76 EP. 17: To Korea.. (4)

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It was not far from Noorie's house to where I lived. Fifteen minutes on foot?

In fact, Noorie was a friend I didn't know at this time. The first time I met him was in the second grade of the National School, so I had to meet him at least two more years from now.

I can't believe I met Nuri when I was seven. I smiled unknowingly because of the strange relationship that Time Slip brought me.

It would be soon after the road crossed, but I was not relieved that even though the gatherings of university students were scattered at a fixed time and place and started gathering again. Even in the afternoon, the streets in the neighborhood were quiet.

How long have you been walking like that? The stationery and supermarkets on the street began to look familiar. Almost there. Just around the corner in front of you.

As I approached the house where I lived, my heart started beating rapidly.

“Joon-Hyuk? My hand...”

“Oh, sorry...”

I think Yuki's hand is too tight. I pulled out a handkerchief that was sweating to the palm of my hand.

“You okay?"

“Almost there. Just around the corner ahead. ”

“That's where Joon-Hyuk used to live. Let's go! ”

“W-wait a minute.”

I'm not ready for this!

After being dragged into Yuki's hands and turning around the corner, a blue gate appeared in the gray alley.

“Here? It's a big house. ”

“This is the owner's house... three years old, to be exact. To get into our house, we had to go through the little door in the back.”

Turning back, you hear children singing in the alley.

In the fog! Is it the wind?

Black Star, Black Star, Black Star!

Here it comes. Caught, captured, and gone!

The Shadow Chase

Good detective, good detective, babek.

Justice wins. Cheer up, Barbeque!

Looking at the clock, 5: 00 p.m.

Gather around soon. Is it dream time? Reminding me of a vague memory of the songs the children sang, I took a step further and headed to a small iron gate installed on a gray fence.

This is our home. When I opened the door, I had a kitchen, and when I opened the door, I had a cramped compartment where I slept with my parents.

“Who's still alive? ”

A faint glow seemingly seemingly leaks out over the glass installed on the iron porch. The question is, are they my parents?

That's when I heard the voice of longing in the kitchen.

“Joon-Hyuk is finishing his meal, but he's not coming back... I told him to come back before sunset...”

This was definitely my mother's voice. At that moment, I remembered the contents of the last call with Mother.

- My son, have a good trip.

My eyes became hot with Mother's voice for a long time.

I stood still at the door for a moment and looked at Mother moving busily through the window.

I was getting the smell of miso stew from the revolving fan. My mother hurriedly opened the door and came out.

“Where the hell did he go again? Who are you?”

It was so sudden that Yuki became stiff.

“Oh, you've got the wrong house. I'm sorry."

I quickly greeted my mother. I grabbed Yuki's hand and went back out into the alley. Yuki said as she was surprised.

“Oh, my gosh. I didn't expect you to come out of nowhere. ”

“I see."

“Oh, Joon-Hyuk? Are you crying?”

“No, I'm not crying. ”

“You have red eyes. ”

“It's just the dust in my eyes. ”

“Do you want me to blow the whistle? ”

“It's okay.”

At that moment, I heard my mother's voice calling out to me from inside the alley. I guess I went somewhere to play when I was a child without listening to my mother.

“Jun-hyuk! Kang Jun-hyuk!”

I almost ran out at the sound of Mother's voice calling my name sadly. Yuki, who was next to me, said to me with a strange look.

“Hey, isn't that Joon-Hyuk you're calling? ”

“Maybe he has the same name as me.”

“Dongmyung? Wow! Amazing. How does a kid with the same name live in a house where he lived as a kid? ”

“I see. Haha.”

I smiled, pretending to be born, and I left behind the voice of my mother who was desperately looking for me.

Since I was a child, I didn't listen well to Mother's surprise at home.

When I was messing around with my friends, the year ended, and when I came home in a hurry, my mom was holding a broom for every piece of work...

Young Joon-Hyuk will be scolded by his mother again today...

However, I was glad to see my mother's face for a while like this.

But where was I playing at this time...? I paused and asked Yuki.

“I have a few stops to make. Are you okay?"

“Yes?”

In fact, I came to Korea for two reasons.

The first of them is to go to my home and see if my family lives there. And if you find me as a child, give me a portable gamble boy prepared in Japan.

The second appointment was to meet with someone else tomorrow afternoon.

“Yes, I'm fine. Joon-Hyuk will want to see the neighborhood after a long time. ”

Yuki nodded his head without hesitation this time.

There are many things you will want to see in Korea for the first time, but I was so grateful to her for following my schedule.

‘You'll find it in no time. There aren't many places I used to hang out at this time...’

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First, I found my mom's Tteokbokki house near Myeongsang University.

Tteokbokki is a popular place to sell Tteokbokki over generations to build nearby buildings for just 300 won.

Thanks to her generous heart, I was able to slap her full even with a little money.

But I couldn't find my younger self here.

Is that Popeye's stationery? ’

Next, I found a stationery near the Tteokbokki house.

It was not rich enough to buy toys as a child, but it was one of the places I often went to see new toys.

Was it in the third grade? There was a national minicar boom with TV animation 'Run Boomerang’.

I once looked at a sliding minica in front of a shelf for a few days because I wanted one from Tamiya at the time...

I thought maybe I'd be here when I was a kid.

“Not here either.”

I mean, if I hadn't come home already, I'd have been beaten to death by my mother. By this time, all my friends who were hanging out at the playground had split up, and I'd been to all the places I could go at this time. Where else could it be? Did you go to a friend's house?

At that time, a student who appeared to be a middle school student passing by my side had a conversation with a friend, and I was particularly stuck in my ear.

“Have you ever been a Twin Dragon? You were in the playroom, and it was really fun. ”

The playroom? ’

While there was some distance in the stationery, I thought of the entertainment room that my parents used to sneak into when I was young, and I touched my forehead with a long sigh. Then Yuki next to me asked me.

“What's the matter? ”

“I think I know where he is.”

“Yes? Him... who? ”

“It's nothing... let's go. ”

‘If you're really there, you'll be disappointed in me.’

After the sun had already fallen, an orange streetlight flashed on the dark alley, and I hurriedly crossed the side of the road and entered the basement of a shabby building.

“Where am I? ”

I said, "Well, is it a Korean gaming center? ”

“There's a game center in a basement like this? ”

... but it's never a clean environment like in Japan...

And you've been in the playroom since I was seven? No way. No matter how young you were, even if you were crazy about the game, you were seven years too young. I'm probably at home eating something my mother cooked for me right now...

As I opened the basement door, I felt the smell of smoky cigarettes squeezing through the door.

Wow... I didn't know that when I was a kid, but this is like an underground dungeon...

I looked inside the darkened playroom in the buzzing BGM.

Fortunately, there were only big juniors in the arcade, so no children were seen.

Of course it is. When I was only seven years old, I turned my head... to say something about the arcade.

I saw two little kids playing an action game called "The Woodpecker" in the corner of the arcade.

Is that... is that...?

As you tilt your head closer, two skinny little kids grab the lever and tap the button excitedly. Is that Yong-min from kindergarten? They're very good together...

Blue and red woodpeckers were beating the enemies hard with their fists, and the moment I saw them, a sigh burst out of my mouth.

“This is crazy. Here it is... you guys!! ”

I was buried in the sound of the BGM when I heard the child, and I was distracted from the screen to make sure I couldn't hear my voice. I looked at them for a moment, then I leaned in and said,

“Do you know what time it is? ”

“Ow!! Oh my god. What are you!? ”

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