KIBM Ch 5

Bosung removed his hand from the director’s shoulder. The director gently stroked Riri’s back.

“It’s strange. It’s under the same Korean sky, but it’s so different from Seoul.”

“As you said, even if it’s different, it’s still under the same Korean sky.”

The words were simply reversed, but the feeling conveyed was quite different.

“Everyone lives alone in this world anyway. The term ‘lonely death’ is laughable. No one can accompany you in death anyway.”

Even if you loved someone enough to die, you couldn’t die together.

“Everyone comes into this world alone and leaves alone.”

“The world is about living together.”

“Living together just leads to more emotional exhaustion.”

“You know what, Bosung? You used to be like a refrigerator, but now you’re like a freezer.”

“What do you mean?”

“The cold air flows the same, but the temperature has dropped.”

Don’t you feel lonely living like that?

Director Heo Junhee added the question.

“You’re alone too, Director.”

Fifty years old, almost half a century.

Still a single, unmarried man.

“Well, I have my friend Riri, and also…”

Bosung cut in while the director hesitated.

“Everyone tells me to live together with others. I’ll live alone.”

“You’re such a wintery guy.”

The words encompassed the meanings of cold, aloof, and prickly.

“How did you know I like winter?”

“You never concede a point, do you?”

“So many people think they’ve won if you let them. So, Director, don’t look at the world with such rose-tinted glasses. These days, that’s also a problem.”

“The problem is Bosung, who sees the bright and sunny world in such a way. Don’t you think so, Riri?”

The director quickly turned around before Bosung could retort.

If you can’t win against your opponent, a swift retreat is also a strategy.

Shaking his head, Bosung pulled back the curtain.

The conversation with the director, as stuffy as the examination room, didn’t suit Bosung.

They felt like polar opposites, like oil and water that couldn’t mix.

He felt this way about most people, but sunny people like Director Heo Junhee of Cloud Clinic were Bosung’s antithesis. If he had to choose, he was more compatible with the realistic Dr. Kang Daeun from the plastic surgery clinic.

A spring breeze flowed in through the open window.

The breeze carried both warmth and coolness. And along with that breeze came a voice.

“Fly!”

Looking towards the source of the sound, Bosung saw Songju Yoon. And she was alone with an owl inside a large wire cage.

Bosung’s eyebrows shot up.

For two reasons.

He opened the window and saw Songju Yoon.

And the owl looked back at him.

It felt like confirmation that life here wouldn’t be easy.

Furthermore,

Knock, knock.

A nurse opened the door simultaneously with the knock.

“Lunchtime.”

It was already lunchtime, even though he hadn’t done anything.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“We’re having bibimbap with mixed greens today.”

“I don’t like greens.”

At his words, Nurse Na turned her head. It was as if she was warming up before a sparring match.

Bosung unconsciously clenched his fists. He wasn’t about to fight, but he felt the need to be prepared.

However,

“It’ll be delicious with plenty of homemade sesame oil.”

Unexpected words, considering her large build.

“You can’t buy what I make, even if you pay for it.”

“No, thank you.”

“Don’t regret it later.”

Regret? That word was foreign to Bosung.

As if giving him one last chance, Nurse Na lifted her bearded chin.

“There will be a few fried eggs in it too.”

With a look that said, “Are you sure you don’t want it?”, Nurse Na looked at Bosung.

A low sigh escaped his lips.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“If it’s about bringing your food separately, then no.”

“It’s not that.”

Bosung said firmly.

“After you knock, I’d like you to wait for me to respond before opening the door.”

“Ah.”

“Suddenly barging in like that…”

Is uncomfortable.

Nurse Na cut him off before he could finish.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Nurse Na left a weighty reply and closed the door.

Bosung stared at the closed door with a dumbfounded expression.

Usually, when he spoke like that, people would become tense, but this nurse was different.

It felt like, even though he had made the remark, he was the one being reprimanded.

“What was that?”

Unlike the nurse who left without any visible impact, Bosung was stunned.

Cutting through his dazed mind, another shout came from outside the window.

“Fly!”

Bosung put his hand to his head.

He couldn’t think straight.

˚⊹🩺₊˚⊹♡

A busy day was coming to an end.

The staff of the Wildlife Rescue Center gathered together.

A meeting began, led by Sangchul, the head veterinarian.

“What’s the condition of the water deer that came in today?”

Jiyu, the rehabilitation manager, replied.

“Fractured left leg. Judging by the poorly healed bone, it seems to have happened a while ago.”

“Can it walk?”

“Aside from a limp, there’s no major problem. Running seems a bit difficult.”

Songju added,

“The problem is the pregnancy.”

Sangchul scratched his head with the end of his pen and muttered.

“Already?”

The breeding season for water deer is winter. Considering the gestation period, they usually give birth in May or June. It was an unwritten rule that the center would be busy during that time.

Songju continued,

“She’s due within two weeks.”

“That’s a bit early.”

“So, I was thinking we should monitor her condition and release her with the fawn after she gives birth.”

The wild was especially harsh to injured animals and their young.

Even if the law of the jungle was survival of the fittest, sending back a pregnant water deer was no different from sending her to her death.

