CHAPTER 6

The Redeemer

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are running into a zone of turbulence. Please stay seated and keep your seatbelts fastened. Thank you.”

A horrifyingly jarring series of tossing and tipping ensued through the dark night, many miles above the foreboding Pacific. Amongst the restless passengers within the dimly lit airbus was a lonely traveller, staring blankly at the screen right in front of her. An action-packed, highly-acclaimed box office movie had been playing for a while now. At this point, she should have already understood the plot, but whatever story it was trying to tell, she had trouble taking in any of it. The scenes only mindlessly flashed before her, making absolutely no sense to her exhausted brain. She was watching, but she wasn’t. The turbulence was not helping with her concentration either.

At some point within the movie, some character got terribly injured.

Oh no.

Her lifeless pupils suddenly dilated. Who this character was and how he got injured never registered to her earlier, but he surely caught her attention now. He was a bloody mess—eyelids barely opened, breathing short and unstable, fingers weakly twitching, and life at the brink of ending. Then a scream of shock and agony resonated through the scene of chaos. Someone else had seen the injured. Soon wails of a deafening ambulance siren came into the scene. The injured was lifted on stretchers and hastily transferred to the hospital. But then—

The scene was abruptly paused.

A finger touched the screen and the movie was closed. With a heavy sigh, Wendy Son (known to her old friends as Son Seungwan) took off the airline-provided headset and let it dangle around her neck. She leaned back on her uncomfortable economy class seat and closed her eyes, feeling every sharp movement of the plane, listening to the incessant hum of the loud engines.

 

Months ago, Wendy had volunteered at the emergency room of her university hospital in Toronto. She had just finished her second year in medical school and was looking for ways to productively gain more experience and training in the medical field during her summer vacation. At first, she was excited. For the longest time, becoming a doctor had been her only goal in life. This may just be a step in the right direction.

However, the ER was not the friendliest place in the hospital at all. Every day, patients get rushed in. Cases ranged from deadly and heart attacks to severe life-threatening injuries and poisoning. It was astonishing how pain and suffering never ceased every single day. No matter how big the emotional stress this job entailed, Wendy tried her best to keep her composure. Her heart ached for these broken strangers, and that drove her to stay strong and help out by making beds, preparing wheelchairs, giving water to patients, and a bunch of other odd jobs as instructed by her supervisor.

But that did not last long.

One day, a patient was rushed in by the medics and Wendy saw her body being quickly transferred onto a hospital bed. The fast-paced movements in the emergency department always gave Wendy this awful adrenaline rush; everything usually happened so quickly when it came to the most urgent patients. However, this time, as the body was lifted, Wendy’s eyes were drawn to the poor thing. She got a clear view of that particular patient, and within that moment, everything seemed to have moved in slow motion.

The patient was a teenage girl. Or at least, she was supposed to be a teenage girl. With the unsightly state of her tarnished figure, it was difficult to tell what she was anymore. Streams of blood oozed in all the places that what might have been youthful and beautiful. Bruises and wide-open cuts dyed her skin in all shades of red.

Nurses quickly came and asked for information as the medics began telling them about her weak and unstable breathing and low blood pressure. Since she was idly standing by, Wendy was asked to help push the stretcher on the way the emergency room. Unfortunately, the moment they reached the ER, the girl’s pulse was almost gone. But the doctors did not give up hope. They immediately hooked her up on a ventilator and heartbeat monitor.

As the medics continued talking, Wendy overheard something so unimaginably morbid, “…She was repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat and has suffered major concussions…”

While they were running checkups, the patient’s heartbeat suddenly went flat and there was the dreaded sound of a monotone. Cardiac arrest.

Wendy stood petrified at the sidelines, watching the scene unfold before her very eyes. The body convulsed and jumped to the high-voltage shocks from the defibrillator, but with every shock the more her thrashed body seemed unresponsive. In the end, the doctors’ efforts were futile. Eventually, they had to give up. They checked the clock and announced the time. She was dead.

