Chapter 123
For a while, Joo Yi-Gyeol couldn’t move. The scenery he could see and the sounds that reached his ears all seemed far removed from reality. Was he perhaps hallucinating due to madness?
His mind felt as empty as if he could no longer think. Moving away from the wall, he slowly flew along the road, taking in everything he saw with his eyes.
When he passed through a stone wall and entered a wider area, things unfolded that he couldn’t help but acknowledge.
There were various types of vehicles parked along the alley, storefronts lined with Korean signs, and beyond them, several high-rise buildings taller than the Imperial Palace.
This was definitely Korea.
And it was the familiar street he had walked on with his own two feet before falling ill. How could he not recognize it?
Just as he was absentmindedly glancing around, a group of neatly dressed high school students walked into the alley. The five male students were chatting and playing around with bright faces. Although Joo Yi-Gyeol couldn’t feel the temperature due to his spiritual state, the students’ light clothing suggested it was a warm season.
He stared at the students having a lively conversation for a while before moving toward the storefronts. Some businesses had changed, but others remained the same. He approached each one, peering inside.
There was the hardware store owner, now with a more wrinkled face than before; the unfamiliar convenience store worker displaying carnations; and a familiar middle-aged woman arranging beautiful flowers and making bouquets in front of the store.
The more he saw, the more he could feel the reality sinking in.
"Really... am I back?"
It seemed like a hollow laugh might escape him.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t missed Korea, but he had lived intentionally pushing the thought of returning out of his mind, as he had thought he could never come back. Now, facing this familiar scenery, his confusion only deepened.
When he snapped back to his senses, he found himself flying through the familiar streets, gradually picking up speed, heading somewhere. He quickly realized where he was headed.
“No, I can’t.”
His mind felt as though it was filled with complex error messages, like a computer’s blue screen, warning him not to go any further.
He stood still in front of an old villa, unable to move. He stopped himself from going inside, trying to calm his pounding head as if he still had a heart.
“If I go in… I can’t.”
It felt like he was suffocating. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his family, but he didn’t want to feel the suffocating tension in that house again.
He wanted to run away somewhere. Anywhere…
“Hm, this fragrance is amazing.”
He froze in shock when a voice came from nearby. He struggled not to look, but eventually turned his eyes toward the sound.
A young woman with her long hair tied up high was walking along the quiet street. Her youthful face still looked childlike as she held a purple bouquet that the middle-aged woman had been wrapping in the flower shop earlier. She inhaled the scent deeply, smiling in satisfaction before walking with a larger stride toward the villa entrance.
At some point, Joo Yi-Gyeol found himself following her.
The woman walked up to the familiar old door without issue. However, the door lock was one Joo Yi-Gyeol had never seen before, and the password was unfamiliar as well. The mechanical beep sounded strangely foreign.
She entered the house and, despite there being no shoes outside, greeted with a cheerful “I’m home.” Without putting down her bag, she opened a door to a room and smiled at someone inside.
“Oppa, I brought a gift today.”
Hearing that term again made Joo Yi-Gyeol’s head ring.
“Ta-da! Isn’t it pretty?”
The woman proudly showed off the bouquet in her hand to the person inside, walking in without hesitation. Without anyone dragging her, Joo Yi-Gyeol followed her slowly.
He didn’t want to go, but he had to see who was in the room.
Even though it was afternoon, the room was dim until the woman turned on a light. The bright ceiling light illuminated the furniture as well as the person lying underneath it.
The man, who was so pale and emaciated, looked like a corpse. The transparent tube connected to his nose indicated the state he was in.
The woman placed the bouquet next to his pillow, saying she would change and be back soon. She left the room, and then started chattering away in the next room. She talked about a group project she had with a lazy senior who kept making excuses and about a new tart at a café she had visited.
Meanwhile, Joo Yi-Gyeol remained, silently gazing at the man in the room.
The bouquet of irises that the woman had left behind matched strangely well with the man's deathly pale complexion. His closed eyes and lips didn’t seem likely to open. The faint sounds of breath were the only sign that the man was still alive.
In the meantime, the woman returned, now dressed in casual clothes, holding a basin of warm water and a clean square towel. She sat next to the man and, still smiling, dipped the towel into the water, wrung it out, and carefully wiped his face.
“It’s already iris season. Time really flies, huh?”
She kept talking to the silent man, even as she undressed him and wiped down his body, her actions skillful as if she had done this many times before.
Beep beep—
The mechanical sound of the door lock rang as a middle-aged woman entered the house, carrying a black bag full of something.
“Mom, you’re back?”
The woman, still wiping the man’s body, turned to greet her mother, eyes sparkling.
“What did you bring this time?”
“I went shopping.”
“Not that, the shopping bag.”
