Chapter 5

#5 < Three Lives (4) >

***

“Dad, I can walk.”

Son Kwang-yeon laid a blanket on the carrier and placed Jin Hyuk on it. Mom walked beside him, supporting Jin Hyuk’s back, afraid he might fall. It was clear how much the parents loved and cherished their child. Following closely behind the family heading to the sea was Jang Gun-i.

They had successfully made it to the sea together.

But the only method Jin Hyuk could think of was to shout loudly so that his parents could hear him. He thought that if he yelled at the top of his lungs, they might hear his voice and come out.

“Jin Hyuk, why did you bring that?”

Mom asked, looking at Jin Hyuk who was clutching the fire canister like a treasure.

It was the fire canister Dad had made for him during the first full moon of the year. A paint can with holes punched in it, a long wire attached as a handle, perfect for spinning during the fire play.

“I can light a fire when it’s cold, and spin it when I’m bored.”

Mom, with a pleased expression, patted Jin Hyuk’s head once.

Isn’t a nine-year-old too mature?

‘If I spin it really fast, it’ll be a signal.’

There’s no signal device as unique and eye-catching as this.

He also packed plenty of pinecones and pine branches to light the fire.

Jin Hyuk’s heart pounded heavily.

He regretted not clinging to them and begging them not to go.

‘Maybe it would have been better that way.’

He understood why he was sent back to the age of nine to save three lives, but biologically, he was too young, and the era was before the digital civilization had fully bloomed. Well, even with more digital devices, there might not have been much he could do. Anyway.

He had to save his parents no matter what. If he didn’t, he would be taken away by his mother’s half-sister next year and forced to live in the attic. And all the wealth Dad had built would disappear without a trace.

‘I won’t let it repeat.’

The three of them walked through the dark night and arrived at the beach.

Mom and Dad followed the village men to the tidal flats, and Jin Hyuk didn’t forget to remind them.

“I’ll be playing with the fire canister, so you have to come out when you see it!”

“Yeah, with our son here, we won’t have to worry about getting lost.”

Even Mom’s smile, glowing like moonlight in the darkness, couldn’t ease Jin Hyuk’s worries.

Jang Gun-i, who had followed them all the way, sat quietly by Jin Hyuk’s side.

***

Quite some time had passed.

While his parents were struggling in the tidal flats, Jin Hyuk fought against the overwhelming sleepiness. Though his soul was that of an adult, his body was still a child’s, making it hard for him to stay awake late at night. The gentle sea breeze didn’t help, and before he knew it, his eyes were closing. He struggled to keep them open, shaking off the drowsiness clinging to his eyelids.

“Hey, Yeon-kyung’s dad caught a lot!”

As the tide came in, the men started coming out one by one.

The squelching sound of boots covered in mud woke Jin Hyuk up. The salty smell of the sea filled his head, and he remembered the most important thing.

‘Where are Mom and Dad?’

They still hadn’t come out.

Suddenly, a chilly sea breeze blew, carrying an ominous scent.

“Jin Hyuk is here too?”

“Yeah, his dad brought him. Didn’t want to leave the kid alone at home.”

“But why aren’t they coming out?”

“Who knows? The tide should be coming in soon.”

The men whispered among themselves.

Jin Hyuk scolded himself for not lighting the fire earlier and hurriedly struck a match.

Whoosh—the strong wind blew out the match.

Then it happened.

“Jin Hyuk-aaaa!”

It wasn’t a call for Jin Hyuk.

The men were calling for Jin Hyuk’s parents.

At that sound, Jin Hyuk’s heart sank.

‘Their voices are much louder than mine.’

Even in the previous life, they must have called like that, but they still didn’t come out. But that wasn’t the only problem.

Jin Hyuk-aaaa.

Jin Hyuk-aaaa.

The echo. The sea was surrounded by low hills, making it impossible to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. The men, competing to shout “Jin Hyuk” at the top of their lungs, headed towards the sea, leaving Jin Hyuk in despair.

‘What should I do?’

Had he ever felt this desperate in his life?

Though only nine, he had lived past forty in his previous life. Jin Hyuk was facing the most desperate moment of his life. Not even during the college entrance exam or job interviews had he felt this desperate.

‘That light must be Mom and Dad.’

Far out in the tidal flats, a light flickered on and off.

