The voice was very deep, and so soft that the merchant might not have heard it, just like a faint whisper. Perhaps no one standing as close to the person as Jeong Taeui could hear that voice. A soft, gentle voice.

That sound had deeply imprinted in his subconscious.

Jeong Taeui recognized the voice, knowing that under any circumstances, that person would never raise their voice or get agitated but would always remain calm.

He recognized the quiet and gentle footsteps, moving without hesitation.

He also recognized the straight back, always facing forward and never turning unless someone called.

Jeong Taeui ran after the man in the gray chador, pushing through the bustling crowd and those blocking his way. He worried that if his view was obstructed, he might lose track of the person, making his mind tense.

“Wait…….”

Jeong Taeui frantically weaved through people, occasionally bumping into or stepping on someone, but he had no time to apologize or care, he just kept rushing forward, leaving behind muttered curses.

The man in the gray chador seemed to have finished his shopping and walked out of the square, turning into a quiet street. Jeong Taeui was held back by the crowd.

In the midst of the crowd, he thought he heard Xinlu’s voice calling out among the noise: “Taei-hyung?” But his steps did not stop.

“Wait, wait, move…….—move!”

Jeong Taeui shouted as he ran, trying to push through those in his way, as the man in the gray chador disappeared into an alley, almost out of sight. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue, turned, and ran through the square in the opposite direction. This way was still crowded, but much calmer.

He didn’t think he was wrong. He hadn’t misheard. That voice, that back, and those footsteps.

Jeong Taeui ran in the direction the man had disappeared, occasionally sensing Xinlu’s figure appearing behind him, calling his name. But he was quickly swallowed by the crowd.

Finally escaping the square, leaving the throng behind him, the only sound in the quiet alley under the bright moonlight was Jeong Taeui’s hurried footsteps.

Standing in the alley where the man had turned, he couldn’t see the man’s figure. Jeong Taeui hesitated for a moment, then started to run forward recklessly.

His ankle throbbed with pain, understandably. Jeong Taeui thought it would get better, but he guessed this incident would send him to the hospital again.

Maybe this was a phase in his life where his ankle would constantly be in pain. Jeong Taeui sighed but didn’t stop running.

The branching alleys grew like a maze. Jeong Taeui dashed forward, glancing down each alley as he passed.

Where should he turn now? He had no idea which path was correct or which alley the man had taken.

“Damn……. we’re not playing hide-and-seek here,…….”

Jeong Taeui muttered through gritted teeth and suddenly stopped. It seemed he had caught a glimpse of a fluttering piece of clothing at the end of an alley he had just passed, but when he stopped and turned to look, the figure had vanished.

“…….——.”

Jeong Taeui didn’t think much and immediately ran in that direction. The alley was just wide enough for one or two people to pass through, and he followed the faint, unclear traces of the other person.

Please. Please be here. Or at least not too far. No, I just want to see your back.

“Damn it, you’re usually not this fast, why are you walking so quickly today……. Is it someone else, is it someone else?”

Jeong Taeui spoke anxiously, wondering if that figure could belong to someone else. But a voice whispered in his heart that it couldn’t be anyone else.

Jeong Taeui turned into that alley, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the quiet space. He found him.

Not far away, the man in the gray chador was standing there. It was as if he had known from the beginning that Jeong Taeui was following him, and was waiting for him. Perhaps he also wanted to ask why he was being chased.

But it was a step too late for Jeong Taeui to notice the shadow lurking at the corner of the alley. By the time he realized, it was too late, and a heavy fist punched hard into his stomach.

“…….——!!!”

Jeong Taeui couldn’t even muster a scream.

He glimpsed the shadow that had punched him in the stomach – it was a bearded Arab man with fierce eyes. The man muttered something, but Jeong Taeui didn’t understand who he was talking to.

Isn’t this the wrong order? Shouldn’t he have asked who I am before hitting me…….? Before he could say anything, Jeong Taeui lost consciousness.

