Lady Spring

It was late in the morning when her parents’ home phone rang. Usually, Saeun didn’t answer any calls nowadays, but for some reason, she felt like answering it. 

“Hello?”

Saeun said blankly. She heard some unfamiliar noises on the phone before a man answered, 

“Hello? Are you a family member of the owner of this phone I’m calling from?”

Her parents’ home phone didn’t have a caller ID. Her face still blank, Saeun shook her head and replied, 

“I don’t know which phone you’re calling from.”

“This phone belongs to a man in his early 30s. His hair is short and he has a square jaw. Umm, I’m calling from the hospital. This gentleman has lost his pulse, and we weren’t able to resuscitate him. He has just been announced dead. He was found in a nightclub named Jay’s in Yeoksamdong city. Would it be possible for you to come here and identify him?”

It took a long time for Saeun to process this information. She vaguely heard the man asking her if she was still there. 

A square-jawed man in his 30s. A man who was found in a nightclub. 

Saeun whispered, 

“Is he dead?”

It seemed that the man didn’t hear her question. He yelled something to someone nearby before asking her,

“He’s in the Severance Hospital. Could you come?”

“Umm… I… I’m in Daejun city right now, so it’s going to take a few hours to get there… But I’ll leave right now. I’ll be there by the end of today.”

The man on the other end seemed relieved to hear her answer. After hanging up, Saeun’s brain finally began to work. What was she supposed to pack? She needed to get dressed first, right? Did she have to wash her hair? She hadn’t taken shower in days, but she was going to a hospital, so it shouldn’t matter, right? Did she need money? No, she was going to check on a dead man, so why would she need money?

But there was no way Junghoo was dead. The world wasn’t a fair place. There was no way she would get this lucky. Saeun suspected that by the time she reached the hospital, Yun Junghoo would be probably perfectly fine. He will probably laugh at her, calling her an idiot as usual. 

She wished he was really dead, but she knew she was never that lucky. 

Saeun packed her bag and left her parents’ home. She had her credit card, so she should be able to take care of the hospital bill if necessary. She needed to bring him home as quickly as possible or else, she knew he would cause even more trouble. 

Saeun took the cab to the bus terminal. When she got on the bus, she suddenly burst into laughter. Why was she doing this? Why was she hurrying to get to Junghoo? She could’ve just called her mother and let her deal with it. She could’ve just stayed home and continued to listen to her music… She had done more than enough for her older brother already, right? 

“I’m such an idiot…” 

Murmuring to herself, Saeun looked out the bus. Suddenly, she wondered if Wooyoung was doing okay. He probably had forgotten about her by now, right? Was he busy preparing for his concert? She wondered when his movie would be released. 

Saeun needed to get away from her family as soon as possible. She was going to get a job, her own place, and live the rest of her life listening to Wooyoung’s voice and watching him on TV. 

When she finally arrived at the hospital in Seoul, she walked up to the reception desk. She asked a nurse,

“Umm, I got a call from this hospital. I was told a man in his 30s was brought here from a nightclub.”

“Are you his family?”

The nurse looked very tired. Saeun shrugged and replied, 

“I’m not sure. The doctor just called from this man’s cell phone and asked me to come.”

“What was the doctor’s name?”

“Doctor Jang Junsu.”

The nurse turned to look around the area. When she spotted a chubby man in a white gown, the nurse waved and called out,

“Doctor Jang, over here!” 

The man with a kind face walked toward them. Suddenly, Saeun wondered if she would live a comfortable life if she married a doctor. She then laughed, remembering how Wooyoung said he was also a professional who made lots of money. 

Everything reminded her of Wooyoung. Saeun suspected it was going to be like this for the rest of her life. One day, she would see the news that Wooyoung was getting married. She knew she would cry for days when she heard such news. Even now, her eyes began to tear up again. 

But right now wasn’t the time to cry. She needed to take care of the problem at hand. When the doctor approached her, Saeun announced, 

“Umm, I think you called me about a guy who was brought here from a nightclub.”

“Ah, yes. I’m the doctor who called you.”