53.
“How is my grandmother doing?”
— She has been moved to a new hospital and has adjusted well.
“Can I know which hospital?”
— I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you that. Is there anything else you need?
“No.”
Haseo hung up the phone after saying this.
She’s my grandmother. Why can’t they tell me which hospital she’s in? Haseo slid down the wall and curled up.
Choi Mujin had been sending various items almost every day, but Haseo couldn’t understand why. Moreover, they were all expensive things, which made him worry they might add to his debt. So at some point, the items Choi Mujin sent began piling up in a corner of the living room.
Haseo had been like this for quite some time. There were periods when he ate his meals properly, but now even that felt bothersome. There was a time when just having three meals a day made him happy. Perhaps his stomach was full now.
“Hehehe.”
Letting out a strange laugh, Haseo crawled and settled under the sofa in the living room. How much longer would he have to stay here before he could leave? Would he ever be able to leave? Thinking only such thoughts, he soon dozed off.
“Huh!”
Waking from sleep, Haseo looked around anxiously. Only after realizing he wasn’t in a hospital did he catch his breath.
“Grandmother.”
He had dreamed of his grandmother dying. Park Dongsu said she had been safely transferred to another hospital, but was that really true? Really? The words he had thought dozens, hundreds of times flashed through his mind. Haseo tried to stand up abruptly but sat back down due to dizziness. This was the price for skipping meals and sleeping too much. He managed to get up using the sofa for support.
There was a chair in the kitchen. It was quite heavy, but Haseo was still a man. He could lift it easily. Haseo grabbed the chair and brought it to the living room. The living room window was the largest. He lifted the chair high and smashed it against the window.
Thud!
There was a loud noise, but the glass didn’t budge.
‘Was I not strong enough?’
Haseo gritted his teeth and struck the window with the chair again. Though he knew he shouldn’t do this, anxiety gnawed at his mind until he couldn’t bear it.
‘Grandmother, Grandmother!’
No matter how many times he struck it, the glass remained intact. Instead, it was Haseo’s hands that were injured. His hands, which had softened from not working, were scraped by the recoil of the chair. Blood flowed between the peeled skin, but Haseo paid no attention. As the number of strikes increased, so did the scratches on the glass.
“What the hell. Why won’t it break!”
He knew the glass wouldn’t be ordinary, but it was holding up too well.
“No, rather than this…”
Perhaps it would be better to break it with something narrower and harder. But there were no tools like hammers or knives inside. Haseo spun around in place like a dying insect. Then he started throwing the piled-up items at the window. The living room became a mess, but that wasn’t the important issue. How long did this go on?
Creak.
The door that had been closed all this time opened from outside. Haseo rushed toward it as soon as it opened. But before he could pass through the gap, he was caught by the person entering.
“Let go, let go!”
After raging madly until his strength gave out, he finally saw the face of the other person. It was Choi Mujin. Usually a neat person, now there was sweat on his forehead. His wrinkled face looked fierce. Only then did Haseo return to reality. He lowered his head and reflected on what he had done.
‘I did something crazy.’
Remembering this made his body tremble involuntarily.
“Lee Haseo.”
A chilling voice called his name.
“Trying to escape?”
No, that wasn’t it. Haseo just wanted to see his grandmother. He tried to explain this, but before he could, Choi Mujin lifted him up. And then he stepped inside. Watching the only exit close again, Haseo sighed. And that day, Haseo was confined to the basement.
Lying on the old mattress, Haseo closed his eyes and listened. If he remained locked up here, he would starve to death. As he was thinking this, the closed basement door opened.
Choi Mujin entered with a first aid kit and examined Haseo’s hand.
“The glass wouldn’t break.”
In response to Haseo’s dazed murmur, Choi Mujin answered.
“That’s how the house was built.”
“Why build it that way?”
“Because people need to be confined.”
“What do you do with confined people?”
To Haseo’s disjointed questions, Choi Mujin instead asked his own.
“What do you think is done with confined people?”
Haseo’s gaze moved to the tools hanging on the wall.
“…Torture?”
“That’s not wrong.”
“Then torture me too.”