The middle-aged woman placed the black bag on the kitchen table, and then entered the room with a smile, sitting on the floor with her daughter. She pulled something out of the bag and showed it.
The item was a round music box in a transparent acrylic case. A golden butterfly was perched delicately on top of the small music box.
“Jiyoung’s mom opened a music box shop at the intersection up ahead. I stopped by to buy something for her.”
“It’s pretty! But you only bought one?”
The daughter admired the music box and pouted, already knowing who it was meant for.
“You just focus on eating until your belly’s full. The other bag’s for you.”
“I’m on a diet… but I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Has there ever been a ‘today’ you started?”
“Mom!”
The middle-aged woman lightly pinched her daughter’s cheek and stood up. She placed the music box on top of a neat dresser, and a peaceful, clear tune began to play.
“He likes butterflies, so I just bought it without thinking. I hope our son likes it.”
“He’ll definitely like it.”
The mother patted her daughter’s head as she smiled and picked up the bouquet next to the man’s pillow.
“I’ll put this in a vase. It’ll look good next to the music box.”
“Right? Timing’s perfect, right? It was a good purchase.”
“Well, well. Even if you get paid for your part-time job, you’ve never given me flowers.”
“I make you coffee sometimes. I’m not cheap, you know?”
“You must be very precious.”
The middle-aged woman laughed as she left the room. Meanwhile, the daughter continued chatting idly, still wiping the man’s body.
When the body had been cleaned up and the bouquet was placed next to the music box, a middle-aged man with sparse gray hair entered the room. He wore a navy blue jumper and a hat labeled "Security." Without a word, he entered the room and gently patted the man’s head.
“Honey, we’re having dinner before we leave, right?”
The middle-aged woman’s voice called out from outside as the man gruffly replied.
“Yeah. We have to go right after eating.”
“Dad, I have to go to work too. Let’s leave together.”
The door had been left wide open, so the voices from outside could be heard clearly. Inside the room, the only thing left was the man’s lifeless body, yet the bright ceiling light felt as unfamiliar as his family.
“Why…”
Joo Yi-Gyeol stood in the room, staring at the man, his mind filled with a single question.
“Was he… alive?”
The body he thought was dead was still alive.
He looked up and glanced around the room. The unfamiliar new furniture made the place feel even stranger than the old things he remembered.
Then, he noticed a small calendar on the wall. It was likely promotional, as the bottom of the calendar displayed the logo and branch name of a famous supermarket.
He didn’t know the date. But just by looking at the calendar, he could tell how much time had passed.
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s body had been in a coma for two and a half years.
His mind felt as empty as if he could no longer think. Moving away from the wall, he slowly flew along the road, taking in everything he saw with his eyes.
When he passed through a stone wall and entered a wider area, things unfolded that he couldn’t help but acknowledge.
There were various types of vehicles parked along the alley, storefronts lined with Korean signs, and beyond them, several high-rise buildings taller than the Imperial Palace.
This was definitely Korea.
And it was the familiar street he had walked on with his own two feet before falling ill. How could he not recognize it?
Just as he was absentmindedly glancing around, a group of neatly dressed high school students walked into the alley. The five male students were chatting and playing around with bright faces. Although Joo Yi-Gyeol couldn’t feel the temperature due to his spiritual state, the students’ light clothing suggested it was a warm season.
He stared at the students having a lively conversation for a while before moving toward the storefronts. Some businesses had changed, but others remained the same. He approached each one, peering inside.
There was the hardware store owner, now with a more wrinkled face than before; the unfamiliar convenience store worker displaying carnations; and a familiar middle-aged woman arranging beautiful flowers and making bouquets in front of the store.
The more he saw, the more he could feel the reality sinking in.
"Really... am I back?"
It seemed like a hollow laugh might escape him.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t missed Korea, but he had lived intentionally pushing the thought of returning out of his mind, as he had thought he could never come back. Now, facing this familiar scenery, his confusion only deepened.
When he snapped back to his senses, he found himself flying through the familiar streets, gradually picking up speed, heading somewhere. He quickly realized where he was headed.
“No, I can’t.”
His mind felt as though it was filled with complex error messages, like a computer’s blue screen, warning him not to go any further.
He stood still in front of an old villa, unable to move. He stopped himself from going inside, trying to calm his pounding head as if he still had a heart.
“If I go in… I can’t.”
It felt like he was suffocating. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his family, but he didn’t want to feel the suffocating tension in that house again.
He wanted to run away somewhere. Anywhere…
“Hm, this fragrance is amazing.”
He froze in shock when a voice came from nearby. He struggled not to look, but eventually turned his eyes toward the sound.
A young woman with her long hair tied up high was walking along the quiet street. Her youthful face still looked childlike as she held a purple bouquet that the middle-aged woman had been wrapping in the flower shop earlier. She inhaled the scent deeply, smiling in satisfaction before walking with a larger stride toward the villa entrance.
