SOG (English)

#28

A quiet, peaceful voice was heard. Jae-Chan turned his gaze towards it, to which he already had grown accustomed to.

Today as well, Nam Myung-Sung, dressed in work clothes and wearing a round hat, was approaching him before he knew it.

He didn't find it particularly surprising. From the beginning he was such a man, always curious about his surroundings. It wasn't the first time he'd spoken to him.

<<— You're the guide from the Center, right?>>

On the first day of surveillance. Nam Myung-Sung had said that to Sun Jae-chan, who had just finished eating a full meal of eel rice. While patting Sun Jae-Chan on the back, he managed to figure out his condition, who was completely exhausted by the meals and nutrients he had been forcibly cramming for health issues.

In fact, Sun Jae-Chan was born with the condition of easily approaching Nam Myung-Sung. In the past as well as now, Nam Myung-Sung was a person who was overly interested in 'Guides'.

— Do you wanna pick up a midnight snack together today?

Workers often ordered deliveries in bulk from a few restaurants on the island. Nam Myung-Sung kept an eye on Sun Jae-Chan and suggested that they eat together.

Today seemed to be that kind of day. He had been attending such encounters without missing out because he could get information. He nodded willingly. However, Nam Myung-Sung led him not towards the place where the workers gathered, but instead to a secluded location where the walls got way thicker.

<<……?>>

It wasn't like he was wary of the twig-like man. Just when he got ready by clenching his fist lightly and prepared a basic defensive posture.

Between the hollows of the castle wall, he found a human figure hidden under the shade of a square. The white sneakers that were walking along Nam Myung-Sung's work boots stopped abruptly. Sun Jae-Chan felt his heart sink when he saw the one who was carefully walking out of the darkness.

— Dad.

A friendly and calm voice that was so familiar to him at first glance.

She stepped under the light of the garden, scattering the soft hue. Wearing a comfortable-looking dark gray field jumper and baggy jeans. Nam Hae-Sol, who looked younger and slightly tanner than in Sun Jae-Chan's memory, approached with light steps and holding a lunch bag in one hand.

— Hae-Sol. This is the Guide I spoke about.

Nam Hae-Sol's lips parted slightly at the introduction of Nam Myung-Sung, with a smiling expression. Grabbing the handle of the small lunch box with both hands, she bowed her head politely.

— Hello!

Her long black hair fluttered and seemed to shine with the light. Sun Jae-Chan, whose mouth was dry before he knew it, faced her and bowed as well rather clumsily. Perhaps his appearance seemed awkward in a different sense, because a small laughter burst out from both sides, as the pair of father and daughter stared at him with round eyes.

— Let's go that way. There's a place I know where we can secretly lay our lunch boxes.

Nam Myung-Sung's eyes widened even more.

Was it because that which should have come finally came?

Or was it because he had imagined that exact situation countless times since he encountered Nam Myung-Sung?

Sun Jae-Chan was able to follow Nam Myung-Sung and Nam Hae-Sol with a fairly calm countenance. The three soon arrived behind the base building where the lawn work had been completed earlier.