Chapter 7

“Ha.”

He sighed. Meanwhile, his abdominal pain and back pain were being pushed to his limits. He didn’t know the cause, and he was sick of not knowing the cause, but wanted something to make it go away. He was unwilling to die, but he was sick enough to die, so it was an unavoidable choice.

“… It’s my stomach.”

It was a word he barely pulled out.

“Abdominal pain? Do you have diarrhea? Have you ever had enteritis?”

“No. It’s my stomach…”

He tried several times, but he couldn’t get the word out.

“Or did you rush a meal?”

“That’s not it… Ha. Give me medicine when women are sick please.”

“Pardon? Oh…So this is for your girlfriend. Here you go. It’s menstrual medicine.”

Only women take it. The pharmacist smiled and took out the medicine and gave it to Gyeonhui.

“I’m going crazy…”

After he paid for the medicine, Gyeonhui whispered to himself as he left that he was being outrageous. He had never come directly to a pharmacy and he never imagined that the first medicine he would buy would be for menstrual cramps. He struggled to get into the car and he lifted the window all the way up to avoid anyone from seeing him.

“Ha… It’s all about living. To live.”

After a little apprehension, Gyeonhui finally swallowed down the medicine. The menstrual pain he had for the first time crossed over into his throat.

“Please work… no, it’d be strange if this medicine actually worked. Ha.”

In a situation where he could not to do anything, his sense of self-denial only deepened.

***

The morning sunlight was coming through the thick windows. The house that had two rooms was big enough for a woman to live alone. As she was ready to go out, she could see the luggage piled up on one side of the living room.

“You would have struggled.”

She remembered the image of Eun-young and Ari, who would have struggled to move their luggage for Sun.

“But… Why doesn’t the medicine work?”

Sun touched her belly in pain and whispered to herself. She had to go see her dad, so she took medicine beforehand, but to no avail. Then she heard the buzzer.

“I’m expecting no one to come… Who are you?”

Sun shouted loudly at the door.

“It’s me.”

“Eunyoung?”

After confirming Eun-young’s voice, Sun unlocked the door and opened it.

“What’s going on at this time?”

“Look at you, I knew you were in pain and weren’t doing anything for it like a fool.

You’re disobedient to my orders.”

“… I’ve taken medicine and it’s bearable.”

“You look like Gollum. Come outside quickly.”

“What?”

“You said you’re going to see your father today? If you go there when you don’t feel good, like now, you will fall before you arrive. At least get an IV before you go.”

“I’m okay…”

Then, with a headache that seemed to break her head, dizziness came. Her stomachache became worse, and the pain tormented her as if it were biting her stomach. Eunyoung looked back at her and said,

“Come out quickly.”

As usual, Eunyoung had already closed the door and walked out. She had known Eunyoung for years, but she still had her own way of dealing with getting help from others. She would have refused, but today she was in a lot of pain. Sun slowly stepped in, followed by Eunyoung.

***

“I’m not feeling any better!”

While waiting for the medicine to kick in, Gyeonhui put the phone to his face and got angry.

-I’m so sorry…

Beyond the phone, the voice of Ojae was heard.

“Forget it. Cut it off.”

He hung up and clenched his fist with unresolved annoyance. He took the drug a few times yesterday, but it didn’t work at all. The pain was still there, and the irritation was getting even worse.

“… It wasn’t it. Yes, I was right. It’s not it. Ha.”

Fortunately, it was an unfortunate complex situation instead. He sighed for a long time. Then the door opened and Dr. Seo stepped inside. The man in his late 50s, wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses, was Dr. Seo, Jong-chan, one of the country’s top internal medicine specialists.

“… Did you get the results?”

Gyeonhui couldn’t even stretch his hips, and asked with a distorted expression. As Dr. Seo checked the results of his tests, Dr. Seo slowly opened his mouth in embarrassment.

“Hmm. In modern medicine…”

“A cause cannot be verified in Modern medicine.”

Gyeonhui interrupted Dr. Seo’s speaking in an irritating tone.

“Isn’t this a pathetic answer coming from the best in Korea?”

“That’s right. I’m a bit embarrassed, too.”

