The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 11



Only Krnovel

11 A child’s gaze

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

Younghee Kim knocked on the door at a steady beat. She had been subconsciously picking at her fingernails ever since she met Rong. Then she realized one thing.

‘I came to visit the patient, but I came empty-handed…’

Should I come down and come back now?

It might be better if you didn’t hear the knock.

But those worries are short-lived.

The hospital room door creaked open.

The person who came out of room 907 was Susan Lin, the head nurse of the 9th floor ward.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, I came to visit you briefly. “I was wondering if I could see Han Seo-jin for a moment.”

“Now?”

“yes.”

“······.”

Instead of answering Kim Young-hee’s question, Lin came out of the hospital room. Then she glances towards the nurses’ desk.

The nurses sitting there flinched and tried to avoid Lin’s gaze.

Lin took a deep breath and asked Younghee Kim.

“I told you this morning. Today’s visitation is only for family members. “It was also unusual to be able to meet Seo Jin in the morning.”

“It was a very short period of time, though.”

“So what is your business now?”

Rin’s ferocious tone of voice. It occurred to me that the people at this hospital all seem to be very picky.

“No wonder I heard that Seojin’s parents boarded a plane from Malaysia. “I came because I wanted to tell you this as quickly as possible.”

“That’s a good thing. But didn’t you just say you were visiting a sick person?”

“It’s both a business and a business. “It won’t take long.”

“······.”

Lin gently extended his hand to Younghee Kim. She told me to wait a moment. She went into the hospital room alone and came back out. Only then did she open the door wide.

“10 minutes.”

“thank you.”

As I entered the hospital room, I could hear soft music. A song I’ve heard for the first time. Still, it was a song that made me feel at ease.

Lin entered the hospital room and took a seat at a distance. I guess she means that even if visits are allowed, surveillance must be carried out.

There were cutlery on Seojin’s bed table, as if he had been eating. Nurse Lin may have been particularly harsh because of me.

When Kim Young-hee was about to apologize, Han Seo-jin opened her mouth first.

“I ate it all a long time ago. My nurse sister forced me to eat more, so I stayed like this. “I wasn’t disturbed, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Ah, so…”

Seojin’s tone of voice was calm. The shouting that had been going on in the morning was nowhere to be seen.

and.

“You speak Korean well now.”

The child who used to yell only in English in the morning now speaks comfortably in Korean.

Seojin spoke lightly as if it was nothing.

“That’s because the consul is Korean. “He is Korean, so he has to use Korean.”

“I thought you didn’t speak Korean at all because you spoke to me in English this morning. “I thought you were born in America or something.”

Seojin shook his head.

“I am purely from Korea. “I just woke up in the morning so I was out of my mind.”

“But it seems like English comes more instinctively. “I guess I studied a lot.”

“yes. English… “Let’s study hard.”

“When I heard the pronunciation, it seemed like he was almost a native speaker. Is it because I listen to so many pop songs?”

When Kim Young-hee asked while pointing at the smartphone, Seo-jin made a strange smile.

“Listening to pop songs helped. Of course, that was only possible because I had a good teacher.”

“Good teacher. “It’s a great experience to meet someone like that.”

“I was really lucky. “I don’t think I’ll ever have that kind of luck again.”

Conversation on light topics.

Nevertheless, the more Kim Young-hee talked with Seo-jin, the more strange feeling she got.

I am 12 years old this year.

In Korea, this is the 6th grade of elementary school.

Seojin, who seemed to be only about 140cm tall, seemed very different from other people his age when he spoke.

‘What can I say… I have to say it’s very calm…’

There didn’t seem to be any ‘mental problems’ that I had been concerned about when talking to Seojin’s doctor, Rong, in the elevator a little while ago.

How can something change like this in less than half a day?

It wasn’t that much.

Seojin did not say unnecessary words or play pranks. He is not preoccupied with playing games, nor does he make a fuss about missing his parents.

Seojin just calmly looked at Kim Younghee.

