Healing
Healing
Alright. Credit where it's due.
I was always complaining about how terrible my abilities were, but when you got down to it, they were actually pretty good.
Telekinesis, well... the versatility is top-tier, and Teleportation is pretty much the perfect power for a guy who needs to dodge heroes.
The problem was that the raw impact of both telekinesis and teleportation was pathetic. Still, they had the advantage that I could pack a real punch if I stopped worrying about the aftermath. If I stored up telekinetic force without using it and released it all at once, it was reasonably strong. In theory, teleportation could also cover long distances. What happened afterward was the problem.
The point was that they weren't quite as terrible as I made them sound.
They were still garbage, though. Was there any other ability user who simply passed out for days from the recoil after one flashy use of their power?
And by then, I'd progressed from merely fainting to coughing up blood.
"*Cough.*"
After the last bridge attack.
Floating around all day with Telekinesis, stopping that car at the end, and then using long-distance Teleportation on top of it all.
I pushed my body to the brink and was knocked out cold for three days. What was I, a goddamn sunfish...?
Of course, fainting's such a regular thing for me now that three days feels like a short nap. When I collapsed at that Busan hotel, I was out for about a week, wasn't I? Compared to that, this was brief.
But I hadn't coughed up blood like this back then.
"No!!! Big bro!!! I told you, we need to go to a hospital and get you checked out!"
"Seo-eun, what am I supposed to say at the hospital... 'My internal organs got twisted from using too much telekinesis'? I'll get reported as an unregistered superpowered individual and thrown in a cell."
"Then what are you gonna do?! Are you just gonna keep coughing up blood like that?!"
"*Cough.* It'll get better with time. Ugh, I can take care of myself now, so go get some sleep. It's late."
Seo-eun was still watching me with that worried look on her face.
I waved her off, telling her to go.
While wiping the blood from my mouth with a tissue.
Soo-bin also watched me with concern and said that if I was still like this tomorrow, she would make sure we found some kind of solution.
And then there was Lee Ha-yul's little brother, Cha-yun, who was fond of me. The kid's eyes were brimming with tears as he begged me not to die. Were elementary schoolers always that sensitive?
And Lee Ha-yul.
While everyone was crowded around me, she alone was way over by the door, watching me from a distance with a pale, drawn face.
Wearing an expression that looked like guilt.
She was probably blaming herself for not stepping up even though she could have helped me.
The healing ability Lee Ha-yul awakened when she was little.
Because of the trauma of almost getting sold off by the orphanage director who discovered her power, she'd never revealed it to anyone.
In fact, due to the director's strict control, even her own brother did not know about it.
So, of course she hid it when she first met me. I was pretty damn suspicious myself back then anyway.
But by then, after all that time, she had opened up to me quite a bit.
When we first met, she had always spoken to me bluntly, but now she was unfailingly polite.
Come to think of it, everyone in the house was speaking politely to me by then, weren't they?
...Kinda made me feel like some patriarchal head of household.
Anyway, the conclusion was that the kid seemed to feel guilty about me.
I had given her a home, food, and money, yet she could not repay me at all.
By then, she even had a chance to repay me and was not taking it, so it looked as though she was beating herself up over it.
Sure, I understood. Simply blurting out, 'Oh, I actually have a healing ability. Sorry for not telling you,' would have been awkward. No matter how much she liked us, she had a fundamental distrust of people.
Tch. I guess it couldn't be helped.
Still, I decided to let those guilt stacks build a little longer. The day she revealed her power on her own would come eventually.
And so, I started hacking up blood even more dramatically.
"*Cough! Cooough!*"
"Aah! Big bro, this isn't okay! Let's go to the hospital!!"
"She's right, Dain. We have to do something."
"Bro, you can't die! Waaaaah!"
...But the others ended up causing so much chaos that I had to cut it out.
A guy can cough up a little blood. What's with all the fuss?
Still, judging by how much more ashen Ha-yul's face had become, it seemed to be working. Wait, why was my conscience suddenly pricking me...?
After that commotion, I sent everyone back to their rooms because it was late. I told them I'd rest alone and recover, that I was feeling better and that the bleeding had stopped.
They all kept looking at me anxiously, but I'd said I was fine. I had exaggerated a little to pressure Ha-yul further. I needed a healer.
And after everyone had gone.
I was lying alone on my bed in my room.
Hmm. Maybe I should get an IV drip or something.
The Fatigue Recovery Device is great for restoring energy, but it has its limits since it doesn't exactly cure illness.
Of course, calling the side effects of ability overuse an 'illness' is kind of a stretch.
