Chapter 5
“Wait a moment!”
“Oh, this alone is…”
After hearing the man’s words, the nurse waved her hands trying to stop him. I felt the same way. If he made a wrong move and the doctor got injured, it would be terrible. Because of the man’s sudden action, even the doctor, who had been calm until now, was startled. But despite our objections, the man put strength into his hands gripping the refrigerator.
“…Oh my.”
The nurse covered her face and let out an ambiguous sound that could have been either amazement or surprise. Lifting, lifting—the man literally lifted the refrigerator and pushed it to the side. With a thud, the refrigerator toppled over, and the freed doctor hurriedly stood up and dusted off his clothes.
“I felt it earlier too, but your strength is really mons—”
“Hmm?”
“…amazing.”
The word ‘monstrous’ was swallowed the moment I made eye contact with the man. The man tilted his head briefly, then dusted his hands and straightened his clothes.
That’s when I noticed something I hadn’t realized despite looking at him all this time.
The man was wearing a fairly expensive suit. The fabric that gleamed even with dust on it, the intricately decorated cuffs that peeked out when he moved his hands—even to my untrained eye, it all screamed luxury. My gaze, which had been scanning him from toe to head, fixed on his face.
The expensive clothes suited him perfectly. He had distinct features and well-groomed, fine hair. Though some strands had come loose during the commotion, his face somehow made even that look like part of his fashion.
Feeling suddenly self-conscious about my dust-covered appearance, I dusted off the hat I was holding. After vigorously patting away the white dust rising from the hat, I adjusted it on my head and made eye contact with the man. The man smiled, his eyes curving.
“…Oh my.”
This time, the nurse let out a definite exclamation of admiration. I could easily guess the reason for her admiration. He was handsome and stylish, even to my male eyes.
“Ah, sorry for the late introduction. Thank you.”
The doctor, having roughly dusted off his clothes, smiled broadly and extended his hand. Then he waved it in front of me. Though a bit taken aback, I reflexively shook his hand. The doctor vigorously shook my arm. The smile on his wrinkled eyes was refreshing, and gray hair sprouted on the top of his head.
The laugh lines etched on his face caught my attention. Reminded of my parents in the countryside, I squeezed his hand. The doctor pretended to be hurt, released my hand, and moved toward the man to offer a handshake.
While the doctor was shaking hands with the man, the nurse and I exchanged brief introductions.
“I’m Yoon So-young.”
“I’m Kang Seongho.”
Ms. Yoon So-young smiled, gently creasing her eyes. The man, having finished greeting the doctor, nodded slightly and spoke.
“I’m Kim Doyun.”
“Ji Sang-ik! Feel free to address me casually.”
No sooner had the man, Kim Doyun, finished his greeting than the doctor added his own introduction with good humor.
“I’d like to ask a favor. Well…”
But I found it difficult to continue and hesitated. Calling him casually? To someone much older than me, that seemed a bit… The doctor, noticing my fixed stare, scratched his chin, smiled, and added:
“If it’s hard to call me by name, just call me ‘Teacher’ or ‘Doc.'”
“Then, Teacher, please help me.”
“With what?”
“There’s a patient just ahead. I don’t know how to assess her condition so I can’t explain in detail, but it’s somewhat urgent.”
“Let’s go.”
No further explanation was needed. The teacher told Ms. Yoon So-young to prepare before I could even think of what to say next. Then, as if her earlier demeanor had vanished, Ms. Yoon So-young moved around the collapsed shelves, sweeping items into bags. Is this what you call professionalism? I watched speechlessly as the two strode confidently out the door. Kim Doyun patted my shoulder.
“It looks uncomfortable. Shall I help you?”
Kim Doyun stared at my limping leg, and I hesitated momentarily. Even after introductions, it felt somewhat awkward to accept help from a stranger. But if I refused Kim Doyun’s kindness, it was obvious I would be left behind on my own. After weighing the situation, I decided this wasn’t the time to be concerned about such things.
“Please, thank you.”
Kim Doyun smiled, his eyes curving just as I had seen earlier.
