Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Brother (6)
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That day, too, some tteokbokki was left over.
She always ordered generously on purpose.
If a little was left, she could heat it up in the microwave when she got home, and her parents loved tteokbokki anyway.
By the time the two of them got home from work, it had cooled off, but it was still perfectly edible.
So the siblings always ordered more than they could finish.
"Ma'am, could you pack this up for me?"
"Sure thing."
As if she'd been waiting, the street vendor lady scooped the tteokbokki into a clear plastic bag and tucked it into a white plastic container. Then she sealed it in a black bag and handed it to Kwon Su-an.
"Thanks! We'll be back!"
"Yeah, see you soon!"
"It's cold out, so be careful."
They exchanged warm goodbyes and stepped out of the street stall, and sure enough, just like the lady said, the air was frigid. Her cheeks stung.
Kwon Su-an zipped his little sister's puffy jacket all the way up. It stung less now. The thick warmth enveloped her face.
Hand in hand, the two headed home.
"Hey! Su-an!"
In the alley on the way home.
Someone called out to Kwon Su-an from behind.
The heat from the tteokbokki hadn't faded yet.
Kwon Su-an turned around, his face lighting up.
It was a friend.
From the same school, same class.
Though now, neither could even remember each other's faces or names.
"Bring back that Game Boy you lent me last time."
"Huh? I'm with my sister right now—can't I just give it to you at school?"
"You wanna get caught by the homeroom teacher again?"
"Good point. Hang on."
Fifteen-year-old Kwon Su-an easily agreed to his friend's suggestion. The guy's house was less than five minutes away from where they were anyway.
"Su-young-ah, mind if Oppa stops by that friend's place real quick?"
"Um... okay."
Okay.
That's what she said.
But an indescribable unease washed over Kwon Su-young's heart.
As if she vaguely knew what was coming next.
But she chalked it up to heading to a stranger's house.
No one could know the future, after all.
Sure enough, when they reached Kwon Su-an's friend's house, her chest felt all stuffy and tight.
Like foam bubbling up under her sternum. She didn't want to go into some stranger's home.
Especially since the friend's face was covered in that teenage hormone-fueled acne, which repulsed her. To little Kwon Su-young's eyes, it looked downright scary.
"Oppa, you go get the Game Boy. I'll wait here."
"You sure? It's cold outside."
"I'm fine. Hurry back. I'll hold the tteokbokki."
"Okay, Oppa'll be right back! Just wait a sec."
And so.
She said she was fine, hurry back.
Even though something told her she shouldn't.
It was fate.
No one could change it.
As Kwon Su-an stepped into his friend's house.
A man approached.
About the age of their parents.
Wearing a black hat, hood pulled up.
Maybe because it was winter. His face was wrapped up suspiciously tight.
Kwon Su-young avoided the man's gaze.
Her heart pounded.
The tteokbokki's warmth hadn't faded.
"You... Su-young, right?"
"Pardon?"
"Yeah? Kwon Su-young."
"Oh... yeah? That's me."
"Whew, it's freezing out, but this uncle's been looking everywhere for you."
"For me?"
"Yeah. Your dad's right around here. He's in the car back there, told me to bring you to him quick."
"Liar."
She wasn't falling for that.
Such an obvious trick.
She'd heard about bad adults who dangled parents to lure kids away.
They taught it in school and at home.
She wasn't fooled yet.
"Not a lie. Kwon. Ji-in. That's your dad's name, right?"
"Huh?!"
But if he knew Dad's name, that changed things.
From there, he desperately tried to convince her, rattling off the phone number saved under Dad's name, even showing a business card.
The number and card were real.
He introduced himself as one of the company's employees under her dad.
When he went that far, she had no choice but to believe.
Following strangers blindly was bad, but so was baseless suspicion.
Kwon Su-young was eight at the time.
And so the tragedy struck suddenly and thoroughly, tightening around the siblings' necks.
The tteokbokki was starting to cool.
A quiet residential alley.
A gray van parked there, engine idling.
That's where Kwon Su-young was led.
"Dad's in there?"
"Yeah, your dad's waiting. Hop in quick and give him the tteokbokki. You packed it to eat with your parents, right?"
"Yeah! That's right. Mom might be a little disappointed, but Dad first."
A large hand clamped over the smiling mouth of Kwon Su-young, who was happily talking about sharing with her parents.
It covered her face, and over it, a white cloth.
Soaked in some sleep-inducing chemical.
From that moment on, there was no
time to think
strength to resist
sense left
All gone.
Burned out like a candle wick turned to ash.
Unconscious Kwon Su-young.
Just as she was about to be tossed into the van's back like luggage.
"What are you doing?"
A trembling voice.
Eyes wide with fear.
Stumbling steps on two perfectly fine, skinny legs.
The fifteen-year-old boy grabbed the hooded middle-aged man's arm.
The man's eyes widened in obvious panic.
He gritted his teeth.
And from then on, he was no longer human—but a demon.
