Eyes Opened
Sunset shadows crept dimly across the window. The scenery felt unfamiliar. The air carried the sharp scent of disinfectant. After glancing around for a long moment, she finally realized she was hospitalized.
Her memories flooded back quickly. During training, an explosion had tilted the building, fire had broken out, tiles had fallen, and the gym instructor had lost consciousness...
Nightmare-like recollections surged, and Kim Jin-seo clutched her head. The headache had come with the memories.
"...Jin-seo!"
Kim Chang-won burst in. He looked startled at first, then his eyes welled up as he rushed toward her. A kindly-faced doctor followed close behind, his steps heavy.
"You're awake! How's your body? Any pain?"
"My head... no, I'm fine."
The pain was so intense that even her father's words right in front of her sounded muffled. But Kim Jin-seo pressed her temples, forcing the agony down, and flashed a smile with a lie.
"Cough, ugh. Ah, I'm okay..."
Then a raw, scratchy feeling caught in her throat, like something was lodged there. She swallowed hard to stifle the cough that threatened to escape unconsciously. Hiding pain had become second nature to her.
Kim Chang-won shot a pointed glance at the doctor beside him, his face feigning grave concern. The doctor caught the signal and spoke up promptly.
"Ahem, you inhaled a lot of smoke, so your throat's pretty irritated. It's not serious—pair it with blessing treatment, and it'll heal right up. No other pain anywhere?"
"Ah... yeah. Just my throat."
"Really? You might have a bit of a headache?"
Kim Jin-seo's eyes darted side to side, as if pinpointed. The doctor chuckled heartily and drew a Blessing Circle. The light of the blessing enveloped her. The pain didn't vanish completely, but it eased considerably.
"If it hurts, say it hurts—that's how you heal fast. Throat hurts, head hurts, anything else? You're so tough, there probably isn't much..."
Kim Jin-seo flexed her arms and lifted her legs. As the doctor said, nothing else hurt. Just the headache and sore throat.
"Doctor, what's her exact condition...?"
Kim Chang-won asked, his face etched with worry as he gazed at his daughter. The doctor smiled reassuringly.
"Ahem, she's mostly recovered, so no need to worry. She could discharge right now if she wanted. Still, a few days of rest would be best."
"Ah...!"
Kim Chang-won let out a sigh of relief, stroking his chest. He wanted to collapse right there in gratitude, but he couldn't in front of his daughter. Bracing his legs, he steadied himself and bowed deeply to the doctor.
"Thank you, Doctor."
"No thanks needed. Your daughter's tough and heals fast—that's why she's okay so soon. Though, that other student who came in with her... I can't vouch for him."
The faint smile on the doctor's face vanished as he recalled the other one. Kim Jin-seo felt a sudden, inexplicable unease watching the doctor's reluctant bow.
"...The student who came in with me?"
She hesitated long before speaking up. If she didn't ask now, she might not get the chance. Kim Chang-won and the doctor both lowered their heads almost in unison, as if rehearsed.
If they'd come in together, could it be...?
Anxiety crept up inside Kim Jin-seo. A certain face flashed through her mind.
"The one you mentioned before, the special admission kid..."
Kim Chang-won trailed off in reply. Her face drained of color.
"Which hospital room? Where?"
"Well, probably the one next door—"
Clang!
Kim Jin-seo bolted upright from the bed. Before they could stop her, her feet were already carrying her to the next room.
Do Seon-woo was hospitalized right next door.
"I wondered why he was late for the investiture—turns out he showed up like this..."
Kim Chang-won continued explaining. Do Seon-woo had dragged his utterly wrecked body—looking like he could drop dead any second—to the auditorium. The moment he climbed the podium, he collapsed unconscious.
Kim Chang-won had urgently contacted his guardian but got no response, so he'd admitted him to the Florence Affiliated Hospital as a stopgap.
"..."
