“You did well.”
“…What did I… you’re the one who…”
“Thank you for waking up well.”
“…”
Both “you did well” and “thank you” were things Sunjeong should hear, not things Taeon should hear.
“The hard work and gratitude are all things you did. I just got hurt for no reason…”
Would it have been better if Sunjeong had scolded Taeon, said something, or cried as Taeon expected? The current Sunjeong was excessively mature and unfamiliar.
“Yoon Taeon, I have to go to school starting tomorrow.”
“You should go, you should go.”
Taeon, who hadn’t thought about Sunjeong’s school, said in surprise.
“I’ll get a caregiver starting tomorrow. Anyway, they said you’ll be discharged in two weeks. Just until then. I’ll come on weekends.”
“…”
He should say that Sunjeong didn’t need to come even on weekends, but somehow Taeon’s mouth wouldn’t listen to his heart’s words.
***
Sunjeong, leaving the hospital room, ended up shedding a few tears.
To have that calm face when he almost died and came back to life.
The expression of worrying about Sunjeong more was absurd rather than grateful. Taeon was acting like someone who didn’t know how to value himself.
It seemed like he could miss about a week of school, but Sunjeong wanted to keep his promise to himself not to completely give up his daily life because of Taeon. Most of all, since Taeon wasn’t in a serious condition, if he stayed by his side, his upset feelings about what he had experienced might show.
When Sunjeong first received the call, he really almost fainted. If Yoonwoo, who had been busily moving around in the kitchen making all sorts of bizarre dishes, hadn’t come running when he heard Sunjeong’s voice soaked in shock, what would have happened?
A hammer. A hammer falling on a person’s head. It was something he had never even imagined.
Fortunately, when he went to the hospital, it was less terrible than he thought, but when he saw Taeon unconscious, he was so shocked.
Thanks to it hitting at an angle, they just needed to treat the external injury well, and the various test results were fine, so the hospitalization period would be short. The doctor repeated several times with an expressionless face that it was extremely fortunate.
Up to this point, it was at least fortunate.
In fact, since Taeon started working at the construction site, Sunjeong had imagined such moments several times in his mind.
Thanks to crying and being horrified in his imagination, in reality, he could handle things calmly in a rather numb state.
The problem was the appearance of people outside Sunjeong’s realm of imagination.
The true faces of people he couldn’t bring himself to tell Taeon about.
‘Go Sunjeo-i.’
The work foreman, who deliberately called Sunjeong “Sunjeo-i,” spoke to Sunjeong halfheartedly.
‘You know Taeon originally works sloppily and half-heartedly, right?’
‘No, he doesn’t.’
Because Sunjeong had annoyingly followed along to the site several times while trailing after Taeon, the work foreman could call Sunjeong “Sunjeo-i.” And Taeon worked hard on what he had to do regardless of whether Sunjeong was there or not.
‘He also drank at lunch that day, and anyway, the situation wasn’t good for processing it as a work injury.’
‘…’
The work foreman saying this didn’t properly make eye contact with Sunjeong.
That’s what Sunjeong hated more. It was as if he wanted Sunjeong to understand that he wasn’t saying this from his own heart but because the company made him. It was cowardly.
‘So you’re saying Taeon got hurt because he did something wrong?’
‘…If we have to get into it, that’s how it is.’
‘Ha…’
Strength entered Sunjeong’s hands for a moment.
‘He has no skills, but his motivation and strength are good, so it’s also my fault for bringing him and making him work.’
It was ridiculous. Sunjeong knew that in that damn neighborhood, other young guys besides Taeon played Taeon’s role at all sorts of construction sites. It wasn’t that he received special treatment because of his good strength, but rather that one laborer in that role was needed.
‘If he doesn’t receive workers’ compensation, he gets severance pay and quits, and if it’s processed as a work injury, he just gets kicked out. Our president is harsh.’
‘…’
‘And Sunjeo-i, you need to think too. What are you doing putting the kid in a single room? This doesn’t even apply separately.’
Sunjeong caught on to the keyword at the core of the words that kept going in circles.
The work injury claim was the problem.
After the work foreman left, Sunjeong searched online for industrial accident claims. When he looked it up, it was something that could be done by applying directly, so they were raising objections first in case he applied. A hollow laugh came out, and heat rose from his head to his toes.
When he went to confront the president of the service company written on Taeon’s work clothes first, he looked Sunjeong up and down and sneered. Taeon was young, but Sunjeong was young too. At his attitude as if a young kid who didn’t know anything was making a fuss, Sunjeong fought by yelling with anger from head to toe.
