Chapter 1 

[6 years old]

Ara’s POV

“Eomma, let’s go to the playground near the house first!” I told my mom happily while skipping. Me and Eomma were walking home, our house isn’t really far from Daegu Primary School, the school that I went to.

It’s been a long time since I visited the playground that was near from my house, the last time it was 3 years ago, I went there with my parents and we took a lot of pictures together with our happy faces on.

I missed playing there and I wanted to make new friends, even though most of the time is really peaceful and quiet. However, for me it’s the most beautiful playground ever!

There were so many flowers and butterflies, well I ever caught one!.

 

 

We arrived at the small gate already. I could see the slides, benches, flowers, plants, sands and the swings!

 

I ran to the playground and placed my bag on the bench.

“Ara! Don’t run you might fall!, Eomma shouted while chuckling at me as I was climbing the stairs to play the slide. The slide was the most fun slide that I ever tried! I wish I could bring my best friend here. But…. I never have one because they say I’m too quiet.

Well, sometimes it does hurt me though. But I can’t force them to play with me. It was like I wasn’t the princess of course.

 

“Woo-hooooo”, I beamed softly as my body was going down on the slide, it was a pretty long journey for a slide. I saw many kids also were playing around and I saw my mom was talking to other mothers at the bench.

There were kids who were trying to build a sand castle, playing with the swings, tunnel and other corner.

I landed on the ground. I tried to get up from the sandy ground, to take another round.

 

But,

 

Something caught my eyes.

I saw something that I think isn’t supposed to be like that. Something wrong.

I squinted my eyes a bit at the figures.

 

There were a bunch of boys at the side of the playground, they looked like maybe 2 years older than me. They were attacking a little boy, they trew foods at him, they mocked him, they kicked him, they hit him and they yelled at him.

I stood there, watched them.

My teacher always said that if you ever see somebody on a bad situation,  

The little boy seems like he has the same age as mine. But, I was really scared, I decided to play with the swings.

I swinged my feet in the air. I tried to remember the memories with my parents 3 years ago when we visited this playground. I remember I was 3 years old at that time. I was trying to catch a butterfly also with Appa, a beautiful one.

The wings were bright blue, as bright as the sky. With a splash of black on the side of her wings. The butterfly was flying flawlessly as the sun shines its ray to her wings. The flowers were all as pretty as queen. Yes, they were the queen of the playground.

 

Many couples also visited the playground at that time. To just have a little chit-chat and took a picture  together, with the beautiful background. I was staring at the sky. The clouds were moving smoothly. The birds were flying like they are the one who owns it.

I took a deep breath through the fresh air…. relaxing myself as I was still swinging my feet in the air.

But some yelling, shouting and loud noises were disturbing the other children including me……..

 

“Hahahaha! Oh my God you’re so weak! I wish I could make you as my slave” “Hahahaha! You’re so poor!” “Look at your face! You’re so ugly!” “Where do you live? Oh I know, you must be the one who live with a thousands cockroaches right!” “HAHAHAHAHA”, I heard their conversations. All of it.

I tried to not get bothered by them. I tried to imagine happy things.

I tried and hold myself to not include on their problem.

But, how could you imagine happy things when you saw a little kid being bullied by a bunch of boys. I was scared, but I really wanted to help him. My brain and my heart were arguing. To help the poor little boy or no…….

My brain says no, but my heart says yes.

 

But I was scared if I include myself in their problem..

It will create bad things on the future.

 

I made my final decision.

I tried to gathered all my confidence and tried to control my emotion. I walked to them, slowly. As I realized I’m already halfway to them, I walked faster. And faster.

I have gathered all my confidence. ‘Don’t be scared you’re doing the right thing, don’t be scared you’re doing the right thing, don’t be scared you’re doing the right thing’. I said that to myself repeatedly and quietly.

“YAH!! LET HIM GO!” I shouted at them as my hair were blown by the wind. All the boys were staring at me. Including the victim.

