Was it because the tension had eased? I suddenly got hungry, so I finished the whole bowl of seolleongtang and left the restaurant. And I was waiting for the bus to go to Seogong-i’s hospital when I got a call from hyungnim.
Didn’t he say he wouldn’t contact me anymore?
“Hello?”
-Ah, Seoun-ah. There’s something I forgot to mention.
“Yes, please tell me. Ah, and I met Mr. Lee Jiwoo.”
-…What? Already?
Hyungnim asked back as if surprised.
“He seemed like an alcoholic rather than a heavy drinker?”
-You already drank together?
“We didn’t drink together—it just happened that we ate together, and he was chugging soju.”
-……
I spoke while recalling what had just happened, but I didn’t hear hyungnim’s response from the other side of the phone. After waiting a bit more, I tilted my head and opened my mouth.
“Hyungnim?”
-Ah, yeah. You ate together?
“Yes, why? It’s not that I suggested going first—Mr. Lee Jiwoo said he was hungry and took me into a seolleongtang restaurant.”
The tone and voice seemed like he was scolding me for doing something wrong, so I spoke defensively without realizing it.
-Your skills are impressive.
“…What?”
-He doesn’t usually eat with other people. Even for me, the times I’ve sat at the same table and eaten with him probably fit on one hand, right? And most of those were when we were young.
At those words, I became even more confused. What kind of identity does he have that he doesn’t even eat with other people? He seems like an incredibly important young master from an incredibly important family.
-How did you do it?
It was a voice full of interest. How did we end up eating together? I hesitated, then told the truth.
“I don’t know either. He just suddenly talked to me and asked if I had a lover… and so on and so forth.”
I had no idea how to summarize and explain what had happened.
-Mm.
So I vaguely glossed over it, and hyungnim made a troubled sound.
“What’s wrong?”
-He might be suspicious.
“I thought so too. But there wasn’t really anything to get caught on. If I’d already been caught, he probably knows I met you, hyungnim…”
-Did you find out anything else? Besides that he’s an alcoholic.
Of course there was more besides that.
“He seems to have chronic fatigue syndrome and he said he has poor circulation in his hands and feet.”
-You really found out all sorts of things in that short time. Amazing.
“Thank you for the compliment. But what did you want to tell me?”
-I thought it would be hard for you to meet Lee Jiwoo, so I sent something to help. But since you already met him… Mm, there should be a package going to your house, just throw that away.
A package? I was curious what it was, but seeing him tell me to just throw it away, it was definitely nothing special.
“If it’s documents or something, should I shred it?”
-It’s not documents, just throw it in the trash.
“Yes, understood.”
I saw the bus I needed to take coming from far away. Coincidentally, hyungnim was also wrapping up the conversation.
-You haven’t changed your phone yet and haven’t deleted my number, right?
“Yes, I’ve been too out of it… I’ll do it right after hanging up. And Mr. Lee Jiwoo said he’d buy me a phone.”
-Really? Anyway, I’ll contact you somehow at the right time, so you just focus on getting close to Lee Jiwoo.
“I’ll do that.”
The short call ended, and as soon as I got on the bus, I deleted hyungnim’s phone number.
Being alone, my thoughts deepened again. Is this really the right thing to be doing? Even though I’d decided not to think deeply anymore and just work for the money I received, I was worried again.
This is all because Lee Jiwoo is too shrouded in mystery. If I at least knew his identity clearly, I wouldn’t be this anxious. Is he like a chaebol second generation?
Just in case, I searched for Lee Jiwoo’s name on the internet, but only celebrities and athletes with the same name came up in droves, and as expected, there was no chaebol Lee Jiwoo.
Not a chaebol second generation but third or fourth? If he’s still young and hasn’t participated in company management, there might not be anything known about him.
Hyungnim’s cousin who spends 100 million won like it’s nothing—Lee Jiwoo must definitely not be an ordinary person either, but with my meager imagination, I could only think of a rich young master with lots of money.
I pondered hard with a head that had only read children’s comic mystery novels, then arrived at the hospital.
Since Seogong-i had repeatedly been hospitalized and discharged for a long time, going to the hospital was as familiar as going home.
When I arrived at the hospital room, I heard Seogong-i’s voice beyond the open door.
