After seeing the mory data and confirming the synchronization, I accepted it.
That such a thing could happen to at any ti.
That this wasn’t like receiving a second life, but rely reliving a life I had already lived once.
If that was the case, I couldn’t ignore the possibility of things going wrong again.
The sight of soone dying was shocking even to , the person involved.
So for these guys—who were so much younger than —it would be even worse, wouldn’t it?
I saw that scene with my perception of negative emotions adjusted. Shouldn’t I at least allow these guys, who couldn’t even expect such help, to prepare themselves ntally?
“Choi Jeho.”
“What?”
The guy answered bluntly to my call.
“If sothing happens to , do you think you could still continue activities with the mbers?”
I asked the eldest mber who happened to be nearby, and his grip on the safety rail tightened. Blue veins stood out on the back of Choi Jeho’s hand.
“Why would sothing happen to you?”
Choi Jeho asked.
“You never know what can happen in life.”
Though in my case, sothing was definitely going to happen.
I stared at Choi Jeho silently. He spoke as if he found it absurd.
“Do you even hear yourself? Who said you’ve got so terminal illness? You’ll be fine if you’re just careful. Can’t you understand plain words?”
His tone was rough as usual, but the scolding lasted a little longer than normal.
Choi Jeho’s face twisted in frustration.
“You as*hole, it took less than 5 minutes to get here from the company. The ambulance got here fast as f*ck. There’s a hospital near the dorm too, so why would you die?”
Choi Jeho shouted. His brow furrowed.
His anger was brief.
Breaking the silence in the hospital room, Choi Jeho said with reddened eyes.
“I know how to do CPR.”
Ah.
“So stop talking crap and just get so damn sleep.”
You dumba*s.
What am I supposed to do if even you get shaken up?
I asked you because I thought you, at least, would be stoic.
I wanted to die every day because of you, so why are you thinking of saving ?
You should have just clicked your tongue with an expression that said, ‘Kim Iwol, you really are sothing else…’
* * *
After being hospitalized for a day for observation, Kim Iwol’s EKG remained at a normal level, and the abnormal symptoms he had when he was first brought in did not reappear.
Thanks to this, Kim Iwol was discharged but was scheduled for regular check-ups for the ti being.
Im Chanyoung said he would co to the hospital to pick him up, but Choi Jeho refused.
And he handled the discharge procedures by himself. He also answered all of the dozens of calls from Jeong Seongbin, who was worried that his hyung might not bring the receipts.
Though Kim Iwol seed to be walking fine, he fell asleep the mont he got into the taxi. It seed like he was catching up on all the sleep he had missed since coming to UA.
As the taxi entered a familiar neighborhood, Choi Jeho used the phone he’d gotten from the manager during the discharge process to send a ssage to the group chat.
5 [Soone co down to the apartnt entrance with a blanket]
As if they had been waiting, the number quickly decreased.
The taxi stopped in the parking lot. Lee Cheonghyeon was already downstairs, holding a large blanket.
While waiting for the card paynt to finish, Choi Jeho opened the car door, pulled Kim Iwol out, and carried him on his back. Lee Cheonghyeon took the card instead.
“Is this hyung sleeping? Are we sure it’s okay for him to be discharged?”
“The test results are normal, they said. Put the blanket over his back.”
At Choi Jeho’s words, Lee Cheonghyeon spread the blanket and covered Kim Iwol’s back.
“You brought a blanket to use like a sling? Then you should’ve told to bring straps too.”
“He’s not a baby. You think I’m gonna carry him like that?”
“Then why did you tell to bring a blanket?”
“They said to avoid exposing him to sudden temperature changes. It’s bad for his heart.”
“Ah.”
Lee Cheonghyeon nodded in understanding. Then he rushed ahead to press the elevator button.
While waiting for the elevator to arrive, the two exchanged a few words.
Choi Jeho asked Lee Cheonghyeon.
“Did anyone co to the dorm?”
“Chanyoung hyung and Ms. Jukyung. We didn’t open the door yesterday, but the CEO is coming later, so we were discussing what to do.”
Just as Choi Jeho had rejected Im Chanyoung, the mbers had also completely closed off communication with the company for the entire day yesterday. Choi Jeho was sowhat aware of this through Jeong Seongbin’s calls.
“Why don’t you just tell him not to co?”
“It’s the CEO, not just anyone! How can we do that!”
Lee Cheonghyeon yelped, then glanced at Kim Iwol. His long lashes didn’t so much as twitch.
“What the. He’s not waking up?”
“He’s been sleeping all day since yesterday.”
“But he woke up for a bit, right? He’s been asleep since then?”
“He was awake when I was handling the discharge, but he fell asleep again when we got in the taxi.”
“Yeah, it’s better for this hyung to just sleep.”
Lee Cheonghyeon muttered. The dark circles, which had disappeared not long ago, were now deeply settled.
Kim Iwol didn’t wake up even when Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon laid him down on the bed. It was unlike him, who would wake up at the slightest alarm, or even just a vibration, and had trouble falling back asleep once woken.
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, the two simply covered Kim Iwol with a blanket and left the room.
