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May, 2011. Seoul, South Korea.
Sooho hated having to walk home alone after his martial arts classes. Even though he knew his grandmother couldn’t come pick him up every day, he loved when the woman bought him ice cream at the ice cream shop down the street.
Sometimes, when the weather was bad, like that day, the woman would buy him a hot chocolate at the same ice cream parlor, brightening his afternoon. Although he cared little about that, it made him happier to see his grandmother after a whole day of school and training.
The eldest was grateful that the martial arts school was three buildings from the school where the child studied; it made it easier for her to know that he would not get lost on the way to the place.
On difficult days in the restaurant where she worked, like that day, the kid had to go alone to the restaurant where his grandmother was, and although the woman worried that he could have an accident or something could happen to him, she trusted that the little one would walk towards the place without turning aside.
He had done it before; he had to do it this time, too.
Sooho knew it; he knew that there were bad people in the world, like those in his cartoons, the villains, and he knew he had to stay away from them, so he never thought about deviating from the path or going somewhere else other than where his grandmother ordered. Of course, he had never felt the need to do so either.
—LET ME GO! GO AWAY, PLEASE!
The screams in the alley that led to the shortcut to the restaurant where his grandmother worked caught his attention. He tightened the straps of his backpack when he heard that desperate and terrified sound in a raspy but childish voice at the same time.
Sooho walked a little, entering the place, noticing a strange movement before hearing a sharp knock, like when someone hits a part of your naked skin with some force. Sooho, being a curious child and not at all afraid, went closer to the place, seeing how there was a small lilac-purple backpack lying in a small, dark puddle in the place. There was also a small lunch box of the same color as the other object.
A girl?
When the kid saw a leg dressed in white stockings, already stained by a mixture of dirty water, and a foot covered by a small black shoe, which seemed to have been perfectly polished, he moved vigorously, trying to get away from the figure that was trying to hold that part of her body. He reacted when he saw the large hands of the figure dressed in a black hoodie.
What was he trying to do?
Sooho didn’t think twice; grabbing the girl’s lunch box from the floor, he ran towards the man, hitting him on the head when he was close enough. The girl’s crying could be heard more clearly in his ears, but when the boy hit the man’s nose, he saw her.
On the floor was a girl with her brown, loose, wavy hair in a mess, as if someone had disheveled her with their hands; her uniform was dirty and messy as well. Sooho’s eyes wandered when he saw the girl’s skirt above her knees. Not wanting to commit an inappropriate act, as his grandmother had taught him, the boy turned his gaze to her face, seeing a small wound on the girl’s face. Taking a step towards her, he felt a slap when he was about to move to help her.
When the kid fell to the ground, the man’s first curse was heard, as was the girl’s cry. Sooho saw how the man returned to the girl, who tried to get away as far as she could. When he was going to take her again, Sooho stood up, running to her before hugging her, preventing the man from laying a hand on her.
The older man, upset and in the drunken state in which he was, could simply see someone being an obstacle in his way, not a small child preventing him from committing an act that could destroy the life of the girl he had between his arms, which is why he just hit him.
The kid’s body was being hit, slapped, and his hair was pulled; however, the girl’s suffered no blows or scratches; he would not allow it. — Stop, please! You’re hurting him! — The girl’s scream made Sooho simply squeeze her tighter to him, noticing how she tried to stop the blows, moving the man’s hands away when they were heading for the boy’s back.
Two minutes full of puches, slaps and any kind of blows; that was what the boy endured before the older one slipped into a puddle in the place, falling to the ground and hitting his head hard, leaving him unconscious on the spot. When the sudden movement in his back and arms ended, Sooho looked over his shoulder, noticing the man passed out behind him. With wide eyes, the younger boy looked at the end of the alley before locking eyes with the girl, who, with trembling hands, tried to touch the boy’s bloody knee, which had been scratched when he fell because of the slap.
— It’s my fault; I’m sorry; I’m very sorry; I should… I shouldn’t have taken the shortcut, I…
Sooho released the girl, who was babbling things he did not understand; however, he thought little about it, walking away so he could walk towards the wet backpack, not getting far when the girl took him by the hand. Sooho smiled at her to reassure her, seeing the fear shining in her pupils. — I’ll go get your backpack… It’s getting wet…
Hyeori let him go slowly, and the kid took advantage of that to run to the girl’s backpack, which was not completely wet from the front but could still be put on her back and would not get wet. Sooho shook the backpack as she walked, watching the girl approach her lunch box and walk away quickly. Scared when she saw the drunk man move, she hid behind the boy, who stood in a defensive position; however, he did nothing since the man fell unconscious again.
