episode_0002

It was the first time I realized that the expression “beautiful” was a word created for the scene unfolding before my eyes.

The shape of a thick, touching snow that is seen for the first time, filled with a lingering golden glow, starting with a clear blue sky without a single cloud.

It seemed enough to create a dreamy yet warm feeling, as if contrasting with the fireflies illuminating the dark night sky, and soon the raindrops came down and piled up.

***

In an unknown dense forest centered around a deep, small lake…

The golden snow falling between the trees with lush green leaves felt so cozy that even the feeling of it touching my skin was filled with a warm energy rather than coldness, and soon it began to fill the place.

＂Warm eyes…＂

The young boy, who found this phenomenon to be nothing more than a wonder, walks in and out of the distant forest as if it were his home, and feels the fluffy sensation pouring down from the sky with a bright smile as if he is having fun.

“This kind of scene… really! “It’s my first time!!”

A pure yet refreshed expression without any worries…

Pure white breath spreading roughly around the corners of the mouth…

Contrary to his innocent behavior, he seemed to have grown up nicely and was wearing quite elegant clothes, giving a strange feeling that was contradictory to his actions and surroundings, but the boy’s expression seemed freer than anyone else.

“Ha.. ha…”

The child, who had been playing with the snow for a long time, seemed to have quickly lost his stamina, but after a while he showed signs of exhaustion, and he sank down on the soft forest grass without hesitation and soon began to catch his breath.

Full stone..

The heart pounding urgently. The increasingly rough breathing was telling.

“Ha.. ha…”

“As expected, it was a good thing I came alone!”

Feel the stability of the soft green grass on your toes. The cold scent of grass in the forest blowing in the wind dizzyingly soothes my rough breathing.

At that moment, when he left his drowsy body in the forest grass and stared blankly at the sky… an abnormal phenomenon that he could not believe even after seeing it appeared before the boy’s eyes.

＂What is this.. is this transparent board..??＂

The text window of the phrase I had never seen, which continued to follow around my field of vision, did not disappear, but instead became fixed in my field of vision and shimmered further. Of course it couldn’t help but be strange.

When I first became aware of this situation, I was running around so hard that I got dizzy and was confused as to whether I was seeing something. Because I had to do that…

However, it was not until I pinched the back of my hand or rubbed my stinging eyes that I was able to accept that this phenomenon was a true reality. Nevertheless, the situation was still difficult to believe.

“I can’t touch anything..”

The two hands that pierced the text window and split the air just seemed meaningless. However, this situation did not feel scary or uncomfortable.

Just… a strong curiosity that comes naturally.

In a way, it was close to an impulsive instinct that was natural for an innocent child running around alone in a forest like this, as if it were his own home.

‘this. What is this?’

Let’s look at the text window that appears with such sparkling eyes for a while… Without any doubt, he begins to place his small, petite finger on the particularly shiny letter [Yes] whose meaning is unknown.

Sweet!

Wow!!!

It was that moment.

A sound that was not only light but refreshing, spreading rapidly, began to envelop the forest at once, and soon the warm snow sprinkled throughout the forest, which was sparkling with gold, seemed to gather in one place, and it seemed as if they would all at once flood into the boy’s heart. They came in droves.

Excited.. Excited..

It caused an incredible pain, as if my heart had been hit with all its might by an overwhelming being that I could not resist. This dizzying feeling spreads throughout your entire body at once. The most intense pain I experienced for the first time in my life.

At that moment, something began to appear in my mind, and soon I was quickly recalled and faced with mysterious memories.

It is never an illusion.

I was able to look through the memories of my past life in detail as if I was reading a book, and they were recalled so quickly that I couldn’t keep up with them.

***

Me in a past life who lived in a country called Korea in 2023 for 25 years.

I don’t know if this is true for everyone, but my parents in my past life were always people who had a difficult life.

Of course, ‘How hard did you live? Are you making a fuss?’ It was also a sensitive part. Children who are missing one limb from birth? Or young people who were abandoned by their parents due to unavoidable circumstances and grew up as orphans since childhood? We all know that there is no end to each person’s hard life compared to others. There were certainly people who lived a more difficult life.