Haah. No, but seriously, why the blood? Was it because I normally remained unconscious for a week, but that time I'd woken after only three days? Or were my abilities degenerating?
A feeling of unease crept in. Nah, no way.
...Still, how hard could it be to stop a falling car for a moment? Its momentum couldn't have been that great to begin with.
...Or was it? Was it a lot? I had no idea.
Anyway, one thing I'd been feeling more and more with every recent attack was that they were taking a bigger and bigger toll on my body. It was getting hard.
I mean, no wonder my body was a wreck after I'd pulled four terrorist attacks in that year alone. None of the main villains in the Original Work went at it this often!
Well, of course it was difficult. Here I was, trying single-handedly to replace almost every main villain Stardus had ever faced. Even ten bodies wouldn't have been enough.
...The more I thought about it, the more urgently I needed to form Ego Squad—I mean, the Villain Alliance. I could outsource the work and get some rest. I would simply act as the general overseer and let other people run the attacks. Couldn't I impose a few restrictions and let them handle things? The ability users I'd recruited so far were more suited to support than combat. Who in the Original Work had possessed enough combat power while still being controllable by me?
And so, until the early hours, I lay there in bed in the dark, not sleeping, just constantly cooking up plans.
I mean, I'd just woken up after being unconscious for three days. How was lying back down supposed to make me sleepy?
So there I was, lying in bed and working out the big picture, when suddenly—
*Creak—*
I heard the sound of my door quietly opening. What the—?
I considered getting up, but decided to keep lying there and pretend to be asleep. Whoever it was probably had not entered at this hour expecting me to be awake.
Someone was creeping toward my bed. Who the hell was it?
Unable to contain my curiosity, I cracked my eyes open.
A small silhouette visible in the dark room.
I could only see the silhouette, but the only person in the house that short was Ha-yul, I thought.
Just as she got close enough for me to see her face, I hurriedly closed my eyes again.
Soon, I could hear breathing right in front of my nose.
She stood beside my bed for a moment, then whispered in a tiny voice.
"...Mister, are you asleep?"
Nope, awake.
But I could not answer that. I kept my mouth shut and lay there pretending I had heard nothing, still feigning sleep.
She waited briefly for an answer. When I did not move, she finally sighed in relief.
Then, all of a sudden, she placed both of her hands side by side on my body. What the—
Then she began whispering in an even quieter voice.
"Mister. I'm sorry for hiding my ability from you..."
"I'm truly grateful to you for helping my brother and me, and I care about you, but..."
"But still... I couldn't tell you yet. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm such a selfish girl who can't trust anyone. After all the help you've given us, I'm sorry I can't even do this one thing for you."
In a trembling voice, she began her confession to me.
No, hey. What's up? You're doing this because you're all caught up in your feelings late at night? Snap out of it!
I wanted to tell her to stop, but officially, I was asleep. There was no way I could open my mouth.
...Apparently, my earlier display of coughing up blood had worked far too well. Did she think I was practically dying? I could not get my bearings amid this sudden emotional storm either. Why was she suddenly digging herself into a hole and blaming herself like this?
Now I could even hear her sniffling beside me.
Hey, was she crying? Don't cry. Now I felt bad...
This made me feel like a pathetic excuse for an adult—like trash for making a high-school girl cry...
After sniffling for a while, she drew a sharp breath through her nose, knelt beside my bed, and whispered again.
"Even though I still can't tell you about my ability... I'll help you from the shadows. I promise."
She whispered with quiet determination.
Then a faint light flashed from the hands resting on me.
Warm energy flowed into my body from where her hands touched me.
A soft, warm energy enveloped my body like an embrace.
How much time had passed like that?
When that warmth had spread to every corner of my body, she finally withdrew her hands.
The hands that had rested on me for so long lifted away.
Panting softly, she stood and rubbed her face as though wiping away the sweat.
"Haah... I'm sorry this is all I can do for you. But... I'm always grateful, Mister."
Having said that, she finally walked out of the room.
From the doorway, I faintly heard her murmur, "Sleep well..." before the door finally closed.
Only after even the sound of her footsteps in the hall had completely faded did I open my eyes.
"Whew..."
I sat up and swung my arms around a bit.
My body, which had felt half-dead earlier, suddenly overflowed with vitality.
The twisting pain in my guts was gone, and I felt lively again.
"Ha-yul..."
Yeah. No matter how I looked at it, recruiting Ha-yul had been the best decision I'd ever made.
My condition had abruptly gone from its worst all year to its best!
"Thank you!!!"
Now I could run my body into the ground without worrying!
After tonight... aside from getting a little too emotional, she really seemed like a good kid.