# Chapter 96
Though he couldn’t remember the exact region or place, it was like a villa with many peach trees. He had wanted to play with Tae Iden, but perhaps tired from the long car ride, the two-year-old child just kept sleeping in Song Yeonhwa’s arms. Nevertheless, they had to collect insects for their summer vacation homework, so Mo Eunje and Tae Igyeol each grabbed a butterfly net and ran around the vast garden.
“We’re going to eat meat for dinner!”
Mo Eunje said cheerfully while swinging his yellow butterfly net in the air.
“We already ate meat for lunch.”
Not particularly interested in insect collecting, Tae Igyeol dragged his white butterfly net along the ground like a walking stick, his expression dull and disinterested. Wherever he passed, a trail was drawn as if marking his path.
“Isn’t it great to eat it again for dinner! Meat is so delicious.”
“Do you like meat that much?”
“Yes! What about you?”
“I like Grandmother’s gumbo the best.”
Tae Igyeol’s favorite food since childhood had been the gumbo his grandmother made. Mo Eunje didn’t particularly like gumbo itself, but he loved the sausages his grandmother put in it. So he would always hover around the kitchen shouting, “Grandmother, give me lots of sausages! Really lots!”
“If Grandmother had come with us, I would have asked her to make gumbo for you.”
When they were younger, they used to travel with their grandparents, but at some point, the grandparents started taking separate trips to quiet and peaceful places like hot springs or arboretums. Since the children always wanted to be with their grandmother, both families decided to give the grandparents separate vacations.
“But why aren’t you doing your homework?”
“I’m going to submit the insects my father caught for me.”
“Uncle said he’d share with me too. But I still want to catch at least one myself.”
That morning, Tae Hyunseok had already collected various insects with the children. It was enough for their homework, but Mo Eunje wanted to succeed in catching something with his own hands.
“Igyeol, what do you most want to catch?”
“Umm… a butterfly?”
“Why? Do you like butterflies?”
“No. I don’t like touching them. But butterflies seem more impressive than other insects.”
“Then I’ll catch one for you!”
Mo Eunje’s enthusiasm burned brightly as he clenched both fists. Even among the insects Tae Hyunseok had collected that morning, there were no butterflies. He was confident he could catch one if he could just spot one, but no matter how much they roamed around the garden, no butterflies appeared. Mo Eunje pouted his lips and tapped the ground with his butterfly net.
“I guess there are no butterflies here. I think there would be many outside…”
“Auntie told us not to go outside the fence.”
“Yeah, I won’t go out.”
“…”
“But maybe I could just take a very quick look to see if there are butterflies outside?”
“No.”
Even though it wouldn’t be going far, Tae Igyeol shook his head firmly. Mo Eunje sulked and stomped the ground with his butterfly net in frustration. As he kept looking toward the outside, Tae Igyeol grabbed Mo Eunje’s wrist and led him toward the inner part of the garden.
Their fathers had gone shopping by car to prepare dinner, and their mothers were enjoying tea time in the air-conditioned interior while taking care of baby Tae Iden. The two children sat on a picnic mat spread under the shade of a large tree and ate watermelon that Han Seola had brought them. Han Seola had told the children to come inside because it was hot, but Mo Eunje, despite sweating profusely, insisted on eating outside in case a butterfly appeared.
“This is really delicious. Grandmother likes watermelon too.”
“And cherries.”
“Igyeol, when we get our New Year’s money this time, let’s buy watermelon and cherries for Grandmother.”
“Sure.”
Last year, they had saved up their pocket money and together bought a cake topped with plenty of cherries for their grandmother who liked sweet things. She had been happy, smiling and asking why they were giving her cake when it wasn’t even a special day, and she had patted their heads gratefully. It had made them extremely happy. Since they had spent the whole time saving up their allowance and going in and out of the bakery with Tae Igyeol to decide, the cake was naturally delicious, and when Grandmother bought them a toy set as a gift the next day, they felt like they had gained the whole world.
After finishing the watermelon, their hands were sticky with juice. Mo Eunje played around, sticking and unsticking his fingers, which made Tae Igyeol frown.
“Wait. I’ll ask Mom for wet wipes.”
Although it would feel refreshing to go inside and wash their hands, Mo Eunje nodded silently, not wanting to move because of the heat, and made an additional request.
“And ice cream.”
“What kind of ice cream? Chocolate? Melon?”
“The kind you eat with a spoon. Chocolate.”
“Got it.”
Tae Igyeol ran quickly into the villa under the blazing sun. While Mo Eunje himself was also fast, Tae Igyeol, who always took first place in sports days and during PE class, was truly quick. He was first in studies, first in running—Tae Igyeol was a child who wasn’t bad at anything. Rather than being envious, Mo Eunje felt proud and satisfied as if he himself had taken first place.
The only categories where Mo Eunje placed first instead of Tae Igyeol were in writing poems and book reports, but since Tae Igyeol didn’t even submit those kinds of assignments, there was no way to know who wrote better. He thought that if Tae Igyeol were to enter a poem writing contest with him, he would probably come in second. Tae Igyeol was that good at everything.
“Oh…? A butterfly!”
A butterfly gently flew past Mo Eunje’s eyes as he was fanning himself. Enchanted by the large, magnificent butterfly with a mix of black and white, Mo Eunje jumped up and began chasing it. He planned to give it as a gift to Tae Igyeol since he had said he wanted one, even though if he caught this monarch butterfly, he would stand out the most when submitting the insect collection homework and earn the envy of all his classmates.
