Work Text:
If Kang Kwon Joo could see, staring into the space would be the best description of what she was doing right now. Kwon Joo blinked, considering the right answer to give to her father in Seoul. Should she answer that she is fine? Or should she tell her father that this place was annoyingly quiet and noisy at the same time? Ah, but how to explain it?
“Appa…”
“Hmm?”
“Your friend’s phone is ringing.”
Then the call became silent. Kwon Joo heard the sound of footsteps from the other end of the line, the sound of the doorknob turning, then her father called out to some ‘director’.
“Kwon Joo, are you still hearing voices from far away?” her father spoke again after sitting on the chair. At least, that’s what she deduced from the sound of plastic and rubber pressed with a heavy thing.
“Hmm.”
“How about headaches? Does it still come frequently?”
“Only when it’s noisy.”
“My daugh—"
Kwon Joo jumped in surprise. Reflexively, she threw the phone she was holding then she closed her eyes and covered her ears. She could hear the loud and high noise from the police sirene at the end of the phone line. Kwon Joo fumbled around the table and hung up quickly. Then it felt like the world was on a blackout suddenly. But for her, it was a noise blackout. Everything became quiet.
Taking a deep breath, Kwon Joo picked up the phone which was ringing again. “I’m sorry, Appa…”
“Why are you apologizing? My lovely daughter, you must be so surprised. A patrol car just coming.” Her father was laughing, but Kwon Joo knew there’s guilt behind the gasps between his laugh.
“Appa…”
“Hmm?”
“What did the doctor in Seoul say about my eyes? Is there a chance I could see again?”
“Mmm… they haven’t discussed it yet. Why? Are your eyes hurt, too?”
Kwon Joo shook her head. “No. It’s just… Yesterday, when I open my eyes…” she saw a little bit of white light.
Kwon Joo’s father waited for her to go on, but she didn’t.
“Kwon Joo, when I visit next week, let’s talk about your eyes with the doctor, okay?”
Kwon Joo nodded slowly. There was a voice from far away. His father seemed to be called.
“Kwon Joo, I must go patrolling now. See you next week, okay?”
“Hmm. Be careful, Appa…”
When her father hung up, the world became quiet again. Kwon Joo sighed. In this place, most of the rooms use a soundproof wall. She didn’t know what’s in those rooms. She used to the wind rustling and leaves bustling outside. Just the same, as if there was no sound at all.
The silence irritating her. Noise, too. Whether it’s quiet or loud, Kwon Joo felt irritated. She was also confused about what she really wanted. Maybe, she wanted to be able to see again so that everything would make sense. Or maybe, she wanted to hear normally just like she used to so that she wouldn’t have to wake up in the middle of the night because of loud sounds coming from the forest.
Clang.
Again, she jumped in surprise. There were loud voices of children from afar and a woman who sounded angry. Kwon Joo sighed again. This place was so uncertain. Suddenly it’s quiet, suddenly it’s loud. Kwon Joo needed something certain.
Her hands groping the air in front of her. She walked outside that uncertain building, anywhere, to breathe.
“Noona! Where are you going?”
Kwon Joo stopped without turning back.
“Min-ah… I’m taking a walk. I want to explore the forest a little bit. If I didn’t come back when the sun goes down, look for me. Okay?”
Kwon Joo didn’t wait for the younger boy’s answer and kept walking further to the forest, through the path she remembered when she strolled with Min. While Min wanted to know the forest for his escape from that creepy place, Kwon Joo wanted to know the forest to test whether her hearing was useful or merely a curse that will be with her for the rest of her life.
She got used to the cracking sound of branches, birds perching on the leaves, dews dripping from the tree, and the insects’ sounds. What still surprised her was the sound of a hawk or goshawk that seemed to be chasing her.
Bugh.
Kwon Joo stopped walking. She heard the sound of someone falling, a boy. Sounds like he was tripping onto something.
“Are you okay?” Kwon Joo tried to talk to provoke an answer from the boy so she could find him by following his voice.
The boy sounded startled and scared.
“I hear you groan. Are you alright?” Kwon Joo touched a big tree beside her and walked slowly towards the voice.
“Stop!”
Kwon Joo stopped her step and nodded, “Okay. Are you okay?”
The boy didn’t answer, but it seemed that he dropped something hard, then he dropped himself on the ground. Kwon Joo walked again, groping the air until her foot hit something, the boy’s leg. She squatted in front of him and held his foot. “Ah… you sprained your ankle. Hold on.”
