Sentimental Shower

#027

A patient with severed fingers wasn’t particularly surprising, even if it had been a while. The problem was that he attacked him as soon as the treatment was finished.

“You, bastard, you took my money…! You…!”

Seeing his bloodshot eyes, he seemed to be an addict. There were occasionally people like this. Those soaked in drugs sometimes had hallucinations from pain or tried to harm him due to various side effects.

Mr. Yoo, grabbed by the collar, let out a small sigh and looked around. The desk where he kept his revolver was out of reach.

“Popo, come here.”

Popo, who had been rolling around helplessly beside him, actually retreated further when called to approach. Despite being an old-fashioned robot in the shape of a round ball without a face, it was clearly expressing fear. It probably guessed that he would use it as a weapon.

Damn it. Mr. Yoo inwardly cursed and reached out his arm to the side, feeling around. Meanwhile, the man was still gripping Mr. Yoo’s collar and shaking him violently.

“Give me back my money! This is rigged gambling!”

So noisy. How nice it would be if he had a function to dull his auditory sensors.

He had already told him to calm down several times. The unfocused, crazed eyes didn’t listen no matter how many times he spoke.

“I’ll kill you!”

The man shouted, consumed by rage. What did I do? Along with bewilderment, he felt a cool sensation on his neck. It was a knife.

He gripped the man’s arm with both hands and pushed with all his might, but the strength of the drug-intoxicated young man was tremendous. He could feel the blade digging into his skin.

Fortunately, something heavy was caught in his hand. It was a tablet stand. Roughly calculating how much damage this iron object would inflict on the head of the man gripping his collar, and how much it would cost to replace if it broke, he swung his hand with all his might.

With a horrible sound of impact, the hand gripping his collar lost strength. The body that had been almost crushing Mr. Yoo slumped to the side.

“Haa…”

He let out a deep sigh. The sensation of the stand hitting the head felt ominous, so this collapsed man probably…

Catching his breath, he placed his hand on the man’s neck. As expected, no pulse could be felt.

– Blood loss detected! Blood loss detected! Mr. Yoo injured!

Only when Popo rushed over and started to stop the bleeding did he feel the pain. Pushing away Popo’s small metal arm and feeling around, his hand came away soaked in blood. Looking in the mirror, he saw the wound was quite deep.

“Should I stitch it up?”

When he asked, Popo moved its round body up and down as if nodding.

– Just above the carotid artery, very deep laceration! Suturing recommended!

“Then please do.”

Popo produced a sharp needle from the tip of its small metal arm. Another metal arm pulled out medical thread. Then, as if it had forgotten something, it shook its round body left and right and carefully spoke.

– The anesthetic is 50 jeon…?

…He thought he understood the meaning of the old saying that you can’t even drink water in front of children.

***

After finishing the treatment, he was too exhausted to do anything, so he changed the sign to “Closed” and buried himself in a chair. The exhaustion might have been due to the severe blood loss. He had bled enough to soak the upper part of his gown thoroughly.

When he opened his eyes, which had been closed, the uncleaned corpse came into view. He felt nauseous.

Killing people was never pleasant. No matter how many times he did it, he would never get used to it.

He was tired of this vicious survival instinct that made him want to live even if it meant killing others. Of course, he wasn’t sure if he, an android, even had a survival instinct.

What was he trying to gain by surviving so desperately? Even when he asked himself, he couldn’t find an answer.

Perhaps it was because he had seen his siblings discarded without ever seeing the light of day. He didn’t want to disappear so futilely.

The astronomy book on the shelf in the animal hospital had a story about the death of stars.

It said that when a star disappears, it emits an extremely high temperature. It releases heat so strong from within itself that any life form, let alone humans, would melt without a trace if they touched it.

At the end of such an intense demise, nothing remains. Only a small amount of gas serves as evidence that a massive star once existed, and even that soon disappears.

Humans, who call themselves descendants of stars, desire so much to make their names known after death.

His brother Yoo-hyun died, no, was discarded, but his music still remains in people’s memories. He wasn’t envious of his younger brother. After all, he was dead. No, discarded.