Sangchul agreed with Songju’s opinion.

“Then, while she’s here, let’s focus on her nutrition and proceed with fracture rehabilitation.”

“Understood.”

The meeting ended shortly and efficiently.

As everyone was returning to their places, Sangchul called out to Songju.

“I heard your car needs to be scrapped.”

“How did you know?”

Jiyu quickly slipped out of the meeting room. It was obvious. Jiyu was the only one who would spread such stories in detail.

Songju, holding a file folder in her arms, spoke as if it wasn’t a concern.

“I already took it to the local car center, and they said if I get it fixed, I can drive it for another year.”

A year, they said. In reality, even if she repaired it, they weren’t sure when the car might break down again.

Sangchul placed his car keys on the table where Songju was standing.

“Drive this for the time being.”

“But it’s your car.”

“I’m practically stuck at the center anyway.”

Sangchul was someone who didn’t go home even though he had a home, and didn’t leave work even though there were working hours.

“It’s just a piece of scrap metal to me.”

Things were only useful when used. But Songju’s thoughts were different.

“It’s not scrap metal; it’s mobility.”

Even though it was stationary more often than not, Sangchul’s car never gathered dust. Sometimes, there were unexpected emergency rescue calls. Mostly, these were cases where villagers called the center directly.

There was no set time for these.

Sometimes early in the morning on the way to work, sometimes late at night on the way home.

If they witnessed an animal in need of rescue or a roadkill, they called directly.

In those times, Sangchul, the center fixture, would take his self-proclaimed “scrap metal” and put its mobility to good use.

“I’m strong. It’s only a 30-minute walk home. And I’ll get my car fixed soon.”

“You’ll still need it.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Songju pushed the car keys back towards Sangchul.

“You’ll definitely need it.”

Saying that, Songju bowed her head slightly.

“Then, I’ll get off work first, using my strong legs.”

Jiyu stuck close to Songju as she left the meeting room, then whispered as if sharing a secret.

“What did he say? Did he offer you a ride?”

“No.”

“Then what? Nothing special?”

Songju stopped walking.

“What’s so special needed?”

“Well, something’s needed. You don’t have a car and have to walk all the way home.”

Jiyu slapped her hand over her mouth, but still mumbled as if annoyed.

“Honestly, Dr. Seo Sangchul is hopeless, even if you spoon-feed him. If you tell him you don’t have a car, he should respond with ‘Ms. Yoon, shall I drive you home?’ or something like that…”

Jiyu, who had been chattering away, looked around.

“Hey! Songju Yoon!”

She called out at the top of her lungs, but it was no use. Songju had already disappeared.

˚⊹🩺₊˚⊹♡

Plip, plop.

It was awkward, despite having told both Sangchul and Jiyu not to worry.

Pitter-patter!

It was an unexpected rain.

The thickening raindrops were now falling so heavily that she couldn’t see ahead.

She felt the true meaning of being stuck.

Songju was standing exactly halfway between the center and her house.

In front of a dilapidated mill. It had closed down last winter.

The small village of Unhaeng, named after the character for cloud (雲 – un), was famous for its inaccurate weather forecasts. Although, its fame was limited within the village.

“Will it stop?”

She held out her hand under the eaves. Her cupped palm quickly filled with rainwater.

It would have been better to run quickly when the rain started. A misjudgment.

Just as regret was washing over her—headlight beams cut through the falling rain.

A car.

The car that entered the alley was a white sedan, conspicuous even in the darkness.

It was Cheon Bosung.

Bosung was the only person who would drive a white sedan through this alley.

Songju, holding her backpack over her head, stretched out her hand.

“Stop! Stop!”

She waved her hand as if hailing a taxi in the rain.

Fortunately, the car stopped.

Tap, tap.

Overjoyed, she knocked on the car window.

Whirr-

The window rolled down just enough for them to make eye contact.

“Hello!”

Unlike the cheerful Songju,

“What?”

Bosung’s voice was sharp.

He seemed quite startled by a woman suddenly appearing in a narrow alley with no one around.

Come to think of it, she had unintentionally startled him every time.

Songju raised her voice.

“Are you going home?”

Just asking that one question, her backpack became soaked.

That’s how heavy the downpour was.

Wiping the rainwater that ran down her bangs and eyebrows with her hand, Songju shouted.

“I’m going home too!”

“…….”

The expected reply didn’t come.

Something like, “Get in,” or “Let’s go together.”

Pitter-patter!

The rain poured down mercilessly.

She couldn’t wait for Bosung’s answer any longer. Songju shouted again.

“Give me a ride!”

“…….”

“Let’s go home together!”

No sound came from inside the darkly tinted car. However, she caught glimpses of movement, and suddenly, a long stick emerged from the gap in the window.

“Take it.”

Songju blinked her rain-soaked eyes.

She seemed to be trying to understand the current situation.

“Aren’t you going to take it?”

Bosung was holding out an umbrella. That meant,

“Use it and walk.”

Go home alone, by yourself.

As Songju instinctively took the umbrella,

“See you.”

He closed the car window, then vroom—drove off.

The white sedan, which had arrived with its headlights shining, disappeared with its red taillights glowing.