Park Jimin

The Child Who Carries Sorrow

There was a young man named Jimin, born with an endless winter in his heart.

Evil did not dwell within him, nor did a curse wrap around his neck like a black chain; rather, he himself was the curse. His mere presence was enough to drain the color from faces, make laughter stumble halfway, and plant an ancient sorrow in hearts, as if they suddenly remembered everything they had ever lost.

Mothers would embrace their children and then weep for no reason.

Children would leave their toys and gaze at the sky in a strange silence.

As for Jimin, he walked among people like a cloud heavy with rain, wanting to hurt no one, yet doing so with every step.

Therefore, he lived alone.

So alone that he forgot what warmth felt like.

So alone that his name became too heavy for anyone to utter.

Then, on a quiet evening, his feet led him to a small orphanage at the edge of the city.

And from behind the iron fence, he heard a laugh.

A small light in a sea of silence.

He looked up and saw a five-year-old child, running through the withered grass like a piece of spring that had lost its way into winter.

Jimin waited.

One second.

Then another.

Then long minutes.

But nothing happened.

The smile did not vanish.

The laughter did not fade.

Sorrow did not descend upon that small heart.

Jimin's breath trembled.

For the first time since he was born, his power failed.

The child approached him with short steps, then looked up at him with eyes as clear as the sky after rain.

He smiled.

A smile that did not tremble.

A smile that did not die.

And he said:

"You look lonely."

They were simple words.

But they pierced Jimin's heart more than a thousand swords.

Because no one had ever truly seen him before.

They didn't see the sorrow that inhabited him.

They didn't see the monster people feared.

He saw only him.

Just a lonely young man.

Then the child extended his small hand toward him and asked in a soft voice:

"Can you become my family?"

In that moment, Jimin felt the sorrow that had accumulated in his soul for long years begin to slowly crack...

As if a small beam of light had finally found its way into a heart that thought it would remain night forever. ✨🖤