old baseball glove
1. Earth's destruction crisis
Scientists predicted that the Arctic ice caps would melt, sea levels would rise, island countries including Japan would be submerged in the ocean, rapid climate change would make it difficult for humans to live, and the Earth would gradually lose its vitality. However, humans were not alert. Since the real problems were not visible, statistical data from news and articles did not really inspire people. Humans, who were insensitive to safety, did not realize that it was already too late when the signs of destruction touched their skin. When a large amount of Arctic ice caps melted, humans were indifferent. As a result, half of the island countries were submerged in the ocean. Alas. Now, humans have belatedly realized that the possibility of Earth's destruction is no longer a future reality, but a present one. All the world's scientists, environmentalists, and other knowledgeable experts gathered together to quickly come up with measures to revive the Earth. It seemed that the Earth's abnormal signs were improving, but was it because it was already too late? The Earth, which had been destroyed beyond repair, had lost its ability to recover. Humanity despaired. They were in danger of helplessly having to pay back their mistakes of thousands of years ago. Most of humanity was at a loss. However, there were those who were as strong as iron and never gave up. They were those who dreamed of space. They changed their direction from 'let's save the Earth' to 'finding another planet to replace the Earth'. At first, people laughed at them. They clicked their tongues, saying that they were distracted by a planet that might or might not exist when they were struggling to solve the crisis right in front of them. However, a few years later, something miraculous happened. They found a planet to replace the Earth. It was the moment when their persistence paid off. The new miracle that had come to humanity was called E-NM. E-NM was a planet very similar to the Earth. It had the same area of land and sea as the Earth, and it had 'oxygen', the most important element for life. After discovering this, full-scale development of a new planet began. E-NM, which received global attention and investment, developed an infrastructure for people to live in, and spaceships that could freely travel between Earth and E-NM were developed and advanced. The rich and powerful around the world settled in E-NM, and following suit, the nations of the world began to purchase land in E-NM. The nations of the world soon had a nationwide plan to migrate their citizens from the destroyed land of Earth to the safe land of E-NM. The long project progressed rapidly. Half of the population of Earth headed to E-NM. However, this did not mean that Earth and E-NM were cut off. They remained able to communicate with each other. It would be so until Earth was practically destroyed.
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30 years have passed since then.
Yeoju lives on Earth. She stayed on Earth because of her father's research as a space scientist. Yeoju is an ordinary high school student attending a Korean high school. She is 18 years old this year. She spends her ordinary high school life with her childhood friend, Kim Woon-hak, whom she has grown up with since childhood. There are not many children left at the school. This is because everyone left Earth and immigrated to E-NM. Although it is a high school located in Seoul, there are less than 100 students, including boys and girls. Of course, there is one class per grade. They put 30 people in each group. Maybe that's why there was no distance between grades. Since we all saw each other at least once when we passed by, it was an atmosphere where everyone got along well regardless of grade.
2. Be careful of dogs
Kim Woon-hak, who likes baseball, often spent time after school playing baseball with me and Dong-hyeon, who is one year older than me. Since I am not interested in baseball, watching them was my daily routine. Why do I wait until the end of a baseball game that I don't even like? Because I secretly like Dong-hyeon. When I watch the two of them play baseball, the three of us go home together when the sun goes down. I like that time, so I just wait for it. Even though I don't like baseball that much.
"Donghyun's tongue, here"
Swish-
widely.
"Oh, I missed it"
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Baseball... is it fun? It's crazy back and forth.
I crouched on the steps of the playground and watched the two of them, obsessed with baseball. Their faces were red as they panted like country dogs. Still, their eyes sparkled under the sunlight.
"Wow, it's hot..-"
Kim Woon-hak, drenched in sweat, wet his face at the faucet. Kim Dong-hyun followed suit and wet his face with water.
"Uh, ha~"
Kim Dong-hyun, who took a deep breath, followed suit. Kim Woon-hak followed suit.
"Ugh~"
‘Are they both uncles?’ Yeoju thought.
