Chapter 76: To Korea
Nuri's house wasn't too far from where I used to live. About a 15-minute walk, I'd say.
In fact, Nuri was a friend I didn't know during this time. I first met that guy in the second grade of elementary school, so at least another two years would pass before I could meet my younger self.
Meeting a seven-year-old Nuri as a grown-up was an inexplicable twist of fate, and it brought a smile to my face without me realizing it.
Although I would reach the main road soon, I couldn't feel at ease because college students' protests tend to disperse and then regroup at a predetermined time and place. Maybe that's why, even though it was afternoon, the neighborhood streets were quiet.
How long had I walked? The bookstore and the supermarket on the street began to look familiar. I was almost there. Just around that corner...
As I approached my former home, my heart started racing.
"Junhyuk? Your hand..."
"Oh, sorry..."
I must have been gripping Yuki's hand too tightly. Unusually, even my palm was sweating, so I pulled out a handkerchief.
"Are you okay?"
"We're almost there. Just around that corner."
"Is this where Junhyuk used to live? It looks really big."
"This is the landlord's house... more precisely, I lived in this house with two roommates. To enter our house, we had to go through the small back door."
I turned my head and heard children's voices in the alley.
In the fog~ Is it the wind~
Black star, black star, black star~
Appeared, captured, and disappeared again~
The chasing shadows are
Detective, detective, Babek~
Justice prevails. Be strong, Babek~
Looking at my watch, it was 5 PM. Was it almost time for the "Dream Hill" meeting? I vaguely remembered the song the children were singing and continued walking to the small metal gate set in the gray wall.
This is our house. When you opened the front door, there was the kitchen, and if you opened the sliding door, there was the tiny room where my parents and I slept.
"Who lives there now?"
Judging by the faint light coming through the glass on the metal front door, it seemed that someone was living there. My main concern was whether it was my parents inside...
Just then, a familiar voice came from inside the kitchen.
"Junhyuk, this little guy is almost done with his food, and he hasn't come in yet. I told him to come back before it gets dark."
It was definitely my mother's voice. At that moment, I remembered the last conversation I had with her.
"Our son... Have a good trip..."
Hearing my mother's voice after so long, my eyes welled up with tears.
I stood in front of the door, looking at my mother's busy figure through the window.
While the electric fan hummed in the background, the scent of soybean paste stew wafted through. My mother opened the door in a hurry, appearing outside.
"Junhyuk... this guy is about to finish his food, and he's not coming in again... I told him to come back before it gets dark..."
It was undoubtedly my mother's voice. In that moment, I recalled my childhood when I didn't listen to my mother and went to play somewhere.
"Junhyuk, Kang Junhyuk."
My mother's voice, calling my name with urgency, made me almost reply with a "Yes." But Yuki, who was standing beside me, said something strange.
"Huh? Is she calling you, Junhyuk?"
"Probably. It seems there's another kid with the same name."
"Namesake? Wow, that's interesting. How can a kid with the same name as you live in the same house you used to live in when you were a child?"
"Yeah... haha..."
I smiled casually and turned away from my mother's voice, which was searching for me desperately.
From a young age, I enjoyed playing outside, and I didn't always listen to my mother's calls to come home.
When you're playing with friends, time can slip away, and by the time you rush home, your mother might be waiting with a broom to give you a good scolding.
Young Junhyuk is in for another scolding today...
But even so, seeing my mother's face for a moment brought a sense of warmth to my heart.
But where did I play at this time? I stopped for a moment and asked Yuki.
"I want to check a few places along the way. Is that okay?"
"Yes?"
In fact, I had two reasons for coming to Korea.
The first was to visit my old home and check if my family still lived there. And if I happened to encounter my younger self, I would hand over the portable Game Boy I had prepared in Japan.
The second part of my plan was to meet someone tomorrow afternoon.
"Yes, I'm fine. Junhyuk, it must be nice to see your old neighborhood after a long time."
