"How long have you known Ms. Min?"
On his way to school with Yoon-sung, Shi-heum spoke carefully. Yoon-sung thought Shi-heum asked a pretty useless question, but he was still willing to answer.
"I knew her almost from the time I was born."
"Oh."
"But why are you asking this? Because you don't have any questions for me?"
"No, it's not like that."
"My parents weren't very attentive, so it's almost like Mrs. Min raised me."
When Yoon-sung mentioned the story, Shi-heum was surprised to find out when he started living with Chairman Chae. He lived in Chairman Chae's house from a pretty young age, so Yoon-sung has been living apart from his dad since he was pretty young.
"I'm sorry."
After thinking for a minute, Shi-heum apologized to Yoon-sung.
"Is there anything you're sorry about? Even if you're sorry, my dad should be too. But he won't apologize, not even if he dies. He won't even realize that he did something wrong."
When Yoon-sung was sarcastic, Shi-heum wanted to defend Chairman Chae, but he couldn't. The chairman only revealed that he had Yoon-sung, a son of Shi-heum's age, right after Shi-heum's mother left. He didn't mention his son until then, which probably means he wasn't really taking care of him.
"You might not like this, but I really hate my dad."
"...."
After Yoon-sung said, Shi-heum didn't know what to say.
*
Shi-heum and Yoon-sung talked again after Chairman Chae said he'd swing by their place that night.
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that my dad is coming tonight. I think it's important to you, so I'm letting you know in advance."
Chairman Chae is coming to visit. That made Shi-heum freeze up.
After class, the homeroom teacher told the class about the spring picnic that was coming up a few days later. The picnic area is a theme park in Yongin City. It's always busy with rose festivals during this time.
"I really don't want to go."
As soon as he was guided, Yoon-sung murmured in a low voice, and Shi-Hum heard that right next to him.
"Picnic, aren't you going?"
Shi-heum, who was heading home with Yoon-sung, asked carefully.
"Why?"
"If you're not going, I'm not going either."
"Then I'll have no choice but to go. But I'm not a fan of amusement parks."
"Why don't you like it?"
"I just don't like the rides because I'm scared. Is that enough?"
Shi-heum thought Yoon-Sung was lying. But he didn't want to get on Yoon-Sung's nerves by pointing out the fact.
"Anyway, now that I'm home, I've got to be ready to greet the old man."
Yoon-sung came into the house and took off his shoes on the porch.
"What are you going to do?"
Shi-heum asked, looking at Yoon-sung's face, which was looking more and more serious.
"It's no biggie."
Yoon-sung brought a bunch of wine and started drinking like there was no tomorrow. Shi-heum tried to stop him, but Yoon-sung wouldn't listen.
After a while, Chairman Chae looked upset when he saw Yoon-sung, who was pretty wasted.
"Hey Yoon Sung, it's been ages since we last saw each other. How many times have you told me that minors don't drink alcohol carelessly?"
"It's noisy, and if you've confirmed that I and Si-Hum are alive and not dead, turn off the recording."
Chairman Chae felt a weak headache and asked Shi Heum to sit down for now, but Yun Sung made a motion that seemed to ask him to leave while moving his feet. Shi Heum was by the front door to greet Chairman Chae.
"How are you doing with Yoon-sung?"
Si-heum was sitting next to Yoon-sung, and Chairman Chae was sitting across from them and asked.
"Yoon-sung's been nice to me, so I'm doing it comfortably."
"You're not lying just because you're worried about me, are you?"
"No, i'm not."
"Yes, If not, I'm glad.
The chairman took a sip of the coffee that the housekeeper had brought him. Then he said something.
"I have something to tell the two of you, Yoon-sung and Shi-heum. It might sound sudden, but I've decided to remarry."
"Just do it. I don't care what you do."
Yoon-sung was sarcastic, but Shi-heum's lips trembled with the shock of the news of the chairman's remarriage.
"Let me know if you need anything. Then...."
"Yeah, don't call me to the wedding, and get out of here quickly.
"Will you keep talking like that?"
"I'm a spoiled child without a father, so I can only talk like this. I'm sorry."
"...Just get along with Shi-heum."
Chairman Chae left in a hurry after saying so. To Yoon-sung, it felt like the chairman was trying to escape his own personal problems.
Meanwhile, Shi-heum couldn't say anything to deal with the unbelievable reality, so he shed some tears.
Yoon-sung watched Shi-heum silently shed tears. He reached out and touched Shi-heum's cheeks with his thumbs.
"I went on a picnic with that old man only once. With my mom. Probably around this time of year."
"Oh...."
"The place is... Yeah, it was an amusement park. It's my first time going on a picnic with parents, so I was probably excited. I rode a carousel there. It was pretty fun. Other kids' parents took pictures of their kids and waved to them. I kept thinking, Where are my parents? I looked for them, but they were fighting in the corner. Then, about a week later... My mom finally took me out and leave the house. That's why I hate amusement parks. Whenever I go, I can't stop thinking about that awful memory. Anyway, stop crying."
Yoon-sung talked to Shi-heum and awkwardly hugged him. Then, light blue color was added to everything Shi-heum saw.
"What? The world looks like your color right now."
"...So am I."
Shi-heum said, holding Yoon-sung in his arms. As the distance between the two became closer, the other person's body temperature touched each other's skin.
"He's a human being who's not worth wasting your tears."
"...Yoon-sung."
"Why?"
"Are you going on a picnic?"
"You said that if you go on a picnic, then I have no choice but to go."
Shi-heum nodded at Yoon-sung's words. Yoon-sung hugged and comforted Shi-heum for a long time.
As soon as Shi-heum returned to the room, Yoon-sung remained in the living room and watched TV blankly. The news of the chairman's remarriage had affected him more than he let on. He just didn't show it because Shi-heum was in much more pain.
After a while, Yoon-sung called his mother. She didn't answer the phone. He felt worse.
*
The next day, Yoon-sung went to Shi-heum's room and found a photo of his father discarded in the trash. Yoon-sung didn't mention the photo, only exchanging everyday stories with Shi-heum.
"I'm going out with my friends to buy clothes for the picnic tomorrow. Do you want to join? We're going to buy clothes, eat, and play."
"Oh, yes. I'll go."
Shi-heum readily accepted the invitation.
*
On the day of the appointment, As he walked down the high street that evening, Shi-heum was horrified to see that the number of "friends" Yoon-Sung talked about was beyond imagination. Some of them looked familiar, but most did not know Shi-heum.
"Shi-heum, stay close to me. Okay? My color."
Yoon-sung, noticing Shi-heum stiffen among the unfamiliar characters, quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side. Shi-heum smiled and nodded, appreciating that Yoon-sung was as considerate as always.