Chapter Text
As the winds of spring bid its farewell, the humid breeze accompanies the songs of magpies in the distance, harkening to the nearing summer. The trees dance, their foliage bending and bowing in an intricate choreography of evergreens. And in the midst of it all, a young child yells for his mother.
“I’m going out, eomma!”
“But it’s gonna rain—hey, Hey! Sunoo!”
He didn’t wait for his mother to finish and leaves through the door, his shoes barely tied. He welcomes the breeze of the suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Busan. The smell of the sea beckons him towards it but he walks the other way, towards the mountains.
At the edge of the forest, an entrance awaits for Sunoo’s arrival. Sunoo walks past it an treks the way uphill towards a neat, humble cottage. Sunoo smiles upon seeing the blooming dandelions that he helped plant and fought the urge to pluck a few. He rushed towards the front door.
“Hoonie-hyung! I’m here!” he yelled.
The door opened and out came Hoonie-hyung, clad in his glasses and house clothes.
“Sunoo-yah. You’re early today.”
“I know! I was excited to come.”
“C-come in, then.”
Sunoo proceeds to Hoon’s room where about a million Pokémon figures and plushies decorated the walls.
“Don’t you remember what day it is today, hyung?”
“No.”
Sunoo turns to him in annoyance. “Seriously?”
Hoon chuckles and leaves. He comes back holding a paper bag with a pink helium balloon tied on its handle. He hands it to him with a shy smile.
“Happy birthday, Sun,” he says.
Sunoo blushes and hugs him, his arms wrapping around Hoon’s neck. “Thanks, hyung!”
-
A few years passed. Things have changed.
It was the first day of senior high school and Sunoo forces himself to wake up and get ready for the day. He bathes and wears his uniform, neat and freshly pressed, and looks at himself in the mirror. His tired eyes looked back at him, his long lashes almost resting on his cheeks from exhaustion. He walks downstairs and grabs a protein bar and fills his water jug before walking out the door.
“I’m leaving,” he calls out, getting no response from the empty house. He sighs and closes the door.
His school was not a long trek from his home, and so he naturally just walked to and from school, just as he enjoyed it. Sunoo never left Busan since he was born, but he promised himself that he will. He will leave this place and everyone in it, and start anew in another place. Perhaps, in another country, where there’s an abundance of sunlight and water. That sounded like heaven for him. But as for now, just one more year.
‘One more. Just one more’, he thought to himself as he walked past the school gates.
The day started calmly, just the usual chorus of teachers reminding everyone to prepare ahead for the coming university entrance exams. Sunoo thought about where he wanted to go to college. He always knew he would like to go somewhere else, but it was either he wasn’t smart enough or rich enough to afford reviewing materials.
Or had enough time to study, he thinks as he thought what time his shift would start tonight. He thought of skipping the study sessions tonight and just study on duty.
Hours pass and it was lunch time, his most dreaded part of the day. Students piled up to go to the cafeteria where everyone lined up and piled food on their plate.
‘They have soonddubu today! Eurgh I hate spicy food.’
‘Can I have a slice?’
‘Girl wtf I literally found them making out in the bathroom. Like, really?’
Sunoo walks past the groups of kids his age, gets his tray, and lines up.
‘Isn’t that Sunwoo?’
‘Yeah, poor kid.’
‘Yeah, I mean I wouldn’t know what to do if I were him.’
‘Best to stay away from him, he gives off bad chi and we don’t want that.’
He hears a few voices whisper behind him. They whisper but he still hears them and Sunoo thought that they could have just yelled it at his face. That way, he could correct them how to correctly pronounce his name.
Sunoo remains silent and inches further down the line patiently. Suddenly, a ruckus happens behind him but he ignores it. He feels the sudden shift in the air as he was abruptly pushed to the side as a group of guys cut in front of the line.
“Move, faggot,” he hears someone sneer at him as the rest of the group chuckles. Hoon.
Hoon glares at him as he walks past him and Sunoo had no other choice but to let him and his friends cut. Hoon was directly in front of Sunoo, his view of the wide back of the taller senior seemed to intimidate him.