Then, every now and then, the point would hit me.

Every time that happened, the content was very sharp.

“By any chance, my parents are coming here soon?”

“uh?”

“The consul told me this morning. “My parents will come to Singapore today as soon as seats become available on the plane.”

“ah. ah. It was like that. that’s right. Still, that’s why I came here. Probably 3 hours… “I think you’ll arrive in two and a half hours.”

“Good for you. I feel like I haven’t seen my parents in a really long time. The time is the 15th… “It’s only been a while.”

“······.”

Younghee Kim kept missing the right time to speak. Why is that so? Why is she looking at me in front of a 12-year-old kid? I’m not sure why.

Seojin continued to ask questions as if he didn’t care about Kim Younghee’s inner thoughts.

“But what brought you here?”

“ah. I just said it. Your parents are coming soon. “I came to tell you that.”

“But that’s something you can easily tell us over the phone.”

“······.”

He got to the point.

“Or, my parents could have brought me with them when they actually arrived here in Singapore. There was no need for you to come when I was alone. ah! Of course, the nurse sister is over there.”

“······.”

“So what is the main point? “Consul.”

“······.”

Kim Young-hee fiddled with her fingernails for no reason.

Main subject. Get to the point. Seojin spoke as if he knew what was going on, and I felt uncomfortable for no reason.

‘What are you doing in front of this child?’

Kim Young-hee decided not to speak in vain anymore.

It’s something you have to ask anyway.

Someone has to shoulder the gun.

“I don’t think the doctors will be happy if they find out that I asked this question.”

“yes.”

“if···. “Can you explain what happened to Seojin over the past 15 days?”

“······.”

“I heard that when you were rescued, Seojin, you were found alone in a wooden boat. I also heard that the wooden boat inevitably sank during the rescue. But the word ‘ship’ means ‘artificial’. In that case, Seojin is not saying that you survived at sea alone for 15 days…”

Seojin slowly turned his gaze towards the smartphone. I fiddle with my phone a few times while the song is playing and then press the pause button.

There was silence in the hospital room.

Even the gently blowing wind could not make a sound.

At that time, Seojin asked Kim Younghee something strange.

“Consul, do you know the word Daydream?”

“Daydream? Are you talking about a daydream?

Seojin immediately answered Kim Younghee’s question.

“Daydream. Fantasy, delusion, imagination. It is also a word used to figuratively express futile things that cannot be realized. daydream. This is my first time hearing it in Korean. But there is a consul. “What if it was a daydream with evidence?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about…”

“So, if there is evidence in your imagination, would you believe it, Consul?”

“······.”

Something difficult.

It wasn’t a question a 12-year-old would ask.

Kim Young-hee was unable to answer for a long time.

I don’t know the intention of Seojin’s question.

Regardless of intention, I am not even sure about the situation where there is evidence in imagination.

‘Is there anything you don’t feel comfortable talking about?’

Kim Young-hee continued to think. She felt that only then would she be able to continue the conversation with Seo-jin.

If the. If there is evidence in the child’s imagination or fantasy.

‘I can trust you… ‘Wouldn’t it be?’

There’s nothing you can’t believe, right?

Kim Young-hee barely answered yes to Seo-jin. But for some reason, Seojin was bored and smiling.

“why? If you have evidence, you can believe it. I’m serious.”

“But did you think about it that long?”

“what?”

“The fact that I was thinking about it means I already had doubts first.”

“······.”

“Isn’t that right?”

Kim Young-hee was momentarily speechless.

“Would you believe me if I told you that I’ve been drifting at sea for the past 15 days? Or how about the story of how you crash-landed on an uninhabited island and escaped by building a boat?”

“I am···. I will believe you when you say it. So, you can talk to me comfortably.”

“So what if I had been in the belly of a whale? If you almost die in a wooden boat while catching a marlin. “How about going to Wonderland?”

“I’m not kidding. “I’m only asking because it’s easier for Seojin to help you if he knows exactly what happened to you.”

