Tensegrity

A voice came close. It sounds familiar, but he couldn’t remember who it was. He turned his head in the direction of the sound. Something that was neither a word nor a moan crept through his lips.

“Are you coming to your senses? If you can hear me, look over here.” A strange woman said.

It was a clear voice like fresh sparkling water. Even though he was in a confused state, Jun-Kyung does what the voice instructs and turns to the side of the voice.

“Mr. Jun-Kyung Ho? Do you know what happened? You are at a hospital.”

“Um…”

“You came in by ambulance due to acute drug addiction. Do you remember what you took?”

There was also a bit of anger mixed in the voice. He doesn’t know why he’s being scolded, but Junkyung nodded slowly, remembering that drug he took.

“Oh Gosh. Why is the young man acting like this? No matter how bad things happen, if you die, it’s a waste of money. Who wants to die? And these days, no matter how much medicine you take, you won’t die. If you eat a truckload, you’re going to die of intestinal perforation. It’s just trash and makes many people suffer, so next time if you want to die, don’t take medicine and run somewhere….”

The woman who had been lecturing was suddenly interrupted.

“Let’s do it later. I don’t think it’s right to say to someone who can’t even open their eyes right now.”

“Well, I’ll have to scold you. Fine.”

Jun-Kyung doesn’t know what the man was doing, but he felt an uncomfortable atmosphere, a very familiar discomfort. It was then that he seemed to know who he was. The embarrassment crept up.

With a body like a paper box soaked in rain, it was overwhelming to accept the delicate emotions. In addition, the drill for road constructions nested inside his skull was in full swing.

“The patient is doing well now. Gastric lavage was avoided, but he will be hospitalized until the drug is off his system. The ER is full of patients waiting. You can’t find a hospital room even if you break a bone while working hard at a construction site to earn daily wage, so I don’t know what to say about a single room for a patient that came for drug overdose. But money is the enemy. Hospitals run only when there is money, and the salary of a competent doctor like me comes out from there. Executive Director Min, please come see me for a moment.”

The woman who spoke out without hesitation went away with Executive Director Min. A small whisper of something continued for a while, and then someone left. The remaining person came closer to Jun-kyung.

“Mr. Junkyung?”

As expected, it was the Executive Director Min. There was some anxiety in his cold voice. It was amazing, is it really Director Min? The incarnation of that saffron? Jun-Kyung wondered if he had taken the wrong medicine and had gone through a different dimension.

“Just in case, I also brought Junkyung’s cell phone.”

He heard a cell phone placed on a small shelf next to the bed. He turned his head towards it. He should at least open his eyes to express his gratitude and sorry. The glued eyelids did not think of falling off. Every time he tried to blink his eyes open, he got strangely nauseous. Even bitter water came up.

Woah.

The body that neither the scolding of a competent doctor nor to give apology to party A can cause it to stand up reflexively arose from the nausea.

“Oh, gosh!”

There’s definitely a bucket of bile. When he got ready to vomit in earnest, nothing came up. Only the stomach, which repeatedly contracted and expanded intensely, was in pain as if stabbed with a knife. A large hand swept down the bent back.

“Here, drink a little water.”

A straw touched his mouth. It was cold and fresh, so I wanted to keep drinking, but the upset stomach couldn’t take more than two sips. He shook his head like a foolish child and expressed his desire to stop drinking.

“I’ll leave it here, so drink whenever  you are thirsty.”

Maybe because he’s hydrated? Or maybe it’s because the tears wet his eyes a bit from when he’s nauseous. Anyway, he was able to open his eyes a little this time.

A giant in a dark suit entered his vision between the calm and luxurious pastel-toned background. As expected, it was Executive Director Min.

Executive Director Min pressed the remote control, and the bed moved on its own. The medical bed equipped with the latest recliner function supported the back and knees comfortably.

He was at a loss of what to say.

I’m sorry. Thank you so much for taking care of me. But how come you are here and not someone else? 

“Executive Director Min Sir.” The helpless tone of a hospitalized patient highlights his remorse more.

“Let’s talk later. Do you remember what I said earlier?”

“Oh.”

“I explained to my mother that you were taking a week off due to personal reasons. Don’t worry, my secretary will go to my parents’house for a while while Junkyung is away. He’s a considerate person, so there won’t be much trouble.”

