City Life- Seoul

Chapter One

Jongwoon trudged along the long winding road leading towards the river, occasionally swatting away the mosquitoes. It was just another normal day for him. Get up at seven in the morning, set up the food stall and then go down to the river to collect some water. It had always been like this ever since Jongwoon turned twelve and his parents had deemed him old enough to do all these stuff. He was never schooled and he only knew the basics of the Korean language, just enough to be able to communicate with the other people. His brother, Jongjin, was never schooled too.

“Jongwoonie! Wait up!” A familiar voice called out and Jongwoon whirled around to find his best friend, Donghae.

“Hae? Are you going to the river too?” Jongwoon asked, seeing that Donghae had carried along two buckets.

“Yeah, hyung. Can we walk together?” Donghae asked hopefully and Jongwoon chuckled.

“Of course, let’s go.” And with that, the two of trudged for a while without talking.

“Hey Woonie hyung, have you ever thought of going to the city when you are older?” Donghae finally broke the silence.

“City? You mean Seoul? I have never thought of going there. Aren’t I leading a happy enough life now? Besides, I heard that the people who live in the city are very materialistic and only care about money. They don’t treat relationships seriously.” Jongwoon scrunched up his nose and replied.

“Really? But I have also heard that there are some people in the city who are very kind and caring. My cousin went to the city two months ago and he sent a letter back saying that everyone there is friendly and the place is very clean and pretty! He is even living under somebody’s roof for free. He said that the owner was a kind old man who gives homeless children a place to stay!” Donghae rambled on excitedly.

“Well, that is only for some people. You can’t be sure that the whole city is like that. Anyway Hae, why are you asking this?” Jongwoon tilts his head to look at Donghae.

“I want to go to the city one day, hyung! I don’t want to be stuck here for the rest of my life! Oh hyung, we’ve reached!” Donghae runs forward and started filling his buckets, while Jongwoon thought of what Donghae had said.

I don’t want to be stuck here for the rest of my life…

“Umma, I’m back!” Jongwoon calls out but there was no reply. His eyebrows furrowed when he noticed that the stall in the coffee shop was closed. He looked around for any signs of his parents, but to no avail.

“Mrs Lee, do you know where my parents had gone to?” Jongwoon asked Donghae’s mother, who owned the stall next to his family’s.

“Oh Jongwoonie, didn’t you hear? Your father got the disease and he was sent to the hospital. You should take Jongjin and run along to see him.” Mrs Lee replied, a concerned expression evident on her face. Upon hearing the news, Jongwoon dropped the buckets of water he held in his hands and made a dash towards his house after mumbling a quick ‘thank you’ to Mrs Lee.

The wooden door creaked when Jongwoon pushed it open. He rushes inside and looked in all the rooms for Jongjin, but he was nowhere to be seen. Still gasping for air, Jongwoon finally notices a small slip of paper on the wooden dining table.

Jongwoon,

Your father had contracted the disease and has been sent to the village hospital. I doubt he will make it through. If you see this message, please rush to the hospital. I have taken Jongjin along.

Mom

Jongwoon’s hand shook as he crushed the paper, a single tear slipping down his pale cheeks. His father is really sick? From what he knew, everyone who had contracted the disease had passed away within a week. The first person who caught the disease was a farmer from a nearby village. He had visited Jongwoon’s village to sell some stuff, but unfortunately, he had also infected many people with the disease. The village hospital was small, cramped and had little staff, thus many people had died just waiting outside the hospital. He knew that the chance of his father will be really thin, like what his mother had said. Preparing himself for the worst, he locked the front door and runs off in the direction of the hospital.

A week had passed and Jongwoon’s father had passed away, due to the lack of medical supplies and bad treatment. It was even worse now that his mother had also contracted the disease, since she was constantly in contact with his father. His father was given a simple burial that the family could afford and Jongwoon started working harder at the stall to support the family and pay the medical bills of his mother. Jongjin was sent to Donghae’s house, so that he won’t contract the disease. Jongwoon’s mother had insisted that it was fine and Jongwoon didn’t need to care about her anymore, but Jongwoon still refused to listen to her. He simply can’t leave her in the lurch.  

