Prey (Lee Seohan) - Chapter 65
It was a day when snow was falling heavily.
It was the fifth winter at Yujin Orphanage. Yujin Orphanage was an orphanage near the seaside.
Since entering at the age of six after my parents passed away, I had grown accustomed to the snowy scenery as I turned eleven. It was a town where quite a lot of snow fell, even in winter.
The children were delighted by the heavy snowfall, and in the front yard of the orphanage, several snowmen had already been noisily built by a crowd of kids who ran outside.
As I quietly watched the scene through the window, a voice came from behind.
“Suho, why aren’t you making a snowman with the other kids?”
When I turned my head to look, there was a young woman teacher who had been here for about four months. I stared at the teacher, who was smiling kindly.
‘I have never made a snowman here.’
Instead of saying that, I just smiled back.
“Just because.”
“Are you too old for that now?”
With a face treating me as if I was mature and entering adolescence, the teacher smiled.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Though I was still in elementary school, many mistook me for a high schooler, maybe because I was much taller than the other kids. Even so, I knew well that I still had to act childishly.
I learned here that being excessively quiet, overly cautious, or appearing too indifferent to life actually drew even more attention.
Though many children here matured earlier than others due to circumstances, I realized early on that I was different from kids my age.
Even though I was just being quiet, I was called for daily counseling sessions, and professional counselors came by.
Then I understood.
Act appropriately for your age.
Don’t stand out.
That was the easiest way to avoid unwanted attention.
“Right, Suho’s all grown up.”
The teacher nodded, as if pleased to join in my ‘grown-up’ act, and resumed vacuuming.
Come to think of it, the orphanage seemed quite busy.
I remembered they’d been cleaning thoroughly since morning.
‘Ah, someone must be coming again.’
After living here for a few years, I knew the signs.
When the sponsor chairman or some wealthy benefactor was due to visit, things would get busy like this. They usually brought journalists with them, so photos and videos would be taken too.
As expected, by around afternoon, several cars arrived in the orphanage yard, accompanied by journalists.
“They’re here!”
The kids, having heard that visitors would be coming today, pressed against the windows and began watching outside.
The people who got out of the car took something out of the trunk.
“Wow! There are gifts too!”
“They’re for us!”
Seeing the big gift boxes through the window, the kids excitedly ran outside.
I was silently watching them when a voice came from beside me.
“Another annual show. They’ll take photos with us as props, talk about how blessed they are to help poor kids, and then never show their faces again.”
I looked up to see a middle school boy staring out the window with an exasperated expression.
“……”
I looked out the window again. A few men and a young girl were getting out of a luxury car in the back. Two of them started walking toward the building.
The approaching man’s face seemed familiar.
Was he someone I’d seen on the news?
Politicians and big businessmen sometimes visited to offer support.
As I searched my memory, an odd tightness welled up in my chest.
Why is this tightness in my chest…
“!”
The memory… came back.
Seol Hee-nam. Uncle Hee-nam.
With that familiar name, the image of him standing beside my mother’s limp, lifeless body surfaced vividly.
‘A man… a man killed my mother.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘A man…’
‘Suho.’
“Ugh.”
I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands and ran out the back door.
As soon as I got outside, I retched, emptying my stomach, though there was nothing in it.
‘The child must be in shock from his father’s death. He kept saying the demon king killed his father…’
Ha… ha…
My whole body shook, and I couldn’t breathe.
‘Don’t worry, Suho. I’ll be here for you from now on.’
I pounded my chest with my fists and shook my head.
