Chapter 182
TL: KSD
<Operation Moon In Kidnapping> was a carefully planned military operation. It had to be powerful, precise, confidential, and swift.
Using the warm memories and voice of Teacher Bang Jeong-ah, they lured Moon In into lowering his guard. Then, blood demon Gu Yu-na, notorious in the martial arts world, stepped in and used pressure points to subdue him.
“Mmph…! Mmmmph…!”
“Keep quiet if you don’t want to get hurt.”
“……”
Although she couldn’t paralyze the opponent by pressing pressure points, she had covered his mouth and poked pressure points with her fingers to keep him quiet, so it counted as subduing him with pressure points.
Now that the assault team’s role was done, it was time for the infiltration team.
Ma Ki-hoon, who knew the layout of the workspace inside and out, led Min Hyo-chan and Moon Ji-seop to gather all of Moon In’s daily essentials, including his school uniform and writing tools.
“Leave the computer and just take the keyboard! He’s sensitive about the keyboard, so he won’t care about the computer!”“Should we take the keyboard cable too?”
“It’s wireless, so leave it! Hey, grab all the uniforms too! Hurry!”
Min Hyo-min, the adorable youngest member of S-class girl group Benivis, whose name is Min Hyo-min even when read backwards, couldn’t come to the kidnapping scene due to her schedule. Celebrities are busy.
However, Kim Byul was guarding the scene as the leader of the kidnapping operation. Not because she was less busy than Min Hyo-min, but simply because she wanted to torment Moon In with a wicked smile.
“Fufufu……”
While Kim Byul laughed wickedly, Ma Ki-hoon’s infiltration team cleaned out the house.
Since it was a desolate home with few furnishings to begin with, it didn’t take long.
Ma Ki-hoon shouted urgently.
“Okay! We’ve got everything!”
“Let’s go!”
“Mmph… mmmmph……”
They moved quickly and quietly to somewhere.
Their plan didn’t end with the kidnapping.
There’s a word that commonly follows kidnapping.
That’s right. Confinement.
Even the word ‘kidnapping-confinement’ has no space in it. It reflects the ancient wisdom that abduction and confinement must flow seamlessly together. (TL Note: In korean kidnapping-confinement is a compound noun)
The ultimate goal of the Popular Culture and Arts Research Club was to bring the first club leader, a hikikomori, back to school!
To do that, detailed management was required even after the kidnapping.
Fortunately, Moon Ji-seop, a top 4% high-IQ student who compensated for poor writing skills with his academic performance, was able to deduce an appropriate location.
They headed toward a yellow van parked in the apartment complex parking lot.
“Th-that is…! Mmmph……!”
The van, drenched in yellow as if to prove it frequently transported children,
also revealed its other identity with a red cross painted on the side.
Below that cross was a lesson recorded in the Bible.
<Jesus does not lose even one stray sheep!>
<Gospel of Luke Chapter 15>
Upon seeing the final message written on the van while being held by Gu Yu-na, Moon In gave up all hope.
<New Light Spring Orphanage>
EP 11 – Evening Bell
Director Moon Chung-jae is an orphanage director with abundant experience.
That means he entered this field back when orphans were treated as the lowest of the low in society.
An era when selling infants abroad, whipping disobedient children with leather belts, gaslighting, and underage sexual crimes were considered everyday occurrences.
A preacher who began caring for orphans in such a dark era endured the bitter bottom of society repeatedly and solidified a firm religious conviction.
Therefore, Moon Chung-jae’s approach to running the orphanage focused not on “improving the orphans’ quality of life” but on “saving souls.”
Even though they weren’t exactly lacking in funds thanks to receiving grants from both Catholic and Protestant sources,
the children at New Light Spring Orphanage still lived in relatively poor conditions for this very reason.
Director Moon Chung-jae……
When money came in, he took in more children.
That was Moon Chung-jae’s style. A style that made the orphanage’s finance team lose their minds.
To exaggerate slightly, it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar.
But even a bottomless jar can be filled if thrown into a flowing river.
Thanks to some famous author Mr. Moon sending donations like flowing river water, despite Director Moon Chung-jae’s endless desire to collect orphans, New Light Spring Orphanage faced major changes.
Improved living standards.
That was the first thing Moon In noticed when he returned to the orphanage after a long time.
First of all, the side dishes had changed.
“What, this is delicious?”
The New Light Spring Orphanage Moon In remembered was an alternate world devoid of the concept of taste.
So Moon In’s admiration was a bit caveman-like.
“This… is this what they call ‘delicious’…?!”
There is a nutritionist at New Light Spring Orphanage. The nutritionist devises a variety of menus for the growing children.
That is to say, they only devise them.
What actually ends up on the table is a bittersweet compromise between lofty ideals and cold reality. So the taste was bittersweet, too.
