78.
“Ugh.”
Only when the sunlight streaming through the window stabbed at his eyes did Haseo slowly rise from the bed. But before he could sit upright, overwhelming drowsiness forced him back down.
“I should get up.”
Despite thinking this, his body refused to move. Well, he had been living too hard lately. That’s why he’d become lazy, his brother had said.
Though he’d worried about what to call him due to their age difference, he eventually settled on “brother.” The man was too young and handsome to be called “uncle.” The brother he now lived with rarely interfered with whatever Haseo did. Whether Haseo lazed around sleeping all day or sat vacantly by the window enjoying the scenery, he didn’t say anything. But if Haseo tried to work or seemed to be overexerting himself, he would notice immediately and stop him.
‘You’re still a patient.’
He said Haseo had taken the wrong medicine. Though he didn’t tell him what kind of medicine it was, he said it had made Haseo very ill. Haseo still had memories of that time. Crying, vomiting, writhing in agony. In that terrible pain, he thought death might be better, but despite the tears, snot, and vomit that must have been disgusting, the man never gave up on him.
“But why did I take that medicine?”
He couldn’t remember anything about that part. On the surface, Haseo seemed fine now, but in reality, he had many problems. Both physically and mentally.
‘I can’t remember anything.’
Why he had taken the medicine. Why he had been so sad. How he had met his brother. And why his brother was so kind to him. Nothing came to mind. Sometimes fragments of memories would flash by while he slept, but upon waking, only painful emotions remained.
He had a sense that he was forgetting something very important. But he didn’t know what it was. He had tried asking his brother, but the man never gave a clear answer. He always kept it hidden, saying that knowing would only cause Haseo more pain. Though this aspect was puzzling, Haseo had received so much help that he was trying to be patient despite his frustration.
‘I’ve really mellowed out.’
Haseo shook his head, got out of bed, and headed downstairs. The kitchen was on the first floor, and his brother was standing there.
“You’re up? You should eat.”
Though his tone was gruff, Haseo could read the concern it contained.
“Yes~”
After responding, he sat at the table where fluffy white rice, meat, vegetable sides, and soup were served. His brother Choi Mujin’s cooking skills were peculiar. It didn’t seem like he was particularly good, but it wasn’t bad either. So a few times Haseo had offered to cook instead, but Mujin had become serious, so he stopped.
His brother brought his own rice bowl and sat across from him.
“What are you going to do today?”
“I’m not sure.”
There were many things to play with at home, but nothing held his interest. However, he had recently started growing lettuce in the garden outside, which was somewhat fun. Watching the vegetables grow vigorously cleared his mind. When they were fully grown, he would pick and eat them.
His brother, who was extremely concerned about Haseo’s health, didn’t stop him from going to the vegetable garden. So after eating, Haseo changed his clothes and went to the garden again today. As he was watering and examining the lettuce as usual, something felt odd. When he looked up, a small boy was standing there with wide eyes.
“Waah!”
The boy screamed as soon as he saw Haseo.
“Wah!”
Haseo was also startled by the unexpected child.
“What? Who are you?”
In response to his question, the boy stopped screaming and answered properly.
“I’m Jisu from the village below.”
“Village below? Ah, that place?”
Maybe because the house was on high ground. Looking down from the second-floor window, he could see a small village in the distance. But wasn’t it too far for a child to walk from there to here?
“Why did you come here?”
Putting down the transplanting trowel, he asked, and the child explained. Today was his school’s anniversary, so he wanted to do something different from usual. So he came to check out the house on the mountain that he had always been curious about.
“By yourself?”
The child rolled his eyes.
“Actually, not alone.”
Just then, the bushes behind the child rustled, and another one emerged. He was also a boy but smaller than the first child.
“So, what were you so curious about?”
“Um, can I ask you something?”
Haseo shrugged.
“Sure.”
“Why do you live here? Are you really rich as the rumors say? Or are you bad people? I heard people in black clothes come and go all the time.”
Black clothes. Hearing this, Haseo burst into laughter. It was because his brother Choi Mujin often wore suits and black clothes. Plus, his subordinates who occasionally visited also tended to dress similarly.
