Lady Spring

The smile on the doctor’s face disappeared. He looked uncomfortable as he rubbed his forehead. The doctor blinked a few times before gesturing for Saeun.

“It’s this way. Umm, just in case it’s someone you know, you should prepare yourself.”

“Pardon?

The doctor didn’t take her to a patient room. Instead, he took her downstairs to another room where a body was on the bed with the white cover on top. The body underneath wasn’t moving at all. The doctor explained, 

“He wasn’t breathing or had a pulse by the time he arrived here. I heard the nightclub owner called the ambulance, but the EMT report stated that he wasn’t breathing when they arrived. He was pronounced dead on the spot. There was nothing we could do here. We believe he died from an acute alcohol poisoning.”

The doctor walked up to the bed and watched Saeun’s face carefully. When she didn’t say anything, he asked,

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Saeun blinked a few times before nodding. Why wouldn’t she be okay? It was probably a complete stranger who was under the cover. She would probably kick herself for wasting the bus fare to get here. Saeun thought she should try to get a cheaper bus to return home. Maybe she could take the night bus, which was probably less expensive. Her parents would probably prefer it if she didn’t come home so early. 

When the doctor removed the cover, she saw the man’s face. It was a bit swollen and blue. It looked like the man was leering at her. 

It was her brother. There was no denying it. For a few minutes, Saeun thought he would wake up. He would probably get up and start making fun of her. He would laugh at her and call her an idiot…

Saeun kept blinking and waiting. But no matter how much time passed, her brother refused to move. Yun Junghoo…. It really didn’t look like he was breathing. The smell of alcohol and vomit numbed her sense of smell. Saeun couldn’t stop staring at the twisted face of her dead brother. 

This was really… Yun Junghoo. It was Yun Junghoo on the bed.

“Umm… is this for real?”

Saeun looked up at the doctor. The doctor must’ve thought she was in shock, so he nodded solemnly and replied, 

“I’m really sorry for your loss.”

“No, that’s not it…”

Well, she was indeed in shock. Saeun couldn’t believe this was really happening. She slowly walked closer to the bed and poked the body. She expected Junghoo to rise suddenly and glare at her, but the body on the bed didn’t move. Yun Junghoo didn’t move at all. This was strange. This didn’t make sense at all.

The doctor asked hesitantly,

“Umm… If you know this man’s name, could you tell me? He’s still marked as John Doe because we couldn’t identify him. His body didn’t have a wallet or a driver’s license.”

“His name is Yun Junghoo.”

Saeun murmured and sat down on the nearby chair. The doctor brought out a pen and began writing down the information on a piece of paper. He asked,

“And what is your relationship to Mr. Yun Junghoo?”

“He’s… my older brother.”

“Umm… your brother?”

The doctor began giving her hurried condolences, but Saeun wasn’t listening. All she could do was stare at the bed. Other people walked by busily, but she didn’t even notice them. She kept thinking that Junghoo was going to get up at any moment. He was going to wake up and make her life a living hell again.

But he didn’t

He never did.

***

“I had no idea a person could die so easily. I prayed and prayed that he would die, but I never really thought it would happen. But here we are. He died just like that.”

The server filled their cups with fresh coffee before leaving. Saeun held the cup with both of her hands. The cafe was rather warm, but she felt very cold inside. Sehyun sighed and replied, 

“Of course it’s easy for someone to die. It can happen so quickly. One day you’re alive, and the next day, you’re gone.”

Saeun glanced at him and asked,

“Have you ever lost anyone close?”

“My parents.”

“Were you close to them?”

Sehyun thought for a moment before shrugging. He replied, 

“We had a normal relationship between a teenager and his parents. The kind that you end up regretting after you lose it.”

“Well, I have no regrets. Even now, I am so glad that he’s gone. I just wish he died years ago. My life would’ve been so much better.”

Saeun placed her cup on the table and looked straight at Sehyun. When he only nodded without saying anything, Saeun felt like she needed to explain herself. She continued hurriedly, 

“I’m not wrong in feeling this way. I really had a terrible life. That man sucked the life out of me and there was nothing I could do about it. I had nothing and no one because of my brother. My parents were always on my brother’s side and they told me to give him everything. They said he needed to become successful for our whole family to make it. I thought so many times to just run away or even kill myself. So why should I feel bad for him? Do you think I should feel sorry for him? Should I regret praying for his death? Never! I regret nothing!”