#1. We Are All Orphans of the Future
It was a day of heavy rain. It had been a spring of sunny days, but that day, rain poured down as if a storm were raging. And fourteen-year-old Taeju lost his parents.
Some time passed, and Taeju returned to his old self, but the occasional sensitivity he showed was unfamiliar. I thought puberty and the death of his parents had made Taeju that way. How should I put it—Taeju seemed particularly wary of others, and when dealing with people, sharp thorns would emerge.
Even now, Taeju hadn't completely thrown away those thorns.
Whispers circulated that his skills, looks, and everything else were outstanding, but even God couldn't do anything about his personality. Nevertheless, Taeju possessed tremendous star power unlike any other athlete. But as his friend, Jaeyoung's small wish was that Taeju would have a bit more humility.
"Teacher Sim Jaeyoung?"
"Yes? Ah, yes."
"What were you thinking so deeply about that you couldn't hear me call you several times?"
They were memories she didn't want to recall, so Jaeyoung casually tilted her head to the left.
"It looks like it's going to rain. And it just so happens the Chairman has an umbrella in his hand."
Jaeyoung smiled slightly at the small pink umbrella held in Ihyeok's hand. It wasn't that she particularly assigned gender to colors, but somehow, a pink umbrella in Ihyeok's large hand felt out of place.
Ihyeok was said to be the founder's grandson who had taken office as Chairman this past February. Literally a man from an educational conglomerate family. Moreover, because he was young, many students and teachers took an interest in him. His model-like tall stature and handsome face probably played a part as well.
"I heard you'll be taking a break starting tomorrow."
"Yes."
Going far alone would be difficult, but she had planned to visit nearby Southeast Asia at least. But since Taeju had already sent her a ticket, she couldn't very well not go watch the match.
‘By the way, is he confident they'll make it to the finals? Our country's men's volleyball team in the Olympic finals.’
It had been said since long ago that Taeju's ultimate goal was an Olympic medal. But volleyball wasn't a one-man show, and there had been much mockery about how men's volleyball, relatively weak, could win a medal at the Olympics. Yet now Taeju had sent a finals ticket with an extremely confident voice, and it had been a hot topic in the media day after day.
"You don't have to be so guarded."
Ihyeok smiled pleasantly.
"Guarded?"
"You're putting up too much of a wall."
It seemed to mean that she had answered too briefly. She felt embarrassed without realizing it. Anyway, because she had been entangled with Taeju, who had been popular since childhood, she had often suffered losses. So when it came to popular people, regardless of gender, she kept her distance first.
"I'm not much of a talker by nature."
"Player Gye Taeju is my junior from university."
Taeju had entered Hankuk University. It was extremely unusual for an athlete to get into Hankuk University. It was a school only the top 1% could enter, and Jaeyoung knew well that he had worked himself to the bone probably because it was his parents' alma mater.
But even so, they probably weren't from the same department. Could it be they knew each other personally?
She was a very close childhood friend of Taeju, but she didn't particularly know Taeju's friends well. No, with that personality, he wouldn't have many friends to begin with. Taeju didn't give his affection to people easily anyway, nor did he try to know many people. He was the type to openly say that having many friends was tiring.
"Ah, I see."
"We're not from the same department; he's my junior from a joint club."
"So he joined a club too, huh?"
It was a story she was hearing for the first time. They had stuck together until high school, but since they didn't go to the same university, she didn't know about Taeju's college days. For one thing, Taeju wasn't talkative, nor was he the type to chatter and report on things that had happened.
"I heard he joined because his parents were from that club?"
"Ah, then he might have."
"You two are old friends, I hear?"
"Yes. Friends for a whopping twenty-three years."
Of course, Taeju said they were friends for twenty-eight years, but Jaeyoung would say it was a twenty-three-year friendship since she could remember.
Since they had been together since birth, they were indeed lifelong friends in the end. They had even taken their hundred-day and first birthday photos at the same studio. At least Jaeyoung had insisted she was the older sister because her birthday came earlier, but Taeju had scoffed at her each time. Of course, they had been apart for about ten years due to what happened to Taeju's parents, but they had continued to exchange letters, phone calls, and sometimes video messages to check in on each other.
"Then may I ask a favor after the Olympics?"
A favor?
What could Ihyeok possibly ask of her?
"I'd like to invite him to be a one-day coach for our school's volleyball team."
Jaeyoung hadn't yet given an answer about whether she would accept the request or not. But Ihyeok immediately got to the point.
