By Zephyria 
‘This morning around 4:30 AM, a large Sinkhole, 2 meters wide and 2 meters long, occurred on Taeyeong-ro. As a result, all vehicle traffic is being completely controlled, and it is expected to disrupt the morning commute. Citizens are expressing anxiety…….’
The news from the radio turned off, and a loud, rhythmic trot song started playing. The old hand turned up the volume. A Sinkhole in the middle of the city, on the road. I replayed the news I had just heard and closed my tired eyes. They should do construction properly.
I thinly opened my closed eyes and looked at the passing scenery. The old taxi was full of crude decorations. The only thought that came to mind as soon as I got in was that I had gotten into the wrong one. The taxi, full of Rosary, Prayer beads, and all sorts of Hindu decorations, was the epitome of gaudiness. Inevitably, I fixed my gaze out the window and watched the dawning morning scenery. I could see the morning sun rising from the small gaps between the buildings.
“Let’s shake off our worries and all together…….”
I frowned, listening to the song with wrong rhythms and wrong notes. I must have groaned without realizing it. The taxi driver shrugged his shoulders, changed gears, and spoke to me.
“You must be tired from coming from the hospital.”
“……Yes.”
“Is it your parents?”
His worried tone made me uncomfortable. I cleared my throat and readjusted my bag.
“No.”
“Then, siblings?”
“……No.”
“Relatives? No, these days, even relatives don’t do the caregiving.”
The sound of the turn signal blinked loudly. The sound turned off as he made a small left turn. Unlike his appearance, the taxi driver was a good driver. He drove smoothly through the quiet dawn streets.
“Is it your lover?”
“…….”
“Must be your lover.”
The shoulders moving the steering wheel lightly shrugged. I tried to look at the driver in the rearview mirror, but all I could see was his white hair and strange sunglasses perched on the crown of his head. What did that driver look like? I tried to remember, but soon lost interest and leaned deeply into the seat.
“No, just…….”
And looking at the orange world rising, I continued.
“A strange guy.”
Our conversation ended there. After that, the driver asked a few more questions, but they were like soliloquies that didn’t really need an answer, so I didn’t bother answering. In the silence, the taxi entered a long tunnel.
These days, my biggest concern was Go Yohan. I quietly looked down at the small plastic Guardian pass in my hand. Every time I looked at it, I felt uneasy and heavy, so I turned my head and looked out the car window, where there was nothing to see. My clothes were the same as yesterday. Yesterday, I just wanted to be in that hospital room. I spent a quiet time watching Go Yohan, who was intoxicated with anesthesia after his second surgery.
Suddenly, when I thought time was passing too slowly, I nudged Go Yohan’s finger with a dazed mind.
A finger stuck together and not moving.
Seeing that he didn’t react much even when I poked him, I writhed in agony alone.
The taxi quickly passed through the tunnel and headed outside. A darkness darker than the inside unfolded before my eyes. Fatigue washed over me, but I didn’t close my eyes. My mind was getting clearer and clearer. The school’s symbol was visible in the distance. I took out my wallet from my bag.
“……Please drop me off right there.”
“Alright. I’ll drop you off there.”
“…….”
He was a driver with a very unique way of speaking.
After getting out of the taxi, I walked to the dormitory, thinking. I need to change my clothes and wash up. I need to get some sleep and go to the 9 o’clock class.
Growl.
My stomach suddenly growled.
“…….”
Ah, if there was someone next to me, I would have been so embarrassed. Come to think of it, I didn’t eat anything all day because I was watching the sleeping Go Yohan. Should I just endure it? I thought, then I remembered the convenience store nearby.
“Should I buy some ramen…….”
I hesitated, standing on the quiet street, then started walking. I readjusted my bag and headed to the convenience store. Strangely enough, even though the situation was like this, I was still hungry. Humans are truly instinctive animals. I smiled self-reproachfully. If I eat and fall asleep, the 9 o’clock class will be long gone.
This semester is completely ruined. Nevertheless, my steps did not stop.
There are no complaints. Go Yohan didn’t ask me to come find him, but I reduced my sleep and gave up lectures to stay in the hospital. Even though I knew the reason, I couldn’t stop my deviation. Sometimes, when I looked at Go Yohan sweating profusely during rehabilitation, I would be overwhelmed by an inexplicable feeling and secretly grab his sleeve or hem of his pants. Even while keeping a straight face.
There were good things in that life too.
Go Yohan told me at the hospital. That it’s really delicious to put tuna kimbap in spicy stir-fried ramen. I wondered if he knew things like this, but it wasn’t strange that Go Yohan knew it.
A strange guy. What better word to describe Go Yohan than this?
I licked my lips, looking at the convenience store with the lights on in the distance.
I’m getting hungrier and hungrier. I put the Guardian pass in my pocket and walked along the dark dawn road. The east was gradually breaking.