 

That evening after finishing her volunteering shift at the ER, Seungwan stood before the vast shore of Lake Ontario. Unbothered by the winds, she stood staring straight at the great lake without once taking her eyes off of the vast view. She had often come here ever since she moved here about nine years ago. She often spent time staring at the view for hours on end, but for some reason, it felt empty. Something was missing here. Was it because the sun sets on the tall buildings behind her and never on the other side of the water? Was it because to insignificant little beings, this great American lake appeared to be more like an endless ocean than a land-locked body of water? As the sun began to disappear behind her, the light from the waters gradually dissipated. It was dark enough on the far end for the horizon to be blurred from sight. Unlike the lake in Yeonsan, she could not see what was on the other side of the lake.

It’s never the same, she thought. For the longest time, she searched for familiarity in this place but familiarity was never there. Seungwan crouched down on the sandy shore and began to draw meaningless lines on the sand.

“So Seungwan, tell me what’s bothering you,” the familiar voice of someone from her childhood spoke to her from a 10-year-old memory that began to replay in her head.

“You don’t deserve this messed-up life, Joohyun Unnie,” fifteen-year-old Seungwan told her.

“Why are you so concerned about me? My life is my problem, not yours.”

“Of course I’m concerned! Besides, when one of us have problems, you always stepped in and tried to help. You care about us, but how come you don’t want us to care about you?”

“I’m older than all of you, that’s why. I’m the one who’s supposed to care, not you.”

Wendy dusted off the sand from her fingers and stood back up. She was wrong. We were all supposed to care for each other.

 

***

 

“Hey, you! Wake up!”

With no warning, the comforting warmth Seulgi was wrapped up in had been tossed aside followed by the rush of cold air. She squirmed and whined like a newborn infant and tried grabbing for her sheets without opening her crusty eyes.

“Seungwan Unnie is arriving today! Get your ready, sleepyhead!” Soo-Young nagged.

Seulgi peeked at her towering friend with one barely opened eye. “It’s barely sunrise.”

“We’re picking her up from the airport.”

Suddenly, both of Seulgi’s eyes shot open. “What? No, the deal was that she comes here on her own!”

“Too late. I already told her we’re picking her up.”

Seulgi sat up on her bed and looked to Soo-Young in disbelief. “How did you even…?”

“I used your parents’ Facebook account. I saw you type in the username and password on your laptop last night. I also stalked Seungwan Unnie’s profile. She’s really cute.”

“You told her that we’re picking her up?!”

“Don’t worry she still thinks we’re your parents, so the surprise isn’t ruined.”

The two of them got ready and hopped into Soo-Young’s luxury SUV. Seulgi rode shotgun beside Soo-Young, clearly not showing the same enthusiasm. It was too early in the morning for Seulgi to even consider it a morning. The sun was barely even up.

“Nice car,” Seulgi muttered, squeezing the elegant, high-quality cushioned seat and lightly rocking it to test its bounciness. Then she brought her face closer to the small LED screen and sound system and lightly ran her finger on the buttons. “I see your family is still doing well. No wonder you can afford to waste your time on that time capsule...”

After fastening her seatbelt, Soo-Young glared at the still-somewhat-sleepy Seulgi. “Is that what you still think this is? A waste of time?” Seulgi’s mouth twitched open, but before she could come up with anything to say to defend herself, Soo-Young switched on the engine and said, “Well, I guess you’re only here because fate trapped you into it. I’ll take that over nothing.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Seulgi tried to take back her words.

“I think you do mean it that way,” Soo-Young said as she slowly drove out of her parking position. “But you should know I’m using my hard-earned money for this entire operation. My family doesn’t support me anymore, unlike your mommy and daddy who still treat you like a princess. To be honest, I’ve been living in my car for the past few days before last night. I sold a lot of my stuff and left my parents’ house right before you called me a week ago.”

“You’re a homeless runaway? And what, all for this?” Seulgi was shocked and slightly bothered. “You’re crazy.”

“I like to think of it as dedication. Besides, I’m an adult with a bachelor’s degree. I have every right to make my own bad decisions,” said Soo-Young. “I don’t want to make a commitment by getting my own place right now. Besides, a one-year deposit isn’t cheap.”

“Where do you even take showers? You know what, TMI. Never mind.”

“Jjimjilbang (Korean sauna/bathhouse), duh,” Soo-Young said as she continued driving through the small streets. “If you hadn’t called to tell me about your vacation house, I’d probably still be living in my car. You saved my . I know you’re probably reluctant about all of this, but thanks a lot for staying this time, Seulgi Unnie. You may think it’s a waste of time, but looking for that time capsule and meeting you and Seungwan Unnie means a lot to me."

