“Eunchan-ssi.”
At the continued call, Eunchan obediently began walking behind the woman again. Between the long corridors, artworks were hung. The leaves of the potted plants placed between the spaced-out rooms were vivid. The woman walking ahead stopped. Eunchan also stopped and looked at the door placed in front. The alphabet and numbers embedded in gold leaf looked luxurious.
V-004. However, the number was unsettling. The taxi number he just rode also had 4 and 6 in it. He didn’t believe in superstitions, but since the boss was sensitive about such things, Eunchan was also somewhat mindful of them.
“Then please call if you need anything.”
Briefly explaining that there was a call button inside, the woman turned around without lingering and went back the way she came. Could you open the door for me? Left alone and anxious, Eunchan locked the request that was about to pop out in his throat and bowed slightly.
“Goodbye.”
I should knock. But it’s deep into the night now. Am I needlessly waking someone who’s sleeping? Eunchan relaxed his hand and tapped the door. Knock knock. Perhaps because it was thick solid wood, it wasn’t really a knock but ended up being a light tap.
“…”
He hated the quiet corridor atmosphere and wanted to leave quickly. Eunchan wondered whether to knock on the door again, then chose to just wait around the hospital until morning when they’d be discharged anyway. I need to get additional compensation from the boss. Three people go to work, but in reality, it seems like only I’m always working. Eunchan sighed and turned his steps around. And at that moment, the door behind opened.
“Are-are you leaving?”
The client standing in thin patient clothes saw Eunchan turning around and asked urgently. So he wasn’t asleep yet. Eunchan turned back around and looked at the IV stand visible through the open door.
“I thought you were sleeping. Hello.”
“Hello. Do-do you want to come in?”
The man stepped aside to make room for entry and tried to let Eunchan inside. Eunchan briefly pondered. Should he go in or not? It was funny to have such concerns after coming all this way, but somehow he felt strange. Like the 38th parallel, it felt as if once he crossed this door, he could never return.
“Eu-Eunchan-ssi?”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
However, was there anything he as an employee could do? Eunchan passed by the man and stepped inside. It was definitely different from a regular hospital room. The fact that it was a single room, and the big television, refrigerator, sofa… If not for the patient clothes with the hospital logo, he would have mistaken it for a hotel. Eunchan looked around once, then looked at the man again.
“Lie down.”
“No-no. I’m so-sorry for calling you at dawn.”
“Are you badly hurt?”
He was getting an IV, but from what he could roughly see, his face and body didn’t seem seriously injured. Instead, the bandage wrapped around his right hand looked uncomfortable.
“A li-little…”
As Eunchan stared intently at the bandaged hand, the man didn’t hide his hand but rather held it more out toward Eunchan.
“Still, it’s fortunate it’s just that much.”
It wasn’t something to say in front of an injured person, but still, that was all he had to say. Eunchan gradually wandered around the sofa area, wanting to sit. Since the patient wasn’t resting, he felt conscious as a guest.
“May I sit?”
“Yes, yes!”
When Eunchan asked slyly, the man nodded twice. Moreover, he messed up the well-organized sofa and personally reorganized it again with his one good hand. Eunchan grabbed the man’s wrist, worried the IV line he was on might get tangled.
“Sit down. I’ll do it.”
Despite his delicate appearance, his wrist was surprisingly firm. Eunchan glanced at the white nape and collarbone visible through the loose patient clothes and roughly swept the sofa with his palm as if dusting it off.
“Water at least…”
The man who was pronouncing “water” long soon closed his mouth upon seeing the bottled water and gargle in Eunchan’s hands.
“I’m fine.”
Please just sit down. Eunchan sighed looking up at the restless man. The man heard Eunchan’s sigh, hunched his body, then soon sat down. Not across from him but right next to Eunchan.
“…Go lie down on the bed.”
“No-no.”
The hospital room is so spacious. At the very least, this sofa was big enough that even the tall Eunchan could lie down and sleep on it, but did he have to sit right next to him? Eunchan looked at the man’s profile. Clean skin and long eyes, a high nose bridge with a round tip making a perfect shape. Moreover, his cheeks were tinged with a rosy blush, making him look pure.
“I came after sleeping so I’m a mess. I’m sorry.”
Probably smells like alcohol too. Compared to the man who looked like a model even in patient clothes, Eunchan, a perfectly fine person, came looking like a beggar, so he offered an apology.
“I like it.”
“Ah, yes.”
If you’re fine with it, that’s fortunate. Eunchan placed the water bottle and gargle he brought on the table and picked up his phone to text the boss.
[Met him]
“I heard the stalker did that.”
“Yees.”
The man nodded slightly. Eunchan put down his phone and looked at the man’s right hand again. Quite a lot of bandages were wrapped around it.
“Did they do it with something like a knife?”
“Glass…”
“Did you get hurt trying to block it with your hand?”
