However, the tip of the pen I was painstakingly writing with stopped abruptly after a short distance.
I filled in the name, date of birth, and contact information without hesitation, but I paused for a long time at the sections for ‘medications currently taking’ or ‘pre-existing conditions.’
I had lived in the same house for months and yet knew nothing about my father’s medical history.
Except for the time he had a bad cold, my father had always seemed healthy.
Even though that couldn’t have been the whole picture, I had presumed I knew everything.
No, I had never once thought to look beyond the surface.
I had loudly declared how happy I was to have him, yet I didn’t truly know anything about my father.
Snap.
My emotions swelled without my control, and the pen in my hand snapped in half.
I was so angry at myself that I couldn’t control my feelings.
In the end, I wrote ‘Unknown’ in all the remaining boxes and slowly stood up from the chair.
I felt it would be more comforting to wait in front of the treatment room than to sit here alone.
The nurse looked worried, but I ignored her and left the office area.
“……”
I pulled my hoodie over my head and walked toward the treatment room.
In front of it, not a few people were silently waiting for a doctor to emerge.
Perhaps because the treatment room was where emergency patients were taken, no one paid any attention to me.
Most people were desperately praying or sitting blankly, seemingly unaware of my presence.
Like them, I paced in front of the treatment room before leaning against the wall.
My legs were shaking from anxiety, making it difficult to stand straight.
I had never felt this way, even when facing an S-rank monster, but the fear was overwhelming me as time passed.
‘What happens now?’
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I slid down and sank onto the floor.
I wrapped my arms around my trembling legs, pulling them as close to my chest as possible.
A few passersby glanced at me and secretly took photos, but I didn’t care at all.
“Father… it can’t be.”
Thinking back, I had been strangely caught up in all sorts of incidents since falling into this world.
Not only had the original plot been twisted because of my existence, but the movie’s identity had long since disappeared.
It was an incomprehensible chain of events, almost as if someone was intentionally drawing me into the incidents, but I could still accept it.
What was there to reject, when falling into this world was already so unrealistic?
In a world built on accidents and incidents, nothing that happened should be considered strange.
But when it came to my father, it was different.
Since I had once given up on life, even if my expectations for life were at rock bottom, messing with my father was definitely crossing a line.
“……”
‘Crossing a line? Who?’
I closed my eyes tightly at the thought that had occurred to me.
Lost in thought, I bit down on my lip and covered my face with both hands.
No matter how hard I looked, the only person to blame was myself.
I was taking my anger out on the wrong place, when I shouldn’t be blaming fate, either.
“I should have been next to him.”
The arrow that had been circling in the air ultimately turned back and pierced me.
Yes, staying out all night without a word was the problem to begin with.
The cause might even be that I didn’t immediately send my tired father to the hospital before that.
I used ‘being busy’ as an excuse to rationalize things alone, and I didn’t properly check on my father’s condition.
What if my father had collapsed at home while I was gone?
In that situation, I was laughing and talking, and not only that, I was with Cha Rui…
When my thoughts reached that point, my eyes flickered nervously.
My stomach suddenly churned, and I had to quickly clamp my hand over my mouth.
“Why… why did I do that?”
I felt an instant shortness of breath.
Something soon fell onto my cheek, but I buried my head in my knees, still clutching my head.
I suddenly felt disgusted with myself for hoping that no one would leave my side, given my current state.
As self-reproach filled me, a corner of my heart rapidly crumbled.
Maybe I didn’t deserve to be loved from the start.
Chirp…
While I was slowly being consumed by guilt, Chirpy carefully crawled out of my pocket.
He rubbed his face against my damp cheek, expressing his worry, but I still couldn’t react.
He had never seen me like this, so Chirpy didn’t know what to do in his distress.
How much time passed like that?
I was lost in my own world when Chirpy, who had been guarding me, suddenly flew away somewhere.
At the same time, a large shadow fell over my head.
“Hunter Seo Inho.”
“……”
“Seo Inho.”
A familiar voice gradually pierced through the silence in my ears.
