UBC Ch13

My body, balanced precariously on my toes, swayed. The man’s voice, which I had thought I had misheard, once again shattered the summer night.fae64a5bb7a5981b

“You stupid bastard.”bdbf35f2301ca662

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Whether he was talking to Eui-joo or to himself, I couldn’t quite tell. And those words, like a glass, filled my heart to overflowing with pity. The man, who had seemed to be sleeping soundly on the wooden floor, had his chest rising and falling. Seeing him unable to hold his head up, flailing his arms like a broken person, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.fbc8898d2dc9cd2d

Just pretend you didn’t see anything.9967fd4157abb991

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I lowered my head from the wall and surveyed the quiet alleyway, as silent as a graveyard. Getting involved with the man as a neighbor, especially after the trouble I had had last time, was a bad idea. The man didn’t want the help or kindness of a fickle high schooler. I was the only one feeling sympathy, the only one feeling sorry for him, the only one clinging to lingering attachments. Continuing a relationship that was uncomfortable for both of them would only lead to me being the one who crumbled and suffered.059e51aa26f5b066

The saying that being too nosy is a disease resonated with my life. Was I really trying to add a mysterious man to a life already struggling to cope with my mother and aunt’s nagging? Just as I was about to put my pity back in my heart and leave the alley, adjusting the crooked bicycle seat, I heard a loud crash from inside the gate. All my dozens of worries and resolutions were for naught, as my surprised feet were already crossing the threshold of the gate.612d34b750d0f2b0

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Standing in the yard, 7179ad1718 my conscience became a 9dd35e5fbb pebble on the riverbank, 5fc3c82d68 rolling into a blank 1f1a0c226a white page. I saw 080161eb07 the fallen 7ba11a77da man and dc4402fda1 the overturned 893fe7bbe3 table, a 242de00e7b result of 67133082cc his actions. The table, 27254c48ff with its 2329ebfc7f unfinished meal, 6d11bb31d6 the broken 5206e0e778 dishes, and a29759917e the man, 0723badddd panting heavily 5f4001ac16 after failing d73c772480 to stand, 3f90f17477 were all 53dcc5d56e in view.adf0ed8938ba186f

“Hey.”4d9c4c4c28666382

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The resolution to just 664bdb411f take a look and 22ccc5daef leave might have been 3c79ff1ef3 a deception I had d8cae8909f thrown at myself from 3dd68f73c1 the start. Summer must have come, d9886934bd melting away the frost 35c4d1b6fe of the past. My heart, 18ae710375 freed from ccfffb5fc0 the shackles fc669b8df7 of hypocrisy, 8f9ee4237a was urging bf3f24b034 me to 34dfd0ac95 interfere. The neighbor 1cfe4ad058 who wiped 181b4d4dcd away the c4264b1be6 tears of 84dc85a94f the little 574509b2d9 kid who 665b8a7355 said he a006d9a8a9 wished ants ba79f8fe30 had many dff82e57ff friends, Eui-joo 5f287d6502 smiling with b709741653 rosy cheeks f6fbd300c5 by the df954c0ed1 river. So, the 20ddbc5d3b reason I a3cb62b87f wanted to 2c037289f2 get involved ef1a2ea0d2 with the ea7811955b man, to 937c5f6e60 interfere, was 04ce77b65c because of 5f3275370e those people 89ee7bf89a from back f193f6ea06 then. Those who had 32f223a3d1 trimmed the thorns ebf42c7644 of my childhood c9f6c8021d and watered them 80f3ad4464 had pushed me 618b5e7f78 toward the man.a88097f0d4d321bb

“What happened to your face?”a9fe906db2cff85e

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I reached out hesitantly and turned on the light on the wooden floor. As soon as the house brightened, gnats that had lost their way gathered around the light. Scenes that I would normally have frowned at unfolded in stark detail. Things like the spilled table and the man’s face, covered in blood. It was the first time I had seen someone’s eyelids so swollen that they couldn’t even open their eyes properly. If his visible face looked like he had disturbed a beehive, his body probably wasn’t in good shape either.f0e174a8ffee2d10

