Come Back

“Looking at the charges against him, he really is a guy who deserves to die.”

“It’s none of my business whether others live or die.”

Representative Lim, who waved his hand and put down his coffee, leaned over with his heavy body. Then, lowering his thick voice, he asked Yongjae a question in a subtle way.

“Speaking of bad guys, what about Mr. Cho’s side? Still no movement?”

.Yeah, well.”

“The child you abandoned is lying there like that, and you can’t even see the tip of his nose for months? Is that a person?”

Even though he lowered his voice in case others heard, Representative Lim crumpled his expression and spoke forcefully as if he was shouting.

“If you want to be precise, it’s because of CEO Cho that things ended up like that! If only he hadn’t thrown that kid out like a piece of chewing gum! Hyean, do you think that kid would have thought such a scary thing as jumping off a bridge!”

The title of President Cho was instantly demoted to President Cho. The more he spoke and thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and President Lim even snorted and became more and more agitated.

“Even if it was just a sponsorship relationship, it’s human nature to feel affection even if you live off the same pot. That’s why I told him not to associate with people like the conglomerates and such, but he…”

Mr. Lim trailed off, feeling that there was no use in talking. Then he pulled out the straw from his cup and gulped down the coffee as if it were bitter alcohol.

While Yongjae was just observing, the cell phone in Representative Lim’s jacket pocket rang loudly. It was a hit song from the now disbanded group ‘Titan’ that Yoon Hye-an had once been a part of.

“What? I don’t know the number?”

Representative Lim muttered with an annoyed expression and connected the call while covering his left ear with his palm to avoid the loud music.

“Yes, hello. Oh, you’re at the hospital. Where am I?”

Yongjae, who had taken out his cell phone to search for real estate in the area that might be able to sell Yoon Hye-an’s officetel, looked at CEO Lim when he heard the word “hospital.”

“Yes, that’s me. I’m Lim Sang-jin, the guardian of patient Yoon Hye-an. But why… Yes, yes. Oh… Yes??”

Representative Lim, who had been lowering his head as his expression became increasingly serious, suddenly raised his head high. His bloodshot yellow eyes were gleaming, and coffee spilled from the cup he had placed on top of the materials box, staining his suit sleeve and the back of his hand. But he didn’t even care.

“No, that’s… How on earth… When… Oh, yes… Okay, I understand. Here, here is Gangnam, so it might take some time… Anyway, I’ll leave right away. Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Representative Lim, who had jumped up like someone who had been doused with hot water, became frozen in place as if he had been possessed by a ghost. Yongjae became worried that something bad might have happened to the patients at the hospital. He bent down with his large body and looked at Representative Lim.

“Is this a hospital?”

“Huh? Uh… yeah, the hospital.”

“What did you say to make that happen?”

Representative Lim looked back at Yongjae, moving only his eyes while keeping his neck still, as if his limbs were stiff.

“Hyeon-i… that guy woke up.”

The first thing I saw was light.

Not an object, not a person, just light.

A large window extending along the side of the bed allowed abundant light to pour in.

So white, yet so transparent, and so generous.

For a moment, I felt at peace, as if I were in heaven.

Choi Hong-seo soon realized that he was smiling with real lips.

I rolled my eyes and looked down. I could see the volume of the thin body lying under the blanket. I had enough consciousness to deduce where this place was. The name of a famous university hospital was written in blue letters on the blanket that covered my shoulders.

Is this a dream? Is this one of the many scenes that change in an instant?

Or, was the memory of jumping from the 32nd floor actually a dream? No, that wasn’t it.

Suddenly, I vividly remember the feeling of my heart contracting as all my organs were pushed upward. At the moment of impact, along with the experience of it bursting and disappearing before I could even feel the pain. No, can that even be called an experience?

Goosebumps came over him, and Choi Hong-seo’s body began to tremble under the blanket.

No miracle can save someone who jumped from the 32nd floor. It was definitely not a dream. There is no way he could have survived. So… is this moment also an extension of a dream? Am I still drifting somewhere between this world and the next? But I definitely have a body now?

