LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 43
Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 43
Cancer?
Everyone was in a state of temporary panic at the news that came out of the blue.
Seo Rihyuk, who had been persistently questioning, had a blank expression.
His face, which was already pale, looked like a sheet of paper.
Wang Jiho was coughing incessantly, as if he had heard something.
Kim Junghyun smiled awkwardly and said, “I told you. It’s better not to know.”
“Do they have surgery if you have cancer?”
“They did a while ago. But the situation is a bit vague now.”
“…What do you mean vague?”
Kim Junghyun scratched his head at Seo Rihyuk’s question.
“I’ll stop here. It’s better to talk to Bijoo for the details. It’s a difficult issue for me to talk about…”
Kim Junghyun put his bulky old smartphone on the table.
He pressed the shortcut number 7 and Kim Bijoo’s number appeared.
They all swallowed their saliva.
A gentle voice rang from the speakerphone.
-Hey, what’s up? Couldn’t find the drink?
“No, it’s just… you know.”
-You didn’t accidentally break something on your way, did you?
“Do I always break things?”
-Thank goodness. I thought I had to pay for it again like last time.
A clear laughter was heard.
Kim Junghyun looked at his smartphone as if it were a time bomb.
“Hey, I have something to tell you.”
-What is it?
“I ran into Woojoo Hyung, Rihyuk, and Jiho at the cafe.”
-Huh? Why are they all at the hospital? Did Jiho get hurt? Or Rihyuk? It can’t be Woojoo Hyung.
What did it mean that it couldn’t be him?
“Jiho twisted his ankle a little.”
-What?!
His voice rose for the first time.
Soon, a noisy sound was heard from the other side of the phone.
Kim Junghyun quickly fixed it.
“You don’t have to worry. He said he’ll be fine if he rests for a day or two.”
-Still. Is he okay?
“Well, he looks okay. But… they asked why we were at the hospital. They said they saw us earlier. So I wondered if I could tell them…”
There was a long silence from the other side.
Kim Junghyun’s Adam’s apple went up and down repeatedly.
-Junghyun.
“Yeah?”
-You told them.
“Yeah? No.”
-…
Seon Woojoo could only hear his voice, but he felt like he could see Kim Bijoo’s ghost in front of him.
He looked at Kim Junghyun with a look that said to answer him straight, with his arms crossed.
His Adam’s apple went up and down a few times.
Kim Junghyun parted his lips.
“I’m sorry.”
-I knew it. You sounded weird from the start. So you’re talking about this on speakerphone?
“Yeah.”
-…
Seon Woojoo intervened.
“Bijoo, hi.”
-Yes, hellooo…
He said with a sigh that sounded like a long breath.
-Junghyun, can you turn off the speakerphone for a moment?
“Why?”
-I have something I want to talk to you privately. Turn off the speakerphone and switch to normal call.
“Hey, I…”
-Right now.
Kim Junghyun turned off the speakerphone as if he were pressing a switch to hell. He brought the phone to his ear. The volume was low, so he couldn’t hear well, but a whispering voice continued without a break.
It didn’t seem like a good thing.
He wasn’t even exercising, but sweat was forming on Kim Junghyun’s wrists.
“Yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. No, what I was trying to say… Yeah, right. Yeah… That’s, yeah.”
It was like the husband was nagged by his wife for a long time before Kim Junghyun finally ended the call.
“Phew, I survived.”
Kim Junghyun wiped his face.
“What did he say?”
“He said he’ll let it go this time, since the situation is what it is. He said he’ll talk to you and the kids separately, and asked me to pick him up.”
“Pick him up?”
“He said he got lost.”
At that, the three of them opened their mouths in unison.
“Again?”
***
It took them 30 minutes to find Kim Bijoo.
He was far away from the hospital. They wondered how he got here.
As soon as they joined the younger ones in the lounge, Kim Bijoo ran to Wang Jiho.
“Jiho, you said you hurt your foot. Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Normally, the youngest would have whined, but he waved his hand. He couldn’t even look at Kim Bijoo.
He was limping.
Seon Woojoo suddenly remembered the funeral of his mom and dad when he was seven.
The kindergarten friends who came to the hall were just like that.
They didn’t know what to say, and they suddenly burst into tears.
But he wouldn’t cry.
“Didn’t you say Jiho hurt his leg?” Kim Junghyun whispered in Seon Woojoo’s ear.
Wang Jiho’s walk was normal. Not hobbling like before.
“He’s too shocked. He doesn’t even know he’s walking.”
Kim Junghyun walked briskly and supported Wang Jiho.
Seon Woojoo heard him say, “Thank you, Hyung.”
Seo Rihyuk was supposed to help him, but what was he doing?