While Choi Jeho, exhausted from spending a full day at the hospital, went to wash up, Cheonghyeon sat at the table. Jeong Seongbin, typing away on his laptop, rubbed his eyes with both hands, clearly fatigued.
“Can I help with anything?”
At Lee Cheonghyeon’s question, Jeong Seongbin shook his head.
“It’s okay. How’s Iwol hyung? Is he still sleeping?”
“Yeah. He didn’t wake up.”
“Really? Just in case, shall we make dinner in advance? So hyung can eat as soon as he wakes up.”
At the leader’s words about doing sothing, Park Joowoo and Kang Kiyeon opened their doors and ca out. They busied themselves in the kitchen, careful not to make too much noise.
“Should we make porridge? Or rice…?”
“Let’s do both. If there are leftovers, others can eat them.”
At Kang Kiyeon’s answer, Park Joowoo took an aluminum pot and headed to the veranda.
While waiting for his hyung to return, just as Kang Kiyeon was taking out a stainless steel basin to soak the rice…
The basin, caught on the lower cabinet door, fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
Everyone froze at the clanging sound that echoed throughout the dorm. Then, they slowly turned their heads towards the door of the room where Kim Iwol was sleeping.
“…Did he wake up?”
Lee Cheonghyeon muttered in a voice as small as an ant. Kang Kiyeon couldn’t even open his mouth.
Park Joowoo, who had brought a full pot of rice, carefully placed it on the dining table. Then, being so careful that even the sound of his feet leaving the floor couldn’t be heard, he walked to Kim Iwol’s door.
Park Joowoo slowly turned the doorknob. Worried that light might seep in, Lee Cheonghyeon hurriedly turned off all the lights in the living room.
Park Joowoo, after confirming that Kim Iwol’s blanket was rising and falling regularly in the darkness, held his breath and closed the door.
“He didn’t wake up…!”
It was miraculous news. Kang Kiyeon trembled as he let out a sigh of relief.
Thus, Spark was able to turn the living room lights back on.
* * *
How long had I slept? My eyes opened without realizing.
The now-familiar ceiling greeted . I rembered handling the discharge procedures with Choi Jeho, but I had no mory after that. I must have completely passed out in the taxi, unable to hold out any longer.
The main light was off, and the room was quite dark—it must be nightti.
The only difference from usual was a faint yellow light lingering in the room. It looked like Choi Jeho had brought a night lamp into the room as well.
‘But still, if you leave the light like that by the head of the bed… wouldn’t it interfere with Lee Cheonghyeon’s growth?’
Just as I was about to move the lamp for the sake of Lee Cheonghyeon’s smooth growth, an unexpected voice ca from the side.
“Hyung? You’re awake?”
Jeong Seongbin was sitting on Choi Jeho’s bed, reading a book. It was the first ti I’d seen him like this since I ca to this room.
“What are you doing here? Isn’t it nightti?”
“To be exact, it’s dawn. 4 AM.”
“Did I sleep that much? And where did Choi Jeho go at this hour?”
Jeong Seongbin smiled awkwardly.
“Jeho hyung decided to swap rooms with for today. We thought soone should watch over you, and… Jeho hyung must have been uncomfortable sleeping on the cot yesterday.”
The cot was indeed too small. Though I didn’t think he was the type to lose sleep over a bit of discomfort.
More importantly, sothing else was bothering .
“You don’t have to watch sleep.”
My caffeine intolerance issue must’ve worried them more than I thought. How should I deal with that bastard Hong Unseop?
“It’s just, I couldn’t sleep, so… Would you like sothing to eat, hyung? You barely ate anything today, right?”
While I was stamring, Jeong Seongbin headed to the kitchen. I heard clattering sounds and the sound of a gas stove being lit, and then Jeong Seongbin returned holding a tray with various things on it.
“Why bother bringing it here? I could have just gone out.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s not heavy at all.”
Determined, Jeong Seongbin set the tray on top of my blanket. The warmth of the porridge bowl seeped through the blanket and reached my knees.
“Try it. Joowoo cooked it really well.”
“Joowoo made this?”
The hospitality was so excessively lavish that I was starting to feel overwheld with gratitude. Moreover, the homade porridge by Park Joowoo was, just as Jeong Seongbin said, delicious.
“What… Iwol hyung, you’re eating?”
Lee Cheonghyeon’s voice ca from above, likely having overheard Jeong Seongbin telling to drink so water. His voice was husky as if he had just woken up.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. I’ll eat quickly and clean up.”
“No, turn on the light and eat. I sleep fine even with the lights on…”
I heard the rustling of a blanket from above my head.
Yeah, right. I could hear him pulling the blanket over his head from here.
Only after dissuading Jeong Seongbin from turning on the light could I continue eating the porridge. The night light was more than enough for a late-night al.
As I was about to finish the porridge bowl, Jeong Seongbin handed a glass of water. I was about to moisten my throat with the warm water when…
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“We told the company we’re going to sue.”
“Pfft!”
…The water couldn’t go down my throat and instead splashed all over my palm.
While Jeong Seongbin wiped my left hand with a tissue, I replayed his words dozens of tis in my head, wondering if I had heard him correctly.
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