“Kim Yeo-ju, sprinkle some water on my back.” Kim Woon-hak lay down in front of me, stretched out, and lifted his waist. “Oh, me too, me too-” Following suit, senior Dong-hyeon also lay down toward me.
"... I don't know if I catch a cold"
I took a bucket, filled it with water, and dumped it on their backs. They both laughed, making "Ah! Eww!" sounds.
A splash of water quickly appeared under my school uniform shirt, which was soaking wet. - Water splashed on me too.
"Ouch, it's cold!"
“Are you wet? Hahaha.” Kim Woon-hak chuckled.
"Ah, really... Kim Woon-hak;" He didn't like the way he was being teased, so he poured the remaining water from the bucket over Kim Woon-hak's head.
"Ah! Ouch! Hey..!!" Kim Woon-hak stood up, kicking his feet, and screamed loudly, saying it was cold. "Why, you asked me to sprinkle it?" He ran away to avoid Kim Woon-hak, who was running towards him with his tongue sticking out.
“...They’re fighting again,” Dong-hyun sighs familiarly, but doesn’t stop them.
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Thud. The moment my arm was grabbed, Unhak shook his head from side to side toward me. The water droplets that bounced off his wet hair hit my face. “Ah! Kim Unhak!!” I grabbed Kim Unhak’s head with both hands, annoyed.
Swish.-
I bit Unhak's head with my teeth and hung on. "Ouch!! Oh my head!! .. my head!!" Unhak screamed while holding onto his bitten head. "Where's the point of biting my head..!!" After struggling for a few seconds, the two reached an agreement.
3.Suddenly
“Did you really think I was going to bite your head off? Dog?” Unhak said, rubbing the bite mark on Yeoju.
"Who was the one who started the fight..--"
“Don’t fight, kids~” Kim Dong-hyun, who had been leisurely watching the fight, finally said a word.
"No, bro. What did you do instead of stopping me? Ugh... It hurts.."
Unhak frowned at the bitten head while getting angry.
“Look, there’s a hole in your head-” Dong-hyun said while smiling broadly and looking at Un-hak’s head.
"Oh, there really is a teeth mark on my forehead, lol" Donghyun giggled.
"What?? Really??" Unhak felt his bitten forehead with his hand. He could really feel the dents that were probably the two front teeth.
"... sorry"
The heroine felt a little apologetic, wondering if she had asked too hard.
“Yeah, we should get along well~” Dong-hyun put both arms on Yeo-ju and Un-hak’s shoulders.
Hmm. - I felt Dong-Hyeon's heavy arm on my shoulder. The left side of Dong-Hyeon's face, which was pressed against me, was wet and shiny. Stroke... The water droplets flowing down his head ran down his collarbone. When he thought, 'Oh no, maybe I looked too much,' he turned his head and met Dong-hyun's eyes.
“Why is my face pierced?” Dong-hyun grinned.
“No, just...” I remained silent, unable to forget the words.
I took a deep breath, almost hearing my heart pounding.
...
"Brother, when are you going?" Unhak, who had been thinking deeply, started to ask.
“Tomorrow or the day after,” Dong-hyun said with a regretful expression.
?
“Where is Dong-Hyeon-Senior?” A question mark appeared in my head.
"Hey, didn't you know..? Dong-hyun hyung moved to E-NM."
"...what?"
I didn't know. I had no idea. When did Donghyun ever tell me that? ...There's no way.
“Haha, didn’t I tell you..-?” Donghyun trailed off with an awkward smile.
"...Really? Is it true..?" I quickly looked at Donghyun Sunbae with a face of disbelief.
"Yeah, it happened because my parents' jobs changed."
The answer I got back was one I didn't want to hear.
“...Why now, why now of all times..” With a sad face, she pushed Dong-hyun’s arm off her shoulder.
"..Yeoju?" Dong-hyun was embarrassed when he saw Yeoju with a sad face.
