# Chapter 70
As time passed, I sometimes became terrifyingly afraid that I might never escape this place. Jang spoke less and less, and I fell silent along with him.
The exploration of each other continued every moment. During meals, while reading books at the same table, when going out for walks. Every moment we faced each other.
That’s why I had to make a more meticulous plan to escape. Recently, I started collecting the medicine Jang gave me.
When I took the medicine he gave me, my body noticeably stiffened, and my legs wouldn’t move properly. After taking the medicine, when I tried to put my feet on the ground, I would collapse as if someone had cut my ankles.
So I thought if I could collect this medicine and make him take it, I might buy time to escape.
“How do your legs feel now?”
“Pardon?”
“Your legs.”
He pointed at my legs with his finger. With the sudden question, I didn’t know where to look.
“They’re still stiff and don’t move well. I tried to stand up the other day and fell.”
“Really?”
I nodded. He tried hard to meet my eyes, looking for my intentions. I was worried he might ask me to stand up, but fortunately, he didn’t.
“I still need time, I suppose.”
“Yes. There’s no need to rush.”
I wanted to lunge at him and shout at such ridiculous words, but I held back and gave an awkward smile. Looking at the window, I could see the sun setting.
This time of year, the sun didn’t set until around 10 PM. So the setting sun meant it was late evening. It was painful to watch the sun set day after day.
The world woke up too quickly, and couldn’t fall asleep until suffocatingly late. Summer, which had arrived after enduring the long winter, was passing meaninglessly.
“It’s getting late, so I’ll go to sleep.”
“Alright. Sleep well.”
I returned his good night wishes and pulled my wheelchair into the room. Looking at the dark room, I turned on the lamp to brighten it. I hated the fact that I had adapted to a landscape I didn’t want to get used to.
With hands tingling from anger, I opened the book I had placed beside me.
Between the pages was the powdered medicine I had collected. From recent signs, it seemed Jang wouldn’t be going out for a while. He seemed to be somewhat aware that I was plotting something.
Then I had to leave this place before things got worse.
‘I can’t just wait for him to go out. I have to leave myself.’
A small headache troubled my mind. Even so, I certainly had no intention of giving up on escaping from here.
I carefully chewed on thoughts that were rotting with anger.
***
“Want some coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
As I was reading a book in the living room, Jang came down from the second floor and asked me. Recently, I deliberately came out of my room and roamed the living room.
And I practiced trying to stand up from the wheelchair to show Jang. I had to make him not suspicious of my actions. That way, Jang wouldn’t notice my plan.
Shortly after, Jang handed me a warm cup of coffee. I thanked him and drank the coffee.
“You’re almost done reading the book?”
“Yes. Only a few left.”
I tapped the thin cover with my finger. He stared at my hand for a while, then just murmured “I see” without saying anything else.
I expected him to say that we would go out soon when I said this, so his response was only irritating.
“Should we go into town together soon?”
“What? Ah… yes, of course.”
At his words, I was momentarily flustered and almost dropped the cup I was holding. With my slippery fingertips, I firmly gripped the cup and turned my gaze to the book.
I thought he would keep me locked up here forever, and I couldn’t understand what he was planning. Or perhaps he was testing me. No, that was definitely it.
“How long does it take to get to town from here?”
“Hmm, I haven’t timed it exactly… but usually about 30 minutes by car.”
Thirty minutes by car meant it would take almost 2 hours on foot. I wasn’t sure if I could outrun Jang with my still uncomfortable legs.
I could drug him and tie him up before he woke, but I didn’t think the medicine I had would be strong enough to knock him out completely.
Anxiety paralyzed my body.
Just then, I felt something uncomfortable somewhere in my body. I thought it might be from tension, but I wasn’t tense enough to break into a cold sweat.
I looked at Jang’s face.
His peaceful expression didn’t crumble for even a moment. I briefly looked at the coffee in my hand.
“Aren’t you sleepy? It’s getting late.”
“…Yes. Somehow I do feel sleepy.”
It was strange that he would ask such a question when I had just had coffee. That knowing expression. The coffee I had already drunk.
I chewed curses toward him in my mind. Jang gently pushed the fixed wheelchair. His tone, assuming I would fall asleep, was irritating.
Swallowing my breath, I entered the room. He and I briefly made eye contact, then looked away shortly after.
“I have something to do. Do I need to help you get into bed?”
“No, I’m fine.”