As they drove together in silence, Soo-Young suddenly started again. "You know, I suddenly remember that one time—I think it was my 11th birthday—I was being bullied by these kids, but you and Seungwan Unnie helped me out.”

“We did?”

“Yeah. Now that I think about it, it was the first time I realized I’ve made real friends. You two were my first real friends.”

 

 

Thirteen Years Ago: September 2005

Today was only the first day of school, but things were already at its worst for Park Soo-Young. Not only did she have to deal with corporal punishment for a crime she never committed, but she also had to walk all the way back home after getting her calves repeatedly struck by a wooden stick. Without her bike, going home would take thirty minutes. And to make matters worse, Kang Seulgi, the only kid that she had grown to like, had gone off with some other girl.

And they say I’m the bully, she scoffed as she trudged and limped with her sore calves and teary eyes all the way home. Maybe she was nothing but an unlovable monster destined to be persecuted by everyone around her. Maybe she deserved it. She just was not sure why, but this had been the norm for so long. Whether it be in school or in their house, she was always that scorned, despised loser. And unfortunately, whenever she tried to fight back, she always ended up in bigger trouble.

“Congratulations on the new buddy by the way.” When she told Seulgi that the following day, she meant it.

“Whenever I don’t show up for lunch, go ahead and eat with your new friend. Don’t bother waiting for me.” Seulgi Unnie doesn’t deserve to hang around me. She deserves better.

Soo-Young tried to disappear into the busy school halls to get away from Seulgi as soon as possible. She did not want to be seen with her any longer. She liked Seulgi; she truly did. Seulgi was a pure soul, much like the sweet canines in the dog shelter. And although she only wanted to use the gullible new kid for her own amusement back then, every time they played together, she started to see her differently. A girl who liked dogs, a girl who liked games, a girl who liked to ride her bike—maybe it was all these common interests, and maybe it was the cute way Seulgi genuinely smiled at her—who knows—but Soo-Young was starting to care about her. However, bringing innocent Seulgi into her hell of a messed-up small-town life would be selfish and unfair. It was the same concept as adopting a dog of her own. What’s the use of adopting a good dog if she probably won’t be able to take care of it anyway? What’s the use of calling Seulgi her friend if she probably couldn’t be a good friend to her anyway? If they pair up, others might see Seulgi in a bad light too and bully her, and Soo-Young did not want that.

“Wait, Soo-Young!”

Despite her attempt to leave, this clueless unnie still ran after her.

“Don’t talk to me anymore, okay?!” she yelled. Everyone passing by the hall saw it. That’s good. She needed to sever this tie once and for all. But when she looked into Seulgi’s kind eyes, she saw something she did not want to see—a crushed spirit. She had officially hurt the only friend she had. But she had to it up. Words were already said. There was no turning back now. It was for the best.

But little did she know that as she walked away, Seulgi’s gaze was fixed on one thing—right below her yellow skirt, the bruises on Soo-Young’s hurt calves.

 

***

 

“Seulgi?”

“Huh?” 5th-grade Seulgi snapped out of her seemingly blank state and met Seungwan’s worried gaze. The bear had been vacantly staring on her lunchbox while slowly chewing her food. By the way she was slowly chewing her food, that kimbap piece in might have already turned into cud by now.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” Even with that smile, she did not sound very convincing.

“Are you sure?” Seungwan reached out to touch her friend’s hand. “You seem out of it today. Did something happen?”

“I don’t know,” Seulgi began with a sigh. “Soo-Young lost her bike yesterday, and she seemed upset that I just left school without her. Then just this morning she asked me to take her to school on my bike, but the moment we got to school, she told me to stop talking to her out of nowhere.”

“Why?”

“She’s probably still mad about yesterday. I don’t know,” she sighed again. “Then, I noticed… she has bruises on her legs.”

Seungwan retracted her hand. Then she said in a low, concerned voice, “Bruises? You don’t think she got into trouble, do you?”

“What else would those bruises be? She must have done something bad to get punished like that. I hope it’s not my fault.” Seulgi rested her head on her palms. “I feel bad for her.”

