episode_0006

“Auntie, what’s wrong?”

“‘What’s wrong’? Hmph, daring to counsel me?”

“I would never. You just seemed particularly low-spirited today…”

“…Tsk.”

Auntie rolled up her white sleeve, revealing arms covered in scars.

As the head of mental health and overall responsibility, Auntie had always borne some scars from dealing with difficult patients… but this level of injury was unprecedented.

“Did you get into a fight with a stray cat?”

“I wish that were the case. At least you can reason with them.”

Grumbling, Auntie pulled down her sleeve again, wincing as she leaned back in her chair, her face contorted with pain. Given her already fierce expression, it felt like my posture involuntarily straightened due to her eyes seemingly decaying in real-time.

“Some kids who were kidnapped a while back were rescued and brought to our hospital. They’re exactly like you guys, so I feel like they might collapse from exhaustion any moment now.”

“Me and Jin?”

“Yeah, the girl seems completely out of it, probably due to some defense mechanism, and the boy, well, he’s got a temper and seems ready to smash anything in sight. I barely managed to restrain him yesterday, but I’m not sure about today.”

“Auntie, Jin and I are not that violent. We are peaceful individuals. All we want is love, peace, and unity.”

“Well, at least you didn’t grow your hair out like some parasite. Still, people like you, pretending to be normal, are the worst. Look at Ryu. Even though he’s crazy, he’s got some consistency.”

It seemed trying to lighten the mood with jokes like the teacher was futile.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Auntie scribbled ‘1 + 1 = ?’ on the whiteboard.

“Let’s try an example. What’s the answer to this?”

“Uh… 2, right?”

“From a common sense perspective, yes. But what do you think Ryu would say?”

“Jin just struggles with reading, he wouldn’t know something like that…”

“The answer is ‘I’ll die.’ Just because someone else initiates a conversation. She’d tear you apart.”

“Isn’t that too pessimistic?”

“‘Too pessimistic’? You’ve got nerve. Why do you always deny facts you don’t like and go nuts?”

“Because it’s not true.”

When I firmly refuted Auntie’s hypothesis, she narrowed her eyes and tapped the whiteboard.

“1+1 equals 2. Why? Because it does. It has been that way, it is now, and it will be in the future. People call this consistency. No need for Skinner’s behaviorism here. To her, everyone except ‘you,’ whom she ‘loves,’ is a potential criminal, a villain to be disposed of. She thinks and acts according to that law. Laws, ethics, conscience—she doesn’t care about any of that.”

“What does Auntie, who doesn’t even engage in proper conversations, know about Jin to make such assumptions…”

“She knows well. She beat up a neighborhood dog yesterday.”

Cold but firm, the aunt stared straight at me and brought up that fact.

Due to her overly confident tone, I couldn’t even refute it. I ended up affirming with silence.

“Why, did you seem unsure?”

“Uh, well…”

“I’m just a regular working person trying to make a living in this already narrow-minded town. It’s hard to believe that my healthy dog suddenly died from a daytime attack. The news is just too much to ignore.”

“…That’s…”

“You just said your words were wrong. Ryu Jin might be a bit peculiar, at most. Even if there are abnormal aspects, maybe it’s because of some past unfortunate event or something like that you want to say. But then, why did that dog have to die? Did it suddenly start cursing at people? Did it bite someone out of the blue, causing harm? Or perhaps, was it a minion of an organization aiming for world destruction?”

“…”

“The answer is probably that it barked at you and Ryu Jin when it saw you for the first time. For some trivial reason, Ryu Jin brutally murdered an innocent life. Tearing faces apart, breaking necks, severing limbs, pulling out organs from flesh, and beating on the ground. Maybe the outcome wouldn’t have been much different even if it had been a person. Especially with your history.”

Unpleasant memories quickly flashed through my mind and passed by.

As I remained silent, Aunt made a clicking sound with her tongue, then bit her lip before vigorously pounding the keyboard keys.

“I was hoping you would tell me the truth first. I’m already exhausted, and hearing nonsense from you doesn’t help. Do you understand now?”

“I’m sor…”

“If you understand, stop apologizing unnecessarily and just answer properly as you’re told. You idiotic, stupid, brainless nephew.”

The almost uttered apology vanished down my throat.

