DJ got me falling in Love- Twenty Six
"Hyunjin ssi, can you tell me where you are now?"
It's minutes to midnight before Kyungsoo picks up the last of his calls.
"So Hyunjin ssi, what's your plan for this weekend?"
"I don't have any plans this week."
The listener's voice is clear enough, but breaking up with every blow of the wind in the background. He must be outdoors, Kyungsoo thinks.
"Ah... Just going to chill and relax?" The deejay says pleasantly.
"No, I... Just broke off with my girlfriend."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's... Expected, I guess. She's never happy with whatever that I do. I'm too poor to get her anything she wants." He lets out a ragged laugh.
"Not everything can be bought with money." Kyungsoo offers supportingly.
"Yeah, but apparently that's not what her parents think." The male sighs. "I don't even have enough money for marriage. Do you know how much a one carat ring costs, D.O. ssi?"
"I'm not too sure about that, actually."
"It costs four months of my pay. Four months, D.O. ssi. I can do a lot with that kind of money. But she won't settle for anything less."
Kyungsoo wonders if you'll settle for anything less than a one carat ring. Wait, why is he even thinking about you at work?
Focus, Do Kyungsoo, focus.
"It'd probably take some time for her to get through."
"She didn't want to wait. And honestly, I don't really know what I'm living for anymore."
Another laugh.
This time, Kyungsoo catches the nasal sound in his tone.
From experience, he knows that this listener will take some time to coax. Radio has limited on-air time though.
"Doesn't all of us do sometimes? Not knowing what our purposes are? But there's always a hope there. The sun always comes up again, whether today is shitty or not. If you don't mind, just hold on the phone for a while? I'll be playing the next song, Jason Mraz's 'Live High', for our listeners. Have a great weekend, goodnight."
Kyungsoo taps the button on the panel to play the song and engages the guy again off-air.
"It's D.O. here."
"D.O. ssi, thanks for staying back to talk to me. I... I really don't know who to approach." There's embarrassment in his tone and Kyungsoo assures him it's not a big deal.
"How about friends? Maybe get one or two over the weekends and have a drink or something?"
"I... Don't have any close friends. And none of them understands my situation, I'll just be a burden to them anyway." The man sighs heavily. "It's like, I've been trying all my life to prove myself to my parents, my peers... But I can't do it anymore. It's just so tiring and... Nobody really cares if you are a nobody. I'm a nobody."
Kyungsoo hums thoughtfully before he answers, "You don't have to prove yourself to anybody. Life is not about proving yourself to anyone. It's about living purposefully, happily... You know?"
"That's the thing, D.O. ssi. I don't know what is my purpose anymore. I used to think my purpose is to make my girlfriend happy. But I can't even do it. And now that she is gone, I... Don't know what to do anymore. And can I be honest with you?"
Kyungsoo utters a quiet "yes?"
"I'm just finding the most painless way to die right now."
Alarm strikes the deejay and he presses on.
"Hyunjin ssi, can you tell me where you are now?"
The guy goes quiet for a dreadful five seconds.
"I'm at the Han river."
"Which part?"
"I'm not going to tell you, D.O. ssi, it's okay, it's nothing important..."
Worry weighs heavy on Kyungsoo's chest and he waves a hand for the PD to come in.
"But you are important. Just... Continue talking to me, Hyunjin ssi..."
"That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, D.O. ssi. Are...Are you by any chance, older than 22? C-Can I call you hyung?"
Whilst calmly telling him his age and yes, you can call me hyung of course, Kyungsoo scribbles down a note.
Call the police to go to the Han River. A guy might be committing suicide.
The PD nods to indicate he got it.
After a few minutes of cajoling, Kyungsoo calls the man using his own cell phone and convinces him to switch the line over so they can continue talking.
Although he knows the police has been alerted, Kyungsoo still feels obliged to go down personally to make sure the guy is okay.
Halfway through the drive, the man tells him that he's got two packs of beer to send him off to the netherworld, chuckling bitterly and that's when Kyungsoo steps on the accelerator.
Hasn't the police found him yet?
It's 10 minutes later when he finds himself at the lake, the relentless cold nipping at his neck because in his haste, he has forgotten his scarf and the jacket he's wearing today is not made for staying outdoors long. He had thought he'll only be at the station and then back home after his shift.
Following the trail where there's less people, Kyungsoo searches frantically for a man with a dozen beers by his side but it's fruitless. The route is long and there's no one anywhere near that description in sight.