Choi Mujin, who was carefully disinfecting Haseo’s palm and applying medicine, looked down at him.
“Do it all you want and then let me go. Just let me live.”
“What about the debt?”
“Can’t I repay the debt through torture?”
“That’s just something I need to make myself feel good.”
“I see.”
Haseo closed his mouth again. There must have been pain during the treatment process, but he didn’t make a sound about it hurting. After finishing the final touches and wrapping a bandage, the treatment was complete. Haseo stared at the neatly wrapped bandage with strange eyes, then grabbed the hem of Choi Mujin’s clothes.
“Then I’ll repay the debt.”
With awkward hand movements, he began to remove the jacket Choi Mujin was wearing. Then he started to undo the buttons of the shirt he usually wore. It took quite some time due to his injured hand, but he didn’t seem inclined to give up.
“Lee Haseo.”
Choi Mujin sighed softly.
“You said 500,000 won each time. You said I could go see my grandmother when I collected 10 million won.”
“Why should I grant all the wishes of someone who’s broken promises three times? What’s so attractive about you?”
Haseo’s expression sank at those words.
“Can’t you just… just grant it?”
“You… Couldn’t you have just stayed quiet?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
Haseo asked, seemingly hurt. Choi Mujin looked down at him and then held his face with his hand.
“Haseo.”
And then he called Haseo’s name in an affectionate voice, like before.
“I don’t understand you.”
“I don’t understand you either, Choi Mujin-ssi.”
“But you should try to understand.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you like me.”
Haseo’s heart sank at Choi Mujin’s words. He stopped talking and met Choi Mujin’s eyes, trying to confirm if he had really said that.
“That’s right.”
As if having guessed everything from Haseo’s behavior, Choi Mujin smiled with round eyes.
“You like me. Right?”
It was true. Lee Haseo had come to like Choi Mujin at some point. But he hadn’t wanted it to be revealed in a situation like this. This was a terrible situation in many ways. What was the point of his feelings being known?
“No, no I don’t.”
Haseo tried to deny it first.
“Really not?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then would it be okay if I kissed someone else and…”
Choi Mujin’s thumb gently brushed Haseo’s lips.
“Had sex with them?”
Just imagining it made his insides twist. That must have shown on Haseo’s face again. Choi Mujin pulled Haseo into an embrace with an amused expression. Unlike Haseo’s pounding heart, Choi Mujin’s heart felt calm. One-sided emotions were frightening and miserable, so Haseo pushed away from Choi Mujin’s chest with his hand.
Separated from Choi Mujin, Haseo crawled along the floor and clung to the wall. He had no idea what to say anymore. His mind went blank. He had thought that even if his feelings were revealed, nothing would change. And that was indeed the reality.
‘Still.’
It felt like the faint hope he had been holding was being shattered. Haseo scratched his injured palm. As the pain surged, his head felt a bit clearer.
“I just treated that.”
Haseo shook his head.
“I want to be alone.”
Choi Mujin shrugged, picked up the first aid kit, and stood up.
“Then rest.”
Creak.
Even after Choi Mujin left, the basement door remained open. Haseo didn’t understand why. With trembling hands, he covered his face and tried to calm his confusion.
When Choi Mujin came up from the basement, Park Dongsu, who was cleaning the living room, asked:
“Should I throw away everything here?”
“Is anything still intact?”
“No. Most of it is broken.”
“Then throw it away.”
The gifts Choi Mujin had given to Haseo went into bags. The broken chair as well. After the floor was also cleaned, Park Dongsu left. Choi Mujin sat on the living room sofa and leisurely crossed his legs.
‘An unexpected harvest.’
There had been many people who had clung to Choi Mujin claiming to love him. But he had never formed a connection with any of them. And now Haseo turned out to be one of them. He had never particularly enjoyed the affection of others, but somehow Haseo’s affection was welcome.
Normally, he wouldn’t have noticed such a thing. The realization of Haseo’s feelings came from a small incident.
It was Park Dongsu who delivered the hobby items, but it was Kim Chunbong who selected them. Park Dongsu had no sense for such things.
Once Kim Chunbong chose items, he would call and report to Choi Mujin, and during these conversations, they also talked about Haseo.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