— Okay, here you’re not getting wet, but just in case…— The kid handed her the small red coat that he was wearing, putting it on the girl, who accepted it without question when she felt her shirt all stained and dirty. —Stretch your arms like this…
The kid stretched his arms as if he were a helicopter, making her imitate him. He placed the backpack on her shoulders before passing her lunch box over her neck, thus completing the style that the girl should wear. Looking at her a little more, he reached for her hair, which seemed to have two small tails on its sides before they were completely destroyed.
With a grimace, Sooho took the ends of her hair, releasing it. He smiled when he saw how, even though it was all messy, the waves in her hair had not disappeared. Running a hand over her head, he smoothed her hair a little, trying not to make it look so dishevelled.— Done, you look very, very pretty.
—Thank you.— The youngest looked down, squeezing the strap of her lunch box tightly before catching that red color running down the kid’s leg. — You’re bleeding. Let’s go to the hospital, my dad.
—No, don’t worry, I’m fine; I’m strong. Look. — The kid said, moving away a little to throw a kick, the one he had learned that day in class, and since it was the first time doing it, the kid slipped, falling to the ground on his back, scaring her, who ran towards him with speed. — I think I still haven’t learned how to do it well.
Hyeori looked in her lunchbox quickly, taking out some small band-aids and kneeling next to the taller one so she could see his wounds. — It’s going to get infected.
— You’ll get wet.
Both children spoke at the same time, with Sooho sitting down so that the girl would not kneel and get dirty. He stopped when he felt the girl’s small, cold hands on his face, and she placed her small fingers on the little band-aid that she was sticking on his face.
Sooho couldn’t speak, seeing how the girl’s big eyes were fixed on what she was doing. Sooho really couldn’t speak; the light brown color of them had made his throat dry.
He has never seen that on someone’s eyes before.
Usually everyone had strong dark eyes, but the girl’s were a light brown, like forcing a piece of cinnamon, or, as Sooho would describe it, orange caramel eyes.
He was a boy who had never been so close to a girl; girls rarely approached him because he was too talkative and, according to them, he frustrated them, so that act made him a little nervous. However, what really made him stop was that, with a huge blush in his ears, the girl’s lips collided with his cheek and forehead, where he had the bandages.
— Done… My mom says that when you treat them with love, the wounds heal faster. — Sooho felt the corners of his lips want to rise, and they did, showing her a big, incomplete smile. He saw the hand of the girl before getting up.
Taking the youngest’s hand with his warm fingers, he placed a kiss on her knuckles, making her blush at the act.
Hyeori had never had such an interaction with a boy, mostly because she studied at an all-girls school and because her strict father didn’t let her go to the parks near their house. She always had to go play with the kids of his friends, who, strangely and to his father’s liking, were all girls.
At that moment, Hyeori felt like a princess; she would not deny it – the way the boy defended her, how he picked up her things, gave her his sweater- but that kiss on her hand made her feel lucky; it was like in the scenes from the princess movies that she watched every day. — Come on, are you close to home? I will accompany you.
— I live a little far away; you should go home. I don’t think my band-aids are good for that. — The youngest pointed to his bloody knees, and Sooho looked at them, moving his feet as if nothing had happened.
— It’s nothing; I’m telling you, I’m strong.
—Won’t your parents worry if you come home late? — Sooho looked at her upon hearing that, blinking, remembering that his grandmother had told him not to be late. — You’ll get in trouble; I’ll go home; don’t worry.
—I have an idea! — The boy smiled when he found the answer to his problems: he didn’t want to let her go alone after what had happened, and if that thing about her living far away was true, he would not risk her going alone. Besides, it was already getting dark.
Sooho took Hyeori’s hand, leading her out of that alley and out onto the street, where they could see the sunset painting the sky. — Where are we going?
