BSMF | 06

~Chapter 06~

That day, the performance was canceled because Kyung-rim suddenly felt sick and left early.

There was nothing to do at the café, and since So-hye did not drink alcohol, she had no choice but to go home.

She walked out, thinking she had wasted the whole day.

She never expected to run into Woo-geon.

“Shall we walk together? The moon is nice.”

It sounded like a line from a magazine novel—embarrassing, but sweet.

So-hye silently looked at the hand Woo-geon held out.

It was big, with thick fingers, very different from her own.

There were many old scars on it—marks whose stories she could not guess.

“A teacher, huh… His hands look like someone who’s done rough work.”

Still, she remembered.

That day, his hand had been firm.

And warm.

While she hesitated, wondering whether she should take it, loud voices suddenly rose behind her.

Several waiters from the modern café had come out to smoke.

“Oh!”

Startled, So-hye quickly pulled her hat down.

Baek So-hye went home disguised as a man because she hated getting involved with customers.

If people saw her walking home with a man after work?

It would become perfect gossip.

Far worse than anything from her school days.

“Hey, isn’t that So-hye?”

Someone behind her seemed to recognize her.

“I don’t want to get dragged into trouble again!”

Gripping her bag strap tightly, So-hye suddenly grabbed Woo-geon’s hand.

“Run. Hurry!”

“What?”

And then she started running without thinking.

Woo-geon had not offered his hand to be dragged.

He had been about to help carry her bag instead.

But suddenly, So-hye pulled him along, and he had no choice but to run too.

“You didn’t cause trouble at the café and run away, did you?”

“No!”

“Then why are we running?”

“I’ll explain later! Just run!”

So-hye ran as fast as she could, using all her strength.

She didn’t want Woo-geon to get caught in rumors because of her.

At first, Woo-geon looked suspicious.

Then he let out a low sigh and began running properly.

Soon, his long legs overtook hers and pulled her forward instead.

After running for a while, the bright lights of Jingogae disappeared.

So-hye finally stopped.

“Huff… huff…”

She gasped for breath, still checking behind her just in case someone was chasing them.

Then she realized she was still holding Woo-geon’s hand and quickly let go.

“I’m sorry. It would be awkward if my coworkers saw me.”

Woo-geon, catching his breath, let out a short laugh.

He took the bag hanging loosely from her shoulder.

“I didn’t offer my hand to be grabbed like that.”

“…Sorry.”

“You always run when you meet me.”

So-hye blinked quickly, embarrassed.

Thinking about it, it was true.

The first time they met, she ran away in embarrassment.

The second time, they ran from the police.

And now, the third time.

She had never been much of a runner.

Lately, thanks to Woo-geon, she felt like a track athlete.

“It would be nice if only my legs were running…”

“But my heart runs too fast when I meet him…”

She pressed her chest lightly and cleared her throat.

Then she finally noticed her surroundings.

All around them were unfamiliar shops.

They had run in the opposite direction from her home.

“Ah… we came to a completely strange place.”

Behind her quiet words, Woo-geon laughed even louder.

Pushing his slightly damp hair back, he said,

“Looks like we’re getting a real walk after all.”

Moonlight slid down his exposed forehead, creating a strange mood.

So-hye quietly watched him.

A man who fit moonlight perfectly.

Was there anyone who suited the word “sensual” better?

“What? Too tired to walk now?”

She had been staring when their eyes met.

Startled, she quickly looked away.

Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

When she shook her head quickly, Woo-geon smiled as if amused.

“…I’m sorry again.”

“You apologize a lot.”

With a light smile, he gently tapped her shoulder.

“Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

And he started walking first.

Since they were farther from her house now, they would spend more time together.

“My legs chose the right direction after all.”

So-hye smiled softly and walked beside him.

The faint smell of cigarettes drifted in the night air.

She usually disliked cigarette smoke.

But Woo-geon’s scent didn’t bother her.

It almost felt like perfume.

Maybe everything about him felt good simply because it was him.

Smiling, she said,

“Cigarette smoke is usually really strong. Yours isn’t.”

“I hardly smoke.”

“Then why does the smell linger?”

“I often just light it.”

“Why?”

Woo-geon looked up at the sky.

“I suppose… as a substitute for incense.”

“Incense?”

Seeing her tilt her head, he spoke quietly.

“I kill countless butterflies every day for research. Maybe it’s for their spirits.”

A light laugh escaped his lips.

It sounded relaxed, yet bitter.

Looking at him made her feel strange.

As if he were talking about something sad.

So-hye quickly changed the subject.

“But why study butterflies? It doesn’t really help daily life.”

“I want to give them names.”

“Names?”

“I want the butterflies of Joseon to be called by Joseon names, not Japanese ones.”

His smile faded slightly.

“My dream is to give every butterfly in this land a name in our language.”

“Are there really that many butterflies?”

Woo-geon pulled out a bundle of papers from his bag and handed it to her.

So-hye read the title: Butterfly Research Notes.

Inside were careful records of butterfly traits and names.

Funny, beautiful names filled the pages.

She had only known simple ones like swallowtail or white butterfly.

This felt like another world.

