On Monday morning, when Ji-hun woke up for school, he felt nervous right away. He got up to get dressed and opened his closet. When he saw the photos Ho-jin had hung there, everything that happened on Friday came back to his mind.
He remembered those boys bullying him, Ho-jin suddenly appearing and stepping in, and then finding himself at Ho-jin's house. He also remembered how Ho-jin cleaned the cut on his cheek and put medicine on it. Everything had happened so fast that Ji-hun did not even know if he deserved that kind of kindness. Still, there was a little smile on his face while he got dressed.
After breakfast, he checked his bag and left the house. Even though he was scared that he might see those boys again on the way to school, he ran down the stairs.
The air outside was warm, and the street was still half asleep. After taking a few steps, he stopped. Ho-jin was standing outside with his hands in his pockets, waiting like he had already been there for some time.
"Sunbae? What are you doing here?" Ji-hun asked, bowing slightly.
Ho-jin looked at him, and there was a smile on his face. "I think it would be better if we walk together for a few days. We don't know what those guys might do."
Ji-hun hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Okay. Thank you."
They started walking side by side. Their steps found the same rhythm. Cars passed from time to time, and the city around them slowly started waking up.
"You said your dad was sick," Ho-jin said. "How is he now?"
"He's better now," Ji-hun said. Then, like he had wanted to say this for a while, he added, "He had a heart attack, so the doctors kept him in the hospital for two days. They did a lot of tests. Then I brought him home. It was a little hard."
When Ho-jin heard how serious it had been, he was surprised. But what surprised him more was how Ji-hun talked about it like it was something normal. It felt like this kid was carrying more than he should on his shoulders and did not even think about complaining. "I'm really sorry, Ji-hun," he said.
Ji-hun kept looking ahead. "It's okay. I'm used to it. My dad can't see, so I help him with a lot of things."
Ho-jin wondered what he meant by that, but for a while he stayed quiet. Then he said, "Your mom..."
"We lost her in an accident," Ji-hun said. "It's been more than three years."
Ho-jin nodded. "I'm sorry, Ji-hun-ah."
They kept walking. The distance between them did not feel as big as before anymore. Ho-jin now understood a little better what was under Ji-hun's tough attitude and why he always tried to act strong. He had lost his mother when he was young, and when his father got sick, he had to take care of him by himself.
As they continued walking, the streets slowly became more crowded, and the city around them started moving faster. Cars passed more often, and more people were walking on the sidewalks.
After a while, Ji-hun kept looking ahead and asked, "Sunbae, does everything become easier when you grow up?"
Ho-jin stayed quiet for a moment. After hearing Ji-hun talk about the difficulties in his life, he knew exactly where this question came from, and hearing him ask it hurt. "I can't say it gets easier, but you get used to the hard parts."
Ji-hun did not answer, but Ho-jin liked that he had asked him something. All of a sudden, he said, "Ji-hun-ah, give me your bag."
"Why?" Ji-hun asked.
"Something bad happened to you on Friday. I want you to walk comfortably today."
Ji-hun's face became red. "Friday was only one time. If I wanted, I could've run away. I'm actually pretty fast." Then he looked at Ho-jin. "I'm stronger than you think, sunbae."
Ho-jin laughed. "Of course you are, Ji-hun. I never doubted that. That camera is one kilo, and you carry it around all day without complaining. That's not easy. But still, give me your bag. I want to carry it."
Ji-hun did not argue again. Even if he did not say it, he liked that Ho-jin was trying to look out for him. Slowly, he took the bag off his shoulder and gave it to him. Now Ho-jin had his own bag on one shoulder and Ji-hun's on the other.
For a while, they walked without talking. When they turned the last corner before the school, Ji-hun saw her.
Ho-jin waved, his face becoming cheerful. "Min-ji!"
Min-ji saw him and ran toward them with a big smile on her face. She put her arms around Ho-jin's neck and hugged him, and Ji-hun looked somewhere else. A few seconds later, he heard her soft voice. "Hi. I'm Lee Min-ji. You must be Moon Ji-hun. Ho-jin talked about you all weekend."
"Hello, I'm Moon Ji-hun," he said, bowing. "Nice to meet you."
Then Ho-jin took Min-ji's bag and put it on the same shoulder where he was carrying his own bag.
When Ji-hun saw this, he felt a sudden pain in his chest.
—
During the next few weeks, Ho-jin spent more and more time with Ji-hun. Almost every morning, they walked to school together. They stayed in the darkroom until late, sometimes until the hallway lights had already become dim. Sometimes they even ate lunch at the same table when there were other empty seats.
After some time, people started noticing. A few students looked at them more than once. Some whispered when they passed them. Some wondered if they were brothers or somehow related. Others could not understand why they were always together when there was such a big age difference between them.
One afternoon, Ho-jin was standing near the vending machines with two of his friends. Ji-hun had just left to go back to class, with his bag on one shoulder.
"You two are together a lot these days," one of the boys said.
"We're in the same club," Ho-jin said.
"Ya, he's in middle school," the other friend said. "You're basically his bodyguard now."
They laughed, but Ho-jin did not laugh with them. "He's just a kid. Relax," he said.
"Exactly," the first boy answered. "That's what we're saying."
Ho-jin took a sip from his drink and looked down the hallway for a second. "You guys are bored. Find something better to talk about."
They still looked amused, but the teasing became less. One of them shrugged and changed the subject.
Farther down the hallway, Ji-hun was watching them from near the classroom door. He could not hear what they were saying, but he saw them laughing.
He knew it was about him.