Blue Summer

Chapter 21: A Lonely Spring

The dreaded year of not seeing Ibuki had weakened his mother. She was constantly hospitalised, and Maki's life had been impacted. Today, when the police arrived to meet her, no one was home, and they had to return disappointed.

As they walked disappointed, Yoeun-Ho made a sudden stop and said, "Is there someone else we can reach out to, you know, a friend or something?"

Ha-Joon paused to think and shrugged in response.

"There has to be. Not like the boy had no friends."

Ha-Joon gave it a thought again, trying to recall any detail he may be missing. Finally, he gave Yoeun-Ho his desired answer, "Yes, there is. Mrs Cho said his name was.....um.....Park Misao!"

Yoeun-Ho patted Ha-Joon on his back, "And that may be all I need!"

The evening that day somehow reminded Misao of the day she had met Ibuki. Although it was summer then and spring now, the wind, the place and the atmosphere felt the same to her. She had graduated from high school and was preparing to study in Germany. She was going to pursue medical studies. In Germany, she planned to stay with Uno and his mother.

She was cycling back from meeting Youra. She stopped by the old building. It was finally being demolished, and a new park would be set up. Despite the horrifying moments that the building held within it, Misao still felt terrible about its demolition. The building had been abandoned after a criminal was arrested for kidnapping and murdering young children in the building. It used to be a playhouse for young children before the horrifying crimes were unveiled. Then, the building was abandoned somewhat for the superstition of ghosts and some for the trauma it held. Now, the park would be in its place in memory of the kids.

"No doubt it held a dark aura around it. Such a cursed place!" thought Misao as she saw the last of the building fall to shambles. Yet somewhere, she knew that with the shambling of the building, she couldn't hope to see Ibuki again there.

Finally, standing there for long enough, Misao decided to leave. She reached home when the Sun had left the sky.

She went to her room and lay down to rest, occasionally checking her email for any responses from the university she had applied for.

She lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. Then she heard a notification. She quickly opened it, and her eyes widened with joy the moment she saw it.

"Mom! Dad! Brother! I have been accepted!!"

Misao ran down to share the good news with her family. They all rejoiced and congratulated Misao on her achievement.

"When are you going then?" asked Rui.

"Somewhere around mid-August or early September, to, you know, get to know the place." Misao kept looking at the email in excitement. Finally, her dream would come true—another doctor in the Park family.

"I think I should let Uno know. So he can talk with his mom, and we can plan when to leave."

To celebrate Misao's admission that night, Rui planned to cook the entire dinner with some special dishes that Misao loved. Rui adamantly insisted that neither Lisa nor Seo-Yun would help him. He wanted to cook all on his own. Therefore, the dinner happened later than usual.

While Rui set up the table with the dishes and a congratulatory cake in the centre, Lisa and Seo-Yun decorated the kitchen. Meanwhile, Misao was in her room sharing her thoughts with Youra.

"I will miss you!" Misao said. Youra was going to apply to Seoul University, and so was Joon-Woo. This meant that Youra and Misao would not be able to meet physically frequently enough.