Night — 7 PM
At last, the day had come.
Hyeon was on his way home.
All along the road, the sparkle in his eyes was gone. With each step he took his face looked pale, drained of all warmth.
In his hands, he clutched an envelope — taking it out, putting it back in — over and over.
His heartbeat was unsteady. He wanted to believe the nurse.
But no matter how many times she said it, he couldn't believe her.
He'd had the tests repeated again and again, and every time, the same answer.
"Sir, I'm telling you the truth. These are three separate reports from three different labs. Please look through them yourself — you'll believe it then."
"You think I'm a fool? I don't trust these papers. If what you say is true!.
His heart veiled his eyes; sober, he couldn't accept the truth.
She faltered for a moment, eyes shifting before she spoke again.
"Then there's another way to calm your doubts."
"… ask your wife."
Her words clung to him like thorns in his mind.
He got out of the car in a distant neighborhood and walked the rest of the way home on foot.
Inside, Ijueng was watching TV in his room, the volume barely audible.
In the kitchen, his mother was cooking.
Then came the knock.
No one ever knocked on this door — certainly not at this hour.
Nala swallowed her hesitation, gathered her courage, and opened it.
"Hyeon." She whispers before he makes his way in.
He had told her he was coming, but not that he would arrive so soon.
Hyeon handed her a bag and a few things he'd picked up along the way.
"Wash your hands and face. I'll set the table."
Freshened up, Hyeon sat to eat.
The room was so silent, only the sound of clinking utensils filled the air.
Ijueng already heard the door knock, quietly leaving his room to the basement.
These days he's trying to be better for his mom, so she won't hide her tears anymore.
"Nala."
Hyeon's voice broke the silence. His gaze stayed lowered.
"What's your blood group?"
"Hn?"
There was stillness in his eyes. He was holding back something but didn't let it afloat— he knew how easily it could ignite and ruin the conversation.
"AB."
"Hm."
He popped another bite into his mouth, chewing slowly, almost painfully.
"Mine's B… " a slight smirk appeared in his lip.
"why are you.."
"Let me finish… please." His voice was soft, but heavy.
"We...tried for a child, but you couldn't conceive. Then I left, and you told me you were pregnant. My hope came alive again. Our world felt whole.
Then Ijueng fell ill… and i found out he wasn't my son. I didn't believe it. I thought it was a mistake. I had so many tests done — all said the same thing. And you… you kept running from the subject.
I didn't want to think you'd been with someone else. That mere thought alone shook me to my core.
I was afraid to ask you, afraid of if you said yes… what then?
Your silence burned me like fire.
That fire swallowed my warmth for him,I began to distance myself from him.
I yelled at you so many times, but you never answered me.
Nala… did I ever force you to have a child? Did I ever hurt you? Then why? We could have been happy without one.."
"I told myself that again and again," he paused.
"But every moment I spent with Ijueng… he never felt like someone else's child. He always felt like mine. And he takes after you."
"It began to eat me alive."
"Who was the man who did this to me? I wanted to shoved all the bullets in his mouth."
Nala's eyes filled with tears. She kept her head lowered, listening.
"But Nala…" he lifted his gaze at her. "I never thought about this one thing.
Your blood group is AB. No matter who you were with, your child could never be O."
A faint grin curved his lips. Relief — the knowledge that she hadn't been with anyone else.
"So… whose child is this?
It's not yours.
Whoever's child it is, I'll raise him as my own. But tell me — whose is he?"
---
Meanwhile, Ijueng had run to hide in the basement, afraid the shouting would start again.
But tonight, the house was silent.
Too silent.
The stillness in the basement felt like a whirlpool of darkness, pulling him in.
He bolted out through the back door into the alley.
He was hungry, but he wouldn't go back while that man was still inside.
Instead, he settled leaning against a wall somewhere in the quiet, before long sleep claimed him.
And that's when Gyu found him
The next morning, Gyu's eyes opened at the sound of the alarm. He hadn't been asleep—he'd spent the night half-awake, listening to the soft whispers of the child beside him.