“Then you see butterflies every day?”

“I’m buried in them.”

“That sounds nice. Seeing such pretty things every day.”

She imagined being surrounded by fluttering butterflies.

Just thinking about it made her feel warm.

Watching her read with shining eyes, Woo-geon made a suggestion.

“Do you want to see them?”

“Where?”

“A place where you can be buried in butterflies.”

At night?

Still, if she could see them, she wanted to go anywhere.

She nodded eagerly.

“Yes! Please take me.”

“Follow me.”

Woo-geon smiled and turned.

So-hye stopped and asked suspiciously,

“There are really butterflies here?”

“Of course.”

They had arrived at Songil Higher Common School.

She had expected fields or forests.

Not a dark, unlit school.

Because the front gate was locked, they climbed over the wall.

“Jump. I’ll catch you.”

Woo-geon jumped down first and opened his arms.

“I’m heavy…”

When she hesitated, he motioned quickly.

“Well—whatever!”

“Aah!”

She shut her eyes and jumped.

Instead of hitting the ground, she landed in strong, warm arms.

Woo-geon laughed softly as he caught her.

“You jump like a fairy.”

Her ears burned.

She quickly pushed away from him.

“You told me to jump!”

“I was praising you.”

“Sounds like a lie.”

“You’re sharp.”

“Hmph!”

She glared at him, pouting.

Luckily, it was dark.

Otherwise, her flushed face would have been obvious.

Woo-geon led her to a two-story building beside the main hall.

A sign read: Songil Museum.

The same place she had seen him before.

She looked around suspiciously.

“How are there butterflies in a place like this?”

“There are more here than you think.”

Woo-geon opened the door and went inside.

So-hye hesitated.

The darkness made her legs feel weak.

“Unni Nang-geum said ghosts appear at schools at night…”

She remembered a dancer’s scary story.

Woo-geon turned back and took her hand.

“If you’re scared, hold my hand.”

Warmth spread through her palm.

He smiled gently, like to a younger sibling, and started walking.

Her feet moved naturally with his.

They climbed to the second floor and stopped at a classroom at the end of the hall.

“This is it. The place where you can be buried in butterflies.”

He opened the door and turned on the light.

“Wow…”

So-hye gasped.

Butterflies filled her entire view.

From floor to ceiling, countless kinds hung like stars.

She walked in as if enchanted.

Butterflies with wide-spread wings shone inside glass frames.

“They’re so beautiful…”

She whispered.

She gently touched the glass.

Seeing butterflies this close was new and magical.

“They look like they might fly away.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. I’m so glad I followed you.”

She smiled brightly and continued looking.

While she admired the butterflies, Woo-geon leaned against a desk and watched her.

Her pale face, lightly flushed, filled with wonder.

It felt like a new place to him too.

She looked like a child.

Pure and innocent.

“This one is pretty too! The colors are amazing!”

Her curiosity was adorable.

He smiled without realizing it.

“Did you catch all of these?”

“My assistant and students helped a lot.”

“I’d believe you if you said butterflies from all over Joseon were here.”

She read the name tags.

All were written in Korean.

Then she asked worriedly,

“Is it okay to write in Korean? I heard it’s not allowed in schools now.”

“This school was built by American missionaries. It’s less controlled. And my lab is private.”

That explained it.

Books in Korean filled the shelves too.

A place free from the world.

“How do you study butterflies?”

“We collect thousands—sometimes tens of thousands—of the same species.”

“Tens of thousands?!”

She stared in disbelief.

“That’s enough to write a whole book.”

“For one line of a paper, you need to handle thirty thousand.”

“Thirty thousand?!”

Her mind went blank.

“That’s incredible.”

“That’s taxonomy. It’s all about numbers.”

“So not just anyone can do it.”

“Scholars are strange people.”

“Are butterfly scholars all like that?”

“…I learned from my older brother.”

Woo-geon paused.

The light in his face faded.

Longing. Regret. Resentment.

Then a faint smile covered it.

“That’s how I became this way.”

So-hye felt like she had seen a wound she shouldn’t have.

“Why butterflies?”

He reached up and touched a bundle hanging from the ceiling.

“They’re pitiful.”

White chrysanthemums.

Flowers for the dead.

“They wander freely but can never leave this land.”

“They remind me of people I know.”

The air grew heavy.

Beautiful, yet unbearably sad.

So-hye stepped closer.

She took his hand away from the butterflies and made him look at her.

Their eyes met.

“Pretty things should be seen as just pretty.”

“….”

“Please look at them beautifully. Not sadly.”

Silence balanced like a thin wire.

“…You’re right.”

Warmth returned to Woo-geon’s dry voice.

“Pretty things should be seen as pretty.”

He placed his hand gently on her head, then stepped back.

“That’s enough walking for today. Let’s go.”

He left first.

Outside, his smile faded.

“Don’t see it sadly…”

It sounded like,

“You are not guilty.”

“You don’t need to feel sorry.”

His tight chest loosened, just a little.

“Wait for me, teacher!”

He shouldn’t have let that happen.

Woo-geon looked down at So-hye walking beside him.

This small girl was touching something deep inside him—

far too easily.