Chapter 12: Chapter 11

Ryu Seo-ha’s older sister, Ryu Jeong-ah, collapsed due to a cerebral hemorrhage while working part-time at a cafe. It hadn’t even been 3 months since she left the quarantine zone.

There was a major surgery. They almost missed the golden time due to issues with getting consent for surgery on a minor. Somehow her life was saved, but 5 years had passed without her regaining consciousness.

Hwaaa……

A sacred light that was calming just to look at gently enveloped Ryu Jeong-ah’s gaunt body. The rate of mana consumption seemed to subtly indicate the severity of the patient’s condition.

The first noticeable change was that her skin, which had been dry due to rapid weight loss and malnutrition, began to regain its luster. The intubation marks on her neck that had just been removed and the surgical scars on her scalp also disappeared.

The skill level of ‘Healing Light’ has increased.

Her body, which had been so emaciated that you could feel the bones just by touching it, was slowly but surely regaining its former vitality. Her severely thin body gained a healthy amount of weight, and the bedsores that couldn’t be completely prevented despite careful attention disappeared without a trace. He could feel the damaged brain cells and blood vessels being repaired. The previously unknown language disorder and hemiplegia symptoms as well.

The skill level of ‘Healing Light’ has increased.

Her hair, which had been cut short due to management issues, grew long and spread out on the bedding. Her breath, which had sometimes made him anxious, being as faint as if she were dead, now grew stronger as if it had never been weak.

“…Jeong-ah noona.”

Ryu Seo-ha called his older sister’s name as he withdrew his slightly trembling hand. Hoping for her tightly closed eyelids to lift. But Ryu Jeong-ah’s eyes didn’t open immediately. Just as his expression was about to become serious…

Drrrng─, Phooo.

The sound of loud snoring was heard.

“Mmnya….. Chicken…..”

The tension dissipated completely at the sight of her peacefully smacking her lips as if eating something in her dream. It was such a typical behavior for his older sister.

“Pfft.”@@novelbin@@

Someone among the medical staff who had been watching the situation tensely inadvertently let out a laugh. When he turned his head, he saw a resident quickly managing his expression and bowing his head.

“Congratulations. To think you could actually heal brain damage…..”

“It’s amazing. Looking at her now, who would think she was a patient who had been bedridden for 5 years?”

“I’ve lived long enough to witness such a sight.”

The medical staff who witnessed the miracle poured out words of congratulations and admiration in unison. Still, just to be safe, they decided to run a round of detailed tests. Though judging by the snoring and sleep talking, she seemed to be fine.

Ryu Seo-ha wanted to follow along in case his sister woke up during the process, but he eventually decided to wait quietly in the VIP room. The medical staff dissuaded him, saying it would be difficult to control the entry of reporters even near the general examination rooms.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Choi Gang-hu’s calm words strangely touched his heart. As if acknowledging not just that moment, but the past 5 years, the emotional struggle. Perhaps it was because he had become overly sentimental, immersed in relief.

“If I had known about such unfortunate circumstances beforehand, I would have provided support at the group level.”

“Although it’s late, I also feel a great sense of responsibility as a government official.”

Director Choi Jun-wan and Director Hwang Munseok each added a word, as if not wanting to be outdone. Even knowing it was empty words to gain favor, he felt bitter inside. Because everyone had turned their backs on him when he desperately needed help.

After lingering a bit longer, they left citing reasons like shareholders’ meetings and handling the Eastern Branch situation. Saying they would wait for his call. I should consider it as them having shown enough sincerity, given how busy they are.

“Aren’t you leaving, Mr. Choi Gang-hu?”

Rather, it was strange that Choi Gang-hu seemed to have no intention of leaving at all. If it was Gangseong Group’s shareholders’ meeting that Choi Jun-wan was attending, he should go too. Even if he could arrive quickly with the [Spatial Jump] skill.

“Are you perhaps telling me to leave?”

Choi Gang-hu, loosely perched on the windowsill where sunlight was streaming in, quietly looked into Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes as if gauging his intention. It was his own invisible effort to adapt to social communication.

“No. I just thought you might need to attend the shareholders’ meeting.”

“I will go. In a little while.”

He sighed with an expression that seemed quite reluctant. Looking at him like this, he suddenly thought he looked young for his age. His skin elasticity and appearance itself looked like mid to late 20s at most. It was only thanks to the atmosphere surrounding him that there was no dissonance with his legal age of thirty-two. Come to think of it, wasn’t it before it was discovered that the aging rate slows dramatically when the mana stat exceeds 500?

“You don’t want to go?”

Ryu Seo-ha asked back, feeling a bit curious. It was rare for him to express his emotions so honestly. Both in the original work and in the reality he had come to know for a few days.

Choi Gang-hu nodded obediently. This attitude was unfamiliar too. A compliant Choi Gang-hu. He could almost see the illusion of comments saying “out of character” and threatening to drop the series. So he couldn’t help but ask again.

“Why?”

Choi Gang-hu stared back at him. The gaze, darker than even in the sunlight, felt like it was licking his cheeks thickly. Only after meeting that gaze, deeper than coffee aroma, could Ryu Seo-ha realize. That he himself was the cause.

Choi Gang-hu, who was born with everything and had lost it all in an instant, had an extraordinary possessiveness. Almost to the point of trauma.

He had already noticed that he himself had been marked as the object of that possession. But it was very different from the pattern shown in the original work when he recruited colleagues in various fields and casually threw bait to maintain friendships. To the extent of wanting to postpone important schedules because he didn’t want to leave his side.