Kim Jin-seo stared blankly at Do Seon-woo's face on the bed. His complexion was ghostly pale, his chapped lips drained of blood. One leg was bandaged, purple bruises mottled his body. His breathing was so faint it seemed it could stop any moment. His shoulders rose and fell ever so slightly with each inhale and exhale.
She recalled the doctor's words from moments ago as he left the room.
"Dehydration first and foremost—the worst I've seen. Go a few days without water, and this is what happens. How did the kid... Muscles mostly torn. Blood pressure spiked like a hypertensive's, then plummeted like a corpse's—vessels are a mess."
"Ahem, but he's tough. Anyone else would've died ages ago, but he's hanging on. Recovers fast too, but when he'll wake... can't say for sure."
Even the doctor couldn't guarantee when Do Seon-woo might regain consciousness. His body was broken far worse than it appeared, damaged from the deepest core.
For a moment, her breath caught, vision blurring. Hyperventilation.
"You okay?"
Kim Chang-won asked. It was for her, but also for Do Seon-woo. No one answered.
Kim Chang-won glanced between his distressed daughter and the unconscious boy. He knew next to nothing about Do Seon-woo—just that he'd lost his mother in the Holy War and entered Florence via special admission.
He recalled the look in Do Seon-woo's eyes as he'd dragged himself onto the podium. It wasn't mere grit; it burned with a fierce longing, almost conviction. He'd chalked it up to an obsession with success from a harsh upbringing...
But hearing Do Seon-woo had skipped the investiture to rush into the burning building and save Kim Jin-seo twisted Kim Chang-won's heart into knots.
"Jin-seo, now—"
"Just give me a bit to rest."
"..."
"I'll rest here a little, then go."
She faced her father squarely. He flinched. It was rare for his daughter to express her will so clearly since his wife's death.
"Alright, rest up and come out when you're ready."
Understanding her feelings, Kim Chang-won nodded and left the room. Walking the hallway, his mind remained heavy. He fidgeted with the cigarette pack in his pocket. The craving surged.
Alone now, Kim Jin-seo gazed at Do Seon-woo.
"It's okay. You're not dead yet, so it's still okay..."
The words he'd muttered alone while carrying her through the flames echoed faintly in her ears.
"Okay my ass, you...!"
She raised a clenched fist, then let it drop. His condition was anything but okay. He surely hadn't been okay even in that moment saving her. His body must've already been shattered beyond repair.
Yet Do Seon-woo hadn't checked himself at all—just stupidly rushed out to save people. He'd rescued countless trapped in the building, but failed to save himself.
Thud.
Kim Jin-seo buried her face at the bed's edge. The blanket reeked of disinfectant, his scent, and various others—the strongest being blood.
"Don't die."
No reply came. Staring at the silent Do Seon-woo, fear gripped her. It felt like he'd never wake and just die like this—like everyone she'd ever relied on.
"..."
She buried her face deeper, hiding her tears. She fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of Do Seon-woo's death. His corpse lay abandoned, worms swarming to devour it. Kim Jin-seo stared blankly at the skeleton left behind. The bloated worms crawled up her legs, eventually covering her face.
Thump!
"Ugh."
She jolted awake. She'd bumped her head on the bed rail sitting up, but that wasn't important now. She hurriedly checked Do Seon-woo. He was still alive, thankfully. But her startled heart wouldn't calm.
"Just wake up, for real..."
Kim Jin-seo glared at him with narrowed eyes. Once he did, she'd make him pay for the humiliation from the dream. Starting with flirting with that other girl last time, all the way to this one—she'd hold him accountable.
...So please, just let him wake up.
Praying to her father in heaven, Kim Jin-seo buried her face in the bed again.
"Even so, being 50 minutes late—can we overlook that? Not on any other day, but the investiture itself—"
"He was late saving citizens at the fire scene—of course we excuse it. No deaths in that blaze, all thanks to him."
The conference room buzzed amid the ongoing meeting. Yet few were present—just those qualified to speak on the Seven Holy Marks decision, the real power players.
Even absentee-prone Chairman Kim Chang-won and the principal had made a rare appearance.
