The boy sitting on the rooftop railing looked down at the dizzying height.
The 25th floor.
His heart pounded like crazy. Defying his will, he looked at his hands, which had been trembling uncontrollably for a while now.
Coward. You don't even have the courage to die?
A sneering voice echoed from deep within his chest.
The boy pressed his lips tightly shut and replayed what had happened today.
Third period, math class. The sudden urge to urinate was the problem. It had happened a few times recently, but this time was different. Before he could run to the bathroom, his strength gave out.
Feeling the hot liquid soak his legs, he squeezed his eyes shut.
"What the hell is with this kid? Hey, Jang Yunho pissed himself!"
A malicious voice echoed throughout the classroom. A storm of laughter.
Frozen in place, Yunho felt as if he were standing in the middle of hell.
His pants soaking wet, a foul, stinging smell in his nostrils, dozens of eyes staring at him.
"Wow, that smell is insane!"
"You pathetic bastard. Shouldn't you start wearing diapers now?"
"Go to the hospital, please."
Yunho hurriedly covered his pants with his bag and burst out of the classroom.
Mockery and sneers poured from both sides of the hallway.
"Isn't Jang Yunho seriously disgusting?"
"I almost threw up from the smell."
Impulsively, he ran all the way home.
In the elevator, Yunho pressed 25 instead of the 14th floor where his home was. He had thought the door leading to the rooftop would be locked, but unexpectedly it was open.
And so now, Yunho was standing on the railing.
A fierce wind shook Yunho.
If he leaned his body forward, would all of this end?
No, probably not.
He was scared. His body was trembling. It wasn't even cold, yet his hands and feet were frozen stiff, unable to move properly.
"Uuugh......"
A single tear rolled down Yunho's eye.
"Sis......"
Ever since that day, everything had been turned upside down.
After the surgery, his sister had seemed to get better for a moment, then fell into a very, very deep sleep. Yunho visited the hospital room every day and watched his sister lying among the cold machines. But no matter how much he talked to her, no matter how much he held her hand, she didn't respond.
Sleeping Beauty.
Whenever Yunho saw his sister, he was reminded of the princess from a fairy tale.
His sister had been the only one in the family who understood Yunho.
"For a son to be so weak......"
"Who does he take after? He doesn't even compare to his sister."
Dad and Mom said that Yunho, weak-natured, didn't take after them.
She was the sister who sat beside him and comforted him whenever he struggled, and smiled the brightest smile in the world when he was happy. That sister would never open her eyes again.
Yunho felt as if he had been left all alone in the world.
Moreover, after his sister—who had borne all their parents' expectations—had become like that, whenever conversation passed at home, it was always only about his sister.
"Dad, today at school I......"
"Wash up and go to bed."
Dad's gaze didn't even reach Yunho. Mom, too, was always devoted only to his sister lying in the hospital bed.
Yunho lived without any presence, as if he had become a transparent man inside his own house.
"Sis. Why did you leave me here alone and not come back?"
Yunho sat precariously on the railing and closed his eyes.
His sister's smile remained vividly in his memory.
'A pathetic bastard who can't even die.'
Stepping back from the railing, his pent-up rage and self-reproach burst forth again.
Yunho took out his phone and opened the search bar.
'How to die without pain'
As soon as he typed the search term, large letters appeared.
You are a precious person.
Don't give up!
Counseling hotline: 109
.......
"Damn it."
Yunho scrolled up the screen and searched the next page.
How many pages had he scrolled through? What caught his eye was an article he had stumbled upon by chance.
'Miracle Doctor Gang Taeho Who Saved a Patient at Death's Door Wins WHO Innovation Award.'
In the article's photo, the man was smiling brightly.
Gang Taeho.
The moment he saw the name, Yunho's heart pounded like crazy. That name his parents had mentioned over and over.
It was the name of the doctor who had operated on his sister.
With trembling hands, Yunho kept searching and reading articles. They were filled with epithets like 'renowned physician performing miracles in the countryside' and 'savior of lives.'
Rage boiled up.
"Why...... Why wasn't there a miracle for my sister!"
The tears he had held back exploded.
"This guy became a hero! While my sister is lying like that!"
Rummaging through articles and comments, Yunho became increasingly unable to bear it. The title of 'hero' was nauseating.
Yunho clenched his fist.
'Yeah, I can't die alone. Gang Taeho. That bastard has to die with me.'
Yunho stepped down from the railing.
***
The next day, Jang Yunho sat in the waiting room of Geumsan Clinic with an anxious heart.
He had made an appointment disguised as a patient, skipped school, and taken a taxi from Seoul all the way to Gangwon-do. His fingertips stung with cold from nervousness.
"Jang Yunho, what symptoms are you experiencing?"
Yunho spoke in a small, trembling voice with his head hung low.
"I can't hold my urine well."
He realized his mistake after saying it. It was something he hadn't rehearsed, so he had spoken too honestly.
But compared to what was about to happen, it was nothing.
"It's okay. The director will take good care of you. This way, please."
He had expected her to mock him or look at him with pitying eyes, but unexpectedly, the middle-aged nurse spoke nonchalantly. Yunho followed the nurse to the director's examination room.
His heart pounded, and his breathing grew increasingly rapid.
Yunho shoved his hand deep into his pocket. Cold metal touched his fingertips.
The examination room door opened, and the young doctor he had seen in the photo welcomed Yunho.
"Welcome. Sit here."
Yunho slowly approached while fiddling with the knife handle in his pocket. It was a paring knife he had bought at a mart yesterday afternoon.
