Death Wish

Act I - Home Late

The day is about to fade and the sunset is now waving at the pavement of the country. The air becomes colder as the sun left after completing its role. The moon shone its ethereal beauty to lighten up the cold night. Several lights began to switch on one by one to brighten up the lonely city.

“Yaa- ! Hey you!”, the husky voice of a teenager was calling onto someone. “Hey! Hello!???”, Lee Yoo Chan finally snap back to reality after sulking for a long time. He didn’t even notice that several customers went in and were already at the counter to check out the items they wanted to buy.

Lee Yoo Chan was surprised to see customers lining up to pay, “I’m really sorry, I’m really really sorry!”, he bowed his head several times to apologize to the customers who waited for him.

“Why are you spacing out in the middle of your shift dude?”, the boy said to him as he puts down a cartoon of yogurt milk on the counter. He felt so embarrassed that he can’t say anything else but say sorry to them. “Stop apologizing and check this out now”, the boy said to him. He immediately check the yogurt milk and the boy was ready to pay. The boy scanned the QR code for payment. “Whatever it is, stop thinking about it”, the boy said to him and left the store. Lee Yoo Chan half smiled and bowed as he left.

“I am really sorry for the inconvenience, I must have wasted your time”, he bowed again to apologize to the others who were waiting in line. “It’s okay young man, the school must have been stressing you out to the point they make you tired”, an elderly lady said who was holding onto a cheap worn-out rubber bag. “I don’t go to school, halmeoni”, he replied to her in a good manner as he checked out her items. “Eh? Why? Kids around your age should go to school”, she looked at him with pity. “I have certain reasons”, he answered.

(Note: ‘Halmeoni” means grandma in English. It's pronounced as “hal-mu-ni”)

“That will be 12 dollars, halmeoni”, he said to her with a smile.” Right, right, okay”, she said as she took her purse from her bag. She gave the money to Lee Yoo Chan. “Don’t you have any parents to take care of you?”, she asked him as Lee Yoo Chan prepare for the change. “I have parents, halmeoni”, he replied to her with a smile as he hands out the change to her.

She made a confused face to him, “Then, why are you not going to school?”, she asked him, then her eyes widen after realizing something, “Don’t tell me you run away from home?”, she added. Lee Yoo Chan paused for a moment after hearing it from her which basically true. He gulps and slowly looked at her. He replied with a smile to cover the pain inside him.

“Stop chatting and move old lady!”, a rude man yelled at the back.

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting here for so long and I am only here to buy a water bottle, I can’t believe I wasted so much time just to buy this small bottle of water”, a woman who was crossing her arms also complained.

“Oh, I am sorry, I must have been a bother, please excuse me”, she took her items and immediately moved aside then a grumpy customer put his items on the counter.

As she was about to exit, she stop and went back. “I am sorry but I have something to give to him before I go”, She took something in her rubber bag and hand me a packet of ginseng, “Here take this, this can help you to be awake”, she said.

“No, no halmeoni, I can’t take that”, Lee Yoo Chan refused with a gentle expression on his face. “Just take it, kid”, the grumpy customer said annoyed. Lee Yoo Chan didn’t want to give more inconvenience. He didn’t have a choice but to accept it. He took the packet of ginseng from her with his two hands, “Thank you, halmeoni. I will drink this later after”, he said to her with a smile on his face.

(Note: In terms of the manner in Korean Culture. When someone older than you give you something, you must accept it with your two hands to show respect.)

The grandma turned her back. She was slouching and waving her hands to say that she is leaving. “That will be 18 dollars”, Lee Yoo Chan then handled the remaining customer as fast as possible.

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The night became colder and the people who were walking on the busy street started to lessen. The sound of the blowing chilly winds can be heard whispering to everyone’s ear. Lee Yoo Chan cannot stop his legs from continuously tapping the cold white floor, he was anxious and worried. He was really worried about his little brother at home, he tried to call him several times to inform him that he is going to be late but his little didn’t pick up his calls. He had a bad feeling and was bothering him.

It’s already past nine o’clock in the evening and the part-timer assigned in the next shift didn’t arrive yet. He stood up and walked around in a circle calling his manager and the other part-timer. All he received was continuous beeps, the manager nor the other part-timer are not picking up his calls. He can’t leave the store unattended, he needed to wait for someone who can take his place.

Distressed from the negative thoughts in his head, he gave a text message to his manager to apologize. He then secured and locked the store. He immediately sprints to a station to catch a bus. On his way, he keeps calling his little brother. Again, no one answered. He finally arrived at the bus and rest his arms on his legs to recover his breathing. He was panting from all the running he did.

He called his brother again for the 28th time. He got the same results, he can’t stop having negative thoughts running from his mind, he was completely troubled. “It's okay, maybe he is already asleep and his phone died due to low battery, yeah that must be it”, he murmured to himself so he can be at ease even a little bit. The bus arrived and he immediately hops on. He continued ringing his little brother’s phone hoping he will pick up.

On his 56th call, his little brother finally answered, “Ki Chan, you alright there?”, he said with a worrisome tone in his voice. “Ki Chan-ah? You there? Are you asleep?”, his brother won’t answer. “Hello? Ki Chan-ah? I am already near home so wait for me okay?”.

The bus arrived at his stop and immediately sprints on his way home holding his phone by the ear, hoping her brother will be talked back. As he runs, he finally heard a faint sound, he stopped. “Hyu .. .hyu-ung . .”, he finally heard his brother's voice. “Hey, Ki Chan-ah? Are you already sleeping”, he didn’t hear any response again. “Ki Chan?”, worried again, he continued running on the way to his home.

He was almost there and he heard a noise from the background, a sound of a door opening. He runs the fastest as he could. His heartbeat was pumping loudly and his hearing is deafened by its beat. His sweater was soaked with cold sweat and the coldness of the night didn’t bother him.

He finally arrived. The distress became more worst when he saw the door of his home was left open. He gulps due to nervousness that makes his throat dry. His chest started to get heavy, the bad feeling he has carrying was killing his thoughts.

His breathing was becoming abnormal, and his legs can’t stop shaking that he can barely move. Each breath of worry is killing him inside. He slowly walks to the door of his home. He peeks the inside of his home, no one was there. The sound of running water from the bathroom was the only sound he can hear. He entered without removing his shoes, he step onto the clean floor with his dirty shoes. “Ki chan-ah?”, he called him hoping he will answer. He looks around and he can’t see any sign of his brother.

He noticed wet marks on the floor leading to the bathroom, his attention was transferred to the bathroom door, “Ki Chan-ah, are you in there?”, he knocks and finds that the water was leaking from underneath the door. He grips onto the doorknob and held a deep breath.

His whole world instantly crumbled in a second, the horrendous amount of dejection was getting injected into him. The hope held became despair and agony that had smashed his already broken heart. Melancholy turned to something much more awful. Lee Yoo Chan became dreadful after witnessing a horrifying scene that he never expected to see ever in his whole life. His soul was tainted with appalling emotions. He saw his loving little brother bloody and lying lifeless on the cold bathroom floor.

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[End of Act I - Home Late]

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