* * *
“Come to think of it, a siren did go off in the ward that night.”
“Really? Whoa, so it wasn’t just a rumor; it was real.”
Haeram recalled the night two days ago when some sort of ‘Code Something’ alarm had flashed and the entire ward had been in an uproar.
It was supposed to be sleeping hours, but he and Seungjoon had been sneaking around outside and were nearly scared out of their wits by the siren.
Haeram suddenly thought of the fake Guide uniform hanging in Seungjoon’s cabinet.
It was a sort of event costume Seungjoon’s parents had gifted him to cheer him up.
Haeram had even tried holding it up against his own chest once.
‘Wow, Haeram-hyung, it really suits you. Your skin is so fair that the white uniform looks great on you.’
‘Haeram just needs to awaken now,’ even the blunt Nurse Shim Jihye had complimented him.
But seeing the real thing now, the fake paled in comparison.
Dressed in pure white jackets decorated with delicate gold embroidery on the cuffs and lapels, they truly looked like people from a different world.
Haeram was absently fiddling with the wrinkled sleeve of his patient gown. Just then, a man in the group of Guides flinched and turned his head toward Haeram.
Then, as if he could sense Haeram watching him, he lifted his eyes and made direct contact. It was the gaze of a hound that had locked onto its prey.
“What’s going on? Is that person someone you know, Oppa?”
Even Cho Yunhye noticed the intensity of the stare.
Haeram shook his head.
The thought that it might be someone who had awakened while staying in the same ward crossed his mind, but no matter how hard he searched his memory, he didn’t recognize the face.
The Guide walked straight toward Haeram, narrowing the distance with long strides.
Pressed down by the sheer intimidation of the uniform, Haeram found himself unable to look away.
When the Guide finally reached him, he smelled of cold winter wind.
He reached out slowly and snatched the paper from Haeram’s hand.
“A bucket list…. Must be nice to have so much free time.”
His words were so rude, coming from someone who had just snatched a stranger’s property, that Haeram narrowed his eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m just so happy to see you after all this time.”
Haeram’s pupils shook at the suggestion that the man knew him.
Flustered, Haeram carefully looked at the name tag pinned to the Guide’s left chest.
“Guide Lee Inho? This is the first time I’ve met you… Do you know me?”
“Ah, I awakened in this hospital too. But it looks like you’ve completely forgotten me, Hyung.”
“……”
When Haeram frowned, trying to recall a memory of him, Lee Inho let out a smirk.
“That’s disappointing. You take everything away from me and then just forget? Is that how it works?”
“I think you have the wrong person….”
“You really seem as carefree now as you were back then. Must be nice, having such a simple mind.”
The nonsensical words, paired with a face wearing a subtle sneer, were remarkably effective at making Haeram feel miserable.
Cho Yunhye, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.
“No matter how I look at it, your face doesn’t look like someone who should be calling Haeram-oppa ‘Hyung.’ I think your delusion is quite severe.”
Haha. Lee Inho laughed as if he found it absurd.
“Oppa, you really don’t know him, right?”
Cho Yunhye whispered as she stood up beside Haeram.
It seemed she realized a second too late that she had just stood up to someone she might meet as a senior if she ever awakened as a Guide.
“I don’t. I think you’re having a bad day, but the person you’re looking for isn’t me.”
“No. It is Han Haeram.”
“……”
“It’s you. Han Haeram. Unawakened Guide—or to be precise, a terminal patient with a broken Guide factor. Am I wrong?”
Haeram was speechless at the undeniable accuracy.
The sudden shock triggered a fit of sporadic coughing.
Cho Yunhye bent over to help the coughing Haeram, looking worried but also bewildered by what was happening.
Barely managing to settle his trembling body, Haeram straightened his back.
“Fine. Let’s say you know me… I’m sorry I forgot, but what do you want?”
“There’s no reason for me to want anything. I’m a Guide, and you’re nothing more than a terminal patient.”
What…?
Haeram briefly wondered what kind of day today was.
Doesn’t everyone have days like this?
Days where the medicine strangely doesn’t sit right so you gag and throw up, and then you hit your forehead on a cabinet door, and then a new nurse blows out your veins with an IV needle….
A particularly unlucky day, in other words.
“Why? Are you upset because I talked to you for no reason?”
