Chapter eleven (11)
498 Words
The Journey
The journey home was long.
Hyun-woo boarded the train with only a small bag and the ticket Coach Ha-rin had forced into his hands.
He found a seat beside the window and rested his head against the glass.
As the train slowly pulled away from the city, the tall buildings disappeared behind him.
The scenery gradually changed.
The busy streets became quieter.
Concrete buildings gave way to farmland, trees and wide stretches of green.
Hyun-woo watched everything silently.
It had been months since he had been home.
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
There were already several messages from his mother.
Mom: Are you on your way?
Mom: Please let me know when you arrive at the station.
Mom: Your father has been asking about you.
Hyun-woo smiled.
He typed a quick reply.
Hyun-woo: I’m on the train. I’ll be home soon.
He put his phone away and looked through the window again.
The further the train traveled, the more familiar everything became.
The small villages.
The old houses.
The narrow roads.
The mountains in the distance.
This was where he had grown up.
A place far different from the expensive school dormitories and polished basketball courts he had become accustomed to.
His family didn’t have much.
They lived in a small house at the edge of the village, where his mother worked tirelessly to keep the family going and his father took whatever work he could find,including bus driver, his senior sister owns a little saloon, mostly visited by old folks, and his senior brother is a barber
Basketball had been Hyun-woo’s escape.
His dream.
The one thing he believed could change his family’s life.
He closed his eyes.
The doctor’s words came back to him.
You need to rest.
Then Coach Ha-rin’s voice followed.
If you want to return before the competition, you need to recover properly.
Hyun-woo sighed.
He knew they were right.
But knowing that didn’t make leaving any easier.
⸻
Hours Later
The train finally began slowing down.
Hyun-woo opened his eyes.
Outside the window, the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky orange and gold.
A voice announced the arrival at the next station.
Hyun-woo sat up and grabbed his bag.
He looked out the window one last time.
Home.
For the first time since leaving school, he smiled.
The train came to a complete stop.
Hyun-woo stepped onto the platform.
The station was small and almost empty.
A few people walked past carrying bags, while an old man pushed a wooden cart across the platform.
Hyun-woo looked around.
Then he saw someone standing near the station entrance.
His smile disappeared.
His mother.
She stood there waiting for him.
And the moment their eyes met, she started walking toward him.
“Hyun-woo…”
He dropped his bag.
“Mom.”
She pulled him into her arms.
For a moment, Hyun-woo forgot about basketball.
He forgot about the competition.
He forgot about his injured hand.
He was simply home.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD