The Unexpected Becomes the Expected

Story by LeeHwaYoung

"Young-Yi... Young-Yi" I heard the boy in the hospital begin to stir as he called out another man's name. I stared at Hyuk Jae, in his hospital gowns, his face bruised and cut from the struggle he had just endured.

I closed my eyes, afraid that I was the one to blame. I, who left Hyuk Jae to return to the apartment by himself, was the one to blame. I turned my head away once more, staring at the wall as I remembered how I found Hyuk Jae, in the dark, dirty alleyway. I cringed as I remembered the sight of him.

I was angry as I left our apartment, with a small bag packed full of the items I would need. I was in disbelief that my father and mother had so little trust in me that they needed to send a babysitter to watch after me. I grumbled the entire way to the elavator, down the 9 flights, and off of the apartment grounds. I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to do, but even the rain couldn't stop my escape from Hyuk Jae and from my parents.

I continued to walk down the sidewalk that I had walked in the opposite direction just minutes ago, my thoughts a mess, until I heard soft sobbing. I walked a little slower until I came across an alleyway where the crying was most audible. I crept a little closer, not seeing anything in the darkness.

"Hello?" I called out. No reply came back, but the crying continued. I walked a little bit further into the darkness, pulling out my cell phone to use the flashlight tool to see with. "Hello?" I called out once more just before I turned the flashlight on. Again, no reply came, but I could hear my own gasp as the scene played out before me.

Hyuk Jae was lying on his stomach, his whole body scratched up and bruised, completely . I was startled into confusion, unsure of what to do or say, until I saw a ripped jacket next to me. I quickly picked it up and covered Hyuk Jae with it.

"Hey! Can you hear me? Hello? Hyuk Jae!" I said more gently to the boy, who was completely out of his mind and who seemed ready to lose consciousness. I covered Hyuk Jae as best as I could before picking him up in my arms and rushing out to the street to hail a cab. From there it seemed like a whirlwind getting into the cab and speeding off to the hospital, to Hyuk Jae being taken back behind the double doors that no one was allowed behind except for patients and doctors. The only thing I did notice with the thin tan package that fell out of the jacket that Hyuk Jae was wearing.

I picked it up before sitting down in a seat in front of the double doors. I looked down at the tan package for quite some time before looking up at the double doors again. For the first time, I was someone's guardian. I turned the tan package over and over again in my hands, my curiosity growing with every turn. I knew it was wrong to open others packages, but I still felt a sense of unsu