The doctor, with an awkward expression, pushed up his glasses and stepped inside the newly formed privacy screen.
Just by looking at his hunched shoulders, I could tell how burdened he felt by the situation.
“First, I will explain the patient’s condition.”
The doctor, suddenly surrounded by three S-ranks, cleared his throat and continued cautiously.
Despite his efforts, his voice trembled slightly, betraying his nervousness.
“First off, his respiration, pulse, and blood pressure are all normal. We examined all neurological responses, and there are no critical signs.”
‘Ha…’
I had been holding my breath the entire time, but I finally let out a sigh of relief at those words.
I was greatly reassured that my father’s life was at least not in danger.
“However, to find the exact reason why he suddenly lost consciousness, a few tests are necessary. We will first proceed with a blood test and a CT scan. Since there could be a drug-related issue, we also plan to conduct a drug screening test.”
“Yes… please do your best.”
All those tests would probably take quite a long time.
With so many people waiting, it was simply vague when we would receive the results.
But not long after the doctor left, the heads of the three men turned in one direction.
I held my breath, as something always seemed to happen whenever they reacted like this.
‘Did something happen outside?’
I was secretly concerned, as the emergency room was already noisy enough because of me.
But when I tried to stand up from the bed, Cha Rui and Woo Jaehyun gently pressed down on my shoulders from both sides.
That affectionate yet firm touch made me slump back into my seat.
“I will be back shortly.”
Do Soohyuk let out a small sigh of displeasure and walked out.
The way he naturally put his hand into his pants pocket suggested he was about to contact someone.
The distance soon grew, and Do Soohyuk’s barrier naturally released.
Only then could I grasp the situation outside.
Amidst the people’s murmuring, loud shouts and voices that sounded like protests could be heard.
Reporters trying to force their way into the emergency room were causing a noisy disturbance.
“We just want to check and come right back out!”
“Hey, did you just push me?”
With many people shouting at once, all sorts of sounds were mixed up, making it hard to distinguish what was being said.
In the middle of it all, the sounds of security guards blocking them could be heard intermittently.
“Reporters are restricted. Please step back!”
“Hey, don’t cross the control line!”
The reporters seemed determined to squeeze their way in, and the security guards seemed to be holding their ground with their bodies, refusing to back down even an inch.
As the stand-off continued, the atmosphere became increasingly heated.
Having the situation outside painted in my mind, my heart also sank heavily.
It wasn’t because of the reporters, but because I recalled the other guardians I had seen in front of the treatment room.
A feeling of guilt came late, making me feel like I was causing unnecessary trouble just by being there.
A short while later, at my request, we moved our waiting spot to the office area.
It was still cramped for four people, but it felt like I could finally breathe a little compared to the bed earlier.
‘Oh, now that I think about it…’
While quietly sighing, I suddenly focused on the surrounding sounds.
I hadn’t noticed it, but the outside felt suddenly quiet.
Only the busy sounds of the emergency room could be heard; the noise of the scuffle with the reporters had vanished.
Less than five minutes had passed since Do Soohyuk returned.
How many people could control reporters like this with just one phone call?
I had known it from experiencing it multiple times, but I was once again struck by his influence.
Time passed, and one hour and thirty minutes had already gone by since we started waiting at the hospital.
I had somewhat prepared myself for an indefinite wait, but the three men had no reason to.
Each of them had their own position and busy schedule, yet none of them stood up to leave first.
Except for when they left to make phone calls, all three firmly stayed by my side.
Woo Jaehyun sat closely next to me, checking his phone or talking to me, while Cha Rui and Do Soohyuk sat quietly, occasionally meeting my gaze.
“……”
We would have to wait for at least three or four more hours.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was holding the three of them hostage.
The fact that there were many people waiting in the emergency room meant there were just as many patients.
Since the end of the tests was uncertain, I thought it was right to send them back now.
But just as I was about to open my mouth, I sensed a presence behind me.
“Mr. Seo Inho?”
I immediately turned around at the sound of my name, and the doctor was standing there, hesitating.
