Chapter 82: Self Isolation

“Dad’s home.”

For some reason, Dad came back with a paper bag in one hand.

Mom was hiding in the master bedroom with the ultrasound picture to surprise Dad.

I greeted Dad, who had returned from work, alone.

“Did you have a good day?”

“Is Mom out?”

“Yes, she said she’s going to the supermarket for a moment. What’s that?”

“A souvenir that a junior at the broadcasting station bought after returning from overseas filming. It’s all food, but it was delicious.”

Filming overseas.

Well, these days, overseas broadcasts are more popular than domestic ones.

But when I received the paper bag from Dad and checked its contents, my hand stopped.

“Dad, this is….”

“The guy filmed while traversing China. He said those are all famous snacks in China.”

“Wait, Dad, stop!!”

“Huh?”

I hurriedly stopped Dad, who was trying to take off his mask along with his coat.

No way, China at this timing.

This is serious.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no, it’s just….”

“Then let Dad go to the bathroom, move aside. I thought I was going to die holding it in since earlier.”

“…Wash your hands thoroughly with soap.”

“I’m being told I’m clean because of my daughter.”

Dad patted my head and headed straight to the living room bathroom.

Left alone, I ran to Mom, who was hiding in the master bedroom, with a serious expression.

Mom, who was hiding behind the door, tilted her head with a questioning expression.

“Mom! Please wear a mask first!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“I’ll explain later, so hurry up!”

Perhaps my urgency was conveyed, Mom nodded, although she was flustered.

Mom and I hurriedly took the masks from the living room, covered our noses and mouths, and waited for Dad.

Since I brought them in a hurry, I wore an adult mask, so it was a little loose, but it was better than nothing.

Soon, the sound of water running from the faucet stopped, and Dad came out of the bathroom.

“Phew, I almost died. Huh? Why are you two wearing masks at home?”

“Here you go. Dad, hurry up and wear a new mask too.”

“What’s going on?”

“Let’s check first. Dad, do you know where in China the junior who gave you this gift went?”

“Check what…. Hmm, let’s see….”

Dad felt something strange about my behavior, but he wore the mask as I asked and thought seriously.

A normal family might have dismissed it as a child’s prank.

But my parents actively listened to my opinion in this situation.

“First, starting from Beijing, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Xi’an…. And Wu…, Wu…. What was it?”

“Could it be Wuhan?”

“Ah, right, Wuhan.”

Damn it.

If it were another region, it would be different, but Wuhan of all places.

My expression darkens.

Seeing that, Dad and Mom had slightly worried faces.

Just then, today’s news flowed from the TV that was left on.

-The first case of the novel coronavirus infection that started in Wuhan, China, has been confirmed in Korea.

A Chinese national in his 30s who arrived from Wuhan, China yesterday, showed symptoms at the Incheon Airport arrival hall and was immediately transferred to the hospital.

The coronavirus has been confirmed to have an incubation period of about 2 weeks, and symptoms similar to the flu, such as headache, fever, chills, and pneumonia, have been revealed.

According to the investigation revealed by the Chinese authorities, the fatality rate, which was 2%, seems to have increased by about 4-5%.

“…….”

My words broke the silence.

“…Mom is pregnant.”

Dad’s eyes widened in surprise, and then his eyebrows furrowed.

“Damn it.”

“Oh, okay. I understand. It’s okay, you don’t have to be sorry. Yeah. Then, take care of yourself.”

Dad, who finished the call, sighed lightly and sat on the sofa.

He had washed himself thoroughly, and his clothes were in the washing machine.

Dad, who tied the mask tightly without any gaps on his face, opened his mouth with a slightly gloomy expression.

“That guy has corona…. He’s currently undergoing quarantine procedures at the hospital.”

“Oh my god….”

“Song, I’m sorry. I should be happy, but because of me….”

“It’s okay. Thanks to our daughter, we took precautions in advance. They say you won’t get infected if you wash your hands well and wear a mask properly. Let’s wait and see.”

“What if the baby is harmed because of me….”

“That won’t happen, so don’t cower. You look pathetic doing that with your big build.”

Mom, sitting a little distance away from Dad, smiled brightly and spoke.

I had also been in contact with Dad, so I sat away from Mom.

“Let’s stay separated for about 2 weeks. They say symptoms appear after that. It’s fortunate that our house has five rooms.”

“2 weeks….”

“You don’t have to worry too much. Dad, have you ever taken off your mask at the company?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Have you ever not washed your hands before eating?”

