Healer

“Whew…”

After he left the room, Cocaine let out a sigh. He became more dizzy, not knowing why, whether it was because he was pouring his energy into the song or because of the humiliation that Cha Myunghwan gave him. As he sang, he questioned himself. Did he really want to touch the body and mind of the patient? He asked whether his attitude as a healer, whom he had never believed in, was genuine.

Of course, he answered yes, but at some point, he had a perception of himself singing.

“Don’t feel too bad. You said that the attitude of the listener is also important right?”

Hashish said as they walked out of the villa to the garage. Cocaine smiled.

“Still, it doesn’t mean that there is no healing effect. At first, people doubted me and rejected me, but once I started healing, there’s a noticeable effect…”

“Does it cause addiction symptoms?”

Hashish intercepted the words.

“Cha Myunghwan must have admired your songs on the inside too although he pretended not to. He’s afraid he’s been deceived by another guy, so he probably doesn’t like you for now. As in the past, and today, your song was flawless.”

“…”

Cha Myunghwan threw insulting glances and remarks throughout. Cocaine had seen a lot of people who were wary because they didn’t believe in healers, but there was also curiosity at the bottom of the boundaries. However, Cha Myunghwan did not show even the slightest bit of curiosity. After he sang with all his heart, the only emotion left was a sense of filth. Unsettling feelings swelled up at some point in the flexible feelings without calluses.

“How did Yaba survive?”

Did Yaba lose his mind by being treated like that? Was he treated like that because he was out of his mind?

“He’s a lunatic.”

Hashish replied flatly. Cocaine gave him a faint smile. Just like when they were at that high-end restaurant, Hashish only gave a cold atmosphere. But he still comforted him.

Cocaine got along well with singers, but he didn’t reveal his feelings. Fortunately, the only person he opened his heart to was Hashish. Of course, Hashish didn’t dig any more. He was a good person. That was why he wanted to be friends forever.

Cocaine elbowed Hashish’s arm. He did not loosen his stiff expression. Tap, tap, after a few jabs, he smirked. Then he wrapped his arm around Cocaine’s neck and dragged him away.

“It’s really frustrating to death!”

“Ah, it hurts!”

Cocaine was dragged around the neck by Hashish. He had seen a case similar to Cha Myunghwan before. The patient also had cancer cells spread all over his body, but only his eyes were open. He said he wanted to give up because he was a hopeless person, but his family desperately wanted him, so he did the treatment.

Healer’s songs had a different energy from normal people. If the explosive power of the force was not controlled, the patient who heard it may pass out for several days or several days.

So, even if it’s the same song, it’s divided into one for appreciation and one for therapy, depending on the vocalization method and the feelings the healer carries. Moreover, it was impossible for a person with cancer cells to spread all over his body to even sit properly. In the end, his song could not keep up with the fertility of cancer cells, and the person died a few days later.

Cocaine laughed. He looked up at the third floor of the villa where Cha Myunghwan was located.

But why was Cha Myunghwan able to control his body like that? He sat still while he sang four songs, and his eyes were so lively that it was hard to believe that he was about to die. And the improved symptoms that Cha Myunghwan said. Was it really because he was recuperating in a place like this?

Cha Myunghwan aside, what about Cha Yiseok? In the past, he reacted visibly to his songs. Songs weren’t just for listening. They’re to be heard with the skin, eyes, and tongue. But they were eyes that did not feel any stimulation. As if a powerful membrane surrounded them and blocked the passage to the unconscious…

***

Yaba spread out on the bed and rubbed his eyes slowly. The sun poured down and reflected off the desk and the floor of the room. He wanted to cover the disgusting sunlight with blinds, but his body stuck to the bed refused to even wriggle.

Cocaine went on a business trip to the villa earlier. By now, Cha Myunghwan would have forgotten the feeling of betrayal and fell into the beautiful tone of Cocaine. He would have an appearance of being intoxicated. Because there were people who didn’t hear Cocaine sing, but nobody heard it only once… Maybe Cha Yiseok was also in that room. He put off his work and ran to that far place and sat down on that chair, with the same eyes as Cha Myunghwan… What they were upset about that day must have been a temporary miracle caused by the poison.

Yaba laid down on his back and opened and closed the brown case repeatedly. The two loose pills rolled around in the narrow space. The soft clatter sounded like the second hand of a clock.

The truth depended on whose position you were in. That’s what that person said. Cha Yiseok constantly took care of him in that high-end restaurant, and his self-inflicted wounds did not put the first-aid kit to shame. It was like receiving an unexpected gift on a crumbly Christmas day.

