I Absolutely Won't Get Dismembered!

The incident where Kang Haneul kicked and shattered Moon Yujin's leg. Thanks to the Awakener Association's desperate cover-up, it was buried deep under the surface.

First, the manager contract between Kang Haneul and Moon Yujin was treated as if it had never existed. The employment contract was scrapped, and all related records were completely erased.

And Moon Yujin's injury... it was recorded as having happened during the massive reptilian Dimensional Gate invasion in the Gangnam area, where he got hit by a reptilian ray gun.

A perfect, clean fabrication.

The Awakener Association was used to handling things like this. Even if an EX-rank Awakener caused trouble, sweeping it under the rug at the national level was no big deal.

'It's a shame that rage-control-disorder psycho bitch didn't meet her end...'

It couldn't be helped. An EX-rank Awakener was essentially a strategic weapon.

Baek Sehee herself was an EX-rank Awakener, so she knew that all too well.

Just one F-rank Awakener who was barely more than a normal person. And not even his life—just one limb. They couldn't restrain or punish an EX-rank for smashing something like that.

The difference between having or not having a single EX-rank could decide the outcome of wars between nations or battles against top-tier catastrophes.

That's how reality worked. Violence trumped justice or law. National security outweighed individual rights.

After that incident, Kang Haneul had gone completely into hiding. She hadn't shown up at the Association HQ, canceled all official schedules, and was holed up in her house, from what I'd heard.

'Maybe she'll do us all a favor and die on her own.'

That was Baek Sehee's faint hope. If the shock of shattering Moon Yujin's leg drove her to suicide, the world would be a little cleaner.

But Baek Sehee figured that wouldn't happen. Someone as selfish as her would never harm herself directly. She was the most precious thing in the world to herself, after all.

'Whatever.'

Baek Sehee's gaze returned to Moon Yujin.

Thanks to Kang Haneul, something unexpectedly good had happened.

Moon Yujin without anything below the knee. Helpless Moon Yujin. Moon Yujin who struggled even with short distances and had to rely on Baek Sehee's telekinesis.

Moon Yujin who put on a prosthetic, walked awkwardly, lost his balance, and fell without Baek Sehee there to catch him.

And the scene of her rushing over to help him up.

In the fantasy, Moon Yujin nodded. He relied on Baek Sehee, thanked her, looked only at her.

Just imagining it sent shivers down her spine. An oddly thrilling sensation raced up her vertebrae.

Baek Sehee took Moon Yujin's hand. It was small and cold.

'Someone this weak...'

She had to protect him. Guard him. Make sure no one could hurt him. Keep him safe forever. By her side.

Baek Sehee's lips went dry. She licked them with her tongue, feeling heat surging from deep in her throat.

'What if...'

And then a horrific fantasy surfaced.

'What if Kang Haneul hadn't just wrecked one of Yujin's legs...'

What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if she'd destroyed all four limbs. Arms and legs, everything. Leaving only his head and torso.

A truly gruesome thought.

But Baek Sehee felt her heart pounding harder than ever.

Moon Yujin without arms or legs. Completely helpless Moon Yujin. Moon Yujin who couldn't do anything on his own.

Moon Yujin whom only she could care for. When eating, bathing, moving. Every moment needing Baek Sehee.

Baek Sehee's hand unconsciously stroked her own nape. Sweat seeped from her skin, trickling slowly between her breasts. Inside the sterile gown.

Her heart raced, her breathing grew ragged.

'...Calm down.'

Even as she thought that, Baek Sehee swallowed hard without realizing it.

Staring at Moon Yujin lying on the bed.

And she imagined again. Moon Yujin rendered incapable. Moon Yujin completely hers.

……………

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

A steady mechanical rhythm filled the air.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

It took a while to figure out what it was. An ECG monitor. Measuring my heartbeat.

Next came the smell. Disinfectant and alcohol. That unique hospital scent.

My eyelids felt heavy, like someone was pressing down on them with fingers.

I tried to open my eyes. Once, twice. On the third try, my lids finally lifted.

Slowly, my vision brightened bit by bit.

The ceiling came into view first. White. Soft indirect lighting glowed faintly.

'...Hospital room?'

But the ceiling was too pristine. Not like a regular ward.

Above all, my throat was parched. Swallowing hurt like sandpaper.

Right—my throat. No more of that horrific foreign sensation from the ICU, those fleeting moments of awareness. The tubes and ventilator were gone. Deep in my throat.

