Chapter 628 (1/2)

I raised my head when I heard the ambulance break the silence. Droplets of rain were bouncing off the ground, people were murmuring, and there was a streak of red that was clearly distinct from the rain.

“Unni.”

I turned around. It was Joohyun, who had changed her clothes. Ah, this was the hospital. The sense of realism kept disappearing.

“Is the guardian of Mr. Lee Junmin here?”

Guardian, am I even qualified to be that? The person who pushed my back and saved me was wandering between life and death in that white room, and yet could I dare to call myself his guardian?

“Unni.”

Joohyun grabbed my hand. Yes, get yourself together. Just as I was about to walk up to the doctor with shaky steps,

“Senior Choi!”

A startlingly loud voice could be heard behind me. A woman rushed across the corridor and stood in front of the doctor.

“What happened to him? What happened to Lee Junmin?”

“Kang Seoyeon, do you know the patient inside?”

“I’m asking what happened!”

“Calm down. I was just about to tell the guardian.”

“Guardian?”

The woman named Seoyeon looked at me. The moment I met her gaze, my breath stopped. What am I supposed to say to those eyes that were seeking an explanation? The unpleasant sound I heard during the accident echoed inside my head.

“You’re a doctor, so you should calm down. Also, Miss?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. We tried everything we could, but he didn’t make it.”

The doctor’s words couldn’t continue after that. Another emergency patient came to the unit. The doctor sighed in annoyance when a nurse called out to him before starting to run. My head blanked out for a moment. I think I just heard the news of someone’s passing away, but I couldn’t understand who. In the first place, why would he say something like that to me? He should be telling me about the state of Junmin who was inside. Why is he apologizing?

The woman who shouted earlier collapsed. I looked at her before standing in front of the room that said ‘Operation Room’. There was a no entry sign on the door, but that didn’t matter. I walked up to it with the intention of going inside. When the door opened, there was a long corridor.

“Miss! You can’t go in there!”

A nurse ran up to me and grabbed me.

“No, but he’s inside.”

“We can’t have you act like this here.”

“It’s just for a moment, just a moment is fine. I’ll just have a look at his face. Please?”

“If you keep acting like this I have no choice but to call security.”

I stared at the distant doctors and nurses in green before turning around. Right after that, strength escaped my legs. My vision became dark, and all sound was cut off. Joohyun ran up to me and said something, but I couldn’t understand a thing. From afar, a man in a suit was running towards me. Who was it? People called him ‘Prosecutor Park’.

“Unni, unni!”

Sorry, Joohyun. I decided to let go of my consciousness. I wanted to take a breather from the reality full of despair. My body complied with my wishes.

* * *

The yukgaejang[1] cooled down. I didn’t know who brought it here. There were about twenty tables, but there weren’t many people sitting. It was 3 a.m. The procession was tomorrow.

“Haejoo.”

It was someone from the theater troupe. I mechanically smiled and tried to rise from my knees, but my body didn’t listen to me. It wasn’t that my legs had become numb. My body just didn’t feel like mine and didn’t heed to my intentions. The intense powerlessness made me into an incompetent human.

“Stay seated. I know this isn’t the time for this, but I thought I’d let you know. The plays are on hold for now.”

“No, oppa. I can do it.”

“You aren’t in the right state. Joongjin-hyung decided to help us. He’s willing to loan us the monthly rent. He was adamant on paying it himself, but we barely managed to talk him out of it and settled with a loan. We can’t keep relying on him after all.”

“Sorry, it’s all because of me.”

“I’m not here to listen to you say that. I just want you to not worry about anything and get some rest. Okay? You really don’t look good right now. As cruel as my words might sound… dead people are dead. The living cannot chase after them. So… nah, I hope you get better. I’ll be leaving now.”

I wanted to stand up and see him out, but my legs really did not listen to me. I barely managed to lower my head before leaning against the wall. The jeolpyeon[2] had dried into stiff blocks, the yukgaejang had turned cold, and the watermelons were crumbling apart. What was I doing here?

“Miss Jung Haejoo?”

I was staring at a fly that was on top of a slice of a watermelon when I heard my name and raised my head. There was a man with a worried face, and behind him was the clock. It was 4 a.m. An hour had passed already. It felt like my sense of time had disappeared completely.

“Ah, yes.”

“You’ll ruin yourself if you keep acting like that for two days in a row. You should get some rest.”

“No, I can’t rest.”

“I understand how you feel. No, I can’t truly understand how you feel, because I’m not you, Miss Jung Haejoo. However, what I can be sure of is that Junmin, that fellow, doesn’t want you to get in trouble.”

The man with a heavy expression asked if he could sit next to me. I nodded. I felt this when I came here, but there were only three things I could do. One was to say sorry, one was to carry food around, and the other was to nod.

“Did I tell you my name?”

“Prosecutor Park Sunggoo, was it?”

“So you remember. Junmin was a friend of mine.”

Sunggoo poured some soju in a glass before drinking it without a word. I couldn’t say anything. I was a sinner. A horrific sinner who took away his friend.

“Junmin, that fellow, he’s been all smiles recently. I thought he was sick. He isn’t someone who would act like that. That’s why I asked. Were you cast somewhere? He told me no. Then I asked again. Then why do you look so happy?”