In his fading awareness, he saw the man in the gray chador stepping back a few steps. His gaze met the eyes that were partially hidden by the headscarf. Those eyes seemed to widen in surprise when they saw him.

Jeong Taeui seemed to hear the man calling his name. And that was the last thing he heard before blacking out.

****************

It was a very long and sad dream.

He stood still, dazed. There was nothing around him. A thick fog enveloped everything, so dense that he couldn’t even see his own feet. All he could perceive was himself.

He didn’t know how long he had been like this, perhaps only a fleeting moment, or it could have felt like a lifetime.

Standing motionless alone like an inanimate doll, it took a while before he sensed the presence of someone who had once been by his side. Someone who had appeared so naturally and had been there for so long that he couldn’t remember or perceive when that person had arrived.

He looked around. Empty. The person had disappeared before he could even notice.

Who was that person? Where did he go? Since when had he been walking alone like this?

He wondered.

When he recalled that he had never been alone like this, a sudden feeling of loneliness washed over him.

One doesn’t immediately feel the sense of loss upon losing something. It is only when one feels that emptiness that they realize the difference between having it and losing it, and what that loss truly means.

He thought he would find that person.

He couldn’t remember who it was, but he wanted to find the person who had been by his side then.

So, after considering, he remembered another fact: He had a clue to find that person.

He looked down at his hand. A red thread, a red thread he hadn’t noticed before, was tied around his wrist. The thread extended far away, its end invisible.

If he followed it, he might find the other end.

He stepped out.

It was easy to follow the thread forward. It twisted but still led him to where he needed to go.

It didn’t take long before he finally saw a figure at the other end.

His heart pounded. His steps quickened, and he finally reached the place where the person stood.

But his steps halted abruptly.

His thread had been cut, falling at his feet. Hadn’t it been whole from the beginning? But now it was severed.

He thought he would have to tie it again and continue forward. But before he could reach it, the person picked up the end of the thread and wrapped it around their finger.

He stopped. The person standing there took a step back, seemingly smiling. But that smile looked so sad. Damn. His heart ached.

Step by step, he walked forward without hesitation.

Would his thread be tied to someone else’s hand now? Is that why he couldn’t find him? He hadn’t realized that they had been together so long that he couldn’t even remember.

He had never thought of untying that thread and binding him. The person who would walk with him from now on would be the one always by his side. But the sense of loss remained. It was so sad.

I miss you…

******************

He slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and then closed his eyes again before fully waking up.

What a strange dream, Jeong Taeui thought.

His mind still seemed to be stuck in that dream. He was still standing in the middle of an empty space, with nothing around him. And it seemed like there was still someone standing beyond the misty veil. Someone he couldn’t reach even if he extended his hand.

But after just a few blinks, the dream quickly faded from his mind. Jeong Taeui remembered dreaming about something, but couldn’t recall exactly what it was. The only thing that lingered was a vague sense of longing and regret.

These feelings floated in his mind even as he woke up.

Suddenly, perhaps it had something to do with that dream. But now, even those feelings had faded into his memories – so he couldn’t grasp them. Then he remembered what he had heard the day before.

“You’ll be fine.”

It was a gentle voice. And when he said that, he smiled. It wasn’t exactly a bright, cheerful smile. Just a sincere and calm smile, as if out of habit.

“That’s why……. Ah. When exactly……. I can’t remember.”

Jeong Taeui frowned. He recalled a time when he was sick, when he was very young. It was almost the only memory Jeong Taeui had of being sick as a child.

Perhaps one day, when he wasn’t even as tall as Jeong Jaeui’s thigh, he had a fever and was bedridden. Although, it probably wasn’t the first time he had been sick. His mother had been very sad and worried, but it seemed she wasn’t overly troubled by it. Because him falling ill was a frequent occurrence.

When Jeong Taeui was lying flat on the bed with a fever, Jeong Jaeui, who was also still young at the time, came and sat beside him.

But their mother stopped him and said: “Your brother is sick, so you can’t be near him right now.” worried that he would catch the illness from eating and sleeping together. According to her, whenever Jeong Taeui got sick, Jeong Jaeui would soon fall ill as well.