 

Meanwhile, somewhere in one of the 4th-grade classrooms, a girl with bruised legs was left alone to her misery. She tried to eat the lunchbox meal her mother had prepared for her last night, but the dry, old rice was too difficult to swallow. None of this tasted great. None of this felt great. Finally, she closed the lid of the Tupperware and placed it back into her backpack. Her notebooks, her pencils were all packed away. With a final zip of her bag, she forced her aching legs to stand. Without any hesitation, she marched out of the empty classroom and into the janitor’s room. At the very back beside the dusty shelf of paint and cleaning utilities was a metal door with a screen window. Using the keys she had stolen from one of the janitors last year, she unlocked the door, snuck out to the back area, and used the conveniently placed ladder to climb over the brick fence. Before anyone realised, she had already left the school premises.

 

Before heading back to class after lunch, Seulgi and Seungwan decided to go to the ladies’ room for a short bathroom break. The moment they both locked their separate stalls other girls came into the bathroom hall. Unfamiliar voices ringed in the hall as well as the sound of faucets running with water.

“Soo-Young seemed mad,” one said with a chuckle. “She stayed in class and decided to eat there.”

“Well, who wouldn’t be ashamed to be her?” another said in a disgustingly cocky manner.

“By the way, what did you do to her precious bike?”

“I left it at the junkyard.”

“Ooh… good one. But I bet her parents would have enough money to buy her another one anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter. At least she won’t have her bike for a few days until her parents get her a new one. She’s such a spoiled brat.”

Seulgi was not sure about the details of what was going on here, but it sure as hell made her furious that she forgot to do her business in that stall. Before she could burst out and call out these girls for whatever they did to Soo-Young’s bike, a piece of torn toilet paper was slid in from the next stall. It was a note from Seungwan.

Did you hear that?

Before Seulgi could do anything about it, the two girls who came in earlier had already left. After making sure the coast was clear, Seulgi and Seungwan went out of their stalls.

“Seulgi!” Seungwan grabbed hold of Seulgi’s arm. “Could they be talking about your friend’s bike?”

Seulgi nodded with an unusually stern look on her usually docile face. “Those bullies… We need to do something about this.” Although Seungwan had never officially met Soo-Young, she agreed to help.

 

As soon as school was over that afternoon, Seulgi and Seungwan went to look for Soo-Young in school. When they passed by the 4th-grade classrooms, Seulgi heard some students gossiping in the hall.

“How did Soo-Young ditch class? The guards won’t let anybody out the gate.”

“She probably bribed them or something.”

“They sound like the same girls,” Seungwan whispered to Seulgi as the two of them watched the back figure of two younger students leave the hall. They did not see their faces. “What should we do? Do you think she really ditched class?”

Seulgi bit her lip and clenched her fist. “I don’t think it’s impossible. She knows the whole town like the back of her hand. Anyway, if Soo-Young’s not here anymore, maybe we should look for the bike first. It may still be in the public junkyard.”

 

The junkyard was never a tourist attraction. It was never the prettiest place in town. Within the barbed fence was a clear view of mutilated cars and engines, wrecked television sets and other appliances, and piles of other recyclable garbage. Somewhere in the midst of all that scrap was a polluting flame—the source of the wafting smoke that could be seen even from afar in the plain. Because of the potential hazards, children were often advised not to venture in there. Obviously, it was not the most child-friendly place in town, despite it being within a 3-minute walk from the grade school.

Having no past experience with rural junkyards and scrapyards, the two Seoul kids cautiously walked right in through the gateless entrance. With each step, they looked around for any sign of life.

“Seulgi?” a familiar voice called from behind. Seulgi and Seungwan turned around to look back at the entrance.

There standing by the wide gap in the barbed fence was a familiar neighbour, the mysterious girl with the pretty face, Bae Joohyun. Down by her side was a big, heavy-looking sack. She put effort in dragging it in by her hand, and it clinked and clanged and jangled with every little movement as she walked closer.

“Joohyun Unnie?” Seulgi did not expect to see her here of all places. She has not seen her since summer vacation. “What are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same thing.” Joohyun looked at her from top to bottom and did the same to Seungwan. Not knowing who she was, Seungwan slightly trembled before her. “Nice uniforms,” Joohyun said in a rather robotic monotone.

“Um, thanks.” It was such an awkward moment to talk about outfits.

