I Performed a Miracle
"......"
"It's the hospital, just like you said. How did you know I'd be here three days ago?"
"I'm on my way now."
It seemed we needed to meet in person, so Baek Hagyeong gave me the hospital location.
"Here…."
"It's Oseong Hospital, right? I'll call you when I arrive, so please come down."
I had never once mentioned the hospital at the company. Suddenly a chill ran down Baek Hagyeong's spine.
I waited in the lounge until the ICU visiting hours began. That was where I learned the precise condition of Team Leader Baek's wife and daughter.
"We can keep her on life support, but even with the ventilator and dialysis, two weeks is the limit. The hospital is only waiting for my decision."
"They said if rehabilitation goes well for my daughter, her damaged spinal cord might let her walk with assistive devices. I don't know if it's true or if they're just trying to comfort me."
He spoke while forcing his bloodshot eyes to blink. The man who overflowed with confidence at the company now looked like he might collapse at any second.
"Tell me. How on earth did you know?"
Even in this hopeless situation, his curiosity remained. Or perhaps my offer to help had planted a faint seed of expectation in him?
"You won't believe me even if I tell you."
"I still want to hear it. And about helping…."
He trailed off. He was probably ready to clutch at any straw, yet the situation was simply too dire. The doctors had already given up—what could a mere manager possibly do?
When I first heard the words brain death and lower-body paralysis, even I had flinched. Brain death, especially, was essentially a death sentence. I had fixed machines before, but never a person.
The Grace of Healing is the gift that lets the lame rise and walk, the blind open their eyes, and the dead walk out of their graves. Having received such a Grace, what is there to worry about?
Do I just go over and lay my hands on them like I did with the audio equipment?
Healing can be done that way, but there is something required beforehand.
What is it?
I frowned as I listened to the Divine Spirit. This sounded exactly like something a cult leader would say.
Team Leader Baek waited for my answer with a face tight with anxiety.
"I'll tell you after I heal your wife and daughter."
His eyes widened like saucers and he swallowed hard.
"Y-you… c-can you really fix them? Her brain is dead. She can't move her legs?"
He looked like a child clutching a toy, desperately trying to make it obey. Madness flickered in the gaze fixed on me.
"If you're just saying that, I won't forgive you. I might really… kill you!"
"Keep your voice down. This is a hospital."
People were already giving us odd looks, so I warned him.
"Before that, there's something I need to confirm."
"W-what?"
"Your faith, Team Leader."
"F-faith…?"
"Yes. Show me exactly how much you believe in me."
"I don't understand what you mean. How am I supposed to show it?"
"You must believe your wife and daughter can be healed for me to treat them. Right now the situation is as hopeless as you described, isn't it? Even now, you need to have faith. Even faith the size of a mustard seed can bring forth a miracle."
His expression screamed What kind of nonsense is this? When the Divine Spirit first told me, I had been stunned; how much worse must it sound to him?
"Just believing is enough? If I truly believe, can Yuri really come back to life?"
"Yes. But right now I feel no faith from you at all. Your words sound desperate, yet they're filled with disbelief—'this can't work,' 'it's impossible.' With that mindset, you cannot summon a miracle."
Visiting hours arrived and people began rising one by one. I stood and spoke to Team Leader Baek.
"Let's go in first. I'll ask one more time in front of your wife, so make sure you show me your faith properly then."
Perhaps because it was the ICU, the shadow of death lay thick over everything. The oxygen respirator and the tangle of tubes connected to Baek Hagyeong's wife offered no trace of vitality. If she woke here, even an atheist would fall to his knees and praise God.
Something seems to be flowing out of my body.
The Grace has reacted to the situation and Master's sincerity. You could not feel this kind of energy before, correct? It means Master has grown familiar with the Grace.
So that was what the Divine Spirit had meant by becoming familiar. I wasn't the only one who noticed the change. Fear was etched across every wrinkle on Team Leader Baek's face.
"It's the same as back then. You… just what the hell are you…."
He shut his mouth as if afraid harsher words might slip out. I could sense his fear, but I still saw no faith.
I can't see any faith from Team Leader Baek. He keeps doubting me.
What the hell is this guy doing? Why did I bring him here? How can you revive a dead brain? No matter how desperate he is, these thoughts keep coming. Should I tell him to leave now?
The Divine Spirit seemed frustrated as well and let out a sigh.
As expected, humans do not believe unless they see it with their own eyes. Please open your hand.
Like this?
When I spread my right hand, sparks leaped above my palm. The scattered flames gathered into one and rose in pure white. They wrapped around my hand, shooting out rays of light in every direction. My hand was blazing, yet I felt no heat at all.
