YHP 47
by Cherry“First of all, there’s no camera or microphone. There’s something that looks like a communication module… I’d have to take apart the software to know for sure, but physically it’s only connected to this button? It probably isn’t anything special.”
The thing pointed to by the tip of the sharp tweezers was the button he was told to press in case of an emergency. Contrary to his suspicions, it seemed to be just a normal smartwatch prototype. He felt a little sorry for suspecting his uncle for no reason.
“Now that I’ve opened it, assume it’s no longer waterproof. Got it?”
After the general explanation was over, the CEO told him the name and purpose of each remaining part and then closed the watch.
“Excuse me…”
Jeong-in opened his mouth slowly.
“…How much did he like it?”
“What?”
“He said my dad… liked having me.”
He already knew more than enough that Won-kyung loved him a lot.
But he wanted to ask one more time for no reason. He wanted to be confirmed one more time by someone else’s words.
“He had a face like you were the only thing in the world.”
The CEO laughed heartily and wiped a can of soda and handed it to him.
“He wasn’t originally like that. He had no greed and didn’t want anything. He was a docile guy who would say yes and give up whatever anyone asked him to do or took from him, as long as they didn’t particularly piss him off.”
“……”
“But he wasn’t like that when he came to me. He had to protect his own cub now. He had such a fierce look, as if he had been living without saying a word until now for this, and he took all his share for once. He originally couldn’t pass without leaving a large portion for others, no matter what he received.”
He recalled the face that smiled as he said, Jeong-in-ah.
He had to endure a long and difficult time before he could smile like that.
“You gave birth to him well and raised him so splendidly, so Won-kyung has done everything he needs to do now. You look like a student, so study hard and listen to your dad.”
He couldn’t answer.
Because he hadn’t. And probably wouldn’t be able to in the future either.
“Tell him to stop by sometime if he has time. He came once last year and hasn’t been in touch since.”
“Yes, I will.”
Goodbye. He barely swallowed what had risen to the back of his throat and turned his back on him.
Jeong-in slowly passed the dusty antiques and walked back towards the entrance. He was struck by the sight of the ornaments standing in their place, covered in white dust, while no one paid them any attention.
He suddenly stopped. When he carefully wiped the dust off a small ornament with his fingertips, the brass statue sparkled, revealing its original color.
“……”
It felt like Won-kyung’s heart.
It had been buried in the dust forever due to Jeong-in’s fault, but in fact, it had never changed for a single moment. It was always in the same place when he looked back.
“Take anything you like if you see something you like.”
The CEO’s voice was heard from afar.
“Ah… then this…”
“Yeah, yeah, take it.”
He didn’t even look this way and just waved his hand. He was about to leave the store with the turtle statue with only its head shining, but “Thank you.”
He was grateful to the person who had helped his dad during his difficult times, so he took out a few million-won checks and quietly slipped them into the place where the turtle had been.
When he opened the door and came outside, Ho-jin, who had been leaning against the wall, stood up. He smiled when he saw the turtle in Jeong-in’s hand.
“Did you buy that?”
“Well… yeah.”
“It’s covered in dust, I’ll wipe it off for you.”
Ho-jin took it without a word and rubbed it against his clothes.
“It’s okay.”
After shaking off the dust on his clothes as if it were nothing, he returned the turtle to Jeong-in. Jeong-in stared silently at the turtle, which had been transformed into a new one in an instant.
“Thank you.”
He thought it would be nice if people’s hearts could be dusted off so easily.
It would be nice if it were like an object that, after wiping away the bad memories that had piled up like dust, could always be faced with a sparkling appearance again.
Even though it was a weekday, the amusement park was crowded with people. He saw children wearing the same hats and walking in lines, probably on a school trip, and occasionally elderly people. Still, most of them were couples around Ho-jin and Jeong-in’s age.
Ho-jin glanced at Jeong-in, who was walking side by side next to him. He was walking towards somewhere without looking around as soon as he passed through the entrance.
“…Heu.”
His straight walk and unwavering gaze were beautiful. It went well with the splendid orchestral music flowing out from here and there. Every time he realized that such a beautiful person that anyone would have to turn around and look at was walking with him alone among all these people, his stomach kept churning.
“Don’t you want to have lunch?”
“Are you hungry?”
Jeong-in squinted in the white sunlight and looked this way. The thin hair swayed gently in the gentle spring breeze.
“No. I’m okay.”
In fact, he felt like he would throw up his heart if someone touched him. When Ho-jin shook his head, Jeong-in pointed here and there with his finger.
“The restaurants are over there, but you said you’re not hungry yet, so let’s come back later. If you want to ride a roller coaster or something, you can cross the overpass, and everything you can sit still and watch while sucking honey is down that hill.”
“Hmm…”
For some reason, Jeong-in seemed to want to go to the last place he mentioned.
“Then shall we do the sucking honey and watching thing?”
“Good.”
