The first time I went to the temple with Dylan, I remembered it vividly as a child.
The sensation I felt when I went to the temple was shame.
I had imagined a place that was modest and humble, but contrary to what I had imagined, there were a lot of people dressed in glamorous clothes .
I suddenly looked back at my shabby outfit.
My hair is shaggy, my clothes are ragged.
âIs this kid your servant, young master Dylan?â
When the priest mistakenly asked, I really wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
I didnât want anyone to see me.
To the extent that I canât blame the priest who mistook me for a servant.
Dylan was angry with such a priest, but he was neither grateful nor impressed.
Fortunately, Dylan and I were the only ones entering the prayer room.
I was relieved that no one couldnât see my outfit other than Dylan.
On the other hand, I was also embarrassed to be seen like this, even by him.
For a moment, I wondered if Eve and Adam felt like this when they realized they were naked.
âWhy are you playing with me?â
Suddenly, I wondered why Dylan and I got along like this.
My self-esteem, which had been shattered by being ignored for a year, made me wonder. Why is this kid playing with meâŠ
âWhy canât I be with you?â
âWhy are you saying that all of a sudden?â
When Dylan asked, seemingly hurt, I panicked.
âNo, thatâs⊠I am a bit like this.â
âAre you asking because you donât know that?â
I wasnât sure if I was being prejudiced or just being stupidâŠ
What the hell am I saying to the little kid?
I felt like a child after I got used to this small body for a year in Rosieâs body.
Or maybe itâs because Iâve experienced the feeling of helplessness like a child.
âPlease donât let my mother get sick⊠Please heal herâŠâ
Dylan prayed hard by my side.
He and I had one thing in common: our moms were sick, and maybe thatâs why we bonded.
My Korean mother raised me hard by herself.
She worked hard day and night to provide for her daughter.
Thanks to that, I was able to attend an academy despite my poor circumstances, and when I grew up, she sent me to college.
The mother I remember was always exhausted from work.
As a result, by the time I graduated from university, she had fallen ill.
I quickly applied for a leave of absence and took care of her, but her condition didnât improve.
From then on, nursing a sick mother became a daily routine.
When I saw someone seriously ill or sick, I would think of my mother.
âPlease make my mother healthyâŠâ
âDo you say your prayers out loud?â
âWell, if I say it in my heart, itâs the same as everyone else. If I say it out loud, God will hear me better.â
I thought it was a childish idea, but Dylan stopped praying and said something unexpected.
âActually, I donât believe in God.â
âThen why are you praying?â
âMy mother believes in God. My mother asked me to pray for her.â
Dylan returned to prayer.
Looking at him, I also put my hands together and prayed.
⊠I want to go back and apologize to my juniors.
And then, like a miracle, I heard a longing voice.
I immediately raised my head.
âWhatâs the matter?â
âDylan, what did you just hear?â
At that time, I didnât notice a small miracle.
When I was about to go back after praying, the sun was already setting.
âWill you come to pray with me next time?â
Dylan asked excitedly, as if being with me wasnât a bad thing.
âYes. Letâs come together.â
We both promised to meet tomorrow and parted.
But Dylan never came to see me again.
The day I parted with Dylan, I checked the mirror.
I was concerned about the bushy bangs that I had usually left alone.
I looked in the mirror and flipped my hair back and forth.
Perhaps because I was doing something I wasnât supposed to do, I caught Celineâs attention as I was wrinkling my face in front of the mirror.
âNo, just⊠What I could do with my hairâŠâ
âMy dear, I know you donât usually care about your appearance, but have you met any boys you like?â
What are you talking about?
If I like a child like that, then I am not a person.
She doesnât seem to believe me, but she lets it slide.
Iâm just embarrassed to be the dirty little slob next to him.
Celine gently brushed my hair and trimmed the messy hair.
I was amazed when my shaggy hair was trimmed and I checked the mirror.
I hadnât thought of Rosieâs appearance as anything more than bad, but now that she was cleaned up, she was actually quite pretty.
âWho does my daughter look like to be this pretty?â
Celine looked at me happily.
After that, I found the cleanest clothes I had, and Celine actively decorated me with what she had.
It was the first time that it was not awkward to be with Celine after possessing this body.
After that night, I dressed up as much as I could and waited for Dylan.
Hoping to be able to show Dylan a creepy side like a child.
While waiting for him, I ran into the village children who had been bothering me a few times.
But strangely, the children didnât hit me, they just stared blankly at me.
One boy, the leader of the group, blushed when he saw me and suddenly ran away.
I was puzzled, but I didnât really want to know why.
The sun sets and the sunset shines until it becomes night.
Another day passed, and another day passed.
As I waited for Dylan today as always, Aaron, the boy who was the leader of the children who bullied me, came up to me with a red-tinted face.
Then he throws something.
âYou canât eat this, can you, because youâre poor?â
âEither you eat it or you donât.â
What Aaron threw away was chocolate.
When I lived in Korea, I ate a lot of chocolate, but after I left here, it was expensive, so I never looked at that chocolate.
Without hesitation, I threw the chocolate Aaron had thrown in the trash.
He must have done something strange with the food.
Iâve been through this before, and it was foolish to eat it.
When I got home, somehow Celine had come back earlier than usual.
âAre you here, Rosie? Are you hungry?â
She set a hearty meal in front of me.
It was the first delicious meal I had while possessing this body.
âWe canât afford to eat like this.â
Instead of answering, Celine brought up a strange story.
âRosie, donât you want to live as a noble lady?â
âWhy are you asking such a question if we canât afford it anyway?â
Then Celine laughed like it was nothing.
My daughter, donât worry about anything.
Celine whispered in my ear.
âYouâre not going to eat?â
Aaron forced the chocolate into my hand.
âI donât want to eat it. You eat it.â
âWhat? Do you know how expensive this is?â
âYou can have the expensive one.â
Itâs not the first time Iâve had a stomach ache or suffered from eating the strange food Aaron gave me.
I didnât want to go through that again, even if I was hit here.
âAre you rejecting what I give? Youâve never had anything like this because youâre poor!â
âDonât make me say the same thing over and over again, do you want to eat it?â
âYou donât even know how grateful you should for thisâŠ!â
Aaron couldnât take it any longer and immediately grabbed my hair.
Heâll hit it a few times and end it quietly.
I was getting frustrated, but instead of hitting me, Aaron said some nasty things.
âThings that you can barely eat even if you have to sell your houseâŠ!â
I stretched out pretending not to hear. This stuff is routine.
âI heard your mom works at the bar.â
âMy mother says no woman should work in a place like that, becauseâŠâ
Aaron smiled viciously and whispered in my ear.
Those words were so dirty and ugly that I couldnât bear to hear them.
I canât believe it came out of a little boyâs mouth.
Perhaps it was not so much a thought in the boyâs mind, but rather the evaluation his parents had made about Celine.
So I couldnât stand it any longer.
I pushed the boy as hard as I could.
âThen your mother must have been very good to raise such an ugly thing as you.â
âIt is funny to see someone who work so hard to survive?â
Itâs a life where you struggle to survive.
âOr maybe your parents are just as ugly as you. You donât know anything because you have never been in that position and you have no right to judge another personâs life.â
âHave you finished talking now?â
âNo, I didnât. You, who live comfortably thanks to your wealthy parents, and all you know is to bring down and bully someone who works so hard.â
For the first time that day, I poured out all the words Iâd been holding back on Aaron.
Is there any meaning in words that an immature boy will never understand?
And that night, things went wrong.