“Let me go, I said!”

                The woman yelled obnoxiously and struggled to be free from the grasp of the nurse.

                “Didn’t you hear what the doctor said before? You’re not allowed to leave this room without his permission.” The nurse looked annoyed and tired. From the look of the scene, she seemed to have been trying to hold her down for a pretty long time.

                “I need the bathroom though, pretty please,” the woman whined with puppy eyes.

                “Nuh uh, you can’t fool me. I know what you’re up to. Now be good and just sit down or I’ll have to tie you down again.”

                The nurse spoke as if she was disciplining a child even though the woman looks almost old enough to be the nurse’s aunt.

                “Okay, okay, I get it.” She slouched and walked slowly to the table obediently where the other patients were.

                Just as she caught a glimpse of the nurse with her back turned, she made her escape for the exit.

                “Hey, stop running away Miss Jang!” a patient from the table yelled loudly on purpose.

                The nurse looked up and panicked for a second. Then she yelled for help.

                “Someone stop Miss Jang please!”         

                Two other nurses in the hall heard the call for help. They took hold of the woman’s arms as she tried to run pass them. They picked her up so that her feet are off the floor and began carrying her back to the room.

                “I’m sorry, please put me down! I promise I won’t do this again!” she complained.

                “You say that all the time. Ever heard of the boy who cries wolf? We’re going to have to tie you down,” one of the nurses who were carrying her said. 

                “No, you can’t do that to me!”

                “Oh yes we can.”

                “Looks like Ms. Beautiful got into trouble again,” a voice came from the opposite direction.

                The woman stopped struggling in hearing the familiar voice.

                “Hyunseung!” she exclaimed in delight and glared back at the nurses. “You better let me down now!”

                The nurses turned their heads to Hyunseung who nodded. Then, they let her arms go. She started running toward him as soon as her toes touched the floor.

                “Oh my son! Do you know how much umma missed you?” She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed the side of her face against his chest comfortably.

                “Did you eat yet?” Hyunseung warmly welcomed his mother’s embrace.

                “No I’m starving, do you know how bad the hospital food tastes? Let’s go eat, let’s go eat. I’m craving for meat, please!” She tugged his sleeve.

                “Hmm, can I trust you?”

                “Of course! Who’s son wouldn’t trust his mother?” She grinned at him slyly.

                “Hey Sophie, can we…?” Hyunseung called down the hall to the young nurse who was in charge of his mother.

                “Only for the maximum of two hours,” Sophie replied with a trying-to-be-strict tone.

                Oh my goodness how can he be so good looking? He looks more charming every time he pays a visit; I still can’t believe he’s a psycho’s son, the nurse thought to herself.

                “Thanks Sophie, I’ll bring her back safely.”

                “Maria,” Hyunseung said.

                Maria. That was what he always called her. That was what everyone called her, before she screwed up.

                She was a singer, not those celebrities you see on television, but she was still pretty popular. She had a pretty voice and a pretty face, a face that deceived many men. If you guess her age, you would probably think that she is at least five years younger.

                “Delicious! I haven’t had pork in a long time!” His mother could care to look up at him.

                “Maria. Do you hate me?”

                She stopped eating and chewed slowly and awkwardly on her last bite.

                “For what?” She began eating again to stop the awkwardness.

                “For putting you in that place.”

                “Well I hated it, I still do. But, Hyunseung, I know you’re just trying to help me. And I know myself better than anyone else. I don’t want to screw up again.” She placed her hand on Hyunseung’s shoulder.”

                “Umma…”

                “So you know, I’m trying really hard to guide a normal life again.”

                She sounded very truthful. It made Hyunseung feel that he could trust her. She was really trying to change for the better.

                “Ah, what’s with all these deep talks? That’s so not like me,” Maria laughed. “C’mon let’s eat.” Her tone became lively again.

                Hyunseung smiled at the most important woman of his life, the only one.    

                “Be right back, I need the bathroom.” Maria stood up from her chair.

                “Will you be okay by yourself?”

                “Of course, you think I’m going to run away? Stay here, I’ll be back.”

                “Be careful!”

                “Yeh!”

                Then she went out of sight to where the bathroom was supposed to be. Hyunseung placed a lot of trust on Maria, maybe too much. He waited for a while five minutes before he grew impatient and got out of his seat.

                “Ahjumma, may I ask where is the restroom?” he asked the serving lady who was passing by.

                “Restroom? What restroom? There was never a restroom,” she responded loudly over the robust and lively noises of the costumers.

                “What?” He was slow, but he soon realized what really happened.

                Krystal was waiting on line to pay for the grocery. A woman in front placed two bottles of Soju on the cashier counter. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few coins. She counted them and paused for a second. Then she turned around to look at Krystal. There were dark circles under the woman’s eyes. She looked very out of place.

                “Hey you,” she called.

                Krystal looked around for another that the woman was probably calling, but there was no one. She turned her eyes back at the woman.

                “Me?” Krystal asked while pointing to herself.

                “Who else?”

                So Krystal stepped closer.

                “Do you have some money in your wallet?”

                “Yeh.” Krystal responded as if she got hypnotized. She took out her wallet and took out 5,000 won.

                The woman snatched the money out of her hand and smacked it on the cashier table. Then, she carried her Sojus and trotted out of the grocery store.

                Krystal snapped back into her mind and realized what just happened. She quickly paid for her grocery and went after the woman.

                “Ahjumma!” She screamed down the empty street with the heavy bags in her hands.

                The woman paid her no attention and continued to walking clumsily down the block, swaying from one side to the other. Krystal finally caught up to her.  

                “Ah…jumma.” She stopped the woman from walking by standing right in front of her.

                “Wae? Who are you?” the woman asked rudely.

                “My money ...” Krystla was out of breath from running.

                “Oh. Do you have a pen?”

                “Uh… no.” Krystal shook her head.

                The woman took a lipstick out of her pocket. She unscrewed the cap and grabbed Krystal’s arm. She began to scribble something on her white sleeves.

                “Call my son; he’ll pay you back okay? Bye!” She waved good bye messily resumed to walking.

                Krystal stared at the number written on her sleeves. She looked up at the woman and called after her again.

                “Ahjumma!” She whined.

                Suddenly the woman collapsed onto the ground.

                “Ahjumma!” Krystal dropped her grocery bags and caught up to the woman to help her. “Noreul gwaenchanayo?”

                But the woman didn’t respond. She seemed to be knocked out.

                “Yah! Ahjumma, wake up! You can’t just sleep here.” She had no choice but to drag the woman to her house.

                 Back at her apartment, Krystal placed a warm towel on the woman’s forehead.

                “Ahjumma, you should at least tell me where you live,” she said softly.

                Then, Krystal remembered the phone number written on her sleeve. She quickly dialed it.

                “The person you’re dialing is currently unavailable. Your message will be-“

                She was frustrated. There was nothing else she could do until the woman wakes up.

                “Good evening, it’s Maria again. Today I’m going to perform…” the woman mumbled to herself.

                Krystal soon fell asleep by the woman’s singing. She was awakened by a call. It was the number that she dialed before.

                “Hello?”

                “Did you call me?” the voice said.

                “Yeh, your mother…”

                “Is she with you right now?”

                Krystal turned around to look but the woman was nowhere to be found.

                “Um, no. I think she just left.”

                “Oh.” He sounded disappointed. “Thanks anyway.” Then he hung up.

                “Your welcome,” Krystal said to the dead phone.