Help Me... Please

I decided to head home first after hearing Aju's words. Even though she was the one hurting the most, she was still thinking of me. "Riha oppa, please go home for now. Mom's really worried about you..."

To be honest, I'd already forgotten that I'd been discharged from the military, but I needed to get out of this suffocating uniform at least. "I'm home."

When I returned to our house, Dad was probably still at work, and Mom...

"Son, you're back?"

"Yeah."

"...What's wrong? You just got discharged, but why do you look so down? Did you break up with your girlfriend?"

"That's both right and wrong, I guess."

"What are you talking about? Did something happen?"

Mom must have sensed something off in my voice. She came out of the kitchen and walked over to me, asking what was going on. So I just... told her straight.

"...Daeho's dead."

"...What?"

After that, I told her everything that had happened today. At first, Mom listened with a look that said she couldn't believe it, but soon enough she realized it was all true. Her face darkened.

"...And Aju?"

"She's still at the hospital."

"You idiot!"

Smack! Mom suddenly hit me on the back.

"You should be by her side right now!"

"I know! She told me to come because she was worried you'd be upset. I'm just changing clothes and heading right back."

"Sigh... I'll go with you."

"...Okay."

It was only natural. Mom had met Daeho and Aju several times before. After their parents passed away, she'd even helped at the funeral. Anyone could guess how she felt about the two of them.

"...Haah."

I watched as Mom went to her room to get ready to leave right away, then stepped into my own room for the first time in a while. The moment I walked in, I stripped off the uncomfortable uniform and tried to change clothes quickly.

That's when my door slowly creaked open.

I thought it was Mom at first, but I quickly realized it wasn't.

"What the... it's Hahu."

The one who entered my room was... our family's pet cat. Hahu.

Hahu was one of the kittens from the cat we'd met that day long ago. The only dutiful one that had stayed by its mother's side until the end. After the mother cat died and Hahu was left alone, Aju had cried her eyes out in pity. I'd shouted that I'd take it in and brought it home.

Why the hell did I do that, anyway...

"You know what? That Aju you like so much? Her brother... he died today."

<...>

"Man, normally you'd be meowing up a storm by now."

Hahu was usually a pretty noisy cat. Wandering around everywhere was normal, and it loved me and Aju so much that it'd jump into whichever one of us came home first. But today it was just sitting there quietly...

"Are you sad because you heard Daeho died too..."

When I reached out to pet Hahu after saying that...

Swat.

Hahu smacked my hand away.

"...Huh?"

What was that? Was there a bug or something? It had never done this before, so I was a little flustered. I reached out again to pet its head, but...

Swat.

It hit my hand again. This had never happened before. But this familiar feeling...

...Wait, who just said that?

Huh? Someone's definitely saying something...

Yeah, someone's definitely talking. But... who is it?

No, I need to stop escaping reality. Yeah... even though I can't believe what I'm seeing, this is real.

Hahu was talking. Not just making cat sounds... actually speaking like a person. And moreover...

This guy's voice... it sounded exactly like Daeho's. No... more than that.

"...Are you Daeho?"

At my question, Hahu froze and stared at me with wide eyes. Then...

"...Yeah, I can. This feels like a dream, though."

The laugh I heard from Hahu's mouth carried a hint of relief.

"..."

Hahu—no, Daeho's voice—started chattering away as if it had no idea what I was feeling right now. But... I couldn't listen to any more of it.

"You... son of a bitch!!!"

I pinned Hahu—no, Daeho inside Hahu—down with one hand and raised my fist. In my heart, I wanted to smash this guy right in the face immediately. But...

The cat in front of me right now... if I punched it with all my strength, it would probably die for real. Honestly, at this point that didn't sound so bad, but... that wasn't what mattered right now.

"Hey, An Daeho."

"Do you even understand your current situation?"

"Not that... You... They said you died at your company."

This idiot still hadn't grasped his own situation. Fine. Then I'd make him understand... the same shock I'd felt since the day of my discharge. You feel it too.

And so I explained everything that had happened today to Daeho. After hearing it all, Daeho said...

"You think that body of yours looks normal?"

Just like I'd done when I first saw him... he was denying reality.

He probably knew it too. That this situation wasn't normal. That this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was reality anyway.

Even though he knew, he was denying reality for one reason only... for Aju's sake. He didn't want Aju, who'd already lost her parents, to lose her only remaining family too.

"...So that's why. Why'd you have to go and die, you idiot."

"Guess that's true too."

It was such a strange situation. On the day my friend died... here I was trading jokes with my dead friend. Maybe the shock of Daeho's death had driven me insane. If only... that were the case. It would've been easier...

"How am I supposed to take a cat to the hospital?"

"..."

Logically, there was no way I could take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an animal to a hospital. But...

A guy who'd never asked me for a single favor in his entire life was saying this... Haah...

"...Can you hold it in?"

I had to do it. It really was... his last request in this lifetime.

---

"Were you always this chubby?"

"The military food must've been good."

