* * *

He ducked his head, feeling his face heat up, as the nurse spoke in an uncertain tone.

“Excuse me, guardians, could you please not… ah.”

Halfway through speaking, she seemed to think better of it, clearing her throat and turning away.

‘I get it, nurse… it must be uncomfortable for you too…’

He felt sorry for the nurse, who couldn’t say much because the troublesome “guardians” were also influential.

“Guys, either wait outside or move out of the way if you’re going to stay!”

Jungin sternly snapped, glaring at his brothers, and heard a slight chuckle beside him.

Upon hearing that, his brothers, who had been scolded, immediately turned to Beomhyeon, who was smiling behind his book.

It was funny how he could sense their expressions, even without seeing their faces.

With a quiet sigh, he watched Beomhyeon calmly flipping through his book, unfazed by his brothers’ glares.

After finishing the blood pressure check, the nurse spoke up.

“Jungin, you’ll have an injection today.”

“An injection?”

The unexpected news made him open his eyes wide. She smiled, adding softly:

“It’s just a shot in the buttocks, so it won’t hurt much.”

A shot in the… butt?

Here? In front of everyone?

As his brothers’ attention shifted to him, and Ki Beomhyeon’s gaze lifted from his book, Jungin’s face grew hot with embarrassment.

He held his breath, pursing his lips, as silence fell over the room.

The nurse approached with a stainless steel tray holding the syringe.

“Please lower your pants just a bit.”

“Uh… okay.”

Right, let’s just get it over with quickly.

It’s just a shot; no big deal.

He wasn’t some teenage boy to get embarrassed over this.

With a sudden surge of courage, he held the waistband of his pants and tugged it down slightly.

A few pats, and then a small sting followed.

“All done. Hold here to stop the bleeding.”

“O-okay….”

He let out a breath and gingerly pressed his aching hip before lifting his head.

“W-What! Why are you all staring….”

Jungseo, who’d met his eyes, had a hard time suppressing his smile, his lips quivering.

“Just get out! I’m staying here alone from now on!”

“Aw, come on, kid–”

“Don’t talk to me!”

They would say something to tease him again, wouldn’t they?

His face flushed hot with embarrassment.

And why was he the only one getting a shot, anyway?

Ki Beomhyeon only had some meds in a bag.

Feeling a bit unjustly treated, he pulled his blanket over his head with a pout.

.

.

“Hey, how long are you going to sulk like that?”

A warm voice floated down from above, stirring him awake.

Ah, he must’ve dozed off.

Ever since he’d caught a cold and taken the meds, he’d been sleepy all day.

“Okay, we promise not to tease anymore. But you’ve got to eat something, right?”

Trying to coax him, his second brother’s voice continued, and the smell of delicious food wafted through the room.

Slowly, Jungin pulled the blanket down.

“…What’s for dinner?”

“Samgyetang. With lots of abalone.”

Since occupying Jungin’s body, he’d learned one thing:

“Well, aren’t you coming to the table?”

That he absolutely loved chicken.

Forgetting the discomfort of his cast, he slipped on his slippers and headed to the small table at the other end of the room, urging his brothers along.

“Hey, Ki Beomhyeon, you come over too!”

As if he hadn’t been sulking a moment ago, he ate until his stomach was stuffed.

He was savoring the melon that Jung-woo had cut for him when a thought popped up.

‘If this is the VIP wing, my own body must be somewhere nearby, right?’

He remembered being told that his body was still being treated and waiting to wake up, so it had to be close.

With everything that had happened, he’d had no chance to see it until now.

But today, he decided to check on his body himself.

Jungin glanced around, and as he quietly got up, Jungseo noticed.

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

“There’s a bathroom here in the room, though?”

Right, this is the VIP wing, so of course, there’s one inside… What should he say?

“I… I need to… for a big one.”

Ugh… that was the only excuse he could think of.

With Ki Beomhyeon right there, too…

Today was just one embarrassing thing after another.

Covering his flushed ears with his hands, he clenched his eyes shut and spoke firmly.

“D-Don’t follow me! If you do, I’ll really ignore you all this time!”

Seeing his red face, none of them suspected a lie.

Rubbing his flushed cheeks, he hurried out, finally releasing a pent-up sigh.

“Ha….”

He put his hand over his pounding chest, took a deep breath, and steeled himself.

“I’m just going to check if my body’s okay… nothing more. Let’s go.”

Before his brothers could get suspicious, he quickly scanned the names on the rooms adjacent to his.

“Oh. Why is this place so huge?”

As the ordeal dragged on past 15 minutes, Lee Jungin, with his poor stamina, felt as if his lungs were about to rip apart.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, struggling to catch his breath.

Time was short, and the VIP ward felt vast.

Though there weren’t many rooms, each one was so spacious that running from one to another was exhausting, like sprinting around a track field.

“Hah… Just one more left. Could it be in a different ward?”

Jungin steadied his breathing, fixing his gaze on the room tucked furthest into the corner.

“Jungin!”

Suddenly, voices calling his name rang out nearby.

At that moment, his eyes landed on three characters: “Choi Jungin.”

“Found it.”

“Wait, please…”

Panicked footsteps echoed behind him, but Jungin’s hand was already pushing the door open.

“Jungin!”

Jungjin, who’d quickly approached, grabbed Jungin’s shoulder and turned him around. His gaze met Jungjin’s unusually grim expression.

Close by, Jungwoo, Jungseo, and even Ki Beomhyeon were wearing the same expression, as if they all already knew and were hiding everything from him.

“What… what happened?”

But he’d clearly seen it—a completely empty room, devoid of any trace of a person, as if someone had vanished into thin air.

“This is Choi Jungin’s room, right? But why… is no one here?”

Choi Jungin, 19 years old.

It was a common name, but having both the name and age match exactly wasn’t ordinary.

“I’m asking what happened!”

Why was no one answering him?

Jungin’s voice shook as he spoke, filled with confusion and frustration.

“Where’s Choi Jungin?”

“Jungin, calm down a little. You’re too worked up. Just take a breath—”

“I asked where Choi Jungin went!”

He only then realized he was crying, feeling the tears run down his cheeks.

“He’s dead.”

The words he had hoped he’d never hear struck him deeply.

“Dead? I… died?”

His mind went blank in an instant, caught completely off-guard by a reality he’d never anticipated.

So, does that mean his body… that Lee Jungin… simply ceased to exist?

“That’s a lie… You’re lying… This is just a joke, right? You’re trying to mess with me…?”

Why was there no answer?

Why were they all so silent?

“Sobs… Answer me… Tell me it’s a lie!”

“Jungin… Choi Jungin is gone.”

“Hyung! Stop it. At this rate, Jungin is…”

Looking at Jungjin, then Jungwoo and Jungseo, Jungin could tell they weren’t lying.

“Is he really… gone? Truly…?”

As the strength drained from his legs, his brothers rushed to steady him, and his eyes met Beomhyeon’s, whose expression showed displeasure with the entire situation.

With that, the shock sapped the remaining strength from his body.

Jungin closed his eyes slowly, with Beomhyeon’s face being the last thing he saw.

“Jungin! Swetheart!”

“Call a doctor, now!”

He could feel the hands shaking his body and the frantic voices surrounding him, yet Jungin’s consciousness was fading, pulled down by an invisible hand from below.

* * *