94. who are you to find me

A day at the peaceful bluebird nursery.

The children huddled together in the study room were busily doing something, doing their own thing.

Most of the older sisters and older brothers in elementary and middle school were at school, so the 6-7 year olds did their own thing and helped the younger siblings with things like coloring, drawing, and folding confetti.

Hyeon-min, who was concentrating on coloring crayons with his lips pouting, spoke proudly to director Anna Kang.

“Sue Mom. Did I text Kyuha-hyung yesterday too? But please reply earlier!! Hee hee hyung says he’s doing well too. I said I was listening to Sue’s mother. Did you do well?”

With a triumphant expression on her face, Director Kang Anna patted Hyeon-min’s head, who was hoping for praise, and said with a smile.

“Oh, good job, good job. Is Hyunmin good? Kyuha hyung also sent me a reply. He seems to really like Hyun-min.”

“hehehe Kyuha hyung admires me. because…..”

Hyeon-min, who was looking around to make sure no one heard, approached Director Kang Anna and whispered in her ear.

“I gave the Robot Sentai card that I really cherish to my brother. Even if Kyu-min asked for it, he didn’t give it to me.”

“Pu-huh.”

Director Kang Anna burst out laughing, as if seeing Hyun-min talking so earnestly as if it was a huge secret was funny.

“Oh my God~ Kyuha must have really liked it. Keep in touch with Kyuha hyung often.”

“It will! I decided to take a picture of today’s coloring book and send it to you! Hee hee.”

It was Director Kang Anna who got away from administrative work after a while and had time to hang out with the children.

“As expected, our Kyuha. Responsibility is great. He must have been busy there too, but he replied to each and every one of the children.”

The kids phone that Kyuha gave as a gift became a hot topic among the children at the nursery school for a while. I was so happy when I received a reply from Kyu-ha after sending a message while typing clumsily with one hand.

“Even replying with such sincerity… what a wonderful son Ho ho ho.”

It was easy to think that a reply would be formal when receiving a Kkaetok message from many children, but this was never the case. When Min-guk confided his concerns about his career to Gyu-ha, he suggested the most suitable aptitude based on the results of Min-guk’s personality analysis and even told him in detail what he had to do right away.

“I don’t know if I will have time to sleep. The food won’t go well with you because you’re out of town… Maybe it’s because you’re older? I’m just worried…”

Today, Director Kang Anna’s cell phone rang, feeling the vacancy of Kyu-ha.

Tiririririri.

“Yes hello. Yes. That’s right. Where are you? yes? where is the city? Holt… Welfare Association…?”

Kang Anna was slightly taken aback by the phone call from an unexpected place.

“What are you calling for? Yes. I’m fine today. I’ll see you then.”

Anna Kang, with a puzzled expression, hung up the phone.

“Why the hell are you looking for me in Holt?”

It was a phone call saying that there was something to talk to Director Kang Anna in person. Accordingly, Anna Kang made an appointment to meet with them in the afternoon.

***

“Nice to meet you. Director. My name is Dam-Yoon Lee, a social worker at Holt Welfare Society.”

“hello. My name is Baek Ji-yeon.”

Two women, who looked to be in their 40s, visited the blue bird nursery with files in their hands.

“Come on. nice to meet you. I am Sister Anna Kang, who is in charge of the Blue Bird Orphanage.”

“I have heard the words of the director a lot from before. You are very famous among us. In a good way, of course. Ho ho ho.”

At Lee Dam-yoon’s good words, Kang Anna waved her hand as if embarrassed.

“Ugh. what am i doing But why did you find me? Holt will never find me…”

Baek Ji-yeon, who was next to Kang Anna, said.

“I guess I have to answer that question. Let me introduce you again. I am Baek Ji-yeon, CEO of a social enterprise called Sai and Side.”

Baek Ji-yeon handed her business card to Anna Kang.

“What we do is finding the roots of overseas adoptees who were sent overseas for adoption as children.”

Kang Anna’s words made her question even more.

“Then you are not in the wrong place? As you can see, I am a nun serving God, so I cannot get married…”

Baek Ji-yeon was taken aback by Anna Kang’s words.

“ah! I didn’t mean that, Sister. Do you remember the name Sujin Choi?”

“Sujin Choi… Sujin……. Sujin Choi…”

Kang Anna’s pupils, who had been pondering the name Choi Su-jin for a long time, began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.

“Seo, no way… Are you referring to Sujin, who went to America 30 years ago? No way…”

“Yeah. Sujin Choi commissioned us. When I was in Korea, um… So, I’m looking for a foster mother who took care of me right before I was put up for adoption. With Holt’s cooperation, I traced back the data and found out that the consignment mother was director Kang Anna.”

Tears began to pour from Anna Kang’s eyes even before Baek Ji-yeon finished her words.

“heheheuk Su… Sujinie… How is our Sujinie? How is your health? Aren’t you sick?”

“Yeah. You grew up very well. You are now receiving social recognition.”

“All right, I’m glad. I’m so glad. He was a child who always remained like a bruise in his heart… I’m so glad he did. T_T.”

“Ms. Sujin Choi is looking for the director. The director will be confused, so I would appreciate it if you could think about it and contact me. Then we will wake up first.”

The office is filled with silence after the two leave.

Kang Anna, who had been sitting on the sofa alone in a daze, jumped up and headed to the prayer room.

