LM 125

Kwon Siyul was sitting on a swing. The scenery was familiar. The old slide, the seesaw with tire pieces underneath, and the low iron bars that children used to hang from. It was the small playground in the backyard of the orphanage. He and Kwon Yuwon used to scoop water into buckets in that sandbox and build sandcastles until dusk.

He was riding the swing after a long time, forgetting that he was an adult and kicking his feet excitedly in the air. There was no one around, but it was okay. Someone would come soon. He didn’t know who it was, but he was waiting.

With a rustling sound, the grass parted, and Kwon Siyul stopped the motion of his feet. Something dark and large was wriggling out of the forest floor, twisting its winding body around.

“Uh…”

It wasn’t a person. It was a snake as big as a house. Its size was comparable to the giant snakes that lived in the Amazon. He would usually be startled by even a small snake, wondering if it was a venomous snake, but strangely, he wasn’t afraid of this snake at all. The glossy black color was beautiful, and the black eyes were like obsidian. Rather than avoiding it, he wanted to stroke its long body with his hand.

As if the snake knew what was inside Kwon Siyul’s heart, it came closer, coiled up in a circle, and raised its neck straight. It was taller and thicker than Kwon Siyul, who had stood up from the swing. It was a very clever and intelligent-looking snake.

Kwon Siyul carefully reached out his hand. The snake, unlike its size, flicked its cute tongue and put its head on Kwon Siyul’s hand. The feeling of it touching his hand was cold and smooth, yet somehow poignant. It was as if the snake was what he had been waiting for while riding the swing.

The snake wiggled its tail and wrapped it around Kwon Siyul’s body. It rubbed its snout against his neck, tilting its head this way and that, as if asking to be loved.

“Are you coming to me? …Is that okay?”

It was so pretty that he was worried it might belong to someone else, that it had been loved and cherished and had accidentally come out of the house. As if the snake understood, it shook its long neck as if in the middle of a dance. It seemed to mean that it wanted to go with him. It was absurd that he could communicate with the snake, but he accepted it readily as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

At first, he hesitated because it seemed to already have an owner, but the more he looked at it, the more he wanted it. He wanted to go with this snake.

“Then, will you go with me?”

Kwon Siyul stroked the snake gently and asked. The snake looked at Kwon Siyul with its black and beautiful eyes, then lowered its head and rubbed its belly against him. A bright light shone, and after it faded, the beautiful snake was gone.

Even after opening his eyes, Kwon Siyul couldn’t immediately tell whether it was a dream or reality. Only after blinking a few times did he realize that he had been dreaming all along.

The snake’s body temperature was cool, but his belly, where the scales had touched, was warm. He quietly lowered his hand and stroked his belly.

What a strange dream.

As if sensing that Kwon Siyul had woken up, Woo Hyunse turned over and hugged Kwon Siyul tightly with his strong arms. He wrapped his long, thick legs around Kwon Siyul’s lower body and pulled him into his arms. The strength with which he wrapped around him was no less than the snake he had seen in his dream.

Was that snake hyung, by any chance?

He didn’t know what it meant, but it seemed like a good omen. He would have to tell him in the morning, Kwon Siyul thought, turning around and hugging Woo Hyunse. Woo Hyunse’s scent lingered in the bedroom, as if he was happy to be hugging Kwon Siyul even in his sleep.

Kwon Siyul repeated the dream once more, trying not to forget it, and then went to sleep. The warmth that wrapped around him was cozier than a blanket, and he fell asleep quickly.

***

It was quite a hot day for May. The scorching sunlight shone through the window and into the bus. Under the cloudless, bright blue sky, the rice seedlings, which had sprung up like water plants, swayed in the wind in the rice paddies. The nameless wildflowers that were everywhere along the rice paddies, the kites circling above the distant mountain peaks, and the scenery that flashed by were very pastoral, unlike the city, which was filled with buildings.

The chartered bus stopped only after traveling for a long time on a winding road like a snake’s body. At the driver’s announcement that they had arrived, everyone prepared to get out of their seats.

Woo Jung-ryeol, who had been sitting in the front seat, got off the bus with a friendly face. He had thought about going separately in a car, but his aide had advised him that he should act like an ordinary citizen in order to foster an overall good image, so he had taken the lead and boarded the bus.

‘You know, even though I told them to study at home, they insisted on following me. They said volunteer work was important, or something like that. Even though I said it was okay, they insisted on coming with me. As you all know, what father can win against his children? So, they came with me.’

