Golden Time

“Didn’t Dongsu come to school today?”

Visiting Suhyuk during lunch time, Hana looked around with a surprised expression.

“Tomorrow he will come.” ‘Because I will force him to do so.’

“The SAT is just around the corner…” Hana said, shaking her head at his words.

“Are you preparing for the SAT well?”

At that moment he regretted asking that question. After all, she used to monopolize the first place in the whole school, though he’s now the top and she is the second place these days.

She did not miss a single question in mock SAT numerous times.

She laughed, saying, “Well, I’m working hard on my own.”

Obviously she was not a kid others have to worry about. She was born for studying.

He felt it was unbelievable that he is ahead of her in the grade ranking right now.

“Yes, let’s study hard until we’re done with the SAT.”

‘Can you do well in the SAT?’ Hana thought to herself, looking at Suhyuk crossing the school playground with a school bag on his back. ‘Can you…’

At that moment there was another person looking at Suhyuk.

“Did you confirm the deposit? You have to make sure the job’s done right,” said Kim Insoo while talking to somebody over the phone, looking out the classroom window.

His face turned cold. ‘If somebody gets in my way, I can just trample on him…’

…………………………………………………………………

Dongsu giggled at the cell phone Suhyuk was holding, who came to his store.

There he saw a clear picture of himself overtaken with drink, with his head fallen down on the table as if he passed out. When was it taken?

“I’m busy. Go away!”

When Dongsu turned back, Suhyuk’s voice stopped him.

“Your mother, would she like the fact that you’re spending away time here?”

Dongsu turned back again. He cast his gaze down coldly.

His mother was at the hospital with her lumbar disc problem. She must definitely believe that her son goes to school without fail.

“Do not even think about telling on me. Though you’re my good friend, I’ll get you!” Dongsu threatened.

“What about your promise to take the SAT?” asked Suhyuk.

“What promise?” replied Dongsu.

Scarcely did Dongsu say that before his head was turned to the side.

Suhyuk punched his face. Dongsu’s face slowly returned to its original position.

With a changed look, he asked Suhyuk quietly, “What are you doing now?”

It was as if he would attack him all of a sudden. That kind of gesturing was typical of Dongsu of whom many kids were so scared of in the past. Suhyuk did not cower at all.

“You said a rod is the best medicine to punish a disobedient man, right? So, you deserve my beating,” Suhyuk said.

Dongsu’s head was turned to the side once again.

“Oh, you bastard!” Dongsu shouted out.

Suhyuk was unable to deal with Dongsu who was piqued by anger.

Dongsu punched his fists at Suhyuk, who was trapped under his ass at once.

“Hey, bastard! How could you throw your fist at me? You want to be killed?”

It was not a human face. Suhyuk’s face was severely bruised by punches thrown by Dongsu relentlessly. His eyes were swollen and his lips were burst.

“Are you okay?” asked Dongsu, who felt he threw punches at him too cruelly.

“Do you think I’m okay?” Suhyuk retorted, spitting out the blood in his mouth.

Suhyuk knew that Dongsu punched him badly. If Dongsu really had thrown punches at him as much as he wanted, he would not have found his teeth intact.

Both of them were looking at each other in the store.

While Dongsu had only one black eye, Suhyuk had all his face covered with Band-Aids.

In short, Suhyuk was covered all over with wounds.

“Indeed, you’re a crazy son of a bitch” Suhyuk slightly laughed at Dongsu’s words, but frowned at the same time. He felt his whole body was aching. His fist was really strong.

Nonetheless, Suhyuk was intent to speak out what he had to say to him.

“I won’t tell your mother about this, so let’s take the SAT.”

Dongsu shook his head, as if he were sick and tired of him.

“Stop it, man!”

“Do you want me to tell your mom?”

“I’ll get you then, okay?”

Suhyuk, clenching his fist, did too, when Dongsu stood up from his seat suddenly.

“Oh …” When Suhyuk, who only half lost his nerve, seemed to fight back again, Dongsu grabbed his head.

“Think about this, Dongsu. Do you think your mother likes you working here in the store? Have you ever pondered how much her heart would be broken to know you gave up going to college to work here?”

