RCKS 10

However, Lee Yoonsan, who was lying ill on the camper van bed, became even more dejected at his adoptive parents’ words. A scratch had appeared on the face of Hwang Haekyung, who was active as a kid model, and the cause of that scratch was himself.

No matter how much he retraced and retraced the remembered situation, Hwang Haekyung had not hit his face on the rock or anything like that, so the cause was only him. He knew that after falling into the water, he had flailed his limbs around because it was too scary and suffocating. And he remembered that Hwang Haekyung had hugged such him. The voice that kept repeating the same words as if to reassure him was also clear.

However, Lee Yoonsan did not have the courage to confess such specific memories to the adults himself, so he ended up keeping his mouth shut. —Of course, it was a fact that Hwang Haekyung’s parents and Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents already knew.

“Mom.”

“Yes, baby. Does anywhere hurt?”

“No…. Because of me, Haekyung got hurt….”

“Haekyung saved Yoonsan, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Lee Yoonsan’s eye corners drooped down again as he spoke while peeking his head out slightly over the blanket that his adoptive parents had covered him with thickly. When his already droopy half-closed eyes fell endlessly downward, a feeling of pity naturally arose. Lee Yoonsan’s omega mother swept such son’s hair aside and recalled the words she had heard from the paramedic.

The words that Hwang Haekyung seemed to have been holding Lee Yoonsan, who had fallen into the water and entered a state of panic, to calm him down.

“Haekyung is really a big brother.”

“……”

“You have to say thank you to Haekyung later, okay?”

“Yeah….”

“And say sorry for hurting his eyebrow?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Yoonsan’s anxiety subsided a little at his mother’s voice that spoke softly and affectionately in a low voice. With his mom who leisurely and kindly told him what to do, no matter how scary the incident was, it seemed like it would not happen right now.

“Mom, hug me.”

“Yes, our baby.”

Lee Yoonsan fell asleep slowly in the warm embrace of his mom who hugged him. Whether it was the power of the fever reducer he had taken before lying down, or the cause was the exhausting day, he did not know.

He slept like that for a long time and then opened his eyes around dawn because of some strange feeling. The adults seemed to have had a drink and were sleeping in the outer tent, so in front of Lee Yoonsan, who had opened his eyes, Hwang Haekyung stood wrapped tightly in a blanket even though it was summer.

“Huh, Haekyung?”

Lee Yoonsan felt the Hwang Haekyung in front of him like a dream. That was because the last appearance of Hwang Haekyung that Lee Yoonsan had seen was the figure who could not even come to his senses properly, whether drunk on sleep or fever, and was being carried by his dad into the car.

But now, that Hwang Haekyung was standing in front of him. He had entered the camper van where he was sleeping, with a large bandage attached to his left eyebrow.

“I told you to call me hyung?”

“I don’t want to….”

“Hey, anyway.”

Hwang Haekyung spoke to Lee Yoonsan as if annoyed and then paused for a moment. It seemed like he had something to say, and his throat seemed sore. Indeed, Hwang Haekyung’s voice was very strange, and his condition also looked extremely painful.

Lee Yoonsan was convinced that Hwang Haekyung had come to get angry and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

He had fallen into the water, gotten injured, and because he had shaken his clothes, the cell phone had also fallen into the sea.

Judging from Hwang Haekyung’s usual attitude of getting annoyed and angry at him over trivial things, this time, he was sure to get really angry. Moreover, the reason they had gone there in the first place was because of chasing the red squirrel and then the squirrels.

As Lee Yoonsan thought, the more he peeled, the more it seemed like his faults were many. The cause was one. The problem seemed to be that the wound on the eyebrow of Hwang Haekyung, the kid model, was too visible.

It was a problem on a completely different level from giving bruises on the wrist and back of the hand through arm-wrestling during the last vacation. No matter how much of a clueless child Lee Yoonsan was, he knew well how important the face was, especially for a kid model.

Moreover, nowadays, even his classmates in the class were sensitive to ‘face’ or ‘appearance’. So, Hwang Haekyung must have come to get angry at him and question him.

But.

“Thank you.”

With a cracked voice as if his throat was sore, Hwang Haekyung said that. Lee Yoonsan blankly looked at such Hwang Haekyung and was about to ask what he was thankful for. Indeed, it was because he could not understand Hwang Haekyung’s words.

But Hwang Haekyung turned his back as if he had finished saying what he had to say and quickly exited the camper van. And as Lee Yoonsan tried to get up to follow such Hwang Haekyung, the scolding voice of Hwang Haekyung’s father came from outside.