What is this?
It is a meaningless performance. Think of it as a movie special effect. Humans only seem to believe in miracles after seeing something like this.
When I turned my head, Team Leader Baek was shaking so violently it looked like he might collapse from sheer shock.
"W-w-what is that… t-that… ugh… n-no way."
Seeing his reaction, the perfect line came to me.
"This is the Flame of Life. Do you believe me now? If you do not believe, Team Leader, I cannot save your wife."
Not bad. Didn't you say you couldn't act?
This isn't even acting. I'm just lowering my voice and acting dignified.
But the effect was tremendous. The trembling Team Leader Baek collapsed completely. He grabbed my pants and pressed his forehead to the floor. He gripped so hard the fabric creases dug into my skin.
"I-I believe! Master! I believe! Please save our Yuri. Ugh, I can't live without her. Please… please, Master, save her!"
Such a strong man was sobbing while clinging to me. In an instant I had become a master.
As expected, humans believe only as much as they see. This level of faith is sufficient.
Even when I turned my palm over, the flame continued to hover. In that state I placed my hand on Baek Hagyeong's wife's forehead. Darkness surged forward like a wave and swallowed everything around us.
It was pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.
Where am I?
This is the woman's consciousness. Her life is fading, so only darkness remains.
As I walked, a faint light appeared in the distance. Beneath it, someone was weeping and shouting into the dark.
"Minji's dad~~ Minji~~"
It was Team Leader Baek's wife, the same woman who had been lying in the bed. I approached and laid my hand on her head. The darkness drained away like water swirling down a sink. Blinding light began to fill the empty space the darkness left behind.
A moment later the light faded and we returned to the original ICU.
I called out to Team Leader Baek, who was still clutching my pants and sobbing.
"Team Leader."
"Huh? Y-yes…."
He lifted a face streaked with tears and snot.
"Stand up and hold your wife's hand."
He blinked, not understanding.
"She's awake, so you should show her your face. Quickly."
Realization hit him. He scrambled up and rushed to his wife's side. She was struggling to open her eyes, gazing at him. A faint smile appeared beyond the oxygen mask.
"Ugh… huuuk… T-this… Yuri, Yuri!"
Team Leader Baek wailed and buried his face in his wife's side. She was still a critical patient—surely this wasn't good. The hallway grew noisy as someone came running toward the ICU. They must have heard him crying.
It wasn't the right situation to drag the sobbing man out. Avoiding the eyes of others, I slipped out of the ICU alone. The farther I moved from the patient, the more the Grace energy inside me vanished like a ghost.
As long as that man's faith does not change, you can summon it again anytime. Do not worry.
The Divine Spirit, having read my mind, kindly explained.
I sat in the lounge waiting, and soon Team Leader Baek came bursting in, panting. He immediately dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor in front of me.
Ah, here we go.
"Thank you… ugh. Thank you so much. I failed to recognize you, Master. I have truly… committed a mortal sin, Master."
At some point his way of addressing me had completely changed to Master. This would cause problems at the company too. For now I helped him to his feet.
"I have a lot to say, but first there's something we need to do, right? You haven't healed your daughter yet."
"Ah."
"Do you believe I will heal your daughter?"
He nodded so hard it looked like his head might fall off. Tears and snot flew in every direction. It was honestly disgusting.
"Yes, yes! Master! I believe, of course I believe! Master will definitely heal our Minji. Who else but Master could heal her!"
His eyes had rolled halfway back. This was the gaze of a true fanatic.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the ICU, I went down with Team Leader Baek to the room where his daughter lay. A pretty little girl who looked like she had just entered elementary school was sleeping peacefully. It was a relief she didn't resemble her father.
Show the flame one more time. Make it even more spectacular than before.
You are getting a taste for this.
It's better to do things with flair.
And so the second flame show began.
The hospital fell into even greater chaos than Team Leader Baek. A brain-dead patient had awakened, and a girl with paralyzed lower limbs had stood up and walked. Every doctor in the building gathered in the two rooms to examine the situation. They groaned over questions with no answers—was there a surgical error, had there been a misdiagnosis, how had recovery occurred?
Whatever the truth, the hospital had its reputation to protect, so they would somehow force a conclusion.
Actually, my own problem was more pressing. After witnessing two miracles, Team Leader Baek began following me everywhere like a shadow. The moment I sat down he would kneel and press his forehead to the floor. If he kept this up it would become troublesome.
"Team Leader."
"Yes, Master."
"From now on, listen carefully to what I say."