Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 127 Go Yohan's Religion

‘Go Yohan’s Guardian’ is my second name. Every time, I vividly realize the fact that I’ve become an adult. Adults. Just those two syllables feel awkward. It feels like wearing ill-fitting clothes.

Countless nights passed, agonizing over the inherited responsibility of being a guardian. In the mornings, I went to school, and in the evenings, I went to the hospital room. In truth, I couldn’t even attend half of my school classes properly. When I returned to the hospital with a heavy heart, Go Yohan would spring out like a puppy waiting for its owner.

And as if he had been waiting for me, Go Yohan poured out everything that had happened at the hospital throughout the day.

“They said I have to have another skin graft. Ah, damn it… My thigh is shredded. And the hospital food is so bland I’m about to go crazy. I’m not some old man, my stomach is perfectly fine, but I have to eat this food that even a dog wouldn’t touch.”

The way he vented his frustration with a genuinely pained expression was no different from a child. I let out a small sigh and rummaged through my bag. I really hate it when my bag smells like food. The scent of food had already permeated it strongly. My face automatically scrunched up.

But there’s nothing I can do. I hated carrying it even more.

“Why?”

Why do I feel like I’m seeing a droopy tail in my eyes? And a really hairy dog at that. Gross, so gross. I quickly shook off the sudden, terrible image that came to mind and pulled a box out of my bag. A pitiful gaze swept over what I had taken out. Only then did a spark appear in his gloomy eyes.

“What’s this?”

“Lunchbox. I asked, and they said you can eat it since the surgery is still a long way off.”

“Lunchbox?”

“Don’t read too much into it. I just bought it from a nearby store.”

The reason I said “don’t read too much into it” was because I had read into it.

I could never bring myself to say that I searched for a place near the hospital that served food that was both safe for patients and delicious. I didn’t want to. I truly wanted it to seem like a selfless, humane gesture.

However, Go Yohan seemed to like even that. He frantically scratched his ear with his right hand, which didn’t move well. His ear, briefly glimpsed, was bright red. My gaze gradually shifted to his fingers. Their slightly bent shape was hideous. My face crumpled. Why did those fingers, of all things, catch my eye, why did they enter my sight? My heart felt constricted.

“…Th-thank you.”

A strangely subdued voice was heard. Go Yohan glanced at me, and when our eyes met, he flinched and frantically pretended to open the lunchbox lid. Or was his flinching also just a pretense? Was it real that he acted like someone who would be in trouble if caught glancing at me?

Watching him shove food into his mouth to the point of choking, I leaned my tired body against the sofa.

It was a messy sight. Food dripping…

Go Yohan’s ring, middle, and index fingers don’t bend well. Whether that was a lie or the truth, I slowly approached Go Yohan and took the spoon from his hand.

“What do you want to eat?”

“…”

“Meat?”

At least I had a responsibility to believe in Go Yohan’s wounds.

Go Yohan, who had food smeared around his mouth and was chewing, smiled with his head slightly bowed. I don’t know what makes this bastard so happy, a guy who will never be able to use three fingers properly again and has ragged scars on his thigh and back. Truly not knowing, I couldn’t bring myself to look at his bright face.

What could be so enjoyable? If it were me, I’d want to die.

I roughly picked out the most delicious-looking side dish and forced it into Go Yohan’s mouth. Go Yohan shoved the food in, chewed it forcefully, and smiled. This son of a bitch makes me uncomfortable.

Actually, the reason I bought the lunchbox was because I had stopped by Go Yohan’s house before coming to the hospital.

It was the second time since Go Yohan’s skin graft surgery. Surprisingly, I still had the guardian’s pass. I had only encountered Go Yohan’s family three times at this hospital. Once his father, twice his mother. His mother, in particular, acted kindly towards me, as if rewarding me for handling the delegated tasks.

Go Yohan just rested his chin on his hand and stared at his mother’s retreating back.

So I just intended to pack some of Go Yohan’s things. He’d be bored alone in the hospital room. Having been there before, I knew it well. So I pretended to empathize with his suffering. Absolutely determined not to let thoughts of pity or affection cross my mind.

After that day, I didn’t go back to the dorms but commuted from home, stopping by Go Yohan’s house on the way. This mansion still welcomed me, but Gorosa did not.

Gorosa, who followed me into Go Yohan’s room, leaned against the wall and asked sharply,

“Are you still hanging around with Go Yohan?”

To be honest, I don’t have entirely good feelings towards Gorosa either. How could she not show up at the hospital even once? When her family was hurt. My criteria, born of my own feelings, arbitrarily criticized her. It was something I did without realizing it. It was absolutely not intentional. Realizing that fact, I clamped my mouth shut and answered while stuffing things into my bag.

“Yes.”

“That bastard finally did it. That crazy bastard really liked you.”

At those words, my hand stopped dead. As if possessed, I even turned around to ask,

“…Me?”

“What are you asking? Are you happy about it now?”

“No, I just asked.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘just asking’ in this world. You asked because you wanted to ask.”

Gross. I pretended not to hear her small grumble. But Gorosa lightly ignored me with her approach. Ignoring people seems to be a family trait in this household. Gorosa, Go Yohan, and even their father.

“You, where did you go after the graduation ceremony?”

“Yeah.”

Well, the whole neighborhood must know. Seriously.

“It wasn’t intentional, Go Yohan just went crazy. The guy who never went to church started praying and acting wild, then soon after he tore up the rosary his father gave him and screamed. I saw that crazy bastard then. You know, the one he always wore. It was consecrated.”

“Consecrated?”

“Yeah, that. The one he cherished because he got it from his father. He called God a dog-like bastard, didn’t he? After that, he didn’t come out of his room, and our house was peace itself. Who’s the real dog-like bastard? He doesn’t even know it’s him. He’s stupid.”

Gorosa’s tone, as she scoffed, lowered slightly. It was definitely as soon as she saw my face.

“You must be crazy. Your face is red.”

“No.”

“No way, do you really like him? Do you?”

“I said no.”

“…You must be crazy.”

She even covered her mouth with a horrified expression.

“You’re crazy, seriously!”

I don’t know why she keeps insisting when I’m saying no. Annoyed, I zipped my bag shut with a snap and retorted. I, too, wanted to criticize her in my own way.

“Why did you tell me that? Your father said Go Yohan was second?”

“What are you talking about? What’s this sudden nonsense?”

“Your brother, I mean. He’s second priority to your father. I asked your father directly. He said no. You said Go Yohan was the most favored?”

However, Gorosa made a strange expression, contrary to my expectations.

“…He told me I was second, too.”