Side Story 2.1

Spring had begun to bloom everywhere.  

The middle school, with magnolia buds peeking over its low walls, was bustling with a rare crowd.  

Located in a redevelopment area on the outskirts of Seoul, this middle school had been facing closure due to a declining student population.  

Today, however, a meaningful event hosted by Sowon Construction was taking place here.  

[Spring Bazaar]  

The event wasn’t much different from bazaars held by other large corporations, but what made it unique was its venue—a school rather than a hotel—aligning with the theme of “Closer to the Community.”  

It was an event where nearby residents could come together and enjoy themselves.  

Jeong-hyeok and Eun-sol quietly attended the bazaar, blending in as if they were just passersby.  

Since the event required social interactions, there was already someone else representing the company as the face of the event, so there was no need for Jeong-hyeok to step forward.  

“Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve been to a school.” 

Eun-sol said, her voice filled with excitement the moment they stepped onto the playground.  

“This smell, mixed with the scent of dirt—it’s something you can only experience at school.”  

The playground was relatively quiet at the moment. It seemed that most of the crowd had gathered in the gymnasium to watch a popular dance team’s performance.  

“Jeong-hyeok, let’s go over there. It looks like there’s more fun stuff on that side.”  

She pulled him toward a secluded stall.  

The stall, filled with old items, was brimming with nostalgia.  

There were old magazines and comic books with outdated covers, cassette players and gaming consoles that might or might not work.  

“Wow, look at this! It’s the movie *Titanic* poster! I had this exact poster in my room!”  

Her voice rose with excitement as she pointed at it.  

The poster, showing the male and female protagonists sharing a kiss on the deck of the doomed ship, had been a rare find back in the day.  

Now, it was a nostalgic item that couldn’t be easily bought, even with money.  

“I remember that. I even know where it was in your room.” 

Jeong-hyeok said with a smile.  

“Do you really remember that? Where was it, then?”  

Her voice carried a hint of nervousness.  

She had first met him when she was in her second year of middle school—a time filled with embarrassing moments and secrets she’d rather keep hidden. She hoped he didn’t remember too many details.  

“It was on the left wall between your desk and the window.”  

His confident answer made her let out a small sigh of relief.  

“Wrong! It was next to my bed. Even monkeys fall from trees sometimes, huh?”  

She was relieved that his memory wasn’t as sharp as she had feared.  

“Is that so? Well, it’s been a long time. That was twenty years ago, and I only stayed in that room for two weeks.”  

He lightly pulled her into his arms, placing her within his embrace as he spoke. In that moment, the faint smile that had been on his face disappeared from her view.  

Eun-sol was still as naive as ever.  

Once her suspicions were triggered, she wouldn’t stop until she resolved them—but such moments were rare.  

Because of this, he could hide the fact that he remembered every letter she exchanged with her friends, the problem sets in her workbook that were rarely marked correct, and, most importantly, the two diaries she had filled—word for word, without a single mistake.  

“Come to think of it, we really do share a lot of memories.”

“Well… it seems that way.”  

Enemies could turn into first loves, and moments of revenge could transform into shared memories.  

Life was truly unpredictable.  

“Oh? Look, that’s a children’s book. Should we get it for Ro-hee? Ah, but it’s a bit too worn out. Still, it’s from a once-famous publisher.”

Eun-sol moved toward the shelf where the books were displayed. She looked over a neatly arranged collection of children’s books and pulled one out.  

“The illustrations are old-fashioned, but that makes them more sentimental. They’re better than the overly colorful ones these days.”  

Eun-sol held the children’s book out to Jeong-hyeok. His expression changed slightly as he looked at its cover.  

“What’s wrong?”  

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”  

***

The guest room next to the bedroom had become Ro-hee’s room.  

After moving into the mansion together, Ro-hee, who had been sleeping in the couple’s bedroom, recently started sleep separation training.  

