Grasping at Straws
BAM!
“You can't pinpoint the cause? Is that what a doctor should be saying?”
“I'm sorry. Based on the tests so far, it seems like stress-induced—”
“Exactly! What the hell does he have to be stressed about!”
BAM! BAM!
Pounding the table repeatedly with his fists, the middle-aged man raged like fire itself. Facing him, the hospital director of Daehan First Hospital, Yoon Ju-wan, roughly the same age, fidgeted nervously, sweat beading on his brow.
If I'd known it'd turn out like this, I would've avoided it at all costs!
He gnawed at his lower lip in belated regret.
As the director of one of the nation's most renowned hospitals, people bowed and scraped wherever he went, seating him at the head table with utmost respect. But not here. Not now. And he couldn't expect it, either.
The man exploding in fury before him was someone who never had to watch anyone's face, no matter where he was.
So that's why my dreams were so restless last night...!
Bowing his head, Yoon Ju-wan squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed a groan.
When he'd heard that Seomho Group's second son was rushing to Daehan First Hospital, he'd rejoiced at the chance to score points with the conglomerate and hurried over. Now, that decision filled him with nothing but regret.
Had he known it would be this thorny, he'd have shoved it off on another doctor and never faced Seomho Group Chairman Jeong Woong-gil like this.
But that ship had sailed. Jeong Kyung-rok was now under his direct care.
“The cause! The treatment! If it's temporary, how long will it last! That's what you should've come back with!!”
“I'm sorry! If you could just give me a bit more time...”
“More time! You think that'll let you answer my questions?!”
“...”
Yoon Ju-wan clamped his mouth shut, at a loss for words.
With any other patient, he'd rattle off some disease names at the question of the cause, or snap, “Aigoo, patient, you don't trust your doctor? If you can't trust the doctor, who can you trust?” to buy time.
And with any other patient, he wouldn't have scrambled to summon off-duty doctors at this late hour, huddling over test results.
Yet even the top doctors, renowned in their fields, couldn't find an answer.
Why can't we see it?
Yoon Ju-wan felt frustrated too. They'd run every test possible in the limited time, but the cause of the blindness remained a mystery.
Sudden vision loss over minutes, days, or even two or three—classified as acute vision loss. It could affect one or both eyes, the full field or partial, sometimes with pain depending on the cause.
Typical culprits were issues in the eye itself: blocked retinal or optic nerve arteries or veins, hemorrhage, physical damage. That's what prevented the retina or optic nerve from detecting light signals, rendering one “blind.”
But Jeong Kyung-rok's eyes and optic nerves were pristine. So pristine that, upon first seeing the results, Yoon had wondered if the spoiled Seomho brat was faking it.
Had they not confirmed his pupils showed no reaction even to intense light, he'd have half-believed it was malingering.
“Why no answer!”
“H-Honestly—I can't give a definitive answer!”
Yoon Ju-wan bowed deeper, practically shouting.
Jeong Woong-gil's reputation was well-known: all or nothing. Yes or no. No room for nonsense—if excuses started flying, better keep silent, or lightning would strike.
“But as I mentioned earlier, if he's been under heavy strain lately, stress could—”
BAM!
“That's why I'm saying it can't be!”
Slamming the table again, Jeong Woong-gil shot to his feet, veins bulging in his neck as he bellowed.
“I've watched him in class! Not a single moment! Not one minute! I've never seen him focus! The only reason he even sat there was because he knew I was watching—forcing his ass into the chair! Otherwise, he'd have bolted ages ago!”
Jeong Woong-gil had two reasons for unleashing such fury on Yoon Ju-wan.
Shock and panic over his second son's plight was secondary.
The primary was the pent-up frustration from everything unraveling since his firstborn's accident.
“Director Yoon. Stress-induced temporary blindness—isn't that called ocular stroke?”
“Y-Yes, exactly!”
A kindly-faced man standing beside Jeong Woong-gil spoke up, and Yoon Ju-wan seized the lifeline like a rope from heaven.
“It's retinal vascular occlusion. But that's—”
“I know it happens to the sedentary or obese under heavy stress. And cortisol spikes can cause vision issues too.”
“Yes, yes. Cortisol, the stress hormone, weakens immunity and can lead to eye diseases... affecting vision...”
Yoon Ju-wan nodded vigorously, glancing nervously at Jeong Woong-gil.
“Hoo!”
Jeong Woong-gil exhaled sharply and waved him off—get out. Yoon bowed hastily and fled the chairman's office.
Thud.
“Haaah...”
Sinking back into his chair, Jeong Woong-gil sighed, massaging his throbbing brow.
His second son suddenly gone blind on the way to a family gathering? The urgent news had nearly made him drop his glass.
His first thought: All that booze and drugs finally caught up.
But tests showed he'd cut back lately.
That punk... what a piece of work. Truly.
Jeong Woong-gil knew his second son's infamous nickname and reputation all too well.
Scoldings and beatings hadn't fixed those habits.
What the hell was wrong with you? What did you lack? I gave you everything!
His troubled gaze drifted to a photo frame on the desk.
It showed a cheerful family—or at least, pretending to be.
Even then, that punk threw a fit during the shoot.
