SLC 38

Despite his lethargy, he could hear their bickering voices.

“On a day like today, we should’ve hurried a bit.”

“Did you expect traffic to be this bad?”

“It’s the weekend. Of course traffic’s going to be bad.”

“But it’s the first time we’re meeting the chairman, so I can’t just throw something on.”

At the father’s words as he held the steering wheel, the mother smiled.

“No matter what you wear, you’re handsome.”

She, who said that, looked like the most beautiful person in the world.

“And I told you to stop calling him the chairman.”

“I’m worried that if I call him Father, he’ll ask “Whose son are you?” and kick us out…. But do you think he’ll like the gift?”

The father looked at the large box placed next to the child as he spoke.

“He probably won’t care about things like that. More than anything, he wants to see….”

“That’s true. There’s no way he’d notice anything else.”

The couple’s eyes shone with pride as they looked at the infant.

When the child blinked and yawned, the mother turned around.

“Did you wake up?”

“…Hmm.”

“What did Mom say? When an adult asks you something?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You’re doing well. When you see Grandpa, you have to greet him properly.”

“…What if he’s scary?”

“He’s not scary. He just looks like that on the outside. He’s actually a really good person.”

“Honey. I’m a little scared.”

“What are we supposed to do if you say things like that?”

The mother laughed as she teasingly scolded the father. When the child started breathing a little heavily, the mother looked over with concern.

“Are you carsick?”

“A little.”

The father immediately rolled the car window down. As the cool air blew in, the child closed his eyes.

“…A smell.”

At the child’s muttering, the mother asked, “What smell?” The one who answered was the father, still driving.

“The smell of flowers.”

“Where are there flowers?”

“There must be a flower complex nearby. You can tell because a lot of flower scents are overlapping.”

“I smell lots of different flowers. And apples too.”

“There’s an apple orchard nearby as well!”

The mother burst out laughing while listening to the talk between the father and son.

“Of course he’s your son. Even his sense of smell is just like yours.”

“I think he looks more like you than me.”

“That’s true. They say sons take after their mothers, and daughters take after their fathers.”

The mother laughed as she covered her stomach with her hand.

“Did you tell Father-in-law?”

“No, not yet. I want to surprise him.”

“What are you talking about?”

The child asked with wide eyes.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“What is it? Yeah?”

As the child pestered her for an answer, the father started speaking with a playful smile.

“Who did I say our family is?”

“Dad, Mom, me.”

The child answered while counting on his small fingers.

“And Grandpa.”

When the mother added that, the child quickly folded another finger and said, “Grandpa.”

“And there might be one more.”

“Who?”

“Well. Who could it be? Try guessing.”

The child went, “Hmm,” and started thinking.

“I don’t know.”

Both of them burst out laughing when he finally gave a response after much thought.

“Someone’s going to come find us.”

“Come find us and do what?”

“They’ll become family.”

“Then can that person change? Like Dad?”

“Well. I don’t know about that.”

“When can I change?”

“Why? Do you want to be like Dad?”

“Yes.”

“It won’t be that easy. You’ll have to go to bed early, eat your meals well, and listen to Mom and Dad.”

“I ate all my food at kindergarten last time.”

The mother asked back in surprise, “Really?” and continued.

“Then you’ll become like Dad soon.”

The child smiled innocently and looked happy. The mother whispered in a small voice.

“…Will it really be like that?”

“No, probably not. There’s never been a case like that before, so it won’t happen. In our family, all the way up to Grandpa’s generation, I’m the only one.”

“Seriously, how did you end up hitting such rare odds?”

“Right? I never won the lottery even once. I think I used up all my luck meeting you.”

“Watch what you say.”

The congested section gradually cleared, and the car began to move little by little. Not long after, raindrops started falling against the windshield.

The wipers squeaked as they pushed the water aside and cleared their view. When the window was rolled up because of the rain, the child started nodding off again.

“But sometimes, I do worry. … might suddenly change when we’re not around.”

“That won’t happen. Sometimes, in very rare cases, they say it can happen if someone gets an extreme shock.”

“Well, the most shocking thing for him would be not getting his favorite side dish this morning.”

Their laughter rang out. It sounded pleasant. The sound of rain filled the car, and unfamiliar music flowed from the radio.

“He didn’t sleep until late last night. What was he doing?”

“He was writing a letter.”

“What kind of letter?”

“He wrote it to Father. It feels like we’ll definitely fight again today, so if I leave without saying everything I want to say, I’m planning to throw this and leave.”

As the mother took an envelope out of her bag, she let out a small groan, “Ow.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I got a paper cut. I got blood on the envelope.”

The mother frowned as she looked at the bloodstain on the envelope.

“Haha. Give me your hand. I’ll treat it for you.”

“I told you not to do that. You really never listen.”

“Why? It heals right away.”

“If people find out, that’s just asking to be dragged off somewhere and dissected.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful. But just this once. Yeah?”

“Then just this once.”

Unable to refuse his pleading, the mother held out her finger. The father brought her hand to his mouth and licked it. The small wound that had been oozing blood disappeared as if it never had been there.

“It really is amazing every time I see it. If I were greedier, I might’ve filed a medical patent with this.”

“Since it only works on external injuries, a patent probably wouldn’t be possible.”

“Anyway, be careful. This really is something it’s better not to tell anyone.”

