Contemporary
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He was having a dream.
He was dying. The floor was covered with his blood, his breathing erratic and the quiet need to live… He couldn't move, he couldn't cry out for help… Then the glint of the sword, always the moonlight reflected on the surface. He gasped, and watched Mae Ri move towards him, sword in hard and about to strike… Only that Eun Soo covered him; the woman lay down her life to cover his dying body and save him. His heart gave a leap of pain at the image, and…
He woke up with cold sweat covering him. He gasped out lout, loudly, and shook his head standing to find some water. His roommate for the night, Dae Man, sat up in surprise, and watched Choi Young enter the bathroom; followed by the sound of vomiting and then the tap running. Quietly standing and walking to the bathroom, Dae Man peeked in, watching the general staring at his reflection on the mirror.
"Young-ah?"
"Did I wake you up?" He asked softly. The boy nodded. "Sorry."
"That nightmare again?"
"How did you…?"
"You keep thrashing about your bed." Sure they had separate beds, but the acoustics of the room were awesome. "Should I get you some sleeping pills?"
"Am I going insane?" He asked, not the boy, simply to let out the thought. The door opened and Nogook entered, wearing the kitten PJs Eun Soo had given her for last Christmas.
"Yes you are." She said, crossing her arms. "Either you keep quiet during the night or I will start the beatings around here."
"Whose getting a beating?" asked Gongmin appearing at the door in Harley Davidson pajamas.
"What are you doing here?"
"My girlfriend invited me over. So who is getting a beating?"
"He is." Said Dae Man, as Choi Young came out of the bathroom.
"Why and who is getting a beating?" Asked Deok Man appearing behind Gongmin, excited at the talk he heard. Choi Young stared at the troop at his doorstep and then turned to Nogook.
"Call the others, hell even Aunt, we'll order pizza and vodka!" He said loudly, sarcastically. Only that saying such things to Nogook got the job done and of course she called everyone to her place and they ordered pizza. Jang Bin was kind enough to bring two cases of vodka and lots of cranberry juice, while Deo Gi mixed. Caressing his forehead, sitting before a slice of pepperoni, Choi Young sighed. "You really should get it when I'm been sarcastic."
"I don't want to."
"So you are getting a beating?"
"Yes. By her." And Choi Young pointed at his sister, who was offering some pizza to her fiancé.
"Can I join? Since he opened that stupid mouth of his I've wanted to hit him." Asked Deok Man, taking a large slice; he and Dae Man ate while Jang Bin claimed the first glass of vodka.
"Considering how far he went, we should all beat him." And he drank, while Choi Young got a small shot of vodka for starters. He drank it.
"I keep having this nightmare," he said, wincing at the strength of the liquor. "I see her being murdered and I can't move to help her."
"Are you the murderer? Because with what you said…"
"Would you cut the crap! I know what I said, stop shoving it at my face!" he screamed at Nogook, who simply ignored his outburst and offered her boyfriend some cranberry vodka. "If I came out strong was because of this pain that wouldn't let me live."
"She had no guilt as to what was happening," said Choong-sik, fishing for more pepperoni, stealing several slices from the others; Nogook offered hers and he quickly took it, taking another slice. Another shot given to Choi Young, who took it, while Choong-sik continued. "No one did, it was an accident. Yet the way you talked, placed all the blame on her."
"If she had been there when I needed her…" started Choi Young, gritting his teeth.
"What are you talking about?"
"That day, at the hospital? Where was she? Wasn't it her shift? She could have come… she could have told me herself! Instead, what? A fleece throw and a small dark room?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Asked Deok Man, being slapped on the back of the head because of the word, vodka was poured for everyone, who stared at Choi Young in surprise.
"Eun Soo-ssi was there." Announced Jang Bin frowning at him. "Don't you remember?"
"No she wasn't!" Everyone stared at him, as if he'd grown a second head, a third arm and then started to speak in different tongues, making him frown at them. "What?"
"The attending doctor might have been the one who gave you the news, but it was Eun Soo who took care of you." Answered Jang Bin, visibly upset and standing to stare at him. "What do you remember?"
"I go to the ER and you were there, then I think you or somebody, can't recall, told me about Mae Ri's death…"
"You think?"
"I blacked out, alright? I don't remember much."
"What do you remember?"
"I dark room, I looked down at myself and I was covered in a warm blanket, what?" The last was the question as the people around him stopped eating and drinking and all stared at him, amazed.
"What we have here is a very simple case," said Jang Bin, taking a deep breath and sitting back down, making Deo Gi ask something in hand signals. "Although we are very aware that he did black out, I didn't consider that you lost memory."
"What?"
"Due to stress, probably," said the doctor enigmatically. "But I can't be certain; all you remember was the blanket?"
"Yes. And the dark room"
"We interns have a small dark room in which we sleep after long shifts, or if we have to stay in for longer periods of times. When I told you about Mae Ri's death you hyperventilated, do you remember that?" Choi Young shook his emphatically 'no'.
