Chapter 7
“Instructor!!!”
Igeon didn’t know how he made it to the hospital. Not knowing where to go or how to get there, he had no choice but to stop in front of the hospital. Fortunately, Instructor Jin was at the entrance, and as soon as he saw Igeon, he grabbed him by both shoulders.
“First, calm down.”
“How can I calm down?! What about my father?? Is he badly hurt? How was he injured?!”
“Igeon! Calm down!”
“I’m asking how can I calm down!!”
Today, his father had gone to work at an apartment construction site. Recently, saying his body was under too much strain, he had switched to a delivery logistics center, but since the daily wage was less than at construction sites, he had changed back to the construction site despite Igeon’s objections.
“He’s in surgery now.”
“What? Sur-surgery?”
His legs gave out and he collapsed right there. Instructor Jin, surprised, grabbed Igeon’s arm, and Igeon barely managed to muster enough strength to stand up again.
“It’s okay. Nothing bad will happen.”
It wasn’t any comfort at all. But still, having Instructor Jin there was better than being alone, and Igeon was barely able to stand. When he entered the hospital with Instructor Jin, it was already chaos. Due to the collapse of the building under construction, there were many injured people. Among them were fatalities, and about five people, including Igeon’s father, were in such serious condition that they had been rushed into surgery. Police and officials were urgently assessing the situation, and fortunately, since Instructor Jin had arrived earlier and completed the necessary procedures and identity registration for Igeon’s father, Igeon could go straight to the operating room.
“Where… how badly is he hurt?”
“He was already in the operating room when I arrived.”
“Why wasn’t I contacted first? Why did they contact you, Instructor?”
“Your father gave them my phone number when he was still conscious… He probably did that so you wouldn’t worry.”
“What an idiot.”
Even in times like this, he should have asked for his son first. Igeon thought he would have to say something to him later as he stared at the operating room. He desperately prayed for his father to come out of there safely.
But the heavens cruelly refused to grant Igeon’s wish. Although the surgery was successful, Igeon’s father never regained consciousness and two days later, went to join his partner. He had lived a life of hardship. He had lived for Igeon and for the dream of his partner who had wanted Igeon to become a national taekwondo athlete.
But in the end, he left too quickly, too cruelly, without seeing Igeon achieve that dream.
“Igeon.”
Instructor Jin nudged Igeon, who was blankly guarding the memorial altar. Reflexively, Igeon stood up and greeted the people who had come all the way here. But he didn’t want to look at their faces. No, he didn’t have the strength to. He wanted to die right then and there. He wanted to leave with his father. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did this happen to his poor father…? How would he live now? What should he do alone? He didn’t have the confidence to live. He had no goal. But why was he still here? Should he just die? Would that make the tightness in his chest go away?
He was being sucked into an endless darkness. This was a first. This feeling of despair was truly a first. The people who had just arrived also bowed and greeted Igeon again. Instructor Jin tried to guide them to the dining area on Igeon’s behalf, but one of them didn’t budge from in front of Igeon. The man’s neat pair of feet stood before Seo Igeon. It bothered him. So he raised his head. Just barely…
“…”
Dressed in a black suit, with an expressionless face, standing firmly and looking at him, it was Han Taekyung.
Why is this man here?
“Thank you for…”
He should say “thank you for coming all the way here,” but the words wouldn’t come out, and Igeon lowered his head again and slumped back down in his seat. Then Han Taekyung sat down beside him.
“What are you…?”
Han Taekyung didn’t answer. He just silently stayed by Igeon’s side. When visitors came, he greeted them on Igeon’s behalf. And so, until the last of the funeral procedures, Han Taekyung stayed by Igeon’s side. He silently watched as Igeon cried while saying his final goodbye to his father, and he watched as Igeon trudged alone into his rooftop room. As Han Taekyung slowly turned around after the door closed, he heard the door to Igeon’s rooftop room open again. Looking up, he saw Igeon precariously leaning against the rooftop railing, and startled, Han Taekyung ran up to the rooftop with all his might and grabbed Igeon.
“What are you doing?!”
“Huh?”
“You, you…”
Blinking at Han Taekyung, who had grabbed him and turned pale, Igeon realized why he had run up here looking so frightened and laughed. Then he patted Taekyung’s shoulder.
