DP Episode 23

Deep Pivot Episode 23

Inside the large hospital, Yeon-woo greeted the nurse at the reception desk like an old acquaintance. Ignoring Yeon-woo’s attempts to stop him, Seo-joon bought snacks and drinks that would appeal to a nine-year-old, then followed Yeon-woo to the ward.

“Oh, look, it’s the handsome student! Today you came with a fine young man,” remarked an elderly woman who was stepping out with an IV drip.

“Hello.”

“Hyung!”

A cheerful voice called from the far end of the six-bed ward. Seo-joon turned to see a boy much smaller than expected for his age. Surprisingly, he didn’t resemble Yeon-woo much at all. If they’d met on the street, no one would guess they were brothers.

His rare illness seemed to have taken a toll on his health. His gaunt arm bore an IV needle, and a nasal cannula was attached to his nose.

“Oh? Ji Seo-joon!”

The boy called out Seo-joon’s name as if he were a celebrity. Approaching the bed, Seo-joon asked.

“You know me?”

“Cha Jeong-woo, who told you to be rude to someone you’ve just met?”

Yeon-woo interjected before Jeong-woo could continue, raising his frail hand in excitement.

“I know! I’ve watched you a lot in videos! Yeon-woo hyung always watches on Mi-Tube… uhh, oh, why are you covering my mouth? Ji Seo…”

Yeon-woo quickly covered Jeong-woo’s mouth with one hand, glancing nervously at Seo-joon.

“Videos?”

Seo-joon looked back and forth between them, puzzled. His gaze shifted to Yeon-woo as he watched Jeong-woo struggle with his mouth covered.

“Uh, well, recently… after being paired, I’ve talked a lot about you, Lieutenant. So Jeong-woo, uh… probably feels familiar with you. Sorry…”

His stammering words were far from convincing. He couldn’t make eye contact, and his fidgeting hands seemed to scream, ‘I’m lying!’

Finally, Yeon-woo turned his back to Seo-joon and silently communicated with Jeong-woo. Despite witnessing a witness being bribed right in front of him, Seo-joon couldn’t raise an objection.

Once their silent exchange ended, Jeong-woo peeked out from behind Yeon-woo’s arm.

“Hello, Lieutenant… nice to meet you.”

Jeong-woo’s speech pattern had completely changed, as if he were repeating someone else’s words. Sure enough, Seo-joon noticed Yeon-woo whispering, “That’s right, good job,” into his brother’s ear, narrowing his eyes at the sight. A brotherly con, maybe? Cute, but a bit cheeky.

“Nice to meet you, Jeong-woo. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I bought as much as I could. I hope you’ll find something you enjoy.”

Giving up on further probing, Seo-joon handed over the items with a smile. He would soon learn the truth, given how poorly Yeon-woo lied.

“Wow!”

Jeong-woo grabbed the large box and admired the flaming dinosaur character on it. Yeon-woo sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“You should say, ‘Thank you.'”

“Thank you!”

Jeong-woo beamed as he shook the box in both hands. Finding his excitement adorable, Seo-joon chuckled and took a seat by the bed. 

“What were you drawing?”

The sketchbook and colored pencils lay scattered across the table in front of the bed.

“My favorite monster!”

Jeong-woo eagerly flipped through the sketchbook, providing an enthusiastic explanation. Having limited knowledge of monsters besides the electric yellow mouse from Pocket Monsters, Seo-joon found much of it incomprehensible, but he asked questions and listened intently to the boy’s stories.

To Seo-joon, Jeong-woo seemed different from other kids his age. He had never been to school and hadn’t had much opportunity to make friends. As a result, he appeared younger in behavior and speech than his age.

Usually, long-term patients were grouped with those of similar age and gender. But in this six-bed ward, only the elderly shared the room with Jeong-woo, aside from Yeon-woo. According to Jeong-woo, he often had to switch rooms.

“Jeong-woo, it’s time to get your hair cut.”

Yeon-woo stroked the hair at Jeong-woo’s nape, gently brushing down the hair that had grown to his shoulders.

“Mm, since you’re here, hyung, you can cut it for me.”

“Were you bored while I was gone?”

“Oh, don’t get me started. He wouldn’t let go of the remote, always watching that Fight-Mon or whatever it is,” an older man chimed in.

“I only wanted to watch a little cartoon.”

“No, you watched too much….”

“That grandpa always watches the news. He didn’t let me watch cartoons yesterday either…” Jeong-woo whispered to Yeon-woo.

“But remember, the TV is for everyone, so you have to share, okay?”

“Mm…”

While Yeon-woo stepped out to call the nurse and check on Jeong-woo’s IV, Seo-joon moved closer and asked gently. 

“Do you like watching TV, Jeong-woo?”

“Yes. But I only watch a little when Grandpa is asleep.”

Contrary to the old man’s complaint, Jeong-woo was diligently sharing the TV as Yeon-woo had advised. Apparently, the grandfather was the ward’s self-appointed sergeant, and his strictness extended even to the young boy.

But besides watching TV, what else could a child do in a hospital room? He probably wouldn’t study by himself, and it seemed like no one was around to help him with it.

“Hmm. If you want, I could let you watch cartoons all day.”

