Lee Kyung-hee, the childcare teacher at Agnes Orphanage, played the role of head teacher here. Since the high school students went to school on their own, she didn’t need to worry about them, but the elementary students had to be transported to and from school in the orphanage’s van. Therefore, she had to pick up the children according to the schedule of the 5th and 6th graders, which meant the younger ones had to spend time at school until she could fetch them. Fortunately, the children from the orphanage were quick-witted and cautious, so there were rarely any major incidents, which was a relief.

However, lately, there was a different reason for concern. It was because of a child known as ‘Plaster’ at school. The child often had an expressionless face, making it hard to tell what he was thinking, but recent concerns had arisen about his abilities following a conversation with his homeroom teacher.

Honestly, if the other children behaved and studied as diligently and quietly as him, there would be nothing more she could wish for as a childcare teacher. Since a few days ago, he had started borrowing books from a friend and spent more time reading in his room, which meant she no longer needed to nag the other children as much. He was naturally quick-witted and diligent. He woke up early in the morning to prepare for school on his own, which spared her the effort of waking him up, and he was also meticulous and active during cleaning time, which pleased Kyung-hee greatly. In terms of his attitude towards life, he was a student who deserved full marks.

But they say he’s a genius. It’s not possible he’s been receiving private tutoring without the childcare teacher’s knowledge, so it must be self-study. His rapid progress in school subjects, notably excelling in several areas, was enough to surprise his homeroom teacher. Overall, after considering the opinions of the after-school teachers as well, the homeroom teacher thought the child might indeed be a ‘genius.’ Although there were no professional and systematic tests to confirm this, the teacher suggested he was at least at a ‘gifted’ level and mentioned the need for professional and systematic testing and management.

“Teacher!”

Just then, the children were running out from the school gate. Among them was the ‘genius’ known as ‘Plaster,’ who, as usual, had an expressionless face and was being dragged along by Myeong-su.

“Take it easy. Slow down. Myeong-su, watch your step.”

The orphanage had to care for not just one or two children. Just because one child stood out, it didn’t mean they could afford to focus on managing him alone. Realistically, the child could not expect to receive special support.

“Row, ho, forward, yo, row, ho, forward!”

Myeong-su was always energetic, as if it was hard for him to contain his energy 24/7. He was truly a beacon of positive energy. Kyung-hee’s gaze momentarily turned to the ‘balloon-like’ ‘Plaster,’ always being swung around by the eternally positive Myeong-su, but soon looked away. Continuing to watch him only added to her pity. With the upcoming school holidays, she briefly considered looking for volunteers who were interested in donating their talents.

Kyung-eun’s mother had recently noticed that her daughter seemed unusually happy. Although her attention was divided among Kyung-eun’s older brother, a fourth grader, and her sister, a third grader, it was clear that her youngest, who had just started elementary school, was different from usual as she hummed while packing her schoolbag. She was proud to see her picking books from her brother or sister’s room, although she realized she had never actually seen her reading them, which made her a bit suspicious.

“Kyung-eun, how is school? Having fun?”

She casually asked Kyung-eun, who was waiting for dinner while watching TV. Kyung-eun still preferred TV over books. When pressed further, she finally responded.

“Yeah, it’s fun. Earlier today at school, during PE, Hye-jin and I played a game of ground tag, and we won. Hye-jin is really fast, but I was super fast too, so we got the ground before the others could. The teacher even praised me for being fast.”

While setting the table, Kyung-eun’s mother smiled as she looked at her daughter, who was eagerly sharing her story. She already knew from the homeroom teacher’s post on social media that they had played ground tag during today’s physical education class.

“That’s great. Seems like you get along well with your friends.”

“Yeah, today Ji-hoon got scolded during Korean class because he was fooling around, so everyone laughed. He asked if rabbit meat was tasty when the teacher said tigers would eat rabbits. When the teacher said she didn’t know, he asked if tigers could eat it too, so we all laughed again. He said he’d try it and tell us how it tastes. But I didn’t laugh. He thinks about too weird things.”

Kyung-eun’s mother humored her, still sensing that her daughter’s true feelings hadn’t surfaced, so she probed a bit further.

“But who is your closest friend at school?”

“Me? I’m closest to Hye-jin.”

“Does Hye-jin study well?”

“Hmm… similar to me.”

“Does she read a lot?”

“No, it’s… ‘Plaster’ who reads a lot.”

Intuitively, she knew. The child known as ‘Plaster’ was the one lifting her daughter’s spirits.

“So, you’re close with this ‘Plaster’?”

“Yes. We attend after-school classes together every day. ‘Plaster’ is really smart. The teachers always praise him.”

“And?”

Kyung-eun’s mother briefly approached her daughter, having casually set the table. Whether or not he was smart wasn’t important to her. She was just slightly, very slightly, worried.

“But, Kyung-eun, I’d prefer if you didn’t get too close to him. Aren’t there other smart and kind friends too?”

“……”

Was it unexpected to hear that? Kyung-eun looked at her mother, not understanding her intentions. From a mother’s perspective, it didn’t look good for her daughter to be close with a boy from the orphanage who always had an expressionless face. It might seem prejudiced, but children from the orphanage might be emotionally unstable, and she feared emotional issues might arise from being too close. Plus, she worried he might hurt her daughter somehow. It might be prejudiced, but that was the reality.

The mother pondered how to explain this to her daughter, her words spilling out as she forgot that the soup on the table was getting cold.

Once again, morning had dawned. As always, the first to rise was now climbing the hill behind the orphanage. The child, whose name was unknown—or perhaps forgotten—had wandered the forests beyond the western hills of the slums for so long that hiking up this hill was quite manageable. The childcare teachers and house parents didn’t even know he climbed the hill before they woke up, enjoying the sunrise from the summit.

He had climbed the hill on a whim. After waking up, he saw the twilight in the sky and impulsively sought out the ‘forest,’ spurred by memories of the past.

The dampness and cool air of the forest refreshed the child’s body and soul. The sounds of the forest waking up and the sky heralding a new day pleased his ears. This place, at least, reminded him of the forests he used to roam.

While enjoying the forest’s energy, the child realized why he was so absorbed in his books.

He wanted to know.

‘What kind of place is this?’

This place was surrounded by customs and environments that the child’s mind could not comprehend. When he had watched TV in the orphanage’s viewing room, he had almost fainted. When the child first entered the forest, his father was with him, teaching him about the paths, trees, herbs, and animals, and what to beware of and what could be gained from the forest.

But this place was filled with even stranger things, and no one told him what to be cautious of or what to approach. The child felt he needed to understand this place.

‘Why did I come here?’

Instinctively, the child realized that this place was a completely different world from the one he had lived in before. The color of the sky, the taste of the air, the clothing, daily life, customs, and food—all were different. Most of all, the ‘language’ was different.

At first, the child didn’t realize it. He understood naturally and spoke naturally. But when he thought about his name, he was secretly shocked to realize that the ‘language’ was different. Faced with an incomprehensible situation, the child had even shut himself off from speaking.

But the intelligent child, as he learned more about this place, seriously pondered ‘why he had come here.’ Of course, he hadn’t found the answer yet. But he hadn’t given up. The child guessed that once he became as smart as the adults, or even smarter, he might see the answer. He believed he didn’t know because he was still too young to understand.

One last question remained.

‘Where did my mother go?’

This question was the greatest puzzle he wanted to solve. Yet, he might never know the answer. But he would not give up. Every problem can be solved if the right process is followed, as the after-school teacher Park Hae-ul had said.

Watching the rising sun, the child vowed to solve this mystery.