It’s a secret from the public officials, but back when the orphanage was struggling, Bang Jeong-ah would be urgently deployed to bring in large quantities of curry and black bean sauce, resulting in an era of curry-black bean-curry-black bean meals on repeat.
The humor, if there’s any, was that the children at the orphanage actually found those meals to be delicious treats.
But now it was different. This taste didn’t come from the anguish of a corporate food scientist but rather from the anguish of the orphanage’s nutritionist.
Moon In smiled gently, thinking at least the donations hadn’t been used in vain.
“Haha……”
Seeing that smile, Kim Byul, sitting across from him, thought his mood had improved a bit and spoke up.
“The food is really delicious, right? Right?”
“……”
But that was the wrong move. Moon In responded with a cold silence.
Because the <Operation Moon In Kidnapping> had been executed on a Saturday morning, and the meal they were currently eating was Saturday lunch.
Moon In wasn’t a child who would cheer up just because the kidnapper fed him a decent meal. Actually, even children aren’t that stupid.
However, instead of getting angry, Moon In chose silence.
It wasn’t because of Stockholm syndrome triggered by Kim Byul’s beauty, despite his notorious temper (he really is famous for it).
It was because these despicable and wicked kidnappers had brought Teacher Bang Jeong-ah to sit at the same table.
They hadn’t directly threatened, “If you act out, Teacher Bang Jeong-ah will die”, but the result wasn’t much different.
Moon In restrained himself. He couldn’t throw a tantrum in front of Teacher Bang Jeong-ah.
However, that anger was expressed in a slightly more petty manner, as follows.
“You’re right. The food is truly delicious, Kim Byul sunbae-nim.”
“Ah, ahaha… why are you speaking so stiffly?”
“……”
Moon In ignored her. He heard her words and simply ignored them.
Kim Byul, who has a subtly gloomy side, is the sensitive type who even gets stressed when someone reads her message and doesn’t respond on KakaoTalk. But this time, since she was in the wrong, she just smiled and held it in.
And in truth, Kim Byul’s mind was in turmoil.
‘Now what?’
She had no idea what to say.
Because the whole plan had deviated far from her original idea.
Kim Byul’s imagined scenario went like this:
***
S#.1. Outside the studio / Late night
Under the streetlight. Moon In turns away, refusing help.
Kim Byul grabs Moon In’s wrist roughly and speaks.
Kim Byul: I couldn’t just sit back and watch you suffer alone in that room. We’re friends!
Moon In: (Moon In-seop moved) …!!!
Kim Byul: If you’re struggling, share it with us! What’s so hard about it?
Moon In: You, you guys can’t understand! My literary concerns!
Kim Byul: Shut up! Enough already, just say you want to go back to school!!!
Moon In: (With tears) I want to go back!!!
***
“Hmm……”
That was the original plan, to gloss over everything clumsily with the power of friendship, but the current situation had strayed far from that.
And it was all because of that guy, Moon Ji-seop, with his sly scheming. Honestly, this is why intruders are so problematic…
“……”
And in truth, Kim Byul still hadn’t processed the situation where Gu Yu-na had confessed to Moon In.
The fact that a creature like Gu Yu-na even had a warm heart was shocking enough, but the fact that Moon In had rejected her was even more shocking.
And how that led to him withdrawing from society for so long, Kim Byul couldn’t understand either.
In fact, Kim Byul herself had quite the complex feelings about it.
Because…
“Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.”
Gu Yu-na’s voice interrupted Kim Byul’s thoughts.
“What?”
“Let’s just say it never happened.”
When someone doesn’t know the cause of a problem, the only option is to hit it randomly. That’s why people smack malfunctioning computers and pray to the heavens for them to work again.
But Gu Yu-na is not the kind of person who can accept such a mindset. Everything must be clear and straightforward.
So in this case, the most accurate solution to the problem was a format. Reset everything as if it never happened.
Because Moon In was troubled due to Gu Yu-na’s confession, Gu Yu-na said they should pretend her confession never happened.
“I don’t know exactly why you’re hurting. But it’s obvious. I probably did something wrong again. I always have…”
“Ah……”
“So I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Let’s just pretend none of it happened.”
Kim Byul was startled, but at the same time, she subconsciously understood. It was such a Gu Yu-na-esque thing to say.
However, Moon In, who knew Gu Yu-na far better than Kim Byul did, was struck with overwhelming shock.
Gu Yu-na isn’t someone who lacks emotions, she just has difficulty empathizing with the emotions of others.
So Gu Yu-na did truly feel love for Moon In.
But she had been rejected.
And after being rejected, she apologized because the other person seemed troubled, and asked to forget the whole thing ever happened…
The wretchedness Gu Yu-na must have been feeling at that moment would be no different from that of any ordinary person.