“Even if we’re separated, we’ll still get sick. I want to be with Taeui. Because he’ll feel lonely if he’s alone.”

Many years later, his mother told him those things. It was an old story recounted gently, as she smiled and said both of them were always like that when they were little.

At that time, their father had a family meeting on his side of the family, so he had to go. For some reason, he rarely visited his family, and it seemed like there had been some issues. He said he would stay there for two or three days and would take Jeong Jaeui with him so their mother could take care of Jeong Taeui at home. They said it was best to keep the two boys apart because they were so prone to catching illnesses from each other.

Jeong Taeui shook his head vigorously in refusal, Jeong Jaeui had always been by Jeong Taeui’s side when he was sick, but their father still took his brother away. Only he and his mother remained at home. But that night, their father returned home at midnight. His arms were still holding Jeong Jaeui, who was now burning with a high fever.

Finally, the two of them were tucked under blankets lying next to each other in a room. “I guess these kids are always sick together like this.” – His mother whispered, both worried and astonished. But in reality, Jeong Taeui seemed to have very few memories of that time.

The only thing he remembered was that Jeong Jaeui lay beside him. At that time, his whole body was burning and he couldn’t move, but his vision was strangely clear.

After a long period of painful unconsciousness, there were moments when the fever subsided and when he opened his eyes, he saw his brother lying next to him, looking at him intently. Jeong Jaeui blinked his hazy eyes with a hint of excitement when he saw his brother. When their eyes met, he let out a weak and heavy breath.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”

Jeong Taeui slowly sat up, the weather was cold but he was drenched in sweat. He spoke while trembling and crawled back under the blanket.

“It doesn’t hurt. But it’s so cold, are you sick too?”

As he whispered, with only his face peeking out from under the blanket, Jeong Jaeui was silent for a moment. His small chest heaved like a weak little bird. The breath from his tired, flushed face was very hot. Jeong Jaeui spoke wearily.

“As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. I’ll be fine too.”

After saying that, Jeong Jaeui slowly closed his eyes. Suddenly, seeing his brother close his eyes as if about to lose consciousness, Jeong Taeui remembered that he reached his hand out from under the cold blanket and placed it on his brother’s forehead.

“…….Thinking back, it does seem a bit unfair.”

Jeong Taeui muttered to himself.

He was lost in those old memories. And then he remembered. When they were young, their mother said that Jeong Jaeui was always by his side whenever he was sick. It was rare for Jeong Jaeui to get sick first and for Jeong Taeui to fall ill afterward. But whenever Jeong Taeui got sick, Jeong Jaeui would definitely get sick too, even if they were far apart. Their mother used to smile and say: “You two are a very strange pair of twins, aren’t you?”

Thinking about it now, it was indeed strange. And Jeong Jaeui must have felt very unfair that whenever he got sick, he had to endure it alone. But whenever his younger brother got sick, he would fall ill as well. It wouldn’t be surprising if he felt it was unfair.

Jeong Taeui sighed and rubbed his eyes, the sleepiness not yet completely gone. He yawned, his eyes welling up with tears.

Wait, why is there no sunlight? Usually, whenever he opened his eyes, the sunlight streaming through the window next to him would fill the room, making his eyes sting. Is it cloudy today?

“Ugh…….” – Jeong Taeui groaned as he opened his eyes wide. He had felt something unusual just now, but he had brushed it off because he was still preoccupied with other thoughts in a state of grogginess…….

“Where am I? This place…….”

Jeong Taeui mumbled to himself in a daze.

The ceiling was too high, as if the ceiling of the floor above had been removed, revealing an oddly lofty roof.

“Ugh…….” – Jeong Taeui groaned emptily, and then he sat up abruptly, looking around with sleepy, bewildered eyes.

This was a strange room. Inside this spacious room, which seemed even larger because of the excessively high ceiling, Jeong Taeui found himself sitting on a bed with the canopy half hanging down and half rolled up.

“……..”