I could sense death glares were attacking me. But the thing that caught my eyes were that boy. He had bruises on his face. His left eye was blue already. His clothes were dirty because of the foods that the 5 boys threw at him. He was sitting on the ground.

Looked like he have no energy to fight them back. The 5 boys were sending death glares at me. The little boy was staring at me, maybe he thought that I was crazy or insane. But I did not loose my confidence. I’ll never let go of it, I am not a coward.

“Hey, you little girl. You have no business here with us. Just go before I treat you like him”, the boy that seems like the leader of the 5 boys said while pointing at the little boy who was being bullied. 5 of them were laughing at me. They thought I was just playing with them.

“Yah! Why would you bully him? He did not do anything wrong to you guys, am I right?” I spoke to them with my normal intonation. I tried to be calm to not make any more problems. I want to solve this peacefully, without a fight or anything. I don’t want to include mothers or parents in this case. Because I know we were just little kids. We haven’t understand anything.

“Well....He did something wrong to us!”, said one of them, while he tried to hold his laugh.

“What is it? What have he done to you?”, I asked curiously as I stared strongly at his eyes.

“Well his existence is a wrong thing for us!!! HAHAHAHAHA”, one of the boy that seems like their leader answered followed by all of their laughter, while I can’t believe what I heard. He seems really proud of what he said. He thought he’s the king. And his friends are his guards. The little boy was about to cry. He loose his strength already because of trying to fight back the 5 boys with himself alone before. I do understand his position.

 

Hearing deep and hurtful words….

Are the thing that I hate the most…..

Why can’t people just say good things from their mouth…..

Tongue are the sharpest swords……

 

I saw the little boy was crying, his heart was strucked…..

It wasn’t a bullying anymore…

It was an abuse……

 

Anger filled my heart

Even though I wasn’t the victim

But I could feel him crying badly inside

 

I can’t hold this heat any longer

I need to release it

 

And

I think

That time

 

Is NOW

 

 

I slapped the boy hardly.

The atmosphere changed drastically.

From full of their laughter, turned into one shot of slapped that I did. I placed all my power on my right hand. My right hand was stinging. But somehow I feel like a really huge weight just get off from my shoulder.

I can’t believe what I just did. I really slapped him.

I could see his left cheek burning red. It was like he really need to be threatened now. His 4 friends gasped, and they ran away quickly. The boy can’t believe with what happened to him. Nobody ever did that to him, I guess. The boy that I slapped was crying while he was running to catch up with his friends.

 

 

The little boy was staring blankly on the ground, didn’t know what to do. I knelt down, facing him. I could see the bruises on his face, and the foods that the 5 boys were threwing at him. “A-are you okay?”, I asked while his bruises caught my eyes.

His eyes were showing his condition.

Soulless, hopeless, and hesitation.

He tried to made an eye contact to me slowly, he looked pale. He really looked tired, with what just happened to him.

“T-thank y-you”, he said with his weak voice. His voice was cracking because he was holding his tears before. I tried to help him to stand up, and he tried to balance himself.

 

“Bye! see you tomorrow!”, I yelled at him from afar. I could see him waved back from the place where he was standing, and we both walked away in opposite direction.

Me and Eomma were heading home. He decided to went back to his house by himself even though I asked him to went home with me and eomma. Maybe he did not want eomma to see his bruises and weak body.

I was happy. I got a friend to play with every evening. I will not feel alone again.

I was skipping as I put a bright smile on my face. “Ara-ah, why you’re so happy out of a sudden?”, Eomma asked me as she smiled seeing me happy. I am not the type of girl who is easy to socialize with new people. Eomma seems really happy seeing me happy, and I’m also the only children in the family.

 

It was time for me to sleep. My brain were doing a flashback with what I did this evening at the playground.

You’re doing the right thing, you’re a life savior, I said quietly inside my heart as I smiled while my eyes closed…. And then, I went to dreamland.