
A vision from my childhood appeared before my eyes. I was
holding someone's hands.
The first day I went to an amusement park with
Mom. I was fascinated by the colorful flags and the
The boulevard of shops. The people dressed as clowns...
She waved, and exciting music echoed from every corner.
Mom stopped in front of a carousel. The horses
White planes circled and circled under the lit lights.
I was about to ask, "Mom, are we here to..."
"Get this set up?" When someone called me. "HoSeok."
I looked up.
He was my teacher. My classmates...
They stared, bewildered. A vision from my childhood.
It disappeared. My teacher urged me to continue, and I began.
Let's count again. Five. Six. Mom reappeared.
Before my eyes. It looked exactly the same as it had a while ago.
minute. His face was shadowed while he was
Standing in the light, a breeze stirred her hair. Mom
He handed me a chocolate bar. "HoSeok, close the..."
Eyes closed tightly and don't open them until you've counted to
ten".
Seven. Eight. Nine. I stopped there. My teacher did
A gesture indicated that I should continue. My colleagues looked at me again. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
words. Mom's face blurred. I felt like
If she would never come looking for me if I finished counting to
Ten. I fell to the ground.
Tae Hyung
December 29, Year 10
I took off my shoes, threw my bag on the ground, and ran.
to the room. Dad was really home. I didn't have
time to think about how many days he had spent away and
where it came from. I simply threw myself into his arms. Everything
It became blurry again from that point on. I wasn't sure if
First I smelled the liquor on his breath, I heard him swear or
I felt the slap on my face. I didn't understand what...
It was happening. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had the
A scraggly beard. A strong hand struck my face.
"What are you looking at?" He slapped me again. Dad
He grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me up; I was almost face to face with him.
face to face with him. With dark, sinister eyes and a
He had a disheveled appearance. He wasn't my father. Well, he was.
But he wasn't there. My feet were dangling in the air and I was
He was so scared he couldn't even cry. At that moment
Next, my head hit the wall hard and I
I collapsed to the floor. It felt like my head had...
Broken. I could barely see. Everything went dark.
JiMin
April 6, Year 11
I left through the main door of the Grass Flower.
Arboretum only. The sky was cloudy and it was a bit chilly.
It was cold. But I felt fine. It was a picnic day in the
school and, as usual, my parents were
Too busy to accompany me. That makes me
discouragement. But I received the highest possible score in the competition.
drawing flowers, and all my friends' mothers...
They said, "You're very mature and kind." I thought it was very...
genial.
"Jimin, wait here. It'll only be a minute," my friend said.
The teacher after the picnic was over and we
We were preparing to leave the grove. I didn't wait, I knew
that I could find my way on my own. I clung to it.
I grabbed the straps of my backpack with both hands and took steps
safe. Everyone seemed to be staring at me, so
I kept my back straight. After walking for a while,
It started to rain. My classmates and their mothers...
They had gone, and no one paid any attention to me. My...
legs, so I ducked under a tree. The rain
It began to fall harder. I craned my neck to
to check if anyone was coming from either side,
But there was nobody around.
I started running, holding my backpack over my shoulder.
head with both hands. The rain kept falling every
It got stronger every time. My pants were soaked with the...
It starts to drizzle after a few steps. No shops.
A house or bus stop came into view. In the distance, I could see a door. I ran towards it without thinking. My
My hands felt numb from holding the backpack.
I was soaked, and my teeth were chattering. In the
Above the door was a sign that said Grass
Flower Arboretum. It was the back gate and there was a
small warehouse right behind.
Seok Jin
July 21, Year 12
The front door kept opening and closing.
I continued watching, sitting in the waiting room of the
airport. People were passing by with suitcases, some with
sunglasses. The electronic display changed with the
Airline arrivals, delays, and cancellations.
The driver muttered, his eyes fixed on his cell phone.
"There's still no news of him." I looked at my watch. More time passed.
an hour since my father promised he would arrive.
For as long as I can remember, I've always been alone.
Dad was busy and Mom seemed indifferent.
They told me to just do what they told me and
that he shouldn't try anything else. When he disobeyed, I
They scolded me silently. I wanted to please my parents.
Mom died not long ago. Dad told me no.
He cried, but he didn't cry himself. I tried to obey him, but I couldn't.
It was easy. She decided to send me to live with my maternal grandmother in the
The US. And he didn't seem too sad about it.
My father's driver handed me my passport. It was
Time to go. I looked back as I headed towards the
Exit door. The entrance door closed.
