“Julian, it’s cold.”

Though they quickly took shelter under a rock to escape the downpour, the children were already drenched. Especially young Minsoo, who had been quite depleted by the hike and the rain, seemed to be turning blue.

“Just hang in there. The rain will stop soon.”

Julian wrapped his arms around Minsoo from behind to warm him. Hyunggeun and Cheolyong also huddled close, embracing each other. If they hadn’t been so physically drained, they might not have ended up in such a plight (?). Julian looked up at the sky, which was obscured by the rock above and blurred by the dense shower beyond, making it impossible to see how far the storm clouds had moved.

As time passed, a cold dampness began creeping up Julian’s back. His grip on Minsoo’s shoulders tightened. With his free hand, he reached for the pendant around his neck and clutched it.

“Father, please help us.”

A medium-sized sedan entered the orphanage. The car pulled up in front of the entrance and the director along with the office manager got out. The beginning of summer called for a nourishing visit to the chicken soup restaurant; the director felt even more expansive as he walked into the orphanage, patting his fuller midsection. The office manager followed, his face expressing hunger.

“Director, I’ll handle the budget revision report as you instructed.”

“Yes, yes, that’s good. I can’t tell you how reassuring it is to have you here. You know what I mean?”

Content with his meal and with how smoothly his day was proceeding, the director considered heading home early to enjoy his family.

“And about the four students graduating this year, whether we need to reduce our staff…”

The office manager’s worry was met with a hearty laugh from the director, who responded reassuringly.

“If children leave, we simply bring in as many as we lose. We can’t just cut our experienced staff. If we fire people because we have too many and then hire more because we’re short, that just confuses the kids. Having enough staff means we can create work to keep the orphanage running and contribute to the country, right? That’s exactly your job, isn’t it? Talk to the department head at the city hall later. Who knows? There might be new children who need to come our way.”

The director clapped the office manager on the back as a sign of encouragement.

“Come on, let’s go up and have a cup of coffee. I heard some good coffee came in.”

“Yes, Director.”

The office manager, adjusting his expression, followed the chuckling director. An administrative manager, observing them pass, clicked his tongue and quickly made his way back to his office, where he met the eyes of a female staff member.

“Ms. Seorim, could I get a coffee, please? Make it strong.”

“Yes, Manager.”

As the manager settled at his desk and loosened his tie, which felt increasingly tight due to his recent weight gain, he pondered briefly over starting a diet. The female staff brought him his coffee—a deep brown brew. He took a sip and looked out the window. The rain had been torrential just a moment ago but was now softening. Summer showers were intense but brief.

“A shower…”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Carry on with your work.”

Dismissing any further intrusion, the manager turned his attention back to his monitor. He was gathering concrete evidence to eventually impeach the director. While the office manager seemed to have fortified his defenses well, the director’s influence appeared solid from top to bottom.

“With Board members Hwang Hee-sook and Kang Myeong-ja, and the office manager involved…”

Yet, the manager believed it would be the director who would ultimately face the storm. Backed by key figures within the foundation, he felt an overturn was imminent. Sipping the strong coffee, he wondered how long the rain would last.

As the rain eased around lunchtime—having poured for about three hours and not yet completely stopped—the childcare worker at the orphanage felt an agonizing tension.

“Mr. Park, is something wrong?”

The childcare worker’s hesitation at the entrance seemed odd to the living guidance counselor.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Just enjoying the rare rain. Just worried about the kids who went out today.”

Could the worker even realize the absurdity of his excuse? The children wouldn’t return for another four hours, and since when had he taken such a keen interest in their well-being? The guidance counselor decided it was best to return to his duties, dismissing the unnecessary concern with a shake of his head.

“Mind your own business.”

The childcare worker shot a sharp glance at the departing counselor and then looked back outside. The rain seemed like it would take a while to stop. He wished the children would just burst through the rain and appear on the sports field so he could scold them, then warmly embrace them, relieved:

“I prayed so hard for your safety, like a mother would. I’m so glad you’re safe.”

He imagined the approving glances of other teachers and children, avoiding any need for reprimands or writing explanatory reports, no kneeling before the stern director.

Please, he prayed silently, let everything go well today.

Unaware of the concern (?) for them, the children huddled together under the rock, waiting for the rain to stop, felt slightly reenergized after resting briefly.

“Let’s head down now, Hyunggeun.”

Cheolyong urged again, prompting Hyunggeun to make a decision. Noticing that Minsoo seemed quite exhausted, he agreed it was time to descend.

“Yeah, the rain’s not too bad now. We can go.”

Julian also felt it was the right call to descend. Surprisingly, he felt less cold than before, which he took as a sign his strength had returned. Minsoo didn’t say anything but seemed to regain some color in his lips.

Leading the way, Hyunggeun set a slow pace down the mountain. Wet leaves on the path made the descent slippery, and all the boys were tense with the fear of falling. They moved in silence, but the air was thick with a sense of crisis. Suddenly, Minsoo slipped on a wet leaf.

“Minsoo!”