Prey - Chapter 67
The girl who saw that came over and quickly sat down right beside him. They sat there together, looking out at the snowy beach.
“Beautiful…….”
The girl said that several times. Her face was covered in dirt, yet she was so engrossed in admiration it was just like a child.
“…….”
While he sat there silently, just looking at the sea, the girl’s face suddenly appeared in his view.
“How old are you?”
Startled by her suddenly leaning in close, he frowned and pulled his head back.
“You?”
“Eight. And you?”
The girl asked, staring intently as if she couldn’t give up her curiosity. She had a face that was as pretty as a doll, even with dirt on it. After a moment of looking at her, he answered.
“Eleven.”
Hearing his answer, the girl asked again.
“What’s your name?”
“…….”
Without answering, he shifted his gaze. Once again, the girl didn’t back down.
“I’m Seol Suhyeon. What’s your name?”
He paused at the girl’s words.
“……Seol Suhyeon?”
“Yeah.”
Seol Hee-nam. Seol Suhyeon.
The last name Seol wasn’t that common. Could this child be…?
“Is your dad’s name…?”
“Suho!”
Just as he squinted his eyes and was about to ask, a voice calling his name came.
Startled, he turned around to see the orphanage driver, who seemed to have rushed up, catching his breath.
“So you were here, after all. We were looking for you.”
“For me?”
He stood up from the rock, brushing off his pants, and responded. The driver, approaching, chided him lightly.
“I told you not to come up to the mountain when it’s snowing. Why did you come again?”
“Sorry. I just felt stifled.”
Since the driver knew he often came here alone whenever sponsors visited or there was a loud celebration, he didn’t scold him too harshly.
The driver’s gaze then shifted to the girl.
“By the way, who’s this kid?”
“It looks like the guests who came earlier brought her along.”
“Oh, really? Then let’s go down together.”
The driver took the girl’s hand. As he followed the driver walking ahead, he asked,
“By the way, why were you looking for me?”
“Well, the sponsor today insists that we all have to be in the group photo. Ugh, it’s nice of them to donate, but why do they have to be so fixated on odd things?”
The driver shook his head, clearly displeased.
“…….”
I know. It’s because of me.
They must want to see me with their own eyes.
Without saying those words out loud, he quietly walked down the mountain.
The path down didn’t feel as tense as it had earlier.
They already had the information, so hiding was meaningless.
“Go on in.”
When they arrived at the orphanage yard, the driver grabbed a broom and started sweeping the snow that had accumulated.
As he was about to go inside, he heard the girl’s voice from behind.
“Suho?”
He paused and looked back. Meeting her round eyes, the girl asked.
The girl’s eyes sparkled.
“The man earlier called you that—so your name is Suho?”
“…….”
He looked at her calmly and shook his head.
“No, you heard wrong.”
“It’s not? Then what is it?”
“Joonoh. Seo Joonoh.”
“Oh, it was Joonoh?”
The girl smiled brightly, as if she had found what she wanted. After looking at her face for a moment, he went inside the building.
As soon as the teacher inside saw him, she beamed.
“Alright, everyone’s here. Let’s take the photo now.”
The teacher rearranged the kids who had been running around. He went to his usual spot at the far end of the back row. Being tall, it was his fixed place whenever they took group photos.
Standing alongside the middle schoolers, he noticed Seol Hee-nam observing the children closely. She seemed to be searching for who might be Lee Suho.
He looked at her indifferently, then shifted his gaze.
As if he remembered nothing.
As if he had no memory at all of who Seol Hee-nam was.
It seemed the act had worked, as his eyes glanced right past my face.
Over the past five years, I had grown much taller, and my face had changed from when I was six, so even Seol Hee-nam couldn’t recognize me.
Since he came as a sponsor, he couldn’t just openly ask the teachers who Lee Suho was, as they would find it strange that he already knew the name.
Failing to figure out who it was, Seol Hee-nam’s eyes flitted restlessly among the children lined up.
Seeing his face like that, my lips twisted subtly without showing it.
‘As I thought, he’s here to see if I remember him.’
