Gigolò: 19/20
---CHAPTER NINETEEN---
Hyori passes a woman in the hallway. She's sitting by the door and looks distraught, shaken by how she found the inhabitant of the room next to her. Hyori recognizes her as In Young's neighbor and steps into the room.
It's cold; clean but very cool. She moves slow and hears the beeps of machines behind a curtain. A shadow shifts, walking toward the open space Hyori occupies as she comes in. He's tall, and comes out to meet up with Hyori's worried stare. He takes her breath away again, although he looks worn. She wants to hold him and tell him that everything's fine, that'll it'll all be okay. But the timing felt wrong. There was always something impeding them and neither could reach out, physically or vocally in that moment, to get to each other. Chansung merely nods his head when he sees her, and she has to pull her gaze away from him before she rushes to In Young's side. In Young for the first time in her life looks weak, connected to about five types of wires and tubes, all of which Hyori and Chansung try not to think of what ends up where. The widow looks at Hyori and huffs out a smirk.
"Hyori? ...you...you...wow you look like shit."
Hyori smiles despite herself and steadily starts to cry. She's mad at In Young, and somewhere deeper, she blames herself for this. She should have accepted her apology. Although she knew In Young was a strong person, she was a close friend and knew that any action either of them took would effect the other.
"What is wrong with you?" Hyori started to ask, "why did you drink that much-"
"God are you yelling? Ugh...oh my head is killing me...ugh I need a drink." In Young chuckles but the other two stay quiet. "Hey...I was joking. ..take a joke."
In Young sounds weak and Hyori's smile, already faded, doesn't spring back up.
"Hey...don't mourn for me already. I'm not dead."
She looks at the two in the room. They are admittedly a trifecta of messes, emotional, physical and psychological wrecks, and the two In Young is staring at have gotten on her last nerve.
"Are you two still not talking to each other?" The others glance up. "Listen...don't be like me. Don't drown your sorrows in sex, drinking or being...selfish prudes."
She raised an IV-ed hand toward Hyori.
"Yes you. ...and Chansung don't talk when I say this," she said, he almost opening his mouth to say something, "Hyori...give it up. What's stopping you?"
Hyori is still quiet and doesn't risk looking at Chansung.
"In Young, let's not talk about that right now. You need to rest-"
"Yeah I should Hyori...but what the hell. I'm not as selfish as you think I am. ...you're my best friend and I want the best for you. And even if I go out in a drunken stupor, at least I'll go out knowing I've lived."
Hyori sat in quiet a bit longer, taking in a repetition of words that it seemed everyone was telling her.
"You know you aren't the first person to tell me that," she admitted.
"Then maybe there's some truth to it," In Young responds. "Hey...I'll be out of here later today and we can talk more...okay? Now, get out," she waves one hand and covers her forehead with the other, "...and tell my neighbor to come in."
Hyori asks the woman outside to come in. She heads in and a nurse follows, leaving a gap between In Young and the other two. Chansung and Hyori walk out quietly, letting the sound of the door closing echo behind them. Finally, he speaks up.
"I wanted to see you again."
"...just not like this," she says.
He nods.
It could have been seconds or minutes that they stood there, but it felt like it stretched to eternity. She should have said something more, replied to him sooner, but he couldn't wait.
"Goodbye Hyori."
He lowers his head and is leaving, hands in pockets.
They head in opposite directions, but she looks back, almost going to him before a nurse stops her. She's listed as next of kin and has to fill out paperwork.
"Don't worry, but it's a necessary precaution," the nurse says; another moment is missed. He's leaving again, elevator shutting on that floor to open floors below. He'll head out to his car and out of her life again.
Hyori is floors up, heading to the restroom again to still herself, and her thoughts. Her hands are washed and patted dry. Deja vu. Looking in the mirror, the memory of her talking to herself comes back, but she crushes it.
Act Hyori, stop thinking.
It isn't said, but it's enough to get her moving as she runs out. She jams on the button to the elevator, but it's taking too long. Hurried steps lead her to a staircase. She goes down one, then two, then three; five floors later, she's in the garage. She's calling his name, frantic that it had to come to this. Hyori cuts through lines of cars, and one turning a corner almost hits her.
"Chansung!"
"Get out of the way!"
There's a honk and hands thrown up to the owner of the car, but she's blind to anything until she can see him. Another light rounds a corner at the opposite end of the lot.
It's him.
Hyori runs toward the moving vehicle, but it's already gone. The inhabitant of the car has eyes too swollen to look back, unaware that anyone followed. He didn't hear her, he didn't stop.
"Don't leave me," she whispers.
She almost falls into a heap on the floor, but picks herself up. Things will have to change soon.
---
Back in the hospital suite, In Young looks exasperated.
"Get these things off me. I swear this tape is pulling hairs."
"Sorry. Did it work out okay?" the nurse asked.
"Hopefully. They looked sad enough. ...the things I do for people," she pulled at more unattached tubes and wires, "I'm too damn nice. I just stopped drinking and now this insane charade. By the way, nice crazy phone voice you had there with Chansung. I'm impressed," she said to her neighbor.
"Thank you! I did take a year of drama in high schoo-"
"No one cares. Just...good job. Call me later. ...you can leave now."
The neighbor left, wiping at her fake tears and powdering her face like she had another tryout to head out to.
"And do tell the doc I said thanks," In Young said to the nurse.
"I will. Wish he was still in business, but we all liked Chansung. Wouldn't have said no anyway."
"Yeah...he's a good kid."
The nurse left and she finished dressing, back in a large hat, large shades and heels. She called for her chauffeur, who'd been rounding blocks for the last half hour, to finally pull up. Then, she made a call to Joon. When he picked up, she just had an order on her lips.
