# Chapter 104
I bought bacon and pork belly at the market near Ritz Ville. As soon as I arrived home, I packed Tae Igyeol’s underwear, facial cleanser, and even a basic skincare set since he’s the type who doesn’t just apply anything. Though there were large TVs in both the hospital room and reception area so he wouldn’t be bored, I also put one philosophy book and one economics book that Tae Igyeol enjoyed reading into the bag, just in case.
After packing everything first, I stripped off my clothes as I entered the bathroom. My clothes stretched out like snake skins where I had passed. Though this was something I always did at my parents’ house, I wouldn’t have dared if Tae Igyeol had been home. When I came out later, I could pick them up one by one and put them in the laundry basket, perfectly hiding it from Tae Igyeol.
While showering, I thought I should bring body products for Tae Igyeol too. I had seen expensive body products in the VIP hospital room bathroom that morning while brushing my teeth, but since Tae Igyeol was so picky and only used his own products, bringing them would be helpful. He also insisted on either air-drying his hair or using a hairdryer with built-in intelligent heat control, so I needed to bring the hairdryer from home to prevent him from catching a cold while he was sick.
After applying body oil, I came out feeling refreshed, gathered up the shed skins I had left behind, and started the washing machine. I took kimchi out from the kimchi refrigerator, put it in a stainless steel bowl, and roughly chopped it with scissors. Just as I was preparing to stir-fry the pork belly first, my phone’s message alert sounded. It was from the group chat.
Gye Minho [Hey Mo Eunje]
Gye Minho [Is this the person who was hitting on you before?]
Gye Minho [Almost stepped in shit]
10:14 AM
I clicked on the link Gye Minho had sent below.
“What… is this? He must be crazy.”
It was an article about novelist Seong Giha’s sexual harassment scandal. The victim claimed that Seong Giha had made sexual jokes at a drinking party and unwantedly touched their thigh several times, while Seong Giha’s side countered that it was just light contact expressing friendliness and the accusations were groundless. As similar articles increased, netizens had divided opinions since both the perpetrator and victim were of the same gender.
As I was reading the articles, poet Jang Jiha called me. This must be what he meant when he said something would break about Seong Giha soon.
“Yes, hyung.”
– Eunje. Go online and check the articles now.
“I’m looking at them.”
– If you have any personal connection with Giha, cut ties immediately.
“I’ve only done one livestream with him. I don’t have any personal connection.”
– That’s fortunate. From what I’ve found out, there’s more than just one incident about to surface. It could implicate everyone who associated with him. The literary world is about to be turned upside down.
This wasn’t an issue that could be quietly resolved. Sexual harassment couldn’t be disguised as an expression of friendliness just because they were the same gender. If there was only one victim, there would be a battle over the truth with various opinions, but saying “there’s more than just one incident” meant there was more than one victim.
Just from seeing how he had acted impulsively when he called me drunk, asking to meet up and so on, I could tell that Seong Giha became a different person when drinking. His behavior was completely different from the polite apology and greeting he had given after the livestream ended.
After exchanging a few more words with Jang Jiha, I hung up. I wondered if we would ever see Seong Giha in the literary world again.
Turning my attention away from others’ affairs, I opened the shelf under the sink. I took out a deep, round frying pan, cut the pork belly into small pieces with scissors, and began stir-frying. When the oil started sizzling, I added the kimchi that I had prepared in the stainless steel bowl and stir-fried them together. After adding the bacon and continuing to stir, just as I was about to add rice, I realized I hadn’t cooked any.
“Oh no…”
It was a disaster. As a makeshift solution, I microwaved four instant rice packs. When it seemed ready, I tasted a spoonful and, even though I had made it myself, it was truly amazing. Since I had unintentionally woken up early and hadn’t eaten breakfast, I was hungry and wanted to take it straight to the dining table. I hesitated very briefly but held back for Tae Igyeol’s sake and began neatly packing it into containers.
Then, realizing I would need to help him shower, I searched the dressing room for Tae Igyeol’s swimwear. I had no intention whatsoever of seeing him naked. Just in case, I also packed three robes and placed them by the front door along with the lunch boxes and other luggage.
Since it wasn’t even 11 o’clock yet, I sat blankly on the living room sofa, emptying my mind and killing time. I wanted Tae Igyeol to spend some quality time with his parents. I noticed a hundred roses with beautifully dried petals next to the TV. I thought he would throw them away when they wilted, but Tae Igyeol had preciously preserved the bouquet of roses I had bought him about two months ago, as if they were a sacred treasure. Whatever he had done to the flowers, there was nothing messily fallen off, and the fragrance still wafted subtly.
“Hah…”
Now we had agreed to a truce so peace was maintained, but I was scared because I didn’t know how Tae Igyeol might suddenly change. As I absentmindedly fiddled with my necklace’s circular pendant and stared at the roses with nothing to do, my phone rang. It was a call from Tae Igyeol.