His phone is starting to beep from lack of battery and Kyungsoo curses internally for not charging it in the afternoon when there's only half a bar left.
"Is your phone battery low? Maybe you'd be the last person I'll talk to..." Hyunjin utters morosely.
"What is the brand of your phone? Maybe I can borrow yours." Kyungsoo tries sounding casual.
"Oh, you can have it." He laughs mirthlessly.
"I'll need to know where you are before I can get it." Kyungsoo urges.
"I told you I'm at the Han River."
"Where exactly?"
The same torturous pause ensues.
"I'm outside a restaurant facing the Han river."
No wonder the police can't find him.
Kyungsoo swallows thickly and musters his most cheery voice.
"I'll be joining you in a while, Hyunjin-ah."
"It won't be necessary, hyung."
His voice is breaking up again.
Kyungsoo can hear the gusts of wind contorting his syllables. The guy is moving.
"They say it only takes a few seconds for a person to drown. Thank you for talking to me. Really."
"Wait, please, don't do this."
Kyungsoo hastens his steps towards the row of restaurants, head whipping around to find the man.
"Goodbye. Can you... Can you say my name once again?"
"No, Hyunjin ah, please... Let me see you, I-- "
"Thanks hyung, thank you."
Click.
Kyungsoo heaves in frustration.
His cheeks are burning from the run and cold and the night is dark and eerily quiet despite it being the weekend.
He flits around, eyes scanning the stretch of street when he finally spots it.
A bunch of empty beer cans are scattered by the roadside and Kyungsoo follows the line which stops halfway in the middle of the road towards the lake.
There's a blob in the waters that seems to be moving forward.
"Hey!" Kyungsoo lets out a throaty shout but the figure doesn't stop.
Ripping down the road, Kyungsoo reaches the edge of the lake and is only in time to see the head dip downwards into the river before he can see no more.
Without hesitating, he wrenches off his jacket and plunges into the black pool.
The icy water hits him like a pile of bricks and Kyungsoo gasps, body shuddering involuntarily. Forcing himself to calm down, he takes a deep breath, bracing himself before he pushes through the water towards the man.
The cold slices through him as he makes his way nearer and nearer, but the figure is now completely gone from sight.
Kyungsoo knows it won't be long before his muscles start cramping up and he needs to find the guy before that happens.
After a few more seconds of waddling around in the water, he hears a splutter behind him and veers rapidly. His lungs is getting heavy with the pressure but he forces himself to steer forward and grab something like a limb that's sticking out from under the water.
"I got you! Come on, Hyunjin ssi!" Yanking on the limb which turns out to be an arm, Kyungsoo pulls the now almost motionless body towards himself and loops his own arm under the man's chin. The guy is making faint gurgling sounds and Kyungsoo backpedals as fast as he can back to the river bank.
Fortunately, they haven't strayed far and Kyungsoo, being a fairly strong swimmer, brings the both of them safely back to land in record time.
It takes a bit more strength to haul himself and the guy out of the water though and by the time he's done, Kyungsoo is panting and his face and lungs hurt from all the exertion.
"Hello! May we be of help here?" Two uniformed police appear before the deejay and Kyungsoo almost wants to cry out in relief.
"Yes! I was the one who called because this man wanted to commit suicide, can you help him?!"
One of the officers throws a thick blanket over Kyungsoo and the other kneels down in front of the now unconscious man to render resuscitation.
"Are you alright?" The officer beside Kyungsoo, seemingly in his 40s, places a hand on his shoulder.
"Y-Yes." In fact, Kyungsoo is feeling wet and cold and he only wants to go home and lie down.
"You better not move around too much at the moment." He cautions.
"I don't think I'll want to do that either." Kyungsoo confesses, watching the other officer pump life into the guy's chest.
The listener suddenly splutters, water coming out from his nose and mouth as he makes a pained noise. The police officer nods to his colleague.
"We should send him to the hospital."
He nods back and turns to Kyungsoo. "Do you need to go to the hospital too?"
The deejay sniffles and waves a hand. "Nah, I just need a cup of tea, a hot shower and my bed."
The officer smiles at his remark.
"So then we'll take some statements from you quickly and you can get back to warming yourself up."
______________
You have been listening to the odd conversation between Kyungsoo and the listener on radio and wonders if the deejay will be coming home late again today.
You glance at the clock.
12:50 a.m.
If the past few days are anything to go by, he probably won't be back even after an hour.
Sighing, you make to retreat to your room when you suddenly hear the familiar rumbling in the garage.
Is he back already?