“Okay. If you say so. …but if Father-in-law gets hurt, wouldn’t it be okay if I lick him once and score some points?”

“…You really don’t listen.”

“Alright. Alright. I absolutely won’t tell anyone.”

The father put one hand over his heart and pretended to swear. The sound of rain gradually grew stronger.

“It’s raining a lot. Drive carefully. It’s cold, so the road surface might be freezing.”

“I know. I’m already going slowly.”

A car coming from the opposite lane sped through a puddle, splashing dirty water all over the front windshield.

“Seriously.”

The father turned the wipers up a notch. The scent of flowers mixed with the smell of rain, the smell of wet grass, the smell of soil, and the scent of apples that weren’t fully ripe yet.

With his eyes closed, the child took in the many smells.

Between dreamlike states of awareness, countless sensations surged in.

His parents’ murmuring voices, their conversations continuing intermittently, the sound of rain pattering on the car, the smell of earth mixed into the rain, the smell of crushed grass as if the season itself had been trampled, the sound of birds flying past, the sound of the engine rapidly heating up, and then….

A deafening roar.

Glass shattering, metal crumpling, human bones breaking apart, the airbag exploding, the road tearing into tires. An overwhelming sound.

“……!”

The child took in laborious breaths before opening his eyes. His parents were smiling in front of him. Thank goodness. It was a dream. A terrible nightmare. Something that should not happen. Something like that…

The child closed his eyes again. At the same time, with a splashing sound, his hair was soaked. Even after opening his eyes, it took him a while to realize what it was.

His vision was sticky and dark. A fishy smell mixed with a burnt scent, and a tremendous noise tore at his ears. He heard screams. His senses tangled together. Everything was a mess. He couldn’t tell what was what. He felt like he was sitting, but also like he was hanging upside down. When he blinked, whatever had soaked his hair flowed down toward the ground.

Why am I hanging upside down?

Dark red liquid dripped from his soaked hair. He only realized that it was blood gushing from someone’s body after he noticed the chunk of flesh lying in front of him.

What is this? Why is this in front of me?

Where is this? Why am I here? Why all of a sudden?

He closed his eyes once more and opened them again. The sound of rain felt close. He heard people’s voices, and the car shook.

“Ugh! What is that? Call the police. Right now. Call the police!”

…Please call Mom.

“Here, … someone… Hurry!”

Dad….

He wanted to open his mouth, but no words came out. Then a clear voice sounded inside his head.

“Listen carefully.”

Bright golden eyes were staring at him.

“You have to get out of here. Once you’re out, go anywhere and hide inside a building.”

Sharp teeth came close and tore the seatbelt. After a few attempts, there was a click, and his body launched up into the air. No, he fell headfirst, upside down, to the ground.

“Go.”

…What about Dad?

“I have to stay here and help Mom. I’ll heal Mom’s wounds, and then we’ll leave together.”

Where is Mom?

The child looked around and asked. Nowhere could he see the version of Mom he knew. There were only torn chunks of flesh, blood, and bones crushed under the car body.

“Hurry and go.”

The father pushed his son. The son crawled out of the car just as his father told him to.

“No one can follow you. Even if someone offers you food, never accept it. Food given by others is dangerous.”

The father warned him.

“Hide yourself. Someone will call your name. You have to follow that person. Only our family knows your name.”

The son nodded earnestly. Strangely, his body felt lighter than before.

“Go.”

That was what his father’s golden eyes said. The child ran with all his strength. The people who noticed him recoiled in shock. Someone shouted, “Look at that. Look at that.”

In the gazes directed at him, the child felt disgust and fear that he’d never felt before.

He ran, just as his father told him. How long did he run? He stopped when he reached a place where the smell of people faded. Far away, he could see the car he’d been riding in. In front of it, an overturned truck and several people had gathered.

What happened?

Mom? Dad said he’d help her. He said that was how they could leave together….

From far away, a bang rang out. The smell of gunpowder. The child didn’t yet know what it meant, but instinctive fear made him lower his head. The sound echoed through the air several times more.

Rain soaked his entire body. Blood that had drenched him from head to toe ran down with the rain. But the smell of blood didn’t disappear. He was cold, and his whole body shook. As he looked around, his eyes caught sight of a greenhouse. He squeezed through a gap and curled up in the corner of the greenhouse.

It rained all night. He felt a dull ache along his back, like he’d hit something.

He was hungry and cold, his body hurt, and he was scared. He wanted to follow anyone, but he couldn’t follow anyone. He wanted to eat something, anything, but he couldn’t eat anything.

When he closed his eyes, sensations overwhelmed him like waves.

First, sounds. The rain, the distant sound of cars, and the sound of ants crawling across the ground.

Next, smells. The scent of many kinds of flowers, the smell of soil, and subtlety mixed among them, the smell of apples that weren’t fully ripe.

The child closed his eyes and imagined that he was lying in a flower garden near an apple tree. Otherwise, he couldn’t bear the fear.

He hoped that someone who knew him would come find him.

A person who would call his name. He had to follow the person who knew his name. Only that person could find him.

Several nights passed, and the sun rose. Just as his father had said, the child curled up and waited for someone to call his name.

How much time had passed? The smell of people grew closer, and he heard footsteps. He wanted to lift his body and see who it was, but he didn’t have the strength left.

But there was one thing he could be sure of.

“…Seongha!”

A voice calling his name. The one person he had to follow. His family….

The child slowly opened his eyes.