I was breathing on my own now. Without machines.

Alive. Definitely.

So where the hell was I?

Relief was immediately chased by confusion.

I slowly turned my head. My neck was stiff. From not moving for so long.

The room came into focus. Spacious, clean, quiet.

And—there was someone sitting in a chair.

Baek Sehee.

She sat with perfect posture, reading a book. As if she'd been there from the start. As if she'd just been waiting for me to wake up.

'...Why?'

Was she visiting? The question flickered, but then memories crashed in, slamming my mind.

[Crunch]

The sound of bone and flesh shattering. The brutal impact on my right shin. The world tilting, the floor rushing up, breath choking off.

And Kang Haneul's face. Expressionless, emotions vanished.

Pain beyond words exploding from my leg, spreading through my whole body. Vision whitening, unable to breathe.

Consciousness fading fast... those moments.

'Ah...'

My ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body twitched reflexively. My heart pounded.

The monitor's beeps sped up with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my racing pulse.

'I survived that...'

The thought filled my head. I hadn't died. Hadn't returned to that café with the three goddesses. I lived.

Hearing the ECG, Baek Sehee closed her book and looked at me. Her eyebrows flicked up in slight surprise, then softened into a gentle smile.

"You're awake, Yujin."

I tried to reply. But what came out wasn't words. A raspy croak, coughs. Air hissing out.

'...Can't talk.'

My lips moved, but no sound. Helplessly, I checked something else. My body. I looked down.

My left leg was visible above the blanket. Intact. There properly.

And my right leg. The blanket... was flat.

'Huh?'

Up to the thigh, it was there. The knee... up to the knee.

But below that. Nothing.

The blanket lay perfectly flat on the bed.

'What?'

My heart raced faster. The monitor beeps matched it.

No, illusion. The blanket was just bunched weirdly. I reached out, groped the blanket.

Thigh. There. Felt it.

Knee. There. Hard bone under my fingers.

And below that.

...Nothing.

Just blanket. Flat, pressed down.

'No.'

Groped again. Harder, wider. Nothing. Really nothing.

No calf. No ankle. No foot.

My hand clutched the blanket. Where it should be. Where my leg should be.

The ECG went berserk. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep—

Then Baek Sehee approached the bed.

"Yujin."

Her hand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gripped my shoulder.

"Calm down. It's okay."

Okay? How could it be okay? My leg was gone. My entire right shin below the knee—gone.

Vision shook. Ceiling tilted, walls spun, everything warped.

Hyperventilating. Panic. Even breathing felt like no air got in. Throat tightening.

"It's okay, it's okay."

Baek Sehee's hands held my shoulders. Then slowly, carefully, she pulled me in.

No strength to resist. I collapsed into her embrace.

Soft fabric. The feel of her clothes against my cheek.

"Breathe slowly. Slowly."

Deep breaths. Seemed impossible.

Then she took my hand.

"With me. Breathe in—"

Baek Sehee inhaled slowly. I followed.

"Out—"

Whoosh.

"In again—"

Hoo.

We repeated it several times.

"Wait just a second."

Something rustled in her embrace. Then plastic touched my lips. A PET bottle.

"Drink some water."

She tilted it, and lukewarm water flowed into my mouth.

'Ah...'

Only then did I realize. My throat was insanely dry.

Looking back, I'd been on a ventilator with a tracheal tube. No proper sips of water, so of course it was parched.

I swallowed. The liquid sliding down felt good. Lukewarm but perfect—not cold, not hot, just slightly cool and easy.

Had she even considered the temperature?

"Slowly."

Baek Sehee tilted it bit by bit. Water kept coming. I drank it down.

No room to think. My body just craved the moisture.

Like an infant, I gulped whatever she poured.

One hand supported my head. The other held the bottle.

In her arms, amid her scent, I kept drinking. One gulp, two, three.

My heart slowed. The monitor beeps eased.

The panic... was fading, bit by bit.

"All done?"

Baek Sehee asked. I nodded, and the bottle pulled away.

My mind cleared a little.

'...Calm down.'

Couldn't do shit in panic mode. Needed to grasp the situation first. What happened.

Her arms loosened. I leaned back against the bed.

Now I saw her face properly. Something was off. Her cheeks... flushed. Rosy, like she'd been in a hot place too long.

But the room was cool. AC humming.

'Why?'

The question arose, but there was no time to ask.