"I'll go first"
widely.-
I ran behind them. I ran with one arm covering my face. I didn't want to be caught crying tears of regret. The warmth of Dong-hyun Sunbae was still on my shoulder just now. As if he was teasing someone.
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4. Treasure House
Crunch.-
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“...As expected, you were here.” Unhak ran over and held onto the warehouse wall with one hand, panting for breath.
“...What, why?” The female protagonist, who noticed that it was Kim Woon-hak, crouched down inside the warehouse and did not raise her head.
"You said you were going alone, but you haven't come home yet. The sun has already set. Then when will it be time for you to go?" Unhak crouched down next to Yeoju.
“...What do you want me to do?” Yeo-ju got angry at Kim Woon-hak, who noticed her pattern.
Since she was young, Yeoju had a habit of hiding in a warehouse when something bad happened. That habit started when she was 11 years old and sent her mother away. She locked the door to her heart after hearing the sudden news of her mother’s death. The reason she would hide in the warehouse whenever she wanted was because she didn’t want to see her father’s sad face every day, so she didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want her mother to leave her side, and she didn’t want her father to be sad because of her. When she hid in the warehouse, she couldn’t see anything. She felt safe because she didn’t think about anything when she was there. However, she was lonely. She was scared of the isolation of being alone. Every time that happened, that fool Kim Woon-hak would come into the warehouse and stay by my side. He would sit silently and wait for me. And today too.
...
Rumble, rumble...
Unhak searched through the warehouse peacefully.
"Oh, this is it." Unhak was holding a baseball glove in his hand. He had forgotten and left it for so long that a thick layer of white dust had piled up, and a refreshing smell filled the air.
"...Aren't you going home?" I was concerned about Kim Woon-hak, who was pestering me. I couldn't understand why he was acting like that.
“Do you remember this?” Unhak lifted up an old baseball glove.
"...What is that?" I asked with a blank face.
"You told me to bring you one of the things that was most precious to me and go get it when I grew up, but I just left it in storage and completely forgot about it!"
"...Ah, that's right" What...what was that time capsule called... I remembered Kim Woon-hak's excited face and nervousness from 7 years ago.
That day, Kim Woon-hak brought a baseball glove with the autograph of his favorite baseball player. He said that he would use it when he becomes the world's best baseball player in the future or something...
What did I bring back then?
Unhak took out a small gift box.
"Found it"
The gift box contained my mother's pendant necklace and a gemstone ring I bought at a stationery store when I was little.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this gemstone ring. It’s something they used to sell at stationery stores when I was little, lol.” Unhak fiddled with the gemstone ring as if it was new to him.
"...Give it back, it's mine." I snatched the ring from Unhak's hand. It was just a 500 won gemstone ring from a stationery store, but it was a precious item to me. It was a meaningful gift from Donghyun. When I was young, I fought with Kim Unhak and cried, and to Donghyun, it might have just been a ring he gave me to comfort me. But it was a precious gift that brought me my first love.
As Yeo-ju looked at the jewel ring, she recalled a memory she had forgotten, and began to hate Kim Dong-hyun even more. How could he leave without saying anything? Why didn’t he tell me sooner? She was just resentful.
'...If it's going to be like this, I shouldn't have given it to you,' he muttered to himself while looking at the ring.
...
"Is that so good?" Unhak crouched down and met my eyes. His face was slightly drooping.
“What good is it, it doesn’t fit my hand anymore,” I said, fiddling with the ring that wouldn’t fit in the middle of my pinky finger.
“But it’s precious,” said Unhak.
"...huh"
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5. Another breakup
I saw off senior Dong-Hyeon together with Kim Woon-Hak. I packed my belongings in a relaxed manner until the last day that senior Dong-Hyeon left.
"Is this enough for moving? Hyung?" said Unhak as he loaded the last of the luggage into the car.
"Yeah, thanks for helping me."
"... If you're grateful, come visit often." Unhak said with tears in his eyes.
When the man said, "Why are you crying...", tears welled up in my eyes as well. They were both stupid, pitiful dogs who couldn't leave their owners and were crying.