"No deaths, but comatose cases, right? That gym instructor."
"Exactly—that he survived in a coma instead of dying is—"
"Isn't that Kim Jin-seo's merit? If she hadn't sealed his wounds with healing fast, he'd have died post-rescue, per the assessment..."
"Healing or not, without rescue he'd be dead! Teacher Yoo, no flexibility?"
"Not flexibility—ugh, really. Suddenly flexibility...?"
"Come on, no nitpicking..."
The meeting dragged over two hours without resolution, disputes escalating. Proposals met counters, counters met more counters, overheating into arguments, then someone mediating—the cycle repeated.
"Chairman, your thoughts?"
Vice Principal Yoo, ever at the dispute's heart, turned to Kim Chang-won. No end in sight, so he passed to the ultimate authority.
"Hm..."
Kim Chang-won hummed. Opinions split two ways: stick to the original choice of Do Seon-woo, or strip him per rules and reselect. Both had merit; neither dominated.
But Kim Chang-won's mind was set.
"I believe granting the Holy Mark of Charity to Do Seon-woo as originally decided is correct."
Silence blanketed the room. Attendees widened their eyes in surprise.
Do Seon-woo saving Kim Jin-seo was known to all Florence staff, though not students. Thus, Kim Chang-won couldn't side with him—risking accusations of personal bias over public duty.
"I trust it wasn't personal. Mind sharing why?"
Gabriel, representing part of Florence's elder council, asked. Kim Chang-won bowed his head briefly, lips sealed.
"If there's no spot, I'll just withdraw."
His daughter's words before the meeting. She thought Do Seon-woo's lateness was her fault. If that cost him the Charity Holy Mark, she'd quit to free a spot.
First time she'd wanted something so desperately; it shocked him again. Still, he'd excluded personal feelings, striving for rational judgment.
Precisely because it was purely rational, he had to grant Do Seon-woo the Charity Holy Mark.
"Got a call from the Theological Society. They half-threatened to cut funding if we redo the reselection exam."
"Theological Society? Which one?"
Principal Heo, executive in the Gospel Healing Theological Society, glared. His group was prominent among societies.
"The International Theological Society."
"...Ah, right. Them... heh, hard for me to say."
Heo's rising voice hushed. No matter Gospel Healing's stature, it paled against Seong Yu-da's International Theological Society. Their funding to Florence was astronomical—jokes said half the buildings would crumble without it.
Such a statement couldn't be ignored.
"The International Theological Society personally...? Why?"
"They provided the Ark for the reselection site—no bandwidth for another, probably."
"Doubt it. Can they not spare one Ark? Seong Yu-da's cunning, but not stingy..."
The International Theological Society's word tipped the scales.
"But still—Do Seon-woo's coma timeline is unknown. He might lie there forever..."
Vice Principal Yoo reset the balance. Five days since Do Seon-woo's admission; no improvement, doctor uncertain.
"Grant Charity Holy Mark outright, and if he dies? Disaster. At least wait till he wakes—"
"Teacher Yoo! Is that what an educator says?"
"Don't misunderstand. Purely realistic..."
"Realistic, yes. As a cleric, I'll hold my tongue."
Core argument: unknown wake-up, can't leave Charity Holy Mark vacant indefinitely. Logical, but Kim Chang-won felt unease—an educator casually voicing a student's possible death?
"Realistically, better to grant it to Do Seon-woo. The Seven Holy Marks embody virtues with tales, no?"
"True. Saving those in the building, late to investiture... perfect Charity tale of self-sacrifice."
"But flipping our flip? Image damage? Students won't listen or believe—"
"Hey, Teacher Yoo! Logical leaps!"
"You're interrupting—it's not a leap!"
Creak—thud!
As tempers peaked, the door opened. Shoulders hunched against the heat, she scanned nervously before speaking.
"Um... good news: Do Seon-woo's awake. Yep, I'll head out then...!"
Ha Ye-jin, Charity Class homeroom teacher, scurried off post-shift. The room froze solid.
(To be continued in the next chapter)