Who are you?
I'm calling the cops.
Don't touch my sister.
Let her go.
....
Thud. Thud. Thud. Bang.
Don't take her.
My sister.
Thud.
Crash.
Stop.
Please.
Please, I beg you.
Leave Su-young alone.
....
Before she knew it, the tteokbokki had gone cold.
By the time the police arrived, things weren't the absolute worst.
The fifteen-year-old brother had succeeded in protecting his sister.
The pinky promise they'd made was kept, somehow. Even if the terror came not from Mom, but a third party.
But he lost something too.
The fifteen-year-old boy had protected his precious sister and lost his sight.
**
By now, the scene had shifted to a hospital.
In the end, Kwon Su-young never got scolded that day for staining her clothes red.
The red stain on her clothes wasn't just tteokbokki sauce. So her parents never realized the red on her bib had come from something tasty.
They hugged their terrified daughter tight and sobbed.
Sobbed—
Like children.
Blaming themselves for neglecting their young son and daughter.
"Mom's sorry."
"Dad's sorry."
Kwon Su-young's head spun; no tears came.
She was unscathed, not a scratch.
But she'd passed out and woken up, so she had to pull herself together, sort out what happened.
She knew what had occurred.
Even if she'd blacked out in the memory, the full event replayed in her mind.
Accepting it emotionally was another matter.
Her son, fresh out of surgery.
When her parents stepped out to hear about his condition.
Something warm welled up in Kwon Su-young's eyes.
Hotter—
Much hotter—
Than the bubbling oden broth at the street stall.
"Oppa."
Sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
She repeated it in her heart.
Over and over. Over and over.
She'd never understood why her brother lost his sight.
No one told her, and she'd been passed out right there beside him.
No way she could've known.
But now, at last, she did.
"Oppa, because of me!!"
Her wail echoed through the hospital.
Close to a scream.
Now the space was fully separated.
No one in that memory could hear.
The curtain fell on the tragedy.
One she had to face someday.
A past already set in stone.
Only now, belatedly knowing, she sobbed.
Her tiny body wracked with tears.
Until her hands and thighs were soaked.
Beside her sat another little girl, even younger than eight-year-old Kwon Su-young.
A girl with her hair tied back in a long ponytail, a pretty name.
"Not your fault, Su-young Unniee."
She hugged her tight.
Kwon Su-young's head nestled into that small embrace.
She didn't know who this girl was, but she felt intensely warm.
She didn't deserve such warmth.
Couldn't handle it.
She shouldn't be crying in arms like these.
Because.
"I ruined my Oppa's life! And yet... and yet! I never knew why he did it! Didn't know that... and he gets those weird looks from people, acts all sensitive!! Really. I... I'm... trash. And all this time, I thought I was the one protecting Oppa. But that's not it. Actually."
It was Oppa—Kwon Su-an—who had protected Kwon Su-young.
She shook her head wildly.
Her body trembled. Not cold, but as if that winter day all over again.
But the ponytail girl held Kwon Su-young tight, refusing to let go.
As if trying to pass on the warmth she'd felt in appa's arms.
"Su-young Unniee."
"...."
"Unniee didn't do nothin' wrong."
"No."
"Oppa says so. Unniee didn't do nothin' wrong."
"No. Because of me."
"Uh-uh, not 'cause of Unniee, Oppa says. And Yunseul-i didn't do nothin' wrong either, he thinks."
"...."
"You didn't make it happen."
"What?"
"Oppa says the bad guy's the one who did that to Unniee's Oppa. So don't cry."
Desperately.
In shaky pronunciation.
With a limited vocabulary.
It felt like comfort.
Why did it hit so hard?
Kwon Su-young couldn't grasp it with her head.
But she felt convinced.
"Yunseul-i's sad when Su-young Unniee cries."
"Still feels like it's my fault."
"Hmm, but Unniee protects her Oppa, right?"
"Huh?"
"Su-young Unniee still takes care of her Oppa and loves him lots. Oppa says that's amazing. And this too."
The girl pulled Kwon Su-young's face from her chest to meet eyes. Like that time in school when the Korean teacher explained the word "yunseul" in class.
Sunlight or moonlight rippling on water.
Those yunseul-like eyes were so beautiful, she was drawn right in.
She could only focus on this tiny girl's words.
Could only accept them.
"Yunseul-i protected our Oppa too!! So Yunseul-i and Su-young Unniee are the same. Exactly alike. Oppa says you're both amazing. So."
Don't cry.
It's not your fault.
You worked so hard facing the past.
Now let's go back.
Tell Su-an-ssi thanks.
Say it over and over, till it sinks in.
That'll be enough.
Again.
It was as if another voice overlapped from somewhere.
A gentle voice.
Whoever owned that voice must be great at cooking, good at making meals, putting up with silly jokes.
Kwon Su-young thought.
"Seriously... if you keep this up, I won't be able to stop coming to this restaurant."
*That's the idea.*