After taking it out, Ji-Won paused. He stared at the photo album with a complicated expression on his face. Despite being exactly what he had been looking for, Ji-Won still seemed to hesitate on whether he should open the album or put it back inside the bag.
It took Ji-Won several moments before he finally reached a decision. A hand clutching onto the album, he quickly got up and went back to the couch.
With trembling hands, he slowly opened the cover, hesitating for a moment before looking inside. As soon as he glanced down, his eyes landed on the face of a small boy. He was probably not older than six or seven years. In the picture, the boy was smiling brightly at the camera, his eyes sparkling with the happiness only an innocent child could possess.
This picture had been taken in the garden behind his family house. Ji-Won could see the trees and alleys snaking their way behind the boy. The place might have looked slightly different back then, but it was impossible not to recognize it.
Ji-Won took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. He pinched the corner of the page, feeling the plastic protection crumpling under his fingertips. His eyes moved downwards.
Right below the first picture, there was another one, showing the same boy from before. This time the setting was inside his room. He was perched on his bed, looking like a young princeling while wearing black silk pajamas and slippers. As he was flipping through a large book about stars, the camera captured his expression vividly.
The pair of black eyes were slightly widened, positively glimmering with enthusiasm. The book probably contained just drawings of constellations and galaxies, accompanied by lots of explanatory texts. To other children his age, those should have been boring, but to the young boy in the picture, they seemed to be the most beautiful and entertaining things in the world.
Ji-Won's eyes travelled down.The entire page of the album was filled with images such as these. They showed the same little boy in different postures and locations. He either wore school uniform or casual wear, dark color clothes or light patterned ones.
However, regardless of how different his outer appearance was, there was one constant thing that could be seen in each and every single one of those photographs. That was the boy's bright smile which could easily be seen in his gleaming black eyes.
In some of the pictures he had neatly styled hair, while in others his black locks were ruffled as if a wind had swept them in every possible direction. Either way, he looked happy, smiling, and enjoying every moment that was caught on camera.
Once he had turned page after page, Ji-Won finally reached the last one. As he gazed down and saw an empty slot, he froze. The picture that was supposed to be there was missing, revealing a white square between a multitude of colorful scenes.
For a long moment Ji-Won simply stared at that empty spot, not daring to look away. It was almost as if he was trying to use his mind's eye to see what wasn't there anymore. Even as he had picked up the photo album, he knew very clearly what would be waiting for him if he reached that specific page. But for some reason, he dared to hope a miracle would happen.
Even though that picture had been missing for fourteen years, Ji-Won wished it would somehow reappear.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ji-Won snapped the album shut. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes. His fingers slowly released their hold on the album, letting it slide out of his grip. It slipped away, landing on the floor with a soft thud. Upon contact, the album opened in the middle.
Ji-Won's eyes travelled along the page, stopping to gaze at a certain picture.
The dark-haired little boy's face was barely visible behind a huge birthday cake. His eyes, though, were smiling with happiness and excitement. A beautiful dark-haired woman was standing next to him, her face beaming brightly at the camera.
"I'm sorry mother." Ji-Won whispered.
As if he couldn't bear the sight of that picture any longer, Ji-Won raised an arm to cover his eyes. A small tear slid down his white cheek, leaving a watery trace on his skin.
He made no gesture to wipe it off. Instead, the droplet was allowed to remain there, looking perfectly still as if frozen.
The only proof that he was alive and not a statue were the slow, deep heaves of his chest, while he struggled to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape him.
~~~
Su-Jin arrived at work on Monday morning wearing a black mask. The fabric covered half her face, allowing only for the eyes to be seen. This disguise was worthy of a K-pop idol and it successfully attracted everyone's eyes. Whether she liked it or not, as soon as she entered the building, Su-Jin instantly became the center of attention.
The reason why Su-Jin needed to disguise herself like that was obviously the curse of the 13th.
The entire Saturday she had been alright, and had miraculously managed to keep herself out of trouble. Nevertheless, it all ended later that evening, when Su-Jin went into the kitchen to get some water. Indeed, forgetting to turn on the lights had been a grave mistake on her part.
Not being able to watch where she was going, her foot touched something soft. She let out a panic-stricken yelp, thinking she might have stepped on the kitten. Her feet wobbled, and she staggered forward. Consequently, she tripped and fell face down on the floor.
The result was a purplish bruise on her left cheek and a slightly red nose. And all because of a plush kitten, Gyojeon's favorite toy.
Despite applying markup, the bruise was still visible. Su-Jin had no intention of having people looking at her face the whole trip to work, and therefore decided to wear something to cover it with. Wearing a mask wasn't such a strange thing. After all, she could be having a cold or have an allergy to pollen. Either way, it didn't appear as out of the ordinary compared to other methods.
When she entered the Planning Department office, everyone stared at her. People may not have found her disguise strange, but they still looked on curiously. Who knew just what kind of wild conjectures they were making inside their heads?
Without lingering to see their inquiring gazes, Su-Jin hurried towards her desk.