Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: This Life is Space Star 44
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Those words hit me right in the chest.
How lonely must he have been to say he wished today hadn't come, just because of a board game.
For someone like me, who always had people around, it was hard to imagine.
A body that couldn't run around and play with kids his age.
The solitude of assembling Legos or reading books, waiting for someone to show up, just like now—what must that feel like?
Once the game ended, Min-jun tried to get up.
"Mom, I need to go to the bathroom."
As his mom started to stand, his dad stopped her.
"Honey, rest a bit. I'll take him."
His dad got up soon after, taking Min-jun's hand and carefully heading to the bathroom.
Watching Min-jun's awkward steps, I asked his mom,
"It must be really hard for him to walk."
"Yeah, ever since we changed his meds. They're so strong, his legs are all swollen."
"That must worry you a lot. It can't be easy."
"Oh, I'm fine. My husband and kids help out so much, I manage."
I smiled at her strong words.
The conversation, which had been flowing, was cut short by a nurse coming in to check blood pressure. Bijoo's mom chatted amiably with her and offered her a slice of apple too.
"These kids are in an idol group with our boy. Say hi."
"Hello."
We ended up having an impromptu autograph session.
It was one of those moments where I suddenly remembered, oh yeah, I'm a celebrity.
Watching Bijoo's mom chat warmly with the nurse, I asked Bijoo,
"You guys seem close. Is she Min-jun's main nurse?"
"No, I think they just met."
"...Your mom has amazing people skills."
While the two maknaes packed up the board game and tidied the bed, Min-jun came back from the bathroom.
Struggling to steady himself, the little guy leaned on the wall.
"Dad, I'll rest a bit and then walk."
"You can walk okay?"
"Yeah."
As his dad waited patiently, Junghyun strode over to Min-jun.
"I'll help."
He gently scooped Min-jun up and carried him straight to the bed.
Tucking him in, Junghyun brought a relaxed smile to Min-jun's face.
"Junghyun's really good at this."
"Min-jun likes him more than me."
Bijoo said with a laugh, then sat on the edge of the bed next to Junghyun, tapping his little brother's cheek.
They looked like a couple putting their baby to sleep.
As I smiled at the sight, Bijoo's mom handed me a fork with a slice of apple speared on it.
Hmm. How many have I eaten today?
I think I'm good on apples for a while.
* * *
Hospital hallway.
A colleague asked the beaming nurse,
"Kim, why are you in such a good mood?"
"You know room 3? That super handsome boy in there."
"Oh, that one?"
"Yeah, he's got such a pretty face," the colleague chimed in. The nurse glanced around and lowered her voice.
"Turns out he's a celebrity."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah. I talked to the family—they're an idol group! The ones who sang that 'Something' song."
"'Something'? First time hearing it."
"It's this huge hit with the young crowd. Remember that one Bae sang at karaoke the other day?"
"Ohhh, that? Wow, we see him all the time and I had no idea."
"And they were on TV too."
She bragged as if she'd been in it herself, pulling out her smartphone to show a Music Cafe clip.
"All five of them are here?"
"Yeah, looks like they're visiting."
"I gotta get my daughter to take something later. How are they? Stuck-up celebrities or what?"
"Super cute. They even pulled out their own pens for the autographs."
As the nurses chatted, a passing resident poked her head in.
"What's the gossip?"
"Doctor, come here."
The resident perked up at the story—until she heard it was a boy group.
"Pfft, not a girl group. Not into guys. What's their group name again?"
"New... wait. Oh, here—New Black."
"New Black?"
The resident tilted her head.
As they wondered at her odd reaction, she went, "Ah!"
"Isn't New Black those kids?"
"Those kids?"
"The ones Professor Choi mentioned before."
The senior nurse thought for a moment, then widened her eyes with an "Ah!"
"Is the professor in today?"
"Probably."
"Later, casually mention it to her. She'll come running."
The nurse who'd gotten the autograph just looked confused.
"Professor Choi likes idols?"
"You didn't know."
The senior nurse said meaningfully.
"That group has one special member."
* * *
After Min-jun fell asleep, the five of us chatted with Bijoo's parents.
"Oh dear, we're almost out of apples."
We all sighed in relief at his mom's words.
His dad smiled and asked,
"Honey, should I go buy more?"
