Discharge
“Your wrist looks pretty much healed. You can be discharged. Just be careful when using scissors or anything like that, okay?”
The moment my attending physician gave the okay early Sunday morning, I headed straight to the reception desk to settle the bill. And there, to my pleasant surprise, were some familiar faces.
“Hello.”
““Nami!””
Yuna’s two brothers, Seo Maru and Seo Noeul, waved enthusiastically.
“Getting discharged?”
“Yeah. Even after moving to a two-bed room yesterday, it still came out to 900,000 won for just two days. Mom absolutely refused to let me stay in the hospital any longer. Mom, this is Yuna’s friend. The one who treated you.”
“Hello.”
Yuna’s mother looked much healthier compared to before. She maneuvered her wheelchair right up to me using the control buttons on the armrest.
For a while, she just stared at me silently. Then the finger on the button lifted. Her hand trembled, then her wrist, and soon her entire arm shook as it reached for mine.
“Thank you... young lady...”
Joints that shouldn’t have moved were stirring again. Distances that were once unreachable were closing.
“Thank you... thank you so much...”
I caught her hand as it went limp and started to fall.
“If you want to hold Yuna’s hand too, you’ll need to work hard on your rehab exercises.”
It wasn’t fully cured yet. These muscles hadn’t been used in ages, so it might take time to get accustomed. I’d already briefed Maru on all the precautions, but just in case, I should remind her mother too.
“While I settle the bill, can I take a walk with your mom in the garden out front? Weekends take forever here.”
“Sure, Mom would love that.”
The hospital was smack in the middle of the city, but the garden was bursting with cherry blossoms, creating an exotic scene. We strolled the paths, breathing in the spring flower scent.
“Can you see a bit ahead? Don’t strain yourself trying to look at everything at once—it might give you a headache.”
“Before, it was just light and dark. Now I can make out shapes...”
“The tattoo-like thing on your left arm is a semi-permanent transmutation circle. Don’t forget to have Maru oppa or Noeul oppa recharge it with mana every day. Not too much, not too little. Just until all the circuits in the circle glow—that’s the right amount.”
What else was I going to say?
“In about a month, you might even be able to sit up on your own. But don’t skimp to save money—get a medical capsule ASAP for treatment. Think of it as for Yuna’s sake.”
“Yuna has such an amazing friend...”
“Ahaha... yeah.”
“Maru, Noeul, and Yuna too. I’ve always felt nothing but sorry for them because of my condition.”
“No one thinks that.”
“I even thought dying would be better than living like this. Seeing my kids suffer...”
“Saying that in front of the person who saved you is kinda rude.”
“Haha, you sound just like my husband.”
“Pardon?”
A single cherry blossom petal drifted down onto the wheelchair and stuck there. She picked it up delicately with her fingers and held it up to the sunlight.
“I’m truly a blessed woman.”
All her senses were still awkward, but even these clumsy movements felt profound to her.
“Don’t you think the world is full of wondrous things?”
Her sudden remark made me tilt my head. She smiled and rolled up her other sleeve.
“I’ve been saved twice by the same magic. The Akashic Record.”
On her opposite arm was a smaller version of the transmutation circle I’d inscribed. She already knew about this magic.
“It’s a secret from the kids.”
As the infused mana dispersed, the circle faded away.
“How...? And that one’s over twenty years old.”
“My husband engraved it back then. I kept it all this time as a memento.”
“Fentanyl...”
“What? You figured that out just from a quick glance...? Yuna’s friend is incredible!”
The trace amounts of fentanyl lingering in her body. The Akashic Record on her right arm had formulas to break it down. Everything clicked into place.
“I was an academy student too, back in the day. Nahit Academy—it doesn’t exist anymore—but I was pretty smart then. Just like Yuna now.”
“How did you end up addicted to drugs?”
“Well... it started innocently enough. As a kid, I cluelessly followed an older sister to a club and drank a beverage someone mistakenly gave me.”
She explained how the academy back then was just as obsessed with education. After ten years of nonstop grinding, she hit burnout at eighteen and planned her first rebellion. The club she sneaked into by lying about her age was a new world; just watching people dance made her happy. She never imagined it would ruin her life.
“I realized the world wasn’t just the academy... But after the fentanyl, things slowly fell apart.”
