Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Ep.4 Unexpectedly, Things You Shouldn't Do at a Funeral
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No pupillary reflex. No cardiac activity. No respiration.
All bodily functions had ceased.
Once the death pronouncement was complete, the morgue staff came up to move the body.
'What is this? Doesn't the body seem a bit smaller somehow?'
This patient was someone he'd seen every single day. A truly unusual case, plagued by all sorts of symptoms with no identifiable cause— so much so that even department professors who never examined patients in person, like those from radiology, occasionally stopped by.
From the moment of admission, he'd been the attending physician the whole time. The patient's height wasn't exactly tall, but it wasn't short either. Yet now, it seemed just a little smaller.
'Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Autopsy request... I'll have to persuade the guardians when they arrive. The hospital insists on performing autopsies in patient death cases anyway.'
The professor let out an internal sigh and spent the time until the parents arrived tending to other patients. All the while, he pondered how best to convince them.
"...We're sorry."
A dry apology echoed out, and Ha-jin's mother collapsed to the floor, her legs giving way. Her husband, standing beside her with a dazed expression, supported his wife as she sank down. The professor squeezed his eyes shut and forced open his reluctant mouth.
"...I know this is a difficult time, but I'd like to discuss performing an autopsy on the deceased."
"...What, what did you say?"
No response came from the wife, who was completely out of it. It was the husband who answered. The professor struggled to keep his expression neutral as he continued.
"We couldn't identify the cause even after genetic testing. For the sake of any other patients who might suffer from the same illness, we propose a pathology autopsy. Of course, we can't proceed without the consent of the immediate family."
"..."
"..."
A suffocating silence fell. Surprisingly, the answer didn't come from the wife or husband.
"We refuse."
It came from Ha-jin's older sister, Ha-yeon, who appeared with tear tracks still stark on her face and a venomous glare.
"Um..."
"We couldn't process insurance because no one knew what the illness was, so Mom and Dad and I even took out loans. The hospital just kept pushing for more tests, nothing came of it, and my little brother kept suffering... He died feeling wronged enough as it is, and now you want to cut open his body? We absolutely refuse."
"B-but, guardian. There will be people who develop this disease in the future."
"So?"
"..."
Stung by Ha-yeon's murderous glare and sharp words, the professor averted his eyes and swallowed hard.
"Will slicing open my dead brother's body bring him back to life? I think I'd just get even angrier if we found the cause that way. And does an autopsy even lead to a cure?"
"...We're sorry."
"No need to apologize. I know how hard you worked. I watched it all firsthand; how could I not? But in the end, my brother just suffered and died."
"..."
"Cutting into the body of a brother who suffered and died without anyone being able to do a thing... That's something I just can't allow."
"...I agree. We're truly sorry, but we refuse the autopsy."
"...Understood. And... we're sorry."
"...You did your best."
After the professor left, several other staff members came to try persuading them, but her refusal was so firm that in the end, no autopsy was performed.
The funeral began. Though the funeral hall was set up in Seoul, far from their hometown, the villagers chartered a bus as a group to attend. Most were around the same age as the parents, so they had children Ha-jin's age.
They said nothing, simply grasping the parents' hands. In a rural village, everyone knew everyone else with just one degree of separation— and Ha-jin had been a local through elementary and middle school. Most of the faces were familiar.
Friends he'd been close with showed up in ill-fitting suits they'd rarely worn, stunned by the obituary. Most couldn't hold back tears upon seeing the portrait photo.
Less than a year after his discharge, his army buddies, seniors, and juniors came by— even the officers he'd been close to.
The funeral hall was filled with a heavy silence. Not even a drunk raising their voice could be heard. Just as the life of a centenarian wasn't valued the same as that of a ten-year-old child, neither was the value of death.
"Mom, let's eat something. Please?"
"...I have no appetite. I'll eat later."
Ha-yeon sighed deeply at her completely zoned-out mother and shot a look at her father.
"Hoo... Honey, you'll collapse like that. Eat something. I'll stand guard."
"No... it's fine."
"Mom..."
Relentlessly, time marched on. Around 4 a.m., when even Ha-yeon and her husband couldn't fight off sleep anymore and were dozing in the adjacent room, Ha-jin's mother prostrated herself before her son's casket, as if he were merely asleep.
"My son... Are you cold? Don't worry... Mom will come join you soon."
This was the only way. They'd been fairly well-off, but from the moment Ha-jin collapsed, they'd borrowed from relatives, acquaintances, and even the bank— nowhere was left untouched. The debt would have to be shouldered by her upon death.
"Mommy's sorry."
-Drip.
She placed her will beside her son's casket and pulled out the prepared cutter knife.
Ah, how long had it been since I'd felt this at ease? The interminable fever, headaches, and pain were all gone. Was this death? But the peace was short-lived— my breath started growing labored.
