episode_0011
by admin# 11
That day was a day when my parents had an especially big fight.
Why did we fight? I don’t even remember that day anymore.
After the fight, while Dad went out to drink, Mom packed a small bag with the few household items and said to me.
“Jia. If Dad comes looking for Mom, tell him I went out to work. Okay?”
‘…lie.’
My mother has never been able to lie, especially to me.
“I’m sorry, Jia.”
Finally, my mother hugged me tightly and left the house, and that was the last memory I had of her.
“ Fuck you and buy it well.
After that, my father’s alcoholism got worse.
It would be safe to say that there was hardly a day that the man was not drunk.
‘hungry….’
I had to survive there alone.
Clang!
The number of liquor bottles rolling around on the floor of a room less than ten square meters is increasing.
“Fucking bitch. Are you going to run away with your mom too? You’re a bitch who only eats food.”
puck.
Even as the days of having to wear long clothes increased, even on midsummer days, I held on strong.
‘It’s okay. Someday…’
There will come a day when you can laugh and say, “This kind of thing happened too.”
Fortunately, fortunately, by the time I entered high school, my dad hardly ever came home.
I was lucky I could go to school. At least I could eat lunch.
“Jia. Will you help me? We’re friends. I’ve been so good to you.”
… After that day in middle school, I kept my distance from some of my classmates, so there was no chance of my family circumstances being exposed.
The problem was the vacations and weekends when school was not in session.
“Are you a student? Sorry, but you need your parents’ permission to work at our store.”
“How can it not work…? I’ll really try my best!”
“… Sigh. Instead, please don’t write me a contract of employment.”
“Yes!”
Finding a part-time job wasn’t easy, and even if you managed to find one, you’d often get fired right away.
But I couldn’t help it. I had to live.
Then one day it happened.
Squeak
“Fucking bitch. My dad came in and I didn’t even say hello.”
The man who came home after almost several months.
As always, I didn’t respond and just pretended to sleep under the blanket in the corner.
Normally, I would have just passed out drunk─
Thud thud.
─That day was different.
Strangely, I heard the author getting closer to me.
“… .”
By the time the unpleasant smell of alcohol reached my nose.
‘That’s a lie… .’
… something disgusting was trying to get under the blanket.
And when the unpleasant sensation I didn’t even want to think about touched my body, I immediately got up and slapped the author in the face with all my might.
“Aaah!!! This, this fucking bitch… !”
That night, I ran out of the house.
.
Knock, knock.
Outside, the pouring rain in the darkness hit my face coldly.
Of course, I didn’t bring an umbrella. Fortunately, I had brought my school uniform.
‘…I guess that’s a good thing.’
And then, before I knew it, I reached an alley with a single streetlight and sat down.
“Ugh… ugh… .”
It was scary. It was so scary.
This darkness that strangles my neck, that person, and these hopeless days.
“What did I do so wrong….”
But I didn’t have the courage to die, so I just curled up in that spot and sobbed.
I’d rather die in this rain─I thought.
and,
“… Excuse me. Student, I’m the owner of the cocktail bar over there, right?”
A man holding a slightly comical umbrella approached me.
*
‘ah….’
Where is this?
An unfamiliar ceiling, unfamiliar blankets, an unfamiliar bed…
“Oh, right.”
I came to that person’s house… .
It seems that he fell asleep without realizing it while being on guard to see if someone would sneak into the room at night.
The visit is…
‘It’s locked.’
… I don’t think he sneaked in at night or anything.
So, did you really bring me here out of pure kindness?
‘no way.’
I pulled myself together, almost feeling a little lost for a moment.
Even if that man doesn’t seem like it now, you never know when he might show his true colors.
But what if… that’s not it.
“… No way.”
I recalled the faces in my hazy memory.
A part-time coworker who happened to find out about my situation.
“Hey. What the hell. Sigh… Do you really think I was just trying to help you? You should be tactful. I was just trying to have a go at it with you. You’re really being unreasonable. ”
That kid I thought was my friend.
“Jia. Will you help me? We’re friends. I’ve been so good to you.”
It was all a lie.
