Eternal life - Magdalena Wita (best summer reads .TXT) 📗

It fell on the floor and they both got down to pick it up. They stopped paying attention to this mobile device, because they faces were really close to each other. They looked into each other’s eyes and after a while Young Saeng broke this close-up, looking down at the phone. He grabbed it and checked the photo of him, not feeling embarrassed of what happened. ‘Take one more, this is ugly!’

Aeri noticed earlier that she was feeling weird around him, but she just thought of it as an irritating thought planted by her friend. However at that moment she wasn’t sure anymore. She cleared her throat. ‘It won’t be better.’

Young Saeng narrowed his eyes. ‘Take that back.’

‘Make me.’

He stood up. Aeri closed her eyes, thinking he may really do something irresponsible, after what happed a while ago, but she felt nothing. She opened one eye and saw Young Saeng with a pillow. ‘No.’ She pointed her finger at him.

‘Oh, yes.’ And he hit her.

***

Moments later, when the fight stopped because one pillow opened and all of the filling was now on the floor, Young Saeng sat on the couch while checking his new phone and Aeri, with glasses on, sat in the kitchen with a laptop. He broke the silence. ‘You think it’s going to work?’

‘Hmmm?’ The nurse bit her lip.

‘The forum. Photo.’

‘Oh, yeah, I hope so. It’s been just a half of an hour since I posted it, I can check if someone answered…’

‘Wait, so that’s not why you so nervous?’ He knew about her twitch with biting lips. It was a sure sign of stress.

She looked at him in disbelief. ‘I’m nervous?’

‘Yeah, you’re biting your lips like a maniac.’ She touched her mouth, clearly not aware of that habit of her. ’Also you’ve been shaking the leg rapidly.’ She halted her limb with hand.

‘It’s just an habit, nothing wrong with that.’

‘Really? But you know, since I’m here and I’m not going to disappear quick, you can always say if something is wrong…’

She stared at him, considering speaking up, then looks back to the screen. She made her decision not to share to much about sad life. ‘No, everything is ok…’

‘Okay…’ He said, not satisfied with her answer, but he was thoughtful enough not to ask further. If she wanted to talk, she would to that without hesitation. He just had to wait.

Aeri read the e-mail from one of the teachers from her brother’s school. He caused some problem and they wanted to meet with her. She sighed. What happened this time?

Chapter 8

The next morning Young Saeng woke up early, as Aeri clatters pots in the kitchen. He sat on the couch, rubbing his eyes. The nurse noticed some movement behind her, so she turned around.

‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up.’ She sent an apologetic smile.

‘No problem.’ He yawned and murmured, siting crooked with his eyes closed.

‘I’m already late, thankfully phone call from Yu Jin woke me up…’ Aeri, when fully awake, was talkative, while the one with which she talked – rather didn’t wake up completely.

‘Yhym…’

She made some toasts for the breakfast, so now she was checking something on her phone, while putting a toast in her mouth and biting it. ‘I prefer night shifts, it’s much calmer that day one’s, thankfully from next week I will have them.’ She said, sending the crumbs around her.

‘Right…’ He didn’t want to be rude and not answer, but in slow matter he was falling forward.

Aeri sipped her coffee, shoved the rest of the toast and started to clean. ‘I will leave the ingredients on the table, prepare the breakfast by yourself.’

‘Absolutely…’ This time, instead of falling onto face, he decided to tilt to the side, so his face glued to the backrest.

‘Oh, I would forget!’ She coughed as she drank the coffee wrong, almost chocking on it, but Young Saeng didn’t even flinch. ‘Ji Soo woke me up, because her uncle found you a job, today you have to go there and introduce yourself. Don’t forget to thank in advance!’ She run to her room to grab some of her things and then came back to put on shoes.

It took few solid moments to let those words into his mind, but then Young Saeng suddenly straightened up, halting Aeri from grabbing the door handle. ‘What?!’

‘Yeah. I will send you address on your phone, just put it in the maps and you’ll get there. Oh!’ She leaned out from the entryway, since she already had shoes on, and put money on the shelf she could reach. ‘Allowance. Take care!’ And she walked out.

‘Wait, wait, wait! What job?!’ He tried to stand up and run after her, but he was tangled up in the blanket so he slipped. Second morning in a row he fell hard onto the ground. ‘Ouuuch!’ He scowled in pain.

Young Saeng heard as the door opened for last time. Aeri yelled at him from the corridor. ‘I said take care, not ‘kill yourself’! I’m late, call if something’s wrong!’ This time she shut the door and didn’t come back.

He was laying on the floor with a pout, massaging hurt areas. ‘You can’t wake me up like that, cruel woman…’ He said to himself. After that he heard the message bell on the phone, so he got up to check it. She sent there an address.

What picked up his interest was the name of place: Min Art Gallery. ‘An art gallery…?’ He turned his head and looked towards the shelf with his clothes. ‘What should I wear…?’

***

Young Saeng stood in front of big building with his mouth open and eyes squinted. As he entered the alley he noticed, that it was narrow street, with high development, but empty. There were some cars parked, but beside that – no one was around. Wind was softly blowing, running through his messy hair and lifting parts of his navy blue blazer mixed again with black trousers and sneakers.