Wait, I'm dead. So why is breathing so hard?
"Huh...?"
When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing. What was this? The world was dark. What happened? I moved my arms and felt something. Wood...?
-Thud. Thud.
I tried shifting my body— both sides were blocked. I seemed to be trapped in some kind of wooden box. Was breathing hard because air wasn't circulating? What the hell? Was I not actually dead?
"Nngh...!"
Something blocking it from outside? Why's it so heavy! But I'm alive, so maybe I got a chance for one last goodbye to my parents. Yeah, that'd be enough.
"Urgh...!"
Something's on the left side. If I push from the right...
-Scraaape. Scraaaape.
Got it. If I push it bit by bit like this, whatever's on the left should slide off to that side. I crammed my body as far right as possible.
-Clunk!
"Hoo!"
The lid fell to the left, and fresh oxygen rushed in. Ah, how long had it been? This refreshing feeling? Could I squeeze through the gap? It looked too narrow, but I wanted to sit up. I hadn't felt this good physically in ages. But this wooden smell... incense... this scent is... blood?
"Ngh..."
Whatever, first things first— to assess the situation, I wedged myself into the gap between the lid and box. Surprisingly, I slipped right through? What? Even if I'd lost weight, this defied physics.
Good things are good— I fully extricated myself from the box and stood up. Wow, my body felt incredible.
-Drip. Drip.
"...Huh?"
For a moment, the world stopped.
Because that prostrated person's hair color was so familiar.
Because that prostrated person's figure was so familiar.
Because the blood pouring from that prostrated person's arm was so familiar.
"...Mom?"
Reality? No way. This couldn't be real. Me recovering enough to sit up on my own made no sense, and anyway, nothing added up. Mom collapsed like that? Impossible. This couldn't be reality.
No, no. No way.
That person over there, gushing blood from their right wrist... that's my mom?
"Mom!!!"
-Crash!
Get it together. First, first— what? What to do? Bleeding. Stop the bleeding.
-Grip!
My hands are this small? One hand couldn't even wrap around her forearm; I needed both. Yeah, this is a dream. Or not. Hell maybe?
"Help! Is anyone there!? Mom, wake up! Mom! Mom!!"
And why does my voice sound like this? No, not the time.
"Uh..."
"Mom, snap out of it!"
Mom barely opened her trembling eyes and mumbled something strange.
"...Who...?"
"Mom?"
"...Are you... an angel...?"
"What?"
-Rattle!
Suddenly the door flew open, and my sister appeared.
"...What? Mom? That's all... blood? Kyaaah!"
"Sis!! Get a grip!"
"...What?"
"What do you mean what! Call a doctor! We're still at the hospital, right!?"
"No, what is this...? Ah! Mom! Dad! Hurry!! Mom, Mom's—!"
"What happened!? Honey! Stay with us!"
"Just... leave me... I want to... go to my son..."
"Mom, please!!"
Dad hoisted Mom onto his back. They rushed desperately to the ER, and I tried to follow, but Sis grabbed my shoulder. She looked at me and scowled.
"...You're Ha-jin?"
"Who else would I be?"
"What kind of... situation is this?"
Come to think of it, had Sis always been this tall? Our eye levels didn't even match. Still struggling to process, she glanced around.
The tilted casket, the blood-soaked floor. The will left on the ground. And this inhuman someone claiming to be her brother.
"You're... my brother?"
"No, why are you acting like this?"
"No...! Ah, just look."
Sis pulled out her phone camera, knelt on one knee beside me, and showed me the screen.
"...Huh?"
What? Who is this? Is it even human? The pupils...? The eyes are transparent. More precisely, white verging on endless gray? From afar, you couldn't even see the irises.
What do you even call this? And the facial features weren't my original face either.
My hair had clearly all fallen out, but it had grown back somehow. The problem was the color: pure white. Eyebrows and lashes too. In a word, I didn't look human. Like an exquisitely crafted doll.
"How did this happen...?"
"That's what I want to ask! For starters, your brother died two days ago..."
"No, Sis! I'm your brother!"
"What in the world... is going on...?"
"First... let's check on Mom. I don't get it either? My looks, my voice, everything's weird."
"No, are you really Seol Ha-jin?"
"Argh, want me to recite your resident registration number? Or that time you fell into the stream as a kid? Or last time you puked in front of the house after drinking?"
"Ah... it really is my brother... but how...?"
"Look, my body's fine right now, so prioritize Mom!"
-Thump. Thump.
"Ugh...!"
-Thud.
"Wha—? Ha-jin!! What's wrong with you now!?"
What was it? Not like my heart was being crushed in agony. Just... my heart pounding huge. I could hear it thumping so loudly. Breathing... a bit hard.
With that, consciousness faded again. But a strange sensation lingered. This time, it felt like I wouldn't die— that odd premonition.