It was just an allusion to my childhood, when my father’s business went bankrupt and he squandered all his savings, and the house he lived in also went from being a jeonse to a monthly rent, living in a harsh environment. Because I didn’t want to compare myself to anyone.

Moreover, I was very young at that time. It wasn’t until I was in the lower grades of elementary school that I first became aware of the difference.

What if you couldn’t bring anything to a friend’s birthday party you were invited to?

When you eat the hamburger your friend’s parents bought you with both hands full?

It was miserable.

When I didn’t know, I didn’t think anything of it, but once I found out, I instinctively noticed it. I found out about it on my own at a very young age.

“I’m home.”

Grumble.. Grumble..

As always, when I returned from school, the 15-pyeong house was always dark and quiet, like a cemetery. Naturally, the sound of my father’s heavy snoring could be heard inside, showing his deep fatigue, as if he had been working all night.

＇It’s hot, why don’t you turn on the fan..＇

When was the last time I saw my mother’s face as she went to work early in the morning and came home late in the evening? Even that memory is a blur now.

If there was a big lesson that the failed business taught my father, it was that it should be done without causing a huge blow to the family, and he always instilled in me such a positive lesson that it is important to not give up even if you fail.

My father was that kind of person. A person who never gives up, always gets up again and challenges others, and lives hard..

My father’s positive words, which I had heard countless times since I was very young, have long since been deeply engraved in my heart.

***

Rumbling..

The sound that announces the morning in the late morning…

Whenever a tiring morning dawns, instead of my mother’s nagging, I get up and head out to the kitchen to the loud sound of the alarm. It’s a space so small that it can hardly be called a kitchen, but the warmly prepared breakfast table and pocket money next to it welcome me as if it were natural. A familiar scene that always happened.

Rattling..

‘Soybean paste stew today..? Right?’

The color is mysterious.

Even so, I don’t avoid my mother’s sincerity in preparing food just for me.

Drurly..

A table where one sits alone.

Trying to soothe this overwhelming feeling of loneliness, I pour down a large spoonful of that warm rice.

The lukewarm rice that felt so thick that it clogged my throat hinted at the dangers of the rest of the soup and side dishes.

“make..”

Even if the monthly rent is behind due to debt, you can enjoy your mother’s delicious food. There was no shortage of food or pocket money. That’s why I endure it all the more and eat it all. I knew that once it entered my stomach, the same charcoal would become a balanced source of nutrients, so it didn’t matter if it was a bit too much. Actually, this was good…

“Next time, I’ll have to hide the salt somewhere..”

Naturally, I have never in my life ever thought of hating or resenting my parents like this.

This is because this family environment was so natural that I did not even think about it in the first place. No matter how poor and difficult the family was, the sight of the family supporting each other in life was a great hope for me, and even in this situation, I could not help but respect the heart of my parents who did not stand by and took extra care of me from a young age. I was just happy with what I was given.

‘It tastes a bit like ketchup.’

Just.. this delicious? There was just that feeling of loneliness buried in me as I had no choice but to always eat alone.

Thanks to the love of my parents, I was able to grow up to be a smart child who did not complain even in such a harsh environment and was able to overcome anything on his own. It’s a bit hard for me to say, but…

Rattling.. rattling..

Dinner is always my responsibility. Of course, you also take away breakfast? Rather, I wanted to ease my mother’s troubles, but she never let me go, saying that it was the only happiness she could give me, her son. Honestly, I wanted them to stop.

‘Next time, I’ll have to borrow a cookbook…’

Did they say that the environment in which a child is born makes the child? I was the son in exactly those conditions.

In my life, I did not blame myself, others, or the environment in which I lived. I firmly believe that if God is fair, happiness equivalent to that will come someday…

‘Shall we try our best today too?’

Even if there is no God, I promise again that I will succeed on my own. Even if it’s just to make my parents, who always tried hard to love me, happy.