Last three years ago

“You won’t succeed if you keep following your stupid dream.” That voice kept repeating inside the Hyunsik head. Dream… it’s not just a dream. It’s my aim. That’s what Hyunsik said back to his father before he ran out from the house.

And being 22 years old without the job was hard to survive alone so the only place he could go gradually became his hometown. He was on the bus heading to the small village beside the ocean, where his childhood memories were made from.

Once the bus stopped, the place he headed to was his high school. The way to the school was pretty. The large tall trees were raised from side to side of the road and the leaves were trying to cover the sun rays falling onto the ground.

Nature… nature is the only real thing left on the earth. That’s what he believed. So he took out his camera and recorded every single movements of the leaves which were dancing to the breeze. The road was quite long and narrow but without knowingly, he arrived to his high school.

“It is still the same.” He murmured. The school is old but still alive with the sound of students playing around on the yard. Children… innocent. He took out his camera again and took the photos.

Since it’s a break time, there is no student found in all classroom. Classroom A, B, C and yes, after that it’s the teachers’ office.

Right before Hyunsik knocked the door, it was opened from the inside by a student. It was not opened gently. Hyunsik was shocked since he met the brown hair guy with the eyes filled with anger. Maybe that student did not see Hyunsik or maybe he did but he hit the shoulder of Hyunsik.

“sorry.” Said the student with the deep voice. He cannot see the face of the student but all he saw is the small bird tattoo on the neck of the student. Man, when had the students from our school gone wild? Hyunsik thought. But since all he wanted was to meet his teacher, he did not care about the boy.

“Seonsaeng-nim?” He called. And the old man with the bald head who was angry from the recent student he met looked back.

“Omo…aigoo… is this Hyunsik?”

“Ne... How is everything, Seonsaeng-nim?”

“Aigoo… Come inside. Well…everything is so-so. Come…have a seat.”

As Hyunsik sat down, he saw the picture of all the teachers he had been taught, were hung on the wall.

“Most of them are not working here anymore. Some of them left after your batch.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… most of them. Some moved to the city.”

“I see… How are you sir?” Hyunsik asked while handing the gifts he got for his teacher.

“I am doing fine only kids give me headaches sometimes.”

“Hahaha… I can see. Kids like the boy I met at the door?”

“Aigoo… that one? He is actually not bad. Poor child. He is the new student, came from Japan and well, he has parent problem. So eventually, he becomes rude to and fight with everyone from school. So, people see him as a problematic child.”

“I see… he looked really angry back then.”

“hahaha… that’s because I scolded him to behave well.” The teacher was the same as before. He scolded Hyunsik too, but that’s why he became a good boy. That’s all that matter.

They talked during the break but when the break time is over, Hyunsik said goodbye to his teachers and he was heading to the place of where he used to build the sand castle with his mother. The beach. But wait, before he head to the beach, he need to fill up his stomach.

Dinner.

So he is going to the place which sells old soy bean paste soup, hoping it’s still here. And gladly, yes, it is still there but the aunty who makes the soup has gone old showing her all grey