“Really? How? Grandpa will scold me…”

“What if I make sure you don’t get scolded?”

Seo-joon whispered with a smile. 

“But you have to study hard too. Then you can watch all the TV you want. How about that?”

“I like it!”

“Good. I’ll find a way, so listen to Grandpa for now and wait just a little longer. Got it?”

“Wow…”

Jeong-woo was so excited that he bounced his legs up and down. Even though Seo-joon hadn’t explained exactly how he’d do it, the boy’s eyes lit up with joy. After tucking Jeong-woo’s thin hair behind his ear, Seo-joon asked casually. 

“But how did you recognize me right away, Jeong-woo?”

“Hyung talks a lot about you, Lieutenant.”

Jeong-woo’s large eyes darted to the side. Seo-joon couldn’t help but notice how alike the brothers were and pressed further. 

“Just hearing about me, you recognized my face and name? Have you seen me somewhere before?”

Jeong-woo glanced at Seo-joon and then nervously toward the door. 

“Hyung said not to say anything.”

He seemed worried that Yeon-woo would walk in at any moment.

“I won’t tell him you told me.”

“…I saw you in a video. You and your friend appeared on the news.”

“My friend?”

“The one named Min Seon-wook…”

Min Seon-wook. It was a name Seo-joon had buried deep in the past and tried hard not to remember. His expression changed as he encountered the memory. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke again.

“…That was a long time ago.”

“Yeah. An old video…”

“I see.”

Apparently, Yeon-woo had come across a leftover interview video that hadn’t been fully erased. How did he find it? Was he curious about the kind of person he was paired with?

Seo-joon was less concerned that Yeon-woo had seen the video than that it still existed online somewhere. Either way, it could be deleted.

“Don’t tell hyung that I said anything,” 

Jeong-woo leaned in to whisper. His tiny hand, fitted with an IV needle, held out a pinky finger. Seo-joon nodded and locked pinkies with him.

“This is a gift just for you, Lieutenant.”

Still not completely reassured, Jeong-woo reached under the table and pulled something out. From a collector’s book filled with stickers, he chose a small purple monster sticker and placed it on the back of Seo-joon’s phone. It was the same character that Seo-joon had said was the cutest of Jeong-woo’s drawings. It felt like a little bribe.

“Thanks.”

Seo-joon chuckled and patted Jeong-woo’s shoulder, while the boy wrapped his skinny arms around Seo-joon’s waist. He hugged Jeong-woo tighter, sealing their little secret agreement.

But Jeong-woo, whose loyalty to Yeon-woo was stronger than his bond with Seo-joon, kept an essential detail to himself.

He didn’t mention that the interview video wasn’t something Yeon-woo had recently stumbled upon, nor that his brother had watched it hundreds of times before.

‘Hyung would feel embarrassed if anyone found out.’

✽✽✽

The lights in the audience dimmed one level, leaving only a few spotlights on while the latest tablet advertisement played in the darkened theater.

With his chin propped up on his hand, Seo-joon idly watched the ad, reflecting on how he and Yeon-woo ended up here.

It was just after 5 PM, too early for dinner. As he pondered what to do to pass the time, he suggested.

“How about going to the movies?” Of course, 90% of it was a joke.

The problem was that Yeon-woo didn’t take it as one. 

Although having dinner together was reasonable, watching a movie felt awkward. Normally, someone would politely refuse in such a situation, but Yeon-woo brightly asked.

“What kind of movies do you like, Lieutenant?”

By the time Seo-joon realized his mistake, it was too late. Feeling at a loss, he simply replied, “I like anything except horror,” and absentmindedly opened the theater app. Although he had made the suggestion first, why did it feel like he’d been trapped by the other person?

And so, here they were. He had picked the nearest available screening and booked the nearest seats, only to find that the only remaining ones were private seats. The cozy couple seats lacked an armrest between Yeon-woo and himself.

Brushing his fingers over the cold, condensation-covered surface of his sports drink, Seo-joon stared at the screen as the theater went completely dark. Soon, the film studio’s logo appeared, accompanied by the distinctive superhero franchise opening. At least it wasn’t a romance.

The movie began with a raccoon walking to a 90s pop song. Seo-joon, unfamiliar with the previous films in the series, had trouble following the sudden, large-scale battle.

Woon, wooong— Even though it wasn’t a 4DX movie, the chair vibrated softly.

“….”

Suddenly, his heart sank. The air seemed to tighten around his skin, and the temperature turned oddly chilly. The vibrations shook not just under his feet but also inside his stomach.

A dull pressure built in his ears. His hand, resting on one of the armrests, trembled slightly. A dense, persistent force stronger than gravity pulled his entire body downward.

On the screen, the universe unfolded. Something resembling a black hole, surrounded by giant crimson organic material, filled the screen. It seemed like a fairly accurate depiction of a real gate.

“Cha Yeon-woo.”

With a tense face, Seo-joon grabbed Yeon-woo’s arm. In the middle of the darkened screen, a red circular outline appeared. Huh? People muttered. Being engrossed in the movie, it took some time before people realized the actual danger.

Boom! Boom-boom-boom!

A terrifying roar echoed as the wall began to collapse, belching a vast darkness.

Screams echoed through the darkness.