“It’s become a habit now, so when I couldn’t wash, I used hand sanitizer.”

“You were so thorough with prevention, there’s no way you got infected. Right?”

In preparation for this day, I thoroughly demanded disinfection from Mom and Dad.

Mom was resting at home now, while Dad was likely to be infected because he was a person who traveled to many places and met many people.

Therefore, in our house, washing hands after touching something or before eating became a habit, and wearing a mask when going out became natural.

‘Since we did this much, the probability of getting infected will be greatly reduced.’

Doing all this doesn’t mean you won’t get infected.

Looking at the news around this time, there were often cases of infection due to a moment’s carelessness.

“First, I have to tell Jintae hyung. I should send a message to the other kids to be careful too.”

“Tell everyone to wear masks. They say it’s droplet infection.”

Wearing a mask alone should be enough prevention.

The problem is that people are not used to wearing masks, so they don’t wear them properly.

As a result, the number of infected people increased rapidly.

“Then we should stay quarantined as much as possible too. I wanted to help Mom because she’s pregnant, but I’m sorry….”

“No, our daughter has to be healthy for Mom and the baby to be healthy. Let’s both stay quietly in our rooms?”

I need to finish the quarantine period quickly and help Mom.

Dad and I thought the same thing.

Time flows endlessly.

Since I was a homebody, I thought it would be easy to stay in one room, but it felt much more stuffy than expected.

Every day, I eat the meals Mom prepares alone in my room, sleep alone, and read books alone.

Before, being alone felt familiar and comfortable, but now, a corner of my heart felt stuffy.

When it was too hard, I could wear a mask tightly and see Mom and Dad’s faces, but I couldn’t hug them.

Now completely accustomed to the warmth of my family, this 2-week quarantine life was quite difficult for me.

‘It feels a little similar to that time….’

The stuffiness that doesn’t go away even when watching fun broadcasts.

Memories of huddling in the cold in a single room surfaced piece by piece.

I couldn’t focus on editing at all.

I had a lot of backlog, so it didn’t matter if I didn’t edit for a month, but the time spent doing nothing gradually bred lethargy and ate away at me.

-You sound really down…. Did you ventilate the room? You’re not just lying in bed all the time because you’re lazy, are you?

“Don’t worry. I open the window every morning.”

Since I couldn’t meet people due to self-quarantine, I contacted the people around me.

Even hearing people’s worried voices didn’t really lift my spirits.

“Bom, be careful of corona too. You meet a lot of people. Especially the broadcasting industry will be more vulnerable….”

-My mom told me to take a break from activities for a while anyway. Thanks to that, I’m having a proper vacation after a long time. You should take this opportunity to rest well too. You’ve been working without rest.

“What’s being uploaded now is backlog. I’m resting well, so don’t worry.”

-Then shall we play a computer game together? I found a fun one!

“I’m sorry. I’ve been putting the computer aside for a while.”

-Ah, no! It was wrong of me to ask someone who works with a computer all the time. Then, let’s play together next time.

“Yes, Bom, rest well too.”

Click, the call ends.

It’s already been ten days since I last turned on the computer.

The YouTube videos I watch on my phone are all dominated by stories about corona.

I thought about it before, but this period is really….

‘Boring.’

People who can only get information from the internet naturally meet people on the internet.

As that happens, people with various tendencies gather.

It’s a time when people gather indiscriminately on the internet, regardless of gender, religion, politics, or fandom.

In a huge crisis, people on edge clash with each other, causing conflict.

That’s why it’s boring.

In a world where it’s not enough to find joy, everyone in the world is on edge and glares at each other.

‘I wish this period would pass quickly….’

After this urgent period passes and everyone gets used to this phenomenon, a new boom in modern society will occur.

While spending slightly gloomy days recalling such a future, 2 weeks passed already.

Finally, the day of release from self-quarantine. We received tests at the public health center and returned home.

And soon after, the results were notified by text message.

“Test result…, negative. Then it means it’s not corona, right?”

“That’s a relief. Then we can finally eat while looking at each other’s faces.”

“Wow, 2 weeks felt really long.”

Dad safely received a negative result and was free from infection.

But I.

“Daughter~ Did the results come out? How was it?”

Two people approach me, who was in the room.

Before the sound of footsteps got closer, I slammed the door shut and shouted.

“Don’t come near me!”

I barely managed to hold my throbbing head and said.

“…I’m positive. So…, don’t come near me.”

It seems this small room wants my loneliness.