“You didn’t ‘talk’ to me; you picked a fight. If you have something to say, say it clearly. My time is precious too.”
“Time is precious, he says…….”
Looking down at the stunned Haeram, Lee Inho reached out and brushed Haeram’s shoulder.
While his gaze beneath his lowered lashes seemed indifferent, the voice flowing from his twisted lips was freezing.
“A lot of Guides… awaken here. I was one of them. This patient gown brings back a lot of memories for me, too….”
The hand fiddling with his collar felt closer to a provocation.
Just as Haeram was looking for a chance to swat the hand away, the man continued.
“Our workforce is quite short-handed, so there’s a wish that people would put in some effort. But there are just too many people in this world who show no progress.”
“……”
“Wasting taxes collected from the blood and sweat of the people, just killing time…. I grew up seeing so many people like that, so I have a bit of a prejudice.”
“Ha….”
As Haeram stood there with his mouth agape like a goldfish, Cho Yunhye jumped up and intervened.
“Look here, Mister. Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you should say such horrible things.”
Cho Yunhye’s voice was loud enough that people began to turn around.
The attention of those who had been watching the group of Guides now shifted toward Haeram and Lee Inho.
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“What do you know?”
The words ‘I’m the one who wants to awaken and live more than anyone’ were pushed right to the edge of Haeram’s throat.
“I know enough. I saw you idling around right here.”
The sudden hostility was suffocating.
Even thinking about it again, this was a person with whom he had zero connection.
Was he really doing this just because Haeram forgot his face?
Just as Haeram was about to open his mouth again.
A large shadow stepped in between him and Lee Inho.
The familiar scent of perfume brushed past his nose, and Seo Jungwoo’s voice rang in his ear.
“Guide Lee Inho.”
The temperature of his voice was cold compared to how he treated Haeram, but since Haeram couldn’t see his face, he couldn’t tell exactly what his expression was.
Haeram only realized one thing clearly: Seo Jungwoo and Lee Inho knew each other.
“Teacher?”
Why are you appearing here, Teacher?
As if answering Haeram’s question, Seo Jungwoo reached back and took Haeram’s hand.
He stood between them as if protecting Haeram from Lee Inho.
From behind Seo Jungwoo’s back, Lee Inho’s expression was even clearer.
Compared to his startled eyes, his curled lips and slightly flushed cheeks showed clear affection.
The hostility he had shown Haeram just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
“Jungwoo Hyung.”
Haeram’s eyebrows shot up. Hyung? Hyuuung? Jungwoo Hyuuung?
“You even look good in a doctor’s gown, Hyung.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Guide Lee Inho, it seems like you’re the one idling around. If you came here for emergency support, do your job. What are you doing bothering a civilian?”
“I was actually waiting for you, Hyung. I was thinking of going up to find you, but you came down here yourself.”
Despite the cold tone, Lee Inho kept grinning. Haeram wondered if this was the same nasty human being from a moment ago.
When Haeram turned his head in disbelief, he saw Cho Yunhye pretending to gag.
“I never said I would respond to your request for support.”
“But you’re here now, aren’t you?”
“I came to find Haeram. Not you.”
Lee Inho did not back down despite Seo Jungwoo’s chilly response.
He started acting cute again, as if he hadn’t even heard the rejection.
“I know you always help out regardless of what you say, Hyung. In this situation, we’re just a backup team. You know that the Esper who went into the bunker is Dojun, don’t you?”
At Lee Inho’s words, Seo Jungwoo, who had been about to turn away, froze.
“……The one who went into the bunker is Dojun?”
“You didn’t know…. Please help Dojun, Hyung. He’s going to die at this rate.”
Haeram didn’t know exactly what was going on, but the snippets of conversation made it seem serious.
However, no matter how serious it was, it didn’t feel good to have them hold a private conversation right in front of him while treating him like he wasn’t there.
Haeram rolled his eyes, trying to suppress his worsening mood, and locked eyes with Lee Inho.
It was a strange expression… a look of victory that was hard to explain with a single word.
‘Why, though?’
Beyond the unpleasantness, Haeram felt a surge of confusion, and his brow furrowed.
Perhaps that was why, even when Seo Jungwoo turned around and looked down at him, Haeram couldn’t smooth out his expression.
* * *