“Those are just suits they wear for work. Suits are usually black. They’re not bad people. And rich? I’m not sure about that.”
“But the house is so big!”
“Is it big?”
“There’s no house bigger than this in our village.”
“Then I guess it is big.”
“Wow.”
Though they hadn’t talked for long, the children seemed to feel a sense of familiarity and came closer.
“But why is your lettuce like this?”
“What’s wrong with my lettuce?”
“It’s small and withered.”
“It’s small?”
“The lettuce at our house is much bigger!”
“Oh, what’s your secret?”
The smaller child kept his mouth shut, but the bigger one was chatty. As they were talking, someone walked out of the house.
“Haseo.”
It was Choi Mujin. He looked at Haseo and the chattering children with a strange expression.
“Who are they?”
“They say they’re children from the village below.”
“Ah, that place. There were a few kids there. But isn’t it a school day?”
“They said it’s their school’s anniversary. But these kids’ farming knowledge is amazing. They know a lot!”
At Haseo’s words, the child looked proud.
“My grandmother knows even more than me. I’ll ask her and come back next time.”
“Grandmother?”
Hearing the word “grandmother,” Haseo’s chest stung for some reason. Then dizziness swept over him, and as he slumped backward, Choi Mujin ran over and caught him.
“Huh?”
Confusion appeared on the child’s face.
“No, it’s just that I’m not feeling well. Um, let’s see. You’ve come from far away, so I should offer you something.”
“I’ll take care of that. You should go inside and rest first.”
His brother lifted Haseo in his arms. Then he forcibly carried him into the house and up to the second-floor room.
“Wait, I need to change my clothes!”
“I’ll do it.”
After skillfully changing Haseo’s clothes, his brother laid him on the bed.
‘I didn’t even do much.’
His head was dizzy, and he felt nauseous. Haseo placed his hand on his forehead and endured the oncoming headache.
“Should you take medicine too?”
“No, I’m fine. You said taking medicine too often isn’t good.”
During his illness, Haseo’s stomach and liver had been significantly damaged, he’d been told. That’s why the food he ate was bland, and he was taking related medication. When he refused, his brother placed his own hand on Haseo’s forehead instead. The large, cold hand massaging his forehead seemed to alleviate the pain.
“What about the children?”
His brother sighed softly and got up.
“I’ll send them off and come back.”
“I wanted to feed them something.”
“Why are you so eager to feed them?”
“They came all this way, so they must be hungry.”
“Fine. Then I’ll feed them something simple before sending them off. You rest.”
“Okay.”
Haseo answered and closed his eyes. His brother would surely take good care of the children.
The child, Jisu, looked with wary eyes at the man standing right in front of him. Unlike the person he’d just met, this man seemed somehow dangerous.
“Come in.”
“Um, we can just go back.”
“Haseo told me to feed you something before sending you off.”
Haseo. That must be the name of the person he’d just met. After hesitating briefly, Jisu took his friend Seyoung’s hand and entered the house. The man gave them snacks and milk and sat on the opposite sofa.
“Eat.”
Even young Jisu could tell this wasn’t a friendly atmosphere. So he was thinking about running away when Seyoung’s eyes landed on the snacks. Come to think of it, Seyoung loved sweet snacks very much. But the store that sold snacks was quite far from their neighborhood, so he could never eat as much as he wanted. There was also the money issue.
Jisu pulled the plate of snacks closer to Seyoung. After hesitating, Seyoung picked up a snack, tried it, and his eyes immediately sparkled.
“Delicious!”
At the small voice that burst out, Jisu smiled contentedly. Seyoung, who was eating hurriedly, also handed some snacks to Jisu. They were a bit different from the snacks they usually ate, but they were pleasantly sweet. After they had filled their stomachs with snacks, the man almost pushed them outside.
“It’s dangerous here, so don’t come again.”
And with that, he closed the door.
“As if it’s dangerous.”
Jisu pouted and then stuck out his tongue. He was the bravest child in the village and was very curious. Despite everything, he didn’t think the man would harm him. Plus, he wanted to see the pretty and handsome person he’d met first again.
“I’ll come back next time.”
As he said this with determination, Seyoung nodded beside him. It seemed the snacks they’d been given had made quite an impression.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