"Everyone, take care. I'll miss you." Donghyun smiled brightly until the end.
"Bye, bro.."
"..." I ended up saying nothing. I kept my mouth shut and held back the tears that were welling up inside.
Dong-hyun was concerned about the female protagonist who remained silent until the end.
"Hey, how are you?" Dong-hyun stroked Yeo-ju's hair one last time. His touch was so affectionate that the tears he had been holding back burst out.
"...Ugh, if you don't come see me, I'll kill you... Ugh!" Dong-hyun laughed at the creepy words and said, "Okay, I will." His back looked lonely as he turned around.
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In this way, Yeoju experienced another breakup.
...
A year has passed. Now Yeo-ju and Un-hak are 19 years old and are in the final stages of their adolescence.
“Why are you so late?” Unhak grumbled, as if he was bored.
“Ah, career counseling.” I hurriedly packed my bag.
"What did you say?"
"I'm just going to college."
"You went to college??" Unhak asked in great surprise.
Tack-kong.-
“Why can’t I go?” When I heard those words from Kim Woon-hak, I felt annoyed and hit him on the head.
"Ouch, why did you hit me..!!"
"That's because you did the right thing."
"...her-"
On the way home, Unhak's speech had noticeably decreased.
What's going on? For some reason, today, the corners of Unhak's mouth seemed to be turned up.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
"Not really..." Unhak trailed off and opened his mouth again. "Should I go to college too?"
"you also?"
"Yeah, I'll go with you," Unhak said with determined eyes.
"I know where I'm going.."
"Korea University..?"
"...I'm going to E-NM," Yeo-ju answered after hesitating for a moment.
"What? Then you're saying Dong-hyun will leave here like hyung??"
Unhak's voice grew louder.
"Yeah, I think that if you go to the developed E-NM, your field of vision will be broader than Earth, which is always on the news about imminent destruction," he said, but he couldn't help but feel a little like he wanted to see Dong-Hyeon Sunbae.
"... Really?" Unhak looked gloomy.
6. I like it,
...
It was from that time. Kim Woon-hak started avoiding me. At first, he seemed a little lethargic. He never said anything about what was going on, and then he just kept his mouth shut. I was so frustrated that it was driving me crazy.
"Hey, let's talk about Kim Woon-hak." As soon as it was time to leave school, I followed behind Kim Woon-hak. However, Woon-hak pretended not to hear me and was busy moving forward.
"Hey, Kim Woon-hak!!!" he shouted.
Stop.-
"..." Unhak stopped walking at the sound of that voice.
Taking advantage of the gap, I ran to Unhak. Unhak's face, which had been standing upright, was covered in a shadow.
“Tell me, why do you keep avoiding me?” I groaned in frustration. But Kim Woon-hak did not open his tightly shut mouth.
"...Okay, don't say anything if you don't want to talk." He let go of the hand that was holding onto Unhak. And then "Idiot Kim Unhak, eat well and live well on your own!!! I'm going to go to college and meet Donghyun senior at E-NM!!! I don't need to see someone like you!!" He shouted. Then he exhaled loudly and walked ahead of Unhak.
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..
Did you take one step, two steps?
Hwaak.-
A strong force pulled me from behind. As my body's center of gravity shifted backwards, I thought, 'I'm going to fall,' and at the same time, the back of my head hit something hard. It was Kim Woon-hak.
The leaning body leaned against Kim Woon-hak's chest and raised his head. Kim Woon-hak's face was visible. Tears fell from Woon-hak's face, which was wrinkled like a burst persimmon.
"...Are you crying?" I was taken aback by the sight of Unhak crying for a moment.
Why are you crying? I feel so frustrated and want to cry.
"...Don't." Unhak muttered quietly.
“What?” He turned to Unhak.
"... Don't go, stay here." Unhak opened his mouth that had been tightly shut. Once he opened his mouth, more and more words opened.
“Don’t go to college, don’t go see Dong-hyun. Stay here with me.”
"…why?"