However…
What on earth could make Gu Yu-na appear so weak?
That was the point that shocked Moon In.
The Gu Yu-na he knew, both past and present, was a prickly, prideful, and difficult novelist.
Even after confessing her love and getting rejected, she wasn’t someone who would lower her head so desperately.
Gu Yu-na was a warrior.
She didn’t live by society’s standards but by her own; she lived like a solitary martial artist walking the path of self-discipline.
And yet here was Gu Yu-na, showing such a pitiful side. Moon In felt as if the hero of his childhood had crumbled into a pitiful heap.
Why?
The answer was obvious.
It was all Moon In’s karma.
Wanting to awaken Gu Yu-na’s talent, Moon In had made himself her teacher.
And Moon In had been a perfect teacher.
A too perfect teacher.
Now, Gu Yu-na wasn’t walking her own path anymore but the path Moon In had shown her. She had accepted it as her destiny.
Because, though she might not realize it, the literary utopia Moon In had shown her was a path they had created together.
Therefore, Gu Yu-na’s literature could no longer progress without Moon In.
Dependency.
In exchange for awakening her talent much earlier, Gu Yu-na had lost her literary independence and autonomy.
Like a student gaslit by her teacher, she could no longer grow unless it was through Moon In’s instruction…
“Ah……”
Only now did Moon In realize the karmic weight of what he had done.
Snapping out of his daze, he looked up to see Gu Yu-na’s lips trembling.
To others, it might have seemed like nerves, but in Moon In’s eyes, it looked like Gu Yu-na was sobbing, tears dripping down her face.
So Moon In’s response didn’t come after calm contemplation, it blurted out instinctively, just to soothe Gu Yu-na’s tears.
“No, Yu-na. I think I was just… really stressed. All of it piled up and hit me hard this time. That slump just hit stronger than usual. It’s absolutely not your fault.”
“…Really?”
“Really. I’m sorry I made you worry. You too, Kim sunbae. I’m sorry for making you worry. No matter how hard things get, I shouldn’t have just holed up like that…”
“Uh, uh?! No no! It’s okay!”
Kim Byul, who had been worrying that things were spiraling out of control, felt joy when Moon In suddenly seemed to return to normal.
As she said “It’s okay”, the corners of her mouth slowly lifted. She couldn’t contain the feeling of relief and delight.
That’s why she failed to observe Moon In’s expression closely.
Moon In didn’t smile.
Still, he did his best to act like everything was fine to reassure those around him.
“School? Ah… yeah, I should go. I’ve been away too long.”
“Really? You mean it?! You’re going to school?”
“Yes, I’ll definitely go.”
Kim Byul let out a sigh of relief.
And with a gentle smile, she shared her concern.
“Yeah. I’m glad. It looks like you’re getting better.”
Nothing had gotten better.
“Seems like you’ve gotten some peace of mind too… that’s a relief…”
Nothing had been resolved.
“I’m just happy you’re finally going back to school!”
School doesn’t matter.
But Moon In smiled gently.
It was, literally, the smile of an adult devoid of soul.
***
“Ah……”
I leaned against a tree in the orphanage yard and looked up at the sky.
Unlike the tangled complexity of my heart, the sky was open and brilliantly clear.
Nothing has been resolved.
The guilt I felt toward Gu Yu-na did not disappear. On the contrary, it deepened. I had torn apart Gu Yu-na’s heart, and now I had come to realize that I had also torn apart her literature.
Kim Byul wishes for a joyful school life with her friends. But I have once again come to realize that I am not a young genius boy, but merely a modest student of literature living in a small one-room space.
One thing is certain.
My life has continued.
If that is the case, I must carry everything with me.
Even if it flows to the far side of time where I can never reach it again, I must shoulder it all and keep going.
But the weight is too heavy. There hasn’t been a day as burdensome as today.
Like the sand in an hourglass gradually falling, time was slowly pressing down on me…
“…?”
At that moment, I felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.
But it wasn’t a vague déjà vu; it was a memory grounded in reality.
Because this very zelkova tree I was leaning on now was the place where, on the first day I came back in time, I had agonized over time itself.
At this incredible coincidence, a faint smile returned to my lips.
“Haha…”
The comedy didn’t end there.
I felt a peculiar kind of coincidence here.
It was a kind of ‘overlap.’
I had been lost in deep agony and suffering in the apartment studio provided under the youth housing project.
Then one day, I was suddenly transferred to New Light Spring Orphanage due to an unexpected incident.
This exact thing happened twice.
But the methods of transfer were different.
The first move had been by suicide, the second by abduction.
The first motive had been despair, the second concern.
The first time, I had moved by my own hands. The second, I had been carried by others.
The result was the same, but the process had changed.
Perhaps that’s the biggest change I had brought about.
