Hazardous Concentration Chapter 13

Eunhoo was startled and terrified by a horror on a different level, and as he screamed, they cackled amongst themselves. Only then did he realize it was a prank, but because he was hiding something, his heart sank.

From that day on, Eunhoo dreamt that they found out the secret of his body, raped him, and sold him off to a place like an adult entertainment establishment.

Scritch. Scratch.

The black entity, having approached while scraping the floor with long fingernails, finally grabbed Eunhoo’s ankle.

Aaaaaaah!

He tried to shake off the grabbed ankle while screaming, but it was no use. The corners of the black entity’s mouth ripped open all the way to its ears.

Eunhoo had no choice but to stare into that empty mouth, unable to even close his eyes.

“Huck!”

Eunhoo’s body, having woken up from his sleep while letting out a stifled groan, was drenched in sweat. For a brief moment, he rolled his eyes here and there, unable to distinguish reality from the dream, and only after realizing it was reality did he bolt upright.

He opened the folder of the mobile phone placed at his head to check the time.

「AM 5:23.」

It felt like quite a long time had passed, but only about two hours had gone by since he fell asleep. Eunhoo brought the water bottle he had left at his bedside to his mouth.

“Haa. Haa.”

Perhaps because the water went down, he felt a bit better than a moment ago. Even so, Eunhoo could not easily get up and move. His mood was at its absolute worst, perhaps because he had the nightmare he least wanted to have.

“Ugh!”

He felt a pain as if a blunt awl was digging into his brain. For a long while, Eunhoo groaned and swallowed his whimpers.

As he swept his face with both hands, moisture, whether it was sweat or tears, came off on them. Eunhoo distorted his face while looking at his trembling hands. If he looked in a mirror, he would probably look like a monster. He barely inhaled. When he wiped his wet eyes with his still-trembling hands and lifted his head, the blue light of dawn began to seep through the small window. Then, the scenery inside the room began to reveal itself little by little.

There was almost nothing in the room; it was desolate. Around the bedding, a small table, a coat hanger, and a medium-sized bag were all there was. Eunhoo hadn’t even unpacked his luggage yet. In fact, there wasn’t much to unpack. A few pieces of clothing were all he had.

Was it about 4 pyeong including the bathroom? It was packed once he laid out his bedding, but compared to a goshiwon, it was hotel-level. Originally, he had lived with his mother in a basement single room. However, he moved when his mother was admitted to a nursing hospital. It was because the monthly rent was too expensive and burdensome. The place he looked into was a goshiwon. To Eunhoo, money was more important than quality of life.

The supply of the cheapest places that weren’t too far from [Songrim] was limited. Then, he found one place that had a reasonable distance and a cheap price. Of course, as it was cheap, he couldn’t say the exterior or the interior was good. The space was narrow like a tiny room, and the heating and cooling didn’t seem to work properly. Above all, the most inconvenient thing was that he had to use the communal bathroom outside when he had to relieve himself. However, Eunhoo was not in a position to complain about inconvenience.

Since his mother was ill, Eunhoo had to be the only one engaging in economic activities. Naturally, money was saved slowly.

Although he had managed to get a lump sum in his hands by receiving the deposit he had handed over when signing the contract for the basement room, it wasn’t a large amount.

Just when he was worried about what to do in the future, the owner of [Songrim] called Eunhoo. He said he heard it from the manager. He asked if he would like to stay at the shop if it was okay, seeing as his circumstances were pitiful. With him on the verge of being thrown out onto the street, there was no reason to refuse.

“Whew.”

Letting out a long sigh, he swept his face again with his palms. Sweat soaked into them. After his house went under, there were overwhelmingly more days when his condition was bad than days when it was good, but yesterday was truly the worst.

“I shouldn’t be like this in front of Mother, either.”

Originally, he had visited the hospital every single day without fail after work, but yesterday he couldn’t go because he was looking into part-time job advertisements. Also, his complexion was not good, and he had a desire to hide that. His mother already thought he was having a hard time because of her. He wanted to show her only a good face, no matter what.