“I’m not kidding either. “I’m just telling the truth.”

“actually? “What facts?”

“The fact is that it is difficult to trust the words of a child. And what’s more, even for adults, false stories are never accepted.”

“······.”

I felt like I should have answered something.

Kim Young-hee couldn’t say anything.

Something spun around and became the starting point.

Still, there were some things I learned clearly.

This child didn’t want to talk about what happened over the past 15 days.

As the doctor said, something may have happened that caused trauma to the child. Then she may be making a mistake now. So what should I do?

Seojin continued to say what he had to say, as if he didn’t care about Kim Younghee.

“That doesn’t mean I blame the consul. This is how the world works. I last 3… is it so. That’s what I thought as I drifted for the past 15 days. “I was a bit worried about what other people would think of me if I came back ‘alone.’”

“what is that.”

“All kinds of useless speculation.”

“······.”

Kim Young-hee couldn’t help but sigh at Seo-jin’s words, which were not childlike.

“Then what do you want to do?”

“If I want, can I do whatever I want?”

“I told you from the beginning that I would help you. I will keep my word. So tell me. “What do you want me to do?”

Seojin looked at Kim Younghee for a long time without saying a word.

Such a heavy time passed by.

Only then did he express his opinion.

“I’d rather you lie.”

“··· what?”

“Please protect me with lies that people will believe. Anyway, everyone will forget about this in 2 or 3 months. “If that’s the case, no one will know even if you skip over it.”

“······.”

“I am now… I don’t want to stand in front of the camera and be someone’s clown. And I don’t want to hear nonsense like there are pirates in Myanmar or the captain and crew made a mistake because of me.”

Younghee Kim felt like she had been hit on the head with a hammer.

“How do you do that…”

“I also know how to use a smartphone. “I wasn’t just listening to music with this.”

“······.”

“I want to get over this incident as quietly as possible. So, within a reasonable range, please let me remain as a child of hope.”

“······.”

“I believe that a consul of the Republic of Korea, a diplomat who puts the people of the Republic of Korea first, would naturally do so. And I believe in his promise to protect me.”

“······.”

“Thank you for coming all the way here. “Consul.”

“······.”

Kim Young-hee stood blankly in front of Seo-jin’s bed for a long time. After 10 minutes, Kim Young-hee couldn’t come to her senses even before Lin kicked her out.

I never thought I would hear something like that from a 13-year-old.

No, ‘really, the child… Am I right?’ I even thought about it.

Kim Young-hee had to sit on a chair in the hallway and think about Seo-jin’s words for a long time. Then I suddenly found myself picking at his fingernails.

I felt something unsightly about myself. I felt embarrassed, wondering if the adult’s appearance through the child’s eyes was only this good.

‘Have you been paying too much attention to the outside world?’

The incompetence of the Korean embassy is being criticized in the media.

There is concern that the diplomatic relations that were built with great difficulty will easily collapse.

Money needed for rescue teams.

A quarrel between airlines, insurance companies, and Korea.

I was too caught up in thinking about these things.

This isn’t important right now.

The child came back alive.

This is the essence.

Younghee Kim got up from her seat.

And I took steps to do what I could.

Like Seojin said.

To do the things that a consul of the Republic of Korea must do.

* * *

Room 907, Singapore National Hospital.

The nurse’s older sister, Lynn, grumbled for a long time even after Consul Kim Young-hee left.

“Ugh. What are you talking about for so long? I couldn’t understand a word because it was Korean. “Did you hear anything strange?”

“It’s not like that. Rather, I just said a few important words to the consul.”

“Important to say?”

“yes. I think you probably understand. If not… Well, I’ll have to think about it then.”

“huh? what is that? What?”

Trying to avoid the touch of Nurse Lynn, who treated me like a child, I began to think about what I would do in the future.

These are not things that are unbecoming of poetry.

These are the things I have to do now that I am in the 6th grade of elementary school again.