“Yeah?”
– Why aren’t you coming? It’s been three hours since you left.
I pulled the phone away from my ear to check the time. It was 11:27 AM.
“What three hours? It’s only been two and a half hours.”
– Come quickly.
“…I’ll come now.”
I grabbed Tae Igyeol’s car smart key and left the house with my luggage. Before sitting in the driver’s seat, I meticulously signed up for short-term insurance, and on the way to the hospital, I remembered to buy a waterproof cover. Tae Igyeol must have registered the vehicle in the meantime, as I was able to park in the VIP parking lot and take the exclusive elevator.
When I entered the reception area, I saw Tae Igyeol’s family sitting on the sofa. Tae Igyeol was sitting in a single-seater sofa, almost buried in it with an arrogant posture, legs crossed, looking at his phone, while Tae Hyunseok and Song Yeonhwa were discussing an actor from Taeyang Actors who was performing in a drama on TV. From what I overheard, the actor seemed to be looking to buy a house.
“Eunje’s here, so you can go. I’ll handle the discharge myself, so there’s no need for you to come again.”
As soon as our eyes met, Tae Igyeol stood up and issued an eviction order. This was practically throwing them out, to put it bluntly.
“How can this child be so cold? Even when we ask him to come, he doesn’t. No time to come because he’s busy. Give Eunje a caregiver’s fee calculated by the hour. Just try not giving it to him.”
Song Yeonhwa, who had delivered this threat, stood up and gathered her handbag. Tae Hyunseok, who was beside her, also stood up with a hearty laugh and took out several 50,000 won bills from his wallet, pressing them into Mo Eunje’s hand.
“Feed the patient hospital food, and our caregiver should eat something delicious.”
“Sweet! Thanks, Uncle. I’ll take good care of Igyeol. I can do a really good job.”
I accepted the pocket money without any thought of refusing. Tae Igyeol, whose both legs were perfectly fine, stood in place and greeted his departing parents halfheartedly, while I followed them out to the reception area to see them off and then returned.
“You should be nicer to Auntie and Uncle.”
“I was nice until you came.”
“Yeah, right… As if you were nice. You probably just sat there with a sullen face, staring at your phone. When Uncle said something, you probably answered with short responses like ‘yes’ or ‘no.'”
“…”
Seeming to have hit the mark, Tae Igyeol stroked his cheek and avoided my gaze. If he showed even half of the affection, generosity, and kindness he showed me to others and acted warmly, everyone would get along well, but somehow this guy was blunt and curt even to his family. It seemed like it would be perfect if the coldness of Tae Igyeol and the affectionate personality of Tae Iden could be combined and divided in half.
“When I went home, I got a call from your mom and dad and talked to them.”
“Ah… I forgot to contact Mom and Dad.”
Since I had only talked briefly on the train, Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola must have been worried, but I didn’t even think to tell them about Tae Igyeol’s condition. Still, they probably talked to Tae Hyunseok or Song Yeonhwa before calling Tae Igyeol, so they wouldn’t have worried too much.
“What did my mom and dad say?”
“Uncle said the same things as your attending physician. Like how to be careful in daily life after discharge, stuff like that.”
“That’s my dad’s occupational habit.”
“Auntie said to rest well. She’s sorry she couldn’t visit.”
If they hadn’t moved to Busan, since today was Sunday, Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola would have definitely stopped by to see Tae Igyeol. They might have also met with doctor friends they knew for a meal. Anyway, since they had talked to Tae Igyeol, the patient himself, there didn’t seem to be a need for me to contact them separately.
“Meal service is ready.”
I received the samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) that came for lunch, placed it on the reception room table, and took out the kimchi fried rice, opening its lid. While the samgyetang did come with salt, pepper, and green onions on the side so one could season it to taste, visually it didn’t look more appetizing than what was sold in stores. This was probably due to psychological prejudice caused by the special environment of the hospital.
“I’ll just eat the kimchi fried rice.”
As I was about to disassemble the chicken with chopsticks, Tae Igyeol stopped me.
“Wouldn’t it taste better with the kimchi fried rice? You like the white meat.”
“Hospital food doesn’t taste good. I’m not eating it.”
“That’s prejudice. How can you say it doesn’t taste good without trying it?”
Not that I was particularly eager to eat it either. Thinking that I would just eat the legs, I scooped up a spoonful of kimchi fried rice with pork belly on top and fed it to him. No sooner had Tae Igyeol eaten one mouthful than he immediately opened his mouth again. He ate extremely well, making me wonder why he was eating so heartily. Now it was clear that this morning he had been smiling because he liked me feeding him, not because it tasted good. I felt proud and happy seeing him eat so enthusiastically.