“Hwang Haekyung, you rascal, didn’t Dad tell you to lie down and not move?!”

“I’m going to lie down!”

“You’re grounded from going out! If you’re still sick in the morning, don’t even dream of going out to play!”

“Dad, I really hate you!”

This time, Hwang Haekyung’s voice was full of annoyance. The nagging that had increased as if worried and the bickering with his dad continued for quite a long time, and it ended with the sound of Hwang Haekyung closing the camper van door hard.

Of course, right after that, the sound of Hwang Haekyung opening the camper van door and saying ‘The wind blew and it closed.’ as if making an excuse was heard.

Anyway, Lee Yoonsan lay back down on the bed in a dazed mood at the unbelievable reality. It was the middle of a hot summer, but the inside of the camper van had the air conditioner on weakly, so it was quite comfortable. The cozy interior garland that his mom had decorated and the yellow light of the string lights connected like candies entered Lee Yoonsan’s pupils.

As he lay on his side because his stuffy nose was suffocating and sniffed his dry nose, it seemed like he could smell the unique grass scent of summer and the salty smell of the seaside. The bitter smoke smell of the mosquito coil hung on the incense holder and the sound of the adults conversing softly outside also came in.

Even though he had a fever and his body hurt, all those things were seen, heard, and felt. All of them were things that he had not properly recognized until Hwang Haekyung came and left. Including Lee Yoonsan’s own mood.

He had thought Hwang Haekyung would get angry, but he said thank you and left. They had fallen into the sea with Hwang Haekyung but were safe, and even though he had made a wound on Hwang Haekyung’s face, no one got angry. As if nothing that Lee Yoonsan had ruined existed. Moreover, as he traced back the time step by step, there was also something that was even more unbelievable.

“…I played with Haekyung.”

The fact that today, he had run around chasing squirrels with Hwang Haekyung, and exchanged pranks with small crabs or seaweeds at the coastal area— of course, it was entirely Lee Yoonsan on the receiving end— and hung out playing. Just like the friends of Hwang Haekyung, who was one year older than him.

“I want to play tomorrow too….”

Lee Yoonsan smiled broadly with his cheeks flushed and covered himself with the blanket. He had played with Hwang Haekyung. Now that he had actually played, he seemed to know why Hwang Haekyung had so many friends to hang out with.

Playing with Hwang Haekyung was fun. They ran together, exchanged pranks, and explored amazing things. Hwang Haekyung had led all of that, and he had been busy reacting to the pranks Hwang Haekyung played without a chance to feel awkward.

It was not awkward at all, and it was full of fun and amazing things. Hwang Haekyung participated in everything he showed curiosity about, and enjoyed the things he had missed in advance like exploring.

And in all those moments, he made Lee Yoonsan participate with the words ‘Hey, come here.’ It was something he had experienced for the first time since entering the third grade, and it was attention.

I hope Hwang Haekyung’s friends do not come to the camping site tomorrow. I want to play just the two of us.

Mom said she would hang a hammock net on a big tree, so I have to brag to Haekyung about that. We can take a nap in the hammock bed too. She bought powder that changes the fire color, so if I show that to Haekyung, he will be surprised too, right? She also bought sparklers to do fireworks, so it would be good to play with that too!

So, I hope Haekyung’s friends do not come. If friends come, they might not include me again. Haekyung’s friends like only Haekyung. It feels like they will take Haekyung away from me….

While thinking such thoughts, Lee Yoonsan reminisced about the memory of happily running around with Hwang Haekyung today. Perhaps because he had not played like this even with school friends after becoming a third grader, just recalling the thoughts made his heart excited and full. For the first time, this camping felt like a place for ‘adventure’ or ‘play’ or ‘exploration’.

“I have to say let’s play together again.”

Lee Yoonsan muttered such a resolution and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. To play with Hwang Haekyung tomorrow too, he could not be sick. He had to sleep quickly and wake up to play with Hwang Haekyung again. He repeated such thoughts endlessly.

But unfortunately, such Lee Yoonsan’s wish did not come true. It was because as soon as the day broke, Hwang Haekyung’s family withdrew the camper van and returned home. They had left in such a hurry that they had even left behind the table they had set up at the camping site and some small items.

And after that, Lee Yoonsan could not meet Hwang Haekyung even in the next vacation, nor the vacation after that, nor the vacation after that. The family unit vacation camping had come to an end.