“Should I sho-show you?”
“No.”
At his momentum to unwrap the bandages, Eunchan quickly refused. It was carefully dressed, so he didn’t want to mess it up needlessly, and he didn’t want to see someone else’s wound either. Eunchan grabbed the man’s hand touching his right hand and moved it away from the wound.
“Since when did that stalker do this?”
“1 year… No, 2 years… Maybe…”
It was an uncertain tone.
“Does the customer know who the stalker is?”
“Miro.”
“Miro?”
“My-my name…”
I see. Eunchan just nodded after hearing the somewhat off-point answer. He’s a difficult conversation partner. An orange light turned on in his head.
“Does Miro-ssi know who the stalker is?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t even know if they’re male or female?”
If they’re wielding a weapon and swinging it around, they seem quite dangerous. There were more than one or two questions he wanted to ask, but looking at Miro sitting next to him, it seemed like just answering would take over 5 hours.
“Ma…le?”
“Where were you attacked? These days there are CCTVs everywhere so we can check.”
“Near my house,”
“What about your family? Friends or whatever, do they know about the stalker’s existence?”
If you’re hurt this badly, shouldn’t your family be by your side? At the very least, you should have one friend. Eunchan looked around the quiet hospital room interior and asked Miro.
“I-I don’t have any.”
“…Ah, yes…”
Wrong question. Eunchan squeezed his eyes shut at the rapidly cooling atmosphere. How should he answer here? I don’t have any either. Should he say that? For that, his father who might be alive somewhere weighed on his mind.
“Except for one person…”
“That’s good. Tell that person to come. It’s better to stay together.”
Since there seemed to be a risk of getting hurt again anyway, it seemed better to stay with even one person. Eunchan brightened up and opened his mouth.
“Yees.”
“?”
Having answered easily, Eunchan made a question mark at Miro who was staring intently at him. Did this person understand what I said? Is his head actually hurting a bit? Eunchan left the naturally arising questions behind and looked at the IV dripping drop by drop.
“For now, get some sleep. I’ll stay here too.”
The person might be shocked and out of it right now so conversation doesn’t work. Eunchan chose to talk again at daybreak. The sofa was big so there seemed to be no problem sleeping. Rather, it was softer than his own old bed, which was better.
“Let’s go-go to the bed.”
“I’ll sleep here.”
Realizing that words wouldn’t work, Eunchan stood up first and pulled Miro’s left hand. He just pulled without force, but Miro easily stood up and came toward Eunchan’s side. Eunchan let go of his hand and grabbed the IV stand instead, pulling it along and guiding him to the hospital bed.
“Lie down.”
“But…”
“Hurry up.”
It’s exactly like putting a child to sleep. Eunchan forcibly laid Miro, who was fussing about sleeping, on the bed and covered him with a blanket.
“Close your eyes. I’ll wait until you sleep.”
I hope he sleeps quickly. The alcohol was gradually coming back now. Eunchan rubbed his dry eyes and pulled out a chair from the table beside.
3:20 AM. It was late, very late. However, the patient lying down showed no intention of sleeping, and the guardian sitting beside was sleepy to the point of going crazy. Eunchan stood up again, supporting himself on his knees.
“Where-where are you going?”
“To turn off the lights.”
Maybe he’s not sleeping because it’s bright. Eunchan felt around the wall area to find the switch and turned off the lights. There were stand lamps in every corner, so it wasn’t dark even with the lights off.
“See you tomorrow.”
Thinking he might open his mouth more, Eunchan struck first and said goodbye. There was still a lot of IV fluid left, the road visible outside the window was quiet, and the humidifier was vigorously emitting steam…
Eunchan sat with his arms crossed and concentrated on the sound of the clock’s second hand.
“See you. Tomorrow.”
Miro, who spoke the words in fragments as if repeating the greeting, smiled faintly. Eunchan looked at that face and smiled without realizing it.
Tomorrow. Yeah, let’s see each other tomorrow. It was a quiet night.
* * *
Eunchan woke up with a burning throat. He barely opened his drowsy eyes and reached forward, trying to grab the water bottle placed on the table. However, because the gap between the sofa and table was large, it didn’t reach even when he stretched as straight as possible, so Eunchan made a groaning sound.
He had no choice but to lift his heavy upper body. Whether the hangover was coming belatedly or not, his throat was burning and his head was dizzy. Eunchan roughly opened the bottle cap and gulped down the water. The gulping sound echoed throughout the quiet hospital room.
“Now I can live.”
After emptying the 500ml bottle of water, Eunchan let out a satisfied sigh. Eunchan threw the emptied plastic bottle under the sofa and shifted his gaze toward the bed. It was to check if the sick client was doing well.
“Ugh, fuck,”
“…”
However, seeing Miro sitting up with his upper body raised, the startled Eunchan cursed without realizing it.
