Hazardous Concentration Chapter 23

As it neared the afternoon, the coughing grew worse. I was wearing a mask, so there was no chance of saliva getting on the food, but since this was a place where food was prepared, I couldn’t help but be concerned.

When I woke up early this morning, my throat felt swollen, and I felt chilly and cold. It was caused by sleeping with an ice pack because I felt hot.

Eunseong, who was putting the washed dishes into the sterilizer, asked as if worried.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“I’m, fine.”

It was raining outside, but Eunhoo’s throat was as parched as if there were a drought, and his voice was cracking harshly. I was drinking lukewarm water frequently, but it didn’t last long.

“Eek! Hyung, are you really okay? Your voice has completely sunk. Did you take, did you take your medicine?”

“I, did.”

I had already felt that my condition wasn’t great, so I took the medicine immediately after eating lunch. But whether the medicine wasn’t working, there was no sign of improvement. If anything, my throat might have swollen even more in the meantime, making it painful to even swallow saliva.

“Ugh!”

Eunhoo raised his arm and rubbed his forehead. Was it just my imagination? My forehead had been burning since earlier. Was it because it was summer? But I didn’t feel hot. On top of that, my vision felt strangely blurry. I shook my head several times, trying to pull myself together.

Of all things, we were fully booked today. The kitchen went through a war, making food during the entire business hours. I was lucky that the main dish didn’t require much work today. However, it was only relatively less, and due to the nature of Korean table d’hote, there were many basic side dishes, so I had no choice but to run around busily in the afternoon as well. I was completely exhausted and about to eat a late lunch when I got a call from my aunt.

“Aunt?”

She was an aunt whom I had hated beyond feeling hurt, but once the call connected, a sense of relief rushed over me. Frightened by her sharp shouting that poured out over the phone as soon as I called out to her in my half-welcome state, I froze.

—What on earth do you want from me?

Eunhoo couldn’t hide his absurdity.

“Aunt?”

—You’re really clingy. You contact me whenever you think it’s been long enough; what on earth are you doing?

I had expected that she wouldn’t be pleased, but I didn’t expect such a sharp reaction.

Eunhoo explained step by step.

“I’m sorry for calling so suddenly. I didn’t want to do it either, but Mom’s condition is so bad.”

—That’s it! Mom being sick isn’t just a one or two-day thing, so what do you want me to do about it?

Even though I explained the situation, my aunt yelled without paying any heed. Eunhoo continued speaking, pressing down on the rising emotions.

“…Mom, due to hospital bills, she is receiving treatment at a different hospital, not the one she used to go to. But since it’s not proper treatment….”

—So? Well, you want me to help?

“…I’m sorry. I know it’s shameful and shameless to ask you for a favor like this, but could you send me just 300,000 won? I’ll pay you back later.”

It was the amount for the caregiving fees I owed. Eunhoo bit his lips until they turned white. Strength also gripped the hand holding the cell phone tightly.

“Aunt….”

—Hey.

“…Yes.”

Was it really not going to work? Eunhoo, who was muttering listlessly, opened his eyes wide at the following words.

—Is your mom going to die because of the doctor?

Following that, I gasped. What did I just hear?

“What did you just say….”

—That’s not it. Even if that were the case, it’s not like I told her to be sick, so what do you want me to do!

“Aunt!”

—How are both of you, mother and son, so shameless. 300,000 won? Sure, it’s not like I can’t lend you that much. But can you guarantee that this will be the end of it? It’s 300,000 won now, but later it will increase to millions, tens of millions.

‘No. Aunt, I won’t let that happen.’

—How can you guarantee someone’s life? Look at your house. You were so showy when you had a lot of money, but now you’re groveling because you don’t have 300,000 won.’

Eunhoo’s lips trembled.

“Aunt, if you talk like that, you’ll be punished by heaven.”

A scoff sounded over the phone.

—Look at this kid talk? Punished by heaven? Did you just say punished by heaven?

“Then do you think what you said is normal? How can a person be like that? I’m a relative by marriage, but you are Mom’s own sister. Yet how can you say such things? And you keep saying we were showy, but when did we ever do that? You received help from us for everything from where you lived to living expenses when you and uncle were struggling, so is it even appropriate to say that?”

—Ha? Making a fuss after helping with a few pennies. Helped by your brother-in-law and sister? Yeah, I did. But frankly, did I ask for that? You two did it because you liked to be meddlesome, so why treat us like an insurance policy. Anyway, that’s why I should have listened to my brother and sister-in-law. At first, when I saw you moving away and even changing your contact information, I thought it was a bit too much, but it wasn’t. It means you did it knowing you would cling like this.

My head, which was already hot, became even hotter. Eunhoo couldn’t control the rushing anger. He didn’t know what words would come out if he stayed any longer.

“I think I made a mistake. You don’t have to worry because I won’t ever call again.”

Click. Eunhoo, who closed the folder and ended the call, gasped. Then he opened the folder again and found his aunt’s number in the contact list.

I shuddered. At first, I only hated her and disliked her because of the betrayal, but as time passed and I thought about it carefully, I understood her desire not to be involved with us. However, this time it was different. Beyond the purpose of cutting ties, I felt malice.

“Damn it.”

Was she this kind of person? She is such a mean and terrible human being, did I not know that all this time? Tears welled up.

After completely deleting his aunt’s number from the contact list, Eunhoo closed his eyes tightly. Whether it was because of anger or a cold, his forehead was burning even more.

By the time the break time ended and the dinner business started in earnest, Eunhoo’s condition had worsened. He had taken medicine, and because Eunseong was worried, he had bought and drunk ssanghwatang (korean tea) as well, but it was of no use. Every time he opened his mouth, hot breaths poured out.

I tried to crouch and take a rest several times, but it was useless. Every time I stood up, my head spun.

I wanted to rest if I could, but then I would have to take separate unpaid leave, so I couldn’t do that. Every penny was precious. Also, I had gotten on the bad side of the boss and the manager with my serving work a while ago, so I didn’t want to stand out for no reason.

I forced myself to endure it, saying just a little bit more, just a few more hours, but eventually, things blew up.

The day he promised to pay back the principal he borrowed from HW Capital was just around the corner. Having never even touched the money, it was unfair enough to have become a debtor, and even the date was not a matter agreed upon with me. The father who made things like this disappeared irresponsibly, and Eunhoo had no choice but to endure the entire situation alone.

In his early 20s, when he was about to bloom most brilliantly, Eunhoo worked until his body broke. Now in his mid-20s, in a pitch-black tunnel where there was no end in sight, Eunhoo had to face the misfortune that was beating his whole body. And today, that misfortune made Eunhoo exhausted beyond measure.

“Hello, pretty thing! It’s been a while, right?”

The slanted eyes, as well as the scar running from the center of his cheek to the corner of his mouth, made the man look even more ferocious. The man, who didn’t have much of a difference in height from me but had quite a bit of volume sideways, was dressed all in black as if he had come to a funeral parlor.

The man smirked while biting his cigarette, looking at Eunhoo. Then the scar on his cheek became even more prominent.

“Are you crazy? Where do you think you’re coming to find me?”

Eunhoo felt like he would faint at the unbelievable reality. I kept getting contact on my phone from earlier, so I checked it and a familiar number was on it. It was the number of Eunhoo’s collection agent. Even if I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t, so I reluctantly answered, and the terrifying words that he was in front of the restaurant came out.

“First of all, don’t do that here, let’s talk somewhere else.”

If a dark, fierce-looking man was standing in front of the restaurant, it would be a nuisance to customers, and the staff would also be afraid.