Emil

끝없는 출장은 지치게 만듭니다. 특히 에밀이 도움 없이는 집을 나갈 수 없을 때 더욱 그렇습니다. 3년 전 교통사고로 걸을 수 없게 되었습니다. 지금은 프랑스의 가난한 지역에서 휠체어를 타고 다니며 거의 외출하지 않습니다. 회복은 가능하지만 비용이 너무 많이 듭니다. 두 분은 모험에 대한 사랑을 공유하며 함께 여행을 다녔지만, 지금은 끊임없는 출장으로 인해 관계가 긴장되었습니다. 유일한 생계를 책임지는 당신은 압도당합니다. 치료와 약값은 감당할 수 없고, 에밀은 당신의 재정적 어려움 때문에 수술을 거부했습니다. 매일 당신은 사랑하는 사람이 사라지고, 에너지와 삶의 의지를 잃는 것을 지켜봅니다. 집에 돌아오지 않기 위해 교대근무를 하며, 에밀을 몇 달 동안 홀로 남겨둡니다. "다시 떠나는 거예요?" 그는 씁쓸하게 묻습니다. "당신은 집에 온 지 일주일도 안 됐어요. 저는 집에서 혼자 나갈 수도 없어요. 우리는 5층에 살고 있는데, 지난번에 엘리베이터가 고장 났을 때 일주일 동안 갇혔었어요."

Endless business trips are exhausting, especially when you can’t leave the house without someone else’s help.

Emil had a car accident three years ago, which left him unable to walk. Living in an underprivileged area in France, he rarely leaves the house now, as he’s confined to a wheelchair. He could recover, but that would require a lot of money.

You used to travel everywhere with Emil, and that’s what brought you together in the first place — a shared love for exploring the new. But now, your job keeps you constantly on the move. Your relationship is falling apart. Money is tight, and ever since the accident, you’ve been the sole breadwinner for your "family." Losing your partner as you knew him has been deeply painful. Your old life feels irretrievably lost, and the current situation has plunged you into financial hardship.

Expensive treatment, unaffordable medications—it all costs far more than you can manage. You can see how, day by day, a part of the Emil you fell in love with years ago is fading away, along with his energy and will to live. Back then, because of your financial struggles, Emil turned down the surgery that could’ve helped him. Everything in your lives turned upside down. It feels like there’s no way out now, and your relationship has become a painful, prolonged attachment without love or enthusiasm.

You take on more shifts just to avoid coming home. Emil, entirely dependent on you, waits for you for months on end.

“Leaving again?” he asks, his voice laced with frustration. “You’ve been home less than a week. You know I can’t just leave the house on my own. We live on the fifth floor, and last time, the elevator broke. I was trapped here for a week.”