Moon's Labyrinths

It was a rainy day . Dark clouds covered the clear sky, and water kept pouring down hard in a cantankerous manner . It was raining so heavily that one would get wet even if one had an umbrella .

The dark and heavy rain made people feel gloomy . Even in such weather, Sungyoon stood in the front door of the building . He was facing Shinhae .

The building was large . It was a three story building made out of bricks, and it looked like a sturdy and practical building . However, the most eye catching part of the building was the large letters written on the outer wall . It said orphanage in large letters .

Sungyoon raised his hand and brushed Shinhae’s cheek . Her face was clean and pale, and she still looked intelligent . The only difference was that she had lost some weight compared to before . Unlike his daughter’s appearance, Sungyoon’s hand was skinny and rough .

His hands weren’t the only thing that had changed . His mental health had suffered, so his face looked gaunt . He had lost so much weight that his pot belly was nowhere to be seen . He wore a shabby coat, worn jeans and dirty sneakers . It spoke volumes as to what kind of life he was leading now .

On the other hand, Shinhae hadn’t changed much compared to him . She just wore worn-out clothes compared to before .

“Shinhae . You have to listen to your teacher . You have to be nice . Alright?”

He wouldn’t be able to meet her for awhile . He felt his daughter’s body temperature as he knelt in front of her . He got on her eye level then he placed his palms on her cheeks .

“ . . . can’t I continue living with you, dad?”

Tears were starting to form in Shinhae’s eyes . He felt his throat constrict, and he was having a hard time speaking .

Sungyoon’s eyes had also turned red . He felt a burn in his nose as if he was about to cry . However, he did his best to smile at his daughter .

“Dad has to go to work, so that can’t happen . On the other hand, I’ll visit you often . ”

“How long do I have to sleep to see you?”

Shinhae raised her fingers . She started to fold her fingers as if she was already counting the days . Sungyoon firmly grasped her hand .

“Thirty nights . Yes . I’ll come see you before you sleep 30 nights . ”

“That is too long . . . . ”

Shinhae lowered her head in disappointment, and Sungyoon felt as if his heart was going to be ripped apart .

Until now, Shinhae hadn’t complained at all . She knew what kind of situation her father was in . She had been a good child up until now, but she started throwing a tantrum . The reason was quite obvious . She hated the idea of being separated from her father .

If he had his way, he would just say, “Ok . Let’s live together . ” She would leave the orphanage with Shinhae in his arms . However, circumstances wouldn’t allow him to do that .

The poor living conditions and meals would negatively affect Shinhae’s growth . Then there would be the creditors that would come daily to harass him . The sight of her father being accosted by creditors would mentally scar her . Moreover, he had to travel to different regions to find work . There was no way Sungyoon could raise a young female child in such conditions .

He had no idea how many times he had thought over this problem . He didn’t know how many times he had cried . He had no idea how many times he had shouted out loud in despair . However, this was the only way that would allow Shinhae to grow up without adversely affecting her .

“I’ll do my best to visit often . I promise . ”

Large drops of tears started to fall from his daughter’s eyes, and the only thing he could give was his word . Shinhae hugged her dad tight around his neck .

“You promised . You’ll come visit me often . ”

He could hear Shinhae’s tearful voice next to his ear . His shoulder had become wet from his daughter’s tears and runny nose, but Sungyoon didn’t mind it . In fact, he hugged her closer .

“Yes . . . I’ll come often . . . to meet you . ”

There was a lump in his throat, so he was almost gasping out his words . He was barely able to give her his promise while his cheeks were also flowing with sad tears .

The father and daughter hugged each other for a long time .

However, they couldn’t stay like this forever . Sungyoon wiped away his tears with his hand . Then he grabbed Shinhae’s shoulders and separated her from his embrace . Shinhae didn’t resist as she moved away from Sungyoon’s arms .

“Alright . Please take care of her . ”

Sungyoon got up then he bowed his head . He had bent to almost a 90 degree angle . The nursery teacher had been off to the side . She quietly watched the father and daughter say goodbye to each other . She was someone that would be taking care of Shinhae, so Sungyoon showed utmost respect towards her .

“Yes . Please don’t worry . ”

The teacher gave a slight smile in order to put Sungyoon at ease . She looked like virtuous woman in her early 40s . She carefully grabbed Shinhae’s hand . Shinhae was still tightly grasping Sungyoon’s clothes .

“Well, Shinhae . You have to say goodbye to your father now . ”

The moment that he didn’t want to arrive had finally arrived . A copious amount of tears kept falling from Shinhae’s eyes as she shook Sungyoon’s hand .

“You have to come back quickly!”

“Of course . Of course, I will . ”

Sungyoon raised his thumb as he let out a bright smile towards his daughter .

Then he finally turned his back on his daughter and opened his umbrella, walking into the rain . Maybe, it was the massive amount of rain water flowing across the ground, but his footsteps felt heavy . He looked back several times . Shinhae continued to wave her hands towards him . However, all things must come to an end . When he exited the front gate of the orphanage, his line of sight was blocked by a wall .

He could no longer see his daughter .

“Koohk . Koo-hoohk!”

The tears he had been holding back up until now started to flow unhindered . He didn’t bother using his umbrella . The heavy rain covered up the tears flowing down his face . However, he couldn’t stop the wail that emanated from deep within him .

“S . . . Shinhae . Dad is sorry . I’m really really sorry . ”

He wasn’t aware of the fact that everyone was staring at him as if he was a weirdo . Sungyoon looked like a mad man as he kept apologizing to Shinhae .

He had promised that he would protect his daughter at all cost . But in the end, it had been an empty promise . His creditors wouldn’t let him keep his promise . The world wasn’t that easy .

