Echoes of the Past [myungeun] ✔

5

A man in a black jacket was walking around the island. Breathing in the fresh air, he released the breath with contentment.

Finally, after three weeks being held inside the house!

Uncle Uhm had been keeping an eye on him. Ever since he got back from the clinic, Uncle Uhm didn't let him to move around and just stayed in his room. It was tiring and boring and Myungsoo felt lifeless. Well, at least on the second week he was allowed to go to the jetty – even though he just sat at one corner and watched them working.

As he took a left turned, the automatic door of a supermarket was opened and out came a woman. His feet came into a stopped as he looked from the distance. Her hands were full of bags and it looked like she was struggling to keep a hold to all of the bags.

Just then, her body was wavering, unstable and before he could do anything, she fell on the ground. Like on cue, the guy went to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he crouched in front of her. Frowning in pain, she nodded and let out an audible "Yeah,"

The guy took as many bags as he can in one hand and he stood up, reaching out the free hand towards her.

Hesitant for a moment, she finally took his hand and stood up, brushing her back from the dust on the ground. "Thanks," she uttered and took the remaining two bags on the ground.

She held out her other hand to him, asking for the other bags. Myungsoo raised an eyebrow.

"Come on Myungsoo, you are still in healing process, right?" she said but the guy shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine now, it's already healed," he replied as he did a bit stretch. She stayed silent and Myungsoo smiled a bit by her reaction.

"So, where do I take these bags to?"

The sound of vegetables being chopped, the sizzling sound of the oil could be heard in the small house. They had arrived at Naeun's house half an hour ago and Naeun had insisted Myungsoo to have lunch with her, as a token of gratitude for helping her.

Before the guy could decline her offer, she had quickly added saying "I would not take a no for an answer," and all he could do was sigh and said yes.

A smile so wide was spread on her lips but it slowly turned into a frowned when the guy said "But if only you let me help. I don't want to sit around and do nothing,"

So in the end, Myungsoo was assigned on chopping the vegetables and Naeun would be behind the stove. The girl had been stubbornly insisted that he would not help her but the stubborn level of the guy was as the same level as hers.

At last, the girl was defeated and the guy had won.

As they were busying with their respective work, they managed to make some conversations like telling their age, birthday and birth place.

Truthfully, Myungsoo knew all of that about her – he never did forget but it killed him to know that the girl who once knew everything about him had turned to the girl that knew nothing about him.

"So, how long have you been here?" she asked as her hand was slowly stirring the vegetables.

"6 years," he answered, hands were busying chopping the hard carrot.

"Wow, that's long," she added and he nodded, concentrating on chopping the carrot.

"Does Uncle Uhm and you related?" she spoke again.

"Not really but he had been taking care of me since I came here so, it makes him a family for me,"

She hummed and for a while, it was silent – until Naeun broke it with "How about your parents?" and for a moment, his hands froze.

With a voice so low, he replied, "They had died when I was four."

He was behind the wall, staring at the motionless bodies on the floor. He heard a loud bang when he saw that his parents had gone still. He wanted to go towards his parents but he was too terrified to move because of the men. A man in dark leather jacket with gel-black hair slowly walked pass by the motionless bodies, towards the little Myungsoo. The man crouched in front of him.

"Hi there, buddy," the man spoke. Little Myungsoo didn't say anything but sucking his thumb.

"Don't worry, you are fine," the man added, patting his little head, smoothing his hair.

"Mom and dad...?" little Myungsoo asked with his squeaky voice.

"Mom and dad are sleeping for a very long time now. How about you come with me? I have many toys you could play with," the man said and with a thumb in his mouth, little Myungsoo naively eating the bait.

With a slight nod from little Myungsoo, the man smiled and held out his palm to him. "Now, let's go," and little Myungsoo reached for it.

Itwas the biggest mistake he ever did in his life.