The Healing Library
“Huh? Where?”
“Kim Wonho from Gasan Construction.”
Silence stretched for a moment after her words. The sound of typing came through the line—he was clearly searching for something. Then the reply arrived.
“No? Never heard of him. I’m busy enough with my own work. How am I supposed to know who’s checked into the VIP ward?”
“Can you please do something about it? Give him a warning or just kick him out. He’s acting like a complete piece of trash.”
“What? What happened?”
When the other party asked in surprise, Kang Bitna relayed everything the nurses had told her.
He answered at once.
“I get the picture. Leave it to me. I’ll handle it properly. Oh, wait—want to come up? What are you doing at the hospital anyway? Come on up. Your uncle will buy you dinner.”
“I’m busy. I’ll stop by next time.”
“Fine. If you’re busy, can’t be helped. But what brings you to the hospital—”
“Gotta go~ Uncle~”
Kang Bitna hung up and headed straight for Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin’s room.
Yet a cluster of nurses stood outside his door, peeking inside with furtive glances.
Huh? What’s this?
As she drew closer, their whispered conversation reached her ears.
“Really? That actually happened? He’s so charming.”
“Doesn’t it feel just like a drama?”
“I feel so satisfied. Cleaning up that piece of garbage for us.”
“He was completely cool, you know? That trash couldn’t even say a word and just ran off.”
“And he’s handsome on top of it…”
That was when Kang Bitna suddenly cut in.
“Excuse me.”
“Oh my!”
At her icy tone the nurses jumped, dipped their heads lightly, and retreated.
Kang Bitna shot them one more glare, then lightly bit her lip.
A second later she startled at her own unexpected reaction and shook her head hard.
Knock knock!
“Um… ah!”
She opened the door and stepped inside—only to lock eyes with Noh Hoojin as he was changing his top.
And there was his well-built upper body.
Thump.
Thirty minutes earlier.
Back in my room, I did some light bare-handed exercises to loosen my stiff body and shake off the lingering unease.
Push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises—movements I couldn’t remember ever doing before—yet they felt strangely natural.
The more I moved, the more it felt like my body was waking up.
“Weird. Did I always like working out this much?”
After thirty solid minutes of repetition I peeled off the patient gown top soaked with sweat.
I was about to put on a fresh one when I caught my reflection in the mirror.
“Huh? Was my body always like this…?”
I tilted my head and studied the image staring back.
It wasn’t the look of someone with an amazing physique, but my stomach had flattened and the love handles no longer spilled over.
Faint muscle definition had settled across my abdomen and upper body as well.
“What the hell is going on with my body…”
The moment I started changing into a clean gown—
Knock knock!
A familiar face stepped inside after the knock.
“Um… aah! I’m so sorry!”
“Ah, it’s fine. I’m already dressed.”
Kang Bitna turned her head and covered her eyes.
Even after my reassurance she fumbled for a long while before carefully setting the vitamin drink she had brought onto the table.
Then, still unable to look at me straight on, she spoke with difficulty while glancing sideways.
“D-don’t get the wrong idea. Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi told me to come check on you.”
“I know. We spoke on the phone a little while ago.”
“Ah, I see.”
Kang Bitna gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“…….”
“…….”
We stood facing each other in awkward silence.
I stared at her openly while she fidgeted, unsure where to put her eyes.
Just as it started to feel rude, the coffee pot, tea, and coffee caught my eye.
“How about a cup of tea—”
“I’ll just be going then!”
We spoke at the same time.
When she flustered, I quickly continued.
“What would you like? There’s yulmu tea too. It’s pretty good.”
“Ah, yes. Then that…”
“Have a seat here.”
“Okay.”
I smiled faintly and pointed to a chair.
She sat down at once, then suddenly smoothed her hair neatly and folded her hands demurely in her lap.
I boiled water in the pot and soon had two cups of yulmu tea ready.
“It’s hot.”
I handed her a cup and sat in the chair opposite.
She cradled the cup, swirled it this way and that, then began sipping little by little. For a while only the soft sound of sipping filled the room.
I figured I should be the one to speak first.
If things stayed like this it would probably affect our work life too.
“Bitna.”
“Yes? Yes.”
She looked at me, a little startled.
“About… what happened last time.”
“Ah, yes…”
She avoided my gaze and answered in a voice that shrank smaller and smaller.
“I’ve cleanly forgotten about it, you know? You don’t have to worry about it either, Bitna. If we keep treating each other like this, people around us might start thinking it’s strange. It wasn’t really a big deal, right? Just treat me cheerfully like usual. How about it?”
At my words she stared at me for a moment. Then she let out a short laugh and nodded. She looked much more at ease.
“Ah! Yes. Understood. I’ll do that. Haha! I’m not usually like this.”
She laughed sheepishly and swept her hair back once, as if heat were rising to her face. A sweet fragrance brushed the tip of my nose.
“I get it clearly now! Then I’ll be heading out for today. Thanks for the tea!”
“Yeah. It’s nice seeing you like your usual self.”
“Haha! Well, I’ve shown my face, so I’m clocking out!”
She bowed at the waist in farewell and left the room at once.
She turned right, realized the way was blocked, then spun around and headed for the left exit instead.
The next morning.
Rumors about me had spread thickly through the hospital.