— Oh yes… I haven’t told you my big idea. Listen…— The boy said he was looking at her, turning around as he walked so that she could see his face. — We’ll go to the restaurant where my grandmother works; it’s nearby, so when she sees me there and sees that I’m fine, I’ll tell her if we can drop you off at home so you don’t go alone. Isn’t that a great idea?
Hyeori laughed when she saw how the boy raised his arms in the air, looking excited. The boy really seemed to be too talkative, especially for a girl like her, who talked little because of her shyness. — I don’t know…
— Your parents will understand; we will explain to them; and you can have dinner with us. Have you ever tried seaweed soup? My grandmother makes the best soup in the world; you will love it, trust me.
Hyeori hated seaweed soup; it was something too horrible for her. However, her lack of confidence and shyness didn’t let her say that out loud, much less when the boy took her hand to guide her. — Oh, my name is Sooho, by the way. Ahn SooHo… I didn’t tell you before, right? It’s just that sometimes I talk a lot and I forget if I’ve already said something. I think that’s why I can’t make many friends; they always tell me I’m annoying because I never shut up, so I don’t know if I’m being annoying now… Am I being annoying?
Hyeori blinked, smiling at the end of this and nodding simply. The boy grimaced; he didn’t know if that was “yeah, you already told me your name” or “yeah, you’re annoying.”
Hyeori noticed it, of course, lowering her gaze and scolding herself for not having answered. — No… You hadn’t said your name, and I don’t think you’re annoying.
— No? Good! Wait, what’s your name?
— Hyeori… Kang Hyeori.— The girl said she was a little shy; she didn’t show up for herself very often.
— Woah… It’s a very nice name… It has…— Sooho paused, counting on his fingers as he repeated the name. — Three syllables! It’s very, very pretty. — The boy nodded, swinging the girl’s hand a little next to his. — Hyeori, do you want to be my friend? If you don’t think I’m annoying, I think we can be very good friends. Plus, I’ve never had a friend with such a girl that has a pretty name as you. Sooho and Hyeori… They sound good together, don’t you think?
…
The two children had walked for five minutes until they reached the restaurant. Sooho opened the glass door, letting the girl enter the place.
Hyeori had clearly never been to a place like that; she knew it was a restaurant because of the number of people eating. You could feel the heat from all the irons on the tables and the stoves, plus there didn’t seem to be a window that could give way to the air from outside, so the steam could be felt from the moment you set foot in the place.
The youngest had never been to one of those restaurants; she had seen them from afar. When she was passing by in the car with her parents on the way to those expensive restaurants that they and their friends liked, Hyeori thought that the boy would take her to one of those too; however, she was excited to enter a place full of stalls that she had only seen from the window of her car.
— Sooho? Oh! But what happened to you? — The girl turned to the side when she saw an older woman run to the child, cleaning her hands before kneeling in front of the child and taking his face to examine him. Seeing his knees, she gasped, questioning him.
— Grandma, I’m fine, but she has a bruise on her hand. She put these bandages on my face, but I don’t have any. Can I take one from the first aid kit and give it to her?
The girl looked down at her shoes when the woman stared at her; she had barely noticed her because of the concern she had for her grandson. — Hello little one, did you get hurt like my Sooho?
— Ah, I… He’s bleeding; I’m fine… No-
— Grandma, a big man who reeked of alcohol, was trying to hurt her. — When Sooho said that, the woman became worried; reviewing the girl’s body, she had some small bruises on her legs, as if someone had held her knee tightly.
— I’m fine, seriously…
—Grandma, Hyeori says she wants to try your seaweed soup. Can we give her some? Look, she is very thin; she must eat and be strong so that she can hit whoever wants to hurt her.
The woman smiled at the little boy, who was touching the head of the girl smaller than him. Both children were dirty and somewhat hurt. She saw how the boy took the girl’s hand, taking her to the table where he always sat. When he came home from his classes, his mouth did not stop moving, and he could notice how the girl nodded and, from time to time, said something, thus giving the boy more encouragement to talk.
— Who is the little one?
— Sooho’s friend… Do you think I can use the phone? I have to call the girl’s parents.
…
Hyeori had asked the Ahns not to call her parents; she should be home and she didn’t want her parents to get upset with her, so she agreed they would better accompany her home.
It was night, and the girl had spent the entire afternoon with the talkative boy. He had watched her do her homework and read a little while he colored a little next to her until he got bored and started telling the girl about a movie he had seen with his grandmother the day before.