“Thank you.”

He was going to say he doesn’t have to, but changed his mind. He sporadically remembered what a doctor said earlier. If you want to die, jump instead of taking medicine. He was spared from stomach washing. There were lots of patients in ER, and he was in a one-person ward.

If Jun-kyung was a little nicer human being, he would move to a multi-person room instead of a single-person room, or, since he came to his senses, he would just get the remaining IV drips and rest at home, but he didn’t want to. Even for a few days, he wanted to rest under the protection of the chaebol.

In particular, if a significant cause of this situation is due to Director Min’s younger brother, he’s justified to receive some care.

“I’m going to take care of the situation, so don’t worry about hospital bills and get a good rest.”

Of course, no, not of course. Jun-Kyung didn’t want to bring up Min Hyun-woo here. In addition, there is no surprise that the alcohol he drank yesterday was the fault here.

It was personal. It was also a secret to be carried to the grave.

Min Hyun-woo.

The invisible drill that has been digging through the brain since waking up suddenly stopped. Director Min came here because he heard something from Hyun-woo Min? His blood suddenly stopped.

“Junkyung doesn’t look good, so I’ll call the doctor. Even though she speaks a little harshly, her skills are good.”

Jun-kyung did everything he could to stop Executive Min from pressing the call button. He stole the remote control from Executive Director Min and placed it in the duvet, to be precise, under his thigh.

“Mr. Junkyung?”

Executive Director Min called Jun-kyung as if puzzled.

“It’s okay. I just need to take a break. But how did you…how did you get me to the hospital?”

“Call, you don’t remember?”

“A call?”

“Junkyung, I know it’s a holiday, but I called to see if we could have lunch together if we had time. However, the recipient sounds a little weird.”

He didn’t remember it at all. Did the Managing Director Min call him? Did he even talk on the phone? His eyes automatically turned to his cell phone on the table. After a moment’s hesitation, Executive Director Min smiled with a slightly embarrassed look.

“You asked me for help.”

“What? Who, me?”

“Yes. If my memory is correct.”

That’s right. That’s right. Otherwise, the busy Executive Director Hyun-seung Min wouldn’t be here.

Does the Managing Director Min have any reason to lie? Even though he thought it wouldn’t be there, he wanted to check the phone. As their eyes kept moving towards the phone, Executive Director Min approached the phone and handed over the phone.

“I have it charged.”

“Oh, thank you.”

When he got it, the phone was off. His fingers were weak and kept slipping off the power button. Executive Director Min manually grabbed the phone and showed his kindness by pressing the power button firmly.

A light power notification sounded and the phone screen turned on. Simultaneously with Jun-Kyung pressing the phone, Executive Director Min looked at his watch.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I didn’t tell anyone about the hospitalization because it was a drug accident and I thought it would cause misunderstanding. The only people who know right now are the doctor you saw earlier and myself. Oh, and 911 agent. But other than that, no one knows so don’t worry and get some rest.”

“You must have been busy, but I caused trouble in many ways. Thank you.”

“Not you, it’s karma for calling you with the intention of taking away Jun-kyung’s precious holiday.”

After leaving a joke that wasn’t very funny, Executive Director Min left the hospital room.

When he was left alone, Jun-Kyung was belatedly stunned. Come to think of it, there were not one or two shocking kindnesses made by Director Min. He drank the remaining ion water while holding onto his head which is more painful in a different sense than before.

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

His phone suddenly started vibrating like crazy. Missed calls and messages that arrived while the power was turned off were coming in simultaneously. He thought it would stop soon, but I was wrong.

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

At first, he thought his phone was broken. But looking at the screen, he knew it wasn’t.

‘Hyun-Woo Min’

It was Min Hyun-woo. Over 150 messages and over 60 missed calls arrived. He tried to check the message app but stopped. Obviously, as soon as the check mark appears, he will get a reply or a call.

First, he opened the text app. Except for Min Hyun-woo, all the text messages that arrived were advertisements. When he turned on the phone app, Min Hyun-woo’s cell phone, home phone, and unknown number were made alternately.

Among them was a phone call from my mother-in-law. There was even a phone call from the president. He got about ten calls from the auntie. Chairman and wife, all phone calls must have been made by Min Hyun-woo.

Bzzt.

A long vibration came.