That I was a famous prosecutor or lawyer, that I was actually a hidden bloodline of the LK Group, that I was an outstanding athlete.
Even while I stayed quietly in my room the nurses brought the gossip one piece at a time, so there was no need to go looking for it myself.
And the spoiled third-generation chaebol who had sworn revenge on me had apparently switched hospitals first thing in the morning, fleeing like a thief.
He had ground his teeth so hard about getting even, yet the ending was surprisingly bland.
In truth, because of this incident the rumor that I was a hidden bloodline of the LK Group was rapidly rising as the most plausible theory.
Today, too, I dragged my stiff body out of the room and this time headed for the opposite ward.
I had never been there, so I decided to take a full loop just to look around.
As expected, I felt eyes watching me from every direction—most of them belonging to nurses.
The moment I reached the far end of the opposite ward, a conspicuous interior sign came into view.
“Healing Library?”
As if drawn by something, I began walking in the direction the sign pointed.
The Healing Library was a circular room flooded with sunlight, its walls lined neatly with books.
I was surprised by the unexpectedly wide variety of titles, and surprised again that comfortable seating had been arranged so one could sit and read at ease.
Judging by the brand-new bookshelves and chairs and the spotless environment, the place had only recently been set up.
A library right next to the terrace garden… VIP wards really were on another level.
Yet it seemed poorly advertised; only a single patient sat reading in a corner chair.
Not as popular as I expected.
Anyway, the person wore a cap and a mask so the face was hidden, but the considerable pile of books stacked nearby suggested they had been sitting there a long while.
A quick glance at the titles showed they were quite difficult works.
The long hair suggested a woman, yet she paid no attention at all when I entered.
Or perhaps she was deliberately pretending not to notice.
I knew exactly what that meant.
So I quietly browsed the shelves myself, careful not to disturb her.
What caught my eye, of course, was the economics section.
There weren’t many volumes, but they were organized reasonably well by subcategory, so the economics books stood out at a glance.
After skimming the titles I pulled the rightmost book first and began flipping through it rapidly.
Something I had noticed lately: the more I read, the faster my reading speed became—astonishingly so.
At first I had read carefully sentence by sentence; then I began reading the flow of whole paragraphs; eventually I was scanning each page diagonally, focusing only on key words and sentences.
As a result, finishing one volume naturally took less than thirty minutes.
I could get through two or three books in an hour.
And it wasn’t surface-level skimming either.
Everything I read settled intact in my mind; after filtering out the useless digressions I stored only the core content straight into my memory vault.
Perhaps this wasn’t mere memorization but a structural thinking ability that rapidly forged connections between pieces of information.
The way a single sentence opened expansively and intuitively fused with related context before being stored—this was a level no ordinary training could reach.
Even for me it was a truly wondrous experience.
At the same time, inspiration kept bubbling up about how to put the money sleeping in my account to efficient work and make it grow, all based on the content of the books.
Of course, I had already invested my spare cash in stocks, so I had no liquid funds at the moment.
But if my thoughts and logic truly lined up, I felt the urge to pull money out of savings and invest right away.
Naturally I planned to verify first that my predictions weren’t wrong, then proceed step by step.
Investment would come after that.
That was when it happened.
“Does reading like that actually stick in your head? It’s not a novel—economics books aren’t easy.”
At the sudden voice I looked up to find the woman in the baseball cap and mask standing right in front of me, watching with curious eyes.
Whoa! When did she get so close?
“Pardon?”
“Ah—ah! I’m sorry. I was watching by chance and just… without thinking…”
She startled herself and bowed her head.
“No need to apologize. I’m fine.”
I gave her a quick once-over.
Long hair tied neatly, an intellectual air, and a face that felt somehow familiar.
But what drew the eye most was her pale complexion and the medical bracelet wrapped around her wrist.
Even with the mask on, her presence was striking enough to feel.
“Anyway, butting in was my mistake. I’m sorry.”
Just as she hurriedly tried to leave, an oddly impulsive thought struck me.
“You may not believe it, but it sticks perfectly well. It’s already in my head.”
At my words the woman who had been about to go stopped and looked back.
“If you’re curious, you’re welcome to ask me about the content.”
I held out the book I had just finished reading. She approached again carefully, eyes once more full of curiosity.
“You really remember everything in the book?”
“Check for yourself.”
I smiled lightly and offered the book a little farther toward her.
“Ah… then.”
She dipped her head lightly and accepted it. Then she flipped through the pages while glancing at me repeatedly.
I waited for her questions with the same easy composure.
Even I found it hard to understand why I was doing this, but perhaps some unknown pull made me want recognition without realizing it.
Or maybe I simply wanted to confirm something about myself.
“You’re sure I can ask?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
I answered with confidence.
“All right. Then I’ll ask. There’s a part in the book that explains why ‘diversification of a financial asset portfolio’ is important. Do you remember it?”
I answered at once, without any need to think.
“Yes. Diversification is a basic strategy for reducing risk—by holding assets with low correlation to one another, you minimize the impact that a decline in any single asset class can have on the overall portfolio. The book presented the theoretical background along with empirical studies as examples.”
“Ah…”
She narrowed her brows and peered more closely at the book’s contents. Then her eyes gradually widened as she looked back and forth between me and the pages.