Jeong Kyung-rok had pouted sullenly; he'd tried coaxing him gently before slapping him in frustration. Only his wife's pleas on such a “happy day” had stopped more blows—until that ugly mug receded.
Mother tsked that the second was born rotten from the start.
She always said: Kyung-rok's only alive by luck; in any other home, that filthy temperament would've gotten him beaten dead. Leave him be, and he'd doom the family.
Back then, even he and his wife had snapped at her—too harsh on the boy.
But deep down, Jeong Woong-gil knew. His second son had an incurable flaw.
Thankfully, the eldest was thriving, so he'd planned to cut the second a chunk of wealth later, tell him to stay out of group affairs, live quietly abroad.
If not for that accident.
Jeong Woong-gil muttered darkly.
“Wealth doesn't last three generations, they say. First builds, second maintains, third squanders. Is my company headed that way too...”
Staring blankly, he pulled open the bottom drawer, unfolding a faded, creased paper.
Chairman Jeong,
If things keep piling up beyond your control, please reach out.
A few years back, a friend had pushed him to visit during a hard-won opportunity. There, a vague shaman or fortune-teller had handed him this with an inscrutable smile.
He hadn't torn it up only because his companion grabbed his hand, insisting it'd prove useful later—something even the rich couldn't buy.
“Hah...”
Jeong Woong-gil sighed hollowly.
He'd mocked acquaintances seeking shamans for big decisions, but now he understood. They'd exhausted every option before grasping at straws, scouring for the gifted.
“Min Siljang.”
“I'll make the call.”
The kindly-faced man beside him, Min Siljang, nodded.
* * *
「—End. Of. Report.」
Amjeong finished succinctly.
True to its social savvy, the report was clear, concise, hitting the essentials. It even recalled exactly what video Jeong Kyung-rok had been watching.
Jeong Kyung-rok... huh. Perfect test subject for another coffin trick.
Didn't matter if his boss ordered it or underlings crawled on their own—crush first, ask later.
That bastard... to Bin-i? Lust? Desire? Trash!
【Well done.】
「Fulfilled. Master's. Expectations!」
Amjeong grinned. Hwa-jeong and Pung-jeong blinked in surprise before glomming onto it.
「First. Mission. Praise. Already. Impressive!」
「Bold. Colleague. Let's. Do great. Together!」
They headbutted playfully, then spun in circles, dancing. Watching, I searched Jeong Kyung-rok.
Hmm. Only old scandals.
Figures. No one broadcasts sudden blindness like good news. A notorious playboy going blind? Tabloids would feast—curses on the heirs, succession wobbles, investor panic.
「Next. Job. Now!」
「Us. Too!」
「We. Want. Action!」
They chorused. I pondered, then it hit me.
What Gwang-jeong and Su-jeong knew. Traces of humans like me.
Did Amjeong know too?
【Traces of humans like me. Ever heard or seen?】
「Seen. Before. I. Know.」
Hoo. Quick answer.
【Tell me.】
「Cave. Unusual. Human. Blue. Glow. Talking. Bones.」
Hooo? So Gwang-jeong, Su-jeong, and Amjeong all knew the same place...
Perfect. Time to go.
【Can we go now?】
「Of course. Not. Far. From. Here. I'll. Guide.」
Spirit vs. human distance differed, but I wasn't taking this body.
I slipped out lightly, hovering.
Hwa-jeong and Pung-jeong, anticipating, wrapped my body, eyes sparkling.
Might take time—better instruct ahead.
【Hwa-jeong, guard my body. Pung-jeong, protect Bin-i. Same as last time if needed.】
「Will. Do. Our. Best!」
「We'll. Meet. Expectations!」
They beamed at extra qi, dancing again.
【Let's go.】
I zipped with Amjeong. Blazing speed even by spirit standards—soon, surroundings stretched into lines, then plunged down, down—
Hm. Felt like Earth's core.
「Arrived!」
Halting, I surveyed. Oh ho. Not some piddly hole—a vast underground cavern.
Twisted passages like something burrowed through, walls riddled with stalactites, stalagmites, columns. All massive, ancient.
Stalactites grew 0.1mm yearly, give or take. These were building-pillar sized.
Old records mentioned grinding them for medicine... calcium carbonate for ulcers. Folk remedy, but viable here—untouched earth's qi layered over eons, extractable by my kind.
To normals? Just dust.
Deep underground, too. No wonder it stayed hidden.
「This. Way. You'll. Hear. It.」
Amjeong led, phasing through walls.
「Direct. Path. Risky. So. Circled. Around.」
【What risk?】
「Confusing? Maddening? Master. Fine. But. Just. In. Case.」
Thorough, even. I followed, pleased with its caution.
Soon.
Ughhhh... Uuuuuhhhh... Hurrrghhhh...
Half-wail, half-moan echoed.
【This the talking bones?】
「Yes. Crying. Day. Today.」
Crying day? Huh. Laughing days too?
「Crying. Laughing. Angry. Irritable. Days. All. Different. Every. Day.」
Talking bones—death spirit attached. Mood swings daily.
Might take time for answers.
「Talking. Bones. On. Crying. Days. Easy. Docile. Answers. All. Questions. While. Crying.」
Oh ho. Lucky day!