Cha: 011
[DISCONTINUED] That Corner Hides a Pair of Eyes11 that corner hides a pair of eyes.
Years passed, and Woohyun drastically changed. He never goes out to play anymore, he never defies his dad, he always drowns himself in achieving anything he possibly could, and most of all, he stopped smiling. The sweet Nam Woohyun is no more. If only i knew that the last time i'll see him smile was at that ferris wheel, i could've savor the moment even more.
He is 12 years old now, and he doesn't act like the usual 12-year olds. He would always lock himself inside his room and does his home works or projects alone. He stopped requesting for my presence too, in short, he closed himself to the world.
Woohyun is now 15 and is suddenly started having numerous ceremonies for awards that he won, and i was there whenever he achieves anything. However, this is what he always says: "this is not good enough, i need to be better. I need to be more." I always tell him that he doesn't need to change for his dad. But .. He never listens to me anymore. He stopped listening to anyone. He boxed himself in.
The world has gone dark for his eyes at this point, things couldn't escalate to worse right? But Sadly, it did.
Woohyun was carrying her dear sick mother out of the house, for she, had passed out and accidentally hit her head at the edge of a table. They thought she was just tired, but she wasn't. It was something else. Her angelic face that made Mr. Nam fall was decorated with streaks of blood, and Woohyun, her only company, was there to see all of this horror.
"You'll be fine mom." Woohyun said while carrying her mom out of the house. I wasn't there when everything happened. I was away with Mr. Nam on a business trip to look after his health. Woohyun's big brother was on a different country studying business. He was alone to face the horror.
"Yes Woohyun .. Everything will be fine." She simply answered in a hushed voice. Woohyun put her inside the car and drove off to a near-by hospital. At this point, none of us knew what happened.
Mrs. Nam was rushed to the E.R with Woohyun close beside her holding her hand. But soon, they have to part for not everyone's allowed inside the E.R.
All he could do was pace back and forth in front of the E.R not caring if people keep staring at him. He sat on a nearby bench and ran his hands through his hair. And for the first time since the art contest incident with his dad, he cried.
Woohyun waited for 6 agonizing hours before her mother was out of the critical condition. Soon, he realized that he needed to call one of us to alert us of what happened. He was taken back with if he'd choose to call his dad or his brother. But then . . He remembered someone who taught him about fairies who turns anything pink when they kiss things. someone who told him that the sweet clouds that we eat reflects the truth about ourselves. Me.
"D-Dr. Kang .. " he said his voice shaky. Apparent that he's crying.
"Woohyun .. What's wrong?" I asked.
"Mom .. She-" Woohyun couldn't finish what he had to say and immediately broke down into sobs. I was in a meeting with Mr. Nam and his business corporates and so, i had to excuse myself in order to comfort the broken Woohyun.
"Woohyun calm down and tell me what happened." I said.
"Mom .. She . . She's on the hospital with me. She uhh c-collapsed and hit her head on the table. Her . . Her h-head was bleeding pretty badly . . And she . . They . . They told me she . . She has b-brain . ."
"Cancer." I finished.
"Huh?" He said.
"Woohyun, i have no time to explain but I'll be there as soon as i can." I said. I immediately turned off my phone, run towards the on-going conference and bid my apologies for my abrupt leave. I drove back to seoul as fast as i can. Not caring if the law forbids me to.
I arrived at the hospital and saw woohyun there sitting at a chair beside his mother's bed. He held his mother's hand and is caressing her head while she sleeps.
"Mom . . " he called out. "Everything will be fine right? You told me it would be." He said.
"Please? Be fine . . I need you."
I approached him and gently held his shoulder, careful not to startle him. He turned his head and anger engulfed his facade.
"How could you!" He yelled. "Why didn't you tell me she-- she had that!"
"Hyun .. I'm sorry .. She told me not to tell .."
"But i deserved the t-truth!" He yelled while standing up and pointing at himself.
He hung his head down while wiping his tears using his sleeves.
"Y-you should've t-told me .." He said in a hushed voice.
"Woohyun .." I called out while touching his shoulders. "I'm sorry .."
We spent the night calling every relative thats within our reach. Woohyun didn't talk to me the whole time we were there at the hospital. Mr. Nam and woohyun's brother didn't spare time to visit dear Mrs. Nam and so the two of us were the only ones in the hospital all the time.
Woohyun and I were there watching over his mother. Woohyun's just there always sitting beside his mother while i distance myself from him because i almost ended up beaten to death the last time i went close to him. Woohyun's mother never left her unconscious state. She was in a coma for 3 months and woohyun stopped attending school for 3 months. I too stopped being a family doctor for other people for 3 months and stayed beside woohyun. I'm always there to make sure that he wont break down.
Mrs Nam died on a rainy day on Woohyun's birthday. But before she fully closed her eyes, she whispered to woohyun these words that he treasured so deeply: "i love you .. Don't ever forget that." Woohyun's face was placid the whole time the funeral takes place. Some people even thought that woohyun didn't love his mother enough that he'd cry over her. No, thats not true. Woohyun knew better. He knew how sad his mother will be if he cried on her funeral. And so, he just stared placidly at his mom's picture that sits over the closed coffin. And just like all the time, his dad and his brother weren't there to witness how his mom gets buried.
The Nam mansion was depressingly silent after his mother's death. No one dared to speak a single word to woohyun because he'd just yell at them. He wont eat no matter how hard you plead him to. Even if you say that you'd kill yourself if he doesnt eat, he'd just say: "clean up after you die."