After finishing his words, he left the room. Left alone in the room, I put down the cup I was still holding on the bedside table and thought about my tingling body.
He had consistently given me medicine, and I had taken it in front of him. Nevertheless, he seemed to have noticed that I wasn’t taking the medicine.
I felt disheartened because I thought he would be dull due to his age, but I didn’t expect him to notice in just a few days. It was obvious he would continue to spike my coffee with medicine until my body was completely stiff.
‘But I can’t not drink it.’
Why was he trying to keep me tied to this place? What meaning could this possibly have?
But if he had really lived alone here for 10 years and would continue to live alone, I could vaguely guess why he brought me here. Jang probably wanted someone to alleviate his loneliness.
But I had absolutely no intention of staying here according to his wishes. If it had been someone else, they might have given up and stopped at some point. But not me.
If I continued to accept this coffee, my body would stiffen again. Then there was only one option.
Looking at the closed door, I checked if there was any presence outside. Fortunately, Jang didn’t seem to be staying in front of the door.
Holding my breath, I poked my throat with my finger. I felt like I might make a sound with the dry heaving, but I held my breath and spit out what I had drunk.
The coffee I had drunk came up with sour gastric juice. I spit it into the cup and looked at the unpleasant liquid.
“……Phew.”
My throat was painful, but it couldn’t be helped. It was better than overexerting a body that wasn’t fully recovered yet.
“Goddamn bastard…”
Now I understood why Woosang verbalized his emotions about others so much. The emotions that spilled from my mouth seemed to calm my discomfort somewhat.
I opened the window and quietly threw the dirty liquid from the cup outside.
There were iron bars on the window, but I could still dispose of liquids. I sighed and deeply thought about what to do.
Whether to wait until his next outing, or whether it would be better to escape in advance.
I had to judge well. If I failed once, the opportunity might never come again.
‘Come to think of it, there seemed to be a telephone on the second floor…’
It had only happened once or twice, but his telephone ring had leaked into the living room. If that was the case, couldn’t I go upstairs and call Woosang to come here?
The problem was that I didn’t know the exact location of this place.
I bit my lip deeply and closed my eyes. I shouldn’t be hasty. I knew best that everything could be lost with a momentary mistake.
Trying to dispel the deep thoughts lingering in my mind, I looked at the sunlight pouring in through the window.
I wished it would rain to eliminate the needlessly dazzling sunlight. I had sometimes wanted to see the summer sunshine, but now even the pouring light was just irritating to me.
***
“It looks like it will rain for a few days. We won’t be able to go for walks.”
“Indeed.”
“Oh well…” I murmured meaninglessly and quietly listened to the sound of falling rain.
For the past few days, Jang had consistently offered me coffee, and I had to drink it in front of him. Then I would go to the bathroom or my room and vomit all the coffee I had drunk, and had to clutch my burning stomach for a while.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to think that I would vomit what I had drunk. He seemed to show small gaps at times. I wasn’t sure if he thought I wouldn’t rebel, or if he thought he had no weak points.
The dark sky and the smell of wet earth calmed my mood. Perhaps that’s why. Some expectation grew that I could escape from here soon.
If it continued to rain, even if I escaped after putting him to sleep, my footsteps could be masked by the sound of rain.
‘I hope it rains for a few more days…’
I prayed like that, looking at the sky.
“When do you think the rain will stop? I want to go outside…”
“It will probably rain for 2 or 3 more days. That’s how summer rain is.”
Is that so? It did seem like that. Even in completely dry summers, sometimes rain poured down incessantly. His words gave me a small sense of relief.
Now, just a little longer and I could go see Woosang. No, I would meet him.
What would Woosang be doing now? He might be preparing for a new performance after finishing one. Or he might have returned to our home in Paris and be waiting for me.
As expected, there was nothing else that could move me like this. One side of my tingling heart felt like it would burst.
It was time to gather the powders hidden between the books. I recalled in a corner of my mind the amount I had checked last night. It probably hadn’t been a month since I arrived here. Even the date wasn’t certain. A month, or two months.
‘…Let’s go. Tomorrow. I have to leave tomorrow.’
I murmured that inwardly. My determined heart caught fire. I didn’t know if I could execute it perfectly, but the anxiety wasn’t great. The hesitations and sufferings I had been through were now shoved into a corner, and only pure thoughts remained.
Yes. By tomorrow, I will leave this damned place and return to where I originally was.
I can definitely do it.