Sungyoon leaned against the wall surrounding the orphanage . Shinhae was also crying loudly . She had waited until her father’s figure become obscured by the wall . She let out all the sadness she had been holding back . The nursery teacher tried to console her, but Shinhae didn’t stop crying .

On the day when the rain was pouring down from the sky, the father and daughter wailed in sadness as they were separated by a single wall .

* * *

Shinhae was his last treasure, yet he had to leave her at an orphanage . His pleasant and cheerful personality was gone, and what was left now was a husk of himself . If he didn’t have Shinhae, he would have been another corpse floating down the Han river .

However, he still had a lifeline called Shinhae . She possessed his heart . He had lost all motivation for life, but there was a single flame that remained burning inside his heart . When he separated from Shinhae, he had engraved how she had looked in their last meeting . The memory allowed him to move his body, which was like an old tree .

He no longer wanted societal position and wealth . The flame of his ambition had been extinguished . He only moved for one reason .

He wanted to live with his daughter once again .

For others, this might not be a hard goal to achieve, but for Sungyoon, it was very difficult to achieve this goal . Above all else, his enormous debt got in the way of his dream . In total, he owed 7 . 2 million dollars . It was a massive amount of money . It was a figure that a regular person wouldn’t see in their lifetime .

Sungyoon had lost everything, so it was impossible for him to pay it all back .

In the end, he tried to apply for personal bankruptcy . However, the amount was too large, so it was impossible for him to resolve the debt through personal bankruptcy . The process for applying for personal bankruptcy was too convoluted, and it would take too long for it to be approved . There was also no guarantee that it would be approved .

This was why he had to work for a living . Sungyoon moved busily . He barely had time to sleep .

“Koohk!”

A heavy weight was pressing down on his shoulders . A short moan escaped his mouth . He thought he had somewhat gotten used to this work, but he was mistaken . It was a very ill advised thought .

Sungyoon was using a back carrier to transport bricks . He moved as if he was dragging his feet . He had been an owner of a successful company, but now he had to do manual labor .

“Ughh!”

His shoulders were already aching . He wanted to make as much money as possible, so he didn’t even complain . He was already on the shit list for being the worst worker on the construction site .

He was barely able to drag his body to his destination . It was a building, but it only had its concrete frame built . It was an eyesore . Sungyoon entered the front entrance, which didn’t have a door yet, and started climbing the gray stairs .

“Huhk! Huhk!”

It didn’t take long for him to start gasping for breath . Sweat was coming down like rain, and his legs were shaking . His steps were slowing, but there was no way he would stop walking . Even if he was slow, he diligently climbed the stairs .

It happened when he climbed two-thirds to his destination .

“Koohk!”

Suddenly, Sungyoon clutched at his chest . His body swayed, and he rammed into the wall .

Crash!

The bricks, which he had been carrying on his back, fell . Several broke in the fall . However, Sungyoon couldn’t pay attention to that .

His chest . . . his heart hurt too much .

“Ah . Ah ahk!”

It felt as if a hydraulic press was pressing down on his heart . He was unable to scream out loud, and he just moaned like an injured animal .

The pain lasted only a couple seconds . However, it felt as if it had lasted forever .

“Gasp! Gasp!”

Sungyoon was on his knees as he took deep breaths . He rubbed his hand around the region over his heart . The pain from before was completely gone . It was as if it had been an illusion . However, he knew that it wasn’t an illusion . He could recall the pain in his memories, so he knew for sure that it had happened .

“Ooh-ehk!”

Sungyoon threw up all the content within his stomach . He kept throwing up until he felt stomach acid come out . He had a runny nose, and tears were falling . His body tried to cope with the side effects brought on by the pain .

* * *

Click!

Sungyoon pressed the switch located on the wall . Soon, the light turned on, and the room came into view .

There was a bed, a TV, and a small closet also existed within this small room . This was a hostel where Sungyoon lived .

He haphazardly threw all his possessions in one corner then he jumped into bed . He should have washed his body first, but he didn’t have the energy to do so .

Sungyoon rubbed where his heart should be located . He thought about the pain he had felt earlier .

‘What the hell was that?’

The pain was so horrible that it was beyond imagination . It was a pain that he never wanted to experience again .

In the end, another worker had witnessed him throwing up . The worker had notified one of the higher ups, so he had to leave early even if he hadn’t wanted to leave .

‘I’m probably on the shit list . ’

He was bad at his job, and now his body wasn’t feeling well . He worried the bad news would spread amongst his superiors . If he no longer received work, he would be at a dead end . When he was the president of his company, his current salary had basically been pocket change . Now it was a massive amount of money that he couldn’t afford to lose .

However, that wasn’t the real problem . The pain had emanated from his heart . His livelihood depended on his body, yet it might have been a signal that his health was deteriorating . If that was true, his future looked very dark .

If it was the past, he would have immediately gone to a hospital to get checked up... .

‘I don’t have any money . ’

Money . It got in the way of everything Sungyoon wanted .

Sungyoon crawled into a ball . His body was shaking and he became worried . What if he died from a disease? He was afraid of leaving this world . He didn’t want to leave behind Shinhae .

‘That can’t happen . ’

At the very least, he wanted to see Shinhae marry a good man . He had to live until his daughter had a happy married life . He had to check if the person, who would marry his daughter, was a good man or a wastrel . He had to make sure she didn’t make the same horrible mistake as him .

‘Please! Please hang in there!’

Sungyoon prayed . He didn’t pray to Jesus, Buddha or Allah . He prayed to his heart . Maybe, it understood his feelings . His heart beat at a steady pace as it quietly continued to do its work .