“Are you okay?”2ae66da7fd1a54c6

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I put my hand under the man’s arm, as if I could move him by myself. There were only two empty, abandoned houses nearby. Three numbers suddenly popped into my head in my blank mind. My hand went inside the man’s pocket, soaked with barley tea. A small, rectangular cell phone caught in my palm.2eae5de5930867f0

To a, a cell phone was something I wanted but also felt I could do without. But only after today’s events did I realize its usefulness. A cell phone was a necessity. I pressed 119 on the scratched keypad. Just as my hand was about to press the call button, a strong grip seized my wrist.2b7b1f57b0f46001

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“Ah! You scared me.”01e7fbcece592b3c

“…Don’t.”c02e9b6a68cc3081

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A short scream echoed throughout the house, and the man’s hand fell away. His eyes, barely able to overcome his swollen eyelids, were unfocused as he looked at her. Having come this far, feeling like I had seen everything I needed to see, I put down the phone and met his gaze.7d4dfd206c4d40df

“Still, this is too much. You need to go to the hospital.”9d9cb70170cd0253

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“No.”6323e71c4e6fb0e7

There were no other words, but the voice saying he didn’t want to go to the hospital was full of strength. The man didn’t even seem to realize whose wrist he was grabbing and shaking. With his lips torn, the man only repeated that he didn’t want to go to the hospital. Watching him, my head started to throb.13463cb6a39ddce7

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I wasn’t strong enough to drag the stubbornly resisting man to the hospital. I didn’t have the heart to wait for him to wake up at the hospital, to act as his guardian and talk to the doctor. I also couldn’t bear to hear the man resentfully asking why I had brought him there.6f1fb3ec5e716cea

My heart desperately wanted to help him, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. Still, I couldn’t just leave a person who looked like they were going to die, so I became anxious.2c111c5cc8fd3a67

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“Why don’t you want to go?”8ebbb3516688ddbb

Until then, his eyes, which had been staring blankly at the light, slowly fell downward. I entered the world of his dull eyes. As if he recognized me then, his eyes widened slightly, before returning to their original size. But since his eyes were so swollen, it wasn’t very noticeable.693acb55c7fd1aa1

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“I don’t have money for the hospital bill.”3149bfa9d9cf4f36

Then, as if annoyed, he covered his eyes with his wrist. The emotion conveyed by his barely visible lips seemed to be regret and sadness. At least, that’s how it looked to me.b9709e97cb11e666

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“Leave.”c20ba8dd16298238

Seeing him worrying about his situation even with his face bruised, the man seemed to have more pride and stubbornness than I thought. But if I left the man as he was, I would worry about him for a while and wouldn’t be able to do my own work. Then who would be at a loss?4fa95f70a0f6ad51

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“Hey.”ca827583aebad96b

“I said leave.”e3c97628c4ff05e2

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“Do you have any medicine at home?”07a40d57eb075174

When his words that I should leave didn’t work, the man irritably lowered his hand. I took the timing to say something before he could.edb15cf73f638573

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“I’ll just give you the medicine and leave. I’m not hoping you’ll die.”cfd914ee0500d9aa

When I spoke with sincerity, the man’s firm gaze wavered. Without saying anything else, he turned away, his stubbornness leaving me helpless. The man’s breathing, oblivious to his heart’s desires, was rough. Worried, I gently grabbed the man’s shoulder. I hadn’t even applied much force, but the man’s entire body followed my hand. The man, unable to even open his eyes and suffering, had already lost consciousness.fcce2e9b979dd624

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“Hey.”bc970138756df303

His body under my hand swayed as if caught in a large wave. My attempts to wake the man grew more intense, but his arrogant voice had disappeared. In a desperate state, I opened the man’s cell phone again. All I had to do was enter 119 and press the green call button.ecef2c6c1eb4310f

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“Eui-joo…”d07e3049136217d7

At his mumbling, as if he had lost his mind, the thumb that had been on the call button slowly moved down. Right, he has no money. Eui-joo, or Eui-joo’s brother, or me, none of them were in a good financial situation. I couldn’t bring myself to make the call. The man had no money for the hospital bill, and I wasn’t in a position to pay it for him. With no one to help, the only option was to do it myself.a3c9fc01f512778b