"No need. Just tell Bijoo. Bijoo, Mom'll give you money—get some snacks for your friends and more apples from the hospital mart. And swing by the pharmacy for some cooling sheets for Min-jun's forehead on the way back."
"Sure thing."
"I'll go with you."
I beat them to it, leaving the two maknaes, who'd been waiting for their shot, deflated. While Junghyun happily munched another apple, the other two suffered through the ongoing apple offensive, unable to refuse.
As we left the room, I said,
"Your mom really loves apples."
"That's her ultimate way of showing love."
Bijoo laughed.
"She grew up in an orchard, but Grandpa only gave fruit to her youngest uncle. If Grandma or the aunts tried to take any, he'd yell like crazy. She says she only got to eat them on her birthday."
"Talk about tough love."
We chatted as we headed to the basement mart.
"Bijoo, mind if I ask something?"
"Sure. Anything."
I hesitated as he eyed the apples in the cooler.
"About Min-jun's situation."
"His situation?"
"You said he's been sick for almost five years. But you've only started looking rough lately."
"No, I've been fine."
I pulled out my phone for the denying Bijoo, opening my notes app and reading aloud.
"April 27th. Bijoo mixed up the days off and ironed everyone's uniforms. Ji-ho loved it. May 3rd. Bijoo spaced out again today. Messed up the same move ten times, got chewed out by the trainer. Ri-hyuk was relieved."
"What's that?"
"Call it a leader's observation log slash diary."
I put my phone down.
"That's just what I've seen. Factor in the burned food the other day—no need to say more. You've been acting weird lately. If even Ji-ho notices, that says it all."
"Ji-ho? He's not the type..."
"That's how off you've been."
Bijoo set down an apple and picked up something else. I grabbed the cracker sticks and barley tea Ri-hyuk wanted, saying casually,
"So what's the problem?"
"...Min-jun needs surgery again."
"What?"
So much for casual.
"What do you mean?"
"His condition's gotten really bad lately. They might need to operate again."
Bijoo let out a short sigh.
"It's complicated. The surgery and chemo costs, for one. You wouldn't know, hyung, but we're not well-off. Dad and my sister work, but it's like pouring water into a leaky bucket. It all goes to Min-jun's treatments."
"..."
"And we can't just pick a surgery date. The professors' schedules are backed up. We'd borrow if we could get a top doctor, but honestly, not sure Min-jun can hold out that long."
Bijoo looked sorrowful.
"You asked what the problem is, right, hyung?"
"Uh... yeah."
"Everything's a problem. My brother living in hell every day for over five years. Mom who can't even go to a simple gathering because she's caring for him. Dad driving a cab after work. My sister giving up her dreams for a job she hates, all for us."
It felt like something pent up in his chest was finally spilling out.
The Bijoo in front of me felt like a stranger.
The always smiling, calm Bijoo had an inner world totally unlike what I'd imagined.
The only familiar part was his soft voice, even as he bared his soul.
"Sometimes I hate Min-jun, like creepy hate. Even when he's feverish, reaching out 'hyung, save me,' it grosses me out."
"..."
"I don't know. I'm just sick of it all."
If exhaustion had a form, it'd be unrecognizable mush from Bijoo's mouth.
"We endured five years. Thinking next year it'd get better. That he'd recover and we'd all be happy... "
Bijoo kept going.
What happened since Min-jun got sick.
How hard it hit Dad after his business failed. How many white hairs Mom got. Why my sister, who wanted law school, became a tutor.
And how much it hurt each time.
His calm voice was unraveling his pain.
"I don't know, hyung. What if Min-jun... leaves? What do I do?"
His eyes welled up like smeared paint.
I met Bijoo's quiet gaze.
Seeing his lost, frightened eyes like a scared kid, I pondered my words.
It'll be okay, it'll work out—optimism.
It's not your fault—comfort. I get how you feel—cliché empathy.
But none matched the truth in my heart.
I decided to be straight.
"No one knows what'll happen."
Like when the plane my parents were on crashed on my seventh birthday.
"Sometimes things just happen. Overflowing luck sometimes, soul-crushing pain other times. You can't ask 'why' in those moments. Shouldn't."
"..."
"Because it's not your fault."
I spoke to the quietly listening Bijoo.
"I'd love to say it'll all be fine, but that'd be a lie. We don't know what's coming. It's like standing by the sea. Sometimes a gentle breeze, sometimes a sudden wave."
