Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Red and White
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"......."
The three people gathered in the emergency center waiting room couldn't hide their anxious expressions.
Chris bit her nails, a clear sign of her anxiety.
Had they arrived too late? Had their clumsy judgment worsened Rain's condition? How long had she been this unwell?
Countless thoughts rose and fell in her mind.
Chris loved games. She had eagerly awaited the release date of Astria Online.
At first, she had been busy enjoying the game under the guise of market research for her job as a researcher at the capsule company. She played for the sense of accomplishment that came from clearing difficult dungeons with her trusted party members.
But in the last few months, Chris had found another kind of happiness while enjoying the game. She began to enjoy the Astria Continent itself.
It was undeniable that Rain was at the center of it all.
It felt like she had found her angel.
Her beautiful appearance and adorable gestures, the silvery-white hair Chris loved, the breathtaking smile she showed, however small, and her fluid swordplay that was like watching a painting come to life.
A few months with Rain on the Astria Continent. In that time, Rain's presence had grown to an uncontrollable size within Chris's heart.
It was a shame she could only see her in the game, but she hoped that one day she would be able to see her in person too. If Rain's guard completely dropped, and she came to like and rely on Chris fully, she wanted to meet her in real life through meetups and such.
Chris and Rain's first meeting unfolded in a way she had never expected.
And Rain was living a much harder life than she had imagined.
A swan glides gracefully across a calm lake.
Its long, straight neck and snow-white feathers are like those of a pure white angel, evoking admiration from all who see it. The swan's wings gently part the water, leaving a soft ripple in its wake. On the surface, the scene is as peaceful and serene as a painting. But beneath that elegant exterior, under the water's surface, a completely different scene unfolds. The swan's two feet are constantly and busily moving, paddling powerfully through the water.
Of course, this is just a common idiom. In truth, even a swan's paddling is said to be graceful.
Rain, who blended so beautifully with the Astria Continent itself, who felt as if she existed in a world made just for her.
Behind that image was a hidden struggle for survival.
The door to the emergency treatment room opened, and a middle-aged doctor holding a chart came out. Chris and the others shot up and hurried over to him.
"Rain, uh... is the patient okay?"
"Her breathing and pulse have returned to normal, and the bleeding has stopped. Since the patient was unconscious, we performed a CT scan based on the specialist's judgment, and fortunately, there are no serious symptoms like a cerebral hemorrhage. You can consider her to be out of immediate danger."
"Haaaah...."
Nam Da-yeon and Lee Jae-wook let out heavy sighs of relief.
Chris asked the doctor for more details about Rain's condition.
"First, we'll need to do more detailed tests to know the patient's exact condition, but there are several possible causes for the bleeding not stopping easily. Blood clotting disorders, hormonal changes due to stress, high blood pressure...."
The doctor pushed his glasses up slightly and gave Chris a sharp look.
"And then there are causes like malnutrition. What is your relationship with the patient?"
If they weren't relatives or legal guardians, they wouldn't be able to get involved in the patient's personal affairs.
"Uh, um. For now, we're friends."
"It's not just a problem with the bleeding. Her overall physical functions are severely weakened. Is the patient eating properly? Malnutrition can also lead to mental and physical instability, decreased responsiveness, and cardiopulmonary issues. We've administered emergency treatment, but...."
After confirming that Rain had been moved to a hospital room, Chris led Nam Da-yeon and Lee Jae-wook out into the hallway.
Lee Jae-wook scratched his head and grumbled.
"Limited information due to patient privacy? A need for relatives or guardians? Man, this is so complicated."
"In an emergency, doctors can perform necessary tests and procedures based on their own judgment, but subsequent treatment and tests require the patient's decision or a guardian's consent. Medical law is pretty tricky, isn't it?"
"The doctor scolded us, didn't he? For carrying her here so recklessly. Thanks to that, I had to listen to a long lecture on first aid and emergency procedures. Something about how they used to teach it in the military back in the day, and how there aren't enough people who've completed their service these days..."
"No, it was definitely my fault. It's actually a good thing I learned about it now. My clumsy response could have put Rain in even more danger."
Chris bit her lip.