“You don’t want to be seen wearing that in here, unless you have scraps to sell,” Joohyun softly said as stepped within two feet of Seulgi’s reach. The more this intimidating teenager came closer, the tighter Seungwan gripped Seulgi’s arm.

“You shouldn’t play around here,” the raven-like girl told her.

“We’re here because my friend Soo-Young’s bike was stolen and brought here. We came to get it back.”

“Soo-Young? Park Soo-Young? The girl across the street?” Apparently, Joohyun knew her.

“Yes.”

For about ten seconds, Joohyun just stood there staring at the two younger girls without saying anything. Seungwan looked back and forth to Joohyun and to Seulgi with her eyes. Pressing her body closer to Seulgi’s back, she anxiously waited for either to say anything.

“Maybe we should just leave,” Seungwan whispered into Seulgi’s ear.

Before the two 5th graders could move, Joohyun suddenly asked, “What does it look like?”

“Huh?” Joohyun suddenly speaking caught Seulgi off-guard again.

“The bike.”

Seulgi tried her best to describe Soo-Young’s black mountain bike with as much detail as possible. After a few more seconds, Joohyun amazingly recited everything back to her down to the last detail. “I’ll go ask. You two get out of here. Meet me on the benches of the bus stop near the grade school later.” Joohyun let go of the sack she was holding and went behind the two girls to them out with a light push. When the sack fell off-balance, some of its contents spilt out on the dusty earth.

Empty soju bottles? Seulgi tried to help pick up the bottles that rolled out, but Joohyun stopped her.

“Go. I’ll take care of this, okay?” Joohyun insisted.

And so, they left.

“Who was that?” Seungwan asked Seulgi as soon as they were out of the junkyard premises.

“Our neighbour. She lives in the house beside ours.”

“She’s scary,” Seungwan said while hugging herself and rubbing her arms.

Seulgi found that to be an odd comment. Joohyun was never a scary figure to her. She was too blinded by the mysterious beauty that the raven-like girl embodied. “What do you mean? She’s actually nice. Maybe a little unusual, but she’s not scary, I swear.”

“I don’t know… Something about the way she looked at us is intimidating.”

“But she did agree to help us, didn’t she? She’s nice, I’m telling you.”

After a while of sitting around waiting for Joohyun, she finally came but she did not have the bike with her. Seulgi stood from the bench the moment she saw Joohyun coming. “Unnie! Happened to the bike?”

Joohyun dejectedly shook her head from side to side.

“It wasn’t there?”

“No. It was sold to the bike shop downtown. Sorry, Seulgi.”

“It was sold?!” Seulgi’s bubbly little face turned grim and the smile on her face was cast away. Joohyun stood there looking at her with pity in her eyes, but she did not approach her or do anything to uplift her disappointed spirits.

“Seulgi… I guess we can’t do anything about it,” Seungwan said, touching her shoulder to calm her down.

“But no, it was Soo-Young’s bike,” Seulgi reasoned. “Maybe if we talk to the bike shop owner, we can get it back!”

Joohyun’s eyes looked straight to Seungwan. Her piercing gaze sent messages that even the silence could not bear to drown out. Although the teenage unnie just stood there without a word, it seemed like she was trying to say something… like she wanted Seungwan to do something. Then Joohyun looked at Seulgi again.

“Where is this bike shop?” Seulgi asked. She was too optimistic.

“It’s a little far on foot,” Joohyun answered.

“What about the bus?”

“The bus only comes around to this stop at exactly 8:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. It’s already 3:15. Trust me, you don’t want to wait for the next one.”

“Then let’s just walk.”

Seeing that Seulgi was too determined, Joohyun looked at Seungwan again, as if she was contemplating something. Seungwan had no idea what to say. She was not sure why Joohyun stared at her like that. After a while, the unnie finally answered, “Then let’s go.”

Seulgi and Seungwan followed Joohyun for almost an hour until they reached downtown. When they reached the place, Joohyun went with them into the shop and asked for the bicycle herself. The shop had an array of brand new and used bicycles and parts. Seulgi and Seungwan looked around while Joohyun conversed with the owner.

“Oh, this?” the shop owner showed them the black mountain bike standing on one corner of the shop.

“Yes! It’s that one!” Seulgi exclaimed and grabbed the handlebars. “Thank you!”

