"Mom, are you alright?" Nanatili sa labas ng kwarto si Woojae habang hawak ang doorknob. Nakita niya ang kanyang ina na nakasilip sa veranda at malalim ang iniisip.
He knew she wanted to be alone, but he was unable to do so, especially since it just finished arguing with his father.
His mother turned to him when it heard his little voice. She smiled and spread her both arms in front of him so he could hug her.
"I'm fine, Jae." Niyakap siya nito nang mahigpit pagkatapos sabihin ang mga salitang 'yon.
Sunhee always claims to be fine even though she isn't, ngunit sigurado si Woojae na hindi lang basta away ang nangyari kanina, pakiramdam niya ay kung hindi 'yon natapos ay baka hiwalay na ang magulang niya ngayon. Malakas ang naging bangayan ng mga ito, pero ang tanging naintindihan niya lang ay ang mga salita na anak at congressman.
[ The running congressman, Siwoo Park, is deeply saddened after his wife was killed in an ambush… ]
Tumaas ang balahibo at nanlamig si Woojae sa narinig niya, biglang naging malinaw ang mga salitang binitawan ng mga magulang niya noong nagtalo ang mga ito at tugmang-tuma ito sa balita na napapanood niya ngayon.
"Did Dad do something wrong again?" inosenteng tanong ni Woojae kay Sunhee na ilang araw nang wala sa sarili. Hindi siya nito pinansin, nakatulala lang ito sa malayo at hindi maka-usap.
It is not new to him if his father has done something wrong. He is not blind to not see it, he is not deaf to ignore it and he is not a mute to remain silent.
"Mom wasn't herself the past few days, and I could tell that she was having trouble sleeping. She also wasn't eating well." Parang nagsasalita sa hangin si Woojae habang pinagmamasdan niya ang kanyang ama na walang pakialam sa sinasabi niya. Patuloy lang itong naglilipat ng mga papeles na nakalagay sa mesa.
"Are you the reason of the ambush that took place?" tanong ni Woojae dahilan para matigil ito sa paglipat ng mga pahina.
Huminga nang malalim si Chief Min bago siya tignan. Nakatayo siya sa harap ng table nito na parang maamong tuta. "What do you need?" seryoso nitong tanong.
"Has anyone ever paid you to do something bad?" tanong niya dahilan para pangliitan siya nito ng mata.
"What are you talking about little boy?"
When Woojae looked into his father's emotionless, uncaring eyes, he was filled with terror; he couldn't tell if they were worried for his mother or not.
"There is a child whose mother died because of an ambush, don't you feel sorry for her?" tanong ni Woojae pero sa pagkakataong ito ay hindi na siya tumingin dito ng diretso. Hindi niya kaya ang bigat na binibigay ng mga tingin nito sa kaniya.
"It's nice that you care about what's going on around you, it's an excellent trait as a police officer," sagot ni Chief Min kaya napatingin si Woojae sa kaniya nang diretso. Bumalik naman siya sa kanyang ginagawa kaya mas lalong kumunot ang noo ng batang nasa harap niya.
"What if someone killed you, how would you feel?" Tinignang muli ni Chief Min si Woojae, pero hindi na ito umiwas ng tingin. "Shouldn't you be the ones protecting the people? Why are you the ones who do evil?" sinabi niya ng buong tapang.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Woojae. Go back to your room," seryosong sagot ni Chief Min.
May diin na ito at mukhang nagalit na sa sinabi niya kaya hindi na niya nagawang magsalitang muli.
BINABASA MO ANG
Hindrance
Misteri / ThrillerOne night in a dark alley, Hobin was attacked by his classmates with a baseball bat on various parts of his body, they even burned his left eye with a cigarette which caused him to be hospitalized for several weeks. This was followed by the successi...
