CS Chapter 14

“Junseo, calm down, please!”

 

Hyunsook cried and hugged her son. However, Junseo did not calm down, continuing to scream repeatedly.

 

His words, that he would rather be euthanized, became sharp daggers, ruthlessly slashing at her heart.

 

“Junseo, don’t worry. Mom will take care of everything. Mom will find your sister again, I promise. Okay?”

 

Whether it was her first daughter, Seowoo, or her second son, Junseo, they were both children she had borne in pain. However, because he was sick from a young age and because he was a son, she had poured all of the affection and devotion that might have gone to Seowoo entirely onto Junseo.

 

Of course, it wasn’t as if she didn’t feel sorry for Seowoo. She knew better than anyone how much her first child had sacrificed for her second child.

 

But each time, Hyunsook would repeat the same self-consolation. That if Junseo was healed, everything would be resolved – a futile hope. In a way, it was nothing different from an ignorant belief.

 

“Mom… do you think my sister will come back if she’s like that? What if she abandons us and never comes back…”

 

“Don’t say that! Have you ever seen anyone as kind as your sister, Junseo?”

 

“…No. There’s no one as kind as my sister… That’s why I always feel sorry for her… I’m sorry, but… I really want to get better, Mom. Hic, sob…!”

 

The guilt towards his sister and, at the same time, the desperate desire to escape his illness overlapped, confusing Junseo’s mind.

 

Suddenly, he grabbed his mother’s hand while groaning and pulling at his hair.

 

“Mom. Remember what Dad said something in the past. Do you remember…?”

 

“Huh…? What…”

 

“About the dog we raised on Boknal… He said that the dog tried to run away like crazy, but as soon as he called him gently, he came right back, not even knowing he was going to die.”

Translator’s Note: “복날” (Boknal): This is the hottest period of summer in Korea, typically spanning from mid-July to mid-August. It is tradition to eat hearty meals, such as dog meat soup (bosintang), which is mentioned in this excerpt, to replenish energy.

 

“You… you remember that?”

 

Hyunsook let out a short sigh.

 

Junseo was only three years old at the time. Hyunsook was exhausted by the drawn-out divorce lawsuit, and her husband would visit infrequently to see his children.

 

“Junseo. Should I tell you a fun story?”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

“A hot day like today is called Boknal, you know? On Boknal, it’s natural to eat food that’s good for your body.”

 

Her husband freely spouted horrible stories in front of his young children.

 

As Boknal approached, they had brought in a dog for consumption, and they had beaten it with a stick until it was nearly dead, saying it would make the meat tender.

 

Then, when her husband was distracted for a moment, the dog desperately tried to escape. He was already in terrible condition, so even if it escaped, it was a foregone conclusion that it would be caught again soon.

 

But her husband cruelly called the puppy’s name. Very gently too.

 

“Good boy, Ddoli. Come here. Come here.”

 

“……”

 

“The moment I called that, that stupid mutt came back again. Not even knowing it was on its way to the afterlife, hahaha! Junseo, how was it? Dad’s story was fun, right?”

 

“……The, the doggy died?”

 

“Yeah. It’s inside this dad’s stomach!”

 

“Huu, huck. Waaaaah…!”

 

Junseo, who heard this terrible story from his father, couldn’t sleep soundly for more than three days. He cried so hard, feeling sorry for the dog that was beaten to death, that Hyunsook, once again enraged at her husband, hugged Junseo even tighter.

 

“Why do you remember such a horrible story? Forget about it, Junseo.”

 

“Mom, but… if we call out to Noona nicely, will she come back too? If we pretend to beg for forgiveness, will she come back…?”

 

“Junseo…”

 

“If that’s how Noona comes back… then let’s break her arms and legs so she can never run away again. Mom, how is it? Huk…!”

 

Junseo, who had unknowingly uttered such cruel words, was startled and trembled like an aspen.

 

“O-oh, no… Mom, let’s pretend you didn’t hear what I just said. I think I was a little crazy because it hurt too much. Please forget it…”

 

“Ohh… My poor baby! Junseo, don’t blame yourself.”

 

Tear drops from Hyunsook, fell onto Junseo’s cheek where the skin was peeling off.

 

“The Elder is the messiah who will save the universe, so in the end, everything will be according to his will. Eventually, Seowoo will surely understand our intentions.”

 

Although his foolish daughter had run away without understanding the Messiah’s grand intentions, Hyunsook believed this was just a passing phase.

 

“Good boy, Ddoli. Come here. Come here.”

 

She quietly repeated the words of her husband, whose face was now blurry, then closed her eyes and began to pray. It was a fervent prayer for Junseo’s eternal peace and the forgiveness of Seowoo’s foolishness.

 

Her prayer grew increasingly fervent, and eventually, unintelligible tongues burst from Hyunsook’s lips. It was a language of the Holy Spirit, which could not be interpreted by human language.

 

“……Amen!”

 

Finally finishing her prayer, she opened her eyes wide. Then, as if having received a holy revelation, she ran to Seowoo’s small desk.

 

“Found it.”

 

Leafing through the desk calendar, Hyunsook finally found it. It was the GED exam schedule, which her daughter had circled with a yellow highlighter.

 

***

“Ah…!”

 

A small groan escaped Seowoo’s lips. It was because a squeezing pain surged through her entire abdomen.

 

More than anything, the feeling of the bedsheets being soaked and damp sent shivers down her spine. In her hazy state, she lowered her arm and slowly felt the sheets. Sure enough. Her fingertips felt sticky.

 

Startled, she raised herself up and menstrual blood streamed down her thin thighs. Her period had started.

 

While menstruation might be something that returns every month for others, that was not the case for Seowoo, at least. Due to her very poor nutritional state, her menstrual cycle was very irregular. Sometimes it came once every two months, and often there were even times she didn’t have a period for as long as six months.

 

‘This is a problem. I didn’t think about this at all.’

 

It didn’t seem like there were any sanitary pads readily available in the hotel room. And to make matters worse, the menstrual cramps were so severe that it was even difficult for her to take a single step. She desperately craved painkillers.

 

Staring at the ruined sheets, she pondered for a long while before finally calling the hotel front desk. But, flustered by the voice of a male employee, she hurriedly hung up.

 

After struggling for about ten more minutes, Seowoo took out her cell phone this time. It was the same cell phone that Cha Minjun had given her.

 

Only Cha Minjun’s number was in the contact list, but even this made it difficult for her to press the call button. She had never called a man first before, which made it even harder.

 

Looking at the time, it was past 7 AM. After much consideration as to whether calling at a somewhat early hour might be rude, she left a text message.

 

-Is there anyone who could help me? A woman, perhaps.

 

Ten minutes later, she received a sudden phone call from the man, without a moment’s notice.

 

Cha Minjun. Just seeing the three characters on the screen made her heart pound wildly as if she were overwhelmed.

 

“He-hello…”

 

-Is something wrong?

 

“Ah, well…that is…”

 

-Tell me. Feel comfortable.

 

Seowoo awkwardly held her breath. She was not someone who could easily talk comfortably to a man she barely knew about the fact that she was having trouble because of her period.

 

-Hello?

 

“Um…actually, ah…!”

 

At that moment, another faint groan escaped Seowoo’s lips. The pungent smell of blood was becoming more noticeable in the air, making her feel nauseous.

 

-What’s wrong?

 

“……”

 

Before she could finish her sentence, she dropped the phone from her hand. Just as the large ceiling with the chandelier began to spin, her body collapsed helplessly.