In the end, he left the aftermath to a lawyer who was a distant relative the family often sought out.
He always acted friendly and found Sunjeong adorable, so while he was flustered by the excessively small-scale case, he didn’t refuse.
Thinking of the president’s complexion changing when the obviously well-established middle-aged lawyer visited the president’s office made a hollow laugh come out.
Even though there were no major problems, he felt like he was neglecting the unconscious Taeon and only staying outside, so when he came to the hospital, he drank a cup of warm herbal tea at the café in the first-floor lobby to calm his mind.
Then when he came up to the hospital room, the nurse who had been stern-faced the whole time smiled and told him Taeon had woken up.
When he entered the hospital room and made eye contact with Taeon, Taeon didn’t look very surprised. Well, there was no way the quick-witted Taeon wouldn’t know why he was in a single room.
The awakened Taeon was the same as usual except for being completely bald.
However, one bothersome thing was…
The mood and expression constantly watching Sunjeong’s reactions. A face that couldn’t quite hide his apology.
Sunjeong also knew that if Sunjeong were in this situation, it would be difficult for Taeon to do similar things. However, Sunjeong also knew without experiencing it that Taeon would have done another best he could do.
Was it even fortunate this time that Taeon didn’t openly express resistance to what Sunjeong had done for him?
Sunjeong’s heart couldn’t only go toward Taeon.
Naturally, what Sunjeong had could only go to Taeon together.
He had always thought Taeon, who couldn’t accept this fact, was frustrating.
‘Those who live without have a lot of greed.’
Recalling the face of the president who casually sneered sarcastically about the fact that Taeon was admitted to a single room, he seemed to understand the reason Taeon was obsessed with what’s called his proper station.
But if such humiliation could be avoided, not experiencing it was the best.
If there were still people experiencing it and that bothered him, it was better to join in changing the structure.
Sunjeong desperately hoped Taeon could realize this fact on his own.
On the discharge day two weeks later, Sunjeong headed to Taeon’s hospital.
“You don’t have to come.”
Taeon tried to stop Sunjeong from coming, saying it was a weekday when he had school, but Sunjeong couldn’t let the discharged Taeon go home alone.
“How can you go alone? You would have come if I were hospitalized too.”
“That’s true, but.”
In fact, Sunjeong was more worried about Taeon’s state of mind.
Because it was Taeon’s matter, only Sunjeong couldn’t know about it and move on.
In the end, Taeon faced a situation where the adults he had trusted in his own way blamed Taeon. Moreover, even Mr. Choi, who dropped the hammer, came to visit and subtly blamed Taeon. From the beginning, the young guy had caused an accident by drinking alcohol at lunchtime before working. It was alcohol he himself had distributed.
It was a case where a lawyer got involved, reached an agreement with the company, and even finished the work injury claim. In short, Sunjeong was angry that there was no need to say such things but he blamed Taeon for no reason.
‘Uncle, if you almost died and survived, use your heart a bit more kindly.’
At Sunjeong’s words while watching, Mr. Choi’s complexion darkened, but he didn’t take back his words.
‘Anyway, Taeon. You’re the same age as my son.’
‘So?’
‘No matter how shabby our neighborhood is, kids who will go to college all go. You went to high school outside the neighborhood too. So take this as an opportunity and study a bit.’
‘I got it, so please leave now.’
‘Kid, how rude.’
Grumbling, Mr. Choi hesitated for a moment then held out a paper bag to Taeon.
‘This isn’t much… we collected a bit among ourselves. You don’t have severance pay either.’
Taeon’s face, looking at that paper bag, hardened stiffly. Sunjeong was also angry but looked on worriedly.
‘Uncle.’
‘What.’
‘Give it to your son as allowance. You guys told me it’s a small world. If you want to face each other later in this small world without blushing, just take that back as is.’
‘This kid…’
The last words were weak. To Sunjeong, it only looked like hypocrisy though.
The glint in Taeon’s eyes quietly watching Mr. Choi turn around was quite sharp.
When the hospital room door closed, that face crumbled a bit. Sunjeong didn’t say anything and just sat there like a still life. Because right now, Taeon wouldn’t need spoken comfort, but clearly wouldn’t want to be alone either.
After that, Taeon’s mood seemed not very good the whole time. He just thanked Sunjeong several times but rarely spoke much.
Sunjeong didn’t want to leave Taeon like this alone.
