"Hahaha! Hahaha! That's right! Great job! Can you sing it one more time?"
Franz, sitting on the floor in a way unusual for a Westerner, clapped and laughed at the same level as little Soo-hyun.
Soo-hyun stood up, clasped his hands in front of his belly button, smiled broadly, and began to bend and straighten his knees to the beat:
"Baby shark dorup dorup~ How cute~ dorup dorup."
'He looks younger than my dad, but his eyes are the same as the grandfather downstairs. He looks so happy and so cute... that makes me want to bite him.'
Soo-hyun knew that expression well. And he was a smart child: he knew that most adults who looked at him like that used to treat him with affection.
Franz applauded enthusiastically every time the boy unfolded his small package of familiar songs. When he imitated some of the movements his mother had shown him on his cell phone, he thought Franz was going to faint with emotion.
Soo-hyun was also thrilled with Franz's reaction, who already seemed to be dizzy with so much joy.
'How many hours have passed...?'
Franz, even laughing non-stop, had not noticed the passage of time... until he was startled by a sound that came from outside.
"Hey. Why do you laugh like that, alone? Are you crazy? Open the door."
Soo-hyun's voice stopped in its tracks, along with the singing and dancing.
It was an unknown voice. And it was a man's voice.
'Children instinctively fear the voices of men.'
Franz got up at once and ran to the door.
When he opened it, Soo-hyun, who had partially hidden behind him, caught sight of the man standing in the doorway, hunched over, thin, almost fragile.
"He is a very small and thin-looking old man."
'If I had been a rough man... I would have run far, far away.'
But the man who caught Soo-hyun's attention was short, almost tiny, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses between the fingers of the other. He probably weighed no more than fifty kilos.
He looked at Franz with obvious surprise.
Franz, with a wide smile and open arms, received him with joy:
"Oh, my friend! You came to see me again today!"
"What are you talking about? Yesterday they were all dying. And you, who complained at midnight saying that you were going to die of boredom, are you in such a good mood today?"
"Hahaha! God gave me a gift!"
"A gift...? Are you really crazy?"
Franz patted him lightly on the back and pointed his thumb into the house.
"Look over there. The gift God sent me."
"What the fuck are you talking about...?"
Then, the eyes met.
The man's eyes and those of Soo-hyun, whom Franz had gently pushed towards the door, met in mid-air.
The visitor shuddered. He had an expression as if his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.
"Me, I, I..."
"Hahaha! Now do you know why I was laughing?"
"Oh, oh, oh, that's ridiculous!"
The cup he was holding on his finger slipped.
But Franz, attentive, caught her in the air with an exaggeratedly elegant pose. He twirled it between his fingers before returning it to its owner.
"I understand. I was also surprised a few hours ago."
The man's chin trembled.
The man's gaze did not leave the young Soo-hyun.
"How... how could this happen...?"
More than thirty minutes passed until he managed to regain consciousness.
In Soo-hyun's eyes, this stranger was small, but very well dressed. He was wearing a white shirt adorned with long lace on his chest and wrists—though curiously he had no collar. On top, a neat and elegant suit, from which a watch buckle attached to a thin strap peeked out at the end, probably stored in an inside pocket. Shiny shoes. Pants without a single wrinkle. Thin bracelets hanging from her wrists.
He seemed like someone who enjoyed dressing up... and a lot.
Franz had sat him down on the sofa, poured him some wine, and explained the situation in a calm voice.
After listening for a while, the man turned his head to the boy and spoke slowly:
"So, you were traveling by train with your parents, there was an accident... And you jumped out of the open window and fell here? If so..."
He leaned slightly forward and asked in a very low voice:
"Is he dead?"
Franz shook his head.
"No. He's alive."
The man sat up suddenly.
"What?! What kind of nonsense is that?! Do you know where you are?"
Franz shrugged his shoulders, serenely.
"Wasn't that what I intended? Do you want us to leave a child alone in the middle of the forest? You know well that this is a place that the child's parents cannot enter."
"But... but... This is a place where a live child should not be allowed in."
"I know that too. But what can I do? It's already in."
The man spoke with a serious face, without taking his eyes off Franz.
"I have to return it."
"Is there a way?"
"..."
"If you know how to return it, tell me first. I'm leaving first."
"Franz. Even at this very moment, the boy's parents are probably crying tears of blood as they search for him. We cannot ruin the child's life... nor that of their parents, just because you and I are free."
"I know. How about we take care of it until we find a way?"
"..."
It must be returned. The man knew it too. But there was no clear solution. If I had known how to do it, I would have ripped the child out of that room without thinking.
"After..."
Franz said with his eyebrows raised like crescents, with another intention in his voice.
"Would you like to see our Soo-hyun demonstrate her talent? Soo-hyun? Could you sing that song one more time?"
Soo-hyun, sitting on the bed, looked at him. Franz made friendly signs with his hand... but his legs did not move. Maybe it's the strange man's fault.
Franz frowned at his doubt, turned his head towards the visitor and reprimanded him in a stern tone:
"You scared the little girl! Do you want such a cute creature to come home with bad memories of this place?"
The little man shuddered at Franz's words.
He must not have liked that either.
The man, who had been watching so for a while without daring to speak, cleared his throat a couple of times. Then he gently tapped the sofa with his palm and spoke in a low voice:
"You said your name was Soo-hyun, right? You don't look like a bad person. Would you like to come over for a moment?"
He smiled awkwardly, but still, Soo-hyun felt uncomfortable.
'He seems like a better person than Uncle Franz... but I don't know him yet.'