The driver waved to me and the plane finally began to take off.
Accelerate on the track. Dad didn't arrive.
I looked out the small window next to my seat.
The clouds passed and the sky turned dark. The flight attendant...
She brought a meal, and the cup of juice fell when there was a...
Turbulence. Nervous, I asked for some napkins. TheThe flight attendant asked me if I was okay. My fried rice and my
The meat was soaked in juice. My hands were
sticky and my pants were wet. "No," I whispered to him.
She turned around, but the flight attendant didn't seem to hear. She said that
I wasn't worried as I took the tray away. I nodded.
and I kept looking at the ground.
NamJoon
June 21, Year 16
I ran down the stairs from the 13th floor.
I was breathless and my legs were trembling.
I collapsed in the shadow of the entrance to the complex.
apartments. I started late today because school was hard.
More than usual, I had to go full speed to hit it.
The brochures should be available in all four buildings before the deadline.
If I didn't do it, my boss would have a long talk waiting for me.
I had painstakingly persuaded him to hire
to a high school student. Of course, I couldn't
I didn't want to be fired at this point. Mom quit.
to her job at the restaurant last week. We had
to pay the doctor's bills for Dad, for not
mention the overdue electricity and gas bills. I continued
nodding from the shadows. There were children playing.
Basketball in the distance. I got up again. Time to
Run. I told myself I had to do it. I can.
do it.
YoonGi
September 19, Year 16
The flames were devouring my house. Just that morning,
It was complete and intact, but now it was on fire.
The people who recognized me ran towards me.
shouting unintelligible words. The neighbors were waving their arms.
feet nervously. The fire truck couldn't
I had to get home because access was blocked.
I stood there frozen. It was the end of summer and the
Early autumn. The sky was blue and the air was
Fresh. I didn't know what to think, what to feel, or what to do.
Suddenly, I thought of my mom. At that moment, my house...
It collapsed with a crash. It was completely
engulfed in flames. Or, rather, she herself was a flame.
giant blaze. The ceiling, the pillars, the walls, and my…
The room collapsed one by one as if
were made of sand. All I could do was
look at them with empty eyes.
People were walking past me. I heard them saying that the
The fire truck had finally arrived. Someone
He grabbed my shoulder and asked me urgently:
"Is anyone there?" I just stared at him. "Is your..."
"Mother in there?" She shook me hard by the
shoulder. "No, there's no one here." I heard myself say. "What do you want?"
"What do you say?" She was one of the ladies in my neighborhood. "What do you mean?"
"What happened to your mom? Where is she?" "There's no one here."
He was sure of what he was saying. Someone came by.
my side again.
Jungkook
September 11, Year 17
I waited all day, but the birthday card didn't arrive.
It arrived. I opened the bottom drawer and lifted a notebook to
I found four letters. Jungkook, happy
Dad's birthday. I read these five words over and over.
time.
It was winter, and I was 7 years old. There were voices in the room...
I was woken up. My room was in the attic, and I could
to reach my parents' bedroom by opening the
sliding door and going down the five steps. I extended
I reached out to open the door and stopped. Although I still
She was young, she could feel the heavy atmosphere seeping in.
From the room, I guessed it wasn't a good time.
Dad said it was too difficult to move on and
that the world was too heavy for him. Mom didn't
She answered. She was probably crying silently or
He didn't move at all. A long silence followed.
Dad said he would be crushed if he continued living like that, and
She had to leave now. Mom protested vehemently.
telling him he was an irresponsible man. Then I heard
My name. "What will happen to Jungkook?" I waited a long time.
I waited behind the door for a while, but Dad didn't answer.
Then I heard the sound of the door opening. "I am
Completely indifferent, there's nothing I can do.
"For him." Those were my father's last words.
I ran up the stairs to the attic. I moved my
I stood in a chair against the wall directly below the window. Dad was walking up the slope. First
Her legs disappeared, and then her waist, chest, and
shoulders. It seemed as if an unknown world beyond
It will slowly swallow him up beyond the road.
Someone opened my bedroom door and I
Instinctively, I pushed the drawer with my foot. It was Mom.
She said a card would never arrive and that my father was
That kind of person. It was his usual repertoire. Dad was
weak, incompetent, and, most importantly, he was a
A social misfit who abandoned us... She was right.
No birthday cards would ever arrive. I was
that unbearable world and its heavy burden, the world
that he abandoned. A child for whom he was unwilling to...
To endure everything. That was me.