AOA 133

“Um……”

My mind was not very clear. But I felt I should let someone know I had woken up, so I called the caregiver.

The woman who had been reading a book stood up and came over. The caregiver with a slender face was making a very startled expression.

“You woke up?”

“Yes.”

“Thank goodness. Thank goodness. No, instead of this, I should tell the nurse. Wait a moment.”

The caregiver whose eyes were brimming with tears ran out of the room. I was a little surprised because she acted too familiar even though this was the first time we met.

I scratched my head with the arm that had no IV needle inserted. The cuff of my sleeve slipped down to my elbow and exposed my forearm.

My forearm was thinner than I remembered. I tilted my head because something felt strange, and the caregiver appeared with the nurse.

The nurse asked my name and performed several simple checks. She also said the same thing as the caregiver, that it was fortunate I had regained consciousness. She then told me the doctor would come after finishing outpatient consultations. When I said I wanted the nasal tube removed, she told me to wait a little longer and left the room.

“Do you need anything?”

“Um, what’s today’s date?”

I asked the caregiver just in case. I seemed to have lost consciousness for quite a long time. The nasal tube was something used during long unconsciousness.

“Today? August fifth.”

“Oh……”

My head did not work for a moment. I did not remember the exact date, but the charity bazaar had been at the end of June. July had disappeared. I understood why I had the nasal tube and why my forearm had become thinner.

“You had a seizure because of a pheromone imbalance. You were unconscious for more than a month.”

“……Is that so?”

It must have been a dangerous state, but I couldn’t believe it.

“Everyone worried. Right. Look at my mind. I need to tell Jieun that you woke up.”

“But…… who are you?”

Jieun, who was Jieun? After thinking for a moment, I realized one beat late that Choi Jieun was my aunt’s name. The caregiver before my eyes called her Jieun so casually that I felt suspicious. Was she not a professional caregiver but my aunt’s friend?

At my question the middle-aged woman widened her eyes and then smiled.

“I didn’t introduce myself. I was in such a hurry. So my name is Park Soyeon, and I’m your mother Park Jiwoo’s younger sister. I’m your real aunt.”

“Oh……”

“We were supposed to meet. No, maybe we didn’t make an appointment. Anyway, I came to Korea and then heard you were unconscious, and I was so shocked.”

“……Hello. This is not a good situation to greet you. I’m sorry. Nice to meet you.”

I was startled by the appearance of my aunt whom I had not even thought about. I had looked forward to meeting her, but I had not expected it to happen like this.

I fumbled trying to sit up, but it was not easy. So I apologized first and greeted her awkwardly.

“I’m glad too. We have many things to say and many things to ask, but rest for now. I’ll call Jieun and come back. Let’s talk later.”

“Yes.”

My aunt who had come from America winked one eye and took her phone and left the room. Left alone, I only blinked my eyes.

This situation did not feel real.

***

I had regained consciousness, but my condition was not normal. Unlike my desire to get up immediately, my body did not move as I wanted.

I dozed and woke repeatedly until the doctor came after lunch. Naturally, I did not have a proper conversation with Aunt Soyeon either.

My mind became clear long after I had received the doctor’s examination. At that time Aunt Jieun and my younger sibling arrived because of the news that I had awakened. Only after calming my younger sibling who was crying did I hear what had happened.

The sudden unconsciousness had been because of a pheromone imbalance. The official name was pheromone hypofunction disorder.

The causes of pheromone hypofunction disorder were various, but in my case it was excessive use of a pheromone enhancer. The doctor who was my biological father’s golf friend was not a specialist in people with that trait. So, at my biological father’s words that I needed a strong drug, he used several times the permitted dosage. On top of that, the herbal medicine I had been taking recently was also a problem.

Because several drugs were mixed, a sudden heat occurred, and it led to a pheromone imbalance.

“That bastard was so shameless.”

Aunt Soyeon poured out her complaints about my biological father.

Aunt Soyeon, who had arrived in Korea soon after I collapsed, immediately took on the role of caregiver. Together with Aunt Jieun and a professional caregiver, the three of them looked after me.

So she said she had heard clearly all the nonsense my biological father had spouted when he came to the hospital.

Even after hearing the cause of the hormone imbalance, he had blamed me, saying it was because I was too weak.