At some point, Joo Yi-Gyeol found himself following her.
The woman walked up to the familiar old door without issue. However, the door lock was one Joo Yi-Gyeol had never seen before, and the password was unfamiliar as well. The mechanical beep sounded strangely foreign.
She entered the house and, despite there being no shoes outside, greeted with a cheerful “I’m home.” Without putting down her bag, she opened a door to a room and smiled at someone inside.
“Oppa, I brought a gift today.”
Hearing that term again made Joo Yi-Gyeol’s head ring.
“Ta-da! Isn’t it pretty?”
The woman proudly showed off the bouquet in her hand to the person inside, walking in without hesitation. Without anyone dragging her, Joo Yi-Gyeol followed her slowly.
He didn’t want to go, but he had to see who was in the room.
Even though it was afternoon, the room was dim until the woman turned on a light. The bright ceiling light illuminated the furniture as well as the person lying underneath it.
The man, who was so pale and emaciated, looked like a corpse. The transparent tube connected to his nose indicated the state he was in.
The woman placed the bouquet next to his pillow, saying she would change and be back soon. She left the room, and then started chattering away in the next room. She talked about a group project she had with a lazy senior who kept making excuses and about a new tart at a café she had visited.
Meanwhile, Joo Yi-Gyeol remained, silently gazing at the man in the room.
The bouquet of irises that the woman had left behind matched strangely well with the man's deathly pale complexion. His closed eyes and lips didn’t seem likely to open. The faint sounds of breath were the only sign that the man was still alive.
In the meantime, the woman returned, now dressed in casual clothes, holding a basin of warm water and a clean square towel. She sat next to the man and, still smiling, dipped the towel into the water, wrung it out, and carefully wiped his face.
“It’s already iris season. Time really flies, huh?”
She kept talking to the silent man, even as she undressed him and wiped down his body, her actions skillful as if she had done this many times before.
Beep beep—
The mechanical sound of the door lock rang as a middle-aged woman entered the house, carrying a black bag full of something.
“Mom, you’re back?”
The woman, still wiping the man’s body, turned to greet her mother, eyes sparkling.
“What did you bring this time?”
“I went shopping.”
“Not that, the shopping bag.”
The middle-aged woman placed the black bag on the kitchen table, and then entered the room with a smile, sitting on the floor with her daughter. She pulled something out of the bag and showed it.
The item was a round music box in a transparent acrylic case. A golden butterfly was perched delicately on top of the small music box.
“Jiyoung’s mom opened a music box shop at the intersection up ahead. I stopped by to buy something for her.”
“It’s pretty! But you only bought one?”
The daughter admired the music box and pouted, already knowing who it was meant for.
“You just focus on eating until your belly’s full. The other bag’s for you.”
“I’m on a diet… but I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Has there ever been a ‘today’ you started?”
“Mom!”
The middle-aged woman lightly pinched her daughter’s cheek and stood up. She placed the music box on top of a neat dresser, and a peaceful, clear tune began to play.
“He likes butterflies, so I just bought it without thinking. I hope our son likes it.”
“He’ll definitely like it.”
The mother patted her daughter’s head as she smiled and picked up the bouquet next to the man’s pillow.
“I’ll put this in a vase. It’ll look good next to the music box.”
“Right? Timing’s perfect, right? It was a good purchase.”
“Well, well. Even if you get paid for your part-time job, you’ve never given me flowers.”
“I make you coffee sometimes. I’m not cheap, you know?”
“You must be very precious.”
The middle-aged woman laughed as she left the room. Meanwhile, the daughter continued chatting idly, still wiping the man’s body.
When the body had been cleaned up and the bouquet was placed next to the music box, a middle-aged man with sparse gray hair entered the room. He wore a navy blue jumper and a hat labeled "Security." Without a word, he entered the room and gently patted the man’s head.
“Honey, we’re having dinner before we leave, right?”
The middle-aged woman’s voice called out from outside as the man gruffly replied.
“Yeah. We have to go right after eating.”
“Dad, I have to go to work too. Let’s leave together.”
The door had been left wide open, so the voices from outside could be heard clearly. Inside the room, the only thing left was the man’s lifeless body, yet the bright ceiling light felt as unfamiliar as his family.
“Why…”
Joo Yi-Gyeol stood in the room, staring at the man, his mind filled with a single question.
“Was he… alive?”
The body he thought was dead was still alive.
He looked up and glanced around the room. The unfamiliar new furniture made the place feel even stranger than the old things he remembered.
Then, he noticed a small calendar on the wall. It was likely promotional, as the bottom of the calendar displayed the logo and branch name of a famous supermarket.
He didn’t know the date. But just by looking at the calendar, he could tell how much time had passed.
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s body had been in a coma for two and a half years.
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