He’s really an easy person to understand. He burst out laughing when he saw his back turning around as if he had been waiting for it. Ho-jin started following Jeong-in, who was walking somewhere.
Jeong-in chose one side without hesitation every time a fork in the road appeared. Then, at some point, he started going into places that weren’t proper roads.
“You don’t have to cover your face from here.”
The place where Jeong-in finally stopped was behind the theme park, which was covered only in colorful and beautiful colors.
The unfolded scenery was so bleak that it was a bit gruesome. He really didn’t know that screws were embedded in the eye part of the cute dog-shaped sign like that. Even the shape of the trash can was different from the ones he had seen a little while ago, and not much sunlight entered because it was covered by the sign.
Perhaps because of that, even though it was quite a wide road, there really wasn’t a single person passing by. Of course, Ho-jin was much more comfortable in a place like this. He was trying not to pay too much attention since it was a day out with Jeong-in, but the truth was that he was inwardly worried that someone might recognize him.
“We can go back if you want to see pretty things…”
It was the moment he was about to take off his mask slightly. Jeong-in said.
“…I thought you would feel more comfortable here.”
“……”
He felt like he had become chocolate in a hot bath. Ho-jin clenched his trembling hands tightly.
“Yes, this is much more comfortable.”
He was so grateful that he was being considerate even though he didn’t show it separately.
“The road is the same anyway, so let’s see what we didn’t see now on the way up later. By then, it’ll be dark and people won’t look at you as much.”
“Yes.”
He slowly followed him. A large mountain was standing next to the road where the complicated noise had disappeared. When he took off what was stuffily covering his face, he could feel the scent of trees filling all directions.
“How do you know this place so well, Hyung?”
“I used to come here often when I was young. I usually came with my family, but I often went alone too.”
Remembering that Jeong-in had lost his mother, Ho-jin closed his mouth without asking any more about his memories. He was just walking in step with Jeong-in, listening to the occasional sounds of mountain birds, when suddenly an alarm beeped from his wrist.
“What is it?”
“Ah, it’s the afternoon training alarm.”
Then Jeong-in asked.
“…Come to think of it, what’s your daily schedule like?”
“If you look here, the first alarm is at five o’clock. I eat lunch and then stretch from this time.”
He tilted the small screen and showed it to Jeong-in. Jeong-in, who was scanning the schedule that was neatly organized from wake-up time to bedtime, suddenly made a surprised expression and pointed to a corner of the screen.
“It’s only 52?”
It was the place where the heart rate was displayed.
“It’s a bit higher now because I’ve been moving around… When I’m still, it sometimes goes down to the late 30s.”
As you do cardio for a long time, your heart rate naturally decreases. Jeong-in, who would know that fact, laughed as if dumbfounded.
“You’re going to live twice as long as I am.”
“Pardon?”
“Well, there’s that saying, isn’t there? That every living thing has a set number of heartbeats.”
He started walking again. The music grew gradually closer. It seemed like it was time to slowly return to the front of the amusement park.
Then, he wanted to grab Jeong-in’s hand, who was walking a step ahead. He wanted to come up with another ridiculous excuse somehow, and ask to stay like this a little longer. It felt like he would pretend to be fooled again.
“That’s why small animals die early, and elephants live a long time.”
Ho-jin slowly raised his hand. He brushed Jeong-in’s pure white wrist with his fingertips. Then Jeong-in slightly turned his head and looked back. Gaining a little more courage, he grasped Jeong-in’s wrist as if covering it with his palm.
“…How many does Hyung have?”
He tapped the screen.
“Right now, it’s probably around 70 to 75.”
It was exactly as he said. Lifting his gaze from the number that was stopped precisely at 75, Ho-jin looked into Jeong-in’s eyes.
“Then I guess I need to work out harder.”
“Huh?”
His fluttering eyelashes were so pretty. Lost in them, Ho-jin didn’t even notice. The fact that the number on Jeong-in’s wrist was gradually rising every time he opened his mouth.
“I easily go over 150 when I’m training.”
75, 76, 77.
“Hyung always stays at 75. If I stay at 150 a little longer…”
79, 81, 83.
“Then I think I can live a similar amount of time.”
84, 86, 88.
“…Don’t talk nonsense.”
Jeong-in hurriedly pulled his wrist away. Ho-jin was sorry, but he couldn’t touch someone who didn’t want to be touched, so he quietly backed away.
“It’s just something I heard somewhere, there’s no medical basis for it.”
Jeong-in grumbled to the end and reached for the handle of the rusty door. Ho-jin quickly ran and grabbed the handle instead of Jeong-in.
“You’ll get something on your hand. I’ll open it for you.”
With a creaking sound, the iron door opened. The sunlight, hidden by the tall sign, poured down in pure white, and the music washed over them like a wave. Clear light flickered on the eyes that met. Looking at each other, Jeong-in and Ho-jin paused for a moment. The numbers on their wrists were jumping around wildly.
89,
57,
91,