Ijueng kept brushing Gyu's hair aside, playing with the strands, murmuring over and over, "Mom's back… mom's back."
The words echoed in Gyu's ears, until finally the boy's small hand rested on his face again. This time, Gyu caught it.
"Kid… not again," he muttered in his coarse voice.
The sudden grip jolted Ijueng into realization—the person lying next to him wasn't his mother.
Only "eomma" came out as a whisper before he took back his hand.
''it's not my intention to scare you" Gyu immediately said sitting up.
"Before you think you are kidnapped, you are not. i carried you here so you'd be safe and I'll take you home."
"By the way i'm gyu, and you?"
"Ijueng," the boy finally said, hesitating before giving his name. "I'm Ijueng."
"Good," Gyu replied with a faint smile, ruffling the boy's hair.
A beat of silence passed before Ijueng's stomach growled loudly.
"Brother Gyu… I'm hungry."
Gyu blinked, then burst into laughter. It was the first time anyone had ever called him "brother"—and the very first thing they wanted from him was food.
"Hungry, huh? Of course you are," he said, still chuckling. "Alright. After you eat, I'll take you back to your place. Would that be okay?"
Ijueng hesitated. He couldn't be gone too long. His mother might not notice immediately—she always pretended to live alone whenever visitors came—but once they left, she would realize. And then… she would worry.
He swallowed hard. He'd promised himself he wouldn't cause any more trouble for her. But this time, his fear outweighed his vow.
Not long after breakfast, Gyu left the house with ijueng, now dressed in a school uniform.
"Strange place to live," Gyu thought, as they crossed the alley and stepped onto the road.
"That's the same kid! You little thief-back again?"
the shopkeeper from weeks ago was barreling towards him, his voice booming.
Gyu froze, startled. He had not thought the man was talking about ijueng-untill the boy pressed his face into Gyu's torso, trembling.
"So, now you're hiding", the shopkeeper sneered, reaching for him.
Gyu caught his wrist before it touched the boy. "what do you think you are doing?"
"He owes me money," the man snapped, eyes narrowing. "This brat took medicines and never paid. And you-" his gaze flicked over gyu, a smirk forming. "you must be his sister."
The word "sister" made Gyu's jaw tighten.
His grip on the man's wrist hardened.
"Watch your mouth old man!"
The shopkeeper twisted, cursing. "Let go! Unless you want me to drag him to the police." He suddenly yanked at Ijueng's arm, twisting the boy's ear cruelly.
Ijueng cried out in pain. "No—I left the money! You saw me put it there!"
"That was my money," the shopkeeper snarled, twisting harder, a sick pleasure in his eyes.
The sight snapped something in Gyu.
His fist struck before he even realized it. The man stumbled back, teeth cracking against the pavement, blood spilling from his lip.
"You—!" the shopkeeper tried to rise, but another punch sent him collapsing with a groan.
"Lucky I didn't break your hand," Gyu muttered, standing over him. "Or you wouldn't be able to touch anyone again."
He tossed a few bills onto the man's chest, then scooped Ijueng into his arms. The boy was still sobbing into his shoulder.
"Don't cry," Gyu whispered, rubbing his back. "He won't hurt you again."
"I really left the money…" Ijueng hiccupped through his tears, desperate for him to believe it.
"I know you did." Gyu's voice was steady, his glare never leaving the groaning man on the ground.
He wiped the boy's face gently. "When you go home, don't cry in front of your parents. It might worry them."
"They won't," Ijueng whispered.
That made Gyu pause. His eyes softened. "…Then it worries me. So smile for me instead."
All night, Gyu turned the thought over in his mind, trying to understand the strange pull he felt when he first saw the boy in the alley.
Now he understood. Ijueng reminded him of himself. - six years younger, small and defenseless.
Back then he had been the prey and the world predator. Nothing had changed, really. Only the target was different.