Whoosh—the match went out again. The salty smell of the sea grew stronger, and Jin Hyuk’s heart grew more anxious. The tide was coming in, carrying the salty seawater.

“Over there, they’re in the water channel.”

“Jin Hyuk-aaaa!”

The water channel. The tidal flats were usually soft, but there were also firm areas where one could stand. These areas were sunken and winding, like paths, where the water came in fastest and left last. Even during low tide, people would wash their boots or hands here. The locals called it the water channel.

‘Anyway, they can’t hear me!’

The water channel’s sunken terrain blocked out external light and sound. Not only that. The water channel was, after all, a channel for water. The sound of flowing water made it hard to hear distant calls.

“Turn on the flashlight, hurry!”

Everyone turned on their flashlights and waved them towards Jin Hyuk’s parents, but it seemed futile. The crude light humans made was insignificant against the deep, thick darkness.

And.

‘There are more than one or two of those lights.’

There were lights on the opposite side and where the water was coming in. The winding coastline of the West Sea often trapped people in the tidal flats.

“Let’s go and call them!”

“Yeah, yeah. This could turn into a big mess.”

Now even the men were out of sight.

A few oval-shaped lights flickered and faded into the distance on the dark tidal flats.

‘Even after all that, we couldn’t save them?’

Jin Hyuk’s heart raced. He had to save them no matter what. With his past life’s experience, he was confident he wouldn’t repeat the same life under his step-parents. But Mom and Dad were too young to end their lives already.

‘If I just light the fire, everything will be solved!’

Determined to even burn his hair if necessary, he hugged the fire canister. He struck another match.

Whoosh—! Without even adding oil, the pine branches curled up, and the pinecones turned bright red with fire.

Without a moment to marvel, he jumped up and spun the canister with all his might.

“Mom-aaaa! Dad-aaaa!”

Woof woof—! Jang Gun-i joined in with his barking.

Jin Hyuk spun the fire canister with a desperate heart.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The canister, full of holes, roared with fire, making a terrifying sound.

It was the sound of life.

***

How unreliable and untrustworthy human eyes can be.

The next day, Jo Il-hun clinked glasses of makgeolli with his neighbors, enjoying seafood as a side dish. It was a gathering to celebrate the end of the farming season and the conclusion of the year.

“But what was that spectacle?”

“Who knows?”

“Stop talking nonsense and drink!”

Was it a mistake?

Jo Il-hun raised his arms to gather everyone’s attention.

“Let me say it again, listen carefully—?”

They had to save the young couple. A man from Seoul who was friendly and got along with everyone in the village, and a beautiful woman from another town. If something happened to them, it was clear the young boy would be left alone.

Jo Il-hun and Park Dae-sun had entered the tidal flats to search for Jin Hyuk’s parents.

“Water! The water’s coming in!”

“We have to get out!”

“What about Jin Hyuk’s family?”

“Oh no, this is madness—!”

Jo Il-hun didn’t see the golden circle behind him.

But two people clearly recognized Jin Hyuk’s fire play. At a glance, it looked like a golden ring eclipse.

“Oppa! Over there, over there!”

“Wow! We’re saved. Let’s go quickly. Our son’s arms must be tired.”

As Jin Hyuk’s parents safely escaped the water channel, Jo Il-hun also turned back to land. When they reached the shore following the light, the light was gone, and the moon hung in the sky. It was the moon that appears on the last day of the month, like in the old stories told by grandparents. This caused quite a stir.

“—That’s what happened!”

“Brother, drink less. If you keep talking nonsense, you’ll get scolded.”

Jo Il-hun confidently finished his explanation, but even Park Dae-sun, who had been with him at sea and was usually close, didn’t believe him.

“Damn it…”

Jo Il-hun was a heavy drinker. Naturally, before going to sea, he had filled his belly with a kettle of makgeolli. That’s why none of those who hadn’t gone to sea believed their story.

“Ugh, damn it, I’m going to explode. Why doesn’t anyone believe me—?”

“I’d rather believe Kim Il-sung! Hahaha!”

“Maybe it was just Jin Hyuk’s fire spinning that looked like that. At night, your eyes play tricks, and you might even see ghosts.”

“Is that so—?”

He quietly dropped the subject. If he kept talking, he’d be treated like a fool. The cold night’s work had made him rely on the alcohol’s warmth, and memories of the dark night were easily distorted.

