Hospitalization (5)

Only after Nam Da-eun's reddened eyes had finally settled did I call the women waiting outside into the hospital room.

Nam Daehee and Liliana walked in with a piece of bread stuffed in each of their mouths. Scarlet must have bribed them with snacks.

"Nom, nom."

"What were you guys talking about?"

Liliana asked around a mouthful of bread.

"Nothing much. Just the usual. Looks like you and Daehee have gotten pretty close, though."

The two of them were munching away side by side, looking for all the world like the best of friends. Maybe it was because they were about the same mental age.

"The unnies have been so, so nice to me!"

"That's good to hear."

Nam Daehee looked up at me with sparkling eyes. Unlike her sister, this kid wore every feeling right on her face.

"Oppa, oppa! What were you talking about with my unnie?"

"Hmm? Nothing much... we just said hello. It's been a while."

"Daehee. You shouldn't ask things like that."

Nam Da-eun pulled her sister away from my bedside, where the girl had been leaning in with both hands planted on the mattress.

"Unnie, unnie! Are you dating Oppa Ho-yeon?"

"N-no...?"

"Why not? You go to cafes together and watch movies. That's dating!"

"...."

Nam Da-eun's eyes darted around, hunting for an answer she couldn't find. She shot me a look that screamed for help, so I stepped in.

"Alright, alright, Daehee. Have you ever met the Saint?"

"Huh? The Saint? Never!"

"I'll introduce you later. She's here at the hospital right now."

"Whoa... Oppa, you're friends with the Saint too?"

I needed to have Nam Daehee examined. There was a chance the illness itself was a complete fabrication... but better safe than sorry.

"...Thank you. That's a relief, Daehee. Ho-yeon's going to help us."

"Yeah! I wanna meet the Saint, Unnie!"

She didn't usually call me Ho-yeon. She was probably putting on a familiar act because her little sister was here.

While the Nam sisters huddled together, I turned to Liliana, who was still working on her bread.

"Liliana. Come to think of it, did you ever get a reply?"

"Reply to what?"

"The letter we sent to your mother. She hasn't written back?"

"Oh... yeah. It's taking weirdly long. Last time it only took a day. Maybe the letter got lost or something?"

The letter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we'd sent to ask about the Demon King of Hell. It had been quite a while with no reply, which was starting to feel off. Was something going on? If Liliana's parents were in danger, that would sit heavy on me too.

"Ho-yeon."

"Yeah?"

While Liliana was frowning in thought, Scarlet slipped up beside me and whispered in my ear.

"Shall I deliver yesterday's video to Lady Elise immediately?"

"Ah... yeah. Send it over right away."

The video Scarlet had directed yesterday. I didn't know whether Elise would come to visit, but if she did, it would be better if she'd already seen the footage.

"Da-eun, think you can take Daehee back to the dorm with you?"

"Huh?"

With Daehee here, I figured I should sound a little friendlier too.

"Keeping her in my dorm forever would be a little weird, don't you think?"

Granted, with me in the hospital it was just the girls staying there... but I wasn't sure living with Liliana was the best thing for a kid's emotional development. And once I was discharged, things would get awkward.

"Uh. Well...."

But Nam Da-eun just kept hesitating, chewing it over. Was this really something that needed this much thought?

....

Just how filthy was it that she was this conflicted? The "don't have anything" part, though — that I could understand. She'd been so broke she couldn't even scrape together enough for a bottle of shampoo. Her dorm probably didn't have a single personal item in it, which meant it was a terrible environment for Nam Daehee to stay in. Of course she wouldn't want her little sister living like that.

"Then how about you stay in my dorm until I'm discharged? It's just the girls there anyway. And you and Liliana seem to have gotten close — it'd be a shame to split you up."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so."

Liliana, still chewing, looked at me and nodded.

"Unnie, I wanna hang out with Liliana unnie too!"

"Alright. If that's what you want, Daehee, we'll do that."

Thankfully, Nam Daehee seemed to like Liliana too. As for emotional education... Scarlet would handle that, I supposed. That took care of the immediate to-do list.

We chatted for a while after that, and before they left, I called for Baek A-young.

"So this is the little sister of one of Ho-yeon's friends?"

"Yes. She's been in poor health since she was little."

"I see... give me a moment."

A warm light bloomed from Baek A-young's hands and wrapped around Nam Daehee's body. The girl sat with her eyes squeezed shut and her hands folded on her knees. She'd been bouncing off the walls about meeting the Saint, but now that the examination had started, she looked tense. Nam Da-eun stood beside her, lips pressed into a thin line, watching every second.

I'd sent Liliana and Scarlet outside. I didn't want to parade too many women in front of Baek A-young. Nam Da-eun was one thing — she was the older sister — but a blonde like Scarlet? That would've been a problem.

"Haa...."

A moment later, Baek A-young let out a sigh and brushed her hair back.

"How is she...?"

I asked, bracing myself.

"Treatment's done. She had some fairly serious complications. Looks like prolonged malnutrition and stress were the cause, but I've already taken care of it. As long as she's looked after properly, she'll be fine."

Already? That was it?

"...?"

"...?"

Nam Daehee and Nam Da-eun both tilted their heads, still trying to process what they'd just heard. I clapped my hands together and jumped in before anyone could say another word.

"Wow. Wow! That's the Saint for you! You just wipe out any illness in a heartbeat."

"Huh? It wasn't that serious of a—"

"It was amazing! Incredible! Come on, girls. Let's say thank you. Thank you so much."

I cut Baek A-young off, bowing my head in gratitude.

"Thank you, Saint!"

"Thank you."

