BTS SMERALDO THE NOTES 1 (Edited & Translated)

Hoseok: 12 May Year 22

The Topmost Floor in the City
Part 6

I opened the emergency exit and darted down the stairs. My heart was hammering in my chest. I definitely caught sight of mom in the hallway. As soon as I looked back, the elevator door opened and a crowd of people poured out. Mom vanished from my view.

I desperately jostled through the crowd to see her going through the emergency exit in the distance. I followed her into the emergency staircase and ran down the stairs two at a time. I went down several flights without taking a break. How I did it, even I don't know.

"Mom!"

Mom stopped.

I took one more hurried step. She turned around. Another step down the staircase. Gradually, I began to see her face. Then, my foot slipped and I lurched forward. I swung my arms to keep my balance, but it was too late.

I shut my eyes tightly, scared id tumble down the stairs. At that moment, someone grabbed me from behind. I narrowly avoided falling headlong down the stairs. It was a close call to say the least. When I turned my head to the side to see who'd saved me, Jimin stood there, a startled expression on his face.

I quickly turned back to see my mom, to hurried to thank him. I saw a woman, who was, quite perplexed. There was a little boy next to her. She simply looked at me, blinking her big eyes. She wasn't Mom.

She stepped back with the little boy hidden behind her back. I just stood there at a loss for words. I just stared back at her.

I couldn't remember what I had said to get out of that situation. I must've apologized and told her id mistaken her for someone else or something along those lines. Come to think of it, I never asked Jimin why he'd been there to catch me when I fell.

My head was a mess and there was no way I could process any of the details. All I knew was that she wasn't Mom. Maybe I knew that before I began chasing her? It had been more than ten years since the day she left me in the amusement park. She must've aged and looked different now from what I remembered as a small child.

Even if I met her again, it wouldn't be easy to recognize her. Her face was almost completely erased from my memory.

I looked back. Jimin was just tagging along without a word.

"I've been at this hospital for a long time, you know," he said. "I've been here since high school when you brought me to the emergency room."

"Do you ever want to get out of here?" I asked him in reply.

"I'm not really sure." He hung back as we kept walking back to our room, looking confused.

Maybe he was also bound within a web of memories. Like me.

I stopped and took a step towards him.

"Jimin, let's get out of here."

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