“No, no. I wasn’t trying to die. Being alone in the house made me want to see the sky, so I just came up here. If I had wanted to die, I would have already done it. But… I don’t think that’s what my father would want. So I’m gritting my teeth and enduring it. So don’t worry. You were worried, right?”
Han Taekyung nodded and released Igeon’s arm. Igeon sat down on the rooftop bench and looked up at the sky.
“Adults would drink at times like this. But since I’m still a minor, I can’t even drink.”
“…Should I go buy some?”
Igeon was surprised by Han Taekyung’s unexpected words. His gaze was too serious to just laugh it off as a joke. If Igeon showed even the slightest sign of agreement, it seemed like Taekyung would immediately run out to buy alcohol.
“No.”
So he quickly cut him off.
“What are you saying? No way. If we get caught, we might lose our qualification for the selection match.”
“…I see.”
Even Han Taekyung seemed to find it absurd as he chuckled and plopped down next to Igeon.
“But if you need it, I could go buy some. It would only be me who loses the qualification anyway.”
“No thanks. I’ll just accept the thought.”
I don’t know since when we became such close friends that he’s acting so friendly. But it wasn’t awkward or unpleasant. What Seo Igeon needed most right now was ‘people.’ And Han Taekyung, whom he only knew by face and reputation, was fulfilling that role.
“…By the way, how did you know to come to the funeral?”
“I went to the café.”
“The café?”
“I went to prepare to greet you and buy coffee for your father, but the manager said you wouldn’t be able to come to work for a while. I could have just left it at that… but for some reason, I was concerned, so I asked. I know it’s your personal information, but knowing would allow me to wait or do something. I’m sorry about that. I asked without your consent.”
“No… I don’t think it’s something you need to apologize for so much… So the manager told you?”
“Yes, that your father had passed away. From the accident that was in the news recently… I couldn’t believe it, so I quickly called my instructor. Our instructor is close with your instructor. That’s how I ended up going. I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“For showing up uninvited… I think I bothered you a lot.”
“Hmm… you’re apologizing, but seeing you sitting here talking to me like this, it seems you don’t regret your actions at all?”
“That’s right.”
Looking at Han Taekyung nodding, Seo Igeon felt like he had lost. This guy is frighteningly honest. And everything he says is true and sincere. After seeing Han Taekyung’s behavior over the past few days, he couldn’t help but feel that way.
“I was a bit taken aback… but honestly, I was grateful. It was overwhelming with just me and Instructor Jin, and especially I… I wanted to be with my father a little longer.”
“I thought so.”
Igeon lay down on the bench and looked at the sky. The dark sky seemed so close that he could touch it if he reached out, pitch black. But he knew. That sky is very high and unreachable.
Dad. Are you resting now? Have you met Mom? Are you two holding hands and looking down at me? He raised his hand to the sky for no reason and then covered his eyes. He had cried so much that there were no tears left. He only felt deeply that he was now alone.
“Ah.”
Feeling a shadow over his head, he removed his hand and was startled to find Han Taekyung’s face very close.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? Uh…”
They say you can’t speak when you’re too surprised, and this was exactly that. Even the tears that were about to come out went back in.
“The selection match… you’ll do it, right?”
Han Taekyung carefully asked Igeon. Not “will you do it?” but “you’ll do it, right?”… It felt strange, as if his wish was evident. Am I thinking too much in that direction because he’s suddenly being too friendly?
“I have to. It’s all I have left now.”
“That’s not true. Seo Igeon, you have a lot left. Taekwondo is just one of those things.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“Let’s do our best at the selection match. And I hope you achieve your goal.”
“You’re not going to go easy on me out of sympathy because of what happened today, are you?”
Igeon sat up abruptly and said to Han Taekyung. Han Taekyung laughed out loud.
“I’m not that nice of a person.”
No, you seem like a pretty nice person. Like you might get caught by a cult while walking down the street.
“I definitely won’t go easy on you. I’ll try harder than in any match I’ve had so far. I’ve been waiting so long. For the day I could face you.”
“Same here.”
Han Taekyung stood up from his seat.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