Seon Woojoo looked around and found another person who was walking with his eyes on the ground.
He was the exact opposite of Wang Jiho.
It was strange to see him like that.
Kim Bijoo looked at the younger ones and whispered, “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I thought it would be a burden.”
“Why would it be a burden?”
“You’re all busy with practice. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I don’t like it when you look at me like that.”
“Well, they always look at you like that.”
Kim Bijoo’s eyes turned to Seon Woojoo.
He nodded.
“Just like now.”
A small laugh escaped from his lips.
It was a joke to lighten the mood, and it worked.
Kim Bijoo said with a relieved expression, “Thank you for treating me the same. If you were like that too, I would have suffocated.”
“I went through something similar. If I hadn’t, I would have been no different from them.”
“Something similar?”
“Did I tell you? When I was in elementary school, my grandmother had cancer surgery.”
“Oh.”
Seon Woojoo didn’t say anything like I know how you feel.
He knew what kind of reaction to show as an experienced person.
Just treat them the same.
Don’t cringe, don’t pity them, don’t give them useless comfort.
“Is she okay now?”
“Of course. It’s been over 10 years. Cancer is terrible, but it usually doesn’t last that long.”
Kim Bijoo laughed again.
“Why?”
“No, it’s just that I used to think the same way. That cancer couldn’t last that long.”
A bitter smile crossed his face.
“But it wasn’t true.”
***
Before they entered the room, Kim Bijoo gathered them and explained the situation.
His brother’s name was Kim Minjun.
He was 10 years old, almost the same age as their youngest.
He was diagnosed with the disease when he was younger, five years old.
Seon Woojoo didn’t know the exact name of the disease.
He tried to explain it, but Seon Woojoo couldn’t understand it.
All Seon Woojoo knew was that he suffered a lot after the surgery.
For the next five years, he couldn’t go to kindergarten or school because he had to undergo constant treatment.
Sometimes he even had to be hospitalized.
“He was admitted a few days ago because he suddenly had a fever. Junghyun Hyung knew about my situation, so he came with me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I didn’t want to worry you.”
“No, it’s understandable,” Seo Rihyuk said, swallowing his saliva, and Wang Jiho nodded his head repeatedly.
Kim Bijoo smiled and grabbed the door handle.
“Don’t just pat his head. He hates that.”
The door opened with a click.
The humid smell of the humidifier and the view of the hospital room came into sight. A middle-aged couple sitting on chairs and a kid reading a book on the bed.
“Mom, I’m here.”
They exchanged awkward greetings with the middle-aged couple who got up from their seats.
Kim Bijoo explained that they were here to visit the patient.
“Oh, you’re here. It’s the first time we’ve met these friends, right?”
His father had a calm impression.
He spoke softly, like a professor, and he actually used to be a college professor. The father and son looked so much alike that if you put glasses on Kim Bijoo and aged him for 30 years, he would look exactly like him.
“Do you like fruits? I sliced some apples.”
His mother, on the contrary, was lively in her speech.
You know those people who made you smile just by looking at them. They had a charming personality.
Kim Bijoo’s mother was like that.
When Seon Woojoo politely took a piece of apple, she called out to the kid who was staring at the book on the bed.
“Minjun, your brothers are here.”
“I’ll just finish reading this page.”
A cute voice came out.
He looked like a smart student, not a patient, if he wasn’t wearing a hospital gown.
Kim Minjun, who was speed-reading a science book, closed it.
“Junghyun Hyung. Did you bring ice cream?”
“Of course.”
Kim Junghyun smiled and took out the contents from the bag.
The kid’s face brightened up the room.
Then he looked at them and exclaimed.
“You’re the ones I saw on TV. Right?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Bijoo smiled proudly and tapped his cheek. Kim Minjun, holding an ice cream in his hand, bowed his head.
“Hello.”
Kim Bijoo introduced him to them.
“This is Woojoo Hyung. He’s the one who made our song.”
“Nice name. I love space.”
“Me too.”
He smiled and reached out his hand. Seon Woojoo wondered what he wanted, but it seemed like he wanted to shake hands.
He was so cute that Seon Woojoo shook his hand.
“This is Rihyuk Hyung. He’s the best singer in our group.”
“Hello.”
Seo Rihyuk smiled awkwardly and accepted his hand.
“This is Jiho Hyung.”
“Jiho?”
“Yeah, Jiho Hyung.”
“Oh.”
He withdrew his hand.
He rubbed his palm on his belly as if he was wiping off sweat. But that was it.
They burst out laughing, and only Wang Jiho looked bewildered at Kim Bijoo.
