Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

“…….”

The three people gathered in the waiting room of the emergency center couldn’t hide their anxious expressions.

Chris chewed her nails, revealing her nervousness.

What if they were too late? What if their clumsy judgment made Rain’s condition worse? When had he been feeling unwell like this?

Countless thoughts floated in and out of her mind.

Chris loved gaming. She had eagerly awaited the release of Astria Online.

At first, she was just busy playing the game under the pretext of being a researcher at a capsule company doing market research. She pursued the sense of achievement that came from clearing difficult dungeons alongside trusted party members.

But over the past few months, Chris started finding another kind of happiness while enjoying the game. She began to truly enjoy the Continent of Astria itself.

It was undeniable that Rain was at the center of it all.

It felt like she had found her angel.

His stunning looks, adorable gestures, the beautiful white hair that Chris loved, that dizzying smile he showed, and his graceful swordplay looked like a gorgeous painting.

The months spent together on the Continent of Astria had made Rain’s presence grow uncontrollably big in Chris’s heart.

While it was regrettable that she could only see him in the game, she wished that one day she could capture his image in reality as well. If Rain could completely lower his guard and genuinely like her enough to rely on her, she wanted to meet him in real life someday.

Chris and Rain’s first meeting turned out to be entirely different from her expectations.

And Rain was leading a life that was much harder than she had imagined.

A swan glides elegantly over a tranquil lake.

With its long straight neck and pure white feathers, it looks like a snow-white angel, making onlookers marvel. The swan’s wings cut through the water softly, and gentle ripples spread out behind it. The scene on the surface is peaceful and calm like a painting. However, beneath that graceful exterior lies a completely different scene. The swan’s two feet are constantly moving busily, paddling through the water.

Of course, that’s just a hardened expression of tolerance. To be precise, it’s said that even the way a swan swims underwater is graceful.

Rain seemed to exist beautifully in harmony with the Continent of Astria, feeling like he was living in a world made just for her.

But beneath it all lay the struggles for survival.

The door to the emergency treatment room opened, and a middle-aged doctor holding sheets emerged. Chris and the others hurriedly stood up and approached the doctor.

“Rain, um… is the patient okay?”

“Breathing and pulse have normalized, and the bleeding has stopped. The patient is unconscious, so we conducted a CT scan as judged necessary by specialists, and thankfully it’s not a serious condition like a cerebral hemorrhage. You can consider the immediate danger has passed.”

“Haaah….”

Namdayeon and Jaewook let out sighs of relief as if the ground had collapsed beneath them.

Chris asked the doctor about Rain’s detailed condition.

“To determine the exact state of the patient, further precise testing will be required, but there are various reasons why bleeding may not stop easily. It could be a blood clotting disorder, hormonal changes due to stress, or high blood pressure…”

The doctor adjusted his glasses slightly and gave Chris a sharp look.

“And causes like nutritional deficiency can also play a role. What’s your relationship with the patient?”

If she wasn’t a relative or a legal guardian, they couldn’t interfere with the patient’s personal situation.

“Um, well, for now, I’m a friend.”

“It’s not just about the bleeding issue. The physical functions are severely weakened. Is the patient eating properly? In a state of nutritional deficiency, mental instability, decreased responses, and cardiopulmonary dysfunction can all occur. We’ve provided emergency treatment, but…”

Chris confirmed that Rain was moved to the hospital room and took Namdayeon and Jaewook to the hallway.

Jaewook scratched his head and complained.

“Limited information due to patient privacy? Need a relative or guardian? Man, that’s pretty complicated.”

“If it’s an emergency situation, immediate necessary tests and treatments can be conducted based on the doctor’s judgment, but subsequent treatments and tests need the patient’s decision or guardian’s consent. Medical laws are really complicated, right?”

“The doctor kind of scolded us, huh? He said we brought him in dangerously. Thanks to that, we had to sit through a lecture on first aid and emergency procedures. Back in the day, they used to teach you in the military, but nowadays there aren’t enough soldiers around or whatever…”

“No, I definitely messed up. It’s a relief that I learned this now. If I hadn’t acted properly, Rain could’ve ended up in a much more dangerous situation.”

