before & after ‣ 엔하이픈

018 ; past

flashback to the summer (6)
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AERI

Aeri and Jake were quietly strolling in a park a little further from their zone of comfort.

It was one of the days where the two grew tired of sneaking out every night and thought themselves brave enough to seize the city with the courage they had. They stopped by a cafe where he bought her a iced coffee which was a little bitter for her taste but was cold enough to keep her from losing her sanity due to the heat.

"I've never been to this part of the city." She confessed as she looked around at the unfamiliar buildings. "I'm surprised you know about it. Just how many girls are you hiding from the people at our school?"

He laughed. "Just you, I believe." He says, earning himself a glare from Aeri to which he attempted to remove by pinching her cheeks.

They were conversing to themselves, filling the gaps of silence that came with the walk, but both focus were stolen by a child running up to Aeri, his eyes brimming with tears as he latched on to the girl's pants. Jake and Aeri looked at each other, both equally surprise by the sudden intrusion of the child in their space but neither had the heart to leave the issue alone, especially Aeri.

Kneeling to the child's eye level, Aeri wore the warmest smile she could possibly muster. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked.

"I-I can't find my mommy, please help me!" He cried, hugging Aeri tight as he sobbed on the girl's shoulder. She looked over to Jake who had done the same as her and had also kneeled to the ground.

"Can you remember where you last saw her? We'll bring you there." Jake asked, attempting to comfort the crying boy who had let go of Aeri and looked over to him.

They let the boy sob first before he finally answered. "I c-can't remember."

Aeri and Jake looked at each other before standing up. "He came from that way, surely if we walk straight ahead we'd be able to find his mother?" She asked.

"Yeah we can do that, and if ever we pass by a police officer, we can also report this." Jake also proposed an idea, one she did not refuse because she highly believed a police officer would be more helpful than the two of them.

The kid held unto Aeri's hand as the they discussed what they should do because they couldn't just leave the boy alone. Kneeling back to the ground, she spoke to the boy. "Alright, we're going to walk to where you came from so we can find your mom, okay? Don't let go of my hand so you don't get lost again."

Obediently, the boy nods and held on tighter, which the girl felt, causing a faint smile to rush over her. Aeri has always been fond of children and took care of them when the occasion arose. Her old neighbor, Sunghoon, had a younger sister and the two of them would always be tasked to babysit her  and she remembered enjoying every single bit of it, all while she hoped one day to have a younger sibling of her own despite of the chances of it happening reaching a zero. Her kindness for children could have stemmed from the example her brother set for her growing up, how he never raised his voice on her and treated her with such care that it almost felt as if she was a fragile soul.

Or perhaps it was what her own mother made her feel that brought upon a fondness for kids. Growing up, her mother made her feel invisible, so unworthy of being loved and cared, and above all, robbed of what she truly deserved in life. Aeri wished to never make a child feel what her own mother made her go through growing up.  It was a different sort of mental mistreatment, one that could not be easily healed by other people showing her the same exact affection that she craved back then from her own mother.