ASD 44

A regular mechanical sound monotonously filled the hospital room.

The private suite was spacious enough to feel desolate. Gijun, dressed in a short-sleeved tracksuit, was sitting in front of the patient’s bed. For several minutes, he had been staring at his father without moving.

The patient lying on the large, wide bed looked just like an old tree that had fallen after enduring many years. The sharp gaze and sturdy build that had characterized the patient before he lost consciousness seemed to have been completely worn away in the short span of six months.

The cause was a cerebral hemorrhage. To say he was hale and hearty was an understatement; he was a robust man. Yet, his father had collapsed so futilely and had not opened his eyes even once since then. Only the oxygen respirator hanging from him and the monitor, which regularly drew a faint, jagged line, were proof that he was alive.

Gijun blinked slowly. For a boy of only nineteen, his gaze as he watched his father on the sickbed was excessively calm. The turmoil that had once raged endlessly in his eyes had, at some point, changed into something called acceptance.

Just when are you going to wake up?

He muttered inwardly. He knew that even if he asked aloud, no answer would come back. Yet, he ended up speaking out in a thorny voice.

“You said you wouldn’t let me do sports again. I’m going to the gym today, too. And I’m going to a match next week.”

“…”

“You hate people who disobey you the most, don’t you.”

Gijun lowered his head deeply and closed his eyes.

“…So get up and punch me or kick me.”

Looking at his father’s face, lying there with an oxygen respirator, no longer brought a rush of heat to his eyelids. Only a weary despair washed over him. Six months, a period both long and short, had made the one left behind that way.

They were not a particularly close father and son. He had never felt a tender affection. To Gijun, the man named Ki Cheonghyeon was more engraved in his mind as the CEO of Cheonghyeon Construction and the head of the Cheonghyeon organization than as his father.

Nevertheless, he was Gijun’s reliable support. He was at times a cruel person, making no exception even for his son, but no matter what anyone said, he was a pillar Gijun could lean on and a rock he could trust. And he was his only remaining family. In the absence of such a father, Gijun had no choice but to stumble.

The sound of his uncles greeting someone was heard from outside the hospital room. The door opened, and the familiar sound of dress shoes unpleasantly beat against his ears. Gijun slowly turned his head.

“So you were here, Jun.”

The chilly scent of cologne was the first thing he perceived. It was the same scent that had come from the wrist that had throttled his ten-year-old neck at his mother’s funeral.

He was a man who both resembled and didn’t resemble his father. Unlike his father, who was large in build, had a low voice, and possessed a hearty yet fiery personality, his younger uncle, Ki Woohyeon, had a medium build and a mean yet cunning nature.

However, his father always kept him by his side. He had once said something like that. That there was no one in the world you could completely trust. But you kept people by your side to whom you could entrust tasks.

Could you keep someone by your side whom you couldn’t completely trust? To the young Gijun, those words were incomprehensible. But on the other hand, he felt he could vaguely understand. His father’s world was a place where people lived who might call you hyung-nim one day and stab you in the back the next.

However, his own world was different from his father’s. Right after losing his mother, Gijun no longer wanted to lose the people left by his side. He wanted to keep the people he wanted to protect next to him. That was why Gijun chose to keep his mouth shut about what had happened with his younger uncle.

Gijun, suffocating and dying with his face buried in a pillow, had flailed his arms and legs with all his might and had, by chance, succeeded in poking his eye with his finger. Just as Ki Woohyeon, who had collapsed clutching his face, was about to rush at him again in the darkness, Director Hwang had happened to open the door and come in.

Even upon seeing Director Hwang, Ki Woohyeon was not flustered at all. Instead, he calmly turned on the lights in the room and expressed concern, saying it seemed Gijun had a nightmare. After he left, a pale Gijun had haltingly told Director Hwang the whole story of the incident.

Director Hwang’s face had hardened frighteningly. He was afraid of the chaos that would erupt between his father and younger uncle when the day broke. Above all, the young Gijun could not understand why his younger uncle was trying to harm him. However, the event Gijun had fearfully awaited did not happen.

‘Forget about the dream you had last night.’

The next day, Ki Woohyeon called Gijun to a secluded place. Then, he stroked the head of Gijun, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, and said that.

‘Otherwise, wouldn’t Director Hwang, who saw things that weren’t there, be in danger?’

‘…’

‘Adults see such lies and attempts to drive a wedge between people as very big mistakes.’

The root of his tongue froze. His instincts were telling him. That his younger uncle was threatening him, holding Director Hwang’s life as collateral.

At the time, Director Hwang was a person Gijun could rely on more than anyone else. That was why Gijun had never once been able to bring up the story about Ki Woohyeon to his father. The incident was thus buried, just like that.

“An adult has arrived, aren’t you going to stand up and greet me?”

“Hello.”

Hostility was apparent in Gijun’s languidly raised eyes. He offered a perfunctory greeting but did not get up. Ki Woohyeon clicked his tongue overtly.

“You must be very distraught.”

“…”

“But what can you do? The living must live on, doing their part. That’s the only way your hyung-nim will quickly…”

“You speak as if my father has already passed away.”

A sharp voice cut off Ki Woohyeon’s words. His hand, which had been leisurely drawing the blinds, stopped. The glance he shot at Gijun held a trace of amusement.

“Why are you speaking so disrespectfully, Jun? You’re hurting your younger uncle’s feelings. If the CEO passes away, who will lead our Cheonghyeon?”

Listening to his cheerful tone, as if he were humming a tune, made him want to vomit. He approached with the sound of his high-quality dress shoes. The moment a soft hand gripped the back of his neck, Gijun reflexively slapped Ki Woohyeon’s hand away.

He laughed out loud.

“Is it because you’re going through puberty? You’re sensitive.”

“I’m sure my younger uncle knows why.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Leaving Ki Woohyeon, who was shrugging his shoulders slyly, behind him, Gijun picked up his bag with an expressionless face and stood up from his seat.

“Leaving already?”

“Yes.”

Director Hwang was scheduled to come anyway, and outside, the uncles who were loyal to his father were all around. It wouldn’t be dangerous. After a brief moment of thought, Gijun simply gave a slight bow of his head and left the hospital room. At that moment, he ran into Director Hwang, who was walking briskly this way.

“Jun, leaving? I bought you some bread.”

The scar-filled hands were holding several bags. Gijun, who had been wearing a stiff expression the whole time, gave a faint smile. He was so generous that he always bought so much it was burdensome even for him.

“Younger uncle is here.”

“Yeah, I heard from the guys.”

“Have you eaten lunch?”

The tone in which he kindly checked on his meal was affectionate. The frosty gaze he had in front of Ki Woohyeon had now softened. Director Hwang smiled with satisfaction and patted Gijun’s shoulder.

“Of course I’ve eaten. You?”

“I’m going to eat with a friend now.”

“Alright. Jun, don’t worry and go. I’ll be here.”

Gijun nodded his head silently. Did Director Hwang know how much comfort his last words gave him?

Gijun took the bags full of bread and bowed his head slightly. His footsteps as he left the hospital were heavy, but when he thought of the face he would soon see, a faint smile appeared on its own. The tight knot in his chest melted away and disappeared with just a single thought of that boy.