Chapter 7-1
by Han Yong-un
It has already been a month since Dae-cheol stayed at Sun-young's house.
Before treating Dae-cheol's illness, Sun-young focused on restoring his vitality as much as possible.
“I wish I could have a nice bowl of bear soup….”
“I wish I could grill some tender lean meat or heart and eat to my heart's content….”
“I wish I could buy some good snacks or fruits and keep them for a long time….”
Besides that, talking about all kinds of food became a habit for Dae-cheol.
Sun-young not only brought him morphine,
but every time Dae-cheol looked for something to eat, she felt pity thinking about how hungry he must have been, and she tried to fulfill his requests as much as possible.
However, Dae-cheol's demands only grew stronger and did not decrease at all.
Thus, Sun-young realized that Dae-cheol's desire for food was not merely due to hunger but rather a habit formed from his addiction.
Nevertheless—
Every time he asked once, twice, three times, four times…
she felt sad and distressed, and ultimately could not help but bring it to him.
“Now that you seem to have recovered some vitality, shouldn't you start thinking about how to treat your illness?”
Whenever Sun-young said this,
Dae-cheol would calmly respond, “I should treat it step by step after my vitality is fully restored. If I try to fix it all at once like breaking a dry branch, I won't be able to cure the illness and will only ruin myself. So let's wait a little longer.”
Dae-cheol brushed it off nonchalantly.
“Doctors and others say the same thing. You need to take tonics and medicine, but that's not enough.
They say you need to reduce the number of injections.
If someone was getting five injections a day, they should start by reducing it to four,
then to three, two… and so on.
Eventually, it will be down to one, and then completely stop, and that’s how the illness gets cured.
They say if you don't reduce the number of injections, no matter how much medicine you take, it won't help.
So starting today, you should reduce the number of injections.
I didn't mention it before because your body was too weak and I wanted to focus on restoring your vitality,
but now that you are better than before, you should start thinking about treating your illness.”
Sun-young sincerely urged.
Then Dae-cheol—
“Hold on. Let's observe a little longer. Do you think I have no thoughts? Since I am the sick one, I feel it more desperately, and I know better how to cure it.”
This illness is different from other illnesses, so it cannot be cured suddenly.”
He replied.
When he got tired of talking, he would often cover his face with his arm and lie down.
“Look at this. At first, you said it could be cured in a month, and even if it took longer, two or three months would be enough.”
But it's already been two months, and you haven't even started yet.”
Is this going to work? You need to get better as soon as possible and become a normal person. Start reducing from today.”
Even after Sun-young said this several times,
Dae-cheol made various excuses and did not follow her well.
Then one day—
“Honey, Sun-young.”
He called her affectionately.
“Yes?”
Sun-young thought he was going to bring up the topic of injections or food again and approached him.
“Hasn't it already been almost three months since I came here?”
Dae-cheol spoke as if he was about to say something important.
“That's right.”
Sun-young waited for him to say something.
“I can't stay here indefinitely. I need to get better too…
To cure my illness, I first need to take care of my body, and although I've improved a lot thanks to you since I came here, food alone is not enough.”
He trailed off.
“Is it just food? You have taken medicine too.”
“I take medicine, but that's not enough.”
“Then what should I do?”
“There is a way to easily reveal the body, but… it's a bit difficult to say.”
“What’s so hard about it? Just say it.”
“Talking is easy, but… it costs money.”
“What is it? If it’s not too expensive, I’ll try to manage it.”
“It’s not too expensive. However… it does cost a bit more than the injection.”
“Then please tell me. If I can do it, I’ll give it a try.”
“To reveal the body quickly, you need to take the ‘black medicine.’”
“What is the black medicine?”
Sun-young asked, feeling it was strange.
“There is something called black medicine. It’s real opium.”
The current injection medicine is not real opium, but just a little mixed with opium.
So you have no choice but to get the injection, but if possible, you should take real opium.
At first, I took that, but later I had no choice but to start getting the injection.”
“Isn’t that more toxic?”
“It’s more toxic, which is why it becomes medicine.”
“Then doesn’t that make it more addictive?”
“That’s true, but it’s not about continuing to take it; it’s just to temporarily reveal the body, so it’s okay.”
Dae-cheol stuttered and answered awkwardly.
“Where can I get that medicine?”
Sun-young was drawn to the idea that she could easily cure her illness.
“There are places to get it. It’s not sold publicly, only known to those who know.”
“Then how much do I need to buy?”
“If you have a lot of money, you can buy it all at once, or if not, about this amount per day will do.”
“This amount per day?”
“That’s right. It could cost a little less. If you use a lot, it costs more, and if you use less, it costs less, so there’s no set amount.”
Dae-cheol observed Sun-young's expression and changed the subject.
“Then… can’t it be done for about one won?”
“One won won’t do. You need at least one won and fifty jeon.”
Dae-cheol spoke as if pleading.
“More than one won and fifty jeon…?”
Sun-young lowered her head and thought for a long time.
And—
“Then please try it that way. After all, the illness must be cured. Please start visiting from today.”
Sun-young eventually gave her permission.
It was after about ten days.
“Honey, is the owner here?”
Speaking bluntly, a person entered Sun-young's yard.
And approached closely to the door of the inner room.
Sun-young, who was sewing in the adjoining room, was startled and dropped the ruler she was holding, looking outside.
It was a stranger she had never seen before.