I slowly lifted my head, and inexplicably, Do Soohyuk was standing right in front of me.
Chirpy was now perched on his head, crying out.
I hadn’t contacted anyone, so how did he know to come?
“Mr. Do Soohyuk, how did you…”
Surprised, my mind quickly returned to reality.
Even so, tears continued to stream down, blurring my vision.
Thinking that I had shown him a pathetic sight, I hurriedly wiped my eyes, but my blurry vision didn’t clear.
Do Soohyuk looked down at me, his mouth set firmly, and then slightly nodded his head to the side.
It was a signal to look behind me, and I was startled, stopping mid-wipe.
Far more people than I expected were taking pictures of me with their phones.
I hadn’t even noticed until now, despite the security guards intervening to stop them.
It seemed Do Soohyuk had seen my picture uploaded on ‘HunterTube’ or social media and rushed over.
“Please get up.”
At that, Do Soohyuk grabbed my arm and semi-forcibly helped me to my feet.
He led me to a corner where I was less visible, shielding the view of the crowd.
“But…”
I immediately tried to object but couldn’t find the words and clamped my mouth shut.
As much as I wanted to keep waiting until the doctor came out, attracting any more public attention wouldn’t be good.
The place Do Soohyuk led me to was an empty bed.
I didn’t know if we were allowed to use it, but I followed his guidance and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Perhaps because my mind had returned, the heart that had been frozen just moments ago began to beat nervously again.
“Calm down and just breathe slowly first.”
Do Soohyuk, who had closed the curtain and turned around, knelt on one knee and wrapped his hands around my terribly trembling ones.
He completely covered my hands, gripping them tightly as if he wouldn’t let go.
The warm heat transferred, and my violently shaking emotions gradually began to subside.
The moment I relied on him in the EX Dungeon came to mind.
I focused all my attention on the spreading warmth, panting for breath.
Meeting his unwavering eyes, I felt a sense of relief, as if I would live, just like that time.
“Hyung!”
At that moment, the curtain was violently pulled back.
I flinched and turned around, and to my surprise, Woo Jaehyun was there.
He looked like he had just emerged from a dungeon, still wearing his gear.
Had he gone into a Red Gate yesterday?
As a guild leader, he must have had countless things to deal with, and I hadn’t expected him to show up too.
And of all times, it had to be when I looked this pathetic.
I tried to drop my head, not wanting him to see my tear-stained face, but our eyes had already met.
“……”
Woo Jaehyun stared at me silently for a moment, then stepped forward and hugged my shoulder.
He sat close beside me, buried his face in my neck, and quietly exhaled.
I could feel that he was genuinely worried by the way he stroked my arm in comfort.
The fact that he was trying to soothe me without even knowing why I was here suggested that my condition was quite messy.
The moment I carelessly looked forward, my gaze fixed on one spot.
Being focused on Woo Jaehyun, the outside situation only now came into view.
‘Cha Rui?’
Cha Rui was standing stock still within the large crowd.
How long had he been watching?
If I had heard the sound outside, I would have noticed immediately, but the privacy curtain had prevented any realization.
“…What are you doing there? Come here.”
At my gesture, Cha Rui finally took a step and walked inside.
I wished I had moved to the office area instead.
The already narrow space felt even more cramped.
“Mr. Seo Sungil’s guardian?”
Just then, Do Soohyuk’s privacy screen was lifted, and someone’s voice was heard.
As I didn’t usually have reason to use my father’s name, the three syllables ‘Seo Sungil’ felt momentarily unfamiliar.
However, perhaps because I had been constantly waiting for the doctor to come out, I was fortunately able to react without delay.
As I reflexively turned my head, Cha Rui smartly pulled back the curtain.
Amidst the converging stares of the crowd, a man in a white gown was looking around.
He had followed the crowd to find us but seemed not to have been given the exact location.
Spotting us, the doctor couldn’t hide his look of surprise.
It was understandable, as not only were S-rank hunters focusing on him, but they were also crowded onto a small bed.
“Ah… there you are.”
