Memory Manipulation Club: txt [Short Story]

It was summer - Beomgyu

(Beomgyu's perspective)



It was a day when the sunlight was unusually clear, almost piercingly bright.
It was a somewhat clumsy and distant season, where even the wind lingered, holding its breath.

Leaving behind the noisy time with friends,
The convenience store on the corner of the alley, where I went in to cool off for a moment, was very quiet.


It was when I stood in front of the checkout counter, trying to calm myself down with a cold drink.


The lady at the counter looked at me with a warm smile
After building it, he found a small piece of plastic with a slight fingerprint on it.
He handed it to me.




"Student, a female student asked you to give this to her."




What the lady handed me was a name tag from an unfamiliar school uniform.
The surface of the name tag received as if frozen,
The moment I faced the three letters clearly engraved upon it, my heart... like a lie
It seemed to stop.


The name that has never been erased from my life for even a single moment
It was because I was staying there.


'midsummer'


My fingertips, gripping the name tag, began to tremble.
Clutching the name tag tightly for fear of dropping it, suppressing my rapid breathing
I asked the lady.




"Excuse me, by any chance, which way did that girl go?"

"Hmm... that alley on the left!"

"thank you!"




I turned around, roughly pushed open the glass door, and ran out.
On the street where the sunlight pours down dazzlingly,
I ran blindly toward the left, forgetting that I was catching my breath.


In my ears, the voice of that kid from those days, which had been dusted for a long time
It was swirling violently.




▪︎▪︎▪︎




During school vacations when I was young,
I leave the noise-filled city
I went down to the secluded rural village where my grandmother lived.

Sitting alone under the shade of a tree filled only with the sound of cicadas,
I was just spending time absentmindedly, feeling the blowing wind.


On the old wooden platform where the shadow is faintly cast,
A child with fresh, flowing bob hair suddenly appeared like a miracle.




Who are you?

"Uh... uh... I'm Choi Beom-gyu..."

"That's a really cool name! I'm Han Yeoreum!"




That child, who perfectly resembled the blue light of a summer day,
It became the only salvation of my desolate season.

Around the time when precious memories like a secret between the two of us were accumulating little by little,
Cruelly, the time came for me to go back.


The rural bus terminal filled with sadness
The kid, clutching my sleeve tightly, spoke to me in a tearful voice.




"Beomgyu, even if you go back, you have to make sure you remember me...!"

I can remember you just by looking at your name, Han Yeoreum.

Really? Let's definitely meet. I don't know when, though.



▪︎▪︎▪︎




And again, the present.

I ran without even realizing I was out of breath.

The end of the alley where I finally stopped,
Amidst the dazzling, white, shattering sunlight, a miraculously familiar figure from behind
I was walking.


I moved slowly and carefully and stood behind him.

And leaving behind my heart that felt like it was about to burst, I patted the small shoulder.




"Um... Midsummer. Right?"




The child who quietly turned around at my trembling voice.

The three letters of your name alone brought back all my seasons at once
My Summer,

Looking at me with the most transparent smile you showed me on the veranda back then
He smiled kindly.




You really remember?

_______

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