Voiceless Cries

Chapter 10 : Voiceless Cries

Her agile fingers scanned through the pile of clothes. Her lips pursed in concentration and her body was bent over the pile. Myungsoo noted that the woman in front of him resembled Jiyeon in more than one way. No, correction: Jiyeon resembled her in many ways. Her thick, chestnut hair was combed back into a messy bun. Locks of hair that escaped tumbled down her shoulders in waves.

“Ah, here they are,” she breathed as she pulled a t-shirt and trousers from the pile. She handed them to Myungsoo’s outstretched hands and sent him a smile. Alluring like Jiyeon’s. Myungsoo managed an awkward smile and muttered his thanks as she led him to the toilet.

“When you’re done, come out and have some hot chocolate, okay?” motherly concern outlined her voice as she conveyed her offer. The warmth in her voice reached and tugged at his heart and he found himself smiling at her.

“Of course.” He said slipping inside the toilet. Closing the door, he heard her mutter something about the horrid weather before walking away.

White: the color of the t-shirt he was wearing. He stared at the mirror while wringing the last of the dampness out of his hair. Printed on the front was the word “UNPLUG” in block letters. He wore a pair of plain black pants that reached just above his ankles. Nonetheless, he walked out with overflowing confidence, as if he was wearing the most expensive material and not some plain t-shirt and pants that barely fit him. He strode to the living room to find Jiyeon’s parents’ discussing something in hushed tones. Upon seeing him, Mrs. Park’s face lit up.

“Come and have your hot chocolate,” her warm tone beckoned him near and he went to sit on the sofa. He clasped the mug with his two hands and took a sip from the brown liquid. The warmth swept his tongue and filled his mouth with a saccharine tinge right after the liquid was swallowed.

“I’ll get some biscuits for you to nibble on,” Mrs. Park’s sentence was embellished with a smile. She stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Jiyeon’s friend eh? What’s the name again?” Mr. Park’s deep voice now took control of the conversation. His eyes trailed away from the piece of paper he was reading and fell on him.

“Y-yes,” Myungsoo found himself stumbling over his words. He was uneasy under the scrutiny of those wise orbs that were so similar to Jiyeon’s, “Kim Myungsoo, sir.”

Mr. Park’s grim frown transformed into a grin so wide, Myungsoo thought it might just crack from his face. Amused, he said, “Don’t act all formal with me, kid.”

“You seem to be under an impression that Jiyeon is the mysterious kind of person,” he continued after a silence. Then, he leaned in, as if to tell a valuable secret. “Jiyeon is not that kind of a person at all.

“When she was a girl, three or four years old, there were two things that she hated the most: sleeping and taking a bath.”

Myungsoo smiled, imagining how she would have refused to obey her parents when told to do so. Curious, he leaned in as well. “So, what happened?”

“Every time it’s bathing time, she would escape from the toilet upstairs. She would run half naked, down the hallways, all the way here and curl up on the sofa right where you are sitting right now. We had to pry her hands away from the sofa and carry the crying little girl all the way back to the toilet time and again.”

When Myungsoo looked up into the man’s eyes, he saw that it was distant, as if he was seeing the whole scene all over again. Myungsoo imagined the little Jiyeon jumping down the stairs, howling. A smile landed on his lips and when he looked up he noticed that the man was smiling too, his face bright with laughter.