CHAPTER SEVEN

"Yellow Roses"

There were people streaming all around, chatting and waiting in lines across the bright attractions all around Lotte World. Meanwhile, you were sitting alone on a bench and mindlessly eating cotton candy shaped like a bear.

You didn’t come to Lotte World alone. It was just that the minute Sehun reluctantly came here with you, he met up with Cho Minhee and took off somewhere, his hands linked with hers. Before he left, he did cast you a glance over his shoulder, expecting a reaction of some sort. He probably wanted you to be jealous- exactly the reason why you didn’t act jealous and mad, and shrugged at his disappearing figure, as if saying, “Go on, have fun!” . You weren’t going to do what he expected, obviously. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of that.

Now, you nibbled at the cotton candy. Mrs. Lee did give you some money, which you spent partially on the treat. She said that you could spend it on what you liked, though of course, she expected Sehun to be the one buying for you. *What a little chance of that…* Mrs. Lee thought you had the best relationship with Sehun somehow, and you felt a little guilty that reality was nothing like that.

As you at the cotton candy, you thought about Oh Sehun’s situation. Even now, surrounded by all the happy lights in the outdoor section of the amusement park, you were still haunted by the gardener’s words. What was she implying when she told her all of that? Who was Jung Sungmi?

You thought about it before a crying child bumped into your chair. Surprised, you looked down and noticed that it was a little boy, younger than the age of your brother. Joowon. All of a sudden, your thoughts turned to your brother, who was seven years younger than you, eleven. He would’ve liked to be with you at Lotte World today. He always wanted to go but couldn’t because he was stuck in the hospital.

You left your bench and bent down next to the child and rested a hand on his arm. “Are you alright?”

The little boy looked up and sniffled, “No.” Now that you had a clear view of his face, he really did remind you of a younger version of your brother. They had the same rosy, chubby cheeks. Except Joowon didn’t have rosy cheeks anymore, but pale, sunken skin.

You fished into your purse and pulled out a handkerchief. You raised it to his face and wiped a few tears away. “Come on now, big boys don’t cry.” You couldn’t stand to leave a crying child unattended. “What happened?”

“Noona,” the boy said after drying his tears, “I don’t know where omma went.”

*Ah.* Patting his head, you grabbed his hand and let him stand up. “When I was your age, I would lose my omma a lot. I was always afraid that she wouldn’t come back for me, but she always did, even if she was a little late. Your omma is probably looking for you too.” You thought back to years ago when you first met Chanyeol and treated you to dukbokki. Food would probably comfort the child. “Would you like anything?”

The boy had stopped crying now, and stared at you with his eyes wide. “Noona, I want that.” He pointed to the cotton candy in your hand. “It looks good.”

You cracked a smile. “Cotton candy sounds good to me.”

With his hand in yours, you walked to where you bought the cotton candy and bought him one, a blue bear shaped sweet.

Now, both of you had cotton candy. The two of you went down the streets, in the search of his mother. When you passed a shop, the boy stopped again.

“Do you see your omma?” you asked, thinking he saw her.

“No.” He pointed to the rows of headbands sitting on the store display. “Noona, why don’t you have a headband? Everyone who goes to Lotte World should have one. That’s what my sister told me.”

“A headband?” You glanced over. Come to think of it, everyone did have one. You didn’t buy