At that moment, the door to the hospital room opened.

“You know that everyone else is working and missing meals, so why do you want to go eat alone when you have time?”

A grumbling voice entered the room. It was a nurse who came to the room to check the patient’s vital signs, which was done several times a day.

She went straight to the bed, grabbed Choi Hong-seo’s wrist, who was lying down, and checked the name on the hospital bracelet against the name on the list. Then she wiped the injection part of the tympanic thermometer with a sterile cotton pad, and reached toward the patient’s ear to measure the temperature. This was a procedure she had been doing for this patient several times a day for months, so every movement was almost mechanical and smooth.

“Can the food go down your throat like that? Yeah, it will. If you weren’t the type of person who couldn’t swallow food, then in the first place… … Ugh, ugh!”

This was a patient who had been quietly keeping her eyes closed for months. The nurse who made eye contact with the patient instantly backed away and screamed. She was clearly dead, but I saw her dead with my own eyes and buried her in the ground.

The nurse, who had unconsciously grabbed her left breast, quickly regained her composure. Then, she carefully bent down toward Choi Hong-seo.

“Patient, may I speak?”

Choi Hong-seo nodded slightly. The fact that he was communicating with someone came as a thrill.

“Please answer without being too pushy. When did you wake up?”

“Maybe… 5 minutes.”

His voice was dry and cracked, but not so much that it was painful to speak.

The nurse, completely free from panic, checked the patient’s condition with quick and accurate movements.

“Where is it uncomfortable?”

Choi Hong-seo shook his head. The nurse reassured Choi Hong-seo with a bright face.

“Temperature, pulse, breathing, blood pressure… they’re all normal. You really worked hard. I’ll bring the doctor in charge over soon.”

She walked quickly toward the door and looked back at the patient.

“It’s really nice to see you back, Hyean.”

The nurse’s last words left a gap in Choi Hong-seo’s heart. Like the gap between a crooked door and a door frame that didn’t fit, or between a mismatched key and a keyhole. Something was off. After she left, Choi Hong-seo felt trapped in that gap.

And the gap grew wider after the doctor arrived.

The doctor, who came with only one nurse to ensure the patient’s stability, performed basic tests that could be done in the hospital room.

From those who can barely blink their eyes to those who can immediately resume their daily lives as if they had just woken up from a deep sleep, the doctor explained that the conditions of patients who woke up from a state of unconsciousness varied greatly. Choi Hong-seo was in relatively good condition. Although he was not completely normal, he was not like Uma Thurman in the movie , who had to move his big toes one by one. After light stretching, he was able to stand up and walk slowly around the hospital room.

He was so surprised that he even saw the corpse come back to life.

“Very good. Ms. Hyean has been breathing comfortably and has almost recovered from the physical damage she suffered during the accident. However, it would be best for you to rest for now. Starting tomorrow, we will begin rehabilitation little by little. Please do not try to move too much. Okay?”

Although everyone was maintaining a calm attitude to ensure the patient’s stability, both the doctors and nurses seemed to be suppressing their excitement. Looking around at them, who were filled with joy and excitement at having witnessed a miracle, Choi Hong-seo was confused.

Fell from the 32nd floor.

There was no way I could have survived, and even if I had, there was no way I would have been this healthy. And yet, my current self was not a spiritual existence like the moment I looked at Earth from space. It was a clear, real existence where blood flowed and flesh could be felt.

Even though he sat, stood, and walked as they told him to, Choi Hong-seo was unable to accept that reality.

“Starting tomorrow, start eating slowly, and today, start drinking water little by little on time. I told you that I already contacted your guardian, so he will arrive soon to see Hye-an.”

“teacher.”

“yes.”

The expression on the doctor’s face as he looked down at Choi Hong-seo, who was lying back on the bed, was gentle.

“My name is…”

“… … ”

The hopeful expressions of the two people suddenly darkened. The doctor tried to hide his agitation and leaned calmly toward the patient.

“Don’t you remember your name?”