Mmph! Mmph!
Manager Park peeled the duct tape off my mouth. He looked down with indifferent eyes at me, gasping desperately for breath.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Y-you already took everything, s-so why are you doing this?”
The big hand of Myeon District, Cheon Tae-san. After the grandmother who raised me passed away, he appeared before me as my maternal grandfather, whose existence I hadn't even known about. After that, I lived the life my grandfather wanted.
But after my grandfather passed away, my two greedy maternal uncles—that is, my mother's older brothers—took everything. In collaboration with the Blue Wind Association, they took all that was mine.
“Haha, I am merely doing as I'm told. What would a servant like me know?”
“M-Manager Park. No, Seong-gi. Spare me.”
“My apologies. But I will send you off without pain.”
Manager Park twisted his lips, ignoring my voice trembling with regret and fear. He placed a rock on the accelerator and then closed the door.
“Farewell.”
Following the slope, the car carrying me began to move slowly.
“No! Hey! Manager Park!”
My body tied up in the car, I called out desperately for Manager Park. But my voice didn't reach anywhere in the deserted reservoir. Soon, the car began to pick up speed.
The darkness of the reservoir swallowed my scream.
Splash.
Water gushed into the car like mad. My vision quickly filled with water, and it began to enter my nose and mouth. In my fading consciousness, only the face of the grandmother I lived with as a child came to mind.
‘Grandma… I'll be there soon, wait for me.’
That was my last memory.
“Ugh, what the?”
I opened my eyes to a strong impact I suddenly felt from behind. When I turned my head, a familiar punk was grinning, holding two fingers to his lips.
“Hey! Mu-hyeok, wanna smoke?”
I wondered what this was. I hurriedly looked around. A familiar space surrounded by cement walls.
Loud chatter and boys in school uniforms.
‘Dongseong Technical High?’
For a moment, my mind started racing.
‘What is this? I'm sure I fell into the reservoir with the car?’
“Hey! Mu-hyeok, you not coming?”
“Ah, sorry, I'm still not fully awake. You go on ahead.”
“What? Why the hell are you speaking in a Seoul accent like a jerk? Weird bastard.”
The guy grumbled and left the classroom by himself. I stared blankly at his retreating back. My sense of reality slowly returned.
On the book lying like a pillow on the desk, ‘First-Year Korean Language’ was written. I looked down at the uniform I was wearing and saw a white name tag.
‘Don't tell me… A first-year at Dongseong Technical High? Wait, was that in 1990? What's today's date?’
I tapped the back of the boy in front of me. The boy turned around, startled.
“What's the date today?”
“Huh?”
“Today's date.”
“Ah… one moment. It's, uh, September 21st.”
When I nodded, the boy looked at me with an anxious expression before turning back around. It seems like the second semester just started not too long ago.
‘No, wait a minute. September 21st?’
I shot up from my seat.
“Grandma!”
September 21st.
The day the grandmother who raised me died from a sudden heart attack. I ran out of the school like a madman and arrived at the shabby single room where Grandma and I lived. When I opened the door, I saw Grandma collapsed on the floor.
“Grandma!”
I dropped to my knees and shook her. But Grandma showed no reaction at all.
“Is anyone there? Help me!”
A shabby single room in a hillside neighborhood. As a child, I really hated this hovel that had no soundproofing at all. But now, I was thankful it wasn't soundproof.
I screamed at the top of my lungs while performing CPR. Just then, a man opened the door and came in.
“Why's it so noisy! What's going on?”
“Mister, 119! Please, 119!”
“What? Mu-hyeok, what's wrong?”
“Please…”
The man, seeing the situation, was shocked and ran outside. With a desperate heart, I continued the CPR.
“Grandma, please… Grandma… don't die. If I lose you again like this… I can't. Grandma! Grandma!”
How much time had passed?
“Gasp! Keoheok, cough…”
Grandma let out a rough breath. I quickly brought my finger to her nose. It was faint, but I could definitely feel her breathing.
“Grandma…. Don't die, please.”
I held both of her hands tightly and waited. About 15 minutes passed. The man who had run out returned with the emergency responders.
I staggered back and watched the paramedics check on Grandma's condition.
“Mu-hyeok, what is all this?”
“Mister, thank you. I came home and found my grandmother collapsed…”
“And now?”
“I confirmed she's breathing, at least…”
“Guardian?”
Hearing the paramedic call, I quickly approached.
“Did the guardian perform CPR?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to you, your grandmother survived. We'll take her to the hospital now.”
