episode_0038

A daily life no different from usual.

Time passes leisurely.

I lay stretched out on the bed and waved my arms.

“I’m bored.”

There was no one to respond to the words that came out of his mouth.

The voices echoing through the empty space were scattered lonely.

“100~”

I kicked the white paper on the bed with my foot.

Baek Si, who was wearing a witch’s hat, fell backwards at my kick.

I put my legs on Baekshi’s soft belly and sighed.

“Shine~”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s play.”

“Not now.”

Shine coldly refused my request to play.

I looked at her back with blank eyes.

“When will Amy come?”

“Well, it might take a few more days.”

Two days ago, a phone call came from Amy.

As soon as she picked up the phone, her face hardened and she disappeared, leaving only one word for us: that she would not be back for a few days.

It was nice not having to study without Amy, but her absence was felt so greatly.

The computer is unusable today as all of the allocated computer time has been used up.

Shine said she was studying alone and didn’t even play with me.

“Does studying fun, Shine?”

“Yeah.”

Shine’s voice, focused on one spot, sounded dry at first.

I felt a little disappointed.

I, who had been fiddling with my hands, suddenly got up from my seat.

I have to go to the park.

Wouldn’t this stuffiness go away a little if it were there?

I looked at Shine’s face.

She seemed so focused on her workbook that she moved her pen diligently, and it seemed like she had no time to pay attention to me.

Slowly and steadily.

Move on your heels without making a sound.

“Jeff.”

“…Huh?”

“Amy told me not to go out.”

“…I wasn’t planning on leaving?”

I turn around and go into the bathroom.

After that, he sticks his head out slightly to look at Shine.

Shaan’s body facing the exact opposite direction of the room’s entrance.

She clearly had her back turned to me.

How do you know I’m going out?

I took a slow breath.

No footsteps were heard.

If so, it was clear that she sensed I was going out through my breathing.

I started moving again.

The gaze does not leave Shine’s back.

She clearly wasn’t looking at me.

Her hands, which were moving without rest, showed that she was concentrating on her studies.

“Jeff.”

The moment I arrived at the door.

Shine’s voice was heard once again.

“Yeah. I wasn’t going out. I was just trying to organize my shoes.”

I turned my head away from the door, frowning.

I also took off my half-worn shoes.

Slippers flew off my feet and littered the hallway.

“Let’s go together.”

Shine put down the pen she was holding and got up from her seat.

It seemed like her studies were finally over.

I stood there awkwardly, my eyes sparkling, and I waved my hand.

I immediately packed my small bag.

The yellow bag Amy packed was perfect for holding my sketchbook and colored pencils.

“Let’s go to the park!”

“Yeah.”

Shine and I left the room in light clothing.

After the Christmas season, the park returned to its usual warm weather, so there was no need to pack a coat.

“Where are you going today?”

“Um… .”

I thought about Shine’s question as I walked down the hallway.

I passed on the rabbit farm since I went there last time.

So where would be good?

“Shall we go near the silver pond today?”

“Go where Jeff wants to go.”

So today’s destination was decided.

After walking down a long hallway, I stop at a convenience store.

Instead of lunch, I buy a sandwich and leave the convenience store with a black bag in my hand.

I could have taken home a more delicious sandwich if I had made it myself, but the ingredients available at convenience stores were limited.

“After… .”

Arriving at the endless staircase, I took a deep breath.

“Jeff.”

“Huh?”

“If you find it so hard to climb stairs, why do you insist on going to the park?”

“It’s stuffy.”

While answering Shine’s question, I thought to myself.

It wasn’t just a feeling of frustration.

There was something that I absolutely had to do, something that couldn’t be explained in words.

That sensual feeling led me to the park.

Shine nodded at my answer.

It didn’t seem like a very satisfactory answer to her.

Shine and I started climbing the stairs.

Was it because of the vitamins Amy gave me?

This small and frail body began to gain strength.

My body was out of breath and panting after climbing just ten stairs.

But now it’s different.

A body that is healthy enough to climb beyond ten, to fifteen.

I climbed the last step and caught my breath.

“School… . School… .”

Shine also sat next to me, panting.

Her and my physical strength were the same.

“Shall we take a break?”

Shine nodded at my suggestion.

I sit on the hard steps and watch people go by.

They also looked at us as they passed the stairs.

The gasping breath slowly subsides.

When the pounding of my heart subsided, I stood up from my seat.

Shine, who was holding my hand, also got up from her seat and moved with me.

There are still a lot of stairs left.

I can’t even count how many times I’ll have to rest in the future.

Climb the stairs and rest.

Repeat it several times.

I didn’t realize it when I was in Amy’s arms and moving at once, but the number of steps was too high.

“Last!”

