Suji's Deteriorating Condition and the Shadow's Unbreakable Promise
Suji’s condition grew worse by the day. At this rate, there was a real possibility she might never wake again. It was then that the chair of the dozing nurse suddenly shot backward with a violent shove.
“Eek!”
The startled nurse landed hard on her backside. The commotion jolted awake everyone else who had been nodding off nearby. Only then did they notice the emergency alarm was blaring.
“Ah… aah… Suji! In Suji’s room—quick, page the doctor for an emergency!”
The nurse’s voice was still thick with sleep. The others snapped to attention at once. They rushed toward the hospital room while one of them frantically called the on-duty physician.
Meanwhile the nurse who had been knocked over sat up with a groan, clutching her bruised waist. She wore a completely bewildered expression. Tilting her head at the chair now lying on the floor, she frowned. It felt strange. She could have sworn something had seized the chair and yanked it—as if someone had deliberately pushed it over. Yet no one was there. And judging by her colleagues’ reactions farther down the hall, it clearly hadn’t been a prank.
“What on earth just happened?”
Still rubbing her throbbing tailbone, the nurse shrugged and headed for Suji’s room as well.
Suji’s state was critical. Left with no choice, the nurses contacted both Heein and Hyuksoo. The couple reached the hospital in under an hour. The clock showed it was nearly four in the morning.
Heein paced restlessly, bombarding the nurse with questions about Suji’s condition. The answers were still uncertain. All they could tell her was that the girl had been rushed straight to the intensive care unit. At that, Heein finally broke down in tears.
Beside her, Hyuksoo wore a weary scowl. He dragged a hand down his face, then rounded on his sobbing wife.
Heein’s own anger flared. She whipped her head around and glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
“Things to do? Ha! What things? You’ve had a little success lately and now you think you’re somebody? You’re the one who’s been gallivanting around outside—that’s why you never noticed our child was getting this bad! If Suji dies, it’s on you!”
“How dare you! Why is it my fault? You haven’t done a single thing either! You were probably out with another woman again, and you have the nerve to say that to me?”
The argument spiraled out of control. Nurses had to step between them to pull them apart. Even then the fight refused to die; it escalated from vicious curses to actual blows. Only when hospital security arrived and forcibly separated them did the couple calm down at all. Even afterward, their mutual resentment continued to smolder. They kept snarling accusations at each other like enraged bulls.
What neither of them realized was that Suji, lying in the ICU, could hear every word of their death-match quarrel.
Even through her hazy consciousness she knew her parents were outside. She knew both of them had come today. The brief spark of joy was instantly crushed by the sound of them tearing each other apart instead of worrying about her. The knowledge made her sadder. It hurt. It hurt more and more.
They seemed to have no idea. They truly understood nothing—the way to keep her from hurting, the way to stop her from suffering like this.
Mom… Dad… Please don’t. Please… stop fighting.
She wanted to say it. It was something she had longed to tell them for a very long time—words she had been too afraid to speak.
Please… don’t fight anymore. Suji will do better. Suji will study hard, listen well, run every errand perfectly… so please, just stop fighting.
Ah… how wonderful it would be to return to those old days. How happy she would be if she could go back to the time when everything was still good.
But Suji knew. Time could not be reversed. It was an impossible dream. And even if it could be turned back, nothing would truly change.
Fortunately Suji’s condition slowly began to improve. The doctor said extreme stress appeared to have triggered the crisis, his tone carrying a faint note of reproach toward the parents. Heein and Hyuksoo ignored it completely, radiating icy hostility toward each other instead.
“Always running around outside… honestly…”
“There you go again!”
Hyuksoo’s words lit the fuse once more. The quarrel erupted anew. They bickered over faults and blame until their voices rose to shouts. This scene had played out so many times that the doctor and nurses could only sigh and shake their heads.
In the end the medical staff had to separate them again. With no other option, they sent Hyuksoo out of the room to let the tension subside.
Suji remained in the ICU where visits were forbidden for the time being. When she finally regained consciousness, a considerable amount of time had passed. Had her parents gone home? The hallway outside was deathly quiet.
She stared at the ceiling in silence. Not a trace of strength remained in her body. Through the window a faint bluish light was beginning to seep in. Dawn seemed to be breaking.
In a hoarse voice Suji asked, “Is someone… there?”
The empty ICU was still dark, its lights turned off. She had barely managed to remove the respirator that had been helping her breathe, but forming words was difficult. Her throat felt parched. Still she called out desperately.
“Excuse me… you’re there, aren’t you?”
The frail, wavering voice was not searching for a nurse or doctor. It was calling for someone else.
“Over there…”
“Did you call me?”
The answer came at once. Suji saw a shadow suddenly materialize beside her bed. It was the same pitch-black silhouette as always. She could not tell its gender, nor did she know its name. Even so, she was glad to see it. She gave a small nod with half-lidded eyes. She tried to smile, but her lips would not obey.
After a moment’s hesitation she asked, “Can you grant any wish?”
The shadow’s interest was instantly piqued. Had the child who looked as though she had already given up on the world finally found something she desired? It grinned, lowering its head to meet her exhausted gaze. Its own eyes glittered with excitement.
“So you finally have a wish? Good! Tell me anything. Shall I free you from pain? Shall I kill the ones who destroyed your parents’ relationship? Or do you simply want comfort? Anything at all—I will grant it!”
But that was not what Suji wanted. What the child longed for was—
“Can you… turn back time?”
“What?”
The shadow faltered for the first time. Its eager expression twisted.
“What do you mean? Turn what back?”
“Can you send time back… to the way it used to be?”
“How could I possibly… No—what would you even do if you went back?”
Suji’s face tightened with effort. Speaking clearly cost her dearly. Her tiny, frail body lay limp, a heartbreaking sight.
Having finally heard the girl’s true wish, the shadow looked genuinely troubled. Regrettably, time lay outside its power. It scratched its cheek with a black, translucent hand.
“Hmm… I’m afraid turning back time is beyond me… ahem.”
Suji nodded as though she had expected the answer. Then she closed her eyes again.
The shadow sighed heavily. Was the wish simply going to fade away unresolved once more? As it gazed at the pitiful child, it noticed tears now rolling silently down her cheeks.
Watching Suji cry without a sound—in a manner far too mature for her age—the shadow felt an unfamiliar discomfort. From somewhere in its chest came a strange, stinging ache. It could not understand the sensation.
In the end Suji cried herself to sleep. The shadow remained at her bedside for a long while, its expression unreadable. Only its occasional heavy sighs filled the quiet room.