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[Miribyeol Kindergarten: A Summer Night's Dream] Ankle that hasn't healed

"...sorry."

That one word completely ruined my life. If only I had gotten treatment then, so I could go back to normal. I would have given anything.

Two years ago, I was a young high school student who had always enjoyed street busking. By chance, I followed a friend to a talent show and danced. The video was uploaded to YouTube. The video garnered hundreds of thousands of views, and the comments were filled with compliments.

That fleeting feeling, the feeling of people paying attention to me and caring about me. The cheers they sent my way when I stood on stage. It was so thrilling. Because of that damn feeling, I gave up everything I was studying and spent over a month persuading my parents to let me dance.

I enrolled in the academy and, with only a year left before the entrance exams, devoted myself to dancing every day, practically living there. However, this also meant more injuries, with my ankles being the most common.

My bag contained several patches, adhesive patches, and taping sets. They all went into my ankles. I didn't have a single healthy ankle, so I went from hospital to hospital as a student. But as the college entrance exam period approached, I increasingly postponed the treatment.

As I was running so busily, it was already my university entrance ceremony. From October of last year, when I was intensively preparing for the entrance exam, to March of this year, my ankle treatment was naturally postponed. But it was okay. The entrance exam went well, and I was accepted to university.

정호석 [20]

"Han Yeo-ju_"

Jeong Ho-seok, a classmate who attended the same academy and prepared for the same university and department, was truly a precious friend who offered advice and supported me through my struggles.

한여주 [20]

"How do you feel about entering school today?"

정호석 [20]

"Oh... this is crazy. I feel so bad."

한여주 [20]

"Hahahaha me too."

정호석 [20]

"Your ankle. Is it okay?"

한여주 [20]

"It's okay~"

정호석 [20]

"When are you going to get treatment?"

한여주 [20]

"Starting next week? I'll get it."

I thought I'd be able to get it. But with the start of the new semester and the volley of assignments and presentations... Naturally, my ankle treatment was postponed, and so the semester ended, and so vacation arrived.

Even during vacation, I kept going to the practice room every day to keep my dancing skills sharp. Jung Ho-seok tried to dissuade me, saying the only thing I really needed to do was go to the hospital, but I ignored him and focused solely on dancing.

Meanwhile, my ankles were getting worse and I was getting sore after just one or two hours of practice that they were sending me warning signals.

But dance had already become one with me, completely ingrained in my life. Perhaps it was a side effect, but I was afraid that if I didn't practice every day, it would drift away from me, even just a little.

That fear dragged me down to the bottom.

While practicing a difficult movement over and over again, my ankle twisted and I was unable to do anything but groan and fall to the floor of the practice room.

Only then did I feel a complete loss of sensation in my ankle. Oh, let me correct myself: nothing but pain. It was as if my ankle was burning, but at the same time, I felt the embers of passion extinguishing within me. I closed my eyes, feeling the utter dissonance.

Jung Ho-seok arrived at the practice room late, carried me on his back, and took me to the emergency room. He then contacted my parents in a hurry to get their consent for the surgery before the surgery could proceed.

But my ankles, which had been neglected for years, didn't recover after a mere two-hour surgery. The result was the doctor's apology I heard earlier. That's right, I couldn't dance anymore.

As soon as I heard those words, I broke down. Absolutely. I felt like my life and existence had been denied, and I couldn't even shed a tear. Back in high school, that innocent fool had abandoned his studies and was now helpless.

I just went out and walked. I barely heard Jung Ho-seok's words when he offered to lend me a wheelchair and asked me to wait a moment. No, I didn't. What good was a wheelchair like that? I could die anyway.

After walking and walking, I finally arrived at school. The cherry blossoms that had bloomed on the first day of the new semester had already fallen, and summer had arrived. It was mid-August, and my body was drenched in sweat, making it seem as if the hottest days of summer had passed.

Even this sweat was shameful. I practiced so desperately that it wasn't sweat, but rather the result of walking recklessly with my ankles ravaged. I wanted to wash it off immediately.

정호석 [20]

"Hey, Han Yeo-ju!!!"

If only the blazing sunlight would burn my ankles and my passion. No, if only it had been like that from the beginning.

한여주 [20]

".....It couldn't have been this bad."

As I threw myself into the river and sank, watching Jeong Ho-seok's desperate expression fill with tears, I thought to myself: If I had gone to the hospital when the cherry blossoms bloomed, I wouldn't be feeling the pain my ankles feel now, like they're being scorched by the midsummer night's sunlight.

Just one more chance, if you give me one more chance.

한여주 [20]

"At that time, really..."

Was it a meaningless regret? I felt like I was basking in the warm sunlight, and tears flowed from my eyes that had never shed tears before.

"Hey, heroine! Hey, heroine!"

"Aren't you going to dance school?! Hoseok's here!!"

정호석 [20]

"Hey, Han Yeo-ju~ I'm late because of you~"

When I opened my eyes, the hot summer sunlight was truly shining down on me. As soon as my eyes focused on the gray sky, which had turned blue, I grabbed Jung Ho-seok's wrist in a panic.

정호석 [20]

"Oh! Is this a horror movie?! It's summer, really..."

한여주 [20]

"Jung Ho-seok."

한여주 [20]

"Please come to the hospital with me."

Since my fervent prayers were answered, I had to do everything I could. But before that, I had to at least apply sunscreen to my ankles to prevent them from burning.

The midsummer night's sunlight, the gray sky, even the temperature of the river—these were all the scents of this summer that I had to embrace with all my heart.

_ Number of characters: 2666

Let me explain the homework briefly 😎 First of all, I am not a dance major, but I dance as a hobby, and currently, both of my ankles are not in good condition, although not as bad as Yeoju's 🥲

However, I, too, have been putting off treatment like Yeoju, and I thought that if at some point I lose the use of my ankle and can no longer dance, it would hurt just as much when my ankle goes out because my passion for dancing was burning, so I decided to write about that topic!

Since this is based on my personal experience, not everyone may relate to it, but since this is my first assignment, I wanted to write about it for myself!

Thank you for watching and sorry for being late 🙇‍♀️

_ Miribyeol Kindergarten Lavender Class Aji. Homework submitted on August 18, 2022. _