PAHO 21

Before long, a white building came into view through the car window. It seemed they had arrived at the medical center. As soon as the car stopped, Nam Gyeonhwa opened the door without looking back and got out in a hurry. His body ached from the bruises all over, but he felt he had to go inside and see Haejin right away.

He heard the sound of cheerful chattering from a sickbed. When he pushed back the curtain and looked inside, Haejin was sitting on the edge of the bed, engrossed in reading something.

“Hyung-ah! Where have you been?”

The moment he saw Haejin’s face brighten with delight, Nam Gyeonhwa forgot his complicated feelings and, as if nothing had happened, smiled warmly and walked over to Haejin.

“What were you doing?”

“The doctor lent me a book, so I was reading.”

“A book?”

“Yeah. The doctor has tons of books in his office, you know? There are a whole lot of children’s books, and he said I could read them all.”

“He did? That must have been nice.”

“Yeah. But where did you really go, hyung-ah? You didn’t even come for dinner. I was going to eat with you.”

“Oh, hyung, I, uh, had to take care of something, so I just stepped out for a bit.”

“Something?”

Haejin, who had been tilting his head, suddenly grabbed Nam Gyeonhwa’s sleeve with a frightened expression. The way he hesitated and glanced around was as if he had just seen something terrifying.

No way.

A sense of foreboding made him turn around, and there was Na Taebeom, leaning against the partition.

“What are you. Why did you come in here.”

“It’s my business whether I come in or not.”

“We’ve said all we need to say.”

“Right now, I’m here to visit the sick.”

Na Taebeom, who had answered nonchalantly, shook the box of juice he was holding. It was a truly laughable situation—the one who beat him up was now visiting him in the hospital. It was like giving the disease and the medicine at the same time. However, instead of raising his voice, Nam Gyeonhwa pressed his lips firmly together. Haejin had already seen nothing but bad situations since being dragged here, and it wouldn’t do for him to get scared and have a seizure.

“Hey you, little one, want some juice?”

Na Taebeom opened the juice box and chose one from inside. Haejin blinked his eyes as he saw the round-bottled apple juice, which he had never once been able to drink, not even at the supermarket he sometimes went to, because it was too expensive. Na Taebeom lightly twisted the cap open, strode over, and held out the juice.

“Here, this one’s for the little one.”

Nam Gyeonhwa, looking down at the small head that was clearly debating whether to accept it or not, tried to snatch the juice before Haejin could take it. But before his hand could reach it, Na Taebeom raised his arm and dodged his touch.

“This is for the little one there, so his big brother shouldn’t take it.”

“I’ll deal with it later, so if you’re going to give it, give it to me.”

“You can’t even let me give him a single bottle of apple juice?”

“Sweet things are bad for a kid’s health.”

“According to Doctor Yeo’s report, there was nothing that said he couldn’t have sugar.”

“A report?”

While he was momentarily distracted by the strangely grating word, Na Taebeom casually reached over Nam Gyeonhwa’s arm and handed the juice bottle to Haejin. After a moment of hesitation, Haejin finally accepted it politely with both hands and bowed his head.

“Thank, you. Ah, mister.”

“Mister?”

A pair of well-shaped eyebrows furrowed crookedly. Na Taebeom, leaning one arm on the bed, spoke with a swagger.

“So how old is that brother of yours.”

“My hyung-ah? Um, well, hyung-ah is…”

Haejin, flustered by the unexpected question, looked up at Nam Gyeonhwa. How old is hyung-ah? To the sheepishly whispered voice, Nam Gyeonhwa forced a smile while glancing at Na Taebeom and answered.

“Hyung is thirty-two now.”

“Thirty-two? You?”

Na Taebeom, who had snatched the answer before Haejin could even speak, looked Nam Gyeonhwa up and down with an expression of disbelief.

“That citizenship card from before said you were twenty-seven.”

“Wouldn’t it be stranger to write my real age on a fake citizenship card that’s going to be disposed of anyway.”

Nam Gyeonhwa retorted with an indifferent expression, as if wondering what was so surprising. Na Taebeom, who had been glaring at Nam Gyeonhwa with a face full of discontent at his rather composed attitude, turned his eyes to Haejin.

“I’m younger than your brother. So if you call me mister, your brother becomes a grandpa.”

“Wh-why is my hyung-ah a grandpa.”

“Why, you ask? If he’s older than a mister, then he’s a grandpa.”

“No, he’s not, hyung-ah is just hyung-ah…” Haejin replied, mumbling as he shrank back from the intimidating presence. Nam Gyeonhwa, unable to watch any longer, put his arm around Haejin’s shoulders as if to tell him to ignore it. Just then, the sound of a curtain rail sliding came from behind them.

“Ah, Mr. Nam Gyeonhwa, you’re back.”

The cheerful welcome was short-lived. Yeo Eunjae, who had entered with a very friendly face, made an awkward expression as soon as he saw Na Taebeom standing solidly at the foot of the bed.

“Na, Taebeom, Director, what are you doing here?”

At the cautious question, Na Taebeom casually gestured toward Nam Gyeonhwa with his chin.

“Came to visit him.”

“Ah, uh, a visit…”

His voice was hesitant, as if the notion were completely foreign. Yeo Eunjae cleared his throat and continued.

