That’s when I started hearing sobbing sounds from somewhere. When I turned my head toward where the sound was coming from, a big man sitting next to me was suddenly shedding tears.
What, what’s this…?
He was a young man who looked perfectly normal, dressed in a suit like Baek Woojin. I looked around frantically in confusion. The pharmacist and receptionist were busy serving customers, and the customers waiting for medicine had no interest in this side at all.
“Huuk, heuuk, ugh, huk…”
The sobbing grew louder. Then the customers’ stares turned not to the man but to me. Even though I quickly shook my head with a look that said we weren’t together, the piercing gazes stung.
I eventually quickly took a few tissues from the reception desk and handed them to the man.
“This…”
“Huuk…? Th-thank you, heuuk…!”
“……”
The man took the tissues I offered and wiped away the tears streaming down his face.
“Um… are you okay…?”
“Huuk, n-no, kuk, huk, no…”
When I asked carefully, the man shook his head and burst into tears. He didn’t seem to be in great pain…
Does he have some serious illness? A mental illness or something…
“Ah, then at least drink this…”
Since the man showed no signs of stopping his crying, I offered him the honey tea I had put in my coat pocket.
But maybe that was the problem.
“Hueeeeng…!”
The man who received the honey tea from me suddenly started crying loudly like a three-year-old child. I was dumbfounded.
It seemed like I had chosen the wrong seat.
“Um, p-please calm down…”
I even helped open the honey tea lid while trying my best to calm the man down somehow.
“S-sorry, hukup, sorry… really… heuuk…”
The man received the honey tea from me, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. His Adam’s apple bobbed three times, and the glass bottle was quickly emptied.
Is he a hippo…?
As I stared at the empty glass bottle in bewilderment, the man spoke to me naively.
“Really… thank you…”
“It’s nothing, but… is there something wrong…?”
Since he seemed to have calmed down somewhat, I asked carefully. Then the man suddenly raised his head toward me. I was startled. His face after wiping away the tears was unexpectedly quite handsome.
“Ah… well, my son… is sick…”
Perhaps feeling embarrassed, the man avoided my gaze and muttered quietly.
Ah… Does the child have some serious illness? I thought of children with pediatric leukemia and felt sorry. When I was in the real world, I used to volunteer and donate for such children…
My chest ached with a pang, so I grabbed the hand of the man holding the glass bottle and offered words of comfort.
“It’ll be okay, don’t lose hope.”
That was the only comfort I could offer in my current situation.
“Th-thank you…”
The man blushed while staring at my hand. It was completely different from just moments ago when he was crying like a child. He seemed to be a very shy person.
“Jeonghan’s father.”
“Ah, yes…!”
At the pharmacist’s call, the man jumped up from his seat and approached the medicine counter.
“And father’s allergy medicine for 3 days came out too.”
Allergy medicine…?
“And your son’s cold medicine.”
Click, the pharmacist took out a medicine from the shelf.
“Isn’t there anything else? Something more effective…”
“This medicine is sufficient. Your son only has a runny nose now, so he’ll get better soon. Don’t worry.”
“Yes…”
The man answered in a dejected voice to the pharmacist’s explanation. Seeing the man approach with drooping shoulders, I was a bit dumbfounded.
“By any chance, when you said your son was sick…”
“Yes, his runny nose got worse and he couldn’t go to kindergarten for a few days…”
No, and he cried so pitifully because of that…?
“I have a cat fur allergy… My tears are still coming out.”
The man spoke as if he knew exactly what I was thinking, then sniffled and wiped away the tears hanging at the corners of his eyes with his hand.
So it was because of fur allergies… I was relieved but also felt a bit deflated.
“Um… I’m really grateful for the honey tea you gave me earlier… Please take this.”
Meanwhile, the man held out a palm-sized vitamin to me, having bought it at some point. I said it was fine, but the man mentioned the honey tea again and pressed the vitamin container firmly into my hand.
“Thank you…”
I thanked him, but honestly I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t drink the honey tea Baek Woojin had bought for me.
“Um, may I ask… what’s your name?”
That’s when the man glanced at me and asked for my name. I thought for a moment and then answered.
“Ah… I’m called Chae Seungyeon.”
“Chae Seungyeon… Chae Seungyeon… Seungyeon-ssi…”
The man muttered my name repeatedly as if trying to memorize it.
“And you…?”
“Ah! I’m this kind of person.”
The man raised his voice and then fumbled with his clothes. His gestures seemed urgently searching for something, but nothing came out.
“Oh no… I left my business card. Ah, right, in the car…, just a moment… Ugh!”
The man who jumped up to go out got his feet tangled and fell flat.
“A-are you okay?!”
Although he didn’t fall hard, I was startled and helped support the man. Wobbling, his heavy body that couldn’t properly maintain balance leaned toward me.
“Ugh… I’m really sorry… I showed you such an unsightly scene…”
“It’s nothing, you’re not hurt anywhere…?”
“That’s not it… My leg is cramping… cramping…”
The man’s face turned bright red as he didn’t know what to do. He tried to lift his body that had crushed me, but it didn’t seem easy.
“…Take your time, it’s okay.”
I readily said that and lent him my shoulder. I meant it was fine to lean on me until the cramp was completely gone. Of course, it was incredibly heavy like carrying a bear right now, but it was bearable.
“You’re… an angel… Seungyeon-ssi is…”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, no… Well… I work at a law firm.”
“Ah… you’re a lawyer.”
“Yes… Um, it’s behind the alley across from this pharmacy…? If you ever have legal troubles or need help, you can contact me directly, or you can just come visit the office. And also… there’s a cat there? It’s incredibly cute like Seungyeon-ssi.”
“Pardon?”
“Yes? Ah! Did I say something wrong? Hahaha…! Well, I mean… the cat is incredibly cute… Even though it’s a fully grown male, really… like Seungyeon-ssi… but…”
The man even broke out in a sweat as he muttered something more, then hung his head down.
“I’m sorry… Once I start getting my words tangled… I’m not good at fixing it…”
But you said you’re a lawyer…
He was a naive man very different from his handsome appearance and profession. Still, he didn’t seem like a bad person. The man reminded me exactly of Baekgu from grandma’s house, who was just big in size.
Baekgu who always welcomed me whenever I occasionally went to grandma’s house during summer vacation or holidays… This man in front of me looked exactly like that.
“Yes, I’ll definitely contact you if something comes up. And thank you for this too.”
When I put the vitamin container I received as a gift into my coat pocket, the man suddenly raised his head.
“Um! Do you live around here, Seungyeon-ssi?!”
“Pardon? Oh, no, actually I don’t really know where this place is… I just stopped by the hospital briefly.”
Although it wasn’t by my own will, I could guess from the circumstances that this probably wasn’t the neighborhood where Baek Woojin lives.
“Ah, I see…”
At my answer, the man looked very disappointed, then suddenly jumped up. He seemed to be in better condition now.
“Seungyeon-ssi, today… really… it was nice to meet you.”
The man suddenly offered me a handshake.
“Oh, yes? Yes.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