“Thank you, thank you…”
We rode in the ambulance for about 10 minutes and arrived at Dongseong University Hospital. Seeing the doctors crowd around Grandma, I finally felt the strength drain from my body. Just then, a nurse approached me.
“Guardian? Please go to the administration office and register.”
“Pardon?”
Seeing that I didn't seem to understand, the nurse explained again.
“You need to go to the administration office to register and pay.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Please register quickly.”
The nurse said that and immediately went back to her patients. I understood what she said, but I just stood there, feeling helpless.
‘I don't have any money.’
My terribly poor childhood. I really hated being poor. I hated my grandmother, and I hated our house.
So I hung out with my friends and only caused trouble. Every time, my grandmother would come to the police station and the school, begging and pleading until her hands and feet were sore. I hated that grandmother.
No, I detested her. It was only after she passed away so suddenly that I realized. That I truly, truly loved my grandmother.
And just how great her unconditional love for me was… I only learned that after I entered the real world. I couldn't just stand there, so I first went to the administration office to register.
“You're a welfare beneficiary. The bill is just 10,400 won.”
“…I came in such a hurry, I didn't bring anything with me. Could I possibly borrow a few coins?”
“Ah…”
Looking at me with pity, she gave me a few coins. In front of the public phone booth outside the hospital, I wondered who to call.
‘Who can I ask?’
No one came to mind. After some thought, I looked through a phone book and called the teacher's office at Dongseong Technical High. —Dongseong Technical High, Park Seok-min speaking.
“Teacher, it's Mu-hyeok.” —What?
Mu-hyeok?
“Yes, teacher.” —Where are you?
I heard you suddenly disappeared? I explained to him the circumstances that brought me to the hospital. —Is that so? Is your grandmother alright?
“Yes, thanks to you. Could you please tell Myeong-soo to bring some money to the hospital? I rushed here without bringing anything…” —Myeong-soo?
Alright.
How much do you need?
“About 20,000 won? Myeong-soo probably has some money. If by any chance he says he doesn't, please lend it to him, teacher. I'm begging you.” —Hah~ Alright.
I'll send him right over. I ended the call and sat on a bench. Worried about my grandmother, I had rushed here without any time to process what had happened to me.
I calmly tried to sort out the situation.
‘I was definitely dead… Manager Park plunged me into the reservoir with the car. I've returned to 1990? Is that even possible?’
The Butterfly’s Dream. An unknowable confusion wrapped around me, unsure if this was reality or a dream. But the distinct memories of 30 years remained in my head.
They were telling me that this situation was absolutely not a dream.
“Hey! Mu-hyeok!”
A familiar voice brought me back to reality. Myeong-soo, who had run over shouting, asked while gasping for breath.
“Haa. What happened?”
“Ah… well…”
After hearing the situation, Myeong-soo handed me 20,000 won.
“Phew… Is your grandmother safe?”
“Yeah, they say she's safe for now.”
“Okay, go inside and pay first. I'll wait.”
I went back to the administration office and paid.
“Thank you.”
After thanking the administration office employee and returning the coins I'd borrowed, I went outside. Myeong-soo was sitting on the bench, waiting for me.
“Did you pay?”
“Yeah.”
“Let's go to the emergency room. I want to see your grandmother before I go.”
“Okay.”
Myeong-soo and I entered the emergency room, and Grandma was lying on a bed to one side. I stood there, silently holding her hand. From behind, Myeong-soo gently held my shoulder.
A moment later, a doctor pushed aside the curtain and entered.
“Student.”
“Yes.”
“Your grandmother seems to be alright. She'll probably wake up soon.”
At those words, my strength gave out and I almost collapsed.
“Still, she needs to be admitted to the hospital for a proper examination. Since she's a welfare beneficiary, the cost won't be too high. But with hospitalization and tests, it will still cost a few hundred thousand won, so prepare for that in advance. For now, her life is not in danger.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
“What did I do? You did it all, student.”
Watching the doctor's back as he left with a smile, I bowed 90 degrees. Myeong-soo, who had been standing silently, suddenly asked.
“Mu-hyeok.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have money?”
“…Money?”
“You'll need a lot of money for the hospitalization and tests.”
“I'll have to figure something out.”
“I'll lend you some.”
I shook my head without a word.
“It's fine. I'll handle it myself.”
“Hey! Mu-hyeok. Aren't we friends? I'll explain the situation to my dad and lend you the money. Wait here.”
“I said it's fine.”
As I talked with Myeong-soo, the dialect I had forgotten how to speak started coming out of my mouth without me realizing. Myeong-soo let out a small laugh.
