154. Why is it that way?

A 12-year-old Kyung-soo living in a blue bird nursery.

Born to a Korean father and a Filipino mother, Kyung-soo suffered from his father’s abuse and violence, and eventually entered the Bluebird Orphanage at the age of 11.

His mother, who fled to the Philippines after suffering from violence, briefly returned to Korea several years ago, but was unable to take Kyung-soo with him due to practical problems.

In the process, Kyungsoo, who was seriously injured, had his heart closed to the extent that he did not say a word for six months even after entering the bluebird nursery.

Director Kang Anna looked at Kyungsoo with pity.

“I grew up early because my child experienced abuse. It’s sad. A child should be a child…”

“Did you see what was bothering you?”

“You don’t look good these days, so even if I ask what’s going on, you don’t get an answer.”

At Anna Kang’s worried words, Kyu-ha’s eyes turned to Kyung-soo, who was drawing a picture blankly in a corner.

“I’ll have a look.”

Strangely, Kang Anna was delighted because she knew that the children easily opened their hearts to Kyu-ha.

“Will you? If Kyu-ha steps in, this mother can be reassuring.”

Gyu-ha quietly walked behind Kyung-soo and looked at the picture he was drawing.

A person presumed to be the mother and father was standing outside the house, and the mother’s skin color was painted particularly dark with a brown colored pencil.

What was impressive was that they turned their backs on each other.

Caught between them, Kyungsoo himself was looking up at the sky.

“You draw well. He’s pretty talented.”

It was an empty truth.

For a 12-year-old painting, it was a painting with expressive power and details.

Kyungsoo flinched at the sudden voice.

Soon after recognizing that the other person was Kyu-Ha, he tried to ignore it and pretended to focus on the painting.

Kyu-ha stared at the picture Kyung-soo was drawing for quite some time.

Even after quite a while, Kyu-ha’s mouth opened when he felt burdened by staying by his side.

“You look very confused. can’t mix anywhere. Even my family.”

Although it was a calm tone, Kyungsoo’s shoulders twitched once again as if he had stabbed the core and slowly turned his head to look at Gyuha.

“Would you like to go out to the playground for some fresh air with your brother?”

Kyungsoo unconsciously nodded as if bewitched, and followed Kyuha.

It was spring weather with warm sunlight, but the empty playground seemed empty for some reason.

Kyungsoo sits on a bench in the playground and stares blankly at the playground, wondering what he is thinking.

Kyuha handed me a banana milk and sat down next to me.

“Isn’t it because you’re mixed blood? There will be more severe discrimination just because they are in an orphanage.”

Kyungsoo’s mouth, which had been silent for a while, slowly opened at Kyuha’s unstoppable words.

“I don’t want to go to that school. I don’t want to go much. no fun childish.”

“I still have to go to school.”

“Genes and I have different facial colors, I don’t have a mother, and the kids hate me, so I don’t know why I go there. Even on the way to the nursery school after school, everyone looks at me strangely.”

“Is that really all?”

“…….”

For some reason, Gyu-ha, who was hesitant and unable to speak easily, grabbed the arm of Kyung-soo and took off his clothes.

Then, bruises are visible here and there.

“Right?”

“Actually, there was a kid who kept teasing me about being a nigger and telling me to get out of your country, and we got into a fight. So, he brought his 6th grader brother with him. meanly.”

“Why didn’t you fight?”

“I fought. But since he’s bigger than me and several people hit him at once, I couldn’t win. Thanks to that, I was beaten with excitement.”

Although it is said to be better than before, there was an implicit perception that mixed races, especially mixed races, were children who should not have been born in a Korean society that emphasized the excellence of a single ethnic group.

At a young age, regardless of doctors, the wounds that young Kyung-soo had to bear were too great just because he was of mixed blood.

“Why do people judge only by what they see?”

The emptiness and bitterness coexist in Kyungsoo’s eyes, and he couldn’t possibly look like a 12-year-old child.

“It can’t be helped. I’m sure some people don’t, but you have to admit that normal humans judge by what they see.”

At Kyuha’s words, Kyungsoo’s expression became more sullen.

“I was bullied when I was young too? should I say Anyway, there were kids who kept messing with me.”

“Did someone like you ever do that?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes twinkled as he somehow sensed a sense of kinship with Kyuha, who only seemed perfect, had such a past.

“They kept bothering me because I looked weak. At first, they just teased her, but then at some point, they started using violence.”

“So what did you do?”

“I paid you back.”

“Yeah?”

“It was thoroughly revenged.”

I thought he would say that he told an adult or that he ran away, but Kyungsoo’s words were unexpected.

“Anyway, those kids will harass you more if you stay still, and harass them more if you reach out to someone. Regardless of animals or humans, the law of the jungle is an absolute law of nature.”

“You have more numbers than your brother. But how did you get revenge?”

“I went first and dealt with them one by one. If it’s not enough, I’ll take revenge by using other methods.”

“Then, won’t they come back and retaliate?”

“Of course I retaliated. but went again I was hit again and I did it about 15 times, so I got down on my knees and begged. please stop.”

“Wow…”

It was only then that Kyungsoo looked up at Kyuha, his eyes behaving like his own age, and he became sullen again.

“I can’t do that. I had a fight with a friend before, and because of me, my mom begged her a lot.”

“no. That’s okay. It’s okay because I have it. Instead, you need to be careful and rational. Think more than three times if this is really wrong and can’t be passed on. But if you don’t want to do this, then do it. I will take care of the rest.”

“Brother? Why is my brother…?”

“I can’t see my brother getting hit anywhere. It’s better to have a younger brother who hits you than a younger brother who hits you. A man must know how to fight when he must fight. It’s not about doing bad things by force. I must have the strength to protect myself and my family.”

“Strength… to protect me and my family..”