Your heart starts pounding and you grab the novel you've just put down on the table and pretends to read it.
After a minute, the door clicks and you hear some murmuring before it opens.
"Thank you, you really don't have to."
You look up and is mildly shocked to see Kyungsoo speaking to a police officer.
"Ah, I see that your wife is waiting for you. Goodnight madam, your husband has been a good Samaritan tonight. Jumped into the river and saved a kid's life." The officer grins when he spots you.
Kyungsoo and yourself turn to each other, mouth open and speechless. You don't know whether to feel appalled because he just called you Kyungsoo's wife or happy that the deejay did someone a good turn.
"It's eh... It's not like that." Kyungsoo explains and the officer gives a puzzled look.
"Anyway, you might like to get into some dry clothes asap." The elder reminds kindly and Kyungsoo thanked him while handing him back the blanket.
You notice that the deejay's clothing is damp, dark grey shirt spotty in places where it hasn't dried well. When the officer leaves, you get up from the couch and approach him.
"Is everything alright?"
Kyungsoo tenses at your sudden proximity, chaotic emotions filtering out into a wane smile.
"Yeah, it's nothing. You should go to bed soon."
"Tomorrow's a Saturday, i don't have to work." You work up a small pout and damn, this is not good to Kyungsoo's cardiac situation right now.
"Just go to bed." He heads for his room but you waylaid him by placing yourself in front of the male. Up close, you can see that his cheeks are tinged red.
"It's not nothing, you're drenched and... Are you having a fever?"
You reach for his forehead but he shuns from the move.
"I'm fine, really. I just need to change out of these clothes first." He starts for his room again but an abrupt sneeze stops him in his tracks.
"I think you caught the cold." You observe and Kyungsoo only sniffs in response. "I'll go take out the medicine."
Kyungsoo watches you totter into the kitchen.
It's nice, he thinks.
Usually when he's sick, he'll settle it on his own.
But now there's someone taking the initiative to care for him. And you look like a good little housewife, busying yourself with taking out the correct bottles and instruments.
Wait, what was he just thinking?
Kyungsoo smacks himself on the forehead with his palm and hurries into his room.
He's supposed to avoid you, for goodness sake. And he has every intention to follow through that until he gets over this emotional disorientation.
Or whatever that is making his heart palpitate like a broken machine.
Chapter 27
It's minutes to midnight before Kyungsoo picks up the last of his calls.
"So Hyunjin ssi, what's your plan for this weekend?"
"I don't have any plans this week."
The listener's voice is clear enough, but breaking up with every blow of the wind in the background. He must be outdoors, Kyungsoo thinks.
"Ah... Just going to chill and relax?" The deejay says pleasantly.
"No, I... Just broke off with my girlfriend."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's... Expected, I guess. She's never happy with whatever that I do. I'm too poor to get her anything she wants." He lets out a ragged laugh.
"Not everything can be bought with money." Kyungsoo offers supportingly.
"Yeah, but apparently that's not what her parents think." The male sighs. "I don't even have enough money for marriage. Do you know how much a one carat ring costs, D.O. ssi?"
"I'm not too sure about that, actually."
"It costs four months of my pay. Four months, D.O. ssi. I can do a lot with that kind of money. But she won't settle for anything less."
Kyungsoo wonders if you'll settle for anything less than a one carat ring. Wait, why is he even thinking about you at work?
Focus, Do Kyungsoo, focus.
"It'd probably take some time for her to get through."
"She didn't want to wait. And honestly, I don't really know what I'm living for anymore."
Another laugh.
This time, Kyungsoo catches the nasal sound in his tone.
From experience, he knows that this listener will take some time to coax. Radio has limited on-air time though.
"Doesn't all of us do sometimes? Not knowing what our purposes are? But there's always a hope there. The sun always comes up again, whether today is shitty or not. If you don't mind, just hold on the phone for a while? I'll be playing the next song, Jason Mraz's 'Live High', for our listeners. Have a great weekend, goodnight."
Kyungsoo taps the button on the panel to play the song and engages the guy again off-air.
"It's D.O. here."
"D.O. ssi, thanks for staying back to talk to me. I... I really don't know who to approach." There's embarrassment in his tone and Kyungsoo assures him it's not a big deal.
"How about friends? Maybe get one or two over the weekends and have a drink or something?"
"I... Don't have any close friends. And none of them understands my situation, I'll just be a burden to them anyway." The man sighs heavily. "It's like, I've been trying all my life to prove myself to my parents, my peers... But I can't do it anymore. It's just so tiring and... Nobody really cares if you are a nobody. I'm a nobody."