"Mmm..."
As the boy hesitated, the man walked over to the bed, knelt down, and looked him straight in the eye.
"I'm sorry about before. I was very surprised... Can you forgive me?"
Soo-hyun stared at him. Clear, clean eyes. Although it was the first time they had seen each other, his gaze conveyed a certain warmth, a kind of invisible tranquility.
'Somehow... It makes me feel comfortable.'
He nodded slowly. The man smiled with relief and stretched out his hand.
'Do you mean you want to hug me?'
Soo-hyun opened his arms, and the man stood up carefully, resting his hands on his thighs first to propel himself.
Although he was small and thin, he seemed strong enough to hold Soo-hyun. Even so, his hands were shaking... although he hid it.
Then Franz intervened from the sofa, his voice full of enthusiasm:
"Soo-hyun, that song from before! You said it was the Shark Song, right? Can you sing it again?"
Soo-hyun looked at him, understanding the intent. He cleared his throat with a slight clearing of his throat... and sang:
"Baby Shark~ Du du du~ du du du~"
As Soo-hyun sang, he saw the face of the unknown man—still sitting, still clapping next to Franz—slowly transform. His expression, initially uncertain, softened to the point of a grandfather proudly contemplating his grandson's talents.
It was a warm, friendly expression. One that so hyun knew.
Little by little, he opened his heart.
He sang with more rhythm, more firmness. And the unknown man also began to clap and smile openly, just like Franz.
As soon as the song ended, Franz—with a face so cute that it seemed about to melt—rushed towards Soo-hyun, hugged him, and lifted him into the air with joy.
"I'm sure I'll find your parents! Until then, you'll live with us, okay?"
Soo-hyun, suspended in the sky with Franz's arms holding him, asked in a low voice:
"Really? Are you really going to find Mom and Dad?"
"Of course I do! The old man and I will make it happen."
"Yes."
"Hahaha! It's too late! Soo-hyun, aren't you sleepy?!"
'Come to think of it... I think my eyes have been itching for a while because I was sleepy.' 'I'm very nervous. A lot of amazing things happened today. But as soon as Franz said that... I started to feel tired.'
As he rubbed his eyes and nodded his head, Franz carefully lowered him, laid him on the bed, and covered him with the blanket. Then he patted her head gently.
"Get a good night's sleep."
Franz was about to get up when he felt a slight tug on his shirt. He turned, surprised, when he noticed that something was stopping her.
A small hand—tiny as a fern shoot—was clinging to the end of his shirt.
"Huh?"
"I'm scared."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Shall I stay with you until you fall asleep?"
"Yes."
Franz began to hum a lullaby, soft and wordless, Soo-hyun closed his eyes and quickly fell into dreamland.
Franz tiptoed back to the sofa, looking several times at the bed to make sure that Soo-hyun was really sleeping. He watched the gentle swaying of his breathing.
Then the man who had been sitting all that time, cup in hand, spoke in a low voice:
"He's alive..."
Franz nodded as he took a sip of wine and settled down.
"Yes. He's a living child."
"Franz."
"Hmm?"
"I'm a little scared."
"What are you talking about?"
The man pointed to Soo-hyun, who was sleeping soundly, and said:
"That child. Shouldn't we return it one day?"
"I guess so."
"Is it okay for you to be so affectionate with him?"
"..."
A child who must be returned one day. In other words, a child from whom one must separate. Although they met today, Franz seems as happy as if he were with his own grandson. The man did not say it reproachfully. He was only worried about his friend, after he inevitably had to separate from that child.
Franz's face hardened for an instant. Then, with a slight smile, he answered:
"Is that a question you would ask yourself?"
"..."
Since the man didn't answer, Franz looked away at Soo-hyun and continued:
"Anyone would say he's adorable. I think so too. But if for fear of separating you can't even love the child in front of you, wouldn't that be even more pitiful? I tell you the same."
"Mmm..."
Franz took another sip of wine, then said in a firm tone:
"I promise. I'll find a way to return it. But I need you to collaborate with me."
"Of course."
"And since we're here... I want to leave something of myself to this child."
The man, who was nodding as he drank, looked at him in surprise.
"You...?"
"Hahaha. What do you think? Don't you think there's a reason God sent us a child? Just as there is nothing in this world that exists without purpose, neither do I believe that what He does is meaningless."
The man watched him for a few seconds, then let out a slight nasal laugh.
"You truly have the faith to complete four of the seven stages of the priesthood."
"Hahaha. And I'm not even a formal priest."
The man carefully set the glass down on the table and, with a lopsided smile, asked:
"Are you going to teach him?"
"Well... Soo-hyun said he's six years old."
"It's a good age to start."
"But... he looks a little young for six years old."
"It could be the case. He's an oriental boy, after all."
The concept of age in the East is different from that in the West. From that perspective, Soo-hyun was probably only five years old.
That's why the conversation went like this. That is why the looks were so careful.
Franz, who had been speaking naturally until then, fixed his eyes on his friend's face.
"Look here."
"Hmm?"
"You should also go out now."
"..."
"Franz..."
Karl Filtsch. His last student, a genius. He died of tuberculosis at the age of fifteen. It was time to let him go.
"..."
Franz sighed in a muffled voice, sat up, and walked to the window. Outside, the night forest was still shrouded in silence.
He sucked in the air slowly. Then he murmured:
"To forget past love... You need another love. Only then can you leave it behind completely. I think now is the time, my friend."
He turned and looked at the man on the couch. His friend was hunched over, with his head lowered.
"Isn't it? My friend Frédéric Chopin."