Memory Manipulation Club: txt [Short Story]

The language of love that is you - Hueningkai

In the early summer of my seventeenth year,
the air in our class changed in an instant.


Blond hair soaked with sunlight, exotic features.
The boy who had just transferred from Hawaii was named Huening Kai.


Ah, hi. I'm Kai Kamal Huening.


Aside from that awkwardly blurted one line, the boy couldn't speak Korean at all.

Under the curious gazes of the other kids,
when the boy was so nervous his shoulders had stiffened,
my homeroom teacher's gaze turned to me.


"Eunwoo, you're the best in this class at English, right?
For one year, sit next to Kai and help him get used to school."


And just like that, my seventeen-year-old life was filled entirely with 'Huening Kai'
and began to fill with an unfamiliar language.


At first, we were complete strangers
who couldn't even talk without a translator.


I decided to teach Kai Korean, and Kai would teach me English.
Every day after school, we stayed behind in the empty classroom and exchanged each other's languages.


"Kai, this is called '꽃'! flowr. "


"Fl..flower?"


When Kai's cuteness made me burst out laughing,
Kai would follow along and grin sheepishly.


Kai gave me English words like the clear sea of Hawaii. The soft pronunciations that lingered at the corners of Kai's lips
settled by my ear like fluffy little notes.





Time flowed quickly, changing clothes with the seasons.
Passing through the red fallen leaves of autumn, through the winter when snow fell white,
until spring came again and green began to sprout
we had become each other's most intimate translator.


By now, Kai could crack Korean jokes with a bit of dialect mixed in, and
I could hold a smooth free-flow conversation with Kai without a translator.
The distance between us had converged perfectly to zero, like interlocking puzzle pieces.


"It's already been a year..."


In the warm spring breeze blowing in through the window,
Kai's soft hair fluttered.
The day we first met, one year ago.


As always, we were sitting alone together in the classroom, where the sunset cast long shadows.
facing each other.
By now, Kai could speak most Korean as naturally as a native speaker.


"Eunwoo, I'm really good at Korean now, right?"


"Yeah, totally. I could even believe you were a local!"


I teased him, laughing as I tapped Kai's notebook lightly.
A spot in my chest suddenly began to itch, and then my nose grew sore.


The thread that had connected us all this time languagefelt like it had become
a firm knot now.


I forced a smile, hiding my regret.


"Kai, this is our last lesson now.
Is there any Korean or any word you still want to know one last time?
I'll teach you anything."


At my question, Kai looked at me quietly.


In Kai's eyes, shining transparently in the sunset glow,
only my reflection was held.
My heart started pounding on its own.


Instead of answering, Kai slowly leaned his upper body forward and came toward me.
A prickling warmth rose from our fingertips as they brushed lightly.
The distance grew close enough for Kai's breath to touch me.


Kai brought his lips near my ear and whispered softly.



"What's your love language?"(What's your love language?)

________

TOMORROW X TOGETHER (Tomorrow by Together)

🎧Love Language [Love Language (single)]