Thinking of his mother, Eunhoo’s expression sank even darker.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t received quality treatment. His mother had developed complications. Her anemia was so severe that she struggled even to stand up. The doctor said that if things continued this way, surgery would be inevitable. Eunhoo knew that too, but money still held him back. And now, even the caregiver was asking for a raise in the caregiving fee, so his head felt like it was going to split.

The phrase “misfortunes never come singly” came to mind.

Eunhoo held his phone quietly in his hand and then, as if determined, searched through his contact list. Even then, there were fewer than ten in total. Eunhoo looked at one of the call records in the middle.

「Aunt」

She was a person who was once as close as his mother. With her number in front of him, Eunhoo hesitated for a long time whether he should press it or not.

The part Eunhoo despaired over the most after his house went under was the betrayal of his blood relatives.

‘Are you crazy? What are we supposed to do if loan sharks come looking for the shop? Do you intend to drag all of us into the mud, following your sister’s family?’

For a week, Eunhoo and his mother had stayed in jjimjilbangs (saunas) for fear that the loan sharks would come looking for them again. Eunhoo was fine, but such a life was even more of a burden for his sick mother. So, he threw away his shame and sought out his uncle, but what he heard was a cold, hard rejection. Whenever they met, he used to say that they were one family and should help each other and live well when times were tough. But now, it was absurd for him to separate them as his sister’s family.

‘Aren’t you being too much?’

‘The one being too much is your mother. Even if you are siblings, each of you has your own family after marriage, so you should keep etiquette. I wish you would refrain from just coming over like this without thinking.’

It was already sorrowful enough to be kicked out before even stepping foot in the shop, but the words pouring out from his aunt and uncle were even more terrible.

‘Eunhoo, you are the same. You are twenty, an adult now, so you should stop your mother if she acts without discretion. What are you doing together?’

‘Uncle!’

‘These days, my shop isn’t doing well, and above all, it’s too burdensome to provide for Seowon’s tuition and living expenses. You know, right? The cost of living in the U.S. is enormous.’

In other words, they waved their hands, saying they didn’t have the spare capacity to help them. Eunhoo was struck dumb. Because of whom was that study abroad possible until now?

‘That was all possible because my father covered the costs. Is that all? When you were restructured at the company, my father supported all of your living expenses for a whole two years. Even if not everything, isn’t it human decency to repay even a quarter of that?’

When Eunhoo fired back, his uncle glared at him with a face he was seeing for the first time.

‘Eunhoo, now that I see, you are a very scary child. Were you thinking of getting it back while remembering everything one by one? Yes, I know very well that brother-in-law gave a lot to us. He helped us get the shop, and I am truly grateful. That’s why we have done as much as we could, haven’t we? When something happened at your house, we went and helped!’

He was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what they had helped with. All they did was come, eat, and rest.

‘Weren’t we family? You said we should live helping each other among blood relatives.’

‘We want to help, too. But it’s not manageable. Do you know how scary private loans are? If you get entangled wrong, even your in-laws and distant relatives will just be ruined. Is that really what you want? To die together?’

‘That’s not what I mean. I just need you to let us stay for a little while until I earn some money….’

‘Your cousin just entered college. But if we help you? Should I tell him to quit school and return to Korea because I have no ability to support him? Would that make your heart feel at ease? Joo Eunhoo, were you such a selfish child?’

‘That’s what I’m saying. Why on earth did your father start things when he didn’t even have the ability? And then he ran away; he’s so pathetic, so pathetic.’

Tsk tsk, they clicked their tongues and insulted his father. He realized that this was what it meant to have one’s affection wither away. His mother, too, seemed to have been properly shocked by the attitude of her own blood relative, and she sat down on the spot.

After that, he made up his mind never to associate with them again, even if it meant dying on the street. However, his heart wavered.

Still, they are her sister and sister-in-law; wouldn’t they help? At that moment, his mother’s entreaty came to Eunhoo’s mind.