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Chapter 3: Memories (Part 2)
After that, my orphanage brothers and sisters played daily together.
My middle school and high school years were filled with memories of Uncle Hee's daughters. His first daughter, Suni-Hee, was my childhood sweetheart, and his second daughter, Cheky, became like a mischievous sister to me.
A silent sigh escaped my mouth as I recalled turning 12 and having to move back to the orphanage after my parents passed away. I was given a personal room, but by the time I turned 13, everything changed. The simple life I once knew began to unravel.
Uncle Hee, who had always been like a father to me, died in a car accident. He had a small business in our city and had to transport goods daily. It was profitable, but with the pressure of managing it alone, he often had to stock up for the winter, and that year was especially difficult.
One year passed like a blur, as if time itself had been lost. I joined a part-time job in the afternoons to help out. My brothers and I would smile through it all, finding fun in even the hardest times.
I turned 16 this year, but everything started to fall apart. Debt collectors began hounding us, forcing us to sell the old business that had been Uncle Hee's pride and joy. Small-time hooligans, who lent us money, demanded repayment with interest three times over.
Before I knew it, I had started spending more time in the forest, trying to escape the reality that awaited me. Bullies began harassing my younger brothers at the orphanage, and no amount of shouting or fighting could stop them. We even started a protection program, but it was no use.
Just a week before I found myself here, I met an old man in the forest. There was something different about him—a mysterious air surrounded him, almost like he wasn't from this world. He claimed to be a fortune teller, with an aura that seemed otherworldly.
On my way home from that encounter, I bought some sweets for my little sister. It was supposed to be a small gesture, a simple moment of happiness in a world that had become increasingly bleak.
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