The Shift of Risk - Episode 5

 When danger slowly stopped coming for Hawon

After we made it through that crisis, life seemed to return to normal. 

At least, that's how it looked on the outside.

The only thing that really changed was me.

Out of pure caution, I started paying attention to every small detail, watching Hawon’s every move.

Behind the apartment where we lived, there was a small mountain.

Hawon loved that place more than anything.

The moment we reached the trail, something switched in her.

She would run wildly—

so fast it almost felt like she was flying.

But that freedom had a price.

Soon, Hawon was diagnosed with patellar luxation in both hind legs.

She eventually underwent surgery on both sides.

At the time, I wasn’t overly worried.

It wasn’t an emergency, and I told myself it was manageable.

I thought this, too, would pass.

The real problem came later, during a visit to my mother-in-law’s old house.

The place was filled with plants.

It never crossed my mind that they could be dangerous.

Hawon was at an age where curiosity ruled everything.

In that new space, she wandered, sniffing every corner.

Then, without warning.

She collapsed.

In the middle of the living room, her breathing grew irregular.

Her eyes rolled back.

In that instant, an old, dark memory surged back.

We didn’t think—we just ran.

Once again, we rushed to the hospital as if our lives depended on it.

It was poisoning.

Again.

This time, a plant was the suspect.

Hawon survived.

Once more, she made it through.

Because I was self-employed and not tied to a fixed workplace,

I began keeping Hawon with me almost twenty-four hours a day.

We moved together.

We lived together.

Even then, there were more close calls.

I once fitted my bike with a front basket for her.

Mid-ride, Hawon suddenly tried to jump out.

She could have been seriously injured.

Another time, in our apartment complex,

a large dog broke free of its leash and charged toward us.

I stepped in front of Hawon without thinking.

It ended without major harm.

But in that moment,

the one in real danger was me.

Strangely, even then,

it never occurred to me that I was the one at risk.

Looking back now, those countless threats seemed aimed at Hawon.

But in truth,

they were slowly shifting.

Shifting toward me.

I believed I was protecting Hawon.

And in that belief,

I kept standing at the very center of every danger.

I didn’t know it then.

That those repeated accidents and scares weren’t just random events—

but rehearsals for something

that would one day come for me instead.