Water Containing The Moon

Eunhan opened his mouth wide without knowing it. It was like watching a scene from a movie as the man moved his body so nimbly to avoid the beggars’ attacks. Even the sun was shining down on him.

Perhaps he had eyes in the back, as he kept his eyes on Eunhan and let the beggars come at him. With each swing of his sleeve, one beggar fell on the floor, and when he moved his legs, two or three beggars fell. Admiration burst out of the mouths of the onlookers who were in awe.

“Damn it, run!”

As if they were frightened as they continued to be beaten up by the man, the group of children screamed and ran away. Eunhan let out a low sigh and looked at the man in front of him. Those who tormented him so much were being treated so one-sidedly. It was so overwhelming.

—Ah…

Eunhan couldn’t take his gaze off him. The man, who had a cold expression on his face the whole time he was dealing with the beggars, suddenly made eye contact and smiled. The cold appearance that exuded cool energy instantly became as warm as spring.

Maybe it’s because they were looking at each other from afar. The man’s beautiful smile made his heart flutter. He was shining as if he had absorbed all the colors of the world. It was so enchanting that it was engraved in his eyes and heart.

“Sure enough, it’s you. You were here all along.” The man whispered.

Eunhan blinked his eyes stupidly at the voice that seemed to contain some joy.

***

Eunhan was an orphan who didn’t know who his parents were or what his real name was. All he knew was that he had been thrown into an orphanage at the dawn of a cold spring, wrapped in a large towel with the words ‘The Axis of a Church’.

“I thought someone threw the trash at our door.”

Strangely, the woman woke up early that day and went outside to go to the mineral spring in the back mountain, and accidentally found a towel. She said he wouldn’t have paid any attention to it if she hadn’t suddenly heard a faint whimper from the towel.

“You were lucky. If I had found you a little later, you would have died.”

And that was the only time Eunhan cried. Eunhan was gentle and quiet, and he did not cry like any other child. He was so docile that the caregivers often forgot to change his diaper.

Life in the orphanage was rather ordinary. No one abused children or did anything horribly wrong like the news stories. However, Eunhan always felt lonely because the children were treated in a businesslike manner. He didn’t feel like he belonged there.

It was the same in his school days. The children had a crush on Eunhan, who had a pretty face, but when it was revealed that he was an orphan, they made fun of him as if it was his fault. There were one or two people hanging out with him, but most of them did so because of the teacher’s orders. Basically, no one really wanted to get to know him.

The adults used Eunhan as a ‘teacher of misfortune’. In volunteer work, they pointed to Eunhan and told their children about how miserable it is to be an orphan, living without parents. They should be grateful to be living with mom and dad. That was the price Eunhan paid for their cheap sympathy. No one paid attention to Eunhan’s sadness as he looked at the back of those families as they returned to their cars while holding hands with their parents.

By the time he reached middle school, Eunhan’s world became narrower. The other children ran around after school in the PC room, cram school, and so on, but Eunhan had to return to the orphanage right away to help the nursery teachers. He didn’t have time for himself. The nursery didn’t see him as a child to be protected anymore, it was their argument that he had to do his part because he was this old.

Sadly, in Eunhan’s 23-year life, the only person who truly thought about him was the grandmother who lived next to the orphanage. She lost contact with her grown children and lived by picking up waste papers. By chance, Eunhan helped her push her cart, and they formed a relationship. The grandmother liked him very much, so she asked him to visit often or bought snacks for him with a few thousand won from selling her waste paper. She praised him for doing well if he did well on the exam, and she rejoiced as if it was her own happiness, and she sometimes forcibly poked the folded thousand won into his pocket, giving him pocket money.

Whenever that happened, Eunhan didn’t refuse. He used the money to buy soft bread or fruit that the grandmother liked and shared it with her. It was a happy time. It made him wonder what it would be like to have a family. To the extent that he earnestly prayed every night that this moment would last forever. Because no one else had ever given Eunhan such sincere warmth and kindness.

However, the relationship between the lonely old woman and the lonely boy did not last more than several months. The grandmother died.