Hoon had changed drastically since they were younger. Far from the soft-spoken and kind child, he now stands towering over everyone else, his height and his muscular frame complementing his brooding personality. He walked the halls with a scowl on his face, acting as if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed everyday, and walk alongside his loud group of friends who were either popular at school or were part of the football team, to which Hoon was also a part of. A captain of, in fact.
Sunoo did not know how that had come to be, as Hoon had asthma when he was a child, but Hoon always proved to be a great player. He wins the team a gold medal every time during inter-school games and does not miss a goal. Hence, he was popular with the crowd. It does not hurt to say that he was very handsome, as well. But also, it does not stray from the fact that he and his friends have been terrorizing Sunoo since the longest time.
Sunoo had an idea of what caused the sudden maltreatment, but what he does not understand is why he should be treated like trash.
His turn came at the front of the line and takes his turn filling in his tray. As he finished, he turns around and bumps into someone behind him.
“Watch where you’re going! Really?” Hoon yelled and slapped Sunoo’s tray towards the floor. Sunoo flinches at the feeling of hot soup on his skin and the sudden sound of the impact of the tray clattering on the floor. “Are you really doing this on purpose? Huh?”
“I-I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry—“
“You really expect me to believe that?!” Hoon grabs Sunoo’s collar and pulls him closer but Sunoo kept his eyes down.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
“Ha! If you—“
“Hey, man. Stop it. We don’t want the teachers to come,” spoke one of Hoon’s friends. A tall dark-haired lanky guy which Sunoo believes is a year below them.
Hoom turns back to me with a glare, which he avoids. He releases his collar and walks away, his group of friends following him. The guy who spoke remained and walked closer to Sunoo.
“I’m sorry, Sunoo-ssi. He’s in a bad mood.”
“When is he not?” Sunoo bemused half-heartedly.
“Here, please wipe yourself. Have a great day,” he says as he hands me a white handkerchief.
“Thank you,” I say as he walks away without further conversation.
I picked up the tray as the utensils that fell.
‘Gosh, what a fuss.’
‘Why does he have to be so clumsy?’
‘What a waste of food.’
Sunoo hears them speak as the cleaning lady approaches him and hands him another filled tray. He thanks her to which she smiles back, before she proceeded to clean the mess he made. He walked towards the end of the cafeteria near the bins where he ate alone. He sips his bottled green tea and eats his food, his soonddubu and gimbap slowly tasting like his own salty tears.
-
At night, Sunoo worked at a convenience store downtown right next to a commercial building where the workers never seemed to sleep. He worked there every day of the week but only part time, safe for the other times that he really needed the money.
“Hello! Welcome to the store!” He greets as another round of night shift workers come in to take some snacks. He had memorized all their faces but he is not sure they remember him. But he does remember how one girl always buys the cheapest coffee, or how this other guy comes in with a different girlfriend every week. He always greets them with a smile, perfectly content to be a spectator to their exciting lives.
‘Will I get the chance to be like that?’ Sunoo thinks.
He always thought he does not wish for much, just for the bare minimum. To come home with enough food and to worry about studying instead of the upcoming water bill or if he could survive off a loaf of bread for the rest of the week. He sometimes see teenagers like him on an evening stroll, coming in with their girlfriends or boyfriends and enjoying their time. Sunoo wanted that. He does not know how but he wanted to have that so badly.
A sudden ding of his phone interrupted him. Sunoo smiles. At least there was one thing today that makes him happy.
He opens the app and finds a chat from his friend.
bulbasaur2002
Hi Sol! What’s up?
