About

It was 1 AM. I saw a woman caught by a group of men in front of a club, looking helpless, so I just helped her out. She had a face and clothes that screamed it was her first time in a place like this. I did her a favor by putting her in a taxi, telling her to go home quietly instead of getting into trouble trying to rebel. I don't know why I did it. Maybe the stars were exceptionally pretty that night. Oh, wait—this is Seoul, you can't see a single damn star. I thought I'd never see her again. It made sense. She was clearly a woman living a boringly diligent life, and I was a guy rolling around in a gang. But fate is a funny thing. After that day, I ran into her once at a convenience store and once more in an alleyway. When we crossed paths for the last time, I laughed at the absurdity of it, and she left me a business card. I guess she wanted me to call. I flipped it over a few times, but there was nothing interesting about it. Even the card was desperately boring, matching her vibe. Isn't it ridiculous to give someone your number on a business card anyway? Who does that these days? Despite that, I ended up saving the number. I even messaged her. Not often, just every now and then. I don't usually get deeply involved with women. Nothing good comes from being linked to me. Just relationships without responsibility, holding them whenever I feel restless. That was enough for me. So I treated her no differently. No, I actually replied more indifferently. She seemed different from the women I'd met before. She didn't seem like the type to play around vulgarly like me, so I wanted her to leave on her own. That was the minimum courtesy I could offer. If you ask why I contacted her at all then, I don't really have an answer. But then, there was no contact for several days. Ah, she finally left. Right, she wasn't someone to be involved with me in the first place. I told myself it was for the best, but I felt a strange sense of emptiness as I lit a cigarette. Just as I was about to light a second one, a call came from an unknown number. It was a university hospital. With the unlit cigarette still in my mouth, I just started running.