Even after the funeral, woohyun still hasn't gone to school and so his grades dropped. Woohyun got pissed because when his grades dropped, that is when his dad decides to go home.
"Whats this?" Mr. Nam said while slapping woohyun's report card at his face.
"My report card." Woohyun said in a flat tone. Not even bothering to look at his dad.
"Your failed report card to be exact." His dad retorted. "What on earth did you do huh? Did you go partying all night again at gangnam? Did you spend your money on all the women you saw? Huh? You're just 16 and you're already like this?" His dad yelled while slamming his hand on the table.
Woohyun just grabbed his report card stared at it for awhile before deciding to rip it in half. "Where were you?" He asked in a soft voice.
"What?" His dad asked. Clearly irritated.
"I SAID WHERE WERE YOU!!." Woohyun yelled while glaring daggers at his dad.
"How dare you spea--"
"WHERE WERE YOU WHEN SHE DIED!!" Woohyun yelled loudly at his dad. So loud that it echoed in the whole mansion.
"She's dead dad! And you weren't even there when i buried her!" Tears now uncontrollably roll down his cheeks as he released all the pain and anger he had towards his dad. "I!! Her only son! I was the only one whose there that mattered to her! Where were you! Big brother's not even there! I!! I was the only one! How dare you! How dare you call yoursel--"
His dad suddenly slapped him. Cutting his words off. "Thats enough hyun!!" His dad yelled. "You have no right to yell at me."
Woohyun, astounded, clenched his fists hard and glared at his dad. "Dont call me 'hyun' .. Only my dad gets to call me that." Woohyun then fled the scene while wiping his tear stricken face, locked himself at his room, and started sobbing uncontrollably at a corner near the balcony.
Hours passed and i took the liberty to ask the maid for the spare key and cautiously open woohyun's door.
He was there, sitting at the corner of the room near the balcony door holding something cloth-like.
"Hyun?" I called out and he turned his head at my direction. "Can i come in?"
"Sure." He answered.
I sat down beside him and the two of us were silent.
"Dr. Kang .. Look at this." He suddenly said while tossing me a cloth with a unfinished cross stitched letters of 'S' 'U' 'N' 'G'
"She never finished that." He said. "She died before she could."
I just slowly nodded my head and gently traced the intricate crossings of thread.
"You know .. I became very mad at her when i saw that because she's stitching someone else's name. I was jealous you see .. Because she had the time to stitch that boy's name while she doesn't with mine. She told me that that boy needed that thing. I didn't understand it then, but i do now. I think that boy needed motherly love. Too bad he wont have it now. Mom's gone."
I wanted to say 'sorry' for not telling him the truth about his mother's illness. Mrs. Nam insisted that i don't tell anyone because she don't want anyone worrying for her. But now, it seems that it would be better if woohyun's the one to talk. He needs to let everything out.
"Dad's a hypocrite." He suddenly stated. "Not even his shadow can be seen at the funeral when mom died. But when my grades started dropping, thats when he suddenly decided to pay a visit. Oh yeah, big brother's a hypocrite too. He didn't even spared a single cent to call home and see if mom's doing ok or when she finally died, he didn't even bothered to come home. Nee .. Doctor kang .. Do you think they'd come home if i were the one who dies?"
I looked at him and found him having a serious gaze. I lightly smacked his head and said: "yah, don't even say that! You wont die on us understood? And i'll make sure you don't." Tears then suddenly started rolling down his cheeks and he broke down into uncontrollable sobs. "I j-just w-want mom b-back .." He said. "I want her b-back."
The two of us spent the night healing ourselves with such an unpredictable loss. Woohyun, by morning, seemed to be his normal self again. Sure, he still doesn't smile, but he suddenly had that old glow that he use to have. He rarely talks to his dad now and he just walks out of the room when he sees him. His brother went home once and the two ended up having a brawl at the dining table. Woohyun's brother almost stabbed woohyun at the face with a cutting knife but its a good thing he hit the table instead.
The Nam family became more broken when Mr. Nam decided to re-marry not long after his first wife's death. Woohyun became furious because the man doesn't seem to mourn over his first wife's death. His brother too didn't seem like he cared. Its like he treated his own mother like she's just a clothing brand that became out of style and so, becomes ignored.
Woohyun didn't attend his dad's wedding. He stayed with me at my house in mokpo. Although he sleeps all the time there, he said he actually enjoyed himself and wants to go back soon.
Mr. Nam's new wife isn't nice to woohyun. She physically assaults woohyun for no reason. And most of all, he told me that she had 'fantasies' of him. He said he caught her his name once while doing something inappropriate and it sent shivers down his spine. He never stayed close to that woman whenever she's around. He said he only ends up having claw marks on his face when he does.
"I'm tired of all this .. Bull." He said while lying face down with his stomach at my living room. I slapped his mouth. "Ow!" He yelped. "What was that for?!"
"Don't cuss hyunnie." I said.
"Fine .. I'm sorry."
"Good."
"But seriously, i'm tired of all this." He said "Nothing seems to be good at that house anymore. Ever since mom died, everything just seemed to fall apart even more. But .. I'm still glad though .. Because i have someone to run to when i'm in trouble. And thats you Dr. Kang .."
I turned around from my swivel chair and found him sitting crossed legged while smiling.
"And i'm thankful for that."
-------------------------
Yoyoyo i'm back~~
And if i may say, my writing's gotten better ; u ;
Hope you like this one~~
Subscribe subscribe
Upvote upvote
Comment comment
Comments