“Are you curious about my feelings?”

Choi Gang-hu, who had been lazily leaning against the window frame like a lazy beast basking in the sun on a plain, asked back as he straightened his body. His deep black eyes that fully captured Ryu Seo-ha held an indecipherable light.

“Hmm, I showed unnecessary interest.”

Ryu Seo-ha slowly shook his head. He didn’t want to get emotionally entangled too deeply for no reason. Even if he still didn’t know what Choi Gang-hu wanted, wouldn’t it be enough if they could just fulfill each other’s needs?

“I meant I wanted to show you more.”

Choi Gang-hu, who had put down his coffee cup on the windowsill, approached with steps that were neither fast nor slow.

“You don’t mean it’s troublesome?”

Ryu Seo-ha blinked innocently, pretending not to know anything. The direction of their relationship had already lost its bearings. It was dangerous to narrow the distance further here. But he couldn’t explicitly push him away either.

“Why are you so guarded? What’s wrong with being a little bothersome?”

Well, because I know your personality well enough to show merciless brutality even at the slightest annoyance. Even colleagues accepted out of necessity were no exception. Though the length of patience varied according to value.

“You’ll soon be my superior. I should try to make a good impression in advance.”

Smiling innocently, he conveyed his heart saying ‘I’ll definitely make a contract with you, so please don’t do anything scary’, and Choi Gang-hu let out a low laugh. Though he didn’t know why he was laughing, it was fortunate that he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

❖ ❖ ❖

In the end, Choi Gang-hu only left the hospital room just before the shareholders’ meeting began. Not that the two of them did anything productive in the empty room. At most, they just diligently peeled and ate the mountain of fruit that had piled up.

After he left, Ryu Seo-ha sat blankly staring at the TV. At the screen showing the view of the Eastern Branch of the Association. The buildings and roads were perfectly restored as if the popup dungeon had never overlapped.

Knock knock.

“Yes.”

Around the time when his sister’s examination should be finished, a knock was heard. As he reflexively got up and approached the door, he saw a young man in a white gown entering alone.

He stopped in his tracks, feeling something odd. First of all, it was an unfamiliar face, and it was suspicious that he came in alone. Judging by his attire, messy hair, and dark circles under his eyes, he did seem to be affiliated with this hospital.

“Are the test results out?”

“Please help my brother!”

Sure enough. The young doctor suddenly exhibited the eccentric behavior of kneeling before him.

“What are you…”

“His face… My brother’s face was torn off. Please heal him!”

With tears streaming down, he was clearly not in a rational state. Most likely, he had recently experienced quite a shocking incident. It was understandable, and he felt pity.

But he couldn’t just readily agree to such an abrupt request. His identity would have been revealed by now, and this would become a frequent occurrence in the future. Setting a wrong precedent would encourage everyone to come running.

Even a healer couldn’t save the whole world. With his own situation being precarious, he shouldn’t button the first button wrong out of momentary sympathy. To avoid endlessly losing his already scarce time, if nothing else.

“I’m sorry about your situation, but treatment requests will be accepted through official procedures in the future.”

“That, that madman suddenly appeared and tore off my brother’s cheek!”

Suddenly appeared? Did the terrorist have a spatial skill? That’s as rare a category as healing.

“You must have been very shocked. If there’s no immediate danger to life, you should start with skin regeneration treatment at the hospital…”

“I heard you healed my brother’s face in the dungeon too! Just once, please help just one more time!”

In the dungeon too? Pausing at the unexpected statement, Ryu Seo-ha recalled the psychiatrist who had injured his cheek with a fragment of the mana measuring device.

“Is your brother perhaps a psychiatrist? The one caught in the popup dungeon?”

“Yes, yes. The part that was treated then was torn off even more horribly.”

“No, who on earth would do such a thing.”

“That madman, surely…”

The other person’s eyes suddenly became hazy as he was about to say something. His voice gradually faded too. He looked like he had been affected by some kind of mental skill constraint. So that’s why he seemed unstable.

“Have you reported it to the police?”

When he quietly asked, the doctor took a deep breath like someone who had just woken from a nightmare and made a serious expression. It was an exaggerated expression as if acting, but it was likely a side effect of being affected by a mental skill.

“We couldn’t identify a suspect…”

He probably showed the same behavior at the police station. If I use [Sanctification], I could free him from the influence of the mental skill. But if rumors spread that I healed him like this…

“Tell me you’ll heal my brother right now. Or you’ll regret it.”

When he showed signs of hesitation, the doctor’s eyes suddenly turned vicious. Even uttering words close to threats. His emotional fluctuations seemed too severe, even for an unstable state.

“Regret?”

Ryu Seo-ha slowly backed away, distancing himself from the doctor.

“I heard it’s common abroad. Imprisoning healers and using them as slaves to produce potions.”

The doctor’s eyeballs rolled and glinted as he rose from his seat, clearly abnormal. Ryu Seo-ha quickly reached out to press the call button near the bed headboard.

“Ugh.”

But just before his fingertips could reach the button, his arm suddenly bent. Looking down, he saw a large syringe stuck in his forearm. Even though the seemingly insane doctor was quite far away.

The feeling of an unknown drug flowing through his veins was chilling. He immediately tried to nullify it by deploying [Sanctification], but before that, a bracelet-like mana control device popped out of thin air and clamped onto his wrist.

‘Invisibility…!’

Only then did Ryu Seo-ha realize that another awakened person had sneaked into this hospital room, and he hurriedly grasped a knife, but before he could take any action, his vision went dark.