More like a prologue

Prologue

Kwon Jiyong loved the beach.

He never truly appreciated God’s perfect creation of the world. And now that he’s thinking about it, he also has never considered taking the whole “God has a plan” thing seriously.

Jiyong leaned his elbows in his knees and buried his face in his hands and muttered, “I don’t understand.”

He was surprise to hear another voice beside him muttering the same phrase at the same time. He turned his head to the right and peeked through his own fingers only to see a little kid in the same pose as he is, leaned forward with face in hands and slightly peeking through his little kid fingers.

The kid straightened up the same time he did. Jiyong stared at the unbelievably familiar glossy brown eyes narrowing at him. The kid is obviously sizing him up and he is doing the same thing.

When the little kid blinked, he internally shouted for joy. And when the little kid looked ahead in the ocean and sighed deeply, he was engrossed.

“What is it that you don’t understand, kid?” Jiyong asked, looking at the ocean again.

“I’m sorry mister but my mom told me not to talk to strangers.” The kid answered in a clear voice and straight manner which surprises and impresses Jiyong.

“Well, you’re mother won’t know if you don’t tell her.” He urged.

The kid sighed once more, “I don’t understand why my teacher gave me no stars for art class. What do you think of my drawing, mister?” The kid handed Jiyong a piece of paper.

Out of curiosity, he took the paper and stared at picture.  A gasped escape out of his mouth when he realized what the drawing was all about; a stick figure inside a box, buried under what he presumed is soil and above the stick figure is a tombstone with flowers and candles surrounding it. Admittedly though, it was prettily drawn.

“Why did you draw something like this?” Jiyong asked.

“Teacher said to draw what my future looks like. Mom said before that we’ll all die eventually so that’s what I draw. Am I wrong?”

What kind of mother does this kid have? Jiyong thought.

“Well, your mother is right at one point but what your teacher is trying to say is what you want to do in the future, like jobs and stuffs. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I’m too young to think about that. What do I know?”

“Umm, don’t you want to be a doctor someday?”

“Our neighbor Mrs. Kim, she’s old and coughs always, she died one day and mom says it’s because the doctors couldn’t do anything for her anymore. I don’t want to have to be the person who kills an old lady.”

Jiyong’s lips twisted in amusement. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the smartest kid he had ever met.

“What about you, mister? What don’t you understand?” the kid asked with eyes open wide in question.

“What do you---ahhh…” Jiyong thought of ways to explain and but there is only one way to say it; truthfully. “Do you know anything about love?”

“I love my mommy.”

“Of course you do but what I mean is love to another person---,”

“You mean like aunt Bom and uncle Tabi?”

“Who are those people?”

“Aunt Bom lives on our floor and uncle Tabi lives on the floor above us. They sometimes stay in our house to hangout and I see them kiss and mommy says to stare closer so that they’ll become awkward and leave and I also hear them say I love you to each other which makes mommy vomit.”

“Oh wow.” Jiyong said, trying not to laugh at the kid’s vivid explanation. “Yes, love just like your aunt Bom and uncle Tabi. Anyway while your uncle Tabi have your aunt Bom, I have Seohyun, she is…was…used to be my girlfriend.”

“What happened?”

“She loved another man.”

“And you don’t understand why she did that?”

Jiyong nodded in response.

“Well maybe she doesn’t love you anymore.” The kid said innocently.

“Yeah, I gather that kid. What with her leaving me and all.” Jiyong muttered.

“Do you hate her now?”

“Let’s just say that she makes me so angry.”

“But you still love her.”

Jiyong has no answer. He just stared at the beach again. Spreading his arms to touch the back of the bench where they are both seated.

“Mommy told me once,” the kid continued, “that if you love someone you’d have to set them free, if they comeback then you’re meant to be if they don’t then you and vodka should get married.”

Jiyong laughed whole-heartedly. This would be the first time, since Seohyun left him, he’d actually want to listen to an advice, ridiculous as it is.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Yoojin. Park Yoojin.”

Jiyong held his free hand out in front of the kid before saying, “My name is Jiyong. Kwon Jiyong.”

The kid stood up, took his hand and said, “Nice to meet you Jiyong. My daddy’s name is also Jiyong.”

“Really.” Jiyong said in shock and amazement, “I’m sure he adores you.” Because I sure do.

Yoojin walked backwards away from him and replied, “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t met him yet. Bye now mister, mommy’s cooking mac and cheese for dinner. It’s my favorite.”

Jiyong smiled at his retreating back and then noticed something shining on the seat the kid once occupied earlier.

He picked it up but before he can call out Yoojin, he was suddenly surged by memories from the past.

That time when it was all easy because of one girl.

That time when he was always happy because of one girl.

That time when he truly believed that that one girl is the one that got away.

And up until now, he keeps beating himself for believing so because that girl who got away was never his to begin with.