Mom and I were in a taxi together heading to the hospital. Even though I was wearing an oversized hoodie, she tilted her head at how my upper body still bulged out noticeably. Well... it probably did look weird. When I was in uniform, no one thought I was fat, but now that I was in this oversized hoodie, the difference was obvious.

But it couldn't be helped. After all...

'...That bastard Daeho is staying perfectly quiet inside my hoodie.'

Right now, Daeho inside Hahu was hiding inside my hoodie. I'd told him not to make a single sound or we'd get caught, and so far he'd been obeying perfectly.

"More importantly, what about Aju? She's already left her relatives' house, right?"

"That's right... After Daeho got a job, they immediately moved out and started living on their own."

"Haah... Asking her relatives for help now... that would be hard, wouldn't it?"

"...Probably."

Daeho, who had been listening to our conversation from inside my hoodie, lightly extended his claws and let out a quiet meow. It wasn't loud enough for Mom to hear, but... I understood how he felt, so I'd let it slide this once.

"Is there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anything we can do to help?"

"...I'm thinking about it."

Yeah. The most urgent thing right now was Aju. The monthly rent for the house Aju lived in was paid entirely from Daeho's income, and of course all the essential expenses like food came from his money too. Of course Daeho had left all the household finances to Aju, and given her personality she must have saved some money, but... how much could there be...

"Ah, is this the place?"

"Yes."

While I was lost in these thoughts, we'd already arrived at the hospital. I got out of the taxi with Mom... and Daeho. While we were looking for Aju, whom I'd contacted in advance...

"Hello, ma'am?"

"Aju..."

When Aju spotted us first and came over, Mom quickly ran to her. Without saying a word, she pulled Aju into a hug. Caught off guard by the sudden gesture, Aju didn't say anything either and simply accepted Mom's embrace. After a little while...

"...Has Daeho... already been moved to the mortuary?"

"Yes... We've decided to hold the funeral right away too."

"I see..."

Sensing that there was nothing more she could say, Mom took Aju's hand and nodded. Then she went into the hospital with Aju, and I followed the two of them. At that moment, Daeho started kneading my chest insistently from inside my oversized hoodie. Haah, I know.

"Aju."

"...Yes, Riha oppa."

"Um... Can people who aren't family go into the mortuary?"

"...To see Daeho oppa?"

"Yeah. I know it's a bit insensitive to ask, but... I want to see him properly one last time."

"Ah..."

Normally, a bereaved family would get angry at such a request from a non-family member, but fortunately, the relationship between me, Daeho, and Aju wasn't a 'normal' one.

"Yes, I'll tell the doctor."

"...Thanks. Oh, and if possible, I'd like to be alone with Daeho for a bit."

"...Okay. But you won't hit him like last time, right?"

"...I know."

Had she calmed down a little? Or was she just being considerate of us? Aju spoke with a slight playful tone, and I scratched my head and nodded. Mom, who had been listening from the side, let out a sigh.

"Haah, it's my fault for raising my son wrong..."

"You think so too, Mom? I think that's exactly right."

"You wanna get hit?"

"Hehe."

Seeing us like this, Aju... since I'd been discharged. No, since she hadn't seen me recently. ...Yeah. She smiled in front of me for the first time in almost a year.

---

"Please call me when you're done."

"Yes, thank you."

Thanks to Aju's consideration, I was able to be alone in the mortuary. Well, technically it was the two of us.

"Hey, they're gone now. You can come out."

I heard Daeho's reply, and the feeling of him clinging inside my hoodie disappeared as Hahu dropped down at my feet. No, I should say Daeho.

"Yeah. You can tell just by looking at the height. Short legs and all."

"What year's average height for Korean men are you using?"

We'd made jokes like this countless times over the more than ten years we'd known each other. But... it was rare to hear him say them so weakly.

"Looks like it."

"That's because you didn't see how I looked earlier."

Of course I was sad. I'd just expressed my sadness as anger. Besides... I couldn't cry in front of Aju, and I couldn't lie to her either. That had become a rule for me.

"How should I know? It's my first time having a friend die, and my first time having that friend possess a cat."

"...What do you want to do?"

"Be realistic."

"Tell me what you can do right now."

I knew it. This conversation was pointless. We didn't even know why this phenomenon had happened to Daeho and Hahu, or how long it would last.

"Then let's take care of Aju's situation first. Just asking in case... how much money did you save?"

"...After that?"

"...What about college?"

"Tch."

This was driving me crazy. There was nothing I could do for Aju right now. In my heart, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I wanted to help her from our house, but... our family wasn't exactly well-off either. The reason I was commuting to a university that took two hours from home instead of getting a dorm was exactly that.

"What."

"If you're gonna call me, then say something."

Daeho had called me but then shut his mouth. He seemed to be hesitating, but soon he steeled himself and opened his mouth while looking at me.

"..."

This guy, who had never once... really, not even once asked me for a favor... was desperately begging me today of all days.

"...Tsk."

For some reason... I was incredibly angry at this situation itself.