HYYH 1 Notes (ENG)

After Returning from the Sea (PT4)

HoSeok
16 July Year 22

I turned the pages of the sketchbook one by one. We were smiling together in the classroom-turned-storage room, in the tunnel, and against the backdrop of the sea. JungKook was lying alone on an asphalt road. Blood was streaming down the road. The large moon hung high in the night sky.

"Are you hurt?" I looked back and saw JungKook coming into his patient room. I had danced with my ankle wrapped in a pressure bandage, and now a plaster cast was around that ankle. "I seem to be in a better shape than you." I deliberately showed a dramatic reaction to his words and said that his health was unbeatable. JungKook said he'd undergo a thorough checkup the next week and be able to go home after that if there were no problems.

I decided that we should throw him a party. We'd had a party at NamJoon's container on the day JiMin escaped from the hospital, with hamburgers
and cola and cake that SeokJin brought. We fought over who got to wear the only party hat until it was crushed.
We smeared that expensive cake all over each other's faces. NamJoon complained that he'd have to clean up the mess all by himself. But it was fun. The seven of us finally got together for the first time after we left high school. We laughed at every word and every movement. Every minute together was exhilerating and exciting even though we didn't say or do much. I had wanted to make a day like this. A day we met and laughed together again.

"Hey, that night•••" JungKook started
to say as we got off the elevator and headed for the front door of the hospital. His gaze was fixed on something outside. He didn't seem
to actually be looking at anything.
He was just blinking his eyes as if
trying to dig up an old memory.
"Does SeokJin talk about that night?
I mean, has he said that he saw me or•••?" JungKook stopped talking. "SeokJin? Saw you? Where?" I asked, but he didn't open his mouth again.

"You're a good person, right?" JungKook asked me before we parted. "Stop talking nonsense." I tapped him on his shoulder playfully and waved goodbye. I quickly bent my steps. Am I a good person? Growing up, I've been told
that I was a bright and cheerful kid. I used to be told that I was sensitive and impressionable. Did that mean I was a good person? I'd never given it a thought before. I looked back and saw him still standing at the entrance and looking up at the cloudy sky.

SeokJin
24 July Year 22

I followed Dad into the brightly lit conference room. I sat on a chair by
the entrance and looked around. I wasn't sure why I'd been summoned there. Dad sat in the center and was surrounded by familiar faces. I looked at the clock. The discharge party for JungKook must've started. I was thinking of calling the others when
Dad opened his mouth and the entire room became still. The atmosphere
was heavy, but it didn't feel ominous. Rather, the room was buzzing with excitement and expectations. The lights went out and title of the conference room appeared on the screen. Masterplan for the Redevelopment of Downtown Songju.

Dad had called me all of a sudden. To be exact, it was his secretary who called me. I'd said I had an appointment, but I didn't think it'd work. Dad asked me in the car on our way here if I was still hanging out with those so-called friends of mine. I didn't answer. He wasn't asking a question. He was just belittling them, reproaching me for getting along with them, and ordering me to cut ties with them.

He didn't even look at me. "Don't waste your time on nothing. I'm telling you this put of experience. Besides, you'll have to help out a lot here. Try to learn as much as you can. Then, you'll soon grow into an adult worth your salt."

JiMin
24 July Year 22

The inside of the container was completely decorated. The hamburgers, fries, and drinks HoSeok brought
were set on the table, and Christmasy ornaments were dangling on the walls. JungKook was sitting in the center.