101
It was Seon-rok who stopped Yeon Ji-ho from clinging to his phone. Saying that crying like this would negatively affect the fetus, Seon-rok comforted Yeon Ji-ho and advised him to change into a hospital gown first.
Once he put on the maternity hospital gown, the traces of his suffering from morning sickness became clearly visible. From his protruding collarbones to his bony wrists, the already loose hospital gown was on the verge of slipping off. Even with those thin wrists, Yeon Ji-ho couldn’t let go of Seon-rok’s phone and was staring at it with a desperate look.
“Ji-ho, hold onto that phone for a bit. Uncle will talk to the nurse and be right back.”
Only upon hearing Seon-rok’s voice did Yeon Ji-ho realize that the phone wasn’t his but Seon-rok’s. He had been so focused on waiting for a reply that he hadn’t even thought about returning the phone to Seon-rok.
Yeon Ji-ho looked at Seon-rok with an apologetic face, but he just smiled and left with the nurse. Vowing to return the phone when he came back, Yeon Ji-ho stared blankly at the screen.
It was then that a sound came from Seon-rok’s phone.
Ding.
“Yeon Ji-ho: Jiiiho” 2:42 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Are you okay” 2:43 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Are you okay” 2:44 PM
Yeon Ji-ho suppressed the tears that were about to burst out again at this question. Then he picked up the phone and typed diligently.
“I’m fine.”
“How about you, Set?” 2:44 PM
There was so much he wanted to ask. How he could contact him via phone, how he knew Korean and could type like this. But more than that, he wanted to know about Set’s well-being.
“Have you eaten?” 2:44 PM
Knowing Set as the one who enjoyed his food the most, Yeon Ji-ho worried that he might have skipped meals because he wasn’t there.
While the 1 disappeared from the screen immediately after sending a message, it took quite some time for a reply to come back. Though he didn’t know the reason, Yeon Ji-ho reassured himself that it made sense since Set wasn’t familiar with phones. Still, he feared that this fragile connection might break at any moment.
Set’s next reply came after another 5 minutes. It wasn’t an answer to the question, but another question.
“Yeon Ji-ho: Wjiho you” 2:50 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Have you eaten?” 2:51 PM
Seeing Set naturally asking about Ji-ho’s well-being first, Yeon Ji-ho found himself smiling without realizing it. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled. Then, the tears that had been welling up in his eyes flowed down, staining the screen.
Yeon Ji-ho wiped the screen with his hospital gown sleeve and quickly tapped the screen again.
“I’m a good cook, you know” 2:52 PM
“I packed lots of ramen in the caravan just in case”
“They’re in the drawer inside the caravan. If you’re lazy, at least eat that” 2:53 PM
In truth, this wasn’t what he really wanted to say. He wanted to say that he missed him so much, ask if he could come over right now, if he could be by his side immediately.
But when he actually got to talk to Set, different words came out. Although he didn’t explicitly ask, he knew Set wouldn’t have been idle in trying to get to his side, and he didn’t want to unnecessarily rush someone like that. So Yeon Ji-ho, with reddened eyes, continued to tap on the phone.
After telling Set about the emergency food hidden in the corners of the caravan, Yeon Ji-ho’s screen was filled with messages he had sent. He was waiting for Set’s reply when it came.
“Yeon Ji-ho: !*” 2:59 PM
Yeon Ji-ho tilted his head at the strange reply that came after waiting for so long. But even after 3 minutes, then 5 minutes passed, there was no further reply.
Growing anxious, Yeon Ji-ho started biting his damaged nails, then touched the profile that said “Our Ji-ho”. He tapped the phone number that appeared and tried to call.
-The customer you are trying to reach is unavailable at the moment.
Yeon Ji-ho’s expectations were deflated by the guidance message that played before the ring even started. He thought maybe the other side had accidentally hung up, but he knew that wasn’t the case since it happened before the ring tone even played.
Now that he confirmed that calling wasn’t possible, all he could do was wait for Set’s reply. It was then, as Yeon Ji-ho was staring intently at the phone screen.
Knock knock knock.
Yeon Ji-ho’s head turned at the knocking sound from outside the room. He naturally thought it would be Seon-rok, but it was a nurse who entered.
“Pregnant patient Yeon Ji-ho, the doctor said you’re in a very weak state, so we should start with an IV drip first. You’ll probably receive the fluid after the doctor examines you, but we’re just inserting the needle first. Please extend your arm.”
The nurse, explaining in a lifeless voice, pulled a rubber band a few times from the silver tray she had brought, then lightly tied Yeon Ji-ho’s arm. As a result, unable to touch the phone, Yeon Ji-ho had to put it down next to him with the screen on and just stare at it blankly.
