52
Most of the messages that had piled up while he was asleep were from his younger sister, Baek Ah-yeon.
[ Baby Pig: Hey! You said you were hurt? ]
[ Baby Pig: Contact me as soon as you wake up! ]
[ Baby Pig: They said you weren't badly hurt, so why aren't you replying yet? ]
[ Baby Pig: Answer me. ]
From the content of the messages, Baek Woo-jin could easily tell that Hong Yeon-ha hadn't made any statements that would cause misunderstandings about their relationship.
'Always worrying.'
Baek Woo-jin smiled pleasantly at the worry he felt from every single letter and gently pressed the call button with his index finger.
-Hello?!
Hearing his sister's voice before the ringtone could even ring twice, Baek Woo-jin blinked for a moment before bringing the smartphone to his ear.
"Why did you send over a hundred messages?"
-You crazy bastard! Your family hasn't heard from you for over a week, you think I wouldn't worry?!
As expected of a daughter who took right after Mrs. Jang, listen to that loud voice.
"I had some circumstances."
-What circumstances... I heard everything, okay? Is your body okay? They said you didn't get hurt, but I need to be able to believe it.
"Your brother is perfectly fine."
-Switch to video call. I won't believe it until I see it myself.
If anyone else had made such a demand, he would have simply hung up, but this was no one else; it was his sister Baek Ah-yeon's request. And out of worry for him, no less.
"Satisfied?"
-Let me see a bit.
As he switched to the video call, his body was reflected in a small corner of the screen. However, the large screen where Baek Ah-yeon's face should have been visible was dyed black.
"Let me see your face, too."
-I haven't washed.
"If anyone heard that, they'd think you only wash once a day."
-What are you talking about? Excluding the days I don't go out, I wash every day, okay?
"Exactly. It's school break right now."
-Shut up and take off your clothes.
"Mrs. Jang would have a fit if she heard that."
Baek Woo-jin smoothly took off his hospital gown, certifying to Baek Ah-yeon that he had no external injuries whatsoever.
-Was Oppa's body always that good?
"I ran around working without resting for a single day; wouldn't it be stranger if I wasn't in good shape?"
-Hmm, I can't logically refute that.
Sensing the composure return to Baek Ah-yeon's voice, Baek Woo-jin chuckled softly and put his upper garment back on.
"What about Mom?"
-I covered it up well enough.
"Good job."
-Buy macarons when you come.
"Alright. More importantly, nothing going on at home, right?"
-What could be going on. More importantly, if you're fine, just come back quickly.
"I'm planning to head up by tomorrow at the latest, so tell Mom in advance."
-Okey.
"Alright. I'm hanging up then."
As soon as the call ended, Hong Yeon-ha entered the room with a middle-aged man who looked quite aged, perhaps having waited on purpose.
The middle-aged man who entered with Hong Yeon-ha was wearing a pristine white coat symbolizing a doctor, and his face was quite familiar. In other words, he was someone whose face Baek Woo-jin had seen at least once in the media or elsewhere before the regression.
"Could you give me your hand for a moment?"
"Yes."
At the gentle voice of the middle-aged man, as pleasant to hear as his benevolent face, Baek Woo-jin obediently held out his hand.
The middle-aged man gently enveloped Baek Woo-jin's hand, closed his eyes, and focused. Then, a pale green light flowed from their touching hands and enveloped Baek Woo-jin's body.
"He is perfectly healthy."
"Really?"
"Of course. If you really find it untrustworthy, it would also be an option to get a detailed examination with the machines."
Hong Yeon-ha looked at Baek Woo-jin as if she really wanted him to do that. And Baek Woo-jin, who knew his own body better than anyone, shook his head and instead gave a slight bow to the middle-aged man who was both the healer and the doctor who had diagnosed him.
"Thank you for the diagnosis. Then is it okay for me to be discharged now?"
"Of course. A hospital is a place for patients whose bodies and minds are sick to stay; for a healthy person like our patient here, staying will only drain your vitality."
The middle-aged man smiled gently and, instead, bowed his head slightly to Baek Woo-jin.
"Thank you. That child Yeon-ha is like a granddaughter to me as well."
"Not at all. I was just desperate to survive."
Baek Woo-jin had merely spoken his honest thoughts, but thanks to such a candid answer, the middle-aged man's gaze toward him grew even warmer.
"If there is ever a patient who needs my help, please contact me here."
He took out a small business card from his inner pocket and placed it in Baek Woo-jin's hand.
[ Hospital Director: Lee Deok-soo ]
The moment he saw the name written on the business card, he recalled where he had seen Lee Deok-soo's familiar-looking face.
He couldn't remember exactly when it was. However, he clearly recalled the news of his disappearance, and how his face had circulated on TV and internet media for several days.
'I distinctly remember there being no mention of him being a healer, though.'
While Baek Woo-jin was rummaging through his old memories, Lee Deok-soo turned around and lightly patted Hong Yeon-ha's shoulder.
"Then you young folks have a good chat. I'm busy, so I'll be on my way."
"Thank you."
As Lee Deok-soo left, Hong Yeon-ha naturally perched herself slightly on the bed where Baek Woo-jin was sitting.
"You're going right up tomorrow?"
Brought back to his senses by Hong Yeon-ha's voice, Baek Woo-jin nodded.
"Even if I rest, I should rest at home. There's also someone waiting for news on this end."
"I suppose. My sister told me. Your sister's personality is no joke."
"She's a bit lazy, but she's a good kid."
"I wouldn't know since I've never spoken to her directly. Introduce her sometime."
"Well, if an opportunity for that happens to come up."
It was practically a refusal, but Hong Yeon-ha seemed satisfied with the answer that left at least a minimal opening, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
"Then I'll just finish the settlement and get going too."
"Settlement is important."
Right before he lost consciousness, he had clearly