# Chapter 37
I bought ten thousand won worth of strawberries.
The red, plump, round fruits made my mouth water as if they had captured my heart—it was almost an impulse purchase. But I was in such a good mood that I walked happily, shaking the bag. How should I eat them? They’d be good fresh, or blended into juice, or made into jam and spread on bread. Whatever way would be fine. Strawberry is everything! Hmm. I should hurry home~ My steps quickened.
‘Ah!’
Vrooom. THUD-!!
Fuck. My strawberries!
In an instant, someone on a motorcycle snatched my strawberries and took off.
I fell to the ground, bewildered, staring at my empty hands. What kind of crazy fucking bastard?! Waaah. Somebody help me! As I sat on the ground, sobbing “boo-hoo,” a shadow suddenly loomed over me.
‘What the.’
My face twisted in disgust.
‘Whenever a weak boy cries, we rush to him! We are~ the Fresh Berry Berry Berry Strawberry Guardians! Power Beranger Straw-Force!’
‘My name is Creator of Cruelty Berry!’
‘I am Warrior of Blood Fragrance Berry!’
‘And finally, my name is Guardian of Darkness Berry!’
‘In the name of justice, we won’t forgive you!!’
I was dumbfounded by the appearance of these three bizarre figures that made me stop crying instantly. What the hell. What are these guys saying? The bastard who stole my strawberries was someone else, so why are you saying you won’t forgive ME, you idiots!
Power Beranger Straw-Force.
They were wearing what appeared to be their signature ridiculously large strawberry hats on their heads and striking extremely dynamic poses that seemed impossible to maintain. While maintaining that pose, the Creator of Cruelty Berry in the center asked:
‘Boy. Why are you crying?’
‘…Some asshole stole my strawberries and ran off.’
‘Why did you come to me?’
‘What are you talking about? You came to me…?’
‘Shouldn’t you be going after that strawberry stealer to save your strawberries right now? Isn’t that what a strawberry Apex bastard is supposed to do?!’
Mom, I think this guy has anger management issues. Why is he getting mad at me? And why does that dialogue sound familiar? When I remained silent out of sheer bewilderment, they huddled together, whispering something among themselves, and then looked at me with serious, solemn faces.
‘We’ll find them for you!’
‘How?’
‘Don’t worry. We’re the Strawberry Guardians, Straw-Force!’
So HOW are you going to find them, you numbskull!
I couldn’t hide my suspicion at their unconvincing words, and the Guardian of Darkness Berry smiled brightly at me.
‘August 1st is showtime.’
I feel like I’ve heard this line somewhere too…?
As I grew more and more confused, the Blood Fragrance Warrior Berry, who had been quiet until now, cautiously suggested:
‘Strawberry, Berry. Let’s form an alliance.’
…Who the hell are you guys?
‘What do you mean who? We’re Power Beranger Straw-Force! Creator of Cruelty Berry! Blood Fragrance Warrior Berry! Guardian of Darkness Berry! And you…!!’
‘…Me?’
‘You’re the Thousand-Year Prince Berry!’
No, fuck off!!
“…Gasp.”
FLASH- My eyes opened.
Where am I…?
I rolled my eyes around. All I could see was the dreary white ceiling, and aside from the bubbling sound of a humidifier, everything around me was quiet. When I slowly raised my arm, there was an IV needle inserted in my wrist.
Ah, a hospital. I can smell the medicine. At times like this… ‘I hate the smell of hospitals.’ That’s what I’d say, right…?
Kuk kuk. I laughed like a lunatic. I sat up while imitating the cliché-ridden dialogue of female leads that always appeared at least once in novels. Though my body was a bit stiff, it felt light, probably because I had slept well. As soon as I got up, I looked around for my phone. Fortunately, it was placed neatly on the bedside table.
By now, the time was indicating evening. A full day had passed since I collapsed.
“Come to think of it, I think I had a shitty nightmare.”
I held my foggy head. It seemed like it was an extremely unsettling, uncomfortable, creepy dream, but now that I was awake, the memory had completely evaporated. Judging by my bad mood, even though I couldn’t remember it, it must have been a terrible dream… But that’s not the issue here.
“Argh… ARGH! Gu Haejin, why of all things! Strawberries?! Strawberries-!!”
I felt so unfairly treated.