— Sooho, honey, doesn’t your throat hurt? — The grandmother asked, listening to the boy talk about the superheroes he liked to watch on television.
The boy understood what the woman wanted to tell him, looking forward with a smile as he swung his hand, which was connected to Hyeori’s, back and forth as he walked. When the girl finally stopped, Ahn looked in shock at the place they were in.
It was the entrance to a residential complex. What’s so special about it? To live in that place, you had to have an invitation; not everyone could buy a house in that place; if they did not invite you, you had no belongings in that place. — I can go home from here. Thank you very much for helping me, feeding me, and healing my wounds.
Hyeori thanked politely, bowing almost ninety degrees and giving the Ahns a smile before walking to the entrance of the residence, where the door opened after a second.
Sooho felt sad, putting his hands, now cold, on his lunch box and watching as the girl walked away into the residential complex, touching the head of his Batman action figure. He smiled, running towards the entrance, being followed by his grandmother, who was scared by the sudden action.
— Hyeori! — The girl stopped when she heard the call. After watching the boy speak to her from the other side of the gate and seeing how he held something in her direction, the girl returned to her steps, remaining in front of the boy. — Take it…
— But… it’s yours.
— I know you’ll give it to me when we meet again; friends don’t steal things, and we are friends, right?
Hyeori laughed, nodding to take the plastic batman and clutch it to her chest. — So… I’ll give it back to you when we meet again, Ahn Sooho.
— Goodbye, Kang Hyeori! Eat lots of seaweed soup!
…
May 2017. Vancouver, Canada.
The spring weather in Canada was her favorite; as much as she loved the cold, the girl also enjoyed the dry and windy season of the place.
Hyeori was twelve years old; she was about to turn twelve; rather, the little girl had moved to Canada after the incident that had happened six years ago, that day when her parents let her go home alone because they were going to take the car to go to one of their many work meetings.
Six years had passed since the first and last time she saw that tall boy with a missing tooth who had saved her from a horrible tragedy. Six years had passed since that plastic Batman doll had a special space near her Barbie princess on her shelf in her room. Hyeori had cried days and nights, asking her father to let her go to that restaurant once before leaving. She wanted to return the toy to the boy and say goodbye to him before leaving, as well as to the grandmother who had taken care of her that day.
However, her crying was of no use; the adults denied her going out to that place and from her house until the whole family got into their car to go to the airport and leave the place where Hyeori was born.
And she thought she would never return until her grandfather died.
Kang Chunyae had died at almost a hundred years old, which had caused a great uproar in the Kang family, especially in his father. Being the only heir, the man finally had to step into the shoes of the man of the family and start running the family business, as his father had taught him since he was born. But for that, they had to return to Korea.
Hyeori would not lie; she was excited to know that she would return to the place where her roots were and to see her grandmother and aunts again. Although she was not excited to return to the school, she went to when she was six years old; she was happy.
Happy because, perhaps, she would see again the owner of that Batman who accompanied her princess during all her adventures.
Seoul, South Korea.
The day that Hyeori had waited for all week had arrived, and the dark weather of Korea welcomed her. Holding her mother’s hand, the little girl passed the long immigration line until she reached the arrivals hall at the airport. Once she saw that familiar face, the little girl let go of the older girl’s hand, running into the arms of the smiling platinum-haired woman. — Grandma! — When the girl was in her arms, the woman laughed, taking in the happiness of the minor she had not seen in almost four years.
— My little Hyeo, look how big you are! Did you miss your grandmother? — The woman asked, stroking the girl’s brown hair and smiling at her grandchild, who was carrying her little princess doll and the batman in her other hand. The youngest took her grandmother’s hand, making sure that the little action figure was still in her hands.
Looking around, the girl could see how her father hugged his relatives and spoke with some contracted men, while her mother spoke with her grandmother and smiled with some sadness as they looked at the man, placing their gaze on the large window of the airport. The rain welcomed her with a smile, and Hyeori hugged the batman closer to her side.
We’ll see you soon, Sooho.
May 21, 2018.
Seoul, South Korea
A year had passed, Hyeori’s thirteenth birthday had arrived, and the youngest had found no other way to celebrate than by leaving her house, away from her parents, who had spent a difficult year, both in their relationship and in their relationship with her own daughter. Hyeori was never attached to her parents; however, the youngest tolerated them; this time, their relationship had become complicated.
