Chapter 25
‘Bad child… Bad person…’
‘Mr. Bee is a bad boy… Mr. Bee is a bad person..’
It was a phrase Eun-ah used to say often.
[I hurt my mother again today]
‘Is it about her parents?’
[My mother was sad because I complained that philosophy books were boring.]
[My mother made me use a cane.]
[My mother got sick because she was punishing me.]
[I am a bad child who hurts my mother.]
Dokyun’s forehead narrowed as he read down the first page of the diary.
‘What is she talking about?’
It didn’t make sense why ‘I hurt my mother’ came up when talking about using a cane. And why she was using the cane, was she was beaten and using it for support. Or her mother used it on her.
The context was not clear.
‘I am a bad child who hurts my mother. What is it?’
He turned to the next page.
[I became a bad child again today.]
[I didn’t follow my mother’s instructions to read classical humanities and read a fairy tale instead.]
[The princess in the fairy tale is so pretty that I lost focus.]
[My mother got sick again.]
There was even less context than on the first page. The only deduction Dokyun could make was that the books in this library were read by the woman, and it was likely her mother was the one who made her read them.
He turned the page again and read the next page.
[Today I became a good child.]
[My mother praised me and hugged me tightly.]
[I really liked that it was soft and warm.]
[Tomorrow, too, I want to become a good child and be praised by my mother.]
The third page was a little more upbeat. Compared to the previous two pages, the letters were bigger and more prominent, and it seemed that the letters were full of emotions, so a timid smile came out.
Flipping to the next page, Dokyun continued reading.
[I received praise today as well.]
[It feels so good when my mother strokes my hair.]
[I love the way she smiles while praising me as a good child.]
[I love my mother so much.]
He turned to the next page.
[I became a bad child today.]
[My mother was sad.]
[My mother is sick again.]
Reading that Dokyun flipped to the next page.
[My mother is sick again.]
[Tears fall from mother’s hands.]
‘What does that even mean?’
‘Did this woman’s mother have eyes on her hands?’
Dokyun couldn’t understand the sentence that said tears were falling from her mother’s hands. It seemed to be a metaphorical expression, but it was difficult to infer the meaning because there weren’t enough clues.
However, that sentence was full of displeasure and made his stomach ache.
His hand moved and turned to the next page of the book.
[I became a bad child.]
[I didn’t finish reading the book my mother gave me.]
[I disturbed my mother while she was working.]
[My mother got sick again.]
[It’s too cold.]
The further he went, the more incomprehensible the content became. Sentences were cut off and the content could not be understood. Dokyun turned the page again, thinking that there must be something to gain.
[Tears fall from my hands.]
[I think I’m crying because I hurt my mother.]
[I cried because I wanted to be sick instead of my mother.]
[I hope my mother doesn’t get sick.]
Dokyun turned the page again.
[Today I became a good child.]
[I didn’t even interfere with my mother’s work.]
[I read all the books she gave me and wrote a review.]
[My mother hugged me tightly.]
[Now I can be sick instead of my mother.]
He turned to the next page again.
[Today I was sick instead of my mother.]
[I hope my mother doesn’t get sick.]
[It’s too cold.]
Having read that far, Dokyun closed the notebook without turning to the next page.
It seemed that something unpleasant, a discomforting and unpleasant aura was rising from within him.
As he read the text, the displeasure that gradually increased in size spread throughout his body, and it was difficult to read because of the physiological reluctance that rose.
All he could tell was that the woman’s mother was very keen on her education and that she was very fond of her mother.
‘I just wasted my time.’
Dokyun placed the notebook back in its place and put the on top of it, returning it to its original state before he took it out.
The uncomfortable feeling didn’t go away. He thought he might have seen something wrong. It was a discomforting and sticky sensation that clung to him, making him feel uneasy.
After a while of being unable to shake off the uncomfortable feeling, Dokyun reminded himself of the things he had to do and expelled the emotions that had been bothering him until then.
‘No, this is not the time.’
Turning his head, he stared at the bookshelf he had not yet checked. He had to find some clue for his escape, anything.
*****
In a small room surrounded by pure white walls, with a computer on the table between them, Eun-ah saw a man in a white coat.
“How have you been lately?”
She replied dryly to the man’s question.
“Fine.”
“That’s good to hear. Your progress has been excellent…”
The sight of the man’s smiling face, as he spoke, made her feel sick to her stomach. Although it was a routine she had been doing for quite some time, she could not bring herself to like the faint smell of medicine or the man wearing the white coat in front of her.
Seeing the smile on his face made her feel annoyed, and she wanted to remove that smiling face, but she endured it while thinking of the person waiting for her.
