Chapter 60: The Boy on the Beach

Her grip was too weak to tear open the plastic wrapping, so she used scissors.

She cut through the springs and peeled the plastic off.

Then she gave Heesung an awkward smile.

Heesung had been watching her do all of this for nearly a year.

Scissors are better than hardcover books, it seems. Books are heavy, but scissors are sharp.

“Teacher.”

“What is it?”

Even then, she didn’t let go of his hand.

She was the kind who believed that intimate contact creates emotional connection.

Heesung hated people clinging to him. Whether in words or actions. It was just a matter of being less or more annoying.

If she had clung even a little less, he wouldn’t have disliked her this much.

“Can I ask you something today?”

“You? What?”

“Guess what I’m thinking.”

Whenever he watched movies or read books, the story flow was usually the same. Most people only realize things after they get screwed. The lesson was: realize before you get screwed and stop what you’re doing.

She probably picked those books and movies on purpose. But watching them, a question occurred to him.

Could this woman, who tried to teach him while acting so smug, really know everything about the world?

Could she know what was going on in his head?

Of course she didn’t. That’s why she could keep such a calm face.

Among the movies Heesung had watched was one about an athlete who got injured. Thanks to that movie, he learned a fair amount about the human body.

The forearm is made of two bones. The ulna and the radius. Between them run countless blood vessels and nerves.

Very important blood vessels and nerves.

Wonhwa came running at the sound of the woman’s scream right away.

“What, what is this! Heesung!”

Wonhwa shouted.

Heesung grabbed her hand. Wonhwa instinctively stepped back and tried to pull free. But doing so only made the hand slick with warm blood grip her delicate hand all the more firmly.

“Clean this up. Don’t make any more trouble.”

“…”

She stared at him, mouth opening as if to speak. She had seen the chill in his eyes. But the mess inside the room was more urgent.

When Heesung let go, she scurried inside.

“Oh, oh my. T-Teacher!”

Her high-pitched scream brought servants running. Heesung calmly walked to his room and showered first. His heart pounded in a good way. After washing up, he fell asleep, feeling light.

When Heesung woke up, Wonhwa was sitting by his head.

She stroked his hair. Heesung knocked her hand away.

Wonhwa didn’t reach out again. Instead, she spoke in a calm voice.

“Heesung. I believed in you.”

It was dark outside. The sun had set.

Heesung liked this time of day best. The time when light fades and darkness settles. What was visible becomes invisible. What was invisible comes into view.

Wonhwa’s voice grew louder.

“I truly believed in you. Was it all a lie? I thought you were getting better. I really… believed in you…!”

Wonhwa sobbed.

What lie? She’d only ever heard all that from that woman. Heesung thought indifferently.

“Was there no reason at all?”

Reason? Heesung quietly thought of one. Would she stop crying if he told her?

“Say there was at least some reason…!”

No. She’d only cry louder. Heesung didn’t want his ears ringing.

“Stop it and leave. You’re too loud.”

“…”

Wonhwa’s face twisted. Deep disappointment and resentment soaked into it. There was also hurt, sorrow, and grievance. And… fear as well.

Wonhwa left the room as if fleeing. Watching her go, Heesung figured he’d end up locked up again. But he felt satisfied all the same.

A few days later, Heesung was sent to America, unexpectedly.

His older brother and sister, whom he rarely saw and were like strangers, lived in America, but that wasn’t why he was sent there. Wonhwa simply wanted to send him somewhere unfamiliar. She also wanted to dump him in a place where rumors wouldn’t reach. Because word about Heesung was spreading quickly in their social circle.

But Heesung actually found life in America easier. The house had a large swimming pool, and the neighborhood was nice for riding a bike. At school, when he pretended not to understand English, everyone lost interest and left him alone.

Those who started trouble first, he beat them down before it could get bigger. Once he dragged them somewhere with no one around and stomped them, they started avoiding him on their own. They were too ashamed to say they’d been beaten by a lone Asian, so they never came back with their friends. Maybe it was also because Heesung was tall and had a sharp, cold presence.

Thanks to that, life abroad went smoothly enough.

Then one day.

