•
•
•
“.. really gone”
“Who keeps leaving since morning?”
"Where on earth.."
Where could it be? It must be a place I can never reach. Light years away from Earth, and its existence is unknown.
Yes, Choi Beom-gyu has completely disappeared from my sight.
With Choi Beom-gyu gone, everything returned to memories from before I knew the child, before the anniversary. Or, more precisely, from the memories after that, only the child's memory was cut out, as if with scissors.
It was as if someone had artificially switched the screen of the video.
What's even stranger is that it wasn't erased from my memory. Why wasn't my memory erased?
No, maybe they didn't erase it on purpose.
“..If you’re going to erase it, erase me too.”
Did you want revenge on me? Did you know that I wouldn't be able to forget you easily?
Time had clearly returned to normal, but it no longer flowed. Nothing flowed, stopping on the day Choi Beom-gyu disappeared.
A week later,
"Day and night. When did you say the flight was?"
"Next Monday. I should start getting ready now."
This was the very thing I couldn't tell him. I was on leave from college and preparing for a working holiday visa. I didn't want to tell anyone but my family.
In fact, Yeonjun had made several appointments, but he kept refusing. He had to leave soon, and he didn't want to open his heart to anyone new.
But I still wanted to tell that kid...
” … “
“..what’s going on with you these days?”
".. No. Nothing happened"
“.. That’s fortunate then.”
It's because nothing really happened. That kid didn't magically appear before my eyes again.
Because it doesn't appear as believable as before.
So I prepared to go to Warhol, and contrary to my wishes, the preparations went very smoothly.
I wish I could just get one thing wrong and keep you here a little longer...I hope that discrepancy gave you a reason to wait.
So the day came to board the plane.
“You didn’t forget anything, did you? You probably exchanged money and everything.”
“Of course.”
“Don’t worry here and come and learn as much as you want.”
" .. huh. "
“ .. day and night.”
" huh ? "
Swish,
Hug,
“Just in case.. really just in case”
“ … ”
“Don’t worry too much, Beomgyu will contact you when he gets back here.”
" ..!! mom .. "
"I don't know who that kid is, but..."
” … “
“You want to see that child”
“.. That’s right. I miss you.”
“So, Mom will wait here for you.”
" .. huh. "
Swish,
"Have a nice trip, daughter."
" .. huh. "
So I boarded the plane, leaving a little of my longing with my mother. I hope my longing reaches you.
••
“ Hi. May i help you ? “
" One .. "
Where did I go on my working holiday? I came to Switzerland, the country of the Alps. There was no particular reason for choosing the country. Actually, my dad had been wanting to travel for a while.
I wanted to come and see how great this place was, as I had been praying and praying for it.
As soon as I arrived in Switzerland, I was able to get a job at a cafe in the city, and it was even easier because the owner was Korean.
“Madam, please do the dishes here.”
" yes~ "
Since I've already done some things at home before, I'm not having any trouble with the work. In fact, it's so easy that I don't feel like I'm learning anything.
By the time I finished my work, it was around 5 p.m. and the sun had already set quite a bit. In Switzerland, everyone is home and resting by 7 p.m., so I went to the market to buy some groceries and headed straight home.
"Ha... the prices are too expensive"
I feel this every time I go to the market, but Switzerland is expensive. Fruit prices are high, meat prices are high... But if you want to live here, you have to keep up with the local prices.
After shopping alone like this and going home to make dinner, there's nothing left to do. As a hobby, I read books I borrowed from a small local used bookstore, but they're so old that the condition is...
So I'm writing this on my laptop. Actually, it's more like a letter than a piece of writing.
I write letters every night to that child whose whereabouts I don't even know.
“Ugh.. Should I just delete this?”
Sometimes I write this while drunk, so it's not just drunk talk, it's full of real stories. But what's the big deal? He won't read it anyway.
So I opened my laptop again and wrote a letter in a notepad. Today I wrote it a bit more calmly.
My mother hasn't contacted me about the child and it seems like we're getting further apart, so to be honest, I've almost given up.
“.. Let’s go up to the rooftop”
After writing all the letters, I went up to the rooftop as usual. Unlike other Korean cities, the stars were really visible here. How could they shine so brightly and clearly?
Could one of them be the star you live on?
Swish,
" .. miss you "
Even as I become more serene, I can't help but miss you. It's only natural that the sadness has subsided, but the longing continues to torment me from the surface.
If only I had held on a little longer back then... If only I hadn't said that one word, we wouldn't have become so distant.
Hug,
Just in case, I held hands and prayed like I did back then. This time, it wasn't my dad...
((Please let that child come to me again))
Swish,
"...God was a liar after all."
I know it's impossible, but isn't this too quiet..? So I gave up and went downstairs, and went to bed early.
The next day,
“Why do you keep expecting this?”
It's funny how I wake up every morning with anticipation. I told you to just leave, but now I wake up every morning with the hope that you might come back.
You're working with just that one thought in mind.
“Today is my day off from work too..”
It happened to be my day off from work, so I felt an even greater sense of emptiness. Feeling particularly depressed today, I forced myself to go outside. "I need to get moving, especially now."
“.. I came all the way here by bike.. “
I came to the movie theater in the town. In fact, this is also the place where I live.
It's a place that takes over 10 minutes to get to by bike. I intentionally bought a room in a remote area, but... I think I bought it too remotely.
Unfortunately, today is a holiday. Should I go to a cafe or something?
Eventually I made my way to the famous mountain range and it took quite a while to get there.
“.. I don’t know, let’s just do whatever feels right.”
So, we reached the mountain range and slowly climbed along the trail. Since I hadn't exercised much in Korea, it was quite difficult. No, it was quite difficult.
Swish,
"..it's pretty"
Still, once I reached the top, the view was truly beautiful. It was a vastness and greenness I'd never experienced in Korea, but it was simply a beautiful sight.
Choi Beom-gyu tooIf I had seen this, I would have loved it like a child...
".. I really wish you would appear like a lie just once"
at that time,
Whistling,
“ ..be pretty”
The soap bubbles were blowing behind me and the way they shone in the sunlight and created a rainbow of colors was very beautiful.
I was so captivated by the sight of soap bubbles that I sat on the hillside for a long time, not even noticing the sun setting, watching them fly away. It's amazing how something so ordinary can be made so beautiful.
After a while, the bubbles burst, and I stood up, leaving behind my regrets, and dusted myself off. "Okay, I should get down now..."
So I turned around,
“..Are you going now?”
“ ..?!! “
“It’s been so long since we last met.. Are you leaving already?”
Swish,
Gulp,
" lie .. "
“You always say I’m lying when you look at me.”
“Really.. Really?”
"Yeah. I'm really back."
“ … “
As if by magic, my universe returned. This is the story of two years and three months after the universe disappeared.