The boy didn’t make a sound, but he growled. Maybe he tried to intimidate her? Or maybe he wasn’t a human? A werewolf?
“Aah!!!”
Kwon Joo blinked when the boy screamed in pain. “Done. It’s okay. Everything will be alright.”
She heard the boy gritted his teeth, sounded angry, but she kept waiting for the boy to say something. The afternoon breeze started to blow slowly. Min said today is a full moon so the wind blew pretty strong.
“I can hear your fingernails rubbing against the rock.” She answered when the boy asked how she did know that he was crying. Kwon Joo heard a quiet sob coming out from his nose.
“What’s your name?”
“Seung Ho…”
Seung Ho. A beautiful name. “Are you from this place?”
“America,” he said after some time.
Kwon Joo smiled happily, “So cool!” She ever heard her father talking to a doctor in Seoul who recommended an American doctor that could heal Kwon Joo. But what was an American boy doing in the forest of this isolated island? “Are you on vacation with your parents?”
“Rubbish.”
Kwon Joo’s brow furrowed.
“I don’t have parents. I only have rubbish.”
Kwon Joo didn’t say anything. After that, no one spoke. They lost on their own thoughts. Rubbing the boy’s knee, Kwon Joo tried to guess what it is in this boy’s mind, and what really happened to him that he ended up in this forest.
She didn’t know what happened, but maybe, he was suffering in America. Maybe if he lives here with her… “I was about to offer you to come with me, but I live in a scary place.”
For some time, no sound coming out from the boy. “I won’t be able to come with you. I have a sister I have to protect.”
Kwon Joo smiled faintly. This boy has someone he must protect. He came into this forest angrily, but he still had to go back to protect his sister. “Then, you must be a great brother. She must be so proud of having you as her brother.”
The boy didn’t answer, but Kwon Joo thought it would be safe to smile. So she did. Hearing no reaction from the boy, it seemed like he was smiling too. To protect someone, to give a sense of security to someone. Kwon Joo liked this feeling.
“Noona!”
Kwon Joo turned her head to her left, where Min yelled calling her. “I have to get back.”
Kwon Joo stood up. The boy did too, but he hissed a little while squeezing his arm. She frowned, “Does it still hurt?”
“My arm…”
Kwon Joo looked for his hand. When she found it, she touched it from his palm up until where his scar was, a little bit under his shoulder, it felt like there’s water soaking the boy’s shirt, “Oh, is this blood? But I thought you tripped and injured your ankle, not your arm. I didn’t hear your hand scratching something.”
“My stepfather…”
Ah… Kwon Joo sighed. She understood what happened to this boy and why he ran into this forest. “Why don’t you report him to the police?”
“He is a policeman.”
Kwon Joo snorted in disbelief. She started looking for the edge of the bandage that covered her eyes, “Someone has to show him what a good cop is…”
She wrapped her bandage around the boy’s hand. The afternoon breeze was blowing stronger. After making sure the bandage was neat, she tied up the bandage on his arm with a tight knot. Then they just stood in silence for a moment. She waited for the boy to talk.
“Noona!”
Kwon Joo chuckled, “Looks like he is lost. I have to find him.”
Again, she waited for the boy to respond, but looked like he wouldn’t respond. “If you walk straight to the direction behind you, you will find a pathway you can follow to get out of this forest.”
Then she turned and walked away.
“Wait!”
Kwon Joo stopped and turned her back to the boy. Seung Ho. Kwon Joo just remembered again that his name was Seung Ho.
“Hang in there, Seung Ho… You will be a great person.”
After another moment of silence, Seung Ho answered, “Thank you. I hope… you find a way out from your scary place.”
Kwon Joo smiled hearing him. Then she heard Seung Ho turned and walked away fast. Before turning left, Kwon Joo once again looked back to the place where she met Seung Ho. Vaguely, she could see a glimpse of shadow running towards the path she pointed to.
“Noona! Where have you been? Where is your bandage?”
Kwon Joo smiled. Maybe her hearing ability wasn’t fully a curse. Maybe there’s something she could do with her ability. Maybe she could help people just like how she helped Seung Ho.
“Talking.”
“Talking? Talking to who? Who else is there in the forest?”
“Werewolf.”
“Huh? Noona, why so scary?” Min held Kwon Joo’s hand back to the scary place.
“Noona, this place is really scary. Let’s run away.”
“Hmm,” Kwon Joo nodded.