“I like you,” spat out Unhak, who had turned into a red beet.
"I like it, so don't go"
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...
This is not what I expected. Kim Woon-hak's confession turned my day upside down. Do you... like me? That idiot Kim Woon-hak?
Crunch.-
“Hey, you’re here?” I ran into my room as soon as I got home without even hearing my father’s voice.
Dadadak.-
"...Is puberty coming again?" Dad sighed deeply and shook his head.
*
Here's a news flash. Last August, a satellite observed that a large number of meteors heading toward Earth are expected to enter the Earth's orbit. There have been no cases of meteors hitting the Earth yet, and experts predict that if they do, they will safely miss the Earth...
____________________________________
bang.-
The door was locked when I walked in.
When on earth did it start? Why? Me? A lot of questions popped out. But I still... like Dong-hyun senior.. Do I? The more I finished speaking, the less certain I became. Still, to me, Kim Woon-hak is a foolish Kim Woon-hak. I never once thought of him as a man. Maybe it's because we went together since we were so young. Even in elementary school, he was smaller and weaker than me, no more than an elementary school student. Now...
It had been a long time since he had surpassed me and his size had become distracting. The force that had been pulling me just a moment ago… I could feel it tingling on my skin.
Yeah, I'll admit it honestly. You're a guy.
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7. I'll wait
After Kim Woon-hak's confession, our relationship became a little estranged, and I spent the last years of my youth at the age of 19. But I think we were able to reconcile somehow.
“I got scouted,” Unhak boasted, holding up his business card.
"What, really?"
"Yeah, now I won't say anything about following you to college."
"...Huh, can I come?" I said, but somehow I felt disappointed. Still, I have to support Kim Woon-hak's dream.
"Just wait and see, I'll become the world's best baseball player."
"This is the world's strongest lol"
"...Haha, so when that time comes, think about it again"
"Huh? What..?"
...
“..My confession.” Unhak smiled shyly.
"...Huh?" His face became blank as he suddenly heard the confession.
Crazy, crazy. That idiot Kim Woon-hak. If he's this stupid, how could I...
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...
In the winter of his 19th year, he was accepted to the university of his choice. It was not easy to see Kim Woon-hak's face even once after being scouted due to his rigorous training. Our school held the graduation ceremony in a hurry this year. The graduation ceremony next year was moved up to the winter of his 19th year. That is why I was able to see Kim Woon-hak's face for the first time in a long time.
“Congratulations on your graduation,” said Kim Woon-hak, smiling and approaching with a bouquet of flowers.
"Congratulations on your graduation too." It had been a long time since I saw Kim Woon-hak's face. Did he lose a little weight? His small face had sunken in even more. I felt like I could understand a little bit the heart of a mother who had sent her son to the military. I wonder if he was eating well.
“Are you going today?” Unhak made a bitter expression.
"Yeah, I'll pack my bags and go with Dad today. This place is goodbye now~" I said, sounding relieved, but inside I was filled with regret. The school hallway I used to walk around with Kim Woon-hak during every break, the classroom where we chattered and did something else during class, Kim Woon-hak dozing off during every class because he played games all night, and the sight of Kim Woon-hak and Dong-hyun's senior baseball flying after school were still vivid in my mind. I thought I would miss it. All of it. And Kim Woon-hak, who was with me through all of this, was the most...
I thought you might miss me.
“Kim Unhak,” I called out to Unhak.
"huh?"
"You shouldn't confess. I'll wait for you..." Tears welled up at the end of her words. It's common to cry at graduation ceremonies, but for some reason, I cried even more.
"..." Unhak couldn't forget his words for a while, then slowly approached me and held out his hand.
"Give me your hand." Unhak took my hand and put a glove on my hand. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was Kim Unhak's treasure. An old baseball glove with his favorite autograph.
He stared at Unhak with a face that said, 'Why are you doing this to me...'