“Lord. It’s really scary to see my past karma come back like this. This lacking child has no confidence to see Sujin’s face. What would you like me to do…?”

Thirty years have passed, but Anna Kang has not forgotten the painful breakup that day.

After entering the monastery at the age of twenty.

It was around the time after she became a full-time nun after completing her lifelong vows that she would devote her life to the Lord and live a life of the three virtues of the Gospel after going through a long training process in 10 years.

Sister Anna Kang was first assigned to an orphanage institution. Kang Anna, who had just become a full-time nun and was young and full of ambition, really did her best for the children at the institution.

Was that so? The children there also followed Kang Anna well, but among them, there was a child who was trampled on by Kang Anna. That was Sujin Choi.

At the time, he was about 5 years old, but he was abandoned by his parents at the age of 1 and moved from place to place for 4 years. Kang Anna, who felt pity for Choi Soo-jin, who was not particularly talkative, tried to get closer to the child.

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No matter how taciturn, Choi Soo-jin, who was still only a 5-year-old child, eventually opened her heart to Kang Anna, and Sujin, who never smiled at anyone, smiled at Kang Anna without any boundaries.

Kang Anna also felt maternal love for Sujin, and they built up affection for each other.

But one day, news like thunder from the blue sky.

“Sister Anna. Today, the final decision was made for Sujin to be adopted. They will be sent to America.”

“Yeah?! America? No Why America? Will that child be able to adapt well after going all the way to America?”

“In the case of Sujin, there were no domestic adoption inquiries for five years. However, it is not possible to leave the child care center alone like this forever. Sujin…. She’s still 6 years old. 6 years old. It’s when you need a family. If you can’t find a family in Korea, wouldn’t it be better to find one overseas?”

At the words of her fellow nun, Anna Kang could not respond. Because there wasn’t a single word wrong. Because he knew better that what young Sujin needed right now was a family.

Although she should have been happy with the news that Soo-jin’s adoption was decided, Kang Anna’s heart was strangely aching. He didn’t even know if this was regret for the breakup he was about to face or sorry for Sujin.

“Mom, play hospital with me today! mom is lying down I’ll cure your mother’s illness!”

Watching Sujin looking up at herself with an innocent expression that doesn’t know anything, Anna Kang’s stickiness grew.

Time passed like flowing water, and the day of adoption that seemed unlikely to come came.

The adoption agency came to pick up Su-jin, but even though she was only 6 years old, Su-jin realized that she had gone somewhere again and started to cry sadly.

“Ahhh I hate it. I’m not going. i’m not going stay here Aww mom! Anna mom!!”

It was Sujin who cried out so desperately, but at the time, she was not so kind to children, so she almost forcibly took Sujin into the car.

“Anna Mama! Where are you? Anna Mom! aaang.”

Tears did not stop in Anna Kang’s eyes as she secretly watched the scene. How much did that child feel betrayed by himself? How much do you hate yourself? Can that young child go to another country and adapt well? The pessimism and guilt over the situation where she could not do anything made Kang Anna stop eating and drinking for a while.

And even now, 30 years later, the name Choi Su-jin remains like a scar that does not heal in Kang Anna’s heart.

“Soojin is looking for me…? Sujin-ah, I’m sorry… heck”

Director Anna Kang, who pondered all night in the prayer room, came to the conclusion that they should meet. In any case, it was an unavoidable problem. And what passed through my head at the moment was the rule of going to the United States.

Anna Kang opened her cell phone and called Kyu-ha.

***

A long-awaited holiday.

Gyu-ha got on the plane from Detroit to LA and was lost in thought. I received a call from Director Kang Anna and listened to everything. Kyu-ha readily stepped forward and suggested that he first meet Soo-jin Choi, who was looking for Director Kang A-na.

Gyu-ha, with an expressionless face, was looking out the window of the plane, but in fact, he was not in a good mood. When she received a phone call from director Anna Kang, who was crying, Kyu-ha felt embarrassed for the first time in her life. At first, I didn’t know what to do, but while I wasn’t there, I thought someone might have harmed the nursery school, so I even spewed out my life.

In any case, Kyu-ha met a person named Choi Su-jin in person and thought about what to do if he thought he was a person who would harm him.

Soon after, the plane arrived at LA Airport and took a taxi to the address given by Director Kang Anna.

The place we arrived at was the most prominent building on South Olive Street, downtown Los Angeles (LA).

Kyu-ha entered the building.

There was a huge clothing mall on the first floor, and I took the lobby elevator to the 8th floor. At the information center, a woman asked Kyuha.

“Nice to meet you. The 8th floor is where our Remember21 CEO’s office is located. Do you have an appointment with the CEO?”

“no. Please tell the representative that you are here on behalf of Sister Kang Anna.”

The information staff frowned slightly as if embarrassed, but eventually picked up the extension phone.

“Your representative. At the entrance, there is someone who came to visit on behalf of Sister Anna Kang. What should I do? If you say that, you say you know… Ah! all right.”

“The representative will come in.”

Kyu-ha went into the representative’s office as if she knew that would happen, of course. A woman in her late 30s looked at Kyu-ha in an office with a huge wooden table overlooking downtown LA at a glance.

“Who are you to visit me talking about Sister?”

It was cool enough to feel the cold.