Chapter 20
Perhaps because of the intense heat, my dream world had also become hot. The dream retained the usual appearance of the city, except everything was burning. And there, the people I missed welcomed me. I wanted to run to them crying, but I couldn’t. Matching the crimson world, they too were wrapped in flames. Their bodies were completely damaged. A friend looked at me and said.
“Does it hurt anywhere?”
“…I’m a bit hurt from my injuries, but…”
I was about to show my injured area but trailed off. My wounds were truly insignificant in front of them and their mangled bodies. Then, from behind, another guy picked up where I left off, showing his wounds. He had no eyes and explained that suddenly growing trees had pierced them. Once one person started talking, everyone else began chattering all at once. I was eaten by a monster who tore open my stomach, I was crushed under a collapsing building, I hid in a room and got trapped and died, I was beaten to death by people who were after my food…
Each story was horrific when considered individually, but since everyone was speaking competitively, their cries transformed into one mass of loud noise. As the sound grew louder, the fireballs rose higher and higher, making sweat run down my entire body.
“It’s hard…”
“That’s a good thing to say. It means you’re alive, right?”
Everyone looked envious, jeering and shouting. But from one side, a different voice was heard.
“But it will become a dead saying.”
“Dead saying?”
“Since you’ll die soon, that saying will become something you can’t say—a dead saying.”
They cackled and then dispersed to prepare a welcome ceremony. Someone who showcased embers, saying they had collected them so I could burn well, received great applause. The rest argued loudly about where my corpse would stand.
“I’m not dead.”
Those who had been fighting so fiercely that their tattered bodies were falling apart stopped their quarrel and looked at me.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But you’re going to die, aren’t you?”
And they pointed at me and sneered. I became very angry and pushed away the finger pointing at me, saying,
“I won’t die.”
Everyone looked down at me as if seeing something extremely pitiful. Then they whispered among themselves.
“It would be better if he died now.”
Despite my friends and family having horrific appearances, their attitude toward me was the opposite of their physical condition. Amid the pouring sympathy, I felt like a wretchedly dead corpse. Mocking me, people spoke again.
“It would be much easier to die.”
* * *
“Are you coming to your senses?”
The hand gently caressing my cheek felt cool. Having awakened from sleep, I moved toward the cool hand before responding to the voice. When my head tilted toward the hand, its owner paused briefly. But soon another hand stroked my head, patting and soothing me.
But whose hand was this? My foggy brain couldn’t keep up with my thoughts, and it took a long time to react.
Ah, it’s Kim Doyun.
My eyes flew open. I tried to sit up hurriedly, but my body had no strength, and Kim Doyun’s embrace was too strong. Embracing my squirming body, Kim Doyun whispered.
“Stay still. Your fever has barely gone down, and you’ll make yourself seriously ill like this.”
I stopped moving and opened my swollen eyes. Kim Doyun was smiling at me. I tried to speak by moving my lips, but no proper sound came out. Only a wheezing sound emerged, making me feel like a monster that couldn’t speak.
“Can’t you speak?”
I nodded. It seemed like moistening my throat would help, but where could I get water?
“…I’m… ahem, ahem. I’m… fine.”
The voice I forced out was terrible. I cleared my painfully sore throat to speak again, but Kim Doyun waved his hand to stop me.
“You don’t need to speak.”
Then he adjusted his hold on me and continued stroking me soothingly. It might have been embarrassing for two grown men to be holding each other like this, but… Kim Doyun kept patting my back as if comforting a child. My body relaxed with the rhythmic patting, and sleep started to overcome me. Blinking my drowsy eyes, I asked Kim Doyun.
“How… long… *cough*.”
My question didn’t form a complete sentence and was smudged by coughing. Kim Doyun stopped patting and gently rubbed my back.
“A week has passed.”
Kim Doyun understood and answered. A week? I wondered if I had heard correctly. I tried to ask what exactly had happened, but my throat hurt so much that I coughed harshly. Kim Doyun noticed and explained briefly.
“Your fever wouldn’t break, and you couldn’t regain consciousness… It was nearly a disaster. Thankfully, the fever gradually subsided.”
I didn’t realize my condition had been that serious. But more than my physical state, I was concerned about Kim Doyun, who must have struggled to care for me. How hard it must have been for him…
“You went through… trouble because of me…”
“What trouble? I’m just happy that you’re safe, Seongho-ssi.”
Somehow feeling embarrassed, I slightly closed my eyes. Kim Doyun brushed back my hair that had fallen down again and continued.
“Don’t worry, just focus on getting better.”
Kim Doyun said I needed plenty of sleep to recover and gently caressed my body as he held me. But I didn’t want to sleep, fearing I would have that dream again. To stay awake, I shook my head like a sick chicken and pressed my drowsy eyes with trembling hands.
“Do…yun-ssi, how… *cough*. If you don’t mind, could you tell me a story…”
Even a simple sentence was difficult to complete. If even I couldn’t understand what I was saying, how much worse must it be for the listener? But he immediately understood my fragmented words and answered.
