Hospital Visit (2)

After finishing breakfast, I got up and prepared to go out. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outfit for today was the skirt and black cardigan Yeon-a had bought for me.

"...This should work."

"Yeah, you look pretty, Suhyun."

"Hehe......"

Smiling at Yeon-a's gentle pat, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My face was exhausted from lack of sleep, and fresh self-harm marks covered my hands.

I need to hide this as much as possible.

There was no point in showing this to someone who kept apologizing and insisting everything was their fault. I tugged the cardigan sleeves all the way down to hide the marks. The skirt was long enough to cover the wounds on my thighs as well.

It flutters a bit and feels awkward, but......

At this point, pants felt even more uncomfortable, so I simply accepted it and left the house.

"By the way, Suhyun, think you'll be able to stream today?"

"Huh...? Ah... no, I don't think so."

Yeon-a asked as we stepped outside. I didn't feel ready to stream. The aftereffects still hadn't faded, and if I went live now, yesterday's events would probably slip out and cause mistakes.

"...I want to rest."

"Don't rest too long."

"What about you, Yeon-a...? Are you going to?"

"Hmm, I still feel weird, but seeing the tangerines cheers me up."

"Ah......"

"Wouldn't it be better to just tell everyone what happened?"

"......"

I worried about attracting a stalker, but it still seemed wiser to speak up. Clearly explaining my situation and asking for help was one option. Since Kei had gotten hurt partly because of me, hiding everything didn't feel right either.

"...I'll think about it. For today, I'll just rest."

"Okay, do whatever you want, Suhyun. I won't say anything about what happened."

"Ah......"

"You and Kei are the ones directly involved, so you two can talk it over and decide together, right?"

Yeon-a spoke calmly to reassure me. At the time, neither of us knew the incident would explode somewhere else entirely—nowhere near me or Kei.

Not long after getting into a taxi, we arrived at the hospital where Kei was staying. My appearance was flawless—fruit juice set included.

I looked up at the tall building. It had been a long time since I'd last come here. Back then, even when I was sick, I never dared visit; I was terrified someone might report me.

How foolish......

Even with memories of my past life, all I had was one failed attempt. Everything had felt terrifying back then. Of course, things were different now. Dad was safely locked away in prison, and Mom was right beside me, protecting me.

"...What should I tell Mom and the others?"

"The police will contact them soon anyway, so being honest is probably best."

"Eh... why are you talking like a detective, Yeon-a......"

"Was I?"

Yeon-a grinned and suggested we head inside. I nodded, tightly gripping her hand as we entered the hospital. When I asked to see Junsu, a nurse quickly guided us to the room.

"He's right inside."

"Thank you."

"Th-thank you......"

The door was firmly shut. Standing before it, I caught the scent of medicine mixed with a faint trace of food—probably breakfast. I took a deep breath.

"Huu......"

"Ready to go in?"

Yeon-a asked, watching me breathe. I nodded, and she opened the door with a slightly nervous expression.

"E-excuse me......"

"Is Kei here?"

As we stepped inside, a familiar woman came into view.

"...Suhyun."

"Mom?"

Mom was sitting beside Kei. The moment she saw me, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Suhyun... Suhyun...!"

She rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug. Mom's warm scent wrapped around me.

Ah... Mom must have already heard.

Of course she had—Kei was her boss, after all.

"I heard the boss couldn't come to work, so... I came to visit, but......"

Mom spoke through her tears. Yeon-a had moved to sit beside Kei, who was quietly explaining the situation. I couldn't see Mom's face, but I could feel her clearly. She was here, holding me, sobbing.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Suhyun... I couldn't protect you again this time... Mom... Mom couldn't......"

She hugged me even tighter. Looking at her, my own tears began to fall.

"...I was scared. I was really scared."

Why hadn't I thought of Mom the moment Dad appeared? Maybe I'd been carrying too much pain alone all this time. The tears I'd held back finally broke free. The urge to act spoiled spilled out. And Mom seemed ready to accept all of it. No matter what anyone said, Mom and I were the most alike—from our hair color to the environment we'd endured. Both of us had lived under the shadow of a father, bearing every kind of pain. I hugged her tightly, pressing our wounds together.

"I'm sorry... Mom... I'm sorry I couldn't tell you right away......"

"...It's okay."

"Um... I self-harmed again yesterday. I was so scared... I couldn't think of leaning on anyone......"

"Mom's here... It's okay. I'm sorry."

Mom kept apologizing for failing as a mother while holding me and crying. There was a sick person right there—I had come to comfort and apologize—yet here I was making a scene. Was this really okay?

"Hic......"

But the tears wouldn't stop. I wanted to hold onto this moment forever. My loving mother. In her arms, I cried like a child. It hurt, it was painful, but at least here, the wounds slowly began to heal. It was strange.

I'm sorry... Mom......

Once again apologizing for my sins, I clung to her.

After calming down a little, eyes swollen, I bowed my head toward Kei.

"I'm shorry... hic... heue."

"It's okay, really. I told you it was my fault."

Kei offered an awkward smile. I managed a bright grin, apologized once more, and handed over the drinks I'd brought.

"Here... please take them."

"Oh my, you didn't have to."

"...I thought you wouldn't be able to stream, so I brought them."

"I can just do a short one from here."

Kei chuckled. When she mentioned it was her first time being stabbed and called it a novel experience, I completely failed to keep a straight face.

"What's with that expression?"

"Ah... no, it's just... I've never seen someone happy about getting stabbed before."

"There were others like that?"

At the careful question, I gave an embarrassed smile. There was no one else—except me, in my past life.

"I've been stabbed in the thigh with a soju bottle before... haha......"

"What...?"

Seeing her flustered face, I quickly changed the subject.

"So... what should we say on stream?"

"Ah... good question."

Kei rested her chin on her hand, thinking. I watched her carefully.

"...Well, it doesn't matter if we tell them. We've got some stories to share now, too."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. Besides, this is going to be on the news anyway. Everyone will find out."

"...What?"

When I stared at her in surprise, Kei fiddled with her phone and showed me an article.

Quite a few articles had already been posted. My eyes widened. Kei let out an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awkward laugh at my reaction.

"I'm someone who gets a lot of attention... It looks like everything leaked to the reporters while I was being questioned at the station."

"Eh... w-wait, then—"

When I asked if it had spread to the communities too, Kei quietly nodded.

"Probably everyone who needs to know already knows. Giseong, Yeowu, and Akari are all taking today off as well."

"Ah......"

In that moment, I realized what I needed to do wasn't rest—it was damage control.

Every VTuber-related ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠community had erupted into flames.

And the fire kept spreading.

People began hunting down those who had posted the verification and secretly taken photos.