A deep sigh came out of Dongsu’s mouth. He knew it. She definitely would prefer him going to college. However, he could not when he thought about his mother clapping her painful back every night. And she had no money to pay his tuition.

Did Suhyuk already read into his mind?

“As for the fee, you can make money as a part-timer. Also, after school, you can help your mom. And you have the option of taking leave of absence…”

What about the money they received from Kim Hyunwoo?

Actually they received it for only four months because Suhyuk declined it.

He thought it was like a highway robbery to receive not only free private lessons but also the money, let alone Kim’s generous support.

Dongsu sat silently for a while without any words.

At that moment, Suhyuk rose from his seat.

“Do come to school tomorrow. If you don’t , I’ll tell your mom even if you kill me.”

Suhyuk went out and walked down the street. He looked back to see if Dongsu was watching him from behind. No, he was not.

‘Will he come to school tomorrow? If he doesn’t come again, I’ll torment him like the typical Suhyuk of the past who acted as a psycho. I’ll keep coming back to you.’

Suhyuk touched his tingly face gently.

‘What should I tell them when I go home…’

When did he come out? Dongsu was watching him.

“What a determined guy…” said Dongsu.

Despite being beaten like that, Suhyuk did not break his determination to have him take the SAT.

Dongsu was laughing bitterly, shaking his head.

…………………………………………………………………

SAT D-1.

“Come on, be quiet!” The homeroom teacher silenced the noisy students.

“Tomorrow you take the SAT, the last test in my school days. I won’t talk long. All of you worked really hard. I just wish you don’t make a mistake. That’s it!”

The students went out like a tide.

Suhyuk got off the bus and was walking near the house.

“To the left! More! More!”

Suhyuk turned his head to the side at the loud voice.

The rebar attached to the crane was shaking dangerously in the air, and there were workers moving around briskly underneath. What If it falls… it is horrible to even think about it.

Shaking his head, Suhyuk stepped out, or he was trying to do so. At that moment, an intense flash struck through his brain. Serious dizziness. While stumbling, he put his hands on the wall. A piece of memories passing through his mind like a light. A figure supporting a huge H-beam and himself collapsed there. That sight flashed like a glare and stirred his brain.

“What the hell did I do then, son of a bitch…”

Suhyuk’s face, hardened like a stone statue, was miserably distorted.

***

Hana’s Rice and Soup store.

It’s just a nondescript rice and soup store in his eyes.

“I wonder if this is the store” mumbled Suhyuk, looking at the store.

When he recalled the incident, he just could not sit idle. He had to confirm it with his own eyes.

At that moment the store’s door opened and a middle-aged man appeared.

With a big garbage bag, he was limping around the alley.

He’s a middle-aged man putting the bag in the garbage collection box as usual.

When he was trying to do that, he fell down because he apparently lost his balance due to the weight of the garbage bag. To make matters worse, he hit his head against the collection box when Suhyuk rushed toward him in big surprise.

“Are you okay?”

Helped by Suhyuk, he looked at him with an anguishing face.

“Who are you…?” Obviously he was shocked.

‘What a big trouble it would be if he were struck with concussion!’ Suhyuk’s heart sank.

‘That face of a middle-aged man’s, which I have seen before in my passing memories. He must be Hana’s father. What if he dies from concussion here?’

“Thank you for helping me.”

He gave Suhyuk a rice and soup bowl.

A man in his mid-50s. Fortunately, he was not hurt, and offered him a rice and soup bowl in return for his help.

“Thanks for the food,” said Suhyuk.

His heart ached when he saw him going limp.

Images of him holding up the H-Beam for him, and the collapsing beam shone like a flash of light in his eyes. Fully choked up with tears, he could not swallow the rice, nor raise his spoon.

“What’s wrong with you?” He came to Suhyuk with an anxious expression.

Even though he tried to hide it, Suhyuk could see him limping.

It was not a slight limp, but a very serious one.

At that moment Suhyuk felt he could not sit down carelessly.

“I’m sorry!” Suhyuk knelt down on the spot.

“What are you talking about? Sorry for what? You helped me…”

He was surprised and the customers in the store were as well.

