ACJY C52

After about fifteen minutes, a well-built man in a nurse’s uniform entered, leading a gaunt, elderly man with a dark reddish complexion. The old man was quite tall for his age, but apart from his height, his appearance was so different from the man’s that it was hard to believe he was his great-uncle. Taeheun thought the man must have taken after his mother’s side of the family.

The nurse left the old man without a word.

“Great-uncle.”

The man greeted the old man warmly. The old man didn’t smile. He just cautiously sat down at the table, observing the man. He had heard the old man didn’t recognize people, and it seemed to be true.

“You look healthier than last month.”

The man spoke in a bright voice, unconcerned by the old man’s lack of response.

“Here are the cigarettes and drinks you like, Great-uncle.”

The old man finally gave an awkward smile when the man offered him the cigarettes and the box of drinks.

“You shouldn’t have.”

He reached out his bony hand and quickly grabbed the cigarettes. Taeheun instinctively frowned, disgusted by the old man’s behavior. It was then that the old man noticed Taeheun.

“Who are you?”

He asked cautiously.

“I’m Mr. Gibeom’s friend. He said he was coming to see you, so I tagged along.”

Taeheun replied with a forced smile.

The old man glanced at the man again, seemingly wanting to say something to Taeheun.

“Excuse me, could you get me a glass of water?”

The old man politely asked the man, breaking the awkward silence. The excessively formal tone made Taeheun scoff inwardly. The man quickly got up, saying, “Yes, I’ll get it for you right away.”

As soon as the man left the visiting room, the old man moved closer to Taeheun. A rotten smell emanated from him, whether from his mouth or his body. As Taeheun frowned and tried to move away, the old man gripped his arm tightly.

“That man is not Gibeom. Do you understand?”

The old man whispered quickly and quietly.

“That son of a bitch would curse at me and threaten me with a knife, he wouldn’t be so obedient and listen to me like that!”

The old man’s eyes flashed.

“That’s the Grim Reaper disguised as Yoon Gibeom.”

“Really? That’s strange. If he’s the Grim Reaper, why hasn’t he taken you yet? I would have taken you already. Don’t you think?”

Taeheun retorted sarcastically. The old man’s face clearly showed his confusion, as if caught off guard. He stammered, “That’s…” unable to continue.

“What do I look like to you? In terms of appearance, I’m closer to the Grim Reaper.”

The old man flinched, loosening his grip on Taeheun’s arm.

“Anyway, that’s definitely not our Gibeom. That bastard would never bring me cigarettes!”

“Yes, yes. Let’s say you’re right. Then you shouldn’t accept those cigarettes and drinks. They’re from the Grim Reaper. Who knows, they might be the price for your life.”

As Taeheun said this and reached for the cigarettes the old man was holding, the old man quickly recoiled.

“You’re in cahoots with him, aren’t you?”

His voice trembled as he asked. His dark red face was filled with fury.

“Yes, I’m also a Grim Reaper. We usually work in pairs, but I’ve been a bit busy, so Mr. Gibeom has been coming alone until now.”

Taeheun grinned, and the old man became enraged. Pointing his finger, he shouted,

“You little punk! How dare you mock an elder!! You think I’m crazy? That guy is the crazy one! Do you think I wouldn’t recognize his speech, his voice, his eyes? I don’t know how he’s wearing his skin, but that’s definitely not Yoon Gibeom. He’s not of our bloodline!!”

Spit flew from his mouth.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Taeheun warned in a low voice. He wiped the smile off his face and stared blankly.

The old man cowered in fear. Nevertheless, unable to control his anger, he breathed roughly. He even clenched his fists, even though he couldn’t possibly hit anyone. In his prime, the old man would have been more than capable of beating the man up.

If the man had lost his parents early, and had been raised by this old man, he would surely have been abused. The thought fueled Taeheun’s anger. He cursed at the old man, even though he wasn’t entirely sure of the situation.

“You piece of shit.”

Insulted by Taeheun, the old man shrank back further. Only silence filled the lounge.

The man returned with a bottle of water. Relieved that the man hadn’t heard the old man’s words, Taeheun put a finger to his lips, warning the old man to be quiet.

The old man accepted the water from the man with his head bowed and remained in that position for the rest of the visiting time. The man wasn’t very talkative, so long silences ensued. Despite this, the man spoke cheerfully about his childhood.

