Big Cleanup (3)
Jiwoo let out a long sigh as she watched the two of them flirting shamelessly in the back. “…Haaah.” It had already been five years of this. She wished they would just start dating already. Shaking her head, she headed toward the front door. ‘…If I go in while Unni’s asleep, I might get to see something cute.’
Still feeling a little annoyed from the couple’s PDA, Jiwoo opened the door, hoping a chat with Suhyun would cheer her up. Through the mountain of trash, she spotted Suhyun.
“…?”
Suhyun didn’t move even after the door opened. Sensing something was wrong, Jiwoo looked closer—and her heart dropped.
—Drip, drip, drip……
“…!!!”
Suhyun was collapsed on the floor, covered in blood, her body completely limp. A chill ran down Jiwoo’s spine, but her body moved before her mind could catch up. The only thought in her head was that she had to get to Suhyun right now.
“Unni…!!!”
Jiwoo screamed and shoved the trash aside, rushing into the room. She slid to Suhyun’s side and shook her gently. “H-Hey, Unni…! Unni!”
“……”
Suhyun didn’t answer. Her head just lolled forward, blood still trickling from her nose.
“Nuna?! What happened?!”
“H-Huh…!!”
Minwoo and Haram, who had just come in behind her, froze in shock at the sight.
“M-M-M-Minwoo, call 119!!”
Minwoo fumbled for his phone and dialed emergency services. Haram placed a worried hand on Suhyun’s chest. “…Thank goodness. Her heart’s still beating.”
Just as Haram let out a relieved sigh—
“…Ehh?”
“…!!”
“…!!”
Suhyun’s eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Jiwoo, who was staring down at her in panic, and gave a sleepy little smile. “Jiwoo’s here…? Hehe… It’s a dream…”
Murmuring happily, Suhyun wrapped her arms around Jiwoo’s arm and drifted right back to sleep, breathing softly.
“…She fell asleep again?”
“S-She must’ve been exhausted.”
“Nuna!! I called them! They’ll be here soon!! L-Let’s move her—her heart’s beating, right?!”
Minwoo asked, sweating bullets. Jiwoo shook her head.
“…Is she dead?”
“That’s not it, you idiot…!”
“Suhyun-unni’s fine, Minwoo-ya. Ahaha……”
Haram laughed awkwardly while Minwoo’s face turned bright red in silence. Jiwoo looked down at Suhyun with a tender gaze and carefully lifted her onto the bed.
“…She’s so light.”
Suhyun’s thin, frail body made Jiwoo’s chest ache even more.
* * *
When I came to, Minwoo, Jiwoo, and a white-haired, busty woman—presumably my teacher—were in the apartment.
“Hic…! I-I’m sorry…! I-I fell asleep while you were here… The mopping was just too hard…”
Inviting guests over and then passing out? I had no excuse, so I sniffled and apologized.
“It’s okay. You just wanted to clean up a little before we got here, right?”
“…Th-That’s true, but…”
“Then it’s fine. Thanks for the help. You saved us some work.”
“……”
Jiwoo smiled gently. Beside her, the white-haired woman—my supposed teacher—grinned and waved at me.
“Ah, mind if we talk for a bit?”
Jiwoo looked at me as she spoke. Honestly, I didn’t want her to leave, but when I saw Minwoo pitifully picking up trash all by himself in the distance, I nodded.
Jiwoo stood up with a smile. The white-haired woman immediately greeted me, careful but energetic.
“Hello…!”
“Ah… Your voice… So you really are my teacher……”
As expected, it was her. Since it was only proper to greet my benefactor, I quickly tried to bow—
“…S-So big.”
“…Ah.”
“I-I-I’m sorry…! On our first meeting, too!”
“No, no! It’s fine!”
My teacher smiled and reassured me. I sniffled and thanked her. How many times had she forgiven me now? She had to be an angel.
“…O-O-Oh… Thank you so, so much for coming today… Hic!”
I wanted to express my gratitude properly, but it wasn’t easy. I’d already shown her too many pathetic sides of myself, and it had been so long since I’d met someone in real life that I didn’t even know how to act.
“Of course I had to help…! I’m Unni’s mama, after all!”
“…I-Is that so.”
“It is!”
Smiling brightly, my teacher held out both hands to me. “Can I hold your hand?”
“Ah… Yes……”
I nodded shyly, and she gently took my hand with a smile.
