Enjoy ^-^

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I graduated from high school well and managed to get a decent job, deciding to postpone university till I could get a steady income. Dad got worse and worse each day, and his anger towards me didn’t stop growing. He knew – most of the time – that I was protecting Myunghee from him, and would attack me in a drunken rage when I got home. I considered finally reporting him to the police, as I was old enough to take care of Myunghee myself, but every night when he was safely tucked into his bed, such thoughts would flee my mind and I would find myself smiling at his serene expression, reminding me of the man he used to be, and the loving family we used to be.

One night, after I had put the old man in his bed and checked on Myunghee (I had made it a point to make sure that she was safely asleep in her bed every night – I didn’t want to risk losing her again), I walked into my room and sat down on my bed, gazing out of the window. From my younger years of staying locked up in my room, I had made friends with the lady who lived next door. She was getting old now, with silvery grey strands beginning to mark her ebony hair, but through the years she never failed to give me a warm-hearted smile. She lived alone – no parents, no husband, no children – just her. Her bedroom window was right in front of mine, about six feet away, and sometimes we would spend a few minutes talking about whatever we wanted to. She never brought up the topic of my abusive father, though I supposed she knew since things could get pretty loud, and I was grateful for that. Perhaps she could see that it was a delicate subject.

Tonight, I saw her enter her room as she switched on the light and glanced in my direction. I gave her a little wave and smiled. She smiled back as she took a seat beside the window and opened it, gesturing to me to do the same. I did so, and asked her how she was doing.

“Oh I’m fine, Myungsoo-goon. How is school?”

I told her that I had already graduated and found a job.

“I see, that’s good. Are you planning on entering university?”

I nodded with a confident smile, telling her than I planned on becoming a doctor.

“That’s wonderful! You’re a smart boy, Myungsoo-goon.”

I thanked her embarrassedly and asked her how she was doing at work.

“Ah, you know, same old same old,” she laughed, waving her hand to dismiss the subject. I decided not to press on.

“Oh I nearly forgot,” she added, leaning closer to the window. “I wanted to tell you something.”

I instinctively leaned closer as well. I could tell that she was suddenly serious, yet uneasy.

“I know after all these years, I shouldn’t be saying this now, especially since it’s none of my business, but…” the gleam in her eyes faded, and a solemn expression took over as she looked me in the eyes with such power that it was as if she was penetrating right through them and looking straight into my soul.

“It’s time to move.”

I looked away and regarded her words with silence – the silence of thought. Getting up, she wished me good night, and reached out to close her window.

“Take care.”

Those were her last words before she closed the glass pane, fastened it, and drew her curtains.

I continued to sit there and thought about it for what seemed like an eternity. Then I finally got up, closed my window, and grabbed my phone from my bag to text my colleague, saying that I wouldn’t be in for work the next day and would call the boss the day after to explain. For good measure, I added that it was an emergency. I didn’t want to lose my job.

After taking a quick shower and checking over my wounds, I went to sleep with peace in my heart, for the first time in sixteen years.