Screams, complaints, curses, and punishments – which Hyeori never thought necessary- were there.
Sooho was another of her complaints. One year, she had spent a year looking for the little boy; the excuse for returning the doll had been left in the past. She wanted to see him to know if he was okay, just like his grandmother. She wanted to let him know she was back, even if he was not even fully aware that she was gone.
She hadn’t had the success she expected, so it got to where she simply stopped looking for him. Hyeori now had the freedom to go out wherever she wanted without her parents, forbidding her to go to those streets where she was a child. She only thought about taking shortcuts to get to restaurants faster.
To the neighborhood where, she was sure, Sooho belonged.
Hyeori wasn’t going there to look for him or anything like that; she was going more because she had found an incredible library near some restaurants.
Mrs. Shin’s restaurant. That’s what the youngest had called her, who ate there on weekends when her parents went to their meetings and work parties and she was left alone at home. The youngest had a schedule recorded in her mind: eight hours. After her parents left, the youngest had eight or nine hours to go out, do something somewhere, and return home as if nothing had happened.
That day would be like this.
She knew her parents would not remember her birthday until one of their friends asked about her, so, waiting for the couple to leave the big house, the youngest waited ten minutes before taking her backpack loaded with some notebooks, her jacket with a hood, and leaving the house, thus starting her happy birthday.
…
Hyeori almost fell off the stairs because of how fast she was going down them; her notion of time was gone, and her parents would be back in less than half an hour, which was the time it took her to get home on foot from where she was.
Leaving through the large doors of the place, Hyeori collided with someone’s back when her foot got stuck in the cement of the steps at the exit. She grabbed onto the waterproof green jacket in front of her to avoid falling. — Oh, I’m very sorry.
The boy, who had a helmet on his head, turned around, feeling how the pull on his clothes came loose. His eyes reviewed how the girl in front of him jumped in pain when she put her right foot on the ground. He saw her light brown hair and felt a strange feeling in his chest. That hair seemed extremely familiar to him, more than anything else, because the color was quite light. — Are you okay?— He asked when he saw how the girl was bending down to pick up the things that had come out of her backpack when she tripped, since they had fallen to the ground and the hasty girl had forgotten to close them.
The girl did not answer; the taller one raised his eyebrows, listening to almost distressed murmurs while she tried to pick up all the things from the floor. He was going to bend down to help her before his eyes went to a small black figure lying near to his bicycle. He frowned when he saw that. Walking towards it and taking it in his hands, the boy examined it.
It was a Batman doll.
The boy’s hands trembled when he saw the two small letters painted on his back. His head turned so quickly that he swore he had hurt himself, but he didn’t care. He fixed his eyes on that brown hair until the girl stood up, with white pages in her hands, trying to put them in her backpack while trying not to fold them. The boy looked at her features; however, he wanted to see her eyes; that characteristic brown color had never left his mind, and he knew perfectly well the exact tone of these; if it was the girl, he thought, these would make him blush. — Kang Hyeori?
That made the girl stop, looking forward, colliding her eyes with those of the boy, who, in fact, blushed when he saw the color of those big eyes. The girl did not understand his reaction before her eyes passed to the doll in his hand. The girl’s eyes widened in surprise before approaching the boy and trying to remove the doll from his grasp, only to be stopped by him, who moved his hand away from her reach. — Give me back my doll.
The taller one laughed, moving the legs of the toy in his hands. — Why would I give you something that belongs to me?
Hyeori looked at the boy; she could see him smile, noticing how his eyes narrowed a little when he gave her that smile. The girl’s hands went up to her mouth when she felt a gasp of surprise come out of them. —Ahn Sooho?
— I’m glad you came back, Hyeori… Although it would have been perfect for you to tell me, I would not see you again until a long time later. I wouldn’t have given you my favorite toy.
The girl smiled, feeling an inexplicable joy. Without knowing where she got the guts from, she caught the taller one in a hug, which he gladly accepted, lifting the youngest in his arms with a smile on his face. At that moment, he felt like he had felt eight years ago when the youngest was in his arms crying while he saved her from some serious blows. — You missed me a lot from what I see; that’s good, because I missed you too, Hyeori, too much.
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