Had something happened to my father?
My heart instantly sank.
“Do you have a moment? The test results are out.”
“Already?”
However, the news was completely different.
I couldn’t help but be surprised, as it was much earlier than expected.
It was never common for procedures to move so quickly in an emergency room.
It could only happen if tests and diagnosis were carried out immediately.
I awkwardly started to get up and immediately looked at the three men, but their expressions were unchanged.
They simply watched the doctor with an attitude that suggested this was natural.
Someone had clearly pulled strings, but no one revealed that fact.
Was that why everyone had been so relaxed?
“Ahem.”
The doctor quickly glanced at us, uncertain when to speak, and then gave a small cough.
Realizing his mistake, he turned his head and then cautiously unfolded the chart he was holding.
“May I explain now?”
“Ah, yes.”
“First, there were no significant abnormalities in the blood test results. Liver and kidney function, as well as electrolyte levels, are all within the normal range. The CT scan also found no acute abnormalities such as hemorrhage, stroke, or brain tumor. The drug-related test we were worried about also came back negative, showing no particular issues.”
At that, I slightly narrowed my brows.
If everything was so clean, then why on earth did my father collapse?
The doctor’s words didn’t make the situation comprehensible at all.
“Then why did he suddenly lose consciousness?”
When I asked, clearly puzzled, the doctor’s face noticeably darkened.
The atmosphere suggested he found it difficult to speak, and an ominous feeling swept over me.
And after a brief silence, the words that came out of the doctor’s mouth were like a bolt from the blue.
“While I must be cautious in telling you this… we suspect ‘Multidimensional Coma Syndrome.'”
“‘Multidimensional Coma Syndrome’?”
Multidimensional Coma Syndrome.
That was the same illness Do Soohyuk’s younger sibling suffered from.
An illness where patients lose consciousness without any known cause after Gates flourish, slowly dying day by day.
Once a patient loses consciousness, they never wake up, and they slowly lose vitality over five years.
And they pass away, looking as brittle and withered as a dead branch.
I had seen it in the movie and knew how tragic and terrible the ending was.
I also knew how painful the time was for both the family and the patient.
And now my father had contracted that illness?
“So… are you saying my father has become a vegetable?”
Do Soohyuk’s expression had remained rigid throughout the doctor’s explanation.
He was probably thinking of his sibling lying in bed.
But I absolutely could not accept the doctor’s words.
No, I couldn’t even grasp the reality of it.
Trying to deny it—that was all I could do right now.
Three weeks later.
The eyes looking up at the pure white ceiling no longer held any emotion.
They were just quietly vacant, with only emptiness lingering.
Twenty-four days.
That is, for a little over three weeks, all I had done was silently stay by my father’s side, who had become a vegetable.
I had to wipe my father’s body, nurse him, and desperately repeat to myself that I was not alone.
Otherwise, I felt like I would let go of the meaning of life right then and there.
Despite everything I had carefully built up, the collapse took only a moment.
It felt like… I had returned to a few months ago.
To the time when I lay powerlessly in my tiny room, thinking only of death.
It seemed my father held a larger part of my life than I had realized.
In this life, I had learned for the first time that someone could love me this much.
The existence of someone who would cover me with a blanket so I wouldn’t be cold at night was a huge comfort in itself.
I missed my father’s hand that used to wake me up every morning.
I missed the hand that tidied my messy hair, the hand that pushed side dishes toward me, and the hand that patted my back for a job well done.
I wanted to touch my moving father’s hand, not the one lying weakly on the bed.
“……”
When the pillar that had supported me disappeared, I began to crumble rapidly.
I didn’t leave my father’s side for a moment and couldn’t properly eat or drink.
I stayed locked in the hospital room all day in that state.
If my father wasn’t visible, the anxiety was unbearable.
Even though he was unconscious, I could only breathe if I was close to him.
With the situation as it was, no matter how much food the three men brought, I only managed a few bites.
While my S-rank body meant there were no health problems, avoiding the daily wasting of my body was impossible.
