Chapter 1

From then on, watching the news became my unwavering hobby.

They weren’t on the news every day, but whenever they were, I would always have a good dream that night.

In my dreams, my parents would take me with them, and I could go on adventures with them.

They would hold me in their arms, ruffle my hair, and call me “baby.”

Later, when I entered junior high school, I went to study in town.

By that time, mobile phones had started to become more common.

One day after school, I found that old mobile phone that hadn’t been turned on for a long time in the drawer of Grandma’s bedside table. I charged it up again and when I found the number with my parents’ names in the contacts, my heart started pounding uncontrollably.

The call didn’t go through; the phone had been out of service for a long time.

Later, I saved up money for a long time, reciting that number representing my parents every day.

Finally, on my birthday, I gave ten dollars to the owner of the small shop at the entrance and borrowed her phone to dial that number.

The phone rang for a long time, and just when I thought no one would answer, that gentle male voice that had been lingering in my dreams day and night sounded.

“Dad!” I exclaimed his name excitedly, telling him I was his baby.

But he was silent for a long time, as if he couldn’t remember that he had a baby back in his hometown.

When he spoke again, his voice was a bit hurried. He said, “Baby, Dad’s busy with work. I’ll contact you later. Be good and listen to your grandmother back home.”

He hung up without waiting for my reply.

I held the phone, warmed by the heat from my ear, feeling a bit disappointed.

This was the first time I had spoken to my father in my memory.

A child’s intuition is actually keen, and on that day, I suddenly realized something.

My parents didn’t necessarily miss me as much as I missed them.

From then on, I still couldn’t break the habit of waiting for the news in front of the TV, but I was no longer as excited as before when waiting.

Once, I had fantasized that I was a loved child, thinking that Mom and Dad also wanted to see me through the screen.

But now, I finally understood that they probably didn’t love me.

To them, I was a strange existence that hadn’t left much impression due to the long separation.