"Since he's your junior, why don't you ask him directly?"
"We're not close enough for me to ask such a favor."
No way. If Taeju came here again, the students would go wild. Not only that, but the teachers who were Taeju's fans would be the same. Then the one who would end up exhausted was none other than Jaeyoung. Thinking of that ordeal, she decided that no matter how much Ihyeok asked her separately, she would have to ask Taeju never to come. Of course, even if she asked him not to come, Taeju would surely show up anyway.
"No, I'll talk to him."
It was better to take the initiative. She could say this in front of Ihyeok and then later say it wouldn't work out. Since she had said they weren't that close, Ihyeok probably wouldn't ask Taeju separately either.
"Then I'll ask you that favor."
Saying so, Ihyeok held the umbrella out to Jaeyoung.
"Take it with you."
"Pardon?"
"You walk to work, don't you, Teacher Sim."
Ihyeok smiled brightly. Jaeyoung thought her gut feeling was probably bad.
*
"You look like you're in a good mood for the first time in a while?"
Suwon smiled and threw a wet towel at Taeju's face, who had just hung up the phone.
"You punk, but still, how could you do the interview like that?"
Taeju tossed the wet towel aside and rose from his chair. Suwon, the libero, was a friend and like a brother who had been with him since they first started playing volleyball. Because of Taeju's prickly personality, Suwon had suffered greatly among the seniors and juniors, working himself to the bone.
"Can you play in the finals?"
Taeju glanced at Suwon's ankle, which was wrapped in a bandage. It was the first time they were stepping onto the Olympic stage together. During the last training session, whether intentional or not by a senior, Suwon had slightly twisted his leg and was currently unable to play in the games.
"I'll have to try my best."
"Be thankful your girlfriend is an oriental medicine doctor."
"Besides, Noona Sangmi is arriving today. What am I going to do since I'm letting you have the hotel room to yourself from today?"
The association provided accommodations, but when family or lovers visited, many would book different hotels. The two of them had also booked a separate hotel in a quiet area. Suwon lightly shook his bandaged leg and then put on his sneakers.
"Let's eat together after the finals. You said Jaeyoung is coming too, right?"
"Would she dare not come?"
Suwon smiled, setting up his suitcase at Taeju's words. He had met Suwon in the fourth grade of elementary school. Suwon, who had transferred schools, had told Taeju that he was tall and suggested they play a sport together, and that sport had turned out to be volleyball.
Until their first year of high school, Suwon had been much taller, and at the time, Suwon was the attacker while Taeju was the defender. But that changed drastically starting the winter break of their first year. Taeju began to grow frighteningly. Thus, Taeju became a monster capable of both offense and defense. Suwon, who had stopped growing in his first year of high school, laughed and said that defense actually suited him better.
He knew better than anyone that Suwon loved volleyball. And that he had constantly been compared to Taeju. But Suwon sincerely loved Taeju's volleyball and cheered him on. Taeju, too, was the only person Suwon trusted and relied on so much.
"Jaeyoung doesn't have anyone she's dating right now, does she? It's all because she likes you, I'm telling you."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Why don't you stop torturing yourself and just confess?"
Suwon said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"It's not like that!"
"Sure it isn't. Then when are you going to use this precious thing?"
Suwon lowered the towel draped over his shoulder, tapped between Taeju's legs as he passed by.
"Hey, Nam Suwon."
"I'm leaving. Anyway, you bastard who can't even confess when it doesn't suit you."
Suwon teased him until the very end, closing the door behind him.
"You insensitive bastard. Always jumping to conclusions."
Anyway, Suwon was good at jumping to conclusions. There were times when even Taeju thought Jaeyoung might have different feelings. But that was only because their friendship was deep; in the end, Jaeyoung didn't see Taeju as anything more than a friend.
He lay down on the bed just as he was and turned his head. Outside the window, the city was bright with night scenery. And the Olympics were a festival. That night view would continue even after the Olympics ended. Just then, a tapping sound against the window was heard.
Thick raindrops began to soak the city in an instant. The sky, which had been ashen since this morning, had apparently brought rain clouds after all.
I hate rain.
The moment he closed his eyes, he thought he might have fallen asleep briefly. Taeju opened his eyes at the vibration ringing in his hand, checked the caller, and chuckled.
"I told you I don't take the words 'I'm not coming.'"
[You just send the ticket carelessly? What about the hotel?]
"I reserved the room next door."