So Aunt Soyeon huffed that she supposedly kicked his shin. She swore he wasn’t human for spouting that nonsense in front of a kid who might not wake up. Aunt Jieun backed her up and called him a crazy bastard.

Other things happened too. While I was unconscious my sibling had the last surgery. The surgery succeeded, and now only rehab and follow-up remained.

My sibling’s surgery bill did not come from my biological father. My aunt Jieun used the money she had been holding to cover it.

They said my biological father cut off contact after doctors said I had a high chance of not regaining consciousness and that pheromone problems could follow. I wasn’t surprised by that selfish move. I actually hoped our ties would end for real.

I was still married to Baek Mukyeong. Even if I wanted a divorce, the situation didn’t allow it.

Baek Jinseok said to wait and see a little more. If I hadn’t woken by the turn of the year, maybe the divorce would have gone through.

“Your husband came almost every day.”

“……Mugyeong came?”

“They say pheromone imbalance eases with an alpha’s pheromones. The doctor said your husband coming often helped you stabilize faster.”

Aunt Soyeon’s words left me speechless for a moment. I was surprised that someone who’d had asked for divorce still helped. Did he panic when I collapsed?

I was hopeful. My heart raced at the thought I might see Baek Mukyeong tonight.

“Did he come today? I mean, did you tell him I woke up?”

“He didn’t come today. He’s been on a business trip since the day before yesterday. To India. He didn’t contact anyone. H didn’t have your contact info.”

“Oh…….”

My thrill at possibly meeting Mugyeong collapsed instantly. But news that I woke would reach his ears somehow. I wondered if he’d want to see me again.

My feelings swung wildly. But now wasn’t the time for Mugyeong. I had to focus on the family in front of me. Especially when all the family and people who might count as family sat together like this, I had something I had to say.

“You might’ve heard from Aunt, but we planned to leave Korea for a while. For safety.”

“I heard. Do you need my help? What should I do?”

The moment I opened my mouth Aunt Soyeon smiled. She looked like a villain.

***

The summer sky was bright blue. I frowned while looking up at the building that stood proud under that blue sky.

Every time I came to my biological father’s company building I heard nagging and blame. Before the regression I wasn’t sane, and after the regression I heard it and let it slide, but the memory stayed. Thinking of meeting him made my stomach twist with pain.

Today I wasn’t going to take nagging. I was going to threaten my biological father. That made me even more nervous.

“He built that building big. Piece of shit.”

Aunt Soyeon muttered while looking up at the building beside me.

We hadn’t known each other long, but I could tell she had a lot of feeling toward my biological father. She ground her teeth and said he was rotten for divorcing his wife for money and remarrying.

My birth mother had been weak from the start. Her health declined rapidly after she got pregnant with me. After she gave birth she could barely move.

My maternal grandmother tried everything, but my mother’s condition didn’t improve. Up to then Aunt Soyeon didn’t know my biological father kept seeing the woman he had divorced.

Only after my mother died did my biological father show his true colors. Grandfather and my maternal uncle died one after another, and he remarried the woman he had left without shame.

My angry grandmother tried to take me away. She sued, but my biological father won.

After years of trials the case ended and not long after, my stepmother abandoned me. My grandmother and Aunt Soyeon searched everywhere, but it was useless.

Aunt Soyeon exploded with anger as she explained those days. She said he neglected his wife, failed to protect his son, and strutted around without remorse.

Even while I lay unconscious in the hospital my biological father showed his selfish side without fail.

He said terrible things to me in bed, so Aunt Soyeon said she fought him and clicked her tongue. After that he stopped showing up at the hospital at all.

Aunt Soyeon told me not to call that man my father and squeezed my hand to comfort me.

I never expected anything from him. I never thought of him as a real father. But Aunt Soyeon’s words and actions comforted me a lot.

Anyway, it helped that my biological father didn’t care if I lived or died. Because my legal guardian was Aunt Jieun, my father didn’t know I had regained consciousness.

We couldn’t keep it secret forever though. While we had time Aunt Soyeon helped me take care of all sorts of things.

Aunt Jieun and my sibling left Korea on the morning flight today. Now the only thing left was to properly threaten my father so he couldn’t harm the rest of my family.