#51
[Mental-type skill (S) is activated. The pain threshold is increased.]
Something floated dizzily in front of his eyes and he felt the pain in his body gradually decrease.
“Ha…”
Ha-seong barely managed to catch his ragged breath and stand up. Blood was still dripping from his body, perhaps because the bleeding hadn’t stopped yet. Thanks to his body raising his pain threshold like a survival instinct when it sensed danger, he was barely able to regain consciousness, but that only meant he could endure a little longer, not that his wounds were healing.
Ha-seong gave himself a self-deprecating smile as he stood alone on the rooftop. He hadn’t made such a mistake since high school. Even when monsters ambushed him from behind, Ha-seong would brilliantly avoid them.
There was one reason. Back then, he hadn’t let his guard down. He had always kept his nerves on edge. His colleagues at the association used to joke that Ha-seong must have eyes on the back of his head too.
“Eyes on the back of my head, my ass…”
As he staggered to his feet, he could hear murmuring sounds from below. Probably the police or Management Bureau had been dispatched. Either way, it seemed better for Ha-seong not to be discovered by them. If they encountered each other, things would get complicated.
Ha-seong carefully came down, gripping the stair railing precariously. His hands were trembling and he felt his strength gradually draining. The funniest thing about this situation was that even in this state, that damn skill was still active so he couldn’t feel much pain. Right now, Ha-seong could only feel the sensation of something wet flowing from his body, his strength draining, and his breathing becoming labored.
“Ah, really…”
He carefully came out of the building and first entered a side alley. Contacting Do-hyeok was the top priority, but in all the chaos, he had left his phone dropped on the rooftop.
Ha-seong leaned his back against the alley wall and gasped for breath. When he raised his head, a clear blue sky hung high between the buildings. Somehow it felt unreal. It had been a really long time since he’d been injured this badly, and the pain and the labored breathing that seemed like it could stop at any moment were all unfamiliar.
It was too much. He had no more strength to move. Moreover, he couldn’t ride a taxi and roam the streets in this condition. He had no intention of startling an innocent taxi driver.
His gaze remained fixed on the blue sky. Why did this scenery seem familiar? It was when he was lost in thought, gradually moving away from the sky.
He heard urgent breathing and footsteps from not too far away. Ha-seong put strength in his eyes and stood up again. To survive, he had to grab that Cha Do-hyeok’s hand.
* * *
“Uh… what happened?”
“……”
Do-hyeok’s expression as he sat in front of the treatment room was still emotionless. Shin-woo only watched Do-hyeok’s mood with a premonition that something serious had happened.
There was blood all over his clothes and palms. Surely it wasn’t his blood.
“…He won’t die, right?”
A heavily sunken voice was heard. It sounded like the voice of someone who had barely woken up after several days. Though there was no high or low in the tone, Shin-woo kept his mouth tightly shut. It seemed like whatever he said now wouldn’t be of much use. Rather, he felt like he might feel threatened for his life if he carelessly added words.
Shin-woo looked at the red flashing indicator light of the intensive care unit. Meanwhile, Do-hyeok kept staring only at his blood-stained hands. He wanted to say that he should go wash them somewhere, but as he thought before, it seemed better not to speak.
‘Don’t abandon me, take me with you.’
Ha-seong’s last words echoed in his ears. His hands were covered with blood that had gushed from his body. He could still vividly feel that sensation. What if he dies? Such thoughts kept filling his mind. And that anxiety didn’t stem from the regret of losing a capable informant or the trouble of having to find another replacement.
What was this? What was this anxiety? It was when Do-hyeok let out a deep sigh.
Ding—
A cheerful sound rang out and a man in a white gown slowly came out.
“How did it go?”
The reaction speed was almost 0.1 seconds. Seeing the person who had been sitting just moments ago quickly approach him, Shin-woo widened his eyes.
Nameless had many capable hunters, but capability wasn’t limited to hunters alone. There were many outstanding employees in other fields as well, one of whom was Seo Ha-jun, the team leader of the treatment room who had taken charge of Ha-seong’s surgery today and was also a capable doctor.
He was famous in the hunter world as a genius surgeon and was often told during his student days that he would become something great. Many places wanted to recruit him, who was naturally gifted with both skill and sense, but Ha-jun chose to save hunters and wandered around as guild-affiliated doctors before settling at Nameless.
“To start with the conclusion, the surgery was successful. We removed both bullets from his body.”
Ha-jun said as he took off his surgical cap. In that instant, relief appeared in Do-hyeok’s eyes.
“Whether it was luck or something else, even though he suffered gunshot wounds, the organ damage wasn’t severe.”
Only positive words flowed smoothly from Ha-jun’s mouth. It was when Do-hyeok’s expression was becoming more relaxed.