Kyungsoo hums thoughtfully before he answers, "You don't have to prove yourself to anybody. Life is not about proving yourself to anyone. It's about living purposefully, happily... You know?"
"That's the thing, D.O. ssi. I don't know what is my purpose anymore. I used to think my purpose is to make my girlfriend happy. But I can't even do it. And now that she is gone, I... Don't know what to do anymore. And can I be honest with you?"
Kyungsoo utters a quiet "yes?"
"I'm just finding the most painless way to die right now."
Alarm strikes the deejay and he presses on.
"Hyunjin ssi, can you tell me where you are now?"
The guy goes quiet for a dreadful five seconds.
"I'm at the Han river."
"Which part?"
"I'm not going to tell you, D.O. ssi, it's okay, it's nothing important..."
Worry weighs heavy on Kyungsoo's chest and he waves a hand for the PD to come in.
"But you are important. Just... Continue talking to me, Hyunjin ssi..."
"That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, D.O. ssi. Are...Are you by any chance, older than 22? C-Can I call you hyung?"
Whilst calmly telling him his age and yes, you can call me hyung of course, Kyungsoo scribbles down a note.
Call the police to go to the Han River. A guy might be committing suicide.
The PD nods to indicate he got it.
After a few minutes of cajoling, Kyungsoo calls the man using his own cell phone and convinces him to switch the line over so they can continue talking.
Although he knows the police has been alerted, Kyungsoo still feels obliged to go down personally to make sure the guy is okay.
Halfway through the drive, the man tells him that he's got two packs of beer to send him off to the netherworld, chuckling bitterly and that's when Kyungsoo steps on the accelerator.
Hasn't the police found him yet?
It's 10 minutes later when he finds himself at the lake, the relentless cold nipping at his neck because in his haste, he has forgotten his scarf and the jacket he's wearing today is not made for staying outdoors long. He had thought he'll only be at the station and then back home after his shift.
Following the trail where there's less people, Kyungsoo searches frantically for a man with a dozen beers by his side but it's fruitless. The route is long and there's no one anywhere near that description in sight.
His phone is starting to beep from lack of battery and Kyungsoo curses internally for not charging it in the afternoon when there's only half a bar left.
"Is your phone battery low? Maybe you'd be the last person I'll talk to..." Hyunjin utters morosely.
"What is the brand of your phone? Maybe I can borrow yours." Kyungsoo tries sounding casual.
"Oh, you can have it." He laughs mirthlessly.
"I'll need to know where you are before I can get it." Kyungsoo urges.
"I told you I'm at the Han River."
"Where exactly?"
The same torturous pause ensues.
"I'm outside a restaurant facing the Han river."
No wonder the police can't find him.
Kyungsoo swallows thickly and musters his most cheery voice.
"I'll be joining you in a while, Hyunjin-ah."
"It won't be necessary, hyung."
His voice is breaking up again.
Kyungsoo can hear the gusts of wind contorting his syllables. The guy is moving.
"They say it only takes a few seconds for a person to drown. Thank you for talking to me. Really."
"Wait, please, don't do this."
Kyungsoo hastens his steps towards the row of restaurants, head whipping around to find the man.
"Goodbye. Can you... Can you say my name once again?"
"No, Hyunjin ah, please... Let me see you, I-- "
"Thanks hyung, thank you."
Click.
Kyungsoo heaves in frustration.
His cheeks are burning from the run and cold and the night is dark and eerily quiet despite it being the weekend.
He flits around, eyes scanning the stretch of street when he finally spots it.
A bunch of empty beer cans are scattered by the roadside and Kyungsoo follows the line which stops halfway in the middle of the road towards the lake.
There's a blob in the waters that seems to be moving forward.
"Hey!" Kyungsoo lets out a throaty shout but the figure doesn't stop.
Ripping down the road, Kyungsoo reaches the edge of the lake and is only in time to see the head dip downwards into the river before he can see no more.
Without hesitating, he wrenches off his jacket and plunges into the black pool.
The icy water hits him like a pile of bricks and Kyungsoo gasps, body shuddering involuntarily. Forcing himself to calm down, he takes a deep breath, bracing himself before he pushes through the water towards the man.
The cold slices through him as he makes his way nearer and nearer, but the figure is now completely gone from sight.
Kyungsoo knows it won't be long before his muscles start cramping up and he needs to find the guy before that happens.
