Chapter 124
Ki Seo-jung sat on a cold emergency room bench. Numerous people rushed busily in front of him, and he could feel the presence of the production staff keeping watch nearby, but no one could capture his attention. He covered his face with both hands, holding his breath. The tense atmosphere in the emergency room intensified Seo-jung’s anxiety.
Seo-jung let out a deep sigh. He couldn’t remember how he had managed to get to the hospital. There were only fragments of memories. He remembered shouting for someone to call an ambulance while unable to take his eyes off the collapsed Cha Yoon, and then somehow finding himself in the ambulance.
The journey to the hospital felt like an eternity to Seo-jung. Inside the speeding ambulance, Seo-jung could do nothing. He just held Cha Yoon’s hand, who had his eyes closed and was unconscious, hoping desperately that it would turn out to be nothing serious.
“Are you Cha Yoon patient’s guardian?”
Seo-jung jerked his head up at the voice calling him. He saw the face of a medical staff member holding a chart. He quickly stood up and approached the doctor.
“Yes, I’m his guardian. Cha Yoon…, is Cha Yoon okay?”
His trembling voice revealed Seo-jung’s anxious state. The doctor, seeming to read his mind, shifted his gaze from the chart to Seo-jung. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, the doctor spoke.
“For now, the basic blood tests, X-rays, and CT results show no significant abnormalities. The brain CT was normal, and there are no severe injuries like fractures.”
Listening intently to the doctor’s voice explaining the test results, Seo-jung unconsciously let out a breath he had been holding when he heard there were no problems. He couldn’t be more grateful that there were no abnormalities.
“However, looking at the previous medical records, I see that he was hospitalized for a traffic accident, as you mentioned. There are also records of outpatient treatment in neurology… You said he complained of severe headaches when he collapsed, right?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
“Of course, it could simply be a temporary loss of consciousness due to the shock of the accident. But we can’t completely rule out the influence of aftereffects from the previous accident. I think it’s best to observe him a bit more until the patient wakes up.”
Seo-jung nodded at the doctor’s explanation. He understood that hospitalization was necessary to further check Cha Yoon’s condition and stabilize him.
“Thank you.”
“Will you come this way?”
As Seo-jung nodded, a nurse who had come along immediately guided him through the hospitalization procedures. The admission process was quick. Fortunately, Ki Seo-jung was still registered as Cha Yoon’s guardian. Thanks to this, Seo-jung could fulfill his role as a guardian without any issues.
Seo-jung filled out the relevant documents as instructed. He pressed harder on the pen tip that kept shaking due to his trembling. While he was filling out the documents, the main writer who had come to the hospital with Seo-jung kept her eyes on him. She seemed to have many questions for Seo-jung, but given the situation, she didn’t say anything.
Shortly after, Cha Yoon was moved to a private room. Seo-jung approached and examined the sleeping Cha Yoon. Even though he had heard from the doctor that no problematic abnormalities were found, he couldn’t easily put his mind at ease. It was understandable. The sight of him lying on the white bed by the window was enough to remind Seo-jung of the situation from a few months ago when Cha Yoon couldn’t wake up for a long time.
What if Cha Yoon never opens his eyes again? Even though he knew the situation was completely different from back then, irrational thoughts kept chaining one after another. The longer he thought, the more his fists clenched and trembled, and his breathing became rough.
Seo-jung looked down at Cha Yoon, who was lying there with his eyes closed. He wanted to see Cha Yoon with his eyes open, meeting his gaze, not lying there as if dead.
He didn’t care if Cha Yoon complained about being in pain or whined for Seo-jung to take care of him. If he just opened his eyes safely, Seo-jung felt like he could do anything Cha Yoon wanted. So please, open your eyes, show me that you’re okay. As he was desperately wishing this, unable to take his eyes off Cha Yoon, it happened.
“Seo-jung-ssi.”
Startled by the touch on his shoulder, Seo-jung looked to the side. It was Yu-min, the main writer who had come to the hospital with him.
“I think you should go downstairs and get checked too. I’ll stay here, so don’t worry and go.”
It meant that Seo-jung should leave Cha Yoon and take care of himself. Despite Yu-min’s careful tone, Seo-jung shook his head.
“It’s okay. I’ll stay here.”
Seo-jung, who had always tried to cooperate with the production staff as much as possible, spoke firmly this time as if he couldn’t yield. But Yu-min couldn’t back down either. It was her job to protect the cast members who had come to appear on her program. Seo-jung was just as important to her as Cha Yoon lying in bed.
“Seo-jung-ssi, you’ve been sweating and shaking since earlier. You may not have lost consciousness, but weren’t you also almost in an accident? If you were really fine, I wouldn’t have said anything. But anyone can see that you’re not looking good.”
Only after hearing Yu-min’s words did Seo-jung notice that his forehead and back were soaked with cold sweat. Facing a situation that was like a trauma was the same for Seo-jung. There was no way he could be okay.
He tried to put strength into his body, which was still shaking uncontrollably. But there was no way he could hide his body’s reactions by doing so. Yu-min sighed and spoke again. Since telling him to take care of himself first wasn’t working, there was only one option left.