"It's not a gemstone ring, but you have it. I'll definitely become a world-class baseball player and come back. Then... When that time comes, I'll give you something prettier than a gemstone ring." Kim Woon-hak proposes with his face slowly turning red. This is funny. That idiot Kim Woon-hak... Who would propose with a baseball glove? But am I an idiot for thinking that it's typical of Kim Woon-hak's ideas?
"Of course, I graduated from the gem ring. Bring me a prettier one and I'll accept it."
Unhak smiled faintly and said, “Okay, I understand.” I buried my face in Unhak’s arms. He said he was training, but his chest had become so hard that I couldn’t breathe.
"Ugh, I can't breathe..."
"...Just a little more." Unhak grabbed my shoulder, which was being hugged tightly. Like a child who doesn't want to leave his parents' arms.
...
Tickle tickle.
I poked Unhak in the ribs.
"Ah! Wait a minute..!" Unhak was startled and flinched, backing away. Kim Unhak, who was easily tickled, had no choice but to fall down. I burst out laughing at that sight.
"Ah, this is not it~! I was in a good mood, but how can this be~!!" Kim Woon-hak, who was upset by Kim Yeo-joo, was the one who hated her.
Kim Woon-hak's reaction to being touched after a long time was, as expected, like a fool Kim Woon-hak.
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...
After graduation, I arrived at E-NM with my dad. It was my first spaceflight in my life. My dad must have been a bit dull, since he spent half his life on a spaceship.
*
"Hey, I heard E-NM has arrived?"
The person with the welcoming voice was Dong-Hyeon, my senior in the video call.
"Yeah, I just passed the space station."
"Call me when you're done with the checkpoint, I'll buy you a meal."
"What are you talking about, oppa... haha, I understand"
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It's been a year since I've seen you, Dong-Hyeon-Senior. Communication between Earth and E-NM has been difficult, so we haven't been able to contact each other often. It's nice to see you again like this.
"Lady, let's go"
"Yeah." I followed my dad. It was finally the moment when I set foot on E-NM for the first time in my 19 years of life.
E-NM was not much different from Earth. The oxygen and the city scenery. The only difference from Earth was the speed of development. It would have been nice if the transportation and cultural life were better, but there was nothing special about it.
Except that living in an apartment is so annoying, both on Earth and in E-NM.
Crunch.-
“This isn’t it… Another apartment?” I let out a deep breath.
"It's just land that Korea bought. How much is that piece of land? It might be different if it was the US or China," Dad said jokingly with a laugh.
"...I'm bored with this apartment now--"
"Then I guess I should go and get American citizenship."
"...Dad, that joke isn't funny"
“So?” Dad smiled like an old man and started packing his bags.
Adaptation to E-NM was fast. It was true that college students and youth of 20 years old have nothing to fear. Adaptation to school and friendships went better than I thought. If there was something that was missing, it was that Kim Woon-hak was not in my daily life. That made me feel a little lonely. Still, I heard news about Kim Woon-hak from time to time. I was so proud to see Kim Woon-hak’s name proudly on the front page of sports news, wondering if that fool Kim Woon-hak had adapted well to baseball life.
How many years have passed since I barely heard any news about him?
Tiring.-
*
Here's a breaking news story. Contrary to predictions that a large number of meteorites that entered Earth's orbit would miss the Earth, some of them reportedly fell toward the Earth. Now, damage cases are being reported from countries all over the world. The countries believed to be the victims include the southern United States, southern Europe, Asia, China, and Korea, among many others.
____________________________________
“You finally fell,” Dad said, clicking his tongue.
"...Meteorites fall? In Korea too?"
"What.. the news said that the damage to Korea was not trivial."
"...Where did it fall?"
Kim Woon-hak is okay? I wonder if anything will happen... Those words really are true. Has there ever been a time when expectations were wrong? That gloomy prediction came true.
After a large number of meteorites fell on Earth, my father had to go on an urgent business trip to Earth. The purpose of the business trip was to report on the meteorites that fell on Earth. My father's business trip was a little long. The business trip that was planned for two months ended up lasting a little over five months.