"No, you don't. I thought you already knew about Mae Ri's death, but they did not tell you over the phone. So the shock that got to you when you heard… the shock of the news made you black out, although you might have been able to see and hear everything around you, your mind shielded you from the trauma by purging those memories. Neurologically speaking…" And he saw people's eyes starting to gloss over, he was losing the audience, the only person eager to listen for a medical explanation was Deo Gi. "That would explain your sudden black out incident."
"Did anyone get a clue of what he said?" said Choi Young, looking around himself, feeling confused while the rest of the troop simply stared at him. Then he turned to Jang Bin. "What?"
"You lost memory due to your high stress levels." Repeated the gist Jan Bin and everybody around him nodded in agreement.
"So she was with me?" Asked Choi Young, extracting the important bit of information from this whole conversation. "But why…?" There were many thoughts running in his head, none of them made much sense and the people around him weren't really helping, though it was comforting they were there. It was like walking a dark line of memories with no idea of why or where or how…
"She was so worried about you that day," mused Nogook, not focused on anything in the room, her boyfriend caressing her arm. "Unnie wanted to stay by your side, but Aunt said it was better to bring you home, so both of you could rest."
"I have no idea how I got home." He said softly, eyes as lost as Nogook's.
"We brought you in, still wrapped in the blanket, and you were so cold…"
"I was warm, I was way too warm. But I couldn't move to uncover."
"Because Unnie kept you still, and held you all the way here." Answered Nogook, smiling up at him.
"She did?"
Deok Man was nodding. "I took the High Doctor home, she was very down that night and wouldn't even listen to my lame jokes."
"Why didn't she tell me all of this? Why didn't I find out until now?!" He rasped out, not confused but angry, as if top information were been revealed to him too late.
"She went to give you her condolences and next thing she knows you are screaming at her for having abandoned you!"
"She did abandon me!"
"When? When? She loves you too much to even consider the idea of abandoning you! Where do you pull this stupid ideas out from?!" Screamed Nogook, the room suddenly dissolving around them; they were a pair of angry siblings in a battle of their own.
"If she loved me so much why didn't she tell me herself?! Why must I find out through you!?"
"Through me? Did you want to find out from her? We all know she loves you, you are the only one blind!" exclaimed Gongmin, because Choong-sik was too busy attempting to swallow a bite of pizza.
"Eun Soo-ssi should have been the one to tell me either way." That got everyone to stare at him, Deok Man groaned and stood, leaving; Choong-sik followed the man and, in disappointment, Dae Man hurried out. Jang Bin rubbed the bridge of his nose, while Deo Gi hit her forehead with her palm, amazed at the idiot before them.
Nogook looked at him, still standing, and lifted a quiet eyebrow. "Wow, you are worse than dirt."
"What?" Asked Choi Young, breathless. Why would his little sister talk to him like that?
"What reason would make you so important that Unnie has to let you know if she likes you or not? You stupid bonehead moron!" And with anger evident in her face, voice, and every fiber of her being, she hurried out. Gongmin sighed, and simply followed her, but before he left the room he turned.
"You are still blind, Choi Young-ssi."
.
.
Holding the long legged lion against her chest, Eun Soo continued to be quiet and calm, her mother was preparing some porridge for her, humming softly; her father watching the TV and throwing small worried glances towards her. At some point he got up and walked quietly to the room, watching his only daughter's back, body curled in a ball and sniffling softly.
"Appa," said his wife, coming closer, "Why don't you go in, huh? Try to talk to her."
"But she doesn't want to talk," he said softly. Once patted on his back by his wife he went into the room, closing the door so they could have some privacy. The woman on the bed didn't notice him entering and the man cleared his throat. Eun Soo turned from her position on bed, long legged plush falling to the side, and she gave him a weak quick smile.
"Appa, you're here." She acknowledged, sitting up.
"How are you?"
"I'm good. Just, sad about the whole thing." He was aware how sad she was, especially after having found out about that idiot good for nothing Choi Young's words to her from his wife. He neared the bed, and sat beside her.
"Do you… want to talk to Appa?"
She sniffled, and leaned against his shoulder. "Appa," She said softly, tears starting a new. "Appa." And she broke down into tears, simply requiring the quiet comfort of his fatherly actions, hugs, little kisses and caresses, gave her. "Appa, I'm sorry for disappointing you."
"Why would you disappoint me love?"
"Because I still love him." He frowned at her. "He is the one my heart wants." And she embraced her father, as if he would vanish at any moment, full of disappointment and angered out of his wits. "Appa!" She cried, worried at his silence.
The man simply held her. "Aigoo, I already knew that, Eun Soo-ah. Why else would you cry so hard?" He laughed, through his own cloudy tears, and kissed the top of her head. "Aigoo, my baby girl is in love, and Appa hates the guy." Eun Soo laughed, and continued to lean against him. "I should find him and kick his ass."
"He knows four different types of martial arts." Announced Eun Soo, sniffling and looking up at her father, who frowned.
"You really think he'll hurt me? If he wants to ever be with you, he better let me beat him." And finally laughter escaped her lips, a hand reaching up to clean her tears and nose. "Aren't you hungry?"
"A bit."
"Then get up, go wash your face and come eat, your mom is making porridge."
"What kind?"
"Tarak porridge. And Kimchi." And Eun Soo smiled.