One day during magic practice evaluation, she couldn’t infuse mana. She couldn’t focus on studies like before, and her grades plummeted to the point of academic probation in one semester. When she drank the same beverage at the club again, she finally realized it was drugs.
“But drugs are like that, you know. You want to quit, but you can’t. Even knowing it would ruin your magic forever, you can’t stop.”
The club was busted late as a drug ring and shut down, but her life was shattered beyond her parents’ help. Years in a mental hospital enduring withdrawal agony—then she chanced upon Yuna’s father.
“That was my rock bottom. I was young and foolish. Clinging to memories of my glory days, wallowing in regret—I was ashamed to show my alumni that side of me. So I lashed out with harsh words.”
She, who’d always ranked in the national top 100 on KGSAT mocks with a bright future, reunited with her average mid-to-lower tier academy husband—roles reversed.
“So Dad designed the Akashic Record himself?”
“Yuna’s dad was stubborn about one thing. Two years. Even after his alternative service ended, he came back for six more months, every single day, to perfect the transmutation circle. And he had his own university studies too—what was I to him...”
How could she not fall for him? She trailed off, lost in nostalgia.
“You’ve got a great partner. So romantic.”
“Yeah, such a wonderful man...”
Suddenly, Yuna’s words echoed in my mind.
[Sorry... I don’t have a dad either, so let’s call it even.]
As if confirming my suspicion, her mother spoke again.
“Yuna’s dad passed when she was too young. Raising three kids as a high school dropout isn’t easy. Korea’s like that—without magic or credentials, options are slim.”
“Must’ve been tough.”
“Thinking of it as atonement for my unfinished sins eases my mind. I thought I’d never achieve it and go meet my husband instead.”
“You had dreams? Things you wanted to do.”
“Dreams? Yeah... dreams.”
A breeze stirred. Petals now fell freely onto her lap blanket without her straining to catch them.
“College student. I wanted to be a college student. Anywhere would do... Take classes with my husband, date on campus, hold hands under these cherry blossom trees.”
She smiled softly, stroking the pile of pink petals.
“That’s why, at first, I didn’t want Yuna going to the academy. I didn’t want her following my path. But she takes after her parents—smart as can be. She’s not struggling too much there, is she?”
“Does she complain a lot?”
Her mother shook her head.
“Not once. But I can tell. Nami, please take good care of our girl. I know it’s cheeky, but I’m asking you.”
“Of course.”
“Tell Yuna the world isn’t just what you see. I hope she doesn’t obsess over grades and enjoys school with her friends.”
“Fun school life... Yeah, I’ll make sure of it.”
“And about the Akashic Record—once I’m better and save up some money—”
“Shh. No need.”
After our loop around the garden, Maru and Noeul waited at the hospital entrance, each holding a cake from the bakery.
“Here.”
“What’s this?”
“What else? Birthday cake. Yuna’s birthday cake. Take one home for your family, Nami.”
“Mom, let’s head home quick and do a discharge party plus Yuna’s belated birthday.”
“These are expensive—why buy all this?”
“Nope, no complaining today. Got the strawberry cream ones you and Yuna love most—get excited!”
“How’re you getting home, Nami?”
“Professor Cheon... I mean, Dad’s picking me up.”
“Alright, we’ll head out first. Thanks so much—we owe you big time.”
Maru helped his mom into the taxi first, then folded the wheelchair into the trunk.
“Noeul oppa doesn’t need to help? Big bro does all the work.”
“I’m holding the cake. Besides, bro’s stronger than me now anyway. Looks scrawny, but those muscles are no joke.”
“Riiight, sure.”
“Anyway, thanks for real. I can tell you’ll turn out great no matter what. But don’t forget us later.”
“Yuna maybe, but Noeul oppa? I’ll think about it if you become a basketball pro.”
“Hahaha, never at a loss for words.”
He patted my back—gently, but his huge, calloused hand stung my skin. Tall people really do have massive hands.
* * *
“Hmm, what’s that?”
“A gift. They said thanks.”
“Ah, I see. Wrist feeling okay now?”
“Of course. It’s not even a scratch.”
“...”
“I’ll be careful from now on! I won’t let it happen again.”
“Haha, let’s get home quick. You must be hungry, Nami. The meat’s all prepped.”
“Chateaubriand?”
“You bet! Your favorite.”
“Professor Cheon.”
“Yeah?”
“Any red wine... maybe?”
“...?”
“Never mind... Let’s go, I’m starving!”