Why was it that things that were neither seen nor heard at the time can only be seen properly when time has passed? Whether it was a Cocaine-conscious jealousy-inducing operation, for that moment, it was important that Cocaine suffered. He remembered the look of Cocaine who had chewed his tongue. Yaba chuckled as he buried his nose in the pillow. It was sometimes pitiful for him to be preoccupied with the misery of Cocaine more than his own happiness.

“The food is ready. Come out.”

Morphine showed a round face through the crack in the door. When he went out to the living room, the singers were sitting around a table and eating lunch. Morphine grunted as he sat down.

“I’m tired of ordering food. Home-cooked meals are the best, but because of someone, you have to eat instant food or order all the time…”

Yaba looked up and looked at Morphine. Morphine rolled his big eyes and shoved his nose into his bowl of rice.

“S- So, don’t steal knives in the future. I- I’m worried, so why are you looking at me like that?”

Morphine corrected his words and changed his expression.

“By the way, you lunatic. Tell me what’s going on with Executive Director Cha. Why did Executive Director Cha come here and pick you up and carry you? Huh? Not only the other kids, but I almost died of curiosity.”

“It’s a debt relationship.”

“What? Tell me more!”

Morphine heated up. He was even more annoying to deal with. Yaba picked up a spoon and checked today’s menu. It was dried pollack soup in a single serving earthen pot. Foods that did not have a visible inside, such as kimchi stew or soybean paste stew, were disgusting. They may have spit in them, and may have hair, nails, or even chopped cockroaches. After rummaging through the soup and making sure it was safe, he poured the rice and ate it. Heroin said, putting the spoon on the table.

“Speaking of the bastard boss. These days, he’s been walking around frowning, do you know why? Even when he’s ordering around, he’s absent-minded, and Imsoo’s earhole was injured. Why are you ignoring my words, so annoying…”

Probably because Kang Giha didn’t get contacted by Cha Yiseok. Whatever it was, he would have to compensate for this incident, and he must be rolling his head hard because he doesn’t know how Cha Yiseok will do.

“Doesn’t seeing that bastard scared out of his wits make your appetite come back?”

The eunuchs chuckled at the Morphine’s remarks. Heroin alone was serious.

“It’s not a laughing matter, it seems that the number of thugs hanging around in the store has increased for a while now. Just like standing on the brink of some kind of war, I feel uncomfortable to death.”

Chairman Cha did not know when to attack, so he strengthened his vigilance. This was the real men’s world that eunuchs did not know.

“By the way, the boss said he was looking for kids again?”

“What?”

“Singers. The two tried to run away and ended up at the airport, and not long ago Marijuana was gone, even Methadone… There are already four people gone. Oh, but what about Marijuana? If he escapes safely, he should contact us…”

Meth said gloomily. Morphine’s face, who had been chatting the whole time, darkened little by little.

“Ah fuck! Why are you talking about that to make me lose my appetite!”

Had it not been for Morphine’s push, Marijuana might have given a little more time to escape. And he wouldn’t have to be greeted by a guest on the basement floor of Paradiso. The eunuchs, unaware of it, believed that the Marijuana had escaped unharmed and that he was hiding somewhere. No, maybe they wanted to believe so.

Yaba said while muttering the potatoes in the soup.

“Marijuana is in the basement of Paradiso right now.”

The eunuchs’ eyes seemed to pop out, and the Morphine hardened while holding a spoon. Heroin asked, swallowing his saliva.

“Basement floor… uh, what are you talking about? Marijuana is… why? Why is he there?”

“I guess he was meant to be there.”

“… Well, then Marijuana… he’s in the place full of necrophiliacs?”

“Did you not hear what I just said?”

“Hey, you bastard! Are you taking drugs and talking nonsense again?!”

“No.”

“How do you know that?! Speak properly… !”

“Because Kang Giha told me.”

“No, no way… no. How…”

The eunuchs denied the truth with shocked faces. Morphine threw down the spoon and ran into his room. He flipped the duvet over and wept, struggling to shake off the guilt he felt for exposing his roommate. None of the eunuch singers ate, and they all stayed in their room, and didn’t clean up the table. Yaba scraped up every grain of rice and ate it. He placed the empty bowls one by one in the yellow basket, drank a glass of water, and then entered the room and vomited it all out.

His body drooped as he threw up his guts. He fell back on the bed and rolled his eyes. Yaba put his hand in his underwear and fiddled with his scrotum. The unsung scrotum was like a deflated balloon. He looked at the phone, frozen on the pillow. The black screen was never turned on today. Cha Yiseok cut everything off for the last time that night. He wasn’t terribly shocked. He expected this to happen, and now it’s going as expected. It was not uncomfortable. Imitating Cocaine was also annoying, but it worked out for the better. But compared to his lightened mind, his body ached as if stabbed by a knife.