Chapter 40: Suspension of payment (1)
Part 1
Aside from the fact that the part-time job seemed to get tougher by the day, the week passed by in a blur without anything particularly noteworthy. The sight of Youngjin’s parents looking increasingly worn out every other day tugged at me, but they kept thanking me for the uptick in customers since I started. If there was a problem, it was not knowing how to respond to that.
- So, you’ll be there around noon?
“Yeah… sorry, I completely forgot. I’ll check if it’s okay to come on a weekday and let you know.”
- No, no! Mornings are fine with three of us. Your health comes first!
It was the weekend again. Amidst getting ready to head out, Mom’s reminder—“This week, we’re going together, right?”—jogged my memory about the health checkup. Sunday already? I’d been about to head to the bakery when I hurriedly called Youngjin’s mom.
“Thanks… I’ll see you at lunch.”
- Alright! If anything comes up, don’t push yourself!
I’d explained multiple times that I wasn’t going to the hospital for anything serious, but the word “hospital” must’ve carried an ominous weight, because she kept stressing not to overdo it. They hadn’t hired another part-timer yet, so I wished she’d worry about herself a bit too.
It was nagging at me. Riding in the car Dad was driving, I gazed out at the familiar scenery with a touch of unease. Mom, in the passenger seat, seemed to pick up on my mood and glanced back at me.
“What’d she say?” she asked.
“She said it’s fine, but… I should probably get there as soon as I can.”
The post-lunch rush was brutal, but that didn’t mean other times were slow. Even before noon, people stopped by for quick bites, and there were always customers looking for bread to pair with coffee, no matter the hour.
Lately, the overall customer count had spiked. I knew why, even if I pretended not to.
“You’re just helping out—what difference does it make? Just take it easy,” Dad said.
“…It’s probably my fault they’re so busy. How can I not care?”
“Busy is good for business. What’s the issue?” he replied, his tone flat as he gripped the steering wheel.
His nonchalance puzzled me more than it annoyed me. Dad wasn’t the most expressive guy, but he wasn’t indifferent to others either. He was close enough with our friend group’s parents to stay in touch regularly, so…
“Focus on yourself. Work or whatever—take care of your health first—”
“You’re awfully chatty today,” Mom cut in, her subtle tone stopping him mid-sentence.
It felt like she was telling him—and maybe me too—to drop the subject. Her intervention seemed more suspicious than his words. Dad fell silent, a faint grimace on his face.
Come to think of it, Mom had insisted we all go together this week. Maybe the hospital had something specific to discuss, something only my parents knew about?
A sudden question crossed my mind, but I closed my mouth without a sound. It probably wasn’t something worth telling me. Neither Dr. Kang Young-hoo nor my parents seemed like they’d hide anything out of malice.
“…We should eat lunch before going,” I said, breaking the silence with the first thing that came to mind.
“Didn’t you say it was urgent?” Mom asked.
I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I didn’t have anything else to say. “I figured I’d rest in the morning and cover the counter during lunch.”
“Knowing Youngjin’s parents, they’d probably feel worse about that,” Mom said.
…She wasn’t wrong.
Part 2
“…As expected,” Dr. Kang Young-hoo said, his expression stiffening as a long sigh filled the room.
He’d given them a heads-up over the phone, but for parents, this kind of news wasn’t something you could just prepare for. Since they hadn’t specified an exact arrival time, he pushed aside an uncleared coffee cup and picked up a file. Yoonseo’s records from her fourth-week checkup were jumbled with messy notes.
“…I’m not sure how to say this,” he began.
“Just say it like you normally would,” Yoonseo’s dad replied, his tone brisk.
The mother might hesitate, but the father was straightforward. Young-hoo took a breath, his voice lowering as he continued.
“As for sexual function… there are no issues. As a woman, she’s perfectly healthy and can live a normal life, aging like anyone else.”
No response came as he rattled off her general checkup results. It was just filler, a way to delay the main point. He knew they knew it too.
“…And it’s been about four weeks since we confirmed she’s fully stabilized,” he said.
“…So it’s that, isn’t it?” her father asked.
“…Probably soon,” Young-hoo replied, scratching the back of his head.
Another heavy sigh—whose, he couldn’t tell—hung in the air. Should’ve told her not to start that job. Regret hit late, and the parents’ faces darkened. If they felt this way, how must their daughter, the one going through it, feel?
“Is there… anything we should do?” the mother asked.
“Physically, she’s fine, aside from being a bit frail. Psychological stability is key. Beyond mere discomfort, for someone who was male… this carries a lot of emotional weight.”
Damn it, menstruation isn’t some taboo word. Young-hoo suppressed a curse, his hand clenching. It was just a patient in an unusual situation, yet he felt compelled to tread carefully around a perfectly normal term. No one demanded it—it was his own instinct, and that irked him more.
“…Make sure she gets enough iron, vitamin B, and minerals. She’ll likely be shaken, but—”
“Should we just tell her outright?” the mother interrupted.
Young-hoo’s head snapped up. He’d been avoiding their eyes, pretending to scan the chart out of embarrassment.
“Sorry?”
“Should we just tell Yoonseo right away?”
Only then did he really see them—the mother’s trembling voice, the father’s silence, their shaking hands, flickering gazes, nervous twitches. His widened eyes quickly returned to normal.
I can’t act this pathetic in front of them. Forcing a smile, he spoke.
“Giving her time to prepare mentally is better than letting it hit out of nowhere. Knowing her personality, she might brush it off more easily than you’d think. I’ll say it again—physically, she’s fine. It’s just the psychological side that’s a concern, so no need to be too tense.”
He set the file down, feeling his composure return.
“If you look anxious, it’ll only make things worse. Act normal, maybe be a bit more attentive—that’s enough.”
After wrapping up with talk of medical fees and government support, Young-hoo sent them off, saying there was no need for a face-to-face with Yoonseo today. Still, he wondered if he should’ve seen her as her doctor or if he’d dumped too much on her parents.
“…Talking about menstruation while picturing her? That’s torture,” he muttered, pushing away the fleeting image of honey-blonde hair. The coffee, now cold, was bitterly strong.