Chapter 3
“Ah, Michael?”
Hunter, who’d been typing, lowered his glasses slightly to look at Hyungoh. Looking uncomfortable in the loose long-sleeved T-shirt that revealed his collarbones, Hyungoh frowned and nodded.
“He doesn’t seem to be around my age…”
“He is your age. Fifteen.”
That would make him about sixteen in Korean age. At Hunter’s words, Hyungoh covered his mouth with his hand. I thought he was just an elementary school kid, but he’s only two years younger than me?
“Why, did something happen between you two?”
Hunter asked. No, nothing specific happened, but… Hyungoh scratched his head as he recalled what had just occurred.
“Who are you?”
Michael’s curious eyes scrutinized Hyungoh thoroughly. Hyungoh laughed awkwardly at his gloomy and gruff voice.
“Um… I’m, well, are you Uncle Hunter? I live in the house next door, across the way.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m his nephew. My name is Hyungoh Choi.”
“Hyeo-no… Choi?”
“Hyung. Oh. My name is Hyungoh Choi.”
“…Choi.”
Michael muttered with a serious face. Was “Hyungoh” really such a difficult name to pronounce? I guess it can’t be helped since he’s a kid. Hyungoh laughed deflatedly and patted Michael’s head. In response, Michael’s face stiffened completely before he abruptly stood up and quickly disappeared into the backyard. Ah, he must not like having his head touched. Embarrassed, Hyungoh couldn’t take his eyes off the dark backyard where Michael had vanished.
“He’s just a very shy kid.”
Hunter, who’d been listening attentively to Hyungoh’s story, laughed softly.
“Get along with Michael. He might seem a bit blunt, but he’s quite cute.”
Improve your conversation skills and make a friend. Two birds with one stone. Hunter gently closed his laptop and smiled. Hyungoh rolled his eyes and shrugged. Hmm… maybe. I should make a neighborhood friend since I need to adapt to living here now.
Hunter said he’d go in first, picking up his laptop and rising from his seat. After patting Hyungoh’s shoulder a few times, Hyungoh watched Hunter’s back as he walked straight to his room without hesitation, and suddenly felt curious.
“Excuse me, Uncle.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you have anything you want to ask me?”
Hunter, who’d stopped in his tracks, turned his head. He just stared at Hyungoh for a while without answering. Strange. Hyungoh’s hair stood on end at the momentary, unspoken pressure that passed between them.
“Well, let’s see. Do you have a girlfriend?”
Like a girlfriend. Hunter asked playfully, tilting his head.
“Haha, no.”
“Ah. Perhaps a boyfriend?”
“Ugh, of course not.”
Hyungoh waved his hands and laughed. The sound of two people’s artificial laughter filled the living room.
Why?
Hunter waved his hand slightly and closed the door to his room. Hyungoh, who’d been smiling broadly, erased his smile the moment Hunter disappeared, as if he’d been waiting for it.
Why doesn’t he ask anything about my mother?
Hunter was his mother’s younger brother. However, his mother had never once mentioned her uncle before. The same was true of other relatives. As if he didn’t exist, as if he’d never existed in the first place, no one ever talked about him.
Hyungoh exhaled deeply, bending at the waist. Am I suspecting my uncle? But that doesn’t make sense. His own older sister died, and moreover died by suicide—how could he be so nonchalant about it?
Or am I being too immature in my thinking? There might be circumstances between them that he wasn’t aware of. Maybe they were siblings but didn’t get along, or perhaps they’d cut ties long ago. No, wait. If that were really the case, why would he go to the trouble of bringing me to America?
“Wow…”
I don’t know. I have no idea. Hyungoh thought he might be taking things too sensitively. Perhaps his uncle was deliberately hiding his grief over his mother’s death, avoiding the conversation to spare Hyungoh from pain.
Well, if that’s the case, that would be a relief. Hyungoh, who’d been scratching around his neck, suddenly looked up.
“…”
Hyungoh abruptly rose from his seat. It was chilling. It felt as if a cold wind had passed straight through his head.
Ah, I’m sleepy. Hyungoh mumbled awkwardly. It felt like all the blood in his body was freezing, but he crossed the hallway and climbed the stairs with the most normal face he could manage. Just then, he recalled something Theo had said to him that morning.
‘Aren’t you just fearless in this world?’
Hyungoh swallowed a hollow laugh. It was one of those phrases he’d heard to the point of nausea.
Friends, teachers, and even his parents’ acquaintances habitually said this to Hyungoh. It was because of his mature personality that seemed beyond his years. Even if threatening thugs surrounded him, if a safety belt came undone during a ride, or if a knife sliced his finger and blood poured out like a waterfall, Hyungoh always remained calm.
How should he put it—it just wasn’t that scary. For hungry thugs, all he had to do was give them the money in his pocket; a loose safety belt just needed to be refastened; a cut finger just needed a bandage. Simple problems with simple solutions. There was no reason to be afraid.
“Simple my ass…”
Hyungoh leaned against the door and crumbled down. His heart was still pounding. This was the first time he’d felt such a chilling sensation.
Hyungoh recalled once more the scene he’d just witnessed beyond the corridor. The dry expression with that cold gaze visible through the gap in the door. Hyungoh broke into a cold sweat when he caught a glimpse of the dark silhouette. And he instinctively realized:
Uncle is watching me.
***
“Hey, kid.”
“…”
“Hey. You. Wake up.”
“Mmm, what…”
“Damn. Are all Asians this sleepy?”
At the somehow familiar voice, Hyungoh, who’d barely woken up, opened his eyes wide. He wrapped his hands around his head and stared intently at the back of Theo, who continued to curse.
Am I not fully awake yet?
Hyungoh had tossed and turned until dawn before finally falling asleep. He’d planned to stay up all night due to his suspicions and anxiety about Hunter, but he’d fallen asleep easily from accumulated fatigue. I see. I must still be dreaming.
Theo’s face lit up when he discovered Hyungoh blinking slowly with a drowsy expression.
“Oh, finally awake.”
“…Theo?”
That Theo who mercilessly abandoned my carrier yesterday? Hyungoh, who’d sprung his upper body up like a coiled spring, called to him in a puzzled voice.
Theo, as if too bothered to explain to Hyungoh with his startled rabbit eyes, casually pointed to the window with his finger. Hyungoh, who’d been staring blankly at the half-open window, discovered a large tree planted right in front of it.
“Don’t tell me… you climbed up that to get in?”
“Yes.”
“Into my room?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“What the hell?”
Hyungoh blurted out reflexively as he watched Theo standing proudly with his chest puffed out. What’s with this guy? He was dumbfounded. Is America normally this free? Can you trespass into a neighbor’s house without permission? And when someone is defenseless and sleeping?
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I have business with you.”
“If you had business, you should have knocked on the front door.”
“Then Hunter would wake up.”
“…What did you say?”
With an ominous premonition, Hyungoh slowly backed away. In response, Theo approached one step closer, wearing a sly smile.
“Today I came because I have business with you, Hyungoh.”
Footnotes:
- “Sixteen in Korean age” – In traditional Korean age reckoning, everyone is considered one year old at birth, and gains another year on New Year’s Day rather than on their birthday. So someone who is 15 in Western age would be 16 or even 17 in Korean age, depending on when their birthday falls. (Note: South Korea officially abandoned this system in 2023, but this story takes place earlier when the system was still in common use.)
- “Two birds with one stone” – Hunter is suggesting Hyungoh can both practice his English conversation skills and make a friend by getting to know Michael, killing two birds with one stone (achieving two goals with one action).