He looked at the small note, where he rewrote the message from Aeri. The address was correct – the numbers on the paper matched those hung on the wall. And also there was a huge sign, saying ‘Min’s Art Gallery – modern & ancient’. On the front door there were some posters about ongoing exhibitions as well as opening hours.

Unfortunately, because of the early wake up and overflowing emotions of anxiety, Young Saeng came here early, more than two hours before opening. Therefore the gallery was still closed and he couldn’t find anyone near it. He even looked inside the gallery, maybe if there was someone waiting, but saw no soul alive. He decided to wander around the neighbourhood and to come back, when the time will be correct.

Two hours later he was again in front of the main entrance. This time he appeared just two minutes before opening, so he patiently waited until the door would open. But as the right time came, door remained closed.

At sudden he heard the engine and noticed as one car hurriedly entered the narrow alley. It definitely was an expensive car. It parked quickly, near to the building, almost hitting its wall. A man in his 60’s run out from this foreign car. He was wearing fitting, designer’s clothes and hurriedly run through the bunch of keys in his hands, murmuring some words about being late and being put in this situation again.

When he found the right key, he approached the door to the gallery, opened it and with his palms clenched in fists and laid on his hips, he turned around, in similar manner as an idol spoke with fans that gathered for his show, being prepared to give speech. But there was only one young man standing and gazing at him with awe.

The man grunted and started to speak. ‘Hello, welcome to the grand opening of Min’s Art Gallery. Today’s exhibition came to us for the middle of our beloved country and it looks like you’re going to be first one seeing it’s beauty, magnitude and-‘ He was pointing at Young Saeng, when he interrupted the old man.

‘I came here for job.’

‘Oh.’ The weird guy finally put down his hands. ‘So follow me.’ He went inside the gallery and the young man followed, but suddenly the old man turned around, making Young Saeng to take few steps back. He man took his head out of the door to look onto both sides of alley, like he was looking for someone. ‘Really, you’re the only one here now?’

Young Saeng didn’t know what to do in this situation, so she also looked around, but when he didn’t find anyone, he just awkwardly smirked. ‘Seems so?’

The man from gallery shook his head, disappointed. ‘That’s sad. But whatever.’ He again went inside and started to lead the way, opening some doors. He was preparing the gallery for guests, even though it should be already done, because it was fifteen minutes after opening hours. ‘So I’ve heard your history. Sad, isn’t it?’

The worst thing, that Young Saeng experienced after getting the amnesia, was not being in ability to read one’s intention. No matter how he tried, he didn’t know whenever the speaker wants to insult him, get out of him something he doesn’t even know or they just pity him. ‘Well, unpleasant, but I’m not crying…’

This kind of answer made the man laugh, letting out sincere one. Young Saeng brightened up a little bit. This man was weird, but he wasn’t bad. ‘Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Min Seong Gu, Min Ji Soo’s uncle from father’s side.’ He took and shook young man’s hand in western manner.

‘Jo Young Saeng.’ He slightly bended down.

‘That’s it as for the formalities.’ Mr. Min was talking and walking around the gallery, with Young Saeng following him step by step. ‘This gallery was opened, or more like opened again, by my beloved wife, as a hobby for a retirement, since our only son didn’t want to have a grandchildren. She wanted to get her hands busy, you know. I’m a small shareholder, don’t overthink where we got the funds.’ He turned around to blink to his future worker.

Young Saeng was looking at the gallery owner from above, as he nonchalantly continued to explain the gallery situation. ‘It was going pretty well, but month ago one curator quitted, recently second is pregnant and can’t move around. But the worst news gave me my son – it turned out he’s having twins really soon, so my wife’s attention is now in the kids. And I’m left with the gallery about which I have no clue.’ He put his hands up and shook them dramatically.

They finally got to the office. ‘Something to drink?’ Mr. Min offered, but Young Saeng declined. The old man shrugged his shoulders. ‘But I will.’

He bottomed up whole glass of water and sat on the couch in the centre of the office. Mr. Min looked at the young man, which was still standing and patted the couch near him, signalling that Young Saeng could rest there. ‘Sit, sit. Where was I?’

‘The twins?’

‘Right. Twins. Shocked us totally. And that’s for his ‘I will not marry, nor will have kids’. Brat. But whatever. So I was left here, alone, not knowing a thing about art. Thankfully I still had my best friend, one that knows the most, but watches from the shadows.’ He went quiet for a second, to build up the suspense. ‘The janitor. He was opening the gallery, welcoming guests, even though there weren’t many, but he had it under control. Unfortunately his wife got sick, like 2 months ago. And hence that time it’s like a rollercoaster – everyone somewhere disappeared and he’s not around, when he’s needed. Like today: he was supposed to open the exhibition, but suddenly his spouse got worse and he had to rush to the hospital.’

Young Saeng was sitting there awkwardly, since Ji Soo’s uncle was talking really quickly and the handsome man couldn’t sense where to interrupt him. ‘Poor him…’

‘Yeah… But tomorrow he’ll for sure be here and will show you what is to do.’

‘What is to do?’

‘Oh, so I didn’t tell you the most important? I hope that you’ll slowly take my old janitor’s job. He has to retire and I don’t care about your bad situation. Don’t worry. The documents will finally be done and as for that