I waited for my dad before the return flight. When he returned, his face was haggard. Nevertheless, I ran to him and hugged him. I missed him so much. But his face was dark. Why? Wasn't he happy to see his daughter's face after five months? I felt a little disappointed. Even when he came home, I was suspicious of my dad's reluctant speech, but I thought it would be better to let him rest since he must have had a hard time.
...
At that time, my father held my hand tightly without saying anything.
"Huh? What the heck? Are you happy now?"
"Lady, listen first.."
"Huh? What's wrong... Why are you hesitating?" Seeing my father with a serious face holding my hand tightly and hesitating to speak made me feel nervous for some reason. What on earth was he going to say...
"...I heard that many people lost their lives in the recent meteorite accident." Dad opened his mouth heavily, his lips trembling.
"...You know, it was all over the news."
"Yes, in that accident... Unhak too..." Dad held back and couldn't forget the words. I could see Dad's crumpled face, holding back sadness through his trembling lips. It's been a long time since I've seen this. Dad's face like this. It was the same face when Mom passed away.
"...No, Dad. What...is it the same name?" I denied. No. It can't be. Why Kim Woon-hak? Why Kim Woon-hak, who is busy with baseball training for the World Cup this year? That can't be happening. It can't be happening.
"..." My father silently placed a small box in my hand. No matter how I looked at it, it was a ring case used for proposals. 'Why this...' I opened the box case.
Inside the case was a ring with a baseball shape engraved on it.
And then a small piece of paper caught my eye next to the ring.
I couldn't bear to read the letter. The black handwriting on the white stationery was Kim Woon-hak's. There's no way I could forget Kim Woon-hak's handwriting. I spent 12 years of school with you. How could I forget even one bit of your handwriting?
"You should read it, lady... But it must be a letter from Unhak to you."
***
Hey, heroine, how are you?
I'm about to compete in a world championship.
I'll come back as the world's best baseball player. Don't forget the promise you made to accept my confession then!
I'm enduring the tough training with that strength!! -3-
It's been years since I decided to give you a ring instead of a baseball glove. Now I'm finally able to give you a ring instead of a baseball glove. The ring design has a baseball on it! I hope you like it too... It's more expensive and prettier than a stationery jewelry ring!! Haha
I'm planning to go to E-NM after the game.
Then I will put this ring on you.
I'll come back after winning, just wait a little bit.
love you
____________________________________
...Fool Kim Woon-hak, you should be the one putting the ring on.
...
I buried the letter in my chest and sat down. Have I ever cried like this? I cried out loud on the spot. What good is it if it's prettier than a stationery store jewelry ring? When you're not here. When you're not here to put this ring on me. Do you think I'll like it? Foolish Kim Woon-hak... I shouldn't have waited for someone like you. I should have gone with you the day I left. Then we wouldn't have had to part ways ever again. Why? Why? Don't you play baseball? I took my anger out on useless baseball.
My father sat down and hugged me as I was overcome with sorrow. The two of them knew all too well the sadness of parting with someone they loved. But for Yeoju, it was something she didn't want to experience twice. She just resented the cruel world.
For a while, I couldn't eat or sleep properly. I spent each day in a daze. Until the sadness went away.
When I thought I had become numb, it burst out again and the memories that remained with me trapped me in longing.
That day too, I sat leaning against the window above my bed and lost myself in memories. How can I forget Kim Woon-hak’s bright smile on his school uniform shirt, his warm embrace, and the silence that held me tightly?
I stared blankly at the baseball glove that was in front of the window. I saw his dream of becoming the world's best baseball player. I don't need that. I just need you. I haven't even told you that I like you yet. There are too many things I haven't told you. You're not there to listen.
***
A baseball glittered on Kim Woon-hak's old baseball glove. He said it was prettier than a stationery jewelry ring, so did he buy one that looked like him? A baseball engraved on the ring. Where did that fool Kim Woon-hak's love for baseball go? Who would engrave a baseball on a proposal ring? A real fool Kim Woon-hak.