“I don’t have the talent to tell entertaining stories, but…”
Kim Doyun turned his head to look at the sky. The abundant leaves filled every space as if their bodies were the sky itself. If you persistently looked between the leaves, you could sometimes see gaps, but even those gaps were filled with more leaves. Under the dark shade where even the stars had died, Kim Doyun moved his eyes for a long time as if searching for something.
“Well. What story should I tell?”
After pondering for a while, he slowly began to speak.
“That day, I was a bit unlucky.”
I shifted my gaze from his fidgeting fingers to his profile, still looking at the sky. Kim Doyun’s brow was slightly furrowed.
“I’m not one to sleep in. I always woke up at the same time, even without an alarm. But that particular day, I overslept. Work was piling up, and I had many places to go. I think I was a bit angry.”
Kim Doyun closed his mouth and touched his lips. He seemed to be tracing and reconfirming the words he had just spoken. He closed his eyes briefly, then slowly continued.
“Fortunately, I wasn’t late for the appointment. But as luck would have it, my sub… hmm. Someone who works with me made a mistake.”
From Kim Doyun’s vague story, I remembered his position, which I had forgotten until now. Executive Director, wasn’t it? Although unintentional, I had seen it without his permission, so I thought I shouldn’t show that I knew. Kim Doyun also seemed to not want to reveal it. As I listened with my mouth firmly shut, his gaze briefly touched me and then fell away.
“I was already irritated with myself, and we were about to lose a big deal, so I was extremely angry. To be that angry… that was a first for me. I had never raised my voice before.”
Kim Doyun touched his lips again. It seemed like his habit when recalling memories. Do I have a habit like that too? So this person does get angry after all. He was so calm and quiet that I couldn’t imagine him getting angry.
“The conversation wasn’t going well, so I told the employee we would talk again tomorrow and left. But due to transportation issues, I ended up riding with the employee who had made the mistake. It must have been quite uncomfortable for them, even if I didn’t feel it. And then, about ten minutes later, we had an accident on the way.”
Accident? I opened my eyes wide in surprise, and Kim Doyun nodded toward the outside. Thanks to that, I understood what he meant. The accident that both I and Kim Doyun experienced. Yes, it was indeed an accident.
“The car was half-destroyed and flipped over, but fortunately, no one was seriously injured. I was fine, and the passenger and driver only hurt their arms slightly. So we went to the hospital, but…”
Kim Doyun’s eyes were half-closed. His long eyelashes showed off their distinct shape even in the dark shade. I gazed at his profile, feeling somewhat entranced.
“If I had known this would happen, I think sometimes that I shouldn’t have gotten angry with that person. The company work was important, and who could have known this would happen, but still, now that we’re in this situation, I keep remembering their dejected appearance…”
Not knowing what to say, I hesitated for a long time. After pondering, I cautiously opened my mouth, but only a rough, hoarse sound escaped from my throat.
“I…”
“Don’t strain yourself.”
“*Cough*! Yes…”
Cutting off my words, he leaned down and wrapped me more tightly with the tablecloth. Then he reached out his hand to check the temperature on my forehead and face. His large hand running over my face made me feel embarrassed and shy. My nose felt ticklish, and when I sniffled, Kim Doyun smiled.
“I’m sorry. That’s all I can think of right now… I feel like I’ve just been talking nonsense.”
“N-no, not at all.”
I hurriedly shook my head. Being bedridden and unable to move properly, I could only barely shake my head gently. Yes, honestly, it would be more difficult to tell interesting stories in this situation. Kim Doyun must be having a hard time too. Having to take care of me, who was no different from a patient. Feeling apologetic, I fidgeted with my hands, then suddenly remembered something to ask.
“What… about, *cough cough*, those… people, what happened to them?”
His eyes, which had been holding a smile, softened slightly. His pupils, which had been looking upward as if gazing into the distance, once again filled with warmth as they looked at me.
“Well. After the hospital shook, I didn’t see them, so I’m not sure. They probably evacuated with the others, don’t you think?”
Well, that makes sense. With all that chaos, most people would have fled outside. If it weren’t for the child and the mother, I would have also joined the crowd and escaped. And if I had, I wouldn’t have met Kim Doyun.
Somehow my hand felt itchy, so I fidgeted with my fingers again. Kim Doyun looked at me for a long time before speaking.
“Back then…”
“?”
“I’m reminded of the meteor shower I saw when I got out of the car.”
The sudden remark was strange, but I nodded in response. I guess he remembered it while talking about the time before the accident. I thought quietly, then cleared my hoarse throat with a “hmm,” and added gestures as I spoke. About how the meteor shower had fallen on my face—something I hadn’t even told the doctor.
Kim Doyun, who had been quietly watching my words and actions, smiled gently. The moonlight that barely squeezed through the leaves slid down his face.
“I see. So it touched your face…”
Was it because of the light that showed only half of his face? Somehow, his smile felt eerie.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