The young Mo Eunje, full of adventurous spirit and curiosity, fixed his eyes solely on the swallowtail butterfly and moved his feet. He couldn’t see what was around him, and even as he stepped outside the fence, his only thought was to catch that butterfly.
The butterfly flew slowly as if teasing him but wouldn’t let itself be caught easily. It would have been a bit easier if he had brought the butterfly net, but he regretted not thinking to grab it.
After following the swallowtail butterfly for a long time, walking and running repeatedly, he finally lost it. The butterfly suddenly vanished from sight. If only he had caught that monarch butterfly, he could have seen Tae Igyeol smiling brightly with joy. The fact that he had lost sight of it despite watching it all the way to the end made him feel so frustrated and angry that he was about to cry.
“Oh…”
When he came to his senses, it was getting dark all around, and he couldn’t find his way back to where he had been playing with Tae Igyeol. When the villa was no longer visible, he was suddenly scared and tears welled up. Mo Eunje wiped his tears bravely with his forearm and tried to stay calm.
When they had been reading books together, Tae Igyeol had told him about finding your way when lost in the forest, checking the north and so on, but he couldn’t remember it at all. Even if he could remember the method, it would be useless since he didn’t know which way was north, so tears welled up again. As the darkness deepened, so did his fear and terror, making his feet feel stuck to the ground, unable to move.
“Mom! Dad!”
“…”
“Auntie! Uncle!”
“…”
No matter how loudly he called, only his voice echoed back with no response. He wanted to find his way back to the villa, but he seemed to recall that when someone is lost, they shouldn’t move and should stay put. All he could do was shout loudly to alert his parents of his location so they could find him quickly.
“Igyeol! Tae Igyeol!”
“…”
“I’m here! Tae Igyeol! Igyeol!”
In his mind, he was thinking that his mom and dad needed to find him quickly, but from his mouth, only Tae Igyeol’s name kept coming out. Tae Igyeol must certainly be looking for him since he disappeared while Tae Igyeol went to get wet wipes. Moreover, since his mom and dad were doctors and only knew how to do hospital work, while Tae Igyeol knew many things, was smart, and had taught him how to find your way when lost in the forest before, it seemed like Tae Igyeol would find him the fastest. Of all the people Mo Eunje knew, Tae Igyeol was the smartest and most genius person.
“Tae Igyeol! Igyeol!”
“…Eunje!”
If it wasn’t an auditory hallucination, what he faintly heard just now was definitely Tae Igyeol’s voice. Mo Eunje called out Tae Igyeol’s name at the top of his lungs.
“Igyeol! I’m here!”
“Stay right there!”
“Igyeol! Tae Igyeol!”
“Eunje!”
Tae Igyeol, who had run over quickly, hugged Mo Eunje tightly and gasped for breath. Because he had been scared, Mo Eunje also hugged Tae Igyeol tightly, but his whole body was drenched in sweat and trembling like an aspen tree. Startled, Mo Eunje dropped the body he was holding and examined him.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you okay?”
“You idiot! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? How could you come all the way here alone when you don’t even know the way!”
“I was just after the butterfly…!”
As Tae Igyeol shouted, he momentarily felt provoked and was about to shout back and fight, but then he saw that Tae Igyeol was crying. Seeing the tears brimming in his eyes and falling incessantly, Mo Eunje’s mouth automatically closed. Even though he hadn’t cried and had endured bravely, Tae Igyeol, who only appeared tough on the outside but had a tender heart, must have been very scared.
“Igyeol, are you okay? Did you get lost too?”
“Eunje!”
Just as he was concluding that both he had lost his way and Tae Igyeol, who had come looking for him, had also gotten lost when they met, his father’s voice was heard. Mo Eunje shouted at the top of his lungs with a sense of responsibility to save Tae Igyeol.
“Dad! Dad!”
“Seola, Hyunseok! Eunje and Igyeol are here!”
“Igyeol, it’s okay. Dad found us. You can stop crying now. We’re saved.”
He comforted Tae Igyeol while Mo Yeongwoo approached. Meanwhile, Tae Igyeol wiped the traces of tears with his sleeve as if he had never cried and held Mo Eunje’s hand tightly. Mo Eunje also held Tae Igyeol’s cool hand firmly in return, as if to say everything was fine now.
“Eunje, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola grabbed Mo Eunje’s arms and examined his body thoroughly. Tae Hyunseok, who had been catching his breath with his hands on his knees, rubbed Mo Eunje’s crown vigorously, saying it was fortunate they found him quickly. He made a playful remark, “Eunje has such a strong adventurous spirit, he might become an explorer in the future,” but received glares from the adults.
“I’m fine, Mom. I stayed still right here until I met Igyeol. I did well, right?”
“…Yes, as long as you’re not hurt. Let’s go.”
“Eunje, do you want Dad to carry you? Do you want to ride down on Dad’s back?”
His legs were trembling now that the tension had eased, and he wanted to be carried, but that would mean letting go of Tae Igyeol’s hand. It seemed like Tae Igyeol would continue to be scared even with the adults around if he let go of this hand he was holding tightly. He was grateful to Tae Igyeol for coming to find him, even though they had both been scared after getting lost.
“No. I’m going to walk with Igyeol.”
As he spoke, he squeezed the hand he was holding. When he turned his head to look to the side, Tae Igyeol’s gaze met his firmly. Though he didn’t realize it at the time, it was a strong look rarely seen in a 10-year-old child. Mo Eunje raised the corners of his mouth in a mischievous grin.
