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Strange and Beautiful_Part 2
© 2023 Yeoju All rights reserved
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Strange and beautiful
''..... mister-''
''huh?''
''Can you play hide and seek with me?''
"Hide and seek? Where? At home?"
"No, go out to the playground and do it."
"Sorry, I'll do it after I finish what I'm doing."
''Okay, I'll wait-''
''That's nice, thank you.''
The man spoke, patting the child's head. The child's eyes reddened slightly at the man's compliment, but he tried to hold back his tears with a grin. He brought the man water and food, earning him even more praise. "He's a good person who praises me and cares for me," the child thought. Soon after the man's work was over, the man and the child chose taggers and went to a nearby playground with plenty of hiding places to play hide-and-seek. The man was tagger, and the child was hider. The child hid while the man counted to 30 seconds, and the man searched for the hidden child, and hours flew by. The man bought the child a drink at a convenience store and said, "You're really good at hide-and-seek. What can't you do, kid?" The child then smiled brightly, his cheeks flushed. "I'm pretty good at it!" he said, looking into each other's eyes and laughing. The child's eyes sparkled even more. Until then, the child, who had only been scolded and beaten for everything, was saved by the obvious yet precious praise from the man he had become close to because of a bird.
The man and child walked and talked under the starry night, stopping intermittently to rest. When the child's shoelaces became undone, the man instructed him to sit on a bench, and the child obediently sat down, accepting the man's touch.
"Hey kid, is there anything you'd like to receive?"
''...What do you want to receive?''
"Yeah. Anything. Anywhere you want to go."
''Suddenly?''
"Well, it's not that it happened suddenly, but the kid's been acting so strange lately. Tell me anything."
The man tied the child's shoelaces and spoke. The child wanted to say, "I want happiness right now." However, the child had already received much praise and affection from the man, and at the same time, the word "happiness," so abstract, made the child ponder what he wanted. He rolled his eyes, bit his fingernails, and tried everything he could think of. The man waited for the child to ponder for several minutes. While the child was distracted by this thought, the man, who had finished tying his shoelaces and was now standing, bent down again and looked at the child. The child, asking him to wait a moment, straightened his five fingers without meeting his gaze, then folded them again and touched his hand. The man continued to watch the child, even brushing away his eyelashes. Then, a sudden idea struck the child. The man perked up his ears. The child, whose eyes were now fixed on his own, said with bright eyes, "I want to go to the amusement park!"
The man went home and used his phone to reserve an online pass to the amusement park in the morning, ensuring he could go the next day. The next day, the child woke up early, excited, and woke the man. He dressed himself in a nice outfit, even putting on a hat, and waited for him at the front door. The man praised the child, saying, "You can prepare something like this on your own. You're great, little one." The child then smiled brightly, took the man's hand, and went out the front door, following him until they reached the amusement park.
The child's eyes sparkled as he gazed into the bright sunlight in the bleak sky, having stepped directly into the amusement park. The man took the child to the ticket booth, where he received a paper bracelet for an unlimited ride. The man filled the child with great anticipation, telling him to tell him whatever ride or food he wanted. After that, the child confidently wandered around the park. Except for the rides that looked a little scary, he dragged the man around, saying he wanted to ride everything he saw. The man smiled at his child's happiness. The child got off the carousel and dragged the man to the cotton candy stand. After paying for the cotton candy, the child sat on a bench, taking bites of it and chattering about how much fun it had been and how grateful he was for bringing him here. The man muttered so the child couldn't hear.
"Today is so, so much fun! There's so much delicious food, and so, so much fun! I wish Rosie could come too. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life, it feels like heaven. Because before you came, I had been having such a suffocating day after day-, what should I call that? Um... what should I call the person who saved me from hell?"
''Are you talking about the Savior?''
"That's right. My savior! You're like my savior. The one who pulled me out of the fire pit. I just wanted to say thank you! Thank you for bringing me here."
"...How can you look at me with such a pure expression, like sunshine? You're so bright, unlike other children... ......If you keep doing this, I have no choice but to cheer up tomorrow."
The man's true feelings, almost like a monologue, barely register with the child, but then linger in his ears, unable to be conveyed. The child, eager to hear the man's words, asked him again. But he didn't receive the answer he wanted.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"It's nothing, I'm having fun too, kid. Let's finish the cotton candy we're eating now and then go play again."
''Yes, I like it!''
The cotton candy was quite large for a small mouthful. As the child was eating it with his mouth wide open, a silhouette of someone passed in front of the man and the child. At first, it looked like a young boy. At first, I just ignored it, but the boy kept circling around the man and the child, and the man began to get anxious. He then spoke to the boy in front of the child and me and asked, "What's wrong with you? You keep wandering around here?" I asked, and the boy told me my name and my situation.
''jimin park....''
''huh?''
''Park Jimin... that's my name...''
"Why are you here? Isn't anyone here with you?"
''That's... so...''
The man tried to listen to the boy named Park Jimin, who was mumbling and unable to speak properly. However, the boy, who had been observing Park Jimin closely, spoke on his behalf. The man was puzzled by the child's absurd and sudden behavior. As the two talked, the boy became interested and looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"Sir, I want to be friends with that girl! Please let me be your friend!"
''...friend?''
"Yeah, buddy! Let me go with you!"
''...friend?''
''..........I'll allow you to go together. Just until you leave today,''
''...yes!''
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To be continued....... Author Seo Woo-ju