* * *
Using Kim Doyun’s shoulder as a crutch, I was able to walk a bit faster. Since he was taller than me, it wasn’t easy to lean on his arm, so I struggled a bit at first. If I applied strength to my hand while walking and momentarily let go, weight would shift to my leg. Once or twice was bearable, but the moment the pressure on my leg increased beyond that, tears welled up in my eyes.
“Ouch, ouch. Wait, just a moment.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
I burst into laughter seeing Kim Doyun apologize while looking at my leg, when he hadn’t done anything wrong.
I had always thought that rich guys were arrogant and shameless. In my part-time jobs, weren’t those with money the ones who threw cash in my face or treated me like a servant with a tilt of their chin? To be honest, there were plenty of troublemakers without money too.
But if I had to choose between a poor troublemaker and a rich one that stuck in my memory, it would definitely be the rich troublemaker. Seeing them cause scenes while driving expensive cars made me wonder if I would act like that with their money. I would only feel sorry for those who weren’t like that, thinking their harsh reality had made their hearts poor as well… With the news constantly showing rich people causing all sorts of incidents, I thought my prejudice would never disappear. At this point, isn’t it more fact than prejudice?
But looking at Kim Doyun, though he seemed to have some—no, a lot of—money, he was different from the wealthy people I’d encountered before. From our first meeting, he had volunteered to help without being asked, and his manner of treating others was respectfully pleasant. I had never seen rich people voluntarily do such things. They would typically blame me for being injured.
“I’ll go slowly. Please go ahead.”
“I can’t leave an injured person behind.”
After our feet got tangled a few times, Kim Doyun seemed to figure out a strategy and changed his posture. That strategy involved wrapping his arm around my waist and practically lifting me as we walked. Thanks to this, no weight was put on my injured leg, but I had to move my foot in a hopping manner.
Well… I had thought Kim Doyun’s strength was impressive, but experiencing it physically made it feel even more extraordinary. Moreover, despite having my weight on one arm, he showed no signs of struggle, and his face remained clean without a single drop of sweat. If I had been just a little lighter, he might have carried me completely.
At our destination, where we arrived with Kim Doyun’s support, the treatment of the two people was already well underway. The teacher examined the injured woman’s head and various parts of her body with a serious face, then sighed. The child, who had been anxiously looking around beside the two, saw me and ran over with a bright smile.
“Mister!”
The small child clung to my leg and looked up at me. Though I was inwardly startled because it was my injured leg, perhaps because the child was light, it didn’t hurt as much as expected. The child, still hanging onto my leg, glanced at Kim Doyun and whispered.
“Who is he?”
“A mister who helped me.”
Even though we were whispering, since I couldn’t bend at the waist, our conversation was loud enough for everyone around to hear. When I said “mister,” Kim Doyun’s expression became somewhat ambiguous. To a kid, someone our age would be called “mister.” Surely he didn’t expect to be called “older brother”?
The teacher and Ms. Yoon So-young were busy treating the child’s mother. Despite their troubled faces, their hands moved quite swiftly. I tried to remove my hand from Kim Doyun’s shoulder, but since he walked toward the two first, I didn’t need to make the effort alone.
“Is it serious?”
“Well. The wound doesn’t seem that severe, and it looks like she simply fainted, but… there’s a big problem.”
“A big problem?”
The teacher’s serious face as he turned his head made my face grave as well.
“I’m an internal medicine specialist.”
“……”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words. Not knowing what to say, I hesitated for a long time. Regardless of my reaction, the teacher scratched his head, looked at the child’s mother, and continued.
“I’ve done some basic examination and first aid, but for a proper diagnosis, we need a surgical specialist. This is troublesome…”
Still, I felt relieved that he was a doctor capable of some level of treatment. I patted my aching leg and removed my arm from Kim Doyun’s shoulder. Kim Doyun, seeming quite thoughtful by nature, supported my body until the end so I could sit comfortably.
“Are you badly injured?”
“Ah, it’s not serious.”
Though I shook my head saying it was fine, Kim Doyun stared at me. Oh right. I touched my face and smiled awkwardly.
“This isn’t an injury, it’s just… My face doesn’t hurt at all.”
“…I see.”
It was difficult to explain the bruises, but fortunately, Kim Doyun moved on without further questions. He looked at my face seriously and then smiled slightly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
