The emergency center at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital was a mess. Beds lined the walls and nurses pushed through the crowds while alarms rang. People coughed and groaned in every corner. The smell of bleach was so strong that it made breathing difficult.
Upstairs in the ward, Joe Yabuki stood at the payment window. He pulled his wallet out of his pants. The old woman stood next to him and gripped her apron with both hands.
"Young Joe, let me pay for this. It happened because of me."
"No need."
Joe gave the cash to the person behind the glass.
"But you are hurt."
"I said it is fine."
The woman looked like she wanted to argue but she stopped. Joe checked what was left in his wallet. He had barely enough for rent or medicine. He shoved the wallet back into his pocket and headed for the door.
"Whatever."
He felt like he had nothing left to lose. He just wanted to burn out one last time like he used to in the ring. He wanted to turn into white ash. He closed his eyes and heard the sound of a crowd screaming his name.
The sound stopped when he opened his eyes. All that glory was gone now. Joe walked toward the street and the old woman followed him.
"I am so sorry for dragging you into this."
"It is not your fault."
"But look at you."
"Stop talking about it."
The woman went quiet for a second. She reached out and touched his sleeve.
"Then let me buy you a meal. Please. I cannot feel right if I do not do something."
Joe looked at her and sighed. "Fine."
They reached the hospital entrance and heard a loud voice.
"Ma'am!"
A young man in a tracksuit ran over with a big grin on his face. The old woman looked up and smiled back at him.
"Woo-jin. What are you doing here?"
Hong Woo-jin pointed to a friend standing next to him. "My buddy needed to see a doctor."
The friend had a thick bandage on his right cheek. He looked a bit nervous but he managed to smile.
"Hello. I am Kim Geon-woo."
The old woman nodded at him. Woo-jin turned his attention to Joe.
"I am Joe Yabuki."
Joe spoke without any emotion in his voice. Woo-jin seemed a bit surprised by the cold greeting.
"He does not say much."
Woo-jin turned back to the woman. "We were just going to your place for some spicy pork."
Geon-woo nodded but stayed silent. He wasn't as good as Woo-jin at socializing. The old woman looked down at the ground. Her face went pale as she thought about the mess.
"Then let's all go together."
She grabbed Joe's arm and pulled him along. He tried to nudge her off but she held on tight. He eventually gave up and walked with them.
They reached the restaurant a few minutes later.
CRACK!
The front window was gone. Glass covered the sidewalk and the floor inside. Tables were upside down and the menus were ripped into tiny pieces. Pots and pans lay scattered across the kitchen floor.
Woo-jin stopped in the doorway.
"What happened to this place?"
Geon-woo stared at the wreckage. He looked like he was seeing something familiar. He thought about his mother's bakery. He squeezed his fists until his knuckles turned white.
The old woman sat on a crate and told them about the night before. She talked about Smile Capital and the nine men who came to destroy her life. Woo-jin looked over at Geon-woo.
"Geon-woo, isn't that the same bunch that hit your mom's shop?"
"It is the same contract."
Geon-woo spoke with a low and angry voice. Woo-jin cursed under his breath and looked at Joe. Joe did not look like a fighter to him. He was thin and his hands would not stop shaking.
He could not believe this man beat nine people alone. He looked for muscles or scars but Joe just looked like a sick man.
"Sit down for a minute. I will cook."
Woo-jin tried to stop her. "Ma'am, you cannot cook in this mess."
"I am going to cook. Yesterday is over and I will not sit around crying about it."
The woman went into the kitchen. The two younger men started picking up the broken chairs. Joe moved to help them.
Geon-woo watched Joe work. He saw the way Joe's hands trembled when he tried to lift a table. Geon-woo was a boxer and he knew what that shaking meant.
'Parkinson's.'
He did not say it out loud. They worked until the room looked decent again. The old woman brought out three big plates of spicy pork and set them down.
They started eating. Woo-jin and Geon-woo talked about boxing and their gym. Joe just kept his head down and chewed his food.
"Do you fight? You have the look of a boxer."
Woo-jin looked at Joe. Joe swallowed a bite of rice.
"I used to."
"Oh. So what do you do now?"
"I don't do it anymore."
Woo-jin felt the tension and stopped asking questions. His phone started buzzing in his pocket. He stood up and headed for the door.
"I have to take this."
Geon-woo stood up too. "I need to call my mom."
Joe sat at the table alone. He finished the last of his meal. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some bills. He put the money on the table and walked out the door.
The old woman was still washing dishes in the back. She did not see him go.
When the two boys came back inside the seat was empty.
"Where did he go?"
The old woman looked out from the kitchen and blinked.
"He left?"
Woo-jin walked to the table and picked up the cash.
"He didn't even say a word."
Geon-woo looked out into the dark street.
"He probably has a lot on his mind."
Joe Yabuki walked through Seoul without a plan. The sun was gone and the streetlights began to flicker. He had no place to be.
He had no hope of getting better and no money for a bed. He felt like a ghost.
He stopped in front of a small store. A TV in the window was playing a boxing match. Two young guys were trading blows while the fans went wild.
Joe watched the screen with his hands buried in his pockets.
'I was there once.'
He turned his back on the TV. The wind was cold and his fingers were still twitching. He just kept walking into the dark.