“It’s cold.”
“I have poor circulation in my hands and feet……”
“Just like Jiwoo?”
“D-Do I…?”
I glanced over at Jiwoo, who was now wearing a mask and cleaning in the distance. “Minwoo-ya, there’s trash over there too.”
“Ah, there’s some here too.”
“Careful, don’t get it on your clothes.”
At some point, Jiwoo and Minwoo had switched into full cleaning mode, stuffing trash into bags and dismantling the mountain of garbage.
“…They’ve started cleaning.”
“Do you want to clean too? Your arms look tense.”
“Y-Yes… I feel better after sleeping.”
My teacher nodded at my words and smiled. “Then shall we start cleaning too?”
She put on a mask and gloves, then helped me with mine as well. “Ta-da…!”
“Th-Thank you… G-Guh!”
“Did you bite your tongue?”
“Hngh… Y-Yes……”
“Cute.”
Smiling, she reached out to pat my head. Startled, I flinched and fell backward.
—Thud!
“Hic! D-Don’t grab my hair…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”
I clutched my head and muttered. Of course—she must’ve found my behavior disgusting. Who would like someone who sexually harasses them the first time they meet?
“S-Suhyun-unni, I’m sorry… Are you okay?”
“Hngh……”
My teacher approached my trembling form and asked if I was alright. I looked up at her with shaking eyes. She looked genuinely apologetic.
“…Hah… I’m sorry……”
“No, I’m the one who should be sorry. Are you okay?”
“Haram-ah? What’s wrong?”
Jiwoo came over at the sound of our voices. My teacher, who had been reaching out to help me up, explained the situation to her.
“Unni, are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah… I’m fine. I sexually harassed her… It’s my fault.”
When I said that, Jiwoo smiled. “No, Unni. Haram said she just wanted to pat your head because you’re cute.”
“…Huh? She wasn’t trying to rip my hair out?”
“…No, she wasn’t.”
Jiwoo, looking slightly shocked, gave me a small smile. I turned to my teacher, who looked completely lost. I approached her and reassured her.
“I-It’s okay… M-My head’s fine.”
“Really…? What about your butt? Does it hurt?”
She asked worriedly, as if she’d expected to pat me but was now concerned instead. I nodded.
“Yes… I’m okay.”
“Th-Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Nervously, my teacher reached out and placed her hand on my head. Honestly, it was a little scary. Whenever a hand cast a shadow over my head, bad memories always came first.
‘You little bitch, your dad’s lonely, you know…!’
‘Hic! I’m sorry…! Sorry! Aah!’
A terrifying memory flashed through my mind—the day my drunk dad had almost gotten to me after I started high school. Minwoo had thrown himself at him and pushed him away, saving me, but he’d nearly taken the beating in my place. The day I thought my hair was going to be ripped out.
“Hic… Hngh…!”
Just as I was about to beg her to stop, trembling in fear—
—Pat.
A warmth I never expected spread across my scalp.
“…Ehh?”
“Oh, vibration mode deactivated.”
“…Haram-ah, can you not make weird jokes about my sister?”
“Sorry…”
Even as she apologized, my teacher didn’t stop patting me.
“Uhehh…?”
“Does it feel good?”
She smiled and asked. I looked up at her and nodded shyly. It was the first time I’d ever felt something like this. No—
‘I’m sorry, our Suhyun… I’m sorry for giving birth to you……’
Seven years old. The touch of the bad person who had left me—the first and last time they’d ever shown me affection—echoed in my head.
“Ah…”
—Drip.
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Huh…? Why am I…?”
“Unni? Are you okay?”
“Unni? What’s wrong? Did something happen again?”
“…N-No, it’s nothing.”
She was supposed to be someone I hated. Someone no different from Dad. So why was I crying while thinking of her?
“Hic…! Really, it’s nothing……”
I didn’t understand why. After about ten minutes, I finally calmed down. Only then did the real cleaning begin in earnest.
* * *
After the crying spell passed, we started cleaning in earnest.
“Hngh… My nose is stuffy.”
“Blow your nose and put it in here!”
Smiling brightly, my teacher held open a trash bag. I hobbled over and tossed the tissue inside.
“Good job…!”
“…You’re treating me like a child.”
When I said that, she replied that she was afraid I’d cry otherwise. I shrugged and went back to picking up trash.
‘…This is embarrassing.’
I was mortified beyond belief.