Her mind had gone blank, and she couldn't think rationally. Fortunately, the quick action had saved Rain, but recklessly carrying her to the hospital wasn't the right thing to do.
Chris, Nam Da-yeon, and Lee Jae-wook. They were all adults and university students, but they were little more than fledglings just out in the world.
Letting out a sigh mixed with relief and self-reproach, Chris clapped her hands, just as she would as a raid leader in the game, drawing Nam Da-yeon's and Lee Jae-wook's attention.
"I'll stay with Rain. You two can go home first."
"Wouldn't it be better if we stayed too?"
After saying that, Nam Da-yeon glanced at Lee Jae-wook's expression. He didn't seem to want to leave either. But Chris shook her head.
"I'll contact you when Rain wakes up. The truth is, from Rain's perspective, a bunch of strangers just carried her off to the hospital, right?"
"Uh, umm. I guess you could see it that way."
Chris looked toward Rain's hospital room, her expression hardening.
"I'm going to be Rain's guardian."
After Nam Da-yeon and Lee Jae-wook left, Chris was alone, and her legs gave out, causing her to collapse in the hallway.
She had put on a strong front for her juniors, but Chris had been more worried than anyone.
The sight of Rain collapsed and bleeding.
The idly spinning wheelchair.
The fragmented details of Rain's condition she'd heard from the doctor.
A girl who couldn't even support her own body, living all alone in such a poor environment.
All of these things tore at Chris's heart.
For a long while, Chris remained sitting there in the hallway, clutching her chest.
*
*Tatatat.*
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hospital corridor.
And finally, those footsteps reached the front of a hospital room.
"Hoo."
The owner of the footsteps took a deep breath and carefully opened the door to the room.
Chris's eyes fell upon the sight of a girl sitting up in the hospital bed, gazing out the window.
The day had already broken.
The sunlight streaming through the curtains caught the girl's white hair, making it shine with a silver light.
The IV needle inserted into her slender arm.
Her long hair, reaching nearly to her waist, was spread out over the pristine white hospital bedding.
The girl's head turned, and her eyes met Chris's.
Chris swallowed without realizing it.
She had always thought her own looks were nothing to scoff at. But before the beauty of the girl in front of her, she felt her confidence in her appearance vanish.
A beautiful girl, with a slightly calmer air than Rain, was alive and moving right before Chris's eyes.
Her appearance was truly unreal.
Her calm, beautiful obsidian eyes. That gaze, which seemed to be looking somewhere far away, was similar to Rain's eyes, yet felt slightly different.
Chris felt a slight sense of unease.
There couldn't be two people with that appearance and hair color. This girl had to be Rain from Astria Online herself.
"Rain...?"
The end of Chris's word rose slightly, betraying her question.
The girl's obsidian eyes widened slightly.
And a moment later, a familiar, beautiful voice flowed from the girl's throat.
"...It's Iseulbi."
Iseulbi.
It must be her real name.
Chris slowly walked toward the girl.
She sat down in the chair beside the bed and looked into the girl's eyes.
There, she offered the same bright smile she so often gave to Rain.
"...Hi, my name is Chris."
A long silence followed. Rain said nothing, merely gazing intently at Chris.
Then, at some point, a glimmer of recognition appeared in the girl's eyes.
The girl's lips parted, and she uttered the word.
"Chris... big sister."
"......!"
The moment she heard those words, an irrepressible emotion raged inside Chris's heart.
It was Rain.
It was definitely her angel, Rain.
Chris took Rain's hand, bowed her head, and trembled.
Rain didn't refuse Chris's touch. She gently held her hand in return.
Then, her other hand came up and stroked Chris's bowed head.
"Thank you for cherishing Rain."
Who should be the one crying?
Who should be the one receiving comfort?
"Thank you for saving Iseulbi."
The girl who had lived so diligently on her own in a world without anyone to rely on, with a frail, battered body and legs that wouldn't move?
Or the foolish, idiotic Chris who had only noticed the girl's situation when it had reached this point?
She didn't know.
But Chris cried.
Rain did not.
She just silently stroked the head of the sobbing Chris.
Chris's red and Rain's white blended together.
Not in another world, but here, in reality.