And I realized one thing.
─No one shows favor without a reason.
“Obviously, that person too… .”
It’ll be the same.
At that moment, I tried to close my eyes again, forcing myself to put to sleep the anticipation that had bloomed faintly in my chest.
‘ah.’
… annoyingly, I felt like going to the bathroom a little bit.
What should I do? I don’t want to go out.
‘He’s probably sleeping… Let’s go and come back quickly.’
But, as with everyone, physiological phenomena are not something you can stop even if you want to.
I had no choice but to open the door and cautiously walk towards the bathroom the man had told me about.
Squeak
‘I thought this was the bathroom… Oh, right.’
“… .”
A bathroom so clean that it’s embarrassing to even compare it to my house.
Thanks to that, I forgot my original purpose of coming and looked around for a moment─I saw two toothbrushes sitting on the sink.
One is for the guy… and the other is,
‘Is this the clothes I’m wearing…?’
You said you have a younger sister. She must be quite frequent, to the point where she even carries a toothbrush around.
As I thought about it that way, I felt the doubts inside me gradually fade away.
─Common sense tells me that it’s unlikely that anything strange would happen inside the house where my younger sister comes and goes.
“Then, really… .”
After finishing my business and leaving the bathroom,
“… .”
─Through the half-open door, I could see the man who had brought me here sleeping soundly.
“Hey, if you don’t have anywhere to go, do you want to work part-time here?”
“If that’s okay with you, come to my house. I have an empty room.”
“… .”
‘really…’
Thud thud.
I quietly entered the room where the moonlight was shining,
“Ugh, ugh… I, really… .”
Crouching next to him as he sleeps,
“This time… Hey, can I trust you?”
I spoke softly, words that were not meant to reach the intended recipient.
***
The day after I picked up a cat… no, a part-timer.
‘Huh…?’
“Whew… .”
Next to me, the girl, Zia, was sleeping curled up on the edge of my bed, breathing softly.
“What’s wrong with you.”
Why are you sleeping here? Are you a sleep sitter?
‘Your Honor, I did nothing.’
I carefully moved towards the kitchen, making sure not to wake Gia.
I don’t know why that kid, who hadn’t come out of his room since he came in last night, was acting like that in my room… but I thought I needed to feed him something.
‘I’m glad I bought it yesterday.’
I took out two eggs and some rice from the cupboard. And some soy sauce and sesame oil.
“First of all… .”
Lightly oil the pan and wait a moment for the pan to heat.
After that, crack two eggs and add the pre-heated rice.
Let’s add seasoning with soy sauce and sesame oil─the savory smell began to spread throughout the house beyond the kitchen.
‘The person who made soy sauce egg rice should receive the Nobel Prize’
Is this the Nobel Prize? Anyway, this food must have saved many lives.
“Whoa?! Why am I here… Oh, no way yesterday… ”
Even Zia, who had been sleeping soundly in my room, seemed to have woken up after smelling the smell.
Immediately afterwards, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me, making a thump.
“Excuse me, over there!”
Jia, with a red face, mumbles as if she has something to say.
Why is he like this?
“I, I, I must have mistaken my room while I was sleeping!”
Ah. Me again. I thought something big had happened.
… I didn’t really think much of it, but when I see that look, I feel like I’m going to be playful.
“Well, that could happen if you have a scary dream.”
“Oh, it’s true!!”
Ugh. Ji-ah continued speaking with a very embarrassed expression, as if she really thought I didn’t believe her.
“That, and.”
“And?”
It seems like he has more to say. What is he trying to say?
Ji-ah slightly licks her lips, as if there’s something else she doesn’t like.
Jia’s next words contained something a bit unexpected.
“Call me Jia. You can call me by my name… .”
After that, she lowered her head in embarrassment.
“Get out. Before I call the police.”
“… .”
That appearance was so different from when we first met that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why, why are you laughing…!”
The first day Gia and I had breakfast together.
“Ugh. If you’re scared of sleeping alone, I’ll buy you a doll next time.”
“Oh seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
That day was a summer day when the relentless rain that had continued for several days had stopped.
0 Comments