Yuki agreed without hesitation, and I felt grateful that she was accompanying me on this trip, where I had so much to see in Korea for the first time.
"We should be able to find it soon. There weren't many places I used to hang out in during that time..."
&
I first looked for a mom-and-pop rice cake shop near Myeongshin University.
This place, where you could get a generous serving of rice cake for a mere 300 won, was so popular that it eventually led to the construction of nearby buildings from the profits.
Thanks to the generous heart of the lady running the shop, you could have a satisfying meal with just a little money.
But I couldn't find my young self at this place.
"Could it be the stationery store?"
Next, I searched for the stationery store near the rice cake shop.
I wasn't well-off enough to buy toys like action figures back then, but it was one of the places I frequented to check out the new toys.
It was around the time when the TV animation "Run, Bumrang!" caused a mini-car craze across the country.
I remember staring at the Tamiya mini-cars in front of the display for days, wanting to have one...
Maybe, when I was a child, I thought I might be here, but...
"It's not here either."
If I still hadn't returned home, my mother would have given me a good scolding. What should I do? At this time, my friends from the playground would have already gone home, and I had visited all the places I could think of at this time. Where else could it be? Did I go to a friend's house again?
Then, a conversation between two middle school students passing by me caught my attention.
"Have you tried Twin Dragon? It's at Myeong Arcade, and it's really fun."
"Myeong... Arcade?"
While there was some distance from the stationery store, it reminded me of the game arcade I used to visit often without my parents' knowledge.
I must have been around the third grade of elementary school. There was a mini-car boom across the country, thanks to the TV animation "Run, Bumrang."
I sometimes stared at the mini-cars in front of the display for several days, wanting one...
Maybe when I was a child, I thought I might be here, but...
"Not here either."
If I hadn't returned home, my mother would have given me a good scolding, right? What should I do? At this time, my friends from the playground would have already gone home, and I had visited all the places I could think of at this time. Where else could it be? Did I go to a friend's house again?
Then, the conversation of two middle school students passing by me caught my attention.
"Have you tried Twin Dragon? It's at Myeong Arcade, and it's really fun."
"Myeong... Arcade?"
While there was some distance from the stationery store, it reminded me of the game arcade I used to visit often without my parents' knowledge.
I must have been around the third grade of elementary school. There was a mini-car boom across the country, thanks to the TV animation "Run, Bumrang."
I sometimes stared at the mini-cars in front of the display for several days, wanting one...
Maybe when I was a child, I thought I might be here, but...
"What's wrong?"
"Maybe that kid knows where it is..."
Yuki didn't understand what I was talking about.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain later. Let's go."
'If it really is there, I might be a bit disappointed...'
Since it was already dark, the orange streetlights were on in the dimly lit alley, and I quickly crossed the main road and entered the basement of a shabby building.
"Where is this?"
"Huh? Well... should I call it a Korean game center?"
"In a place like this, there's a game center?"
...Well, it's not as clean as in Japan...
But did I really go to the arcade when I was only 7 years old? No way. Even if I was obsessed with games from a young age, 7 is too young. By this time, my mother would be serving dinner at home...
I consoled myself internally and opened the basement door. As I did, the pungent smell of cigarettes wafted through the crack.
Wow... I didn't know when I was young, but this is like a real underground dungeon...
I looked around the dimly lit arcade, with the sound of game BGM in the background.
Luckily, there were only big middle school students inside the arcade, and I couldn't see any young kids.
Of course, that makes sense. A 7-year-old in an arcade? It doesn't make sense...
However, as I was turning my head away, the conversation of two middle school students caught my attention.
"Have you tried Twin Dragon? It's at Myeong Arcade, and it's really fun."
"Myeong... Arcade?"
While there was some distance from the stationery store, it reminded me of the game arcade I used to visit often without my parents' knowledge.