The man who had knocked down Woo Hyunse and Woo Gibbeum two days ago and beaten their thighs with a baseball bat was all talk. Woo Hyunse had canceled his original appointment because he felt like Woo Jung-ryeol would break his ribs if he didn’t go, saying he would give him a good excuse to do so. Woo Gibbeum was no different.

‘Didn’t you say that they both got first place in the whole school last time? Good grades and good character. Blood is thicker than water, after all.’

‘You have very excellent children.’

People who didn’t know Woo Jung-ryeol’s duplicitous nature spewed out disgusting compliments. Woo Gibbeum had turned her head and pretended to vomit at the obvious flattery.

Woo Hyunse, who had been dragged along by the scruff of his neck, also got off the bus. Woo Gibbeum, who had closed her eyes as soon as she got on the bus and hadn’t opened them for even one moment, dragged her feet down the stairs like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse. Woo Hyunse’s expression was the same as usual, smiling, while Woo Gibbeum’s face looked like she had chewed on a live bug a couple of times already.

“Loosen your expression. People are watching.”

“Fuck.”

When Woo Hyunse advised her quietly, Woo Gibbeum cursed as if she had been waiting for it. When people turned around, she quickly put on a mask. Her recovery speed was truly lightning-fast.

Seeing how well she could manage her expression in front of people, it seemed that the saying “blood is thicker than water” wasn’t entirely false. Woo Hyunse quietly kept his mouth shut, knowing that this type of saying would be a more terrible insult to Woo Gibbeum than any curse in the world.

Woo Hyunse stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the old building and sign in front of him. Munggeureum Orphanage. It was the place for today’s volunteer work.

It was said to be an event to celebrate Children’s Day, with local government volunteer groups, some chairmen, some assemblymen, and local newspaper reporters. Woo Hyunse scoffed inwardly. It was ridiculous to see such people, who usually didn’t even glance at such places, gathered like a pack of dogs to take a picture.

The orphanage staff and the director came out to welcome the volunteer group. The director was a middle-aged woman who looked old and gentle, but unlike the smile on her face, she didn’t seem very happy at that moment.

The orphanage was divided into sections: infant and toddler class, children’s class, and youth class. Woo Hyunse and Woo Gibbeum were assigned to clean the children’s playroom, while others were assigned to clean the hallways and restrooms. Since he hoped not to run into the children if possible, this was rather a good thing for Woo Hyunse.

However, the adults’ circumstances seemed to be different. One of the reporters and assemblymen was having a small argument with the director. Woo Hyunse pretended to be organizing the toys and listened to their conversation. The gist of it was that they had come all the way here, so they had to take pictures, and they wanted a picture of them with the children, so why was she refusing?

“I’m sorry, but only long-term volunteers are allowed to meet with the children.”

“No, didn’t I tell you in advance before coming here? At least we have to take pictures. We didn’t come all this way just to clean.”

“Then, we can take a group photo after we’re done…”

“How can that be a good picture? Director, why are you being so infuriating when you basically know everything?”

The director was very troubled. There was a reason why she looked unhappy while greeting people. The armband on her arm was as good as power, and with the threat that sponsorship might be cut off if she was uncooperative, the director reluctantly agreed.

Woo Hyunse put the cleanly wiped toys back in their place and glanced at Woo Gibbeum beside him. As expected, she had been eavesdropping all along—Woo Gibbeum didn’t even turn her head that way and muttered, “Thugs.” Agreeing, he nodded his head secretly.

After roughly finishing the cleaning, everyone headed to the auditorium. The children were gathered there. Perhaps wary of the strangers, they didn’t approach first and just stood there awkwardly. The teenagers, seeing Woo Hyunse and Woo Gibbeum, who were their age, either shrank back or showed hostility.

This is why I didn’t want to come in the first place.

Woo Hyunse clicked his tongue inwardly. Orphanages usually don’t accept teenage volunteers. This was due to concerns that it could create a sense of alienation among their peers. Did Woo Jung-ryeol not know that? Regardless, he must have brought them along for the sake of that damn “good image.”

Only after the volunteer group played games and distributed food did the stiff expressions gradually relax. Some children even begged to be hugged. That was when the photos were taken. The reporters bowed deeply, filming Woo Jung-ryeol wearing an apron and serving food onto the children’s plates, as well as scenes of him affectionately holding a child.

Woo Hyunse and Woo Gibbeum were also there, unwillingly, standing beside him. He felt like he already knew what the article titles would be like, even without seeing them.