Dr. Seo nodded sadly and replied. Gyeonhui had been busy visiting the hospital, but his return was just an excuse that had been a long time coming.

“Okay.”

There was nothing new to expect, so Gyeonhui got up and left the doctor’s office.

“… I’m so sick, but I can’t believe that there’s nothing wrong with me.”

His roaring stomach seemed to vomit right away and all his internal organs seemed to be wandering around his abdomen. It was hard to walk properly and he struggled to walk around the wall.

“I’m sorry, Eunyoung. It’s my fault.”

Then, around the corner, a familiar voice was heard in his ear. Two women passed in front of him. At that moment, her pale face came into view, as if in slow motion. It was an unforgettable face that Gyeonhui had been searching for three months now.

“Cheo, Cheonsun?”

At one point, Gyeonhui vacantly followed her with only his gaze. However, Sun didn’t see him and they headed toward the obstetrics and gynecology department under the cover of Eun-young.

“Outrageous.”

At one point, Gyeonhui was enraged, but soon his stern face was calmed. He couldn’t find her, but as soon as he gave up on her, she appeared right in front of him.

“Well, At least she doesn’t look like she’s doing well.”

Looking at her pale face from a distance, he muttered to himself. Then, Sun plunked down because of the dizziness. Suddenly, Gyeonhui lost his balance too, hitting one knee on the floor.

“Ugh.”

He felt a tremendous pain in his knees as he watched her from afar. Staggering, Gyeonhui barely balanced on a chair next to him.

“What’s wrong, suddenly my knees…”

He was surprised by the pain and squinched his face forcefully.

“Are you okay?”

Eun-young asked, raising Sun from the floor.

“… Yes, I’m okay. It happens all the time.”

Sun smiled and said, but her complexion was pale.

“Let’s get you on an IV quickly.”

Eunyoung, who had made her way back, stepped forward. Then a little boy running through the hallway of the hospital hit Sun’s leg.

“Ugh.”

“Ugh.”

At the same time, screams erupted from Sun and Gyeonhui’s mouth.

“Well… Are you okay?”

She looked for the child first, while touching her sore leg.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. No one was injured.”

“… Yes.”

“Good. Go ahead.”

Sun, frightened, sent the child away with a smile.

“It’s so chaotic here. Let’s get in quickly.”

“Okay.”

Eunyoung led Sun and hurried into the room. Gyeonhui, alone in the hallway, hurried to roll up the bottom of his pants.

“What just happened to me?”

He looked down at his legs unbelievably. Apparently there were no wounds, but one knee and the other shin throbbed. The pain in his leg, had no connection to him. It was incomprehensible.

“It was her who had been hit by the child, but why do I…”

It was clear that she had fallen and that she had been hit. But Gyeonhui was also feeling the pain. He looked at his legs, which still remained in pain.

“… No way, am I suffering Sun’s pain?”

His eyes shook violently.

7. Can I Forget

The hospital parking lot. The sound of the luxury car being started and turned off repeatedly echoed.

“It’s ridiculous… It doesn’t make any sense.”

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Gyeonhui continued to repeat the same words.

“Does it make sense to feel the pain of someone else?”

He shook his head and started the car. Soon, however, he seemed to be submerged in his mind again and then turned off the start.

‘It’s was a coincidence, but It was so exquisite.’

The timing was amazing when Sun fell and when she bumped into the child. He looked down at his legs again, his eyebrows.

‘The pain area is also similar. Haha.’

He took a deep sigh and lifted his head.

“No. This cannot be explained by science. It doesn’t make sense.”

He exhaled for a long time and calmed down. It was a world where anything could happen, He had never heard of feeling the pain of others. From his standpoint, it was more rational not to believe rather than to believe. He started the car again, determined.

“Ouch!”

Then, suddenly, he felt a pain that seemed like a needle sticking in his forearm.

“What the hell is this…?”

There were no cuts to his forearm, but he felt stabbed by a needle. He felt pain come again to his stomach. He broke into a cold sweat on his forehead, as he endured the pain with a vicious ness.

‘No way, this too?’

He wondered if it was related to Sun.

“If this is real… Ha.”

