Haan

Chapter 1 - Plague

"Hyung!! Hyung! Come quick!"

I turned at the desperate cry.

"What? What is it?"

"Eomma, she has it! She's sick!" the little boy started sobbing.

"Are you sure?"

Eun Ho nodded unable to speak.

Fear gripped my heart. No please! Not Eun Ho's mother! Not Ajumma! Jebal!

Although the kind woman was not my mother, she and her husband had taken me in. It had been three years since she found me unconscious floating in the nearby river. She had flung her washing to the ground forgotten to fish me out. Her mild mannered husband and young son accepted me graciously into their lives. From then on, I had lived with them. No one recognized me or knew who I was. Nor did anyone know where I had come from, not even myself. All I remembered was my name.

Hyun Si Woo.

That's me. A teenage boy from nowhere.

Luckily, Ajumma's family welcomed me. Her mild mannered husband and their young son accepted me graciously into their lives. From then on, I lived with them. They were very kind, loving and soon treated me as part of the family. Although I was grateful for their saving my life, I could not, dared not fully accept them as my family.

In my heart, I feared the unknown. Unanswered questions haunted me. Who am I? Where did I come from? What happened to me? Where was my own family? Were they looking for me? Or were they all dead? Did an accident happen or worse, was there something or someone still hunting me down to kill me too? Meanwhile, I should not put Eun Ho's family in danger.

A small part of me held onto a hope that somewhere, my real family was alive and searching desperately for me and someday, someone would show up at the little village to claim me. Wouldn't it be wonderful if my parents came with an absolutely plausible explanation? It would probably be something so natural and obvious that my overthinking mind had completely  missed for its simplicity.

Until then, I would do my best to repay Eun Ho and his family.

Quickly, I ran after the six year old boy who had already started back for home.

"Ajumma!" I called out jumping up the few steps leading up the small hanok (traditional Korean house).

Sliding open the wooden frame, I went directly to her bedroom door. It was half open. Eun Ho had already gone in to his mother who was lying on her thin futon. A well used blanket covered her to her chin. The little boy held his mother's hand crying.

"Eomma! I couldn't find Appa, he's already gone into the forest to collect firewood. Don't worry, I found Hyung! He will save you."

She tried to lift her head but fell back weakly onto her pillow. "Aigoo ... Eun Ho-ah, no need to make such a fuss. I'm fine. I just need to rest a bit, then I'll get up to make you something nice to eat," she said softly.

However when she turn her eyes to me, I saw fear in them.

"It's o'kay Eun Ho," I tried to calm the boy down. "I'll try to help."

I knelt next to Eun Ho who refused to budge from his mother. In the end we both squeezed next to the sick woman.

"Mianhae," I apologized before touching her, "I'll have to lift your sleeve to have a look. Eun Ho said he saw the marks on your hand.

She gulped and nodded.

Her hand was cold to my touch, a symptom of the mysterious disease. Slowly I pushed up her thread bare sleeve to expose the damning signs of the plague. Thick bluish green tendrils snaked down her forehand branching out and around her arm. Even as I looked, an end lengthened and split, creeping further down her fair skin.

"Ahhhh!", she shivered and gasped in pain. "It feels like someone is pricking me with ice needles."

"Ajumma, how long has it been? You were fine this morning. Or were you keep it from us?" I asked as calmly as possible. No need to scare Eun Ho more than he already was.

"I ... mianhae, I didn't want to burden anyone," she faltered, "It's only been two days. I thought I could ... I have to be strong for Eun Ho's sake. No one else knows, I kept indoors as much as possible since I felt ill."

"Does Ajeossi know?" I glanced at Eun Ho wondering if his father knew his mother had contracted the deadly plague. Poor Ajumma, she must have felt so alone and afraid.

Our little village had quarantined ourselves, not allowing anyone in or out for a month already. We were only allowed to go to the river and forest behind our village which was not accessible to anyone else due to its mountainous topography. We had hung signs and warnings onto our closed village gate to caution and inform people of our situation. According to the last few visitors who shouted the news from a distance, the outside world seemed to be fine.

It was just us.

So far, no one who got the plague had survived. Ten people have died since we discovered it a month ago. Those who showed symptoms were confined by their families. No one knew how it started or how it spread. It was the strangest disease ever. It was not contagious. All we knew was that it did not spread through water, air or touch. It attacked randomly, ignoring everyone else in contact with the victim. It was a mystery and everyone was afraid. 

Ajumma held my gaze pleadingly, "I did not tell him when he left for the forest yesterday. I thought I had a simple cold. He does not need more distractions and burdens."

"Hyung, save Eomma!" Eun Ho begged. "Magic away the sickness like you did my cut when I fell from the tree."

"Magicked away his cut?" asked Ajumma confused. She looked from me to her son and back to me again. "Si Woo-ah, weren't you the one who fell from the tree? But no one had a cut or I would have noticed. You only said you were limping because you sprained your ankle but you were fine the next day. What's going on? Did you lie to me?"

I swallowed and hung my head. "Mianhae Ajumma. We ... I did lie to you. A small lie. I'll explain later but now ..."

"Hyung, just do it. Make Eomma well again." Eun Ho started crying again."Just try! Hyung!! I don't want Eomma to die!! Jaebal! Please!!"

"I don't know if I can ... but I'll try," I continued when Eun Ho's lips started quivering again. He stopped immediately.

"Go get a ..."

"A stick? A tree? No wait ... I can't get a tree in here. You used a big log that time. Should I get a big log?"

I sighed, uncertainty eating at me. But, I had to try. If I did not and Ajumma died because I was a coward who was too scared of the unknown, I would never forgive myself.

"You can't carry a big log, just get me the biggest stick you can find from the pile outside."

"O'kay! I'll be back!"

As he ran out with his mission eager to help cure his mother, I heard Ajumma's soft worried voice.

"Si Woo- ah ... what are you two up to? How can you magic away anything? This disease, it's incurable."

"Don't worry. It's going to be o'kay Ajumma," I said with a reassuring smile. "I'll explain everything after you get better."

I promise I'll save you or die trying, I added in my heart. I should exchange my life for she who saved mine. It was the least I could do.