The boy who wasn’t lonely became a lonely boy again. His body, which had been thrown from the light to the dark in an instant, was miserable. His heart had lost its warmth, he felt vain and sad. And, Eunhan, who had become an adult without time to grieve, had to leave the orphanage.

Society was not easy. Most of them tried to take advantage of Eunhan’s shyness. Some flirted with his pretty face, and some harassed him. Even if he tried to open their hearts, people did not show their sincerity to Eunhan. In a bleak society, everyone lived for themselves, and they were just strangers entangled in work. No one offered Eunhan a friendly hand like that grandmother, who would buy him soybean cake.

Therefore, Eunhan was embarrassed by the strange man who was talking as if he knew him. After coming here, the only person he greeted was an old woman from the noodle stall. ‘Who is this man? Did he mistake me for someone else? Is it possible that he is confused because I’m dirty and have a swollen face?’

Embarrassed, Eunhan tried to get away, but the man came first.

“I am too late… It must have hurt a lot.”

Eunhan flinched at his sigh. The man’s eyes, which had been mild a moment ago, were shining coolly as they passed through Eunhan’s wounds. Eunhan was very puzzled as the man looked angry wherever he looked. The person who was beaten stood still, and he felt it was kind of funny that a handsome man with a rare appearance whom he had only seen for the first time today, was angry on his behalf.

Even so, Eunhan felt flustered and opened his mouth, thinking that he should say thank you.

Thank y…

For a moment, he felt dizzy and his words were not clear. His stamina was low because he hadn’t eaten properly for several days. He was also beaten so hard that he couldn’t even walk now. His vision was gradually blurring, and he felt like he was going to collapse at any moment. Just then, the man said,

“Will you come with me?”

Eunhan hesitated. ‘You want me to go with you just because you saw me?’ The man was doing Eunhan a favor as if he knew that he had nowhere to go. Eunhan did not understand his continued kindness. What he had done so far was enough. He was still holding him, even.

‘What a weird guy.’ Still, he didn’t feel like pushing him and running away. Perhaps it’s because he’s the only one who came to his rescue when everyone was on the sidelines. Or perhaps it’s because he got angry about the violence that happened to him as if it was his own. Eunhan himself did not know.

As Eunhan hesitated, a look of nervousness lingered in the man’s eyes. He smiled brightly again and urged softly. It was a colorful smile that was like a flower in full bloom. Eunhan looked at him, lost in his mind.

“Come with me.”

The wind blew just in time. Eunhan frowned at the dust coming in, and the man raised his sleeve to cover his face. Due to the long hem of his robe, Eunhan could only see him through the shaded view. The man was waiting for his own answer.

As Eunhan stumbled in the dizziness that came over him, the man quickly supported his body firmly. For a moment, the faint scent of his body was caught, tickling the tip of Eunhan’s nose, and a cozy warmth touched his cheek. Eunhan, who was about to say thank you for helping him not to fall, frowned at the sudden growling.

‘… I feel like throwing up.’

He coughed dryly and swallowed the sour water that came up. He had been enduring it for a while, but suddenly his condition was rapidly deteriorating.

There was pain anywhere in the body, but his head that had hit the ground hurt the most. Eunhan became impatient and anxious at his flickering vision and grabbed the man’s forearm strongly. Red blood trickled down his lips.

“… han? Calm down.”

The man’s voice rang out loudly. Eunhan fell forward. It really hurt. It hurts now more than when he was beaten up before. ‘Why is this happening all of a sudden?’ Suddenly, fear came over.

In an instant, the wind blew past his collar. Through his shaking body, he realized that the man was holding him and running towards somewhere. A voice shouted, “General Wei,” could be heard sporadically in his exhausted ears.

Eunhan blinked his eyes a few times, then slowly closed his eyelids in the darkness that came in. He had to come to his senses, but his body was losing strength. ‘I don’t think I should sleep like this, but I keep getting sleepier.’ He wanted to say something to the man, but no sound came out of his weakly open mouth.

He could see the full moon, which had swelled up because of his blurry vision, floating faintly. Only the full moon was strangely clear. Why is that? Eunhan, feeling strange, reached out towards the moon, but obviously, he couldn’t reach it.

It was a fruitless effort.