“Once… I want to try it. I want to show it to the nursery school and those who curse at my parents.”

“great. Maybe a week or so will be enough.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip at Kyuha’s words, and his will came out from Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“And don’t hide that you’re of mixed race. Rather, show it more proudly. There are a lot of people of mixed race among famous people in the world. U.S. President Obama, world-renowned golfer Tiger Woods, and Apple creator Steve Jobs are all mixed-race. Just looking at genetics and the theory of evolution, mixed-race genes are far superior. It’s scientifically proven.”

“Really?”

“yes. To be mixed is to be healthy, to be mixed is to be beautiful, and to be mixed is to be pure. Nature, which we usually believe to be pure, is not so pure when we get to know it. From an evolutionary point of view, all living things have unconditionally mixed with other kinds of things for survival.”

I didn’t understand 100%, but Kyungsoo’s mouth hung open.

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No adult had ever said such a thing to himself.

‘You are a precious child by your very existence.’

‘The perception of mixed race is changing a lot. Don’t get too hurt.’

‘If you approach your friends first, they will understand your heart.’

Both the school teacher and the nursery school teacher always gave warm words of consolation to herself.

It was a word of thanks, but it didn’t touch Kyungsoo much, and it didn’t help in the current situation.

It was Kyungsoo who thought that when Kyuha called him out, he would say something similar again.

However, this person recommended revenge rather than being beaten.

With the affirmation that you will take responsibility for the next day.

Kyungsoo was well aware of how famous and amazing Kyuha was.

I gained tremendous courage and comfort from the words that such a person would take responsibility, so never let yourself suffer.

It was the first time I received this kind of consolation even for a mixed race.

Genetics and evolutionary theory were still difficult terms for the 12-year-old Kyungsoo,

It was much more comforting than indiscreet emotional comfort.

Oddly enough, I gained confidence, and I thought that from now on I would be able to show it proudly without hiding it.

It was a strange feeling for the first time in Kyungsoo’s 12 years of life.

“I… I’ll try my best starting tomorrow.”

From the next day, Kyuha’s special training began.

Speaking of training, there was nothing special.

How the small-sized Kyung-soo deals with his older brothers.

He taught how to fight multiple opponents with attributes.

If director Kang Anna knew about this fact, she would have been astonished.

I was happy to know that Kyungsoo’s expression had brightened after he and Gyuha had gone out for a while.

I would have never thought that things would turn out this way.

“Once your opponent is bigger than you, you can never get caught. I will definitely catch you and try to knock you over.”

“Then what?”

“You have to keep your distance so you don’t get caught. That’s why steps are so important.”

Kyu-ha taught Kyung-soo the steps and attack strategy that suited the opponent’s characteristics.

It was literally the art of fighting itself.

“What if they come all at once?”

“It’s over when you’re surrounded. So you have to move fast and lure them into favorable terrain. It is important to quickly find a narrow alley or a place where the opponent cannot rush at once.”

“ah….!”

12 year old gyeongsoo.

Although he was in the 5th grade of elementary school attending an English academy, Kyungsoo had quite a bit of talent in martial arts.

His sense and understanding were good, but there was something else that Gyuha rated more highly than anything else.

‘temperament’

Kyungsoo had a unique temperament.

You could say ‘fighting spirit’, or you could say ‘gang’ in a vulgar language.

Rather than being afraid of the opponent, I had a strong desire to win somehow.

Kyungsoo quickly acquired the know-how like a sponge absorbing water.

One day, Kyungsoo came back from school covered in dust.

“brother. I won. I won!!”

Kyungsoo returned to the nursery school with an excited expression and went straight to Kyuha.

Kyu-ha didn’t ask about the situation, but brushed the dust off Kyung-soo’s clothes and praised him.

“Well done. No big deal, right?”

The 6th grader who came down to the classroom without fail and teased Kyungsoo for being a ‘mongrel’.

Kyungsoo told him to stop, but he teased him even more severely, eventually crossing the line he shouldn’t have crossed.

“Hey. Mongrel. Yes, I heard that now mom is a stooping old woman and always wears only black clothes? It must smell like giggling sweat.”

From there, Kyungsoo stopped rolling his eyes.

“Hey piglet. Come outside.”

“Is this bastard crazy?”

“why? Are you scared?”

As expected, the opponent rushed at random with only his size.

Kyungsoo was never caught as he had been taught.

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Not even 10 seconds had passed since the fight broke out,

The fight ended abruptly with the big 6th grader grabbing his stomach and crying.

I felt emptiness and exhilaration at the same time.

“It’s really nothing…”

A few days later, four 6th graders came.

Kyungsoo smashed all four of them as if showing off, and left side by side with nosebleeds and tears.

next day.

The quiet Yonggok Elementary School office became noisy.

“no! Our child has been beaten. Isn’t this clear school violence?”

“Yes. Our Yongsik is such a nice kid, how dare you hit him!?”

Three middle-aged women who appeared to be parents were strongly protesting against Lee Sang-il, Kyung-soo’s homeroom teacher.

“mother. I noticed that the 6th graders came to the 5th grade classroom first and started a fight, didn’t they?”

“no. Juniors are cute, so how many times do you call it a fight? Anyway I don’t know! If you do not transfer the child immediately, I will formally file a complaint with the Ministry of Education. You know I’m a person with that much power, right?”

Lee Sang-il, who had a headache, rubbed his temple as he could not communicate.

In fact, that woman’s husband was a city council member, so it could have been tiring to make it a problem.

“I heard that that thug is an orphan? My mother’s side is a Filipino, so I heard that she is of mixed race.”

“Oh my. So the kid is like that. what the.”

dripping

Then the door to the classroom opened and someone came in.

“You’re not an orphan and you’re not half-blood, so why are you that way?”