A few days after, Jongjin returned back home, as Donghae’s brother had also gotten the disease. Half of the village was already dead due to the infectious disease and everyone who is left either locked themselves in their houses or escaped to nearby villages, in hope of surviving. Meanwhile, Jongwoon’s mother was getting weaker each day and even the doctors doubt they can save her. She had stuffed a slip of paper into Jongwoon’s hand and asked him to look the person up if she is really gone. And she was really gone. The loss of his parents saddened Jongwoon a lot, but he stayed strong for the sake of his brother. They gave their mother a proper burial once again before Jongwoon and Jongjin discussed on what to do next. There was no way they could continue selling food since the remaining villagers all refrained from going out. Then, Jongwoon remembered the slip of paper. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper and smoothing it.

Park Jungsu

019- 65789832

Jongwoon knew that whoever that person was, he was their last hope. Quickly reaching for the telephone he dialed the number and after several rings, a man picked up.

“Hello, this is the Park residence. May I know who you are looking for?”

“Erm.. May I speak to Park Jungsu-sshi?” Jongwoon asked hesitantly.

“Sure thing, please wait for a little while.” There was silence for a while before another man came to the phone.

“Hello? I am Park Jungsu, and you are?” A male with a slightly high pitched voice asked.

“I am Kim Jongwoon.”

“Kim Jongwoon?”

“I am Kim Jonghyun’s son.”

“Oh! You’re Jonghyun’s son? What’s the matter?”

“My parents…they are dead.”

Silence.

“They are dead…? How?”

“There was an infectious disease. Most people died. Only me, my brother and a few others are left.”

“Oh… Your mother must have asked you to call me. Don’t worry, I will send somebody over tomorrow to pick you two up. Is that okay?” The man asked.

“…Alright. But what should I call you? Jungsu-sshi or Mr Park?”

“Oh, how rude of me! You can call me hyung. I am only twenty. And you are eighteen, right?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Alright then, see you tomorrow, Jongwoon.”

“See you, hyung.”

Jongwoon hung up and looked over to his brother, who was already sleeping by now. He smiled a little and draped a blanket over his brother before ruffling his hair.

“We will survive, Jongjin.”

The next morning, Jongwoon decided to head over to Donghae’s house and bid farewell, only to find the house empty. Worried, Jongwoon checked the whole house but found no one. Still confused, Jongwoon headed back to his own house, and finally noticed a note stuck on the door.

Hey Jongwoonie,

I am sorry for not telling you face to face, but I am scared I will cry because I can’t bear to leave you. But, I have to. My cousin from the city came to pick me up and I will stay with him. I will miss you, Jongwoonie. I am sorry too.

Donghae

A sigh of relief escaped Jongwoon’s lips. At least Donghae was safe. Just then, a car horn made Jongwoon look up. A black sleek car was parked in front of the house and a man dressed in a smart looking black suit stepped out. A bleary-eyed Jongjin then appeared behind Jongwoon.

“Hyung, what happened?” Jongjin asked curiously as he stared at the man.

“Excuse me, is this the residence of Kim Jongwoon?” The man asked politely and judging from the sweet voice, he was the man who picked up the phone yesterday.

“Yes. I am Kim Jongwoon and you are the person who picked up the phone yesterday right?”

“Yes, I am Lee Sungmin. I am here to pick you two up. Have you packed your things yet?” The cute looking male asked, a smile gracing his lips.

“I packed it last night, but my brother still needs to change, so please excuse us for a moment.” Jongwoon replied.

“Sure, I will be here.”  With that answer, Jongwoon pulled Jongjin back into the house and handed him a set of clothes.

“Hyung, where are we going?” Jongjin asked curiously as he changed.

“I don’t know. Somewhere safe, I guess. Somewhere we will be taken care of. Now, quickly change and help carry the bags out.”

“Yes hyung.”

-

Once they had everything in the car and settled own in the car, Sungmin started asking questions as he drove.

“How old are you guys?”

“I’m eighteen and Jongjin’s fifteen.”

“I see, you must call me hyung too, then. I am nineteen.”

“..Okay, hyung. But how are you guys related to my family?”

“Well, I don’t know. You should ask Leeteuk hyung instead.”

“Leeteuk hyung?”

“Oh you don’t know? Jungsoo hyung is also called Leeteuk hyung because he preferred it more. Anyway, do you know where we are going?”

“Where?”

“The city. It’s gonna be very different from here, so you gotta be prepared!”

“Gonna? Gotta? The city?” Jongwoon furrowed his eyebrows at the two unfamiliar words, but for sure he knows that they are going to the city.

“Oops, my bad. I mean we are going to the city and it is going to be very different from here, so you got to be prepared.”

“Oh. But how different? It isn’t too different, right?”

“You’ll see for yourselves later.”