While the nurse was busy moving around beside him, the reply Yeon Ji-ho had been so eagerly waiting for finally came. The content was brief.
“Yeon Ji-ho: #@#!%” 3:11 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: O”
“Yeon Ji-ho: It worked” 3:12 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Jiho are you sick?” 3:13 PM
He wanted to reply quickly now that the awaited message had arrived, but it was quite difficult as the nurse was holding one of his arms. Yeon Ji-ho thought about sending a reply with his other hand but decided to wait a moment, conscious of the nurse.
In the meantime, the phone screen kept scrolling up.
“Yeon Ji-ho: ?” 3:15 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Jjiho” 3:16 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho?” 3:17 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho”
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho” 3:18 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji”
“Yeon Ji-ho: ho” 3:19 PM
It seemed Set found it strange that the reply, which would have come immediately under normal circumstances, wasn’t coming. The speed at which he typed “Ji-ho” was visibly accelerating. It was fortunate that the screen was left on; otherwise, the notifications would have been ringing loudly enough to disrupt the entire hospital room.
When Yeon Ji-ho glanced at the nurse, she didn’t seem to be paying attention to him. She just looked at Yeon Ji-ho with a very confused face after trying to insert the needle into the back of his hand once but no blood came out.
“Patient, your skin is so pale that the veins on the back of your hand are not visible. I’m sorry, but let me try once more.”
“Yes, yes. It’s okay. Um… while you’re doing that, can I use my other hand to touch my phone?”
Yeon Ji-ho, who hadn’t even realized the needle was piercing his skin because he was so focused on the phone, carefully asked, and the nurse nodded. Yeon Ji-ho, who had given one arm to her, held the phone with one hand and again immersed himself in the chat.
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji” 3:20 PM
“I’m here” 3:21 PM
“Set”
“When the number 1 next to the speech bubble disappears, it means I’ve read it” 3:22 PM
Somehow feeling that Set was also waiting desperately, Yeon Ji-ho was too busy sending a reply to care about typos. As soon as he sent the message, the 1 disappeared and the speed slowed down again. It seemed that he had only gotten faster at typing “Ji-ho”.
“Yeon Ji-ho: I understand” 3:23 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho”
“Yeon Ji-ho: I’m coming” 3:24 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: soon”
“Yeon Ji-ho: Wait for me” 3:25 PM
At those words, Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes widened. At the same time, he heard the nurse beside him let out a small exclamation and sigh of relief. When he turned his head, he saw a young-looking nurse looking at him with apologetic eyes and saying,
“It must have hurt a lot, I’m sorry…”
“Ah, no. It’s okay.”
Yeon Ji-ho smiled weakly as he looked at the catheter that had finally been inserted into the back of his hand. As the nurse who had bowed her head left, Seon-rok entered as if taking over a baton.
“Ji-ho!”
But Seon-rok wasn’t the only one who entered. Yeon Ji-ho’s head turned slightly as a huge man entered behind him. Then he saw Soo-cheol following with an awkward face.
“Jang Soo-cheol bought egg sushi for you to eat! Let’s eat this together.”
“Ah, Uncle Soo-cheol came too? What about the hospital?”
“…Afternoon off.”
Seeing that he had clearly closed the hospital and come because of him, Yeon Ji-ho opened his mouth slightly. Following that, Soo-cheol rustled through several paper bags he had brought and held them out over the bed where Yeon Ji-ho was sitting.
“Before eating sushi, this.”
“…What is this?”
At a glance, the plain white paper bag without any pattern wasn’t sushi. The sushi bags had already been taken and opened by Seon-rok. While Soo-cheol was clearing his throat with a small “ahem”, Seon-rok spilled everything.
“Ji-ho, your phone. I sensibly asked Soo-cheol on the way here. Ji-ho, you don’t have a phone right now, right?”
“…!”
As Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes widened, Soo-cheol silently began to unwrap the phone’s packaging with his rough hands. Meanwhile, the phone’s notifications were busily ringing.
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho” 3:26 PM
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho?”
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho?”
“Yeon Ji-ho: Ji-ho” 3:27 PM
“Oh my, just like newlyweds. Ji-ho, if you don’t eat because you’re looking at your phone, I’m going to tell Set everything!”
Yeon Ji-ho burst into laughter at Seon-rok’s threat, like a parent giving a phone to a teenage child.
At the same time, for the first time in a very long while, he felt hungry.
That day, Yeon Ji-ho ate more than 7 of the egg sushi that Soo-cheol had bought. The morning sickness that had been tormenting Yeon Ji-ho every day was unusually quiet today. It was as if Set had returned and chased away all his morning sickness.
