Who said that's a high school student?
[8] The truth is


I must have been in 6th grade at the time.

A quiet chaos came to our peaceful home.

At an age when I should have been so bright and cheerful, I learned to grow up a little early and dangerously.

All my friends had gone to school, and the playground was empty as the sun was setting.

I stared blankly at the shadow leaning forward with my head bowed.

어머니
Hey, kid.

And then at some point, a person who was sitting there started approaching me.

And then he spoke to me.

어머니
Hey, it's going to get dark soon. What are you doing here?

I looked up at the woman without saying a word.

As I looked up at the sky, the pretty red sky was gradually turning blue like dawn.

I was sure that he had spoken to me as if I was younger than my age, given my small stature and build compared to my peers.


여주하
No, it's not a child.

The lady who looked at me with a kind smile

He looked at me blankly as if he thought I looked sad.

Strangely enough, it didn't seem like sympathy.

어머니
Yeah, is your house nearby?

He answered the harsh words with soft words.


여주하
Yes, right in front.

어머니
You came out because you didn't want to stay at home?

The wrinkles under the woman's eyes when she smiled strangely felt gentle.


여주하
How did you know..?

어머니
Because your son is also going through puberty.

As he finished saying this, he smiled brightly as if he was thinking of his son.


여주하
My son is a teenager, why is he laughing?

어머니
Because he's my son.

It was the lady who smiled again.

I have three mothers.

My mother who gave birth to me, my mother who was born after my father remarried

And the lady who was more like a mother than anyone else.

We just called her Mom.

A quiet confusion came to me and my brother.

My mother was the person who played the role of a mother more than anyone else.


여주하
mom..?

There was a sound of the door banging against the opposite wall, followed by a movement behind the bed.

It was a place that couldn't be seen from the window.


김석진
who are you.

A lower-than-usual tone echoed through the hospital room. It was as if someone was looking up at me, asking if I had just woken up.