“What did you say about me, Bijoo Hyung?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“…”
“A little bit?” Kim Bijoo said cautiously and then laughed as if he found it funny.
Then he spoke to his brother.
“Minjun, you should shake hands with Jiho Hyung too.”
“Okay.” Kim Minjun reached out his hand and said, “Stop being picky about food and be nice to our Hyung.”
While Wang Jiho blinked his eyes like a dumbfounded fish, everyone in the room laughed.
***
“How can he have such long eyelashes and such a pretty face? Come on, eat.”
“Thank you.”
Seon Woojoo took the fork that Kim Bijoo’s mother handed him. He ate six pieces of apple, smiling and responding.
“Our Bijoo came back from the end-of-year evaluation and praised you so much. He said his new friend is amazing, even though he’s younger. We were also amazed when we saw the video you filmed.”
“Thank you.”
“Bijoo always praises you when he comes home or calls. He says today Woojoo Hyung did this, and thanks to him everything is going well…”
“Mom. Ah, please. Ah.”
Kim Bijoo cut her off and fed her an apple.
“What did you say when you first appeared on the show?”
“Mom, have another one here.”
“He’s just like Bijoo, always interrupting me.”
“Mom, please…”
A smile lingered on Seon Woojoo’s lips.
It was fun to see Kim Bijoo, who always acted like a mother to them, act like this.
“Anyway.”
Kim Bijoo’s mother took Seon Woojoo’s hand and said, “Please take good care of our child. I trust you, Woojoo.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
“He looks so kind, but he’s very stubborn. He’s just like his father…”
“Honey, have an apple.”
This time, his father fed her an apple.
The mother, who chattered like a girl, was cute, and the father and son who desperately tried to stop her were cute too.
They were different from the patient’s family Seon Woojoo had imagined.
But that didn’t mean Kim Minjun looked healthy. His face was bright, but his complexion was not.
Should Seon Woojoo say he was pale?
Seon Woojoo thought he now knew what they meant by ‘purple lips’.
The mother told Seon Woojoo.
“His fever has gone down a lot now. Yesterday, his fever was boiling and we had to call the doctor at dawn. He was crying and the doctor didn’t want to come…”
“That’s how the university hospital is.”
Seon Woojoo chatted with the mother while looking after Kim Minjun.
They were playing a board game on the bed.
A ten-year-old and three older brothers.
It was something like Blue Marble, but Seon Woojoo didn’t know what it was. They were all losing.
It seemed like they were letting him win, but Seo Rihyuk was the only one who looked annoyed.
He didn’t care about the others, but he seemed to be doing his best.
Seon Woojoo could tell by the way he looked at the dice with displeasure.
Wang Jiho was much more relaxed than before.
He even laughed sometimes.
And Kim Junghyun kept smiling at Kim Minjun. He sometimes patted him, and it was the first time Seon Woojoo saw him with such a gentle expression.
“Junghyun and Minjun are very close.”
Kim Bijoo’s father answered Seon Woojoo’s remark.
“Junghyun always followed him whenever Bijoo came. He also stayed up with us when we were having a hard time. He’s like family.”
His father looked at Kim Junghyun with the same expression as Kim Junghyun looked at Kim Minjun.
Of course, Kim Minjun was the same.
The little boy with the buzz cut laughed happily whenever Kim Junghyun made a booger joke or played a prank that elementary school kids would like.
He looked at his brother with sparkling eyes.
“That’s also what Junghyun bought.”
“What? Oh.”
Kim Bijoo pointed to the stand by the bed.
There was a Lego model.
It looked like a scene from a hero movie.
That was what Kim Junghyun had carefully taken out in the morning.
Seon Woojoo felt like the mystery was solved.
But there was still something that bothered him.
Kim Minjun’s fight against cancer had started five years ago.
Then why did Kim Bijoo suddenly act weird lately?
“Bijoo.”
Seon Woojoo was about to talk to him.
There was a cheer from where the board game was spread.
Kim Minjun had won the game.
He lifted the miniature trophy that looked like a symbol of victory and smiled brightly.
“Minjun seems to be in a good mood today.”
Seon Woojoo looked at the ten-year-old child following Kim Bijoo’s gaze.
He had been fighting cancer since he was five.
He was smaller and bald than his peers because of the anti-cancer treatment that suppressed his cells. He couldn’t even go to kindergarten, let alone school. He looked like he was enjoying a rare pleasure.
“Hyung, what did you want to ask?”
“Nothing.”
Seon Woojoo shook his head, thinking he shouldn’t ruin the mood for now.
The mother called her youngest son with a flushed face.
“Minjun, are you happy that your brothers are here?”
“Yes!”
The boy smiled brightly.
“I wish today wouldn’t end.”