“There’s a saying, the more urgent it is, the longer way around you should take. If it’s a memorization subject, I think you could somehow manage, but for math you can’t do it without the basics.”
“Ugh, I really can’t live like this. This bastard only plays at school and just sleeps during class. Ugh.”
“Hyung. You’re here?”
Seogong-i greeted me with a bright smile.
“Yeah, are you feeling a bit better? Hello.”
I greeted the uncle in the bed in front who had been talking with Seogong-i. His insides must be burning because his kid doesn’t study—he was still thumping his chest as if frustrated.
“How’s your body?”
When I got closer and looked, his complexion was definitely better than the last time I saw him and his recovery seemed fast.
“I’m fine. I walked around the ward 13 times earlier. Hyung, did you know there’s a kiosk on the way to the passage connecting to the main building? It’s outdoors, like a terrace. There are even parasols there and it’s totally nice. It looks like a company rooftop with a flower bed from a drama.”
Maybe because he could only eat thin rice gruel, his eyes sparkled at the mention of the kiosk.
“You really went exploring.”
“The doctor said I can probably be discharged around next week. Maybe because I’m still young, my recovery is fast and my stamina is really good too.”
Watching Seogong-i smile and chatter non-stop, I somehow couldn’t smile along. Still, I smiled awkwardly and said.
“I’m sorry I can’t be here with you. It must be really hard after surgery.”
Seogong-i had stomach cancer. They said it was discovered early and there was no metastasis, so surgery was possible, which meant the prognosis was good. Still, it was too cruel an ordeal for a 20-year-old kid to go through.
Even with a caregiver by his side every day it would have been hard, but I was only with him on the day of surgery and the next day because of work. I did stop by every day after work, but even that was only about an hour at most.
“Hyung.”
Then Seogong-i said with a disgusted expression.
“Why would you think that? I’m not some asshole… Do you think I’d feel hurt just because hyung couldn’t come to the hospital much? To someone who works all day to make money because of me?”
Still, I couldn’t help feeling sorry, so I just smiled awkwardly.
“Anyway, don’t be sorry. I’m not such a conscienceless bastard. And the landlady came often, so it was fine.”
Has life really gotten a bit better? He was even joking around. Really, what would have happened without the landlady? It was terrifying to think about.
“The landlady will come when I’m discharged too. Hyung doesn’t have to come. You’d have to skip work again to come.”
At those words, I couldn’t help but frown.
“What are you talking about? I have to come anyway to pay the hospital bill when you’re discharged. And…”
“I asked about that, and they said I can just do a bank transfer. When I’m discharged, I’ll go to the counter, get the account number, and text you, hyung. They said if you deposit it right then, I can be discharged.”
“……”
At his almost desperate appearance, I narrowed my eyes. Then I asked just in case.
“Don’t tell me when you’re discharged, it’s not the landlady but a girlfriend coming?”
“What are you saying, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Then why are you trying so hard to keep me from coming?”
“I’m not trying to keep you from coming—it’s just that going back and forth takes time and you can’t work, hyung. Didn’t you get another advance from the Pig Dream boss for this surgery too?”
I never said anything, but how does he guess so accurately? It was amazing. If hyungnim hadn’t given me the spy job, I would have borrowed money from the boss just as Seogong-i predicted.
“I got an advance, but if I keep missing work, the boss won’t like it.”
“The boss doesn’t dislike me. Because I work well. And who gives an advance to an employee they dislike? You’re really worrying about all sorts of things.”
Whenever Seogong-i said things like this, I was at a loss for how to respond. I’m not the type to stutter anywhere, but I was often like this particularly when talking with Seogong-i.
“Hyung, but…”
Then Seogong-i suddenly lowered his voice as if telling a secret. When I reflexively brought my face close and put my ear near, Seogong-i carefully asked.
“Is it true that robotic surgery isn’t covered by insurance?”
I sighed and straightened my back.
“Heo Seogong. Stop with the useless talk and just focus on recovering.”
“No, what do you mean always focus on recovering? Am I some kind of magician, if I concentrate my mind the wound gets healed? How am I supposed to concentrate?”
Maybe because of his suffering, his gaunt cheeks that had lost weight puffed up. I smiled and poked the rough skin with my finger.
“Meditate. Healing meditation.”
“Really.”