“Hey, kid, what do you think you’re doing?”

“You see, sir, it was stolen…,” Joohyun tried to explain to the man.

“It was sold to me. I paid money for that. You can’t just take it unless you’re going to pay for it as well!”

Since none of them could prove that it was a stolen bike, the three of them left the shop dejected and empty-handed. They did not have money to buy it back either.

“Maybe if I tell Soo-Young, her mom can do something about it,” Seulgi thought out loud. “She’s probably able to afford it.”

Joohyun’s eyebrows subtly twitched upon hearing Seulgi’s idea. Her lips parted as if she had words to say, but she immediately bit her tongue.

 

***

 

“I’ll visit again tomorrow. I want to spend my birthday with the dogs.” An old hatchback car pulled over in their little neighbourhood and out came Park Soo-Young, who seemed to be in a better mood than earlier. She lugged her backpack out and pushed the car door back to close it.

“Okay, but no cutting classes anymore!” called out the driving adult peeking through the open car window. It was the same unnie with the same name from the dog shelter.

“Ugh, fine…” Park Soo-Young rolled her eyes. After she left school at lunchtime earlier, she walked all the way to the dog shelter downtown. It was her only place for escape. Whenever she felt upset or bored or lonely, she went to the dog shelter. Usually, she went there riding her bicycle because downtown was a little far to travel on foot. Unfortunately, she did not have her bicycle this time. Good thing Choi Soo-Young Unnie at the dog shelter was kind enough to give her a ride home.

After waving goodbye to the kind lady driving the old hatchback, Soo-Young saw someone on the other side of the street staring straight at her. With long dark hair and pale expressionless face eerily lit by a dim, reddish light from the setting sun, Soo-Young almost thought she saw some creepy unmoving ghost. But no, it was just that creepy neighbour unnie who lived in that creepy old house beside Seulgi’s house…

Why the heck is she staring at me like that? Soo-Young thought as she turned around to unlock the gate to her own house.

Before she could open the gate, she heard light steps approaching her from behind.

“Park Soo-Young?” Soo-Young had lived here all her life but it was the very first time she had ever heard that creepy raven-like unnie’s voice. Never had she heard anyone say her name with a voice so delicate—a voice so soft to the ears.

When Soo-Young turned around their eyes met. There was no denying it; Joohyun was definitely bewitchingly beautiful. It was the first time she had seen her enchanting eyes up close. She was speechless.

With no words of introduction, Joohyun simply asked, “Your mom’s not home yet?”

“No…” As fearless as Soo-Young usually was, this teenage girl made her feel anxious even though she was not doing anything.

Joohyun just nodded and looked back at her dark house. Then, she turned to Soo-Young again. Before leaving, she said, “Try raising your legs up and pressing ice on your bruises. It will help ease the pain.”

“Um, okay…” That was random…

“Also, if you go to the pharmacy, ask for arnica oil. It makes your bruises heal faster.” And so Joohyun left to go to her own house.

Creepy…

 

The next morning, Seungwan stepped out of their gate and waited for her parents to come out as well. She usually rode with her parents to school early every morning—dropping her off in school before heading to work at a law firm in the next city. Because of that, she was often the first student there, but at least it was a surefire way to keep her from being tardy in attending her classes. However, today, her parents were running a little later than usual. While her parents were scrambling to look for whatever files they had lost inside the house, Seungwan waited outside by their car.

As Seungwan watched the sky get brighter that peaceful morning, the black gate of Joohyun’s house slowly creaked open, breaking the silence.

“But I don’t wanna…” Seungwan heard the small squeaky voice of a tiny kid coming from Joohyun’s house. “I want cookies… …no, I want them now!”

Seungwan took a few steps in the direction of Joohyun’s house. Then at that moment, someone had stepped out of the black gate.

“Joohyun Unnie?”

The moment she got out of the gate, Joohyun abruptly stopped on her tracks and glanced at Seungwan in fear as if she had just seen a ghost. In her hand was a smaller hand of someone else from inside the gate, and she clutched it tighter as Seungwan came closer. After a while, the owner of the smaller hand had skipped out of the gate too—a little girl of about six or seven years old. While her hair was neatly tied in cute pigtails, every part of her face below her pretty eyes was covered by a black mask. Seungwan noticed that the little girl’s sweet eyes were similar to Joohyun’s.