Even though we had a somewhat good relationship, being verbally abused like this every day made me worry slightly about Aunt’s work life.

“I’m sorry for the dead dog, but nothing major will happen. This town, already struggling with its budget, can’t afford to pay attention to such trivial matters. The police force is focused over there due to the recent kidnapping incident.”

“The kidnapping… Have they caught the culprit?”

“No. They haven’t.”

“Can I go back then?”

“Stay put, overly protected prince. Even though they haven’t caught the culprit, it’s not like they can do anything harmful.”

“Does that make sense?”

“That little brat who’s been neglecting his duties killed him. That’s why they can’t catch him. They can’t prosecute him in court or pass any judgment because the killers are mentally unstable minors. They didn’t receive any punishment by claiming self-defense or being underage. Oh my, you two are quite a pair.”

Aunt said that last part as if taunting, then finally lifted her hands off the keyboard she had been pounding on.

Even while speaking, she seemed dedicatedly working on a chart. Yes, despite her bad habits and rough speech, this was Aunt’s way of showing affection towards her only remaining family member. Thinking like this, it all felt rather endearing. Of course, only internally. If caught, I’d be bombarded with nagging.

“If, let’s say, the fire hadn’t happened. Would things have turned out differently?”

“What?”

“…It’s purely hypothetical. A story of ‘if.’ What if you hadn’t gone to the stadium that day. What if that damn bastard hadn’t started the fire. In a world like that, would Ryu Jin still love you as he does now?”

“I don’t know… But even so, since it was a match held at our home ground, wouldn’t we have advanced to the finals?”

“Hah, what kind of country is this, obsessed with stubborn perseverance. Bringing in a famous foreign coach won’t change that.”

“Miracles can happen, and you might even make it to the top 4. But this is all just a hypothetical story.”

“Don’t blindly follow what others say.”

“That aunt always repeats what others say… Ouch.”

“I’m not a soccer fanatic like Ryu Jin. If he were, well, it wouldn’t have been that bad. Rather than crying and whining unnecessarily, being a bit noisy might be better.”

“Aunt…”

“Enough, there’s no point in babbling like this. Neither you nor Ryu Jin have become better or worse. Isn’t that how it seems?”

“Yes… but please prescribe more medicine. I was lucky this time, but who knows how Jin will be next time.”

“In any case, stay neutral until the end… at least keep in touch through messages or calls. We should know if the last remaining bandage has survived or perished, right?”

“…Understood.”

It was uncertain whether Jin would allow that, but for now, there was no choice but to speak those words here.

Whether we could live together peacefully was also uncertain, and I also wanted to go to Jin waiting outside. With that thought in mind, I greeted Aunt as calmly as possible and was about to leave at that moment.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot one thing.”

“Forgot something?”

“Yes, something I should have asked.”

“What is it?”

“…Are you happy right now?”

“… … …”

Instead of answering, I quietly closed the door and walked outside.

Aunt probably didn’t have high expectations either. I didn’t want to say it either.

Taking care of Jin alone was overwhelming enough. Jin, who had been sitting alone in the waiting room reading a picture book, suddenly got up and approached me.

“Is it over?”

“Yes, it’s done now.”

“Then let’s go.”

My answer seemed to be fixed on ‘yes’, as Jin grabbed my hand and started walking outside.

We still needed to pick up the medicine from the pharmacy… well, I could ask Aunt or the teacher to put it in the mailbox later.

“So, where are we going today?”

“We’re going to the park with the old house.”

“The old house…? Oh, you mean Hwadojin. What are we going to do there, play hide and seek?”

“I don’t want to. Because I can’t see you.”

“Well… then what else can we do besides singing ‘Mugunghwa Flower Blooms’ or ‘Foxes Can’t Do Anything’?”

“Yes, we shouldn’t do that.”

“But other than that, there’s not much else to do. There’s no swing there either.”

“It doesn’t matter. Even without those things.”

After saying that, Jin turned his head to look straight at me and then flashed a bright, radiant smile.

His unfocused eyes were still cloudy. His trembling hands and unsteady legs showed no signs of improvement. Nevertheless, despite all that, Jin said─.

“Just being with you makes me happier than anyone else in this world.”

The words that I couldn’t bring myself to answer to Aunt’s question, he whispered to me so easily and simply.