Like that fluttering in my heart I once felt at a birthday party…
“Um… hi?”
The proof walked right up to me.
Now I knew his name. It wasn’t Tteng-seop. It was Ji-seop.
That student who once resented the world, wishing someone had told him to start studying just a little earlier, he now stood before me wearing the Baekhak Arts High School uniform, all thanks to one word of praise I had casually given him as a child.
That, too, was something I had changed.
And that butterfly effect opened its mouth.
“By any chance…”
I listened attentively to Moon Ji-seop’s words.
After hesitating for quite a while, Moon Ji-seop finally asked, as if speaking something of great importance.
“Can I… join the Popular Arts Research Club?”
“What?”
“No no, the Popular Culture and Arts Research Club! Popular Culture and Arts Research Club!”
Moon Ji-seop hastily corrected himself, as if he would offend me by getting the club name wrong.
Before nodding, I first expressed my disbelief.
“Why are you asking me? You should ask Kim sunbae.”
“Actress Kim Byul-nim is a bit… scary…”
“She’s bright and friendly. Why?”
“Bright?”
Moon Ji-seop acted as if he couldn’t possibly associate the word <Kim Byul> with the concept of <bright and friendly>. It was strange.
“So Kim Sunbae is scary, and I’m easy?”
“Of course. You’re easy.”
Ji-seop grinned and reached out his fist toward me.
Not to punch me, but to exchange a friendly fist bump.
“We’re… ‘New Light Spring’ family, aren’t we?”
In Moon Ji-seop’s cheerful eyes, I could sense a fear of being rejected.
I had no trouble reading that fear.
That part was easy.
But how to accept that fear, now that was the hard part.
Honestly, Moon Ji-seop is not someone important to me. I only gave him a simple word of encouragement once when we were little.
It may be called a bond, but does such a bond really hold meaning? In this bizarre world where decades of time can be swallowed by someone’s manipulation?
I tried to recall the exact thoughts I had while sitting under this very zelkova tree.
***
‘Coming back in time, well, I can accept that, more or less. How could such tiny specks called humans, living in this massive universe, possibly comprehend all the grand laws of the world?’
‘There are countless truths and laws in this universe that science has yet to explain. Some of them might not even belong to the realm of science, but to that of theology.’
‘But “ten years” is a type of unit. And that unit was created by humans. People agreed to call the time it takes for Earth to orbit the Sun once a “year”. And even that calculation isn’t precise.’
‘So in that sense, the concept of a “year” is more legalistic than scientific. It’s a result born of human intellect, not a law of nature.’
‘That’s why I can only conclude that someone with understanding of human intelligence must have intervened in my exact return across ten years of time.’
‘Who is that someone?’
***
I am still afraid of ‘him.’
His name is Time.
Time leads all humans to inescapable death, but with me, he has been a bit more cruel.
Time has eternally separated the things I love, made me yearn for things I can never return to, and kept me from enjoying all the happiness of this world.
Everything except literature is a slave, subject to the grasp of time.
They do not belong to me.
Therefore, I must not grow attached. Because I could lose them again.
So connections should have no meaning to me.
But if humans were truly that wise, history would have been a bit more peaceful.
And I, too, ended up repeating the same mistake.
It is time I admit it.
“Haa……”
Connections are not illusions.
This isn’t a matter of whether connections itself are real or not, but whether I see others as illusions.
And judging from the months I spent suffering because of my bond with Gu Yu-na, it’s clear that I do not see them as illusions.
Because they gave me kindness, gave me friendship, gave me love, gave me guidance, and ultimately became a part of me.
That is what being human is. No one exists entirely alone. Every human being is a collective of others.
My emptiness came from the absence of parents in that collective, and my love came from Gu Yu-na, who filled that emptiness.
Now I finally understand.
Therefore, connections are not meaningless.
I already belong among them.
They have already become part of me, and I have already become part of them…
“Feels easier once I accept it……”
So then, there is no reason to fear adding one more bond.
I bumped fists with Moon Ji-seop, who had been waiting patiently through my long thoughts.
“Welcome to our club.”
“Ah…!”
The boy’s face lit up with joy.
It was a short greeting for me, but for someone, it might have been an achievement built from years of effort.
Leaving him to leap with joy and savor his happiness, I quietly returned to the friends who had unknowingly given me so much.
The club kids were already mingling with the orphanage children, chatting and playing.
Wrapped in the warm sunset as if being blessed,
the bell from the orphanage church rang out in a clear tone.
Deng- Deng- Deng-
“Ah.”
At the sound of the bell, a lightning bolt struck my mind.
A shiver spreading all the way to my fingertips.
“Ha, haha, hahahahaha-!”
Another piece of literature had come to me.
***
The next day.
I glared at Moon Ji-seop.
“You, get out of our club.”
*****
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