There seemed to be no good memories, as all he said was, “I caused you a lot of trouble,” and, “Thank you for taking me in.” He also talked about how the old man had mistreated him, and how he had been kicked out of the house for no reason and had to spend the night outside the front door. The man kept smiling, even as he recounted these stories.

Taeheun felt a pang of sadness as the man’s unfortunate past, which he had hoped was a misunderstanding, was confirmed to be true. He was angry because there was nothing he could do at that moment except glare at the old man.

The visit barely lasted over thirty minutes.

“Great-uncle, I’ll come again next month. Take care until then.”

As the visit ended, the male nurse who had been waiting outside appeared. The old man hurried out of the visiting room with the nurse as if escaping.

The man’s face expressed relief rather than regret. He also seemed to feel the lightness of someone who had completed a necessary task. To the man, visiting his great-uncle seemed to be a responsibility and duty he had unwillingly taken on. Taeheun naturally thought of his own family and could understand the man’s reasons to some extent. He wasn’t the only one burdened by family. In fact, Taeheun was even more so.

The man left the hospital without delay. He glanced at his wristwatch and made a troubled expression before turning to Taeheun.

“Mr. Taeheun, I’m sorry, but could you wait for about an hour? You can go to a nearby coffee shop, or have lunch first.”

“Why? Do you have someone to meet?”

Just as he suspected, the man did have someone he liked here. He gritted his teeth, his imagination running wild.

“It’s not that.”

The man began to speak hesitantly.

“I need to stop by the orthopedic clinic. Because of my leg.”

He apologized, tapping his left thigh.

Taeheun followed the man’s hand to his thigh and only then remembered that the man had a limp. A smile spread across his previously stiff face. He felt greatly relieved.

“Is it bad?”

He asked with belated concern, trying to manage his expression.

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just a regular checkup. My leg gets strained a lot.”

The man said defensively. He seemed dejected, as if his physical ailment were somehow his fault.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go together. I met your great-uncle, so why can’t I go with you to the clinic? You need a guardian, Mr. Gibeom. I’ll be your guardian.”

The man, who had been momentarily dazed, smiled. He muttered “guardian” softly and then nodded.

“Guardian.”

Taeheun repeated the word emphatically, making sure the man heard him.

“Let’s go.”

He was about to walk ahead, not knowing where he was going, but then turned and gently pushed the man’s back.

The orthopedic clinic the man frequented was quite large. Compared to the nursing home, it looked like a general hospital. There were four specialists and a rehabilitation center. Even on a weekday, it was crowded with patients. Taeheun was glad that the man was willing to spend money on his health.

Taeheun followed the man everywhere, from the examination room to the injection room and the physical therapy room. The doctor and nurses found it strange that a young man of similar age was following him like a shadow, but they didn’t ask about their relationship. It seemed to be because of the bruises on both the man’s and Taeheun’s faces.

Come to think of it, the man’s great-uncle hadn’t mentioned anything about their injuries. Neither had the nurse at the nursing home. Taeheun could only guess that it was because it was a place for alcoholics, so they were probably used to seeing such things.

Despite occupying an entire floor of the hospital, the physical therapy room had no place to sit. The main clients were elderly people, and occasionally, there were younger people with injured legs or arms. The man was the most robust patient among them.

Taeheun squeezed into the crowded therapy room and settled on the edge of a bed. The physical therapist drew the curtains, and the man took off his pants and hung them on a hanger. He lay on the bed in his underwear, covering his lower body with a thin summer blanket.

The physical therapist skillfully placed a mat-like heating pad on the man’s right thigh and calf, saying, “Tell me if it’s too hot,” before disappearing behind the curtain.

“Don’t sit there uncomfortably, come sit here. There’s plenty of room.”

The man offered Taeheun space on the already narrow bed. Even though the carefully made space was only big enough for Taeheun to perch on, he willingly sat down and looked at the man’s legs.

“Mr. Gibeom, you have muscular thighs.”

At Taeheun’s words, the man’s face turned bright red in an instant. It was the first time he had seen such a quick reaction. Taeheun felt awkward, wondering why the man was blushing so much, as if he had said something inappropriate.

“Well, I think mine are thicker, but compared to the average person, yours are quite muscular.”

He added unnecessarily.

There was no need to salvage the awkward atmosphere. The man had fallen asleep almost instantly, lulled by the heat of the heating pad. Considering he had been up all night after that commotion and had woken up earlier than Taeheun, it wasn’t surprising.