“However…”
Ha-jun pushed up his glasses and moved his lips slightly.
“The blood loss was more than expected.”
“Continue.”
At Do-hyeok’s appearance, which had instantly become sharp with sensitivity, Ha-jun paused to catch his breath.
“To be honest, if an ordinary person had lost that much blood, their life would definitely have been in danger.”
The blood loss was so severe, Ha-jun continued to add.
“However, in Do Ha-seong-ssi’s case, it’s not life-threatening, but it might take some time for him to regain consciousness and recover.”
“……”
The area in front of the treatment room fell into silence for a moment. Shin-woo was busy watching Do-hyeok’s mood, and Ha-jun waited for the next words to come from his mouth.
“…When will he be able to wake up?”
“That’s difficult to give a definitive answer to. For those with exceptional recovery speed, they could miraculously wake up even tomorrow, but if not…”
Ha-jun swallowed his words. Even he, who had been speaking without watching his mood throughout, hesitated a bit.
He couldn’t guarantee it. In other words, that meant no one knew when he would wake up. It could be tomorrow, or he might never wake up.
“I’d like to make one request.”
“Yes.”
Ha-jun nodded.
“Move Do Ha-seong to the innermost private room and make sure no one can approach him.”
“…You mean, to make sure no one knows that patient is lying there injured?”
Ha-jun’s words were accurate. On the surface, Ha-seong was a purifier. Even though he was injured by Lee Hyeon-woo’s cunning scheme last time, the situation was different from now. If anyone heard that a purifier had suffered gunshot wounds and couldn’t regain consciousness, anyone would have to be suspicious.
“Yes. Understood.”
Ha-jun, who took Do-hyeok’s silence as affirmation, nodded for now. It had been unusual from the start that he had sent out all the staff within the guild and remained alone to treat that patient. Moreover, since Guild Leader Do-hyeok had directly instructed it, there must definitely be something more to it. But Ha-jun didn’t particularly want to dig deeper, nor was he especially curious.
Ha-jun was in the position of a doctor and didn’t particularly want to get involved in the hunters’ world. A doctor just needed to treat people well.
“Han Shin-woo, you too, make sure security is thoroughly maintained.”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing.”
The eyes that had been looking at Shin-woo turned back to Ha-jun.
“…I’d like to see him.”
Seo Ha-jun initially tilted his head, not knowing what that meant. Then, understanding that it meant he wanted to see the patient’s face, Ha-jun slowly nodded.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll move him to a room and guide you.”
It wasn’t long after Seo Ha-jun went inside. Do-hyeok was able to see Ha-seong lying in the hospital room. Having been cleaned of blood and changed into patient clothes, he lay on the bed with a face completely devoid of color.
It looked quite foreign. Just a few days ago, they had been talking casually and walking side by side, and now that person was lying there unconscious.
“Excuse me… Guild Leader-nim. I’m sorry to say this, but don’t you think it would be stranger if you’re away from your post for too long…”
Shin-woo said while gradually reading the mood. There had been a morning meeting anyway, but suddenly going out had caused quite a problem. He had hurriedly made up an excuse to Won-hyeok, who was furious asking where he had gone, saying he had a stomachache.
Then Won-hyeok, perhaps knowing the urgency of stomachaches, agreed more readily than expected, though with a reluctant face, and turned away. But if he was away from his post for this long, wouldn’t they surely think it was strange? Shin-woo suddenly had such worries.
“Shin-woo.”
“Yes.”
After calling him, Do-hyeok was silent for a while. Shin-woo didn’t urge him and just waited quietly. He seemed to be contemplating. Whether to return to where he should be as Guild Leader following Shin-woo’s words, or to continue staying here.
“Is there anyone in this guild who would think I’m not strange?”
“Yes? Ah…”
Understanding the meaning of those words, Shin-woo hummed low. Normally, it would be natural to think it strange if the most important core person in an organization was away from their post for a long time, but if that person was Cha Do-hyeok, the story was a bit different. The guild members might understand and accept it on their own.
“There wouldn’t be. Then I’ll go and take care of work.”
“Yeah.”
Do-hyeok nodded without even looking toward Shin-woo leaving the hospital room. Thus, only two people remained in the room.
Do Ha-seong lying unconscious on the hospital bed. And Do-hyeok, staring intently at his face, sat in the chair beside him. Ha-seong’s face looked more peaceful than anyone’s. However, it was so peaceful that he had the ridiculous suspicion of whether he was really alive, whether he was breathing. Do-hyeok occasionally turned his gaze to continuously check his vital signs displayed on the monitor.
That day, Won-hyeok constantly grumbled about where the hell Cha Do-hyeok had gone, but there were no guild members who had seen Cha Do-hyeok within the guild.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