[Anyway, there's no privacy between us, none at all. You came into my room and rummaged through my passport again, didn't you?]
"Are you stupid? It's all saved on my phone."
Sometimes, it was convenient to have a relationship with no secrets. Of course, it seemed Jaeyoung didn't like that fact very much.
[Am I really just going with my body?]
"That's why I've prepared everything."
[But what if you don't make it to the finals? What will you do with this ticket?]
"Anyway, you and your jinxing."
[Hmph, well, of course, the volleyball genius Gye Taeju will make it, right?]
"What do you want?"
Jaeyoung wasn't someone who called without a particular reason. She would usually just leave a brief message. That was something Taeju, her very old friend, knew best.
[It's raining. You're scared of rain, aren't you?]
Taeju smiled so that she wouldn't hear.
"You idiot."
[What?]
"I'm not in Korea, you know?"
[No, it's raining so much here. It's not even monsoon season… And I just…….]
Perhaps at a loss for words, Jaeyoung dragged out her sentence.
"Sim Jaeyoung."
There was no sound from beyond the phone. The call hadn't disconnected.
"It's raining here too. A lot."
The sound of rain tapping against the window gradually grew fiercer. On days like this, he needed Jaeyoung's hand. But Jaeyoung wasn't here. He felt he would have to close all the curtains, put in earphones, and try to sleep.
[You have training tomorrow too, right?]
"From dawn."
[Your condition won't be good.]
"Tell me about it. On days like this, Sim Jaeyoung should be by my side playing the role of a teddy bear."
His parents had passed away on a rainy day. Taeju, who had just entered puberty, and Yeju, who still needed much care, lost their parents to a drunk driver.
Taeju thought his parents' death was all his fault. Yeju, who had a slight fever, had been fussy that day, and Taeju found it annoying. So he had snapped at his parents, who said they would come tomorrow because it was raining heavily, telling them to hurry up and come. That became his last conversation with his parents.
It rained throughout the three days of the funeral, and Taeju sat as the chief mourner without a word. His father, a world-class pianist, had been returning for a homeland concert after a long time, and his mother, a painter, had just sent her final piece to the gallery.
His father's albums and mother's works were sure to sell like hotcakes, and Taeju, still a minor, watched the relatives who coveted the inheritance like a bystander watching fighting dogs.
An unexpected sponsor appeared in Lawyer Park, Jaeyoung's mother. Taeju's father, who traveled frequently by nature, had supposedly even had it notarized when Lawyer Park jokingly suggested writing a will. And Lawyer Park became the sponsor and administrator for Taeju and Yeju until they became adults.
Lawyer Park had probably suffered for a long time at the hands of Taeju's relatives who bit and tore like fighting dogs. But Lawyer Park never once showed it. Jaeyoung's parents truly embraced Taeju and Yeju as if they were their own children.
When Taeju turned twenty, Lawyer Park handed over the documents. His parents' assets were much greater than Taeju had imagined. Jaeyoung's parents were, of course, like parents and benefactors to Taeju.
"Take half, Auntie."
Lawyer Park snorted at Taeju's words.
"Taeju, Auntie is much richer than you think."
Taeju was serious, and Lawyer Park was probably joking. He knew that Lawyer Park, a human rights lawyer, and Jaeyoung's father, a public official, didn't have that kind of money. Of course, Jaeyoung hadn't grown up poor, but she hadn't grown up with everything either. Taeju knew that well, and since it was so much money anyway, he truly wished Lawyer Park would take half.
"How you spend this money is up to you, but don't spend it recklessly. Because this is money your parents gave for you and Yeju."
Lawyer Park spoke kindly and stroked Taeju's head. At that moment, Taeju shed tears for the first time since losing his parents.
He had been pretending to be strong, but he wasn't. Since that day, he had hated rain, and he simply hadn't been able to accept that his parents were gone.
"It was an accident. So you don't need to feel guilty, Taeju. Okay? Auntie is always on your side."
If it hadn't been for Lawyer Park at that time, Taeju would have found it hard to keep going. Taeju, who couldn't let go of the tension, forgot the insomnia he had suffered from for a long time and fell into a very deep sleep for the first time that day.
The line that had been taut as if about to snap finally loosened just a little.
[Good night, Gye Taeju.]
How strange. Was it because she was Lawyer Park's daughter? Jaeyoung's voice also had a tone that made him feel much tenderness and relief. Taeju smiled and slowly closed his eyes.