[Short Story] A Word That Wakes a Vegetative Man

03

Dreuk-

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"Hey..! Where did the man who was here go?"

I raised my voice and asked the nurse who suddenly came in, and the nurse was very surprised and stuttered as she spoke.

간호사

"I moved my finger last night. The doctor definitely checked it out. So I was transferred to a larger hospital."

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"Then...can you tell me where that hospital is?"

I quickly found the hospital and ran there like crazy.

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"Ugh... I think I'm going to throw up... my leg..."

There were so many people there that it couldn't even compare to a nursing home... I found his mother among them.

When my mother saw me, she clung to me and started crying.

아주머니

"Really...really...thank you...really..."

아주머니

"It's thanks to you that that kid has a car. His muscles are coming back to life."

아주머니

"I can move now.. really.. thank you.."

I managed to calm his mother down and soon went to his hospital room.

Dreuk-

○○○

"ah.."

Always the same... I held his hand and talked to him.

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"Really... thank goodness. I can move now. Really... ugh... thank goodness."

I was laughing and crying. It was then that I realized that I could cry because I was happy.

The hospital wasn't as free as a nursing home, but I went there whenever I had time to see him.

After 6 months of doing that.

He showed a really big car.

The news and newspapers have been reporting on this miracle several times in the past 10 years.

It was truly a miracle. He could move.

Then suddenly, a feeling of anxiety came over me.

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'I won't be able to see him again soon. If he continues to live like a normal person, he won't have to see me again...'

A person like me wouldn't even look at it.

I remembered telling him that I liked him six months ago.

What would he have said if he could have spoken then?

It's natural that you're not interested.

I haven't visited him since. The same sense of emptiness came over me.

I haven't seen him in months.

Sometimes when I saw him in the newspaper, I wanted to go see him right away.

Does he still remember me?

..Okay..haha. Let's forget it. It's over now.

Then one day, I was on my way home.

He saw a familiar face at the front door, and it was his mother.

아주머니

"Oh, hello."

His mother approached me first and spoke to me kindly, and I was fidgeting.

What should I say?

How can I say something that hasn't come to me until now?

아주머니

"You haven't come to see me in a long time without saying anything, so I came to see you myself."

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"I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.."

아주머니

"I'm sure you've been busy. I've been waiting for that child for a long time. Please stop by sometimes."

아주머니

"After all, he is that child's benefactor."

It might have been a coincidence, but his mother thought it was my virtue and was grateful.

And the story about him continues.

He is said to be showing great signs of recovery and is undergoing rehabilitation.

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"Do you...do you remember me?"

아주머니

"Yes. I remember everything from the first day you arrived."

My face turned red at my mother's words.

So that night... you remember everything I said... even that confession...

I expected it.

아주머니

"Then... please come visit me sometime."

His mother said goodbye and disappeared, and I was left staring at the empty alley.

The next day.

I mustered up my courage and went to see him.

How long has it been?

Seeing him...

Dreuk-

When I went to the hospital room, his mother was sitting alone and the bed was empty.

My mother always welcomed me warmly.

When we looked for him, we found out he was in rehabilitation.

아주머니

"Then...would you like to go and see? The rehabilitation room..."

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"Yes..? Is that okay?"

아주머니

"Of course. I'm sure the kid will like it too."

I went to the rehabilitation center to find him. He was the same as before. I watched him through the glass window in the hallway.

He appeared to be a man with pretty black hair, walking slowly on a metal support.

Sweat was running down his face and his clothes were soaked with it, but he didn't stop walking.

He walked precariously, like a newborn baby.

His mother wiped away her tears as she watched him, and I was about to turn back.

I saw that he was healthy...

I had nothing to worry about anymore.

The moment I turned my body to get away from there, I heard a voice calling me.

???

"..○..○..○..!"

It was an awkward pronunciation, like a foreigner calling.

It was a clumsy voice, like a foreigner calling.

I looked back unconsciously.

That was it.

He was calling my name. He called me over and over again, then came over to me.

Clumsy steps...

I walked like that, almost falling down several times.

Then he kept calling my name and I couldn't move anymore.

He finally started to cry as he called my name, like a child calling his parents.

He continued to approach, cursing his legs for not moving as he pleased.

The surrounding patients and doctors made way for him and all were watching him.

Their gaze gradually shifted towards me.

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'Now...now...it's here...just hold on a little longer.'

I shouted in my mind without realizing it, and he immediately fell into my arms.

The sound of cheers and applause was heard right after. I sat him down and sat down slowly.

He continued to sob and speak in an unfamiliar pronunciation.

김태형

"..Uh..why..didn't..you..come..to..me.."

He spoke as if he was complaining... I couldn't answer.

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'I'm afraid you'll hate me... I'm afraid you'll leave...'

I just muttered it in my mind.

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"sorry.."

That was all I could say.

김태형

"I've been trying my best to find you... until now."

I was so overwhelmed and moved that I couldn't move.

김태형

"That..that time..talk..g..kia..remember..I..think.."

All I could hear was his voice, and I tightened my grip on his hand.

김태형

"I.. I.. like.. like.. I wanted.. to.. say.. this.."

After saying that, he buried his head in my shoulder and began to cry. I felt pathetic at that moment.

Why did I worry about such useless things?

I spoke into his sobbing ear.

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"Thank you. And... I really... like you."

I wanted to say I loved you, but the words wouldn't come out. That's why I said it like this.

He listened to me and looked up with his face filled with tears.

김태형

"At that time, Sarah, it would be okay to say, 'I love you.'"

After saying that, I hugged him tightly and said.

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"I really...love...you, Taehyung."

End.