What would remain after his own death? Since he wasn’t a descendant of stars, he wouldn’t leave behind any shining components. Perhaps only the black moonstone in his chest would remain.

When his thoughts reached that point, he remembered Yeon Tae-soo shooting the chest of a dead android, turning it into a mess.

His body trembled, and the fact that his body trembled was laughable. Even now, he had just killed a person. How was he any different from Yeon Tae-soo?

Just as he was about to get up to clean up the corpse, Yeon Tae-soo came in.

Yeon Tae-soo’s gaze alternated between the corpse and him. The stride of his long legs stretching out, the light reflecting off the toe of his black shoes, and the outdoor smell emanating from his black suit were welcome.

“Are you badly hurt?”

He wanted to answer that he was fine, that it was nothing, but words wouldn’t come out. Unable to even shake his head, he just bit his lip, and a large hand cupped his cheek.

“I’m sorry. I came late.”

He keeps showing affection. Unlike himself who wants to live so desperately, with eyes that wouldn’t care if he died right now.

“It’s okay now. I’m here.”

That’s why he disliked him.

Mr. Yoo took a breath and raised his limp body. He could move a little now.

As he looked for a stretcher to take the corpse to the incinerator as usual, Yeon Tae-soo, who was helping beside him, stopped his hand.

“Wait a moment.”

Looking at the corpse’s face, he clicked his tongue.

“Mr. Yoo, this is going to be… complicated.”

“Why is that?”

“This bastard is the son of a current member of the National Assembly.”

Mr. Yoo’s head started to ache at Yeon Tae-soo’s words.

Usually, those who come here with severed fingers are people whose lives have hit rock bottom. The son of a National Assembly member?

“He’s a wayward son…. He’s so out of control that he can’t even enter Eden, but his father is the problem.”

He fully understood that it meant the father might use his son’s death, not for grieving or revenge.

As he tried to think with his throbbing head about what to do, Yeon Tae-soo stood up.

“I’ll take care of it. Mr. Yoo, go to Eden. Lock the door.”

“What? What are you saying?”

He stood blocking Yeon Tae-soo’s path as he was about to leave the hospital.

“This is my business. I’ll resolve it myself.”

“How are you going to resolve it?”

How to resolve it? After hesitating for a moment, he opened his mouth.

“If we dispose of it in the incinerator, no one will know anyway…”

“What if someone saw him coming in here while passing by? What if it was captured on an advertising vehicle’s black box?”

He had thought about the possibility of witnesses too. But what could be done?

“…This isn’t something for you to be concerned about, Mr. Yeon.”

The fight for life was always a solitary one. Isn’t that natural? Even humans ultimately have to manage their own lives by themselves.

Yeon Tae-soo let out a small sigh. He wondered what the bitter smile on his lips meant.

“At first, I thought Mr. Yoo’s expression was one of wanting to die.”

His fingertips reached out and lightly removed the blood-soaked gown. Then he took off his own jacket and draped it over Mr. Yoo’s bare shoulders.

“But looking again, I realized it was an expression asking to be saved. Just like a scream.”

The scent of iron emanated from the fingertips pulling up the jacket that was about to slip off.

“Wait quietly. I’ll collect the debt when I get back.”

At the mention of collecting the debt, his mind, which was about to rush out with him, suddenly calmed down.

If there were conditions, if it was a deal, it was fine. Whatever the price, it would probably just be this body anyway.

As if his expression had been read, Yeon Tae-soo grinned. The analysis of that smile appeared on the display. ‘Concern’.

‘Concern? Not confidence?’

While he was briefly suspicious, Yeon Tae-soo had already left through the door, making a phone call to someone.

As he watched Yeon Tae-soo’s receding back, his mind began to get confused.

Not long after, Yeon Tae-soo’s subordinates arrived. Some took the corpse away, while others put Mr. Yoo in a car.

Upon arriving at Eden, he went into his room but couldn’t sit still at all.

Although he already knew that Yeon Tae-soo’s connections were impressive, he couldn’t help but worry.

‘Should I have gone with him?’

He had unknowingly stayed put at the words that he would collect the price and to wait. Like an idiot.

“Haa…”

He sighed and rubbed his face dry. A sense of helplessness weighed down his body.