I climbed the last step, gasping for breath.

The hand holding Shine was wet and covered in sweat.

We collapsed on the wide floor, gasping for breath.

“Gasp… . Gasp… .”

But it was worth the effort to climb the stairs.

The vast blue sky welcomed us.

A wide open entrance, with a green lawn beyond.

The cool breeze cooled the sweat running down my forehead.

“Where is the silver pond?”

At Shine’s question, I stood up from my seat.

At the entrance to the park there was a huge map spread out.

If you just look at this, you can see this large park in one glance.

“It’s at the bottom of the rabbit farm.”

I extended my finger and pointed to the right corner of the map.

Shine nodded and got up from her seat.

Now that there are no more arduous stairs to climb, all that’s left to do is have fun.

I reached out to Shine.

He walked with Shine’s hand in his right hand and a convenience store bag in his left.

Walking along the park streets while feeling the cool breeze relieved my stuffy feelings a little.

“Jeff.”

“Huh?”

“What is that?”

I was walking with my eyes closed, feeling the wind.

I opened my eyes at Shine’s questioning question and looked in the direction she was pointing.

There was a wide open pond there.

The large pavilion visible beyond was providing cool shade.

But that wasn’t what Shine was pointing to.

A large rock.

A man sitting on it.

The long stick in his hand dangles over the pond.

I squinted my eyes and began to examine his appearance closely.

The empty space sparkles.

A sparkling line connected to the pole led to the center of the pond.

“Fishing?”

“What is fishing?”

“Catching fish… .”

I tilted my head.

Can I fish in the park pond?

I couldn’t contain my curiosity and went to see the man with Shine.

His face was not visible because he was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat pulled down low over his head.

“Hello~”

The moment I got closer, I heard a familiar voice.

He continued speaking without looking back.

“Do you like the park?”

A question that seemed familiar somewhere, I began to recall vague memories.

“Jin… ?”

“You remembered my name?”

He said as if he was impressed.

“Jeff. Amy told me not to talk to Gene.”

“Oops… .”

I quickly shut my mouth at Shine’s words.

Shine grabbed my arm with a hardened face.

It seemed like he wanted to get out of here quickly.

“Amy said that? That’s too much.”

Jin, who had been sitting looking at the lake, turned around and sat down.

The long fishing rod swayed.

“….”

Shine and I covered our mouths with both hands.

Because words might come out without you knowing it.

“Are you really not going to talk to me?”

Jin’s expression becomes gloomy.

His appearance resembles that of a large puppy.

I twitched my mouth.

“Let’s go Jeff.”

Shine grabbed my arm and glared at Jin.

Shine’s appearance, showing strong resistance, raises questions.

Why does she hate Jin?

Even though Amy had told her not to talk, Shine couldn’t understand her attitude towards Jin.

Jin just made a disappointed expression and didn’t follow us.

Shine pulled me into a large pavilion not far from the lake.

As we entered the pavilion, cool shade blocked the sunlight.

We sat down on the floor, settling in a moderately secluded corner of the pavilion.

I untied the bag on my back and took out my sketchbook.

Colorful lines are drawn on a blank sketchbook spread out on the floor.

We lay down side by side and drew for a long time.

Blue sky, green lawn.

To the wide open pond.

As I was drawing a large rock near the pond, I noticed that Jin’s figure had disappeared.

Rustle-

“Jin is gone.”

“I guess he went home.”

Rustle-

Shine and I became more and more engrossed in drawing.

Complete the picture by filling in the blank spaces with color.

“Done!”

The completed painting contained the image of a silver lake.

Now that we had finished the wonderful painting, it was time to eat.

I reached out to the side of the bag.

I stopped by a convenience store to pick up a sandwich I bought.

“Huh… ?”

But for some reason, my hands found themselves feeling empty space.

I turned my head in puzzlement and was shocked.

“Oh no!”

“Hello?”

My mouth won’t open due to the shock.

The tongue moves with difficulty, barely completing words.

“Sandwich!”

Yes, that’s right.

Jin, who we thought had disappeared, had already come to our side.

As if that weren’t enough, this evil man was even stealing our lunch.

I extended my finger and pointed to the sandwich in his hand.

“Oh no!”

Jin bit into the sandwich as if he was going to eat it.

The sight of a sandwich disappearing into his mouth.

At Jin’s feet lay a torn sandwich wrapper.

“I was just hungry.”

He stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth.

The image of pure white bread disappearing into the wide-open mouth lingers before my eyes.

My vision is blurry.

The water droplets that filled both eyes shook as if they were going to fall.

“Move over, Jeff.”

At that moment, Shine, who had been standing behind me, stepped forward.

Her eyes were as cold as ice in the middle of winter.