I must have been around the third grade of elementary school. There was a mini-car boom across the country, thanks to the TV animation "Run, Bumrang."
I sometimes stared at the mini-cars in front of the display for several days, wanting one...
"Is it really there?"
I asked Yuki, who was by my side.
"Yes?"
"Actually, I think that kid over there might know..."
"Huh? What do you mean by that kid... Who?"
"Never mind for now. Let's go."
'If it really is there, I might be a bit disappointed...'
As it was already getting late, the orange streetlights in the dimly lit alley had turned on. I quickly crossed the main road and entered the basement of a shabby building.
"Where is this?"
"Huh? Well... should I call it a Korean game center?"
"In a place like this, there's a game center?"
...Well, it's not as clean as in Japan...
But did I really go to the arcade when I was only 7 years old? No way. Even if I was obsessed with games from a young age, 7 is too young. By this time, my mother would be serving dinner at home...
I consoled myself internally and opened the basement door. As I did, the pungent smell of cigarettes wafted through.
Wow... I didn't know when I was young, but this is like a real underground dungeon...
I looked around the dimly lit arcade, with the sound of game BGM in the background.
Luckily, there were only big middle school students inside the arcade, and I couldn't see any young kids.
Of course, that makes sense. A 7-year-old in an arcade? It doesn't make sense...
However, as I was turning my head away, the conversation of two middle school students caught my attention.
"Have you tried Twin Dragon? It's at Myeong Arcade, and it's really fun."
"Myeong... Arcade?"
While there was some distance from the stationery store, it reminded me of the game arcade I used to visit often without my parents' knowledge.
I must have been around the third grade of elementary school. There was a mini-car boom across the country, thanks to the TV animation "Run, Bumrang."
I sometimes stared at the mini-cars in front of the display for several days, wanting one...
"Is it really there?"
I asked Yuki, who was by my side.
"Yes?"
"Actually, I think that kid over there might know..."
"Huh? What do you mean by that kid... Who?"
"Never mind for now. Let's go."
'If it really is there, I might be a bit disappointed...'
At this moment, the two children in the corner of the arcade who were enjoying the action game "Twin Dragon" caught my eye.
"Could it be...?"
As I approached, the two skinny kids were holding the joysticks and energetically pressing the buttons. One of them looked like my childhood friend Yongmin. The two of them seemed to be having a great time.
The blue and red characters from "Twin Dragon" were vigorously beating up the enemies with their fists. Seeing them, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"This is crazy. They're here. Hey, you guys!"
The kids were so engrossed in the game's background music that they didn't seem to hear me. I stood in front of them for a moment, then finally approached and spoke.
"Hey, how many coins do you have?"
"Whoa! You scared us, mister!"
The kids finally noticed me.
"Sorry, guys. How many coins do you have left?"
"Ugh! Just when we're in the middle of playing!"
"We only have one coin each!"
"Good. Then, the game is over."
I took out several coins from my pocket, put them in the game machine, and pressed the "Start" button. The game ended, and the kids seemed disappointed. They looked at me with puzzled expressions.
"What's up, mister?"
"You guys know about this game, right? How do you play it?"
The kids' attention shifted from the game to me.
"Of course we do! We've been playing for a while now."
"That's right! We're really good!"
"Good, teach me how to play."
"Sure!"
The kids gladly explained the rules of the game, and I played along. The game was pretty fun, and it was my first time playing it. But what I really wanted to know was whether they knew of the game "The Legend of Karin."
As I played the game with the kids, I asked, "Have you guys heard of a game called 'The Legend of Karin'?"
"The Legend of Karin? I've never heard of it."
"Me neither."
I sighed in disappointment. It seemed that they didn't know about the game I was looking for.
"All right. Thanks for the game. You can keep playing."
"Okay!"
I left the kids to their game and walked away. Yuki asked, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"No, it's not here. Let's go."
We left the arcade and continued our search for my childhood memories.
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