“Come to think of it, Captain Gil Useong was, in the main lobby.”

“Why is Captain Gil here?”

“I couldn’t ask, but maybe it’s for the weekly general meeting…? I looked at the calendar earlier and it’s today.”

“Aah, I forgot.”

Na Taebeom, frowning as if annoyed, straightened the back he had been slouching. He shoved both hands in his pockets and, just as he was about to leave, casually turned his head to look at Yeo Eunjae.

“Doctor Yeo, don’t let him be discharged tomorrow.”

“Pardon?”

“Make sure he heals as slowly as possible.”

The word “slowly” was especially emphasized. Yeo Eunjae saw Na Taebeom off with an awkward smile. The sound of sneaker soles dragging on the floor receded distractedly. Only after the presence had vanished did Yeo Eunjae approach Nam Gyeonhwa with a somewhat relieved expression.

“Are, are you alright?”

At the worried look, Nam Gyeonhwa nodded his head. Yeo Eunjae sighed.

“I saw only the IV drip left by the entrance earlier, so I thought something had happened.”

“I, I apologize for making a mess on the floor.”

“No, no. Don’t worry about it. I was more worried that your wounds might have gotten worse, or that you might have overexerted yourself again.”

“That’s not the case.”

At the calm reply, Yeo Eunjae nodded and rolled up the patient gown’s sleeve. The IV needle that had been inserted for the fluid drip had come out, leaving a large, dark bruise on his wrist. After placing a bandage on the wrist, Yeo Eunjae meticulously treated the disheveled bandages and wounds once more.

“But hyung-ah, aren’t you hungry? Don’t you need to eat?”

Haejin, who had been watching quietly next to Nam Gyeonhwa, asked as if he had just remembered. Yeo Eunjae, who was disinfecting a small stitched wound on his forehead, agreed.

“Oh, that’s right. You need to have dinner.”

“It’s alright. I, already ate dinner.”

“Oh, you did? Uh, where?”

“Director Na Taebeom called for me earlier, and we had a meal together then.”

“The Director, invited a patient to a meal?”

Yeo Eunjae asked back hesitantly at the unreserved answer. Nam Gyeonhwa nodded his head without emotion.

“Yes, I did, but are outside meals perhaps forbidden?”

“Oh, no! It’s fine for you to eat regular food. For now, most of what we can see are external injuries like bruises or muscle tears, so it’s actually better for you to eat well with high-protein meals like meat.”

Yeo Eunjae, who smiled brightly as if to say not to worry, opened a new IV bag he had brought. Nam Gyeonhwa, who was staring blankly at the busily moving Yeo Eunjae, carefully opened his mouth.

“From what I heard earlier, it seems that Director Na is somewhat, involved here.”

“Pardon? Ah, well, Director Na Taebeom contributes most of the funds that go into this center. In effect, he’s the owner of this center.”

“So, that’s why you made a report or whatever it was to Director Na about Haejin’s condition?”

At those words, Yeo Eunjae’s hands, which had been kneading the IV bag, froze. When he lifted his head, Nam Gyeonhwa’s coldly settled face was reflected roundly in Yeo Eunjae’s eyes.

Amid the long silence that followed, Yeo Eunjae glanced over at Haejin. Having moved aside so that Nam Gyeonhwa could receive treatment comfortably, Haejin was sitting in a corner, sipping his juice and reading a book. Fortunately, he seemed too focused on the book to pay any attention to their conversation.

“I am truly sorry for sharing information about the child’s physical condition with another person without consent. To make a small excuse, it was just a yes-or-no answer to a question about whether he could have juice or candy. I didn’t add anything more than that. Of course, I know that even so, it’s not right to disclose patient information like this. I’m really, sorry.”

Looking at the genuinely embarrassed Yeo Eunjae, Nam Gyeonhwa let out a small sigh. He hadn’t intended to rebuke him so seriously. Given that he was funding the medical center, Yeo Eunjae was likely just an employee of Na Taebeom’s, so how could he have possibly refused.

“If Director Na Taebeom asks you anything again in the future, please just make an excuse and say it’s not allowed because he’s young and for his immunity.”

“Yes, I’ll be sure to do that.”

“And I’d like to be discharged as quickly as possible. Tomorrow, if possible.”

Yeo Eunjae, who had been compliant, showed reluctance.

“That might be a bit difficult. For one, your condition isn’t good, Mr. Patient.”

“I’m more concerned because of Haejin. I have to take him to his primary doctor next week. He has something he gets checked for regularly.”

“Because of Spore Syndrome?”

Nam Gyeonhwa simply stared at Yeo Eunjae at the name of the disease that had so naturally come from his lips. In response to the unspoken look asking how he knew, Yeo Eunjae gave a small smile.

“I noticed while he was sleeping that he seemed to have an underlying respiratory condition when he breathed, so I ran a few checks.”

“I heard it doesn’t show up in blood tests. And that it’s hard to easily distinguish from an asthma patient.”

“Yes, since it is a new type of lesion that hasn’t been discovered for very long. There aren’t many cases in the academic world yet, and it’s a rare disease with fewer than a hundred cases in the country. I was able to distinguish it to some extent because of personal experience.”

“Personal experience?”

“Um, my mother, she, was the one who first discovered it.”