Chapter 46: Home at Last

“……”

Following the tightly stretched chain toward the overgrown brush, an entirely unexpected sight unfolded before his eyes.

A stretch of land the size of a football field stood completely isolated behind enormous iron bars.

Most striking of all, sharp barbed wire densely lined the top of the fence, making it nearly impossible for anyone to infiltrate without destroying the bars themselves.

“It used to belong to a national army guard unit.”

“After the government ordered a withdrawal, it got abandoned completely.”

“I found it by accident while wandering around this area.”

“And luckily, the looters still don’t know this place exists.”

“Made surviving the winter a whole lot easier.”

After unlocking the padlock hanging at the entrance, they stepped inside.

Contrary to Shinwoo’s description of it being merely a shantytown, the village built from repurposed military facilities was fairly large.

The electricity supply was unstable, but still functioning.

There was also access to drinking water nearby, making it surprisingly livable.

“Hey! I’m back!”

“Huh? Hyung!”

“Hey, Shinwoo hyung’s back!”

Children who had been busy playing in the snow immediately rushed toward the entrance the moment they heard voices.

But only briefly.

The children quickly turned wary upon seeing the unfamiliar stranger beside him and silently signaled Shinwoo with cautious eyes.

“You all stayed out of trouble like I told you, right?”

“…Who’s that, hyung?”

“No need to glare at him like that.”

“He’s my friend.”

“He knows the other shelter residents too.”

Holding onto his hesitant shoulder, Shinwoo approached the buildings and lightly set down both their luggage.

As if rumors spread every second, people gradually emerged from all corners of the tiny village.

Curiosity and fear mixed in their gazes.

Unlike the upper district citizens, these people stared at him with an entirely different kind of unfamiliar attention.

And so he stood awkwardly in place, waiting for Shinwoo to return.

“Shinwoo oppa!”

“Song Ahyoung, didn’t I tell you to dress warmer? You’ll catch a cold!”

At that moment, a short-haired little girl ran straight toward Shinwoo and threw herself into his arms.

Song Ahyoung.

The name sounded strangely familiar.

He stared blankly at the child rubbing her soft cheek against Shinwoo’s shoulder while whining affectionately.

And then he remembered.

The little girl who once clung tightly to him beside the shelter director when he left for the training center.

“It’s fine. I’ve been running around, so I’m really hot.”

“Quiet. Go ask Jiyeon for your coat.”

“If you don’t, no lunch for you.”

“…That’s unfair. Using food against me like that.”

“Then don’t eat.”

Right.

Her name had definitely been Song Ahyoung too.

The youngest child at the shelter.

The one everyone adored.

“Forget that. That’s not important right now.”

“I won the running race today and totally crushed Woo Seungho’s pride!”

“I did good, right? He kept acting all cocky, so he deserved it.”

“Hey, Song Ahyoung. What do you mean ‘that bastard’? And what’s all this about him acting cocky?”

“And don’t tell me you went outside the fence again today?”

That had been four years ago.

The child who especially adored him had stubbornly insisted on coming to see him off before he boarded the transport heading toward the upper districts after training.

He had assumed she would handle the goodbye calmly, just as bold and fearless as she usually acted.

But he had been wrong.

Ignoring even the director’s attempts to stop her, she stayed glued to his side for two entire hours.

Her tiny fingers had clutched his clothes so tightly that prying them loose became exhausting.

“…It’s just because staying trapped in here all the time is frustrating.”

“I didn’t go far. I only played near the stream.”

“…Obviously.”

“You went sledding by the creek again, didn’t you?”

“I told you over and over that the ice could break at any moment, so why won’t you ever listen?”

And now that same child had survived.

She had grown so much.

Four years had passed already.

She was old enough to enter elementary school now.

Ah.

Looking at her innocent face, it was obvious.

“…Ah….”

His lips trembled violently.

A crushing emotion tightened painfully around his chest.

Without even realizing it, his feet slowly carried him closer toward Shinwoo.

Toward Ahyoung in Shinwoo’s arms.

Step. Step.

