"Why are you standing here alone? Aren't you going home?" Riya asked Ryan. She had stepped away in the middle of the game to wash her hands and face. The dust from the playground had left her clothes covered in dirt.
"I am..." Ryan replied, fidgeting with her fingers. "I'll go with you."
Hearing the hesitation in her voice, Riya looked at her worriedly.
"What happened?"
"For the past few days, I've been seeing a man dressed in black wandering around our hostel every night. A few days ago, he was standing on the balcony of the apartment next to mine. I'm scared."
"You saw him too?" a boy interrupted after overhearing their conversation. "I saw him too. He was standing in the apartment across from Kaven's."
Kaven, who was passing by on his way to the playground, slowed down as soon as he heard them.
"We should report this," Riya said. "How can a stranger just walk into our apartment complex, especially at night? There are so many girls living here."
"Exactly. I live alone in my apartment, and I'm really scared. Riya, can you stay with me tonight?"
Kaven frowned, A man dressed in black?
Garam immediately came to his mind the way he used to stand silently on the balcony.
Looking across the playground, Kaven spotted Garam exercising in the distance and walked straight toward him.
"I used to think I was the only one troubled by your strange behavior." Kaven sighed. "But you've managed to scare those poor girls too."
Garam came to a halt and turned to stare at him.
"What? Don't tell me you still don't get it."
"They saw a stranger dressed in black wearing a mask wandering around our apartment complex. And a few days ago, he was even standing on the balcony across from my apartment... Gyu's apartment." Kaven shook his head. "Congratulations. You're famous now."
"Seriously, how many days were you doing that? You scared the poor girl half to death. And I had no idea you'd been going over there for so many days."
Garam remained silent for a moment, as if recalling something.
"Only two days and one night. Other than that, I wasn't there."
Kaven stared at him. He clearly remembered seeing a black silhouette standing on the balcony every night while Gyu was sick. He had asked the figure several times to come inside, but it never moved. Yet the night Gyu had been frightened in his sleep, Garam had suddenly appeared inside the apartment.
So... that silhouette had been Garam, hadn't it?
But there wasn't the slightest trace of a lie in Garam's eyes.
"Hey... that day, when you calmed Gyu down... you were standing on the balcony, weren't you?"
"No." Garam answered without hesitation. "I had just arrived. I heard your voice and came inside immediately."
Kaven said nothing. He simply turned and walked away. He called Gyu, but the call went unanswered.
Kaven hurried to Gyu's apartment. The apartment door was open a wave of relief washed over him.
"He's home" he muttered.
Kaven stepped inside and called out Gyu's name.
No answer.
....
Standing right there on the playground, Garam dialed the police station.
"Sir, this is Garam. About a month ago, we got a man arrested. What happened to him?"
"Oh, him? He was released the very same evening."
"Released?" Garam asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. Someone came and took him away."
Every time I tell myself I won't think about you anymore... that you don't matter to me anymore... no matter who you are... somehow, I always end up worrying because of you.
The stubbornness inside him stopped him from calling Gyu.
He'll be fine. Why would he need me anyway? He can protect himself... can't he?
He hesitated.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
If Gyu disappears from my life for good... wouldn't that be better?
...
No.
He ran a hand over his face.
Not like this.
He had to go.
But who was Gyu's family?
Where has he even come from before all this?
Meanwhile, Kaven stepped out of the apartment. Nothing inside the room suggested that it had been robbed.
Then why had the door been left open?
Did Gyu forget to lock it?
He tried calling again, but Gyu still wasn't answering.
"Why do you even carry a phone if you're never going to answer it?" Kaven lashed in frustration.
Meanwhile, Gyu was climbing toward the hills with Ijueng sitting in his arms.
"Hyung... take the left here."
"How much farther do we have to go? And why didn't your dad come to pick you up?"
"Because I told him not to."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because whenever Dad came, you never agreed to go home with him. So today I came by myself... and you came with me."
The boy grinned proudly.
"You little brat... trying to outsmart me?"
Gyu tickled him, making Ijueng burst into laughter as he tried to push Gyu's hands away.
When Gyu had first met him, the child had been timid and frightened.
But not anymore.
I was afraid you'd turn out like me... I'm glad you didn't, Gyu thought to himself.
"Brother... I want to become like you." The words froze him.
For a moment, it felt as though someone had read his thoughts just to frighten him.
"Why... like me?" he asked quietly.
"Because I want to be as strong as you."
A bitter smile almost escaped Gyu's lips, though he didn't let it show. He simply gave a small shake of his head.
"No..."
"Don't become like me."