Thoughts on Evil I

There were quite many children in my village where I spent my childhood, though it was a deep inside of the countryside, hinted by the then government's birth control policy due to the exponential increase of the population then. There had always been the noisy bustling mixed with children's giggling, chattering and sometimes screaming at the square site called 'Saeng-ggeol' which I probably guess as an accentuated pronunciation of 'Saem-Gol' meaning a valley with a spring in it. It was an everyday scene that lasted till dusk.

I always felt immensly joyful when together since their heart was simple and good, looking after the nature around them; it was always exceptionally gleeful and full of tireless fun.

Children of mountainside are as nimble and swift as a mountain squirrel. When playing in Ojingoe-Nori (Squid game)or Gomujul-Nori (hopping in and with an elastic rubber band), you'll be awed by their spectacular movement, almost like their slendery small bodies flying and doing a somersault.

I was always the one who was the dullest and poor at plays, understandable from my plumpy bodily frame. Thus I took plays at both sides, not counting as a real player all the time. No matter what play I was in, I couldn't survive even more than a minute. All I should or could do was just put smile on my round chubby face, clamoured at their somersaulty movements or just stay silent which had been my primary job. Naturally it decided my pecking order among peers. Hardly opining or making any suggestion, I nodded to and followed what the leader wanted to do.

There was no problem. They were fair and empathetic. So it was more joyous when together, though I must admit sometimes it bored me, out of being an on-looker and non-participation.

'Eunju' who was quite pretty with an agile body and thought as smart, was a leader at that time. Slightly cunning as she was, when my toy was found at her place, I tilted my head, talking to myself 'mysterious', unable to further my thought more than that.

Once, mom slipped her words that Eunju seemed to have malo in her. But my wit couldn't catch what she meant, thinking mom didn't quite know who Eunju was.

When we entered the primary school, we got more excited since it was us that was the biggest gang in the vicinity, in addition that all our members got considered quick and smart. Eunju became a vice classs president since she studied well too. Afterwards, she got even more popular. Nothing seemed to change other than that.

After school, we had to walk around O-Ri(Five Ri), a bit shorther than two kilometers. It took roughly thirty minutes to commute from school to home. While bored on our way home, we picked and ate mulberries, pinching raddishes, playing Gonggi and etc., and it was studded with both great and small adventures all the time.

'Anybody who will carry my bag?"

Eunju's speaking, two kids' hands got shot out to have hers.

'Does she feel it heavy?'

Though it was worthwhile to be marked, I didn't take any notice of it. Though I liked Eunju a lot, I never offer my hand for her bag. Somehow, I didn't feel like it. Afterwards it became a routine among us that kids carried her bag,taking their turns. Even while so, I didn't realize what it meant.

"Crawl from here! All you guys now!"

Still twenty more minutes to go home, I thought what she told was excessive. Nevertheless, I didn't get angry. We started to crawl on the earthly ground on all fours, sweating heavily.

"You and you! get the thorny twigs and lash them when they get slow, leading from front and backing from rear!"

Those two kids were the ones who were closer to Eunju and they snapped the thorny sprigs and hurried us. I couldn't really understand what we were doing but were still dull enough to question 'might it be some sort of new play?', continuing to crawl profusely sweating.

One another day,

"I kind of not like walking, what about lifting and carrying me?"

Surrounding her who was slim and small, we lifted her like doing a celebratory lift and moved carefully. We circled a bit like doing Ganggangsuelle, traditional Korean circling dance.

"I'm not doing this. I'll go home."

Uninterested, I said casually and swiftly went home, departing the gang.