I am back – Chapter 124

“Is it my story?”

“Yeah. Siyun has told me bits of your story now and then, but that doesn’t mean he shared everything about his childhood.”

“Really?”

As I questioned her, Arna nodded.

“Siyun kept hiding the fact that he was from this world… I mean, he was from another world until almost the end. If he started sharing detailed stories, he would eventually have to talk about his world, so it seems he held back as much as possible. Even though we know he’s from another world, he probably didn’t want to pull out all of his memories alone.”

It seems like the phrase “from another world” is pretty hard to grasp for someone living in a world where magic exists.

“Hmm…”

It’s a story about me and Siyun.

I could pull it out if I wanted to, but it would differ a lot from the stories Arna and Siyun have shared.

It’s not that there were no challenges or threats to life. While Siyun and Arna’s story could be framed under the broad theme of “fighting the Demon King,” my story with Siyun was not of that kind at all.

It was just fragmented memories and experiences we had while spending a long time together.

Each memory was precious, but they didn’t form a continuous grand tale.

But it seemed Arna didn’t mind that much.

“If you don’t want to share everything, it’s fine… No, if you don’t want to share at all, that’s okay too. I’m not in a position to say anything. Your story should be something you want to tell.”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that…”

Still, after hearing stories, it felt a bit wrong to just brush it aside without saying anything.

Slowly, I rummaged through my memories. What story would be best to share? I could think of loads of memories with Siyun, but telling all of them felt like it would just be a bunch of uninteresting tales.

Ah.

One important story came to mind.

“When we were kids, Siyun and I took a little walk and made a small donation.”

It was a cold winter day.

It wasn’t like we were headed somewhere special. It was just that my parents were fighting that day too. Mom still hadn’t come back, and sitting outside doing nothing seemed way too cold.

We had hardly any money. I remember we could barely afford two bags of snacks between us. Naturally, going anywhere warm was out of the question.

If we went to Siyun’s place, it would probably have been warmer than outside, but… the sounds of my parents arguing would surely reach us there.

I thought maybe walking a bit would warm us up.

“Shall we take a stroll?” I asked, and Siyun nodded.

I started holding Siyun’s hand and walking, but regretted it shortly after. The weather was unbelievably cold. Still, I didn’t want to go back home. I didn’t have an excuse or anywhere to go. Ideally, we could have gone into a convenience store nearby, but for some reason, that thought didn’t even come to mind—maybe it was just too cold, or maybe I just wasn’t thinking at all.

After walking for a while to bear the cold, a subway train came into view, and I impulsively hopped in. I figured it might be a bit better inside than walking against the cold wind.

It was still cold inside, but at least it was better than outside.

Siyun, holding my hand, sniffled. That’s when I realized I had been only thinking about myself.

I turned my head towards the sound and saw Siyun with his nose all red, looking up at me.

I felt embarrassed.

Siyun was three years younger than me but was waiting for Mom without any complaints, while I was the one who dragged him out into this freezing weather just because I didn’t want to hear fighting.

Siyun was already smiling like he was having fun, but I felt uneasy.

Should I suggest we head back home?

Somehow, I felt like if I did nothing and went back, I would end up feeling like a bad person.

Suddenly, I noticed Siyun’s ears were red, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

There was a small shop in the subway station. It was like a mini-mart, selling not just snacks and drinks but seasonal items at a discount.

As expected, there were earmuffs for winter there. They cost a thousand won.

After I bought one and put it on his ears, Siyun smiled.

Seeing him like that eased my heart a bit. It was as if I had found a purpose that didn’t exist before.

After laughing with Siyun, I thought about turning back and going outside the subway.

Then I suddenly heard a bell ringing.

A volunteer in a red coat stood by a red kettle, ringing a bell in a regular rhythm.

It was an impulsive move when I tossed a thousand won into that kettle.

It wasn’t that I had some reason for doing it… No, I wanted to seem cool in front of Siyun.

And it seemed like Siyun really saw me as a cool person.

“Why do you help people so much?”

Siyun asked that, putting me in a bit of a spot.

I’d shown off a good deed or two before him. Beyond just making donations, I’d helped push an old lady’s cart behind her or picked up things people dropped on the street.

I didn’t think it was because I was kind.

I just wanted to seem cool in front of Siyun. I wanted the little Siyun to think I was a wonderful person.

…Showing him that side of me made me feel like, even if just for a moment, I’d become a slightly better person.

That’s why I acted that way.

But in that moment, I couldn’t tell him all of that.

I felt my face heat up. The volunteer was happily watching us from the side, and then Siyun asked me that.

So, I blurted out a response.

“It’s this kind of world.”

A response that had no real reason behind it, just a vague excuse that slipped out.

“This kind of world, it’d be nice to help each other out…”

I couldn’t even explain my actions—no meaning or significance behind my excuse.

Yet, Siyun took my simple words to heart.

That day, Siyun also made a donation. He put all the money he had, five hundred won, into that red kettle. I thought that was a bit much, but surprisingly, Siyun didn’t regret it after that.

He lived his life right up until the moment he died, just like that day when he put five hundred won into the red kettle.

Unlike me, who had said those words.

“……”

Even after finishing the story, Arna remained silent for a while.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I just stared down at the glass of water on the table.

It was something I hadn’t even told Siyun, but why was I able to say it in front of Arna?

Maybe it was because she had shared her story with me so openly just a moment ago. So, it felt like it was okay for me to be honest like that too.

After talking about it, I felt a bit at ease. After all, it was something I couldn’t say to anyone else.

“I once asked Siyun.”

After a while of silence, Arna opened her mouth quietly, fiddling with the glass of water.

“I was curious about how Siyun could save someone in trouble, save a whole city, and keep saving the world. It seemed like he didn’t crave honor or anything, yet I asked him why he would go so far and what his answer was, do you want to know?”

I thought Arna might have been staring blankly at the glass.

“What did he say?”

In response to my question, Arna paused for a moment before answering softly.

“It’s this kind of world. It’d be nice to help each other out.”

……Right.

Siyun was that kind of person.

Even if he was having a hard time, he’d keep it to himself and without a second thought, help someone struggling in front of him.

He was a good person.

Unlike me—

“I’ve been wondering how someone could live with such thoughts, but now I understand.”

Arna cut off my thoughts and said that.

When I turned to look, I saw Arna smiling brightly at me.

“It was you. You were the one who said that.”

“Huh?”

“Your words saved our world.”

“…What?”

In that instant, I couldn’t grasp what she meant and asked back, but Arna didn’t bother explaining.

“Siyun was able to grow up so upright because you were by his side. Siyun learned from you and grew. And that’s how we ended up meeting. Truly… miraculous.”

“……”

I couldn’t say anything.

“Thank you.”

Arna said to me.

Once again, I couldn’t find any words to respond.