“Why’re all of you gathered here like cockroaches instead of eating lunch? Hurry up and get inside already.”

“Mister, I’m back.”

“Oh, Shinwoo, you’re back.”

“Good work today.”

“But who’s that behind you? A guest?”

Just as he reached out to lightly tap Ahyoung’s shoulder, two elderly figures pushed through the gathered crowd.

Grandpa Kim.

And Mrs. Dosan.

The adults who had once taken care of the shelter children’s meals.

“Grandpa, don’t you recognize him?”

“Take a closer look.”

“Well now… I can’t really tell. He’s keeping his head down.”

“Come on, look properly.”

“It’s the kid you used to adore so much.”

“…Oh my goodness. What in the world…?”

“Is that really you? Jaeyoon? Han Jaeyoon?”

It felt as though a massive stone lodged itself in his throat.

Even as he secretly wiped his tears against the collar of his jacket, more kept falling uncontrollably.

All he could do was lower his head.

The people finally realized he had once been part of the shelter family too.

Only then did the suspicion disappear from their eyes.

“What? Jaeyoon oppa?”

“Where is he?”

“Hey! Don’t push! I can’t see!”

One after another, familiar voices restored memories he thought had long died.

“…Jaeyoon oppa?”

Ahyoung, still cradled in Shinwoo’s arms, slowly turned around with tears pooling in her eyes.

The face he once remembered as endlessly young and innocent now carried traces of deep sorrow.

And despite everything, she remembered him.

A memory formed at barely four years old.

She had preserved it all this time.

“…Is it really… really Jaeyoon oppa?”

“Ah… what do I do… what do I do….”

Ahyoung stretched both arms toward him.

And not just her.

The other shelter children who gradually gathered nearby also recognized him and waved excitedly.

His chest felt like it would burst apart.

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry….”

“…Oppa.”

“I told you I’d come back soon.”

“I said I’d return after just ten sleeps….”

“……”

“I’m sorry for lying.”

“I’m sorry for thinking you were annoying….”

Tears soaked his face.

The words he had once forced himself to say just to calm the child clinging desperately to him now returned as regret.

“Hic… sob….”

“…Uuu….”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry….”

“…Oppa, why are you crying?”

“Was it really hard over there?”

Ah.

What was he supposed to do now?

He finally managed to open his arms and pull the child examining his condition into a tight embrace.

Burying his face against those tiny fragile shoulders, he felt the warmth unique to children.

And the tears poured endlessly, like a broken faucet.

As he gently stroked her tiny face, he forced himself to accept reality.

Thank you for surviving.

Thank you for remembering me.

“…Oppa, I think Jaeyoon oppa had a really hard time there.”

“He’s crying like a little kid.”

“No.”

“He’s just overwhelmed because he’s seeing Yoonji again after so long.”

“So today, Yoonji has to pat oppa and tell him he worked hard, okay?”

When Shinwoo smilingly spoke on his behalf, Yoonji and the other children immediately gathered around him as though entrusted with some grand mission.

Together they held hands in a circle before tightly hugging him.

Though in reality it looked more like they were the ones wrapped around him.

The children laughed brightly and patted his back with tiny maple-leaf-sized hands.

“Oh dear. Looks like Jaeyoon got quite the shock.”

“Well obviously. The poor boy suffered all alone in a place where he didn’t know anybody, and then he comes back to find the shelter destroyed.”

“If it were me, I’d have fainted from stress ages ago.”

“Oh stop exaggerating.”

“And who asked you anyway?”

“Old fool. Your hearing must’ve gone bad too if you keep picking fights over everything.”

“What was that? Did you just call me senile?”

“Well if I’m senile, then you’re an old hag bossing around a senile old man!”

While the children surrounding him chatted noisily with excitement, Grandpa Kim and Mrs. Dosan bickered endlessly nearby.

Shinwoo laughed awkwardly and hurried over to mediate the argument.

Snow drifted softly beneath the bright sky.

“Welcome back, oppa.”

“…Ugh… sob….”

Ah.

So he had finally come home.

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