Noise Of Silence

Chapter 6

At night, the three of us went back home with my father. Min Soo and Rena were walking whispering in front of me and my father who was telling me some news about Hyoun Woo who applied for a job in a company in Seoul as a lawyer. I was listening to him while my sight was extending toward the two girls. My mind was not able to catch my father's words anymore. I badly wanted to ask Rena about the date of her birthday. I ran fast to stop her. She was in shock picking on my question. We had spent a long time looking at each other before she answered me. I was wrong. The 10th of October was not the date of her birthday.

I stepped a few steps forward. then!! Wait... wait! It's me who was born on October 10th ...yeah...me! But what did this date mean? And how could it be related to Rena?

The following day, when I knocked on Rena's house door to go upstairs to knock on Soo's door, she looked at me with a frowny face. I did not ask about the reasons behind that frown on her face, whether it was because of her boyfriend or because of the weird question I had asked last night. I left the mission for Soo.

At the door, she was standing and so was I, waiting, when her young brother sneaked under her arm which was leaning on the door. She went in for a while and then returned saying that she was not going to school. Again, I did not ask about the reason. I nodded then stepped up to knock on Soo's door. But she was still in her pajamas playing with her curly hair. It was obvious that she spent the last night watching several parties of her beloved bands. To be honest, I did not wait for her. I left her standing at the door, but she hissed angrily saying some mean words describing me as someone who lacks loyalty. I ignored her blaming words and took the elevator down. As quickly as possible I left the building, suddenly, something fell next to me, hitting my right shoulder and causing horrendous pain. I turned immediately to check what the matter was, and I was surprised to find a bleeding body that was breathing hard, making a sad whine counting its last breaths due to the lack of blood. I glowered at the corpse identifying to whom it belongs. It was Rena's young brother. My eyes were full of tears, and my body was shaking owing to the horrifying scene, but still, I did not cry.
Some passersby, who saw that kid throwing himself from the seventh floor, rushed towards the corpse. My parents, who had heard people's screams, came down out of the building to find that a huge crowd had already surrounded the corpse.

It was a so hard tragedy for both Rena and her mother. The sore mother threw herself onto her son's body crying in pain with a husky throat in a horrendous scene that breaks the hearts, but I could not cry.
I did not go to school that day, I stayed at home with my mother who tried to calm me down but her efforts went in vain. My eyes were staring at a faraway gap in sorrow. My mother said that we should go to stand by Rena's family but I could not dismiss the fear of those wolves which were howling inside me. One idea was spinning in my mind continuously. The 10th of October was not just my birthday, but the day that Rena's young brother committed suicide!

For the whole two weeks, Rena did not come to school. I visited her with Soo during that period. But the only one who succeeded in comforting her was Soo. I could not say a single word to her; the words got stocked in my throat as usual. I did not know what to say. She was in dreadful pain, suffering deeply, tearing making such a sorrowful face like mine in my nightmares with the river. I saw how much pain she was experiencing, and that was why I was afraid to scatter some stupid words here and there.

However, on my last visit, I forced myself to talk saying:" We're waiting for you, me and Soo, so come back soon if you please".

Something sparkled inside her eyes while hearing my words, and I thought that her torture would vanish and that she would find some light in that long dark way of her, I felt that the muscles of her face were shrinking to draw a wonderful smile, but suddenly it changed to form a crying face. I felt upset and stressed then I left hurriedly.