After a few more seconds of waddling around in the water, he hears a splutter behind him and veers rapidly. His lungs is getting heavy with the pressure but he forces himself to steer forward and grab something like a limb that's sticking out from under the water.
"I got you! Come on, Hyunjin ssi!" Yanking on the limb which turns out to be an arm, Kyungsoo pulls the now almost motionless body towards himself and loops his own arm under the man's chin. The guy is making faint gurgling sounds and Kyungsoo backpedals as fast as he can back to the river bank.
Fortunately, they haven't strayed far and Kyungsoo, being a fairly strong swimmer, brings the both of them safely back to land in record time.
It takes a bit more strength to haul himself and the guy out of the water though and by the time he's done, Kyungsoo is panting and his face and lungs hurt from all the exertion.
"Hello! May we be of help here?" Two uniformed police appear before the deejay and Kyungsoo almost wants to cry out in relief.
"Yes! I was the one who called because this man wanted to commit suicide, can you help him?!"
One of the officers throws a thick blanket over Kyungsoo and the other kneels down in front of the now unconscious man to render resuscitation.
"Are you alright?" The officer beside Kyungsoo, seemingly in his 40s, places a hand on his shoulder.
"Y-Yes." In fact, Kyungsoo is feeling wet and cold and he only wants to go home and lie down.
"You better not move around too much at the moment." He cautions.
"I don't think I'll want to do that either." Kyungsoo confesses, watching the other officer pump life into the guy's chest.
The listener suddenly splutters, water coming out from his nose and mouth as he makes a pained noise. The police officer nods to his colleague.
"We should send him to the hospital."
He nods back and turns to Kyungsoo. "Do you need to go to the hospital too?"
The deejay sniffles and waves a hand. "Nah, I just need a cup of tea, a hot shower and my bed."
The officer smiles at his remark.
"So then we'll take some statements from you quickly and you can get back to warming yourself up."
______________
You have been listening to the odd conversation between Kyungsoo and the listener on radio and wonders if the deejay will be coming home late again today.
You glance at the clock.
12:50 a.m.
If the past few days are anything to go by, he probably won't be back even after an hour.
Sighing, you make to retreat to your room when you suddenly hear the familiar rumbling in the garage.
Is he back already?
Your heart starts pounding and you grab the novel you've just put down on the table and pretends to read it.
After a minute, the door clicks and you hear some murmuring before it opens.
"Thank you, you really don't have to."
You look up and is mildly shocked to see Kyungsoo speaking to a police officer.
"Ah, I see that your wife is waiting for you. Goodnight madam, your husband has been a good Samaritan tonight. Jumped into the river and saved a kid's life." The officer grins when he spots you.
Kyungsoo and yourself turn to each other, mouth open and speechless. You don't know whether to feel appalled because he just called you Kyungsoo's wife or happy that the deejay did someone a good turn.
"It's eh... It's not like that." Kyungsoo explains and the officer gives a puzzled look.
"Anyway, you might like to get into some dry clothes asap." The elder reminds kindly and Kyungsoo thanked him while handing him back the blanket.
You notice that the deejay's clothing is damp, dark grey shirt spotty in places where it hasn't dried well. When the officer leaves, you get up from the couch and approach him.
"Is everything alright?"
Kyungsoo tenses at your sudden proximity, chaotic emotions filtering out into a wane smile.
"Yeah, it's nothing. You should go to bed soon."
"Tomorrow's a Saturday, i don't have to work." You work up a small pout and damn, this is not good to Kyungsoo's cardiac situation right now.
"Just go to bed." He heads for his room but you waylaid him by placing yourself in front of the male. Up close, you can see that his cheeks are tinged red.
"It's not nothing, you're drenched and... Are you having a fever?"
You reach for his forehead but he shuns from the move.
"I'm fine, really. I just need to change out of these clothes first." He starts for his room again but an abrupt sneeze stops him in his tracks.
"I think you caught the cold." You observe and Kyungsoo only sniffs in response. "I'll go take out the medicine."
Kyungsoo watches you totter into the kitchen.
It's nice, he thinks.
Usually when he's sick, he'll settle it on his own.
But now there's someone taking the initiative to care for him. And you look like a good little housewife, busying yourself with taking out the correct bottles and instruments.
Wait, what was he just thinking?
Kyungsoo smacks himself on the forehead with his palm and hurries into his room.
He's supposed to avoid you, for goodness sake. And he has every intention to follow through that until he gets over this emotional disorientation.
Or whatever that is making his heart palpitate like a broken machine.
Chapter 27