19. The scent of disgusting memories
Written by Malranggong.
“Suyeon, are you okay? Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
“Yes, it’s okay. But what if you threw away a glass because of me?”
“Why is it your fault? It was Kim Taehyung’s fault for suddenly grabbing you by the collar and throwing you away like that. You didn’t do anything wrong. So don’t blame yourself.”
When Jung Soo-yeon said it was okay to go to the hospital, Hoseok quickly brought a first aid kit, stopped the bleeding, and applied some medicine. He then tried to comfort Jung Soo-yeon, who pretended to feel guilty, saying it was Tae-hyung's fault, even though he didn't know the context. Jung Soo-yeon found it quite amusing that Hoseok was comforting her without any understanding. He was so distracted by the situation unfolding before his eyes that he couldn't even make a rational decision. Jung Soo-yeon thought he was no different than before.
Hoseok still smelled strongly of roses. It was enough to mask the bloody stench of Jung Soo-yeon's blood mixing with the rich strawberry juice. Jung Soo-yeon wished the blood could cover the rose scent, that the disgusting smell of blood was far better. Every time the rose scent seeped into her nostrils and into her body, memories from the past she wanted to forget kept coming back, and it was so disgusting that she felt sick, so she hated the scent of roses.
After completing all the treatments, Hoseok put the first aid kit back where it was. He then approached Jung Soo-yeon and asked with worried eyes if her knee was okay and if she could stand up. Jung Soo-yeon said that of course she could walk and refused Hoseok's hand that tried to help her up. Hoseok let his rejected hand linger in the air for a moment and scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed for no reason. By then, Jung Soo-yeon was walking outside, although her legs were slightly limping, on her own. The scent of roses was stronger than usual and she seemed to want to go outside. Hoseok followed Jung Soo-yeon out. It seemed like he was worried about her limping.
***
Jung Soo-yeon took a deep breath of the outside air. It was stale, but it was better than the strong scent of roses, so she mistook it for freshness and exhaled it. Refreshing. But Hoseok, with a puzzled expression, thought to himself, "The air is unusually stale today." He didn't bother to say it out loud. He didn't want to embarrass Jung Soo-yeon by denying her words.
“Meow~”
Suddenly, a cat's cry came from somewhere. Jung Soo-yeon and Ho-seok unconsciously followed the sound into an alley. There, in a shabby box, an abandoned cat was shivering and crying from the cold. It really seemed to be crying. It seemed to be crying that it was so cold, that it was abandoned and lonely. For some reason, Jung Soo-yeon had the illusion that tears were welling up in the cat's eyes.
Jeong Su-yeon held the trembling cat in her arms. At first, the cat seemed to struggle when she held it, but as soon as it entered Jeong Su-yeon's arms, it felt warm and snuggled closer into her embrace. The cat seemed warm and comfortable in Jeong Su-yeon's embrace. Jeong Su-yeon fixed her gaze on the cat and spoke.
“It’s so pitiful. To be abandoned so irresponsibly.”
"…I know."
When Ho-seok responded, only then did Jeong Su-yeon turn her gaze to Ho-seok and speak.
“This child must have been someone’s family, you know. The more family they are, the more wrong this should be. The more family they are, the more wrong it should be to abandon them. Right, sir?”
Ho-seok flinched at those words and couldn't agree any longer.
“By the way, what should we do with this child?”
“I’ll take care of you for a while. You’re badly hurt right now… Go home. Get some rest.”
“Okay, thank you, sir. Oh, by the way, did you know that perfume is harmful to cats?”
“Really? I didn’t know that. I’ll have to refrain from wearing perfume from now on.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Jeong Su-yeon carefully placed the cat she was holding in the box. Then, after glancing at the cat with a foolish expression, she headed home. Ho-seok simply watched Jeong Su-yeon's back as the cold winter wind, scented with roses, blew through him.
***
Arriving home, Jeong Su-yeon collapsed on the bed, her whole body feeling drained. She seemed exhausted from the many unexpected events of the day. She sat there, staring at her bandaged palms, bruised from the shards of glass.
“I hope this doesn’t leave a scar.”
Jung Soo-yeon sighed deeply and collapsed onto the bed. Then she closed her eyes, hoping to sleep soundly tonight. But the heavens were neither kind nor generous to her. That day, in her dream, Jung Soo-yeon encountered the disgusting memory she most desperately wanted to forget.