But it’s human nature to hold onto regrets.

Drunk, Jo Il-hun clung to Son Kwang-yeon.

“Jin Hyuk’s family! You saw it too, right?”

“Ahaha! I was too tired and only saw the ground, brother. Jin Hyuk’s mom didn’t say anything special, did she?”

The moon on the last day of the month provided no witnesses, and Jo Il-hun’s tall tale ended as the ramblings of a drunk.

“Ugh, I must have seen things. Damn it, I need to quit drinking—.”

Swearing off alcohol, Jo Il-hun downed makgeolli one after another.

The interplay of darkness and light, ignorance and imagination, and the dramatic conclusion created a tale. Stories like this gain life, are passed down, and become legends.

Though he might have been hurt, Jo Il-hun felt secretly proud to have an interesting story to tell his grandchildren. After all, it’s a happy ending that kids would clap and cheer for.

Thus, the forty-five-year-old bachelor Jo Il-hun found solace.

***

After school, Jin Hyuk was overwhelmed with emotion seeing his parents in the yard.

‘I changed fate.’

His parents were alive and well.

Jin Hyuk’s vision blurred. How could he express this joy? Returning to the past had made him cry more, but tears of emotion were good, right?

He entered the house, avoiding Jang Gun-i, who was growling low on the ground.

“Jin Hyuk, let’s eat dinner.”

“Yes—!”

Clink clink—.

Slurp slurp—.

“It’s so delicious.”

“Haha. Eat a lot, our son.”

The boiled octopus with dipping sauce and the soybean paste stew with crab were incredibly delicious. In his previous life, he had just eaten to fill his stomach, never thinking much about the taste, no matter how expensive the food was.

“Mom, is there more rice?”

Jin Hyuk stood up with his rice bowl.

“Give it here, I’ll get it for you.”

“I can do it.”

The boy who couldn’t even finish half a bowl of rice before.

Swoosh—.

The sound of the pot lid opening in the kitchen.

Mom’s face lit up with happiness seeing her son eat two bowls of rice.

“From today, I’ll sleep in the next room.”

“Why? You like sleeping with me.”

“The TV noise makes it hard to do homework.”

Strange. He rarely watches TV. The boy who loved watching the news with Dad and sleeping with Mom’s arm as a pillow now wants to sleep alone.

Mom tilted her head in confusion.

“Hehe—.”

The country bumpkin from Seoul laughed like a kind fool.

Seeing Son Kwang-yeon like that, Han Yu-young also blushed.

*

A rural house with only two rooms.

Dad’s books from his college days filled Jin Hyuk’s room. Classic novels, English originals, college textbooks, English newspapers, and even Japanese newspapers. There was no book missing in Jin Hyuk’s room. In the countryside, even graduating from middle school was considered halfway educated, and graduating from high school made you a learned person.

‘Dad even went to college.’

Since kids were only interested in snacks and games, it was natural he didn’t know about Dad’s background until now. ‘Korea University, Business Administration’—Dad’s diploma.

‘We’re alumni?’

To digest, he picked up a Japanese newspaper, read it, then muttered through an English newspaper, and even read the textbooks. If a nine-year-old could read so fluently, it would be more shocking than impressive. It was better to read quietly in his room.

Then he closed the book.

‘Sigh—, I already know all this. The soundproofing is terrible.’

He had decided to use separate rooms to give his still passionate parents some privacy. But the rural mud walls couldn’t fully protect that privacy.

Hehehe—.

That’s the sound Dad makes when he tickles Mom’s side.

Jin Hyuk swallowed dryly, recalling Lee Hae-won’s antics from a few days ago. Not stopping there, he also thought of Choi Mi-kyung from across the big field and Kim Eun-jung near the village hall. Come to think of it, there were many girls in the village, and in his class of thirty, twenty-three were girls.

But that was it, Jin Hyuk’s interest didn’t grow further. They were just kids, after all.

“Ugh—, let’s just sleep.”

Sleeping makes you grow.

Hehehe—.

Mom’s laughter came through the wall again.

‘Good times…’

The only consolation was that a child’s body falls asleep easily. Jin Hyuk wished time would pass quickly so he could grow up soon.

Covering himself with the blanket, Jin Hyuk quickly fell asleep.

On a moonless night, the shadows outside the window swayed peacefully.