Strawberry allergy… Insane. Is this for real? Sob. I… love strawberries so much. Those red, round things! Those super sweet things! Fuuuck… Damn Gu Haejin. Can’t drink alcohol, and now can’t even eat strawberries? Fuck! I want to smash his head in.
In “Those School Gang Guys,” there’s a character introduction that takes about 4 pages before the prologue.
There, strawberries were listed as the only food Gu Haejin dislikes, and the reason was because he almost died from a strawberry allergy. But who pays attention to such details unless you’re someone like my sister Gu Arin? And I only noticed it because Gu Haejin has the same name as me, otherwise I wouldn’t have paid any attention to that page. Right? I wouldn’t even read such a book in the first place.
Anyway, I almost died because the protagonist in the book had an allergy that I don’t actually have. Wow. I nearly high-fived the Grim Reaper. Above all, the fact that I can’t eat strawberries was enough to make me incredibly depressed. Ha. Life. Fuck. It’s really shitty. I can’t eat strawberries… When I love them so much… ARGH. I’m going to sue the author!
“Why are you so sensitive? With a body like this, you can’t complain if people freak out about you having a terminal illness, as those gang guys said?”
Where did you throw that precious second-highest rank? You problematic body.
I irritably scratched the back of my head roughly.
“You’re… awake…?”
CRASH! Along with a loud noise, an unfamiliar voice made me instinctively turn my head. I briefly looked at the stainless steel bottle that had rolled all the way to my bedside, then looked up to see Choigang’s advisor Kim Sara standing at the door, frozen in the same posture as if quite surprised. For a moment, I wondered, “Who is this guy?” but then I remembered that when I collapsed, I was at a meeting with Oh Eundo and Choigang faction executives, so I managed to avoid asking who he was.
This is just my imagination, but if I had asked “who?” here, I think I would have been misunderstood as having amnesia. Haha. Terminal illness plus amnesia. Just thinking about how those kids would go wild… Isn’t it too horrific? Shit. I don’t want any more misunderstandings…
“…Hell-“
“Fuck. Apex!!”
…Hello. My greeting was never completed.
Kim Sara, now alert, cursed and ran off at full speed to call his Apex, Oh Eundo. Hah. I could only sigh. The guys will be rushing in soon, right? Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
And, exactly as expected, the gang guys who heard the news that I had woken up barged into the hospital room, bringing a doctor with them. “Barged in” was truly the right expression. I was quickly made to lie down on the bed again, underwent some simple examinations from the doctor, and was only allowed to be released after hearing the words “you’re fine” from him.
“Hmm. You’re fine. Stay in the hospital just for today, and you can be discharged tomorrow. That’s all.”
“Thank you, Doctor!”
Fine my ass. What about the peace of mind I had until just now that’s now gone! I understand why the guys are happy, but regardless, my face was filled with dissatisfaction. The guys who approached my bed each said something.
“Fuuuck. Gu Haejin!!”
“Waaah. Apex, I’m so glad you woke up…!”
“Sniff. Thank God.”
“…Do you know how worried we were, Gu Haejin?”
Ion, who called my name with a cheer, and the crybaby Hanseo burst into tears again, while Amin clasped his hands together, thanking God. And Oh Eundo, with a face that looked like he might cry or laugh, complained like a child about how worried he had been.
On Wooju, the Number Two of Choigang, standing at a distance and sending a greeting with his eyes asking if I was okay, and even Kim Sara, who seemed to have been secretly worried as he sighed quietly—they were all still in their school uniforms, as if they hadn’t left the hospital for a moment since I collapsed. Seeing their wrinkled shirts, I thought, “They didn’t even go to school…” Thinking that they did this for me made my feelings strangely warm and fuzzy.
“Thank you… for waking up.”
Oh Eundo gently stroked my hair with a voice that pressed each word with emotion. I looked at his face. Though Eundo smiled brightly with small teardrops gathered at the corners of his eyes, I quietly pretended not to notice and smiled back. Despite everything, thinking about how the guys must have been through a lot of emotional distress when I suddenly collapsed, I felt grateful and sorry. It was just an allergy… Hmm. I was touched too.
“I’m sorry… for making you worry.”
At my words, the trio seemed overcome with emotion and cried sorrowfully for a long time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