Taeho realized first through his intuition.
Something felt abnormal.
The eyes staring at him were filled with deep resentment.
Why?
Come to think of it, it was a face he had seen somewhere before.
Those eyes looked familiar......
Taeho suddenly recalled the face he had seen at Seyeong Hospital two years ago.
Yuna's younger brother?
Looking at the name recorded on the patient registration form, it was Jang Yunho.
That's right. Yuna's younger brother.
He had looked like a child two years ago, but in the span of two years, he seemed to have grown over 30 centimeters taller.
Looking closely, Jang Yunho's eyes were bloodshot and his hand was trembling slightly.
At that moment, Lema sounded a warning alarm.
-Heart rate: 142 BPM
-Blood pressure: 160/95 mmHg
-Respiratory rate: 28/min
-Body temperature: 37.8°C
A state of acute excitement.
Looking at the right hand shoved into his school uniform pocket, it was clear he was holding something long.
Taeho spoke calmly.
"Calm down. Yunho. You've grown a lot."
Jang Yunho stumbled back in surprise.
"You...... know me?"
"You're Yuna's younger brother. Yuna talked about you often."
"Don't lie! My sister got worse after surgery and lost consciousness, so how could she talk about me!"
"You're wrong. Yuna underwent the surgery successfully, and for several days her condition was very good. Yuna's deterioration happened after that."
"Lies...... Today I'm going to kill you and then die too."
Jang Yunho took out the paring knife from his pocket.
Seeing that, Taeho let out a short sigh.
His body may have grown, but he's still a child.
To think he could hurt an adult like me with something like that......
Taeho calmly glanced at Jang Yunho's reason for visit.
Urinary incontinence?
What?
For a moment, he felt like something was within his grasp.
His intuition was telling him something, but his reason couldn't interpret it.
Yunho took a step forward holding the knife. His body trembled even more severely.
"I'm going to kill you."
"You're misunderstanding. I saved Yuna. The person who made her like that after the surgery is someone else. I've already found the evidence, and I'll soon reveal the whole truth."
"Lies!"
"And you're not the type to brandish a knife. No, rather, you're the type who hates such things."
"What do you know about me?"
Yunho looked at Taeho with hazy eyes.
Taeho slowly rose from his seat and spoke gently.
"Yuna used to say that she was always like a boy, and her younger sibling was like a girl. She said Yunho is a delicate and warm child."
Yunho stopped breathing and opened his eyes wide, as if shocked.
"Sis said that to you......?"
"It took tremendous courage to come here alone. But if you hurt me now, neither Yuna nor you can be saved anymore. So put down that knife."
"Save my sister? You?"
"Yes. I've found a way to save your sister."
Jang Yunho's pupils shook wildly. He knew he shouldn't, but tears burst from his eyes. The man people noisily called the miracle doctor said he had found a way to save his sister. Yunho wanted to believe those words.
But what if it was a lie?
Taeho spoke calmly.
"Yunho, what you're going through right now isn't your fault. It's not simply a mental problem either. There's something wrong with your body. I can help you."
Words he wanted so desperately to believe.
The hand holding the knife fell limply. The paring knife fell to the floor with a clatter.
Yunho burst into tears and fell to his knees.
Taeho slowly approached and placed his hand on Yunho's shoulder.
"It's okay now. I'll definitely help you. I'll save Yuna no matter what."
"H-hic."
"It's okay. It's okay now."
Taeho gently patted Yunho's shoulder and guided him to a chair. The boy's sobs subsided, but his body was still trembling.
"Let's talk once you've calmed down a bit. About Yuna, and about the symptoms you're experiencing."
Yunho wiped his tear-soaked face with his sleeve and cautiously opened his mouth.
"Can you really save my sister?"
"I promise."
Taeho answered with a voice full of certainty.
It was at that moment.
"Uh...... Huh?"
Yunho's eyes suddenly lost focus and wavered.
Taeho quickly caught Yunho as he collapsed from the chair.
"Yunho!"
Taeho immediately turned Yunho's body to the side to secure his airway.
Yunho's body went stiff and rigid, and foam seeped from between his lips.
"Nurse Bak!"
Taeho shouted loudly. Nurse Bak Geumja hurriedly entered the examination room.
"Director, what happened?"
"It's an acute seizure. Please measure his vital signs."
Taeho checked Yunho's pulse. His heart was beating fast and irregularly. Pupillary response was also slow.
Lema displayed a message via hologram.
-Emergency detected.
-Seizure episode probability: 85%
-Immediate neurological examination recommended
-Seizure duration: 00:01:12
Taeho anxiously observed Yunho's condition. The seizure would subside within 5 minutes. If it didn't, he would have to administer anticonvulsants and arrange emergency transport to a higher-level hospital.
Fortunately, after about 2 minutes, Yunho's rigidity gradually began to ease.
"Ungh......"
Yunho groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was still confused and bewildered.
"Where is this?"
"It's the hospital, Yunho. You just had an acute seizure."
Taeho explained in a calm voice. When he placed his hand on Yunho's forehead, he could feel a slight fever.
"I had a seizure?"
Yunho asked again, as if confused. His memory was hazy and disorienting.
"You've never had this happen before?"
"No, it's the first time. Am I dying now?"
Yunho asked, seeming anxious.
"No. But right now, we need to check your physical condition."
Taeho seated Yunho in a wheelchair and spoke to Bak Geumja.
"Nurse Bak, please contact Jang Yunho's parents."
"Yes, Director."
Taeho's mind spun rapidly. The symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage that had appeared in Yuna two years ago came to mind.