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n

n.

n"Mama!"

n"Jooin!"

nI shouted after him while feeling so great to see him again.

nAfter embracing each other, he smiled like a little boy as usual, but suddenly grimaced as he released himself from my arms.

n"Phew, I managed to get out of there when it got dark dancing."

n"Oh."

n"Mama, today was really a long day…"

nTalking with a voice mixed with a sigh, he stared at me like a puppy that was in need of comfort, so I giggled and patted his head, saying, "Good Job."

nThen I asked him, ‘How did you find me in this darkness?’ which made him reply with a bright smile, "Mama, you look so pretty today that it was easy to find you!"

n"Oh…"

nI stiffened for a second then revealed a quiet smile. Jooin then craned his head out of wonder.

n"Why, mama?" he asked.

n"Just now, I felt like a widowed mother who was taking her son to her second marriage…"

nAfter my response, Jooin burst into giggles. I followed laughing and continued my words in embarrassment.

n"I guess today is the day for me to hear that I’m pretty."

n"Huh?"

n"Everybody praised me, so…"

n"Do you feel pressured of that?"

n"…?"

n"Did you feel like they were teasing you?"

nOh… flickering my eyes in surprise, I smiled aimlessly.

nOnly Jooin put that out which no one had asked me so far; from this aspect, I got to realize how long he has been heartbroken while living with the scars. His deep insight couldn’t be achieved without having those pains in life.

nHis considerate eyes that were able to look into other’s scars so carefully…

nOur eyes met under the swaying lights. As if he was waiting for my response, his pair of amber eyes, which was sparkling as brightly as an opened light, were fastened at me. Staring at those eyes for quite a while, I smiled and finally detached my lips.

n"At first."

n"A-ha."

n"When Eun Jiho said that, I thought he was being sarcastic."

nI uttered the sentence while hanging down my shoulders. Jooin didn’t smile but spoke with downcast eyes.

n"Mama."

n"Uh-huh."

nLooking up at me, Jooin enunciated each word carefully.

n"That wouldn’t be sarcasm."

nI hesitated for a moment after what he said but soon lifted my head.

n"Really?" I asked.

n"No, never."

nHe replied, still, with a convincing voice. I flaunted a smile.

n"Thanks, and Jooin."

n"Huh, mama?"

n"You are so sweet and kind today as always."

nWith that said, I pulled his hand to the right with a firm grip and thought, ‘I wish he understood the meaning of my words: Don’t take your stepmother’s remarks seriously; Erase what the woman said to you from your head.’

nHe might be aware of it since he was smart and clever.

nHolding his hand more tightly, I murmured to myself, ‘If you guys are telling me that I look pretty today in order to cheer me up and to further remove the fear inside me in a calm and orderly way, I wish it also happens to you, Jooin.’

nIf I could tell him every day how sweet and kind he was so that he could get rid of all those awful comments his stepmother had left… I truly wished for it to happen.

nWhile I dropped my gaze at the floor and had those thoughts in mind, Jooin’s amber eyes were slightly curved down.

n"Mama, don’t do that. I’m afraid you’ll call me a liar one day."

nI flinched my fingertips.

n‘Did I say something wrong? Or did I happen to ruin his best moment?’

nI was also afraid if I have hurt his feelings again.

nThe music was about to end. Once we turn around one more time in the opposite direction, we would be splitting up.

nThat was when I just pouted my lips in hesitance. Jooin continued his words with a grin.

n"That really freaks me out, but I like it anyway because I know it’s from the bottom of your heart."

n"…"

n"So, please keep telling me like that. Will you, mama?"

nJooin then, lastly, whispered to me, who was at a loss of words, in a seemingly cheerful voice, ‘See you later,’ Releasing my hand, he soon got far away.

nStaring at his blond hair slowly receding into the dark, I burst into laughter which almost sounded like a cry.

nThe next was Eun Hyung who grabbed me to take a turn. Holding out his hand, he asked, ‘Would you like to dance?’ like a gentleman in the medieval times. His eyes then grew bigger looking at my face.

nQuickly turning stiff, he asked me if something had happened, so I just shook my head sideways and said with a smile, ‘Nothing, just…’

n"Is this how parents feel?"

n"Donnie, you aren’t feeling well, are you?"

nEun Hyung asked me too seriously that I slightly giggled afterward. He then added a few more words with a sad face, which made me no longer hold laughing.

n"Well, you were stuck between Jiho and Jung In until we arrived, so even a normal person would feel under the weather…"

nAs he finished his sentence, saying, ‘Tell me if you’re feeling worse,’ I laughed out loud while leaning on his arm. When I lifted my head to look up at him again, Eun Hyung was showing a smile on his face; thus, only then did I realize he was just joking around.

nLooking at his gleaming green eyes, I thought, ‘He’s surprisingly good at jokes than he looks.’

nEun Hyung and I took a few spins while dancing around the hall. We chatted along with our moves and, finally, finished the round.

nWhen it was time to switch partners, Eun Hyung let go of his hold, and I was standing alone while laughing like crazy after his story of ‘Ban Yeo Ryung’s coffee of love.’ Then, all of a sudden, the Kim twins grabbed my hand from each side this time.

nBlinking swiftly in surprise, I laughed again, thinking, ‘Isn’t dancing with three people too weird?!’

n"Is it okay for three of us to dance here?"

nWhile I asked with a giggle, Kim Hye Hill was the first to respond. She was, as always, looking so nonchalant that it made me laugh even more.

n"We’re twins, so consider it as one person."

n"Yeah, true."

nBoth of them then furrowed and spoke at the same time.

n"Now that I think about it, it’s awful to be the same person with him."

nThey continued to have a silly quarrel about shifting the blame on each other. Instead of a waltz, we, eventually, danced something unaccountable which looked close to the traditional Korean circle dance.

nPhew… As I finished dancing as a trio with the Kim twins, I stood next to a desolate pillar and hand-fanned my face.

n"Kim twins, I wondered why you guys were so full of strength…"

nThey didn’t seem to join the dance party in the first place. Standing at the corner, the two were just watching us until now, then when I became alone, they quickly came over and snatched my arms to dance only with me. That was what the twins told me. I finally realized why then spun me as if swiveling a chair.

nWhen I pleaded how dizzy I was, it looked as though a lightbulb went on in their heads. The two then left me while saying that they should go dance with Yoon Jung In.

n‘Phew, they are quite ‘my pace’ people,’ I thought.

nHand-fanning my neck for a while, I suddenly cast my glance at a distance then burst out laughing. Having Yoon Jung In at the center, the Kim twins were turning him round and round as if doing a spin-dry.

nThe people surrounding them stared at the three like watching a samulnori performance. It actually looked quite the same. The twins twirled Yoon Jung In while holding each of his arms. Yoon Jung In, in the middle, looked like a person who was riding a roller coaster for ten times in a row.

nTapping my knees, I kept laughing, ‘Haha, bahahaha! That’s so funny! What are they doing!!"

nI took out my phone from the clutch to take a video of the sight; however, it was too dark to catch them dancing, so I just put my phone back.

nAt last, I felt that I need to take a break for a while.

n‘Oh, this place is…’ with that thought, I looked up the stairs. There were rooms set aside for people to rest in a chairless place. I glanced at the hallway upstairs that led to the rooms. A number of staff were standing there to secure the entry.

nDirecting my eyes on that space, I thought about Yi Ruda.

nDid she go up there and come down again? Or…

nI tilted my head to the side.

nOr maybe I saw a completely different person. Yi Ruda might be just waiting at home to meet me later, right? Still, I wasn’t sure.

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