“If Cha Yoon-ssi knows that you couldn’t even get properly checked because you were staying by his side, he’ll feel uncomfortable too. That’s not what you want, right?”
“……”
As expected, the suggestion that he might make others uncomfortable worked precisely on Seo-jung. Noticing Seo-jung’s wavering heart, Yu-min drove the final nail.
“Cha Yoon-ssi is sedated, so he won’t wake up soon. So hurry and go.”
Seo-jung’s pale face slowly moved.
“…Alright. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Reluctantly nodding, Seo-jung took one more look at Cha Yoon’s face. Then he forced his reluctant feet to move.
Even as he left the room for the examination, Seo-jung’s mind was filled with worry for Cha Yoon. It was the same during various tests. After completing blood tests and X-rays, how much time had passed? About 30 minutes later, medical staff approached Seo-jung.
“Fortunately, there are no particular problems in the test results. Regarding the cold sweats and tremors, given your history of traffic accidents, it could be a psychological reaction from that. Keep an eye on it, and if you have any more issues later, please come back for another visit.”
“Thank you.”
Thanking the medical staff for saying there were no abnormalities, Seo-jung moved to the elevator without hesitation. It felt like he had finally finished his homework. He stared at the floor indicator panel. Seeing the elevator coming down from the top floor, Seo-jung gave up waiting and headed for the emergency staircase.
Reciting the floor number of Cha Yoon’s room, he climbed the stairs with large strides. After climbing the last step, he passed through the corridor and opened the door to the room.
As soon as the door opened, he saw an empty sofa in the hospital room. Seo-jung frowned slightly. Where did the writer go? Thinking he had done well to hurry as Yu-min had left her post, he was just about to turn his eyes towards the bed. Seo-jung had no choice but to stop in his tracks.
Unlike when he had left the room a couple of hours ago, he saw Cha Yoon sitting up, leaning against the bed’s headboard. Seeing Cha Yoon in the room in the state he had so desperately wished for, Seo-jung’s heart stirred in an instant.
“…Cha Yoon-ssi.”
Seo-jung called Cha Yoon in a murmur. At that voice, Cha Yoon’s head slowly moved. He met Cha Yoon’s eyes looking in his direction. Although his face was still pale, there was a subtle light in those eyes looking at Seo-jung.
The fact that Cha Yoon had regained consciousness dug deep into his heart, and tears of relief threatened to well up. Before any other thoughts could form, Seo-jung’s body moved on its own. With reddened eyes, Seo-jung quickly approached Cha Yoon. Standing next to him, Seo-jung scrutinized Cha Yoon’s face and spoke.
“Do you recognize me? When did you wake up?”
“……”
“Are you… are you hurting anywhere? Are you really okay?”
Despite Seo-jung’s incessant questions, Cha Yoon didn’t say a word. He just looked at Seo-jung. That gaze seemed to be saying something. It was as if he was trying to reassure Seo-jung, saying he was fine, everything was fine, and strangely, it made Seo-jung feel at ease.
But that relief didn’t last long. As the great anxiety that had gripped his heart subsided, the remaining emotions swept through like aftershocks. Seo-jung’s voice, filled with pent-up frustration, echoed through the hospital room.
“Why did you do that in the car? Did I ask you to protect me? Why did you shield me in that situation? You should have thought about not getting hurt yourself. It’s fortunate it didn’t lead to an accident, but if it had turned into a big accident… if you had gotten hurt again, what would we have done!”
Tears welled up in Seo-jung’s eyes as he spoke each word forcefully, as if gritting his teeth. He scolded Cha Yoon with a trembling voice, expressing his anger. However, Cha Yoon still didn’t say anything. He just stared at Seo-jung as if tracing his face with his eyes.
Something was off. Surely, the Cha Yoon he knew would have talked back several times by now. This wasn’t the only strange thing. Cha Yoon’s eyes looking at him, those eyes too were different. It was a complex gaze with numerous emotions mixed together, hard to pinpoint exactly.
Despite Cha Yoon’s unusual reaction, Seo-jung couldn’t easily stop talking.
“You lost your memory from a traffic accident injury, how could you do the same thing again? Why don’t you think about how your body gets hurt every time! It’s not like I’d be grateful for…”
It was at that moment, as he was pouring out his anger like a burst dam with a shaky voice. Cha Yoon, who had been quietly watching Seo-jung all this time, reached out and pulled him into his arms.
Seo-jung froze at the warm temperature enveloping his body. What just happened? As Seo-jung blinked to assess the situation, he only came to his senses when he felt hot breath on the nape of his neck. He started to struggle as if trying to escape from Cha Yoon’s embrace.
“Let go of this, do you think I’m joking right now?”
Seo-jung repeated several times to let go, putting all his strength into his body. But there was no way he could escape from Cha Yoon’s embrace with just that much effort.
It was when he was trying to break free, using all his strength to shake off the arms firmly wrapped around him. Seo-jung had to stop all movement at the voice that followed in his ear.
“It’s been a long time since I heard Ki Seo-jung’s nagging.”
A low, soft voice. The moment he recognized it, Seo-jung held his breath.
There was no way he could misunderstand the meaning of those words.
Cha Yoon had returned.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