Although it was a little bittersweet to have her sleep apart, Eun-sol felt proud of her. So, she read Ro-hee bedtime stories until she fell asleep.  

Tonight, she had already read three storybooks with quite a lot of text, but Ro-hee’s eyes were still wide open.  

‘If she’s going to fall asleep, I’ll probably have to read ten more books.’  

Reading bedtime stories might seem simple, but it was surprisingly labor-intensive.  

Just then, reinforcements arrived in the room.  

“Ro-hee, should Daddy read you a book now?”  

He had just showered after work, and the refreshing scent of body wash lingered on him.  

“Then I’ll leave it to you.” 

As he sat down next to the bed, Eun-sol pushed the stack of storybooks toward him.  

He picked up one of the books and began flipping through it with a soft rustling sound.  

“There was a lady who loved flowers. She was happy every day with her flowers. Then, one day….”  

In the dim light of the moon-shaped lamp in Ro-hee’s room, Jeong-hyeok’s soothing voice resonated. His deep, low voice was perfect for lulling someone to sleep.  

Sure enough, Ro-hee let out a small yawn.  

Eun-sol leaned slightly against Ro-hee’s side and closed her eyes.  

The warmth of her daughter next to her, the scent of her husband brushing against her nose, and the sound of his voice filled her with a sense of happiness and drowsiness.  

“……?”  

Just as he finished reading two books and seemed about to pick up the next one, his voice suddenly stopped.  

Eun-sol forced her heavy eyelids open to look at Jeong-hyeok.  

He was holding the book ‘We’re Going to the Amusement Park’, one they had bought at the recent bazaar. The dim light in the room made it hard to see his expression clearly.  

‘Is it because the book is too old?’  

The worn book didn’t quite match the perfection of everything else in this house.  

“…We’re going to the amusement park. Carrying my smile on my lips….”  

When he finally began reading, Eun-sol thought little of it and closed her eyes again.  

“We’re going to the amusement park. Carrying my happiness in my heart….”  

She felt as though his voice was sinking deeper and deeper. At times, there seemed to be a faint tremor in it. Or was it just her imagination, brought on by her drowsy state?  

“We’re going to the amusement park. Holding Mommy’s… and Daddy’s hands… in both of mine.”  

At that particular line, his voice unmistakably faltered. Eun-sol opened her eyes again. It wasn’t her imagination.  

Now that she thought about it, his expression had been strange when she picked up this book at the bazaar.  

“…That book must mean something to you, doesn’t it? It’s a book with memories, isn’t it? Like the movie poster in my old room?”  

Eun-sol sat up in bed. By now, Ro-hee had fallen asleep.  

“Tell me about it.”  

She pressed him for an answer as he kept his lips tightly shut. She was curious because she had never heard him talk about his childhood before, only guessing at it.  

“…When I was about Ro-hee’s age, this book was in my house.”

He said after a slight delay.  

“It was a children’s book someone gave us as a gift.”  

He didn’t have many memories from that time, but that particular day had stayed vivid in his mind.  

Because it was the book that had left a profound impact on him as a child.  

A boy wearing blue overalls, holding both his mother’s and father’s hands, going to the amusement park.  

The boy’s lips were stretched wide in a joyful smile, and his parents, holding his hands firmly, looked equally happy.  

It was a picture so drastically different from his own family life that he couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to accept that other children lived like that.  

“So I just decided to believe that such things only happened in storybooks. Like dragons breathing fire or tiny fairies with wings.”

A powerless six-year-old could only choose to escape from reality.  

Only now did he seem to understand.  

“Perhaps that was….”  

The starting point of his dark and distorted world.  

***

Kwon Gi-jo’s mansion had an eerie atmosphere, like an exile’s dwelling. Despite being located on a sunny hill and facing south, it felt desolate.  

It had been a long time since there were guests at Kwon Gi-jo’s mansion.  

Inside Kwon Gi-jo’s drawing room, a small figure was hiding behind the wooden chair that looked like something a Chinese emperor might have sat on.