Ficorpio
Chapter 1
While I was filling a thermos flask for my grandfather in the hospital, a middle-aged man tossed a urinal bottle at my feet and ordered, “Go empty this. Then bring back some warm water and wash my mother.”
I didn’t take it.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
“Pretending you didn’t hear me? Is this the attitude private aides have now?”
“I’ll file a complaint. I’ll call your supervisor over right now.”
“Move it. Otherwise, don’t expect to get paid today.”
I snapped on the spot.
“Are you insane? Did you hire me as your aide?”
…
My grandfather had been hospitalized after a sudden stroke.
It happened to be my winter break, so I had been staying at St. Catherine’s Hospital to take care of him.
“Hey! You, the aide! Come feed my mother!”
The man in the next bed suddenly started ordering me around.
Before I could explain, he was already on the phone, talking loudly about some work problem. His mother looked pitiful lying there, so while I had a free moment, I helped.
“Hey! Smaller bites. What if my mother chokes?”
“Can’t you see she doesn’t want any more? Wipe her mouth already.”
“What kind of aide are you? Do you not understand basic hygiene? Wash the towel after you use it!”
He barked orders while shoving me hard.
He pushed so forcefully I nearly fell off the stool.
My temper flared.
“If you’re this picky, why don’t you do it yourself? Or is your mouth the only part of you that works? I’m not an aide!”
I threw the towel straight at his face.
Arguing in the room, right in front of my grandfather, wouldn’t help his condition. So I grabbed the thermos flask and stepped out, trying to cool down.
The man rushed in front of me and, without another word, tried to shove the urinal bottle into my hands.
“Go empty this. Then bring back a basin of warm water and wash my mother.”
I instinctively stepped back. The bottle nearly dropped to the floor.
“Are you disabled, or just stupid? You’re outsourcing care for your own mother and calling it devotion?”
“How dare you talk to me like that, you damn aide?” he cut in impatiently. “If my mother weren’t lying in a hospital bed, I’d beat you to death today.”
Then he snapped, “Hurry up. My mother’s waiting. Keep wasting time and I’ll report you directly so they dock your pay.”
His arrogance was so ridiculous I almost laughed from sheer anger.
“If you keep blocking me, I’m calling the police and reporting you for harassment.”
With that, I turned sideways to leave.
The man snorted as if he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Well, well. No wonder you’re here taking care of some old man. So that’s the kind of dirty money you’re after.”
As he spoke, he grabbed me and forced the urinal bottle against my chest.
Chapter 2
“I’ll say it one last time. Empty it. Otherwise, I’ll make sure everyone here knows you’re some man’s little homewrecker.”
This was my brand-new designer collaboration jacket.
Disgusted, I slapped the bottle away as fast as I could.
But the movement was too big, and what was left inside splashed all over me.
The sharp, foul smell hit my face. I nearly threw up.
“Are you sick? I already said I’m not an aide! Pay for my jacket!”
“You still dare to curse at me?”
His voice shot up.
“What do we pay you aides for if not to take care of patients?”
“Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?”
“How many old people have you scammed money out of? I’ll make sure their children deal with you properly.”
Spit flew onto my face. His thick finger was almost poking my nose.
I felt like I was going to vomit up last night’s dinner.
I was about to find a doctor for help, but he struck first.
He clamped down on my wrist and dragged me into the ward corridor, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Everyone, come look at this! These young private aides target elderly patients on purpose. They’re all trying to climb into families and squeeze money out of them!”
Several patients and relatives had already poked their heads out to watch.
The man’s voice grew even louder. He kept his grip locked around my wrist.
The charge nurse hurried over. “What’s going on? Who’s shouting?”
The man immediately pointed at me.
“Charge nurse, this aide of yours is outrageous!”
“I asked her to do a little work and she refused. Then she threatened to call the police on me!”
The charge nurse looked me up and down. Within seconds, her brows drew together.
Her expression was full of disgust, as if I were some ignorant girl causing trouble for a patient’s family.
She glared at me and demanded, “Which agency are you with? Where’s your ID badge?”
“I’m not an aide. I’m a patient’s family member.”
I had lost count of how many times I’d repeated those words.
“Bullshit!” the man shouted. “You think saying you’re not an aide means you don’t have to take responsibility?”
“If you’re not an aide, why were you serving that old man? Why would you willingly feed my mother?”
He jabbed a finger toward me again, spit flying.
Then he turned and threatened the charge nurse.
“If you don’t give me an explanation for this today, I’ll make your hospital famous.”
With that, he pulled out his phone and aimed the camera at me and the charge nurse.
The charge nurse panicked. She quickly lowered her voice and apologized to him.
When she looked back at me, her eyes were even harsher. She grabbed my clothes.
I was shoved so hard I nearly dropped to my knees.
“You’re young, uneducated, and stuck working as an aide, yet you still won’t behave. I’ve seen plenty of girls like you.”
“I’ll give you one last chance. Apologize now. If you can’t handle this properly, no hospital in this city will ever let you work again.”
The man chimed in smugly from the side.
“You hear that? Even the charge nurse gave you an order.”
Chapter 3
The gathered onlookers became even more excited.
“Are the standards for private aides this low now? Don’t they screen them?”
“Seriously? Hiring an aide costs hundreds a day, and she still acts this arrogant?”
“She needs to be exposed online. Don’t let her keep working in the field.”
Their voices piled over one another.
I was shaking with fury at this completely insane ambush.
“What is wrong with all of you? I already said I’m not an aide!”
I was almost desperate.
But my shout only bought a moment of silence.
Then the man actually smashed the urinal bottle against my head.
The remaining liquid dripped down through my hair.
“Still lying?” he spat.
For a second, the sudden cruelty stunned me completely.
My head buzzed. I couldn’t even think of how to fight back.
He planted his hands on his hips and started yelling again.
“Go on, keep pretending. I’ve seen plenty of aides like you—lazy, slippery, always trying to get out of work.”
“I’m telling you, if you don’t satisfy me today, I’ll stand right here and shout until everyone sees what kind of attitude you have.”
People around us began talking over one another, pretending to calm him down.
The charge nurse kept pressuring me from right in front of my face.
But the noise around me grew more and more distant.
Just as I was about to lose control and hit someone, a familiar figure appeared, supported by a nurse.
“Grandpa!”
In an instant, I swallowed every bit of rage and rushed forward to help him.
But my grandfather knocked my hand away with open disgust.
“Who are you? How dare you bully my granddaughter? I’ll beat you to death!”
For one stunned second, I couldn’t even move.
The murmuring around us swelled into a louder, hotter wave.
I stared at my grandfather’s flushed, furious face—at the way he looked straight through me like I was a stranger—and it hurt worse than all the accusations the crowd had thrown at me.
“Grandpa, it’s me. I’m Lily Bennett. I’m your granddaughter.”
My voice shook.
“Before you got sick, you said you were going to buy me candy, remember?”
I wiped the filth from my hands as best I could, then dug into my pocket and pulled out the blessing charm.
“You got this for me yourself.”
Years ago, I’d been seriously ill. Grandpa had gone out of his way to pray for this charm for me, climbing step after step despite his bad knees, just because he wanted me safe.
But the moment he saw it, his agitation spiked.
He snatched it from my hand and glared at me, trembling with anger.
“You stole my granddaughter’s things!”
His voice cracked, but every word landed like a knife.
“I knew you were no good. Hanging around me every day, acting all nice—tell me! What did you do with my granddaughter?”
By the time he reached the last sentence, he could barely stay upright.
The Ward Medical Staff rushed in and guided him back toward the patient room.
“Family of the patient, please come with us right away!”