“Oh hey, there’s someone,” said the little one as she stuck close to Joohyun.

“Shhh.” Joohyun lightly squeezed the child’s hand. The tiny girl looked up at her and quickly hid behind her back.

“Hello,” Seungwan greeted with a big smile. She always liked little kids. Being an only child, she has never had a younger sibling and have always wanted one. The little kid held a hand up and adorably waved, but still stayed hidden behind Joohyun’s legs. Joohyun, on the other hand, stared at Seungwan with this unreadable expression with a tinge of fear on her face.

Seungwan has always had a keen sense for people. With her intuition, she easily could tell if someone was upset or bothered by something just by observing. And the entire time she was with Joohyun, she could feel a sense of foreboding in her, as if Joohyun was always on guard about something. 

“S-seungwan,” Joohyun stuttered nervously. Without letting Seungwan get a word in edgewise, she tugged at the little kid hiding behind her and said, “We need to go.”

“But I want cookies,” repeated the child. This tyke seemed completely clueless about everything.

“I’m sorry, Yeri. Unnie can’t buy you cookies today.”

When Joohyun got close to Seungwan, she whispered, “Please tell Seulgi to meet me at the lake later before sunset.”

“Okay…” Seungwan was not sure what that was about, but Joohyun seemed rather serious.

“Bye,” said the adorable squeaky voice as she was dragged away by the teenage unnie.

“Bye… I guess.”

 

***

 

“What do you think she wants?” Seungwan asked Seulgi as they climbed a few rocks and waddled through twigs by the lakeside. She awkwardly navigated through the wild grass and tall weeds, clearly not used to the untamed wilderness. She already got herself a few scratches from those prickly rose bushes.

“We’ll find out later, won’t we?” Seulgi was too happy-go-lucky, but Seungwan trusted her anyway.

“Earlier, I saw her with this smaller kid, whom I am assuming is her sister," Seungwan recalled. "She seems very protective of her.”

“You met Yeri?” Seulgi was a little surprised. “Joohyun Unnie has mentioned her a few times, but I’ve never actually met her.”

“By the way, have you talked to your friend Soo-Young yet?”

“No. I think she’s avoiding me. I tried looking for her in school but I couldn’t find her. I even tried ringing her house but no one is answering. I don’t know what I did wrong. So I wrote her a letter concerning the whereabouts of her bike and slid it in through their gate. I thought maybe she can tell her parents about it so they can solve it themselves, but I haven’t heard from her.”

“You don’t think something bad happened to her again, do you?”

“That’s what I’m worried about. I hope she’s okay. Anyway, we’re almost there.”

The moment they reached the spot in the lake with the view of the lotuses, Seungwan was amazed. “Wow, another great view. I’ve never seen anything like this in Seoul.”

“Yeah. Joohyun Unnie took me here back then. The lotuses were a lot prettier in the summer though.”

Since it was already September, the royal lotuses were starting to wilt and rot in preparation for autumn and winter. A lot of the flowers had already fallen off, and the pinkish hue that dyed this side of the lake had disappeared along with it. Despite that, the glassy waters remained calm and at peace with the change.

“Seulgi? Seungwan?” Joohyun just arrived as well, but it seemed she had taken a different route to this place. She seemed to have come from somewhere deep in the forest...

“Unnie? Where’d you come from?”

Joohyun did not answer her question. Instead, she held out a clear mason jar filled with money. Seulgi’s and Seungwan’s eyes grew wide in surprise.

“What’s this?” Seulgi asked. The confusion in her eyes was evident.

“You need to go buy back your friend’s bike.”

“Wait, what?” They were still very, very confused.

“I’m sorry it’s all small bills and coins,” Joohyun continued. “But if you go to the bank just across the bicycle shop, they’d be willing to exchange this for bigger bills. I already counted all of it. It’s exactly enough for you to buy your friend’s bike back.”

“But why are you giving us all this money?” Seulgi asked. “Did you save all of this?”

“Don’t worry about me.” For the first time, Seungwan saw the intimidating girl smile. Joohyun gave Seulgi a wry smile and affectionately patted her cheek. At that moment, Seungwan began to change her mind. Maybe Joohyun was not so intimidating after all.

