I AM HERE

The intoxication dripped from the street like a towel wrung out of a bathtub.

Perhaps because he had emptied what was inside him, Kang In-ho’s mind became clear when he arrived at his officetel after crossing the crosswalk.

But maybe because he had taken on fatigue instead, his body felt heavy as lead.

“I’m thirsty.”

Kang In-ho opened the refrigerator and drank some water.

The cold water he suddenly poured down made the bridge of his nose tingle.

A desk calendar he had received from the bank when he opened a savings account caught his eye.

Perhaps because checking the date on his phone had become a daily routine, reading it felt a little awkward.

He narrowed his eyes and skipped over the boxes one by one.

“Thursday, seriously?”

After finally confirming the date and day of the week, he sighed.

It was already past midnight, so it was technically Friday, but there was no need to correct it.

He collapsed onto the bed like an old tree falling.

He felt the soft texture of the blanket through his cheek.

“Ah, I need to turn off the light.”

He mumbled, his face buried in the blanket.

The bright light of the fluorescent lamp warmly heated his back.

Normally, he would have gotten up, turned off the light, and gone to sleep, but fatigue and a hangover held his body captive on the bed.

He couldn’t fall asleep in the brightly lit room, but he didn’t think about getting up to turn off the light.

He just kept repeating, “I need to turn it off.”

Tap, tap. A sound came from somewhere. A knocking sound.

“I pay 80 a month, and the soundproofing is…”

Including the management fee, the monthly rent was close to 100.

He felt the cruelty of living in Seoul again.

It wasn’t annoying enough to be called noise, but it was too clear to be called ambient sound.

It seemed to be coming periodically, as if it didn’t want him to fall asleep.

Get up. You can’t fall asleep.

It seemed to be shouting at him.

He barely managed to turn over. The light from the fluorescent lamp was now tormenting his eyes.

“Haa—I need to turn off the light.”

He said it again. But he still didn’t move.

Tap, tap. The sound came again.

The sound of knocking on the wall.

A sound coming through the thin wall.

A regular, moderate sound.

A sound coming at a constant interval, without an inch of error.

He managed to raise his body halfway.

Leaning on his back, he focused on the source of the sound, which he couldn’t possibly see.

He heard the sound.

As if to let him know, as if to say, I’m here.

A pattern formed in the sound of knocking on the wall.

A short knock and a knock as if pressing on the wall.

The sound continued endlessly, and he listened to the sound endlessly, his body tilted slightly.

He tapped his fingers along with the repeating sound.

“Two short taps.”

“Short and long.”

“Two long taps.”

“Four short taps.”

“One short tap.”

“Short and long.”

“One short tap.”

He tapped his fingers to the rhythm of the meaningless sound.

He tapped the bed sheet.

Thinking that if he followed along like this, he might be able to understand the meaning of the unknown sound.

The sound continued.

Two short taps, short and long, two long taps, four short taps, one short tap, short and long, one short tap.

“……..”

Kang In-ho slowly raised his body. His feet, still wearing socks, touched the ground.

He looked at the wall.

The sound stopped. As if it had noticed that he had gotten up.

Did the sound want him to go somewhere in the first place?

He put his shoes back on and went outside.

The light in the hallway, which had been off, turned on and became a spotlight.

He turned around and walked.

He placed his hand on the cold steel door.

He slowly, with force, knocked on the door.

Two short taps.

Meeting.

Short and long.

Conversation.

Two long taps.

Time.

Four short taps.

Farewell.

One short tap.

Guidance.

Short and long.

Courage.

The meeting that started from the sewer.

The conversation in the shelter with the bonfire.

The time spent watching the giant concrete forest.

The farewell in the cold hospital.

The guidance in the sandstorm.

The courage that helped him move towards a new place.

Every time he knocked on the door, a forgotten memory came back to him.

Finally, one short tap.

And eventually, a reunion.

“……..”

He heard a sound from inside the door.

There was no “Who is it?”

The door opened as if they had been waiting.

White, close to gray.

A woman with faint gray hair greeted him.

“I’ve been waiting, Master.”