“There he is. That's the Mu-hyeok I know. Shit, I thought some other bastard had come and was imitating you. Anyway, you can just pay me back. Wait.”
I couldn't stop Myeong-soo as he left the emergency room after saying only that. Because it was true that I had no money. And since this was a time when I didn't even know I had a maternal grandfather, I couldn't just call him.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly hearing a groan, I turned to see Grandma faintly furrow her brow and then slowly open her eyes. I immediately opened the curtain and yelled.
“Doctor! My grandmother's awake!”
Watching the doctor and nurses rush over, I squeezed my grandmother's hand again.
“Grandma…”
The doctor opened her eyes to check her pupils and kept talking to her.
“Ma'am! Can you hear me?”
The groaning grandmother moved her lips.
“Where is this…”
“It's the hospital. Do you know where you are?”
“Grandma!”
At the sound of my voice, Grandma slowly turned her head to the side.
“Mu-hyeok…. My child.”
“Grandma, do you recognize me?”
“…Of course, how could I not recognize my child?”
“Grandma…”
Tears flowed from Grandma's eyes. Seeing them, my own eyes had also become moist.
“Ma'am. Your grandson saved you.”
“What?”
“You collapsed from a heart attack, but your grandson saved you with CPR. You need to be admitted for a while to run some tests and rest.”
“No…”
At the doctor's words, Grandma weakly shook her head. I held her hand tightly and said.
“Grandma! You have to be admitted.”
“But…”
“If it's because of money, I'll take care of it. I'm begging you.”
“Mu-hyeok…”
My heart felt heavy, and I squeezed her hand. She stroked the back of my hand with her other hand.
“Hahaha. You have a very good grandson. For now, talk with him, and we'll move you to a room soon. It's an 8-person ward. Since you're a welfare beneficiary, the 8-person ward is almost free, but wards with 6 beds or fewer are expensive. Is the 8-person ward okay with you?”
“Yes.”
The doctor explained the admission and testing procedures for a while, but the words didn't really register. After the doctor and nurse left, Grandma and I met each other's eyes without a word.
“Mu-hyeok.”
“Yeah? What is it, Grandma?”
“What about school? Did you eat?”
“Grandma! Is this really the time to be worried about me?”
“Still, you have to eat.”
“I ate, don't worry. I'm not a kid anymore. I can eat on my own. Don't worry about me, worry about yourself.”
“…”
Just then, Myeong-soo opened the curtain and came in.
“Oh? Grandma, you're awake?”
“Is that you, Myeong-soo? What about school?”
“Hahaha. Grandma, the first thing you ask about is school. Are you okay?”
“You shouldn't be skipping school… What brings you all the way here?”
I waved my hand to stop Grandma from trying to sit up.
“Don't worry about it. I called Myeong-soo. I rushed you to the hospital and didn't have any money or anything on me. So I borrowed some from Myeong-soo.”
“Oh my, Myeong-soo, I'm so sorry, what do I do?”
“Grandma, don't worry. I'll stick close to Mu-hyeok, we'll eat together and go to school together, so please just focus on getting better quickly.”
Every single word Myeong-soo said was incredibly heartening. When I stared at him silently, Myeong-soo cleared his throat and turned his head away.
“Mu-hyeok, let's step outside for a bit.”
“Grandma, I'm going to see Myeong-soo off and I'll be right back.”
“Alright, alright.”
We sat side-by-side on a bench outside the hospital.
“I talked to my dad. I'll lend you 500,000 won. Use it for your grandmother's hospital bills and get her some restorative medicine.”
I was so grateful and sorry that I couldn't speak. Seeing my expression, Myeong-soo smacked my back for no reason.
“Shit. Mu-hyeok! Are you ashamed to borrow money from me? Are you not going to pay me back?”
“No…”
“Hey! If it wasn't for you, I would've been killed by those thugs in middle school. Don't you remember? Because of you, no one messed with me. You know I even came to this technical high school because of you, right? No need to make that face.”
“…”
“Alright. I'll bring the money tomorrow. Use it or throw it away, do whatever you want. I'm leaving. See you tomorrow.”
I stared for a long time at Myeong-soo's back as he left the hospital after saying his piece. Lee Myeong-soo, one of my closest friends.
He grew up well-off thanks to his father who ran a large bar in Nampo District, the central district of Busan, but due to his introverted personality, he was extorted for money every day by thugs after starting middle school. Unable to watch any longer, I fought with them, and Myeong-soo and I became friends after that.
But…
After my grandmother died, I had turned my back on him.