Every old apartment building has a central character, the person holding "secret information". Usually the water seller at the beginning of the alley, the security guard, or the roommate next door often stand outside the corridor to dry clothes but always listen to every movement around.
One evening, just because they heard a quarrel through a thin wall, the whole area shouted the next morning: "Room 111 is about to divorce". No one asked, no one verified. Until the afternoon of the same day, room 111 hung a banner celebrating the 5th anniversary of their wedding, everyone realized that the quarrel last night turned out to be... a debate about whether to treat guests with chicken or cow.
Hearing the smell of a brothel" has the characteristic of always lacking context but having plenty of imagination. The sound of coughing late at night immediately turns into "severe illness", the strong sound of closing the door is "large argument", and the fact that someone comes home a few days late is definitely related to a mysterious relationship. Every piece of sound falling from the wall is added with fish sauce, salt, cooked into a smoky soup rumored to be steaming.
The cramped boarding house life makes it difficult for people to avoid hearing each other. But from "hearing" to "conclusion" is a long journey that requires vigilance. Unfortunately, we often take shortcuts. Rumors are like "Wi-Fi in the pagoda, catch it and use it immediately, no need for verified passwords. And when it's wrong, no one remembers who was the first broadcaster.
Most of the stories "hearing the smell of a brothel" end with laughter, but the consequences are not always easy. There are relationships that worsen, looks that change, just because of half-hearted information. People do not remember how you explained, only remember the feeling they once "heard" about you.
Staying in a rented room teaches people many lessons such as thrift, endurance, and most importantly, learning to be silent at the right time. Not every sound needs to be explained, not every story needs to be told. Sometimes, civilization begins by reminding yourself that it is only a part, not the whole picture.
If everyone is a little less curious, a little more verified, the pot of rumors will be less boiling, the boarding house will be less noisy in an unnecessary way. And who knows, we may hear more decent sounds, which are sincere laughter, warm morning greetings, instead of whispers starting with familiar words: "Listen...".
