The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun

Author:Hye-Young Pyun [Pyun, Hye-Young]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Thrillers, Psychological, Suspense, Korean Literature, Fiction
ISBN: 9781628729917
Publisher: Arcade
Published: 2018-10-22T23:00:00+00:00

9

HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW RETURNED AROUND NOON the next day, accompanied by the black-garbed church people. When she opened the door, her eyes went to the floor first. She gave Oghi a quizzical look and placed the telephone back on the nightstand.

Oghi’s catheter bottle was filled to the brim, so before letting the church people into the room, she emptied and washed it. The church people praised her. Not everyone could handle this sort of work, they said, it takes tremendous love. One of them added, Only someone like Jesus himself could do this work.

The pastor held Oghi’s hand and prayed, then his followers held one another’s hands and sang all four verses of a hymn. This was followed by a sermon, the words of which were slightly different than last time but still no less clichéd. The pastor comforted Oghi and spoke of the miraculous works of Jesus, who cured lepers and made cripples walk. When the praying ended, his mother-in-law handed the pastor another thick white envelope. This time Oghi hoped the pastor would stick around longer, but it didn’t happen. As soon as their work was done, they hurried out of the house to go deliver their next prayer session.

After seeing them out and returning to the room, his mother-in-law picked up the receiver. Oghi could hear the dial tone. The phone hadn’t been damaged in the fall. As she stood there with the phone in her hand, his mother-in-law fixed Oghi with a suspicious look, then pressed a single button.

Oghi wondered why someone would press only one button on a phone. Of course. The redial button. His mother-in-law shot him another look and wrapped her hand around the mouthpiece. She must have answered. She was probably saying Oghi’s name or breathing loudly or crying, as she had last night. Maybe she thought it was Oghi calling and was telling him something right now. His mother-in-law listened silently to the person on the other end.

After a moment, she quietly put the phone back in its cradle and stared at Oghi. He pretended to be sleepy and closed his eyes. He heard her unplug the phone and take it out of his room.

That day, his mother-in-law did not come back to Oghi’s room. The catheter bottle filled to the top, and his urine spilled out onto the floor. But he couldn’t stop himself from urinating. After the accident, he’d lost the ability to control it. The doctor had explained that the damage to his motor nerves meant he no longer had power over his urethra, and his bladder had shrunk, causing him to urinate more frequently whenever the pressure built up in his abdomen. The tube inserted into his penis dripped continuously like an IV. Maybe it was the medication he was on, but his urine was a darker yellow and smelled worse than usual.

His mother-in-law didn’t show up until the next day. This time she arrived carrying a large suitcase. She told Oghi that she would be looking after him for the time being and that she would stay in the room his wife had used as a study.

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