What fascinates Sunoo about his friend is his ability to type formally regardless of the situation. That sort of became a turn on for him. Compared to his, which was a bit lazy and spontaneous.
solanabeach2003
at work😣😣😣😣 i want to sleep already
bulbasaur2002
Awe :( What time do you log-off? It’s already late.
solanabeach2003
in an hour ☺️
bulbasaur2002
Good. Then you’d have time to study. Did you really stop going to the tutorial academy?
solanabeach2003
yep 👍👍 too expensive
bulbasaur2002
Sol, we’ve been through this. I can lend you money. Just give me your Kakaotalk.
solanabeach2003
no way!
bulbasaur2002
Or i could just lend you my books? ;)
solanabeach2003
that would mean we’re going to meet up. so no 😛
bulbasaur2002
Dang it i thought I was gonna get you there.
solanabeach2003
i may be lazy but im not dumb, boba 🖕
bulbasaur2002
Ew, stop calling me that
solanabeach2003
not until u stop forcing me to meet up ☺️💥🔫 do u not like chatting me anymore? am i boring u already?
bulbasaur2002
You are never boring, Sol
Sunoo drops his phone and pauses to exhale excitedly as a smile creeps on his face. He bites his lip before he replies.
solanabeach2003
k 👍
He pats himself on the back for the timid response. He checked his phone for a reply but it did not come. He refreshed his phone thinking it was the internet when he hears someone clear their throat.
“Oh! Hello, welcome to the sto—“ he stops midway as he realized that standing before him was none other than Hoon himself, holding a few bottles of soju and two cup noodles in his hand.
“Service here is awful. Workers seem to be on their phone,” Hoon says as he drops the items on the counter. “Ring me up. Hurry.”
“Y-yes,” Sunoo proceeds to do his job. “I’m sorry for the wait,” he says as he puts them all in the plastic bag.
“Next time stop being on your phone and drop that stupid smile off your ugly face. You might scare customers and get yourself fired. God knows you’d be living on the streets if you did,” he says as he snappily walks away.
“Y-you forgot your r-rece—“ Sunoo starts but Hoon was already walking out the door. “Receipt.”
“Hi, can you ring me up please?” Sunoo hears another guy walk up to him and drop a box of cigarettes and condoms. Sunoo looks at the guy, ready to ask for his age when he realized he knew who he was.
“Oh! It’s—“
“Yup,” the guy smiles. “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself at school. Nishimura Riki, 11th grade. And you’re Sunoo-sii.”
“Hoon’s punching bag.”
This caught the guy off guard as he laughs awkwardly. “Listen. I know Hoon-hyung is a bit—“
“A bit?”
“Okay. Very hot headed towards you, and I have no idea why. I just moved here from Japan last year and I just want to graduate peacefully. I would like to apologize on his behalf, seeing as I don’t think he would do it himself. But he’s a great guy.”
Sunoo scoffs. “Why do I find it so hard to believe?”
“I understand you. And I’m really sorry. I know I cant speak for him. But I’m really sorry.”
Sunoo sighs and looks at the younger boy. “You shouldn’t be apologizing for other people Riki-ssi. Whatever Hoon does is not your fault. But I appreciate you very much. So, thank you.”
He smiles. “Thank you, too.”
Sunoo returns the smile towards the boy and was about to punch the items when Hoon suddenly pops back in.
“What’s taking you so long?” Hoon walks towards them. “What are you guys smiling about? You talking shit about me?”
“What? No—“ Sunoo defends but Riki cut him off.
“Where were just introducing ourselves.”
“Why, so you could go fuck around?” Hoon snarled and smacked Riki’s back. “Get out of here before I take you off the team.”
I almost reprimand him and tell him to not hit the child, who, in retrospect, does not look much of a child, now that I think of it. But Hoon spoke before I could.
“You,” he snarled. “Stop flirting with my boys you fucking faggot.”
“B-but I wasn—“
“You’re gonna do as I say or I’m gonna fucking make a mess and get you fired. You choose.”
Hoon stared me down and from the looks of it, he was going to do it if I didn’t back down. His eyes hold mine for moments, the hostile threat in them never subsiding.
“O-okay… sorry,” I say in defeat. Dropping my head low.
“That’s what I thought,” he says as he walks away and slams the glass doors behind him.
I exhaled a breath that I did not realize I was holding and leaned my back against the counter, wishing my welling tears to go away. I took my phone out of my pocket and sent a chat to Boba.
solanabeach2003
Boba?
Bub? Are you there?
But there was no reply.