"Alright. I'm done here. Let's hope things fall into place."
Hyori passes a woman in the hallway. She's sitting by the door and looks distraught, shaken by how she found the inhabitant of the room next to her. Hyori recognizes her as In Young's neighbor and steps into the room.
It's cold; clean but very cool. She moves slow and hears the beeps of machines behind a curtain. A shadow shifts, walking toward the open space Hyori occupies as she comes in. He's tall, and comes out to meet up with Hyori's worried stare. He takes her breath away again, although he looks worn. She wants to hold him and tell him that everything's fine, that'll it'll all be okay. But the timing felt wrong. There was always something impeding them and neither could reach out, physically or vocally in that moment, to get to each other. Chansung merely nods his head when he sees her, and she has to pull her gaze away from him before she rushes to In Young's side. In Young for the first time in her life looks weak, connected to about five types of wires and tubes, all of which Hyori and Chansung try not to think of what ends up where. The widow looks at Hyori and huffs out a smirk.
"Hyori? ...you...you...wow you look like shit."
Hyori smiles despite herself and steadily starts to cry. She's mad at In Young, and somewhere deeper, she blames herself for this. She should have accepted her apology. Although she knew In Young was a strong person, she was a close friend and knew that any action either of them took would effect the other.
"What is wrong with you?" Hyori started to ask, "why did you drink that much-"
"God are you yelling? Ugh...oh my head is killing me...ugh I need a drink." In Young chuckles but the other two stay quiet. "Hey...I was joking. ..take a joke."
In Young sounds weak and Hyori's smile, already faded, doesn't spring back up.
"Hey...don't mourn for me already. I'm not dead."
She looks at the two in the room. They are admittedly a trifecta of messes, emotional, physical and psychological wrecks, and the two In Young is staring at have gotten on her last nerve.
"Are you two still not talking to each other?" The others glance up. "Listen...don't be like me. Don't drown your sorrows in sex, drinking or being...selfish prudes."
She raised an IV-ed hand toward Hyori.
"Yes you. ...and Chansung don't talk when I say this," she said, he almost opening his mouth to say something, "Hyori...give it up. What's stopping you?"
Hyori is still quiet and doesn't risk looking at Chansung.
"In Young, let's not talk about that right now. You need to rest-"
"Yeah I should Hyori...but what the hell. I'm not as selfish as you think I am. ...you're my best friend and I want the best for you. And even if I go out in a drunken stupor, at least I'll go out knowing I've lived."
Hyori sat in quiet a bit longer, taking in a repetition of words that it seemed everyone was telling her.
"You know you aren't the first person to tell me that," she admitted.
"Then maybe there's some truth to it," In Young responds. "Hey...I'll be out of here later today and we can talk more...okay? Now, get out," she waves one hand and covers her forehead with the other, "...and tell my neighbor to come in."
Hyori asks the woman outside to come in. She heads in and a nurse follows, leaving a gap between In Young and the other two. Chansung and Hyori walk out quietly, letting the sound of the door closing echo behind them. Finally, he speaks up.
"I wanted to see you again."
"...just not like this," she says.
He nods.
It could have been seconds or minutes that they stood there, but it felt like it stretched to eternity. She should have said something more, replied to him sooner, but he couldn't wait.
"Goodbye Hyori."
He lowers his head and is leaving, hands in pockets.
They head in opposite directions, but she looks back, almost going to him before a nurse stops her. She's listed as next of kin and has to fill out paperwork.
"Don't worry, but it's a necessary precaution," the nurse says; another moment is missed. He's leaving again, elevator shutting on that floor to open floors below. He'll head out to his car and out of her life again.
Hyori is floors up, heading to the restroom again to still herself, and her thoughts. Her hands are washed and patted dry. Deja vu. Looking in the mirror, the memory of her talking to herself comes back, but she crushes it.
Act Hyori, stop thinking.
It isn't said, but it's enough to get her moving as she runs out. She jams on the button to the elevator, but it's taking too long. Hurried steps lead her to a staircase. She goes down one, then two, then three; five floors later, she's in the garage. She's calling his name, frantic that it had to come to this. Hyori cuts through lines of cars, and one turning a corner almost hits her.
"Chansung!"
"Get out of the way!"
There's a honk and hands thrown up to the owner of the car, but she's blind to anything until she can see him. Another light rounds a corner at the opposite end of the lot.
It's him.
Hyori runs toward the moving vehicle, but it's already gone. The inhabitant of the car has eyes too swollen to look back, unaware that anyone followed. He didn't hear her, he didn't stop.
"Don't leave me," she whispers.
She almost falls into a heap on the floor, but picks herself up. Things will have to change soon.
---
Back in the hospital suite, In Young looks exasperated.
"Get these things off me. I swear this tape is pulling hairs."
"Sorry. Did it work out okay?" the nurse asked.
"Hopefully. They looked sad enough. ...the things I do for people," she pulled at more unattached tubes and wires, "I'm too damn nice. I just stopped drinking and now this insane charade. By the way, nice crazy phone voice you had there with Chansung. I'm impressed," she said to her neighbor.
"Thank you! I did take a year of drama in high schoo-"
"No one cares. Just...good job. Call me later. ...you can leave now."
The neighbor left, wiping at her fake tears and powdering her face like she had another tryout to head out to.
"And do tell the doc I said thanks," In Young said to the nurse.
"I will. Wish he was still in business, but we all liked Chansung. Wouldn't have said no anyway."
"Yeah...he's a good kid."
The nurse left and she finished dressing, back in a large hat, large shades and heels. She called for her chauffeur, who'd been rounding blocks for the last half hour, to finally pull up. Then, she made a call to Joon. When he picked up, she just had an order on her lips.
"Alright. I'm done here. Let's hope things fall into place."