Idol of the Heavenly One - Chapter 45.2
And beside me stood a bright-eyed child. He looked so small that I wondered if he had just started elementary school. Before I could even think, Who is this kid?, the words came out of my mouth first.
‘No. I’m not sad.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’ve been alone for a very long time.’
I reached out and patted the boy’s head as he looked up at me. He grinned, still holding the same ice pop in his mouth as mine. Cute kid. Despite his age, his features were sharp and well-defined. It made me curious about what his parents looked like.
‘You know, when you grow up, you could make a living with that face.’
‘Huh?’
‘I mean, you could be a celebrity. You’re handsome.’
He didn’t seem to fully understand what I meant, but maybe he thought that it was a compliment, because he smiled again. That smile was really beautiful. It reminded me of someone, though I couldn’t tell who.
‘Alright, let’s head back now.’
‘Okay!’
I’m thirty-eight now, so if I had gotten married in my late twenties or early thirties, I probably would’ve had a child about this age. A kid who would run up to me shouting, “Dad! Dad!” It wasn’t that I longed for that or felt lonely for not having it, since I’d never even married in the first place. But seeing a child this age stirred something faint inside me—perhaps a small regret that I had lived my whole life without a family of my own.
‘Take care, kid.’
‘Okay…!’
I waved at the little boy’s back as he walked away. Somehow, he noticed and turned around to wave back at me. What a cute kid. I kept watching until he disappeared, then turned around to go home.
‘Should I report it?’
Now that I thought about it, the boy had said his mother was gone somewhere and that he lived only with his father. But he also said he hated being home because his father scared him. That all his friends avoided him because of it.
I should probably report it to the child protection center. I didn’t really know what it felt like for a child to be afraid of their parent, so I couldn’t quite judge, but it seemed safer to report it. I was getting reassigned to another school soon, so I wouldn’t be around to check on him anyway.
‘Mister!’
As I was walking home, I suddenly heard the boy’s voice behind me, and then felt a small, warm hand grab mine.
‘Mister, can I see you again tomorrow?’
I looked down at the hand holding mine for a moment before smiling at him.
‘Sure. Tomorrow, let’s have cookies instead of ice pops. These hurt my teeth.’
‘Okay!’
He grinned brightly, as if already excited for tomorrow.
Just like when my eyes had quietly closed before, they opened again just as quietly. The surroundings were still and calm, dim yet faintly lit. It must have been dawn—the bluish light of early morning was filtering through the window and spilling onto Baek Jae-heon’s face right in front of me.
He had moved closer, leaving the wide side of the bed empty, and was sleeping right across from me. For a moment, I wondered if this too was still a dream. Why was he sleeping so close? It was enough to make my heart tremble for no reason.
It was a rare chance to see his face up close, but if I fell back asleep like this and he woke up to find me staring, he might feel uncomfortable. So I decided to turn over and face the other way.
“…Huh?”
But something felt off. There was warmth. When I followed the sensation, I realized my hand had slipped out of the bed—and was holding Baek Jae-heon’s hand between the two beds.
My mind froze just like it had yesterday. What on earth? Since when had we been holding hands? Did I grab his hand? That couldn’t be. Did I lose my mind and unconsciously reach out while half asleep? The warmth from the child’s hand in my dream—was it actually from holding Baek Jae-heon’s hand this whole time?
But wait, in the dream, I wasn’t the one who reached out first. And I’m supposed to believe I did this in my sleep? Confusion spiraled into panic. Damn it. If I really did grab him, who knows what I might do next in my sleep?
Carefully, I tried to pull my hand out of his.
Slap—
But it was caught again. Startled, I looked up—and there he was, Baek Jae-heon, already awake, quietly looking at me.
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