Gyeonhui frowning over his irritating pain, suddenly exhaled a long sigh. He wanted to do it right, if he was going to figure this out. He eventually turned off the engine and got out of the car.

***

“This isn’t right.”

Gyeonhui looked at the door with his arms crossed in front of the obstetrics and gynecology clinic. But it was too late to go back.

‘… Ok. I’m just going to check.’

He tried to persuade himself to open the door to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic.

“Hello? How can I help you?”

The nurse asked a little surprised, as she saw Gyeonhui. It was a natural reaction for a nurse seeing a young man all alone in obstetrics and gynecology office.

“The patient who came a little while ago… I’ve come because of her.”

It was difficult to explain the situation, so he had to merge his words.

“Oh, you are looking for Sun?”

There was a nuance to the nurse’s tone that she already knew Sun.

“… Yes, Cheonsun. That’s right.”

He nodded with an unsightly expression.

“Are you her boyfriend?”

“… Well, kind of.”

He should have modified the description to “Broke Up”, but he didn’t say it to her.

“She is getting an IV. Would you like me to go inside and tell her that you are here?”

“You don’t have to, but do you know what’s going on with her?”

The nurse looked at him again, seemingly in doubt at Gyeonhui’s question.

“Oh, you’re worried. She came in because she is on her period.

“Oh menstrual pain?”

“Did you not know? She has serious menstrual cramps.”

“Oh… Is it menstrual cramps?”

He reiterated her words as if it were outrageous.

“You can’t dismiss it. They can almost kill you.”

The nurse responded to Gyeonhui’s reaction, which seemed to be no big deal.

“It’s only menstrual cramps…”

“Well, sometimes it can almost feel like the pain of childbirth?”

The nurse looked at him and said,

“Really? No way.”

“Sun has one of the most severe cases. I thought she was okay because she hadn’t come in for a few months.”

The nurse turned her head and turned her gaze toward the door. He could see Sun getting an injection through a small window at the door.

“About 28 to 31 days? It’s almost a month cycle, but it’s pretty accurate, so we tried to make everything ready for her.”

‘A month?’

For the first time, Gyeonhui, who had not shown much interest, responded to the familiar numbers for the first time.

“Now, wait a minute. Did you say it’s about a month?”

Surprised by the familiar numbers, He hurried to ask her back.

“Yes, why?”

“Oh, that’s it, wait a minute.”

He pulled out his phone and confirmed the date.

‘Today is the 25th… I felt pain on the 23rd of last month, so it’s been about a month. It was similar with Sun’s cycle the nurse confirmed.’

In his mind, he recalled what Ojae said a few days ago.

‘Menstruation. Your symptoms are the same with Sarah when she’s menstruating.’

He denied this to be true, but the more he learned, the more his symptoms were beginning to look like menstrual cramps. He opened his eyes wide and looked inside the clinic. He could see Sun sleeping and the IV fluid flowing. Her expression softened and her stomach ache sank like a lie.

“It’s ridiculous…”

His eyes shook at the unbelievable situation.

***

“Hm…”

When she woke up, she exhaled for a long time with a brighter expression on her face.

“Do you feel better?”

The nurse checked the remaining IV fluid and asked.

“Yes, I feel much better.”

Sun raised her body and looked at the nurse as if something had come to mind.

“Oh, by the way, was anybody here?”

“Yes, Yes? Who?”

The nurse seemed a little perplexed.

“Well…I heard a familiar voice in my sleep. I might have misheard something. It may have been a dream.”

Sun said with a smile.

“Maybe. Haha. Now you can go home.”

“Thank you as usual.”

Then the door opened and Eunyoung came in.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go home quickly. You have to go home before the sun sets.”

Eunyoung left the clinic with Sun after helping her get up.

‘Click.’

“ughh…”

The nurse sighed as the door closed.

“I thought I was going to get caught.”

The nurse put her hand in her pocket with an excited look and pulled out a check.

‘Can you keep it a secret that I was here?’

It was the money that Gyeonhui gave her to keep everything quiet.

“Oh… Oh sure. Anytime, you have my word.”

The nurse fingered the check she was holding, as if she were excited.