"Is that how it is."
Bijoo sighed.
"Then what should I do... "
"Do what you want."
I said.
"But the key is, whatever happens, we'll be there with you. ...Yeah, sounds cheesy, but you're not alone. We're stuck together going forward."
We'll be there.
Whether waves crash or breezes tickle, we'll share the joy and sorrow beside you—that was it.
Shallow comfort, but it seemed to work.
"Thanks."
Bijoo smiled through a grimace.
Much steadier than before, so I relaxed, smiling and nodding.
"Ready to go? Picked everything?"
"Oh, not the apples yet."
"Hmm... let's see. These."
"These?"
"Grandma and I go to the market all the time. I know my apples."
"This one's got wormholes."
"...Grandma usually picks. Get the ones you had before."
Seeing Bijoo finally smile for real, I sighed.
Gotta grab some tissues on the way.
* * *
Awkward silence.
"Hyung."
"Yeah?"
"That... stuff from the mart earlier. Can you forget it?"
"Dunno. Unless I have one of those Men in Black machines."
"What's that? A webtoon?"
"Nah, nothing. Yeah, I'll pretend it didn't happen with the others."
"Thanks."
Awkward silence again.
Painful.
I broke it first, after racking my brain for a topic.
"Hey, let's think of solutions."
"Solutions?"
"I said we'd be together, right."
"Oh..."
Silence.
"Not just words—we can help."
"No, no. That'd burden you. I'm grateful just for today. Really."
"I first thought of chipping in surgery costs from our incoming royalties... Bijoo. Don't make that face. I wasn't gonna anyway."
"Good."
His face? Like getting proposed to on a blind date.
"No big deal. Little things. You handle all the dorm chores. Ri-hyuk does light cleaning and folding, but let's share the rest."
"Oh."
"Problem?"
"Well."
Bijoo gave an awkward laugh.
"Hyung, this might sound weird, but... I actually like doing housework."
"What?"
"I like it. When someone praises my cooking or says it's tasty, or seeing things sparkle after cleaning—it feels good."
Seeing my face change in real time, he added,
"It's like... what you said about Music Cafe. Becoming an idol for the audience attention. Same for me. Except mine's housework... Yeah, weird, right?"
He gave up mid-sentence, and I nodded.
"Super weird."
"You went full simp for the CEO too."
"Hey, that's... yeah, weird."
No argument there.
Kinda threw me, though.
I'd thought his cooking and chores were some compulsion.
Like from caring for his brother young, habituated.
Or some psych issue.
Not that he just liked it...
"You know Dobby? House-elf?"
"Uh... not really."
"Never mind, you muggle."
"I know muggle. What non-fans call idols, right? Ji-ho told me."
I laughed at Bijoo, proud of his trivia. Wrong context.
House-elf indeed.
Gonna gift him sock sets for his birthday.
"Never dreamed your dream job was housewife."
"That's why my sister and I joked once. If idol life flops, marry rich. Housework's my hobby."
"Might have better prospects..."
"Pardon?"
"Nah, nothing."
Bijoo narrowed his eyes like Ri-hyuk, then laughed.
I laughed too.
Somehow, we felt closer—like the gap after year-end evals had shrunk again.
Hard to pin down, but like a fence dropped a level.
From peeking over to shaking hands.
"So what can we do..."
"No need. You already solved the hospital bills."
"Me?"
"I met with the executive director."
"Oh."
Right, I remembered.
A while back in the lounge with A&R, Bijoo went into the director's office looking like he'd won the world.
"I explained, asked for early royalty settlement from 'Something' activities. He approved."
That's why he went that day.
"Nice. Enough money?"
"We all checked the accounts together—shocked."
Bijoo smiled.
"We made way more than we thought. Enough to ease Min-jun worries for a bit. Mom and Dad are too embarrassed to say it, but they're thankful to you."
"No wonder the apple overload..."
"Expect more. It's all for you."
Ugh. No 'apple' from me for a while.
Except 'I love you, Grandma.'
Pondering legal fruit avoidance, we re-entered the ward.
But then.
As I walked chatting with Bijoo, a man's figure caught my eye.
A middle-aged guy walking far ahead.
Hmm? Something feels off.
As I tilted my head, weird shit happened.
"...Huh?"
Everything slowed like slo-mo, and the scene before me shifted.