He heard that Gyeongshin would be coming after a long time. The house Heesung stayed in was where Gyeongshin stayed when he came to America on business. Heesung had lived there without giving it much thought, but hearing that he would arrive soon, he suddenly wondered about his space.

He was his father, but they had never spoken deeply. He wondered what he kept inside.

Without a deep thought, he opened the door on impulse. It was a door he had never once opened in the years he’d lived in this house.

And he came face to face with a large gun hanging on the wall.

So this exists. Heesung was curious. He knew this was a country where guns were allowed, but he’d never actively gone looking for one.

He took the gun off the wall and examined it. He looked for where the bullets went. Once he understood how it worked in an instant, he put his finger on the trigger.

So you just pull it. It was a simple, clear structure. He liked it.

He was just about to fire it.

“……What are you doing?!”

He ran into Gyeongshin, who had just walked in.

Gyeongshin flew into a rage.

Things moved as quickly as when he had come to the US. Heesung was sent back to Korea immediately.

Gyeongshin and Wonhwa fought over the phone. Gyeongshin demanded why she had chosen such a dangerous country. Wonhwa shouted at him for leaving a child alone with a gun.

Heesung thought it was funny that they were only now blaming each other, after he’d been living there for years.

Heesung returned to Korea absurdly. His destination wasn’t even his home, but a prison. Wonhwa even came along, hanging on like a burden.

Wonhwa, whom he saw after a long time, had aged a bit. Her face, maintained with care, was still young, but her aura had clearly aged.

After the last incident, Wonhwa put up a wall against Heesung. Living in the same building was something Heesung himself didn’t want, but fortunately Wonhwa felt the same, and she said she would use a different building.

And so Heesung returned to the prison where he had spent his childhood.

He was still nineteen in Korean age, so he had to finish high school. Wonhwa’s secretary came with transfer documents for a nearby school. Heesung snatched them and kicked him out.

When he came to his senses, he found his situation absurd. He had drifted along like a leaf in a current, with none of his own will reflected in it. He was furious. He didn’t want to go to school, or anywhere else.

Besides, Heesung had always hated school. It was noisy and troublesome. Even when he stayed still, they kept making him do things. Go here, do this, turn that in.

He had chosen to go to school after weighing the pros and cons. It wasn’t something he did willingly.

At this point, he thought, whatever happens, happens. Maybe he’d see how much he could get away with, since he didn’t want to go anyway.

It wasn’t as if things could get any worse or more annoying here. He was no longer a little kid. He was no longer the small child who had to use his wits to drive adults away. Wonhwa and Gyeongshin knew that too. They wouldn’t be able to use the same methods as before.

Feeling somewhat at ease, Heesung lay down on the bed with his arm under his head. He stared at the ceiling and sank into thought.

Outside the window, the sound of waves came. Swish, swish. The sound grew louder and more urgent. It seemed the weather was turning.

He kept lying there. He couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do. Being locked back in this prison was annoying, but he didn’t desperately want to go back to America either. If asked whether he wanted to return to his original home, he didn’t want that either. There were too many annoying servants there. This place, with no people, was better.

Then what did he want to do?

The wave sound grew louder again.

Listening to it, Heesung remembered how he used to swim in the sea whenever he came down here. He also remembered the thrill of swimming far out against the waves. He used to only have brief gaps between lessons, so he couldn’t stay long, but now he had all the time in the world.

Let’s go out.

Maybe getting into the cold water would bring something to mind. The fact that it was night didn’t bother him at all.

But when Heesung passed down the slope and stood on the beach, someone was already there.

The countryside was pitch dark. The only things lighting up the world were the dim lights from the vacation house and the moonlight.

The sea was no different from years ago, but the person standing in it was unfamiliar.

It was a boy around Heesung’s age. He kept sniffling. He staggered forward. Heesung stood blankly and watched the whole thing.

The pale legs revealed below his shorts reflected the moonlight. Even from a distance, even in the dark, he could see that the boy’s legs were perfectly smooth.

‘Why does a guy have no hair on his legs?’

Heesung found it strange. Strange enough to keep his eyes on him.

‘I want to chew him up.’

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