I am back – Chapter 70

The chilly weather was gradually fading away.

Of course, it was still too cold to call it spring. But at least, it wasn’t snowing anymore. The sporadic patches of snow were now melting away, and there were occasional light rains.

The sky was almost always a bright blue.

It was a bit dry, but still not a bad day to take a stroll outside.

So, it was a pretty good day.

At the very least, it was a good day to celebrate something joyful.

If I had to pick the time when a person could feel the most relaxed in life, I would point to the period right after the college entrance exam and just before entering university. Of course, while there were many classes in the first year, there was still a tendency to relax a bit since there was some lingering fatigue from all the studying the previous year. The classes taken in the first year felt like an extension of high school lessons.

But still, the only time when you could truly be free from ‘studying’ was just then. Everyone else also struggled during the exam period, and even if there were remaining tests at school, there was almost no chance that the grades would matter.

University lectures don’t have a prescribed curriculum set by the country like high school classes, and the times and timings for taking classes can vary for each person, making it ambiguous to study in advance. People nod along if you mention pre-studying for high school classes, but if you say you’re pre-studying for university lectures, they’d typically tilt their heads in confusion.

So, well.

No matter how much Siyun tried to hide their excitement, it was only natural.

Additionally, graduating high school meant that they had truly stepped into the adult realm.

Having passed the phase where others treated them as a child, it now meant they were of an age where they could do everything that other adults do.

Of course, becoming a real adult still felt far away… even I felt that way.

At least, today would probably be the last time I’d see Siyun in their school uniform.

A white shirt, a somewhat dull gray blazer, a gray vest, and a slightly darker wine-colored tie.

It wasn’t very bright or pretty, but it suited Siyun well enough. They looked just like a ‘student.’

I wondered if I looked like that when I saw them?

Of course, it’s impossible to compare my perspective and Siyun’s perspective equally. After all, seeing a graduating student as someone who has graduated is completely different from seeing a graduating student as someone who is about to graduate themselves.

But still, didn’t Siyun have those thoughts too?

That this would be the last time to see their older sister in a school uniform.

There was no rule stating they couldn’t wear it anymore. But that wouldn’t mean returning to their school days. It would probably just be for fun, trying it on once or something.

The times when I was a high school student, and the times when Siyun was a high school student would never come back.

But thankfully, we were able to share all those times together.

That’s why, maybe it was slightly less regretful to spend this time.

The monotonous and lengthy speech from the principal finally came to an end.

The students stood up to sing the graduation song and soon started bustling out of the hall.

“Older Sister! Mom!”

Siyun ran over to me, smiling.

I handed the bouquet of flowers I had in my hand over to Siyun.

The child who was once smaller than me had now grown to a size where I had to look up at them. Was Siyun aware of this? Maybe they began to surpass me in height right after graduating elementary school.

But that face looking down at me still seemed so youthful. It was hard to believe this child was now an adult just like me.

Yeah.

An adult, just like me.

So… I was planning to finally say the words I had been putting off.

That was the day I made that resolve.

“Congratulations on your graduation.”

Siyun’s mom was the first to offer their congratulations.

Siyun nodded, shifting their gaze to me.

I opened my mouth for a moment, then said,

“Now you’re a college student just like me.”

I thought it wasn’t the right time yet. There was still a schedule left, and Siyun’s mom was also beside us.

If possible, it might be better to wait a little longer until it was just the two of us. No, more than that, saying it now felt a bit too abrupt.

Siyun’s mom looked at me and smiled. Yoori probably joked that Siyun’s mom might see us as a pair of would-be spouses… but maybe it wasn’t quite to that extent. At least she would see us as siblings.

“Yeah.”

Siyun nodded with a big smile, looking genuinely happy.

“Then now…”

“We should head to the classroom. We need to say goodbye to the homeroom teacher one last time… and after that, it’s really over.”

Siyun’s mom said, and Siyun replied. A smile remained plastered on their face.

“……”

As if proud of Siyun, Siyun’s mom gently stroked their face a few times.

*

It’s been a while since I visited this school.

Though it was co-educational, the classes were divided, so I had never been in this corridor. The teachers were quite strict, so I tended to avoid walking the boys’ corridors. To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing. Whenever someone from the opposite sex happened to be in the corridor, all eyes would turn towards them.

Well, even so, the kids who would become friends found their own ways to make friends, and those who would date managed to find partners on their own. I was shocked to discover that one of my classmates was already dating someone without me knowing.

Even though the locations of the corridors were different, I felt like we were basically sharing the same building divided into half. I thought things were somewhat similar aside from the location of the stairs.

The corridor was filled with families following the graduating students. Everyone was looking in towards the classroom. They would wave if their eyes met with one of the students.

“Thank you for everything!”

The students stood one last time and shouted. The homeroom teacher responded with a smile.

The classroom door opened, and the families waiting outside poured in.

Siyun was saying goodbye to friends nearby.

I couldn’t quite recall what conversations were exchanged at that time.

In fact, my memory from before and after that felt hazy. I think we took some pictures. There’s probably a promise that Siyun and their friends would send them to me later…

And then we stepped out of the classroom.

As we descended the stairs, we talked about what we would eat today. We decided on a Chinese restaurant. We discussed how soon it would arrive if we ordered as soon as we got home.

Siyun looked up at the school with a somewhat nostalgic expression—

And then—

Before we knew it, we had made it down the hill where the school was located and were heading towards the crosswalk.

At that moment, **Bang**, a loud sound erupted from ahead. I think I flinched a bit.

I remember Siyun’s mom screaming. Her gaze was fixed forward. Seeing her cover her mouth, I turned my gaze in that direction too.

In front of us, a small girl stood frozen in shock.

She was startled, her body stiff.

The traffic light was still green.

A truck was coming from afar.

Quickly.

Did the brakes fail? Looking back now, that might not have been the case. The truck had definitely come to a complete stop.

Later, I would hear that it was too heavily loaded, and it had failed to stop while coming down the hill next to the traffic light.

I think the driver had also dozed off for a moment.

But I can’t recall it well.

What I do remember clearly is—

—In that split second, I thought I had to run forward. If I pushed that child out of the way, there would be enough distance for them to survive.

But me?

Because of that thought, I hesitated. I was scared. I instinctively felt that there was no way I could survive being hit by that huge truck.

In that brief moment.

Even in that split second of hesitation—

…there was someone who didn’t hesitate for a moment.

A bouquet of flowers flew through the air. The sight of the petals falling from the flowers felt surreal.

I think I screamed as well.

I ran a bit later.

The distance wasn’t long.

I reached Siyun just a moment later.

In that instant, everything ended.

I knelt on the cold ground.

Siyun was lying beside me.

With trembling hands, I hurriedly wrapped my arms around Siyun. I somehow placed their upper body on my knees.

The white clothes that had just been put on turned red.

Siyun’s eyes rolled back, looking not at me but blankly up at the sky.

They had such a youthful face.

Everything I could see was red. My hands, my clothes.

I heard a beep, like something big had sounded.

Something fell from Siyun’s body. I think I hurriedly picked it up with my hand. It was still warm.

But that wouldn’t bring Siyun back to how they were before.

The clothes were getting wetter, a pungent smell filled the air, and my body trembled…

In the distance, I could see Siyun’s mom sitting on the ground. It must be so cold for her.

I opened my mouth.

“Help me!”

And I shouted loudly.

“Help me!”

Over and over.

“Help me!”

Again and again.

Like a broken record.

I think I kept shouting like that until the ambulance arrived.