Chris bit her lip.

Her mind went blank, and she couldn’t think rationally. Fortunately, quick action had saved Rain, but rushing to the hospital while carrying him wasn’t the right thing to do.

Chris, Namdayeon, and Jaewook were all technically adults now as university students, but they were just inexperienced kids fresh out of society.

Mixed with relief and self-reproach, Chris sighed and clapped her hands like a raid leader from the game, trying to focus Namdayeon and Jaewook’s attention.

“I’ll stay by Rain. You guys can go back first.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to stay together?”

Namdayeon said that and watched Jaewook’s expression. He didn’t seem to want to leave either. But Chris shook her head.

“I’ll let you know when Rain wakes up. Honestly, from Rain’s perspective, it must be pretty unsettling to have unknown people carry him to the hospital, right?”

“Ugh, I see what you mean.”

Chris looked towards Rain’s hospital room, her expression resolute.

“I’ll be Rain’s guardian.”

After Namdayeon and Jaewook left, Chris found herself alone, her legs giving way as she collapsed onto the floor of the hallway.

While she had put on a brave face in front of her juniors, she was the one who had been the most anxious.

The image of Rain collapsed, bleeding.

The idling wheelchair.

The fragmented information she received from the doctor about Rain’s condition.

A girl who couldn’t even hold herself up alone was struggling to survive in harsh conditions.

All of this tore at Chris’s heart.

For a while, Chris sat on the floor, clutching her chest.

*

Tatatat.

Hasty footsteps echoed through the hospital hallway.

Finally, these footsteps reached the door of the patient’s room.

“Huff.”

The owner of the footsteps took a deep breath and cautiously opened the door to the room.

In Chris’s eyes, a girl was sitting up in bed, looking out the window.

The sun was already bright.

The girl’s white hair, illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the curtains, shimmered with a silver hue.

An IV needle was inserted into her slender arm.

Her long hair, cascading down to her waist, spread out on the hospital’s white bedding.

The girl’s head turned, and her eyes met Chris’s.

Chris swallowed hard without realizing it.

She thought her own appearance wouldn’t fall behind anyone else. But in front of the girl’s beauty, all her confidence about her looks vanished.

A beautiful girl with a calm demeanor was living and moving right in front of Chris.

It was a truly surreal sight.

Her deep, obsidian eyes looked tranquil, gazing off somewhere far away, reminiscent of Rain’s, but with a slightly different vibe.

Chris felt a slight unease.

There couldn’t be two people with such looks and hair color.

This girl must be “Rain” from Astria Online, her.

“Rain…?”

Chris’s voice rose at the end, revealing her confusion.

The girl’s onyx eyes widened slightly.

And after a moment, a familiar voice flowed from the girl’s mouth.

“…It’s Lee Seulbi.”

Lee Seulbi.

That must be her real name.

Chris slowly moved towards the girl.

She sat in the chair next to the bed and gazed into the girl’s eyes.

There, she saw the bright smile she often sent to Rain.

“…Hi, I’m Chris.”

An extended silence followed. Rain said nothing, only gazed steadily at Chris.

And at some moment, a perplexed look clouded the girl’s eyes.

Her lips parted, and she uttered that word.

“Chris… unni.”

“……!”

The instant Chris heard that, emotions burst within her, impossible to contain.

It was Rain.

Surely, it was her angel, Rain.

Chris grasped Rain’s hand, bowed her head, and trembled.

Rain didn’t refuse Chris’s touch. She gently clasped it back.

Then, another hand came close, stroking Chris’s head.

“Thank you for taking care of Rain.”

Who should cry?

Who needs comfort?

“Thank you for saving Lee Seulbi.”

Was it the fragile girl with a broken body, living alone in a world without anyone to lean on?

Or was it the foolish and silly Chris who realized her situation only after it had come to this?

She didn’t know.

But Chris cried.

Rain didn’t.

She silently stroked Chris’s head as she quietly sobbed.

Chris’s crimson and Rain’s white intertwined.

Not in some other world, but here, in reality.

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