I opened my eyes!
It was a refreshing morning. As if by habit, I walked out of the department store lobby. May 4 had begun!
Peaceful weather, a peaceful day, a rabbit doll in my hand, and a silver coin tucked against me, though it had already faded so much in color that it looked almost black.
But no problem. May 4 was a good day. I was happy.
It would be a good day even if I greeted it hundreds, thousands of times.
Of course, that would never happen.
“Mr. Kim Soleum!”
“Hello.”
For some reason, the client I was entertaining felt familiar. As if I entertained him every day? Hahaha. We now went to the high school his daughter attended.
“My kid goes there.”
“Ah, is that your child’s school right there?”
Very good! May 4 is a good day.
After that, the ‘Counselor T.’ who came running out of the high school headed for the subway station.
For some reason, the counselor felt pleasant and familiar to my eyes. As if we had originally known each other? Hahaha. But now the back view felt more familiar. As if I had looked only at that back for a very, very long time.
I saw that person off… no, I saw off the client getting into a taxi to go home.
The counselor teacher went down into the subway station.
“Have a safe trip!”
And then, holding my Americano, I lifted my head. On this fine May 4, I looked at those walking along the sidewalks of Segwang Special City. I slowly observed the everyday lives of the people I passed….
My fingers prickled.
It had been tingling like static for a while now, but it was bearable.
It was fainter than I expected.
I had the feeling that the pain jumping from the coin ought to hurt more…