‘I miss you…’
If she didn’t have him, she would be lonely, so she had to be by his side, she had to go and hug him. When she thought of the person who would wait for her, her heart ached again, and on the other hand, she felt strangely warm.
Perhaps that person became less shy because today, he offered her a hug first. The warmth and pressure she felt when he held her or hugged her tightly, seemed to reappear in her body, making her heart feel warm and her lips curl up.
“Did something good happen to you?”
The man in front of her, who was observing her expressions, smiled and spoke to her.
She didn’t want to answer, so she simply nodded her head. It was something that only she wanted to know, something that only she wanted to keep to herself, something that she could never let go of in her life.
“Um, can I go now if we’re done…?”
As she thought about it, she missed him again. She wanted to go and be embraced tightly in his arms, feeling his body warm.
“Yes, can you wait for just a moment? I’ll go get the prescription right away.”
“Yes…”
She lowered her head and left the room. It was less awkward than confronting that man, but she wanted to get out of this space because the air felt so uncomfortable.
She sat down on the sofa arranged in the lobby, closed her eyes, and tried to calm herself down by thinking about that person, but it was hard to concentrate because the voices and noises she heard bothered her nerves.
“Miss Go Eun-ah~”
After a while, she heard a voice calling her name. She turned her head to look and saw a nurse in a pink uniform. She could leave this place as soon as she gets the prescription nurse was holding. With that thought, she walked faster.
“Here is the prescription.”
After receiving the prescription and bowing her head in response to what was being said, she went outside. Now, all she had to do was stop by the pharmacy, and her work would be finished.
While waiting in front of the elevator to go down to the next floor, a person came and stood next to her. Her steps unconsciously wavered and moved away. Because it was difficult to hide the smell of insects and Mr. Bee would dislike it. The smell that Mr. Bee had to smell had to be her own smell. So it was not good for anything dirty to stick to her.
As she widened the distance, her gaze was fixed. She lowered her head not to look at him, but when she thought he was looking at her, she felt like insects were crawling on her toes, so she wanted to get rid of those eyes right away.
‘It’s annoying…’
It was itchy from the tip. She wanted to scrape it off with her fingernails and erased all this unpleasant feeling. She wanted to pluck out the eyes looking at her and throw them away, but she could, so her annoyance kept rising.
Mr. Bee was the only one who could see her. He was the only one who knew her properly and looked straight at her. Holding hands, making eye contact, and overlapping bodies. It was something only he could do with her.
‘Die, just die…’
While pouring out a curse that she couldn’t say out loud, the elevator arrived at the destination. As that man got on the elevator and she quickly pressed the button to go to the first floor.
She wanted to get out quickly.
-Ding.
As soon as she arrived on the first floor, she hurriedly ran out. The pharmacy was ahead. If she quickly took the medicine and left, it would finally be over.
‘Oh right…’
She also had to buy a present. After giving the prepared gift and spending time together, when the night deepens…
“Hehe…”
The heat rose in her face again, and her stomach began to throb.
She just had to hold on a little longer. If she could hold on a little longer, she could go with him until the end.
‘Oh no…’
It wasn’t the end, but a starting point. Yes, it was the beginning. She could stand at the starting point of a long-lasting happiness that would continue until the moment of her death.
She felt a little better. It was the feeling of discomfort that was being scratched off her whole body. Her steps became a little lighter, and her breathing became easier.
She approached the person standing at the counter in the pharmacy and handed over the prescription. The pharmacist in a white coat accepted the prescription and moved away. The pharmacy was much more comfortable than the hospital because she didn’t have to talk. She didn’t have to respond to the words spoken to her.
The pharmacist walked away, she sat down on a chair in the back and waited for the medicine to come out.
While waiting when she just turned her head outside through the window, she saw a mother and daughter holding their hands tightly and walking.
It was hard to see their happy faces. She felt like she could hear the sound of crackling laughter in her ears.
Her hand gripped the hem of the dress involuntarily. It was hard to look at it any longer, so she lowered her head again, hoping that this time would pass quickly. After a while, she heard a voice calling her name.
“Miss Go Eun-ah.”
When she looked up, the pharmacist who had taken her prescription was staring at her. She quickly got up and took the bag of medicine the pharmacist was handing over to her and came out. The cold air seeped into her nostrils. The cold winter air stung the lungs and chilled the inside.
She calmed down, but the air was so cold that she felt like crying.
She wanted to see that person. She didn’t have the power to endure this cold air.
Her steps got faster and faster. She had to share his body warmth. The world without him was still like a cold winter.
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