"O-oh, yes, thank you."

Those Buyer Guild bastards had kept her hospitalized over something that wasn't even that serious. It made my blood boil — but there was no reason to tell these sisters that. They were already hurting enough.

After I sent Baek A-young off, Nam Daehee and Nam Da-eun said they should head back to the dorm.

"We should get going."

"Yeah. Be careful on the way. You too, Daehee, alright?"

"Oppa. Can't Unnie stay in the dorm with us too?"

Nam Daehee grabbed the edge of my bed and looked up at me with those big, shining eyes.

"Daehee. Don't say things like that. You're making Ho-yeon uncomfortable."

I caught Nam Da-eun's hand as she tried to pull her sister away.

"No, no. It's fine. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Stay. You two haven't seen each other in so long — of course she'd want more time. Make yourselves at home until I'm discharged."

Having them in the men's dorm was a bit of a problem... but Scarlet would take care of it.

"...Thank you. I'll come visit again."

"Thank you, Oppa! I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Get home safe."

The Nam sisters left the room hand in hand. They'd meet up with Scarlet waiting outside and head back together.

After four people had been filling the room, the sudden emptiness left it unnervingly quiet.

"Haa... what kind of pieces of shit do something like that."

The illness that had been tormenting Nam Daehee wasn't anything special. Baek A-young had cured it in an instant. Any halfway decent healer could have handled it. They'd dragged it out on purpose. Delayed the treatment deliberately.

"Christ. Those bastards are the ones who crawled out of Hell."

I sighed and reached for the banana Scarlet had left behind.

Hmmmm—

The desk the banana was sitting on suddenly trembled. And when I came back to my senses, I was holding Dr. Kang Hyo-rin's hand instead of a banana.

"My, a man with a girlfriend shouldn't be doing this."

Kang Hyo-rin was looking at me with the corners of her mouth curled up.

"...Could you just enter a room like a normal person? And I don't have a girlfriend."

"Where's the fun in that? Though I didn't expect you wouldn't even flinch at this."

Kang Hyo-rin let go of my hand with a playful smile and pulled a stack of documents from her coat.

"The Buyer Guild's corruption files. Investigation's complete."

"Wow."

Falsified double-entry books. A client list of everyone the Buyer Guild had done work for. Evidence of drug smuggling, prostitution rings — every dirty little operation, all organized and documented.

"This is enough to end them the second it goes public."

"It is. Want me to drop it? I can do that as a complimentary service."

"Hmm... no."

Kang Hyo-rin's services were excellent, but I needed to wait and see how things played out before pulling the trigger. More precisely, I wanted to use this for Nam Da-eun's route. Pressure was going to come down on her for going dark. And Nam Daehee's disappearance would be discovered soon enough... I'd be able to do something when that happened.

"Is that so? Then I'll be going. The commission is complete, so from now on, please treat me as Dr. Kang Hyo-rin, your professor."

"Sure. But you don't take personal commissions?"

"Mmm. We'll see?"

Whoosh—

Dr. Kang Hyo-rin got sucked back into the desk and vanished.

"What is with that woman."

Still, she'd organized the files well. She worked hard, but she was a strange person.

Knock knock.

"Yes? Who is it?"

"You have a visitor. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Professor Lim Sol. Shall I let her in?"

A familiar nurse's voice.

"Yes. Please send her in."

I still had a long line of visitors left to receive.

The day before Lee Ho-yeon started receiving visitors.

Lucy and Rumi had come to the hospital the very day he'd woken from his coma, only to be turned away by a nurse. They walked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back with heavy steps.

"Rumi... Ho-yeon's going to be okay, right?"

"Ho-yeon... he'll be fine. Yeah. He will."

Lucy and Rumi trudged down the street. They'd skipped class and come all this way to visit him, which only made the letdown sting worse.

"Nothing we can do. Let's just go to afternoon class, Rumi."

"Yeah. Let's."

"...Rumi. Is Ho-yeon actually dating the school nurse?"

Lucy finally voiced the question she'd been carrying around. Ho-yeon had denied it last time, but she'd seen the recently leaked CCTV footage. The way he'd thrown himself in front of Baek A-young was the kind of sacrifice only a lover would make.

"He's not. Ho-yeon said he isn't."

But Rumi was firm. Normally she would have at least partly agreed with Lucy, but whenever the topic was Ho-yeon, she always had a definite opinion of her own.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Yeah. If Ho-yeon says he isn't, then he isn't."

Even as she said it, though, Rumi had her own doubts. Granted, exams and the festival had been one thing after another. There'd been terrorist attacks, too. Rumi understood all of that. But understanding didn't make the disappointment any smaller. She'd been seeing less of Ho-yeon, and their "secret friend" activities had dwindled too.

"Rumi! Let's go get lunch!"

"...Okay."

In the end, Rumi couldn't focus for the rest of class and went back to the dorm.

"What's the problem? Ugh... should I just search for it?"

But she couldn't even think of what to search. Then a magazine caught her eye — one Lucy had left behind the last time she'd come over. On the cover, a headline was splashed in bold.

"...."

Rumi started reading. The magazine was all about transforming your image.

"Image makeover...."

But the concept of an "image" itself was far too abstract for Rumi. She slowly worked her way through the examples listed in the magazine.

"Change your clothing style. That's way too hard.... Change your hairstyle.... Hairstyle?"

A haircut was just a matter of going to a salon and asking them to cut it, right? Clothes, you could just go buy... but she had zero confidence she could pick something that suited her out of hundreds of options. No matter how she looked at it, hair seemed easier than clothes.

In the end, Rumi started looking up hairstyles online.