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.0f840e7b8c917cca

“You stupid bastard.”c88e77bbcf7b0116

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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.c3c3ba114153b99b

Just pretend you didn’t see anything.d62e8b6e5b71057b

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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.0d39fdcba8461110

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.dbe4e9fce5a9a37b

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Standing in the yard, a61df68e45 my conscience became a c8ec602f54 pebble on the riverbank, 20db5d82de rolling into a blank c8699f72ff white page. I saw the eb663a60a0 fallen man and dac7a9c875 the overturned table, 14d84855ab a result of f60ba5dc59 his actions. The table, ffcbfd59bc with its 72dd3e14fa unfinished meal, 959c538191 the broken 62da65382f dishes, and bd0f92d294 the man, 3264dc3f99 panting heavily 4dd2c44d63 after failing d82aaf8e6c to stand, 3d091acabf were all 62682b6eab in view.cd321aeae51c450e

“Hey.”b98aee4e72994470

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The resolution to just 09c4e6a1b4 take a look and 0f931fb5fd leave might have been d755c53acd a deception I had 253273fa5f thrown at myself from e7112f968e the start. Summer must have come, c3110e13de melting away the frost 414efecf7c of the past. My heart, freed from 56ef985a6c the shackles of hypocrisy, ccdead5d81 was urging me to 7264275965 interfere. The neighbor who a88c135af1 wiped away the c88900f79f tears of the 54acd4882b little kid who 3392938b6e said he wished a326d17d77 ants had many 5348588a2f friends, Eui-joo smiling 65b48f7d7b with rosy cheeks a833dd9bb8 by the river. So, the reason I d557078729 wanted to get involved 2536815dee with the man, to 21c1940965 interfere, was because of 1aa4e53ba2 those people from back a2ca03b17c then. Those who 6551c0a959 had trimmed 8ee41b6213 the thorns 5cc74940d3 of my a00661dd9c childhood and 3bc9a6e371 watered them 8865260312 had pushed 247ee3c28b me toward 2cd09d3538 the man.60480d6b6fcda665

“What happened to your face?”cbb34452e1b9682e

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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.f067c200590b6f7a

“Are you okay?”45f2fdfd343ac80b

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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.cb4e91f24908f05a

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.e0fa7d3520726df0

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“Ah! You scared me.”3dbe1bd4167344ff

“…Don’t.”dc55d6e3c75f8d72

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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.edb1ccfca5a52ff6

“Still, this is too much. You need to go to the hospital.”08953824d9acb0da

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“No.”acfe41334f8afede

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.f7a3bf05593227bb

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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.490f62be06348277

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.e9a86a6ffc43ea85

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“Why don’t you want to go?”fb969a3d399db847

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.9c8faab16c901930

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“I don’t have money for the hospital bill.”aa438c2cbd92e858

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.355022338ddd3f82

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“Leave.”c9cb739859427a0c

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?1b4d73a8f942d69e

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“Hey.”4f24909b65d068fe

“I said leave.”d4429723f034a78b

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“Do you have any medicine at home?”4f8210784e8dbc12

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.3c7e9b1cd6cbae73

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“I’ll just give you the medicine and leave. I’m not hoping you’ll die.”c203f3d8b3564752

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.68f4f407b4843ce1

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“Hey.”571773e96c47c2c2

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.62dbb49f67a73a40

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“Eui-joo…”41392fde25a23783

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.2ef86ce63be8a476

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Trusting only in his 403608aac4 youth, I laid the c227b0c8a4 man down properly, who 444bd58974 was carelessly pushing his c7e0687992 body to the limit. With a creak, I 60b450195e opened the sliding door b64442156f and entered a room eb2a69cb63 with a travel bag 0f73adbd07 placed in the corner 5cb02c81bd as if ready to 66e0c3894c leave at any moment, 0c7341a3d3 and a TV that b725b781a1 I doubted even worked. I ran to 91835f4b03 the dresser and 6ebb1b826d looked for the c7bb2449b5 first-aid kit that cbc609d63d every household had. After failing 9a2230e577 on the d1c32264a8 first, second, 693abba6ef and third 58a9934871 drawers, I 6b2341edfe found a df715c0764 fever reducer c1a4a870a8 in the 76fa254f6c last drawer. When I opened it, b038da605a there were only two 44e6cd4831 pills inside. Biting my lip 168520783d in disappointment, I fe8173d5ea turned around.a2e1bd570c601821

“Can’t you hear me? Get out.”4ab1296c096c0fd9

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The books that the 83b551bf96 man had thrown into c26412224b a puddle, rendering them 470aa67041 unusable, were back in 1b7e2e2c25 the room. My movements, which c07cf4afe4 had been frantic 2f0cab66ca as I poured f9144fcaaf the two pills fb77106891 into my palm, e5aa13dc07 stopped abruptly. The pages, spread out 9e88a880f6 to dry, swayed in dec150c687 the night breeze.38cf2cc342b1128f

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.a5294f37a92bed70

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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.8ea062d7e4a42563

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.325aa6629c6c65be

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“Here, lie down.”3d040bdfedb160bb

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.df5cfeaf933a0dd0

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“Let’s rest for 10 minutes, just 10 minutes.”72d33de87fca5aef

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.f4cb807315457817

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I hoped ad32489259 that my ba8656e1dd body, which 75f8e11a96 had stopped f11796f5cd growing, would 8910c87176 become a 8bcf1aa5fa little stronger 08fa5d8a6e as a 1bec56678b result of 337b4cde5e today. The stars 3581c536a7 in the e3805f9636 night sky, 9b90f82141 visible through 07c7f9b500 the unclosed c34a721629 sliding door, 68efb1b19a twinkled lonely.b2720ba3a94f2ac3

It would be nice 7c3cca2497 if the weather was 871387977e cool. The man 08eaa14b41 was just dd8770dacf terribly unlucky.9e6d2fc39d3815f4

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