A Taste to Spit Out - Chapter 9
I… I ran away. I felt footsteps behind me. Slowly getting up on my knees, I quickly grabbed my crutches and moved forward, despite the large shadow looming over me like a thundercloud snagging at my heels.
The chandelier made my eyes ache like death. Everything here was excessively white…
I was incredibly sensitive to light. I never wanted to live surrounded by so many works of art and sculptures.
Everything here, including the baby’s room at the end of the corridor, seemed like a joke.
I wanted to run away with all my might. Anywhere, to a place where only I could be.
I limped and shuffled… clunk… clunk… like a bicycle with a broken wheel
“Ha… just a little more.”
Where I went was my studio. After closing the door with a thud, I breathed heavily, inhaling roughly.
Loved?
No matter how I looked at it, something felt off. Even if my memories from the last two years had vanished, could my body really react this anxiously if he had truly been a loving partner?
Was there anyone who could tell me the truth? Everyone seemed to be on Kang Yeol-jin’s side or being deceived by him. Or, I wish I had a diary or something I had written…
But I usually tried not to leave anything behind that could get me caught at any moment.
At that moment, something flashed through my mind.
When I lifted my head, the studio that met my eyes looked just like the one in my memories. If that’s the case…
Yes, I need to find it.
…That which holds everything about me.
I struggled to move my slightly uncomfortable leg and began rummaging through the inside of the canvas that filled one wall.
…Had Kang Yeol-jin figured it out, or had I hidden it somewhere else?
Just as my anxious thoughts began to take over, my fingertips brushed against something.
When I grasped it tightly and pulled it out, what came with it was nothing other than my phone.
It was still here.
Once, it held everything about me… my phone.
I needed to find the charger.
Turning my head quickly, I spotted a charger lying in the corner. I grabbed it and plugged it into the outlet, then connected the other end to my phone.
“……”
In the dim studio, I anxiously bit my thumb. This phone was the only thing in the world that I knew about.
Could the last two years of my life be stored in here?
Finally, with a ding, the power came on brightly. The brightness was blinding, making my vision go white.
‘No one will come, right?’
I swallowed hard. I focused all my senses on the sound coming from beyond the door.
Fortunately, I couldn’t even hear the sound of ants passing outside.
I carefully moved my thumb and pressed down on the keypad. The first thing that appeared was the message inbox. Messages that had piled up caught my eye.
[Hee-jae]
[Did you see the snow outside?]
[It’s so beautiful, haha. It’s the first snowfall of the year. I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it.]
It felt like a heavy weight had settled on my chest, as if an eternity had crashed down upon me.
My only friend, who had allowed me to breathe while living in hell.
These messages were from Sun-woo.
When I was trapped by my father, unable to move like a butterfly pinned down, he was my savior I met while escaping in the back alley, tearing away the thin wings.
This was the phone I had secretly bought for 50,000 won from a secondhand market, wanting to stay in touch with you. I remembered the days I hid under my blanket, tightly clutching this small phone and sending you texts.
Did you ever realize how much comfort your presence brought me?
The snowflake pictures you sent for me, hiding in that dank shelter. I had lived not knowing how beautiful it was when the whole town was covered in white, but thanks to you, I now understand.
This small screen was a world that only I could unlock. Here, I could reveal everything—my joys, my sorrows, my gratitude—my raw emotions were all contained within it.
I fiddled with my own space for a long time, a place that no one else knew about.
I wondered if there was anything left here. I opened the album to see if there were any photos stored within.
Images that I didn’t remember began to appear one after another.
They were taken only eight months ago, in front of a large tree. I was holding a book in my hand, smiling faintly at whoever was taking the picture.
Who could it be?
