episode_0010

“…”

“…”

Receiving the uncle’s gaze all over my body, I felt like the heavy air was pressing down on me.

It was fine to leave behind the yellow puppy that had become a bloody mess and run back home, but it was a mistake not to pay attention to my disheveled appearance.

Due to my unnatural behavior, the uncle, sensing something suspicious, persistently questioned me, eventually leading me to confess the fight I had outside.

Unable to lie well, I found myself kneeling in front of the uncle on the living room sofa, bowing deeply.

“Hey, Ju Eunhye. Does it make sense for you to come in fighting while I’m not around?”

“I’m sorry…”

Without any room for excuses, I kept apologizing as the uncle stood up from his seat.

But with so much resentment built up inside me, I couldn’t hold back, feeling the unfairness of the situation.

Although I wanted to see the expression on the uncle’s face as I raised my head, I didn’t have the courage, so I just perked up my ears and listened to the sound of his footsteps moving away from me, only to stop in front of me again.

“Raise your head and give me your hand.”

“Yes… Ouch!”

As I raised my head feeling the pain in my palm, the uncle took out a first aid kit, dabbed alcohol on a cotton ball, and disinfected my hand.

“Don’t move and stay still.”

Thoroughly disinfecting every corner, the uncle applied ointment to the wound and finished by putting on a bandage.

Perhaps it was because of crawling around in that dirty alley earlier. There were more wounds on my palm than I had thought, but the uncle neatly treated them.

“Any other injuries?”

“I don’t think so. Thank you, uncle!”

– Thud!

As I smiled and thanked the uncle for treating my wounds, he suddenly flicked my forehead, causing tears to well up as I grabbed the area I was hit.

“Why did you hit me?”

“Quiet down and kneel! I’m still angry.”

Oh…wow… The uncle, who seemed to be holding a grudge so firmly, was something I had never seen before. Overwhelmed by his presence, I knelt down, sweating coldly, as the uncle scratched his head several times and then spoke to me again.

“Ju Eunhye. Do you know why I’m angry?”

His voice was calm, but I could sense his suppressed anger. Unsure of how to respond, my mind felt overloaded, not knowing if the uncle would forgive me if I answered.

“Um… because of the fight outside…?”

– Thud!

“Are you stupid? Do you think I’m angry just because you fought and came in?”

“Uh… sorry?”

Not understanding the meaning of the uncle’s words, I scratched my head in confusion, and as I did, the uncle let out a small sigh, met my gaze, and sat down on the spot.

“Whatever the reason, don’t show me getting hurt in front of me. I can forgive everything else, but I can’t forgive you getting hurt. Got it?”

“…”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what this uncle was talking about. Why was he so worried about me, someone who was just a burden in this house?

My parents didn’t care if I fought and came home, but why was this uncle, whom I had only known for a few days, so concerned?

“Promise me. Promise me you won’t do such foolish things again.”

“Uh… okay! Yeah, I promise…”

The sight of the man extending his index finger towards me was distinctly different from any other man I had seen before. Especially the intense gaze in his eyes, as if genuinely worried about me, made my heart flutter slightly.

Of course, it wasn’t that I had fallen for the man, but rather that I was moved by his manly demeanor.

As our two fingers, clearly different in size, intertwined and swayed slowly, I felt the corners of my mouth lifting slightly.

Suddenly, our eyes met, and the man, his face flushed with embarrassment, began to turn red.

– Gulp~

The sound of a belly button clock chiming. Oh, this time it wasn’t my stomach making the sound. The source of the sound was exactly the man in front of me, his face flushed and frozen… He’s the culprit!

“Are you hungry, sir? Wait, I’ll prepare something for you.”

“Uh, uh! Are you a bit hungry? I’ll get the side dishes out…”

The flushed man let go of my finger and hurriedly took out the side dishes. After hastily finishing his meal, the man turned away from me, then ran to his room, slamming the door shut.

‘He’s quite shy.’

Having spent about 20 years with indifferent family members, I couldn’t understand why this man was treating me so well. Wanting to repay his kindness even a little, I started clearing the table, when suddenly I remembered what I had told him at the mart.

“Oh! I was going to make nakji deopbap for you but I forgot… Since you’ve already eaten, I’ll make it tomorrow. Look forward to it, sir.”

Not just a hobby, but genuinely wanting to cook for the man, I covered my mouth with my hand and peeked into his room.

*

The darkness of the night was illuminated by the street lamps.

A woman walking in the darkness continued to watch as another woman crossed the pedestrian crossing with the blue light on.

Suddenly, someone pushed her from behind.

Fortunately, she fell over, bruising her buttocks, but she wasn’t seriously injured. When she saw the man who had pushed her, she was shocked.

“XX…?”

Before her voice, mixed with noise, could fade, a truck suddenly appeared and hit the man. The scene of the truck hitting the man happened in an instant. The woman, who had experienced this in the middle of the road, looked bewildered, trembling as she stared at where the man had been.

Surrounded by a crowd of people who had gathered around the man who had been thrown far away, the woman, still in shock, watched as the man who had saved her was being carried away by rescue workers.

“XX… Why… I hate it…”

Tears streaming down her face as she looked at the man, she eventually collapsed on the spot.

A while later, as the ambulance disappeared in the distance, the woman, limping away, began to repeat a strange, noise-mixed voice, her eyes losing focus.

“XX… XX… XX… XX… XX…”

Walking towards somewhere, muttering incomprehensible words, the woman’s surroundings were eventually enveloped in a black fog, and to my eyes watching her, she and everything else disappeared.

But immediately, as if a huge lump of iron was hitting me, I felt a sinister energy enveloping me, and eventually I opened my eyes and realized.

“Hah… Hah…”

Waking up with such a ominous dream, I found myself surrounded by pitch darkness. Perhaps due to the influence of the dream, I felt a sense of fear being alone in the darkness, so I hurriedly turned on the light with my smartphone, only to see the time displayed as 3:12 AM.

“It’s too late… The dream felt so vivid… Why did I suddenly have such a nightmare?”

The pain that felt like my whole body was screaming in agony seemed to be a result of the nightmare. Overwhelmed by the anxiety that something might happen at any moment, I, for the first time in my life, felt fear in being alone.

Eventually, I found myself wandering out of my room and standing in front of the door to the uncle’s room, as if being drawn towards something, I cautiously turned the doorknob.

– Click

Entering the uncle’s room and lingering for a while, I finally came to my senses and discovered myself lying down, gazing at the uncle who was peacefully asleep with a serene expression.

Although it was embarrassing to feel scared sleeping alone at the age of 20, I endured the embarrassment and reached out to touch the uncle’s body, and all those feelings vanished, leaving only tranquility in my heart.

“I’ll just do this for tonight… I’m sorry, uncle.”

The double-sized bed felt a bit cramped for two people to lie down together, but strangely, being closer to the uncle brought me comfort. Despite the nightmare still lingering in my mind, just having someone by my side made me not tremble with fear, and my eyes slowly closed.

“XX… Don’t die…”

Feeling the warmth emanating from the uncle’s hand, as I drifted off to sleep, the voice of a woman in my dream echoed in my ears. I couldn’t understand why I had such a dream, or why the woman looked shocked upon seeing the man’s face. However, the gentle smile of the man who saved the woman seemed to imply that he did not regret his choice and wished the woman well.