“Promise me you will get the bike back to her tomorrow, okay?” Joohyun continued. “You have to get it back for her, you understand me? And you have to give it to her tomorrow, but don't look for her at home. She won't be there.”

"If she's not at home then where would she be?" Seungwan wondered.

Seulgi snapped her fingers. "I think I know exactly where. I can't believe I never bothered to look there!"

"Where?"

"At the dog shelter." 

 

***

 

“You know, this isn’t exactly the best place to be celebrating your birthday.”  The tall dog shelter lady had sat beside Park Soo-Young on the floor, wondering why she was spending her birthday alone. “Whatever happened to your friend Seulgi? Don’t you two hang out anymore?”

“I let her go,” Soo-Young nonchalantly said with a shrug.

“What do you mean you let her go?” And you know what this adult was thinking: kids say the strangest things...

“She found a new friend. Someone better than me,” Soo-Young had said rather bitterly. “She’ll probably be better off without me anyway, so I just ended it.”

“That’s not—” (…how friends work…)

Before Choi Soo-Young had finished her sentence, the distinctly bright sound of the door chimes interrupted her. Someone had come into the reception. She immediately got up and headed for the reception area, leaving the 11-year-old with the dogs. Moments later, the lady began calling to her. “Soo-Young, come out here!”

Soo-Young immediately scrambled to the reception area. There she had found Seulgi and the other girl. But then there was something else—something she did not expect at all. They managed to get her mountain bike back. 

“H-how did you guys...?”

“We found it at the junkyard,” they lied. (But of course, Soo-Young didn't know about that.) 

“See, your friends care about you,” said the dog shelter lady.

At that moment, Soo-Young stood before them at a loss for words. A warm, overwhelming feeling rushed all over her, making her eyes all oddly watery. Even when I yelled at Seulgi Unnie and told her to leave, she still found my bike for me on my birthday? She could not understand it. Why in the world was this girl still so kind to her? After all the horrible things she had done, Seulgi still managed to do the unthinkable and not just forgive her, but also get her bike back? What is wrong with this kid?! I don’t deserve her at all!

“Happy birthday, Soo-Young,” Seulgi had told her as she gently came closer for a hug. Although smaller, the hug Seulgi gave had been the best hug she had ever received up until that moment. She could not help it; those tears filling up her eyes just had to fall. She had never been this touched by a heartfelt gesture in her life. And from that moment on, she knew that Seulgi will stay as a very special friend to her, always.

 

***

 

October 2018

“You guys somehow found my bike on my birthday,” Soo-Young chuckled, reminiscing that old memory. “Talk about perfect timing. Then you both told me how you didn't care about what others think of me. You both stuck with me even with others bullied me."

After Soo-Young recounted that tale, Seulgi suddenly remembered. They never knew it was Soo-Young’s birthday at that time. They just followed Joohyun’s orders and kept the whole process of buying back the bike a secret from Soo-Young. I guess Soo-Young never knew the real story... But that was how Seulgi, Seungwan, and Soo-Young became the best of friends. If it wasn’t for Joohyun, they would not be together.

"I didn't think I'd ever have friends like that back then. You both meant the world to me back then. That's why I was so devastated when we all just fell apart. I felt like I lost everything at that time. But now we have a chance to start over.”

Start over... Seulgi sat there contemplating it all. Maybe...

 

After hours on the road, the two of them finally arrived at the airport. As they waited, a short, light-haired girl walked out to the waiting area with her suitcase. She looked exhausted, but her eyes wandered toward the waiting crowd.

“Seungwan! Son Seungwan!” Soo-Young called out while excitedly waving her long arm up in the air. “Over here, Unnie!”

The moment Wendy found them, Seulgi bit her lip and gave her a wave as well. The exhausted traveller’s face lit up the moment she realised who they were.

“Soo-Young? Seulgi?”

With no time to lose, Seungwan walked toward them as fast as she could. Soo-Young immediately dragged Seulgi with her and ran toward their old friend as well. For the first time in many years, the three of them were reunited together once again.

“What is going on? Why are you both here?” Wendy could not comprehend what was happening right now. These two friends she had not seen in years—they were right before her very eyes. Reality felt more like fiction at this point.

“We’ll talk later,” said Soo-Young. “You must be tired. Let’s go head back.”

---