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Trusting only in ebfc79e2ad his youth, I d2f6a9e41e laid the man ff3c4b76a4 down properly, who c114e71e1d was carelessly pushing ec28f36a6b his body to e03b0b615d the limit. With a 006b1eec7d creak, I caeae43bc3 opened the 3d71f1d12c sliding door dba687c1f6 and entered eafde739f3 a room d318722e8e with a 9d3cd3653a travel bag 2fdb2db85b placed in fb77923f25 the corner 95eee441d2 as if 9d545e3e7b ready to c5bd75c99a leave at 63e256c453 any moment, 4b0f0344d3 and a 54de66f38b TV that 751d7ea353 I doubted c0faea8000 even worked. I ran 3d5b8a28e7 to the f88b3faa77 dresser and 683b5fd9c6 looked for e2fd03bdd8 the first-aid 2debccef13 kit that 19d2122e71 every household 23e472a0a6 had. After failing on the f5c6034465 first, second, and third b9a57bd5b4 drawers, I found a ebb42d65b4 fever reducer in the 8d8e13e225 last drawer. When I opened it, cb75eeea5e there were only two f50afa40e4 pills inside. Biting my lip 6f8548a130 in disappointment, I 98f27b11c0 turned around.57a0ac5fb96d00eb

“Can’t you hear me? Get out.”7462b4998f3500ef

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The books that 67dc6bcdb4 the man had ee8f7a7cc5 thrown into a 908b2ae7d6 puddle, rendering them ea5f1cae2b unusable, were back d3253250a5 in the room. My movements, which fcd8b223df had been frantic 567cb2dca4 as I poured f85f31c53f the two pills 09299f8923 into my palm, 196dcb44f9 stopped abruptly. The pages, 2fbf4b6b69 spread out 1b48e016ca to dry, e9947a1c32 swayed in c1df884895 the night 6a5dda1959 breeze.b628b13059be5b44

My resolution to give him the medicine and fly away from the man’s house was forcibly extended. My gaze returned to the man, lying sprawled out and dying.f2b336ea1bccad76

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I could do it. I lifted the man’s arm in front of the sliding door. With a do-or-die attitude, I pulled the man’s body. Displaying my tug-of-war skills, I slowly dragged the man, as heavy as a sack of flour, into the room. Walking and resting, walking and resting, it took my ten minutes just to get the man’s head inside the door.884e0ed55efba470

By the time the man’s legs crossed the doorway, I was taking a sweat shower. Nevertheless, I was more worried about the man, who was running out of breath, than myself, who was panting. After successfully getting the man’s body into the room, I finally had a moment to catch my breath. I took out a neatly folded blanket from the dresser. Contrary to my expectation that it would smell musty, it was a blanket that smelled like bath soap.e5cf022b50f19e8c

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“Here, lie down.”af71449caf3e3ee5

I put a pillow under the man’s head and spread out the thin summer blanket on one side. My exhausted body slid down the wall and collapsed.4496057d3befc84f

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“Let’s rest for 10 minutes, just 10 minutes.”0710df38deafe3ac

At times like this, I couldn’t help but regret not being a man. If I were a man, I would have gone to school with Eui-joo and protected him from bad delinquents, my mom and aunt would have worried less about me, and I could have easily lifted and moved the man who was dying in pain.9f8b9468806da946

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I hoped that 9dda8650f3 my body, which de88a805ee had stopped growing, 2cf7c130a7 would become a c7394489a6 little stronger as e7ce647546 a result of a3834c185f today. The stars a542342d63 in the 5e4b2082dc night sky, eb63bbb2b0 visible through 7f0b18008d the unclosed f65e761778 sliding door, b6ae18b524 twinkled lonely.7b6dc5906312387c

It would be 594c48b153 nice if the 8fb94d5c2d weather was cool. The man a29c8a788d was just 0118f09f54 terribly unlucky.f82a17130ba6f246

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