“You had the accident because of me. I didn’t know it until…”

Suhyuk told him the truth with a wet voice. He did for him nothing good. He was fully choked up with his emotions running high.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Those things can happen.”

Only then did he recognize Suhyuk and nodded his head with a smile.

It was something that happened in the past. Though he felt bitter and angry about Suhyuk, it was an accident in the past. As he did not forget about it and came back like this, it was okay to him. This might be called an act of providence in a way.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Suhyuk, kneeling before him, could not have the heart to get up.

“I told you it’s okay.”

He forcibly raised him, so he could sit down.

“You didn’t push me out there on purpose. You can make a mistake as you’re young.”

He knocked him softly on the back.

‘How could I have done that to a kind-hearted man like this…’

After all, hot tears rained down on his cheek.

Suhyuk noticed his bare feet when he fell down.

Deep scars from the calf down to the ankle. Maybe many more above his legs.

However, Suhyuk could feel from instinct how serious his condition was.

In his case, the compound fractures were severe.

‘It seems as the initial correctional treatment was done wrong, the bones’ adhesion with the surrounding tissues progressed. The condition is so bad…’

Compared to normal fractures, compound fractures break apart the bones. If one is lucky, it will not be a problem, but if one is not, it will destroy the surrounding tissues, muscles and nerves. So, surgery is almost always necessary. Even if you do surgery, the subsequent treatment must be done well. Correctional treatment is exactly what it means to rectify and correct.

Given the condition of Hana’s father’s condition, it was clear the treatment at that time was done wrong. If his condition is left untreated like that, it will be impossible to recover it to normal.

Suhyuk’s face became increasingly dark.

“Did you go to the hospital to have your legs treated?” asked Suhyuk.

Surprised at the question, Hana’s father, who had been cheering him up, shook his head with a bitter smile at him who was wiping tears.

“It’s been quite a long time that’s passed…”

“I’ll fix it by all means,” vowed Suhyuk.

“What?” He said with a perplexed look.

“I’ll fix it, no matter what happens,” Suhyuk vowed and vowed again.

“Haha… are you attending a medical school?”

“Ah, yes..”

“Hahaha. Well, good, I beg your favor. To be honest, I feel it’s a little uncomfortable.”

He laughed a hearty laugh. Of course he did not believe it.

Actually he had visited many clinics.

‘How soon can a student who just got admitted at a medical college learn medical skill and fix it? If he could fix it if he makes use of stem cells, it will be the hot topic for some time.’

“No matter what happens, I will fix it,” said Suhyuk.

There was someone looking at all of this in front of the door.

It was none other than Kim Hana.

She saw him helping her father and kneeling before him.

‘How come you’re here and for what?’

Stunned, she hid herself from him, and watched what happened all along since then.

She saw him weeping very, very sadly.

‘If that’s a lie, he could be called the best character actor in the country… What should I do?’

She found herself trembling with conflicting thoughts while looking at the wrapped package in her hands. Inside the package was a taffy gift for someone taking the SAT.

She was going to give it to Suhyuk tomorrow, on SAT day.

‘If Suhyuk ate it, he could not do well in SAT. What a baddy… Why did you come here?’

She bit her lips even without realizing how pale her hands become from holding the package tight enough to cramp it.

‘What should I do, what should I do…’

……………………………………………………………….

The next day.

Suhyuk and Dongsu, who had met early, took a taxi.

Dongsu offered a sticky rice cake.

“Did you buy it?”

“Mom asks us to eat it and do well in the SAT,” said Dongsu.

“It’s delicious.”

“She says she bought it at a temple. I don’t know what the ingredients are…”

At that moment, Dongsu glared in his eyes.

Swing!

Suddenly, a minivan stopped the taxi.

Fortunately, there was no accident thanks to the taxi driver’s skillful action.

The taxi driver got out and hurled abuse, “Hey, you crazy bastard! Can’t you drive right?”

As soon as he shouted, three guys looking like gangsters rushed toward him.

“I do not have time, so open the door quickly.”

“Who are you?”

“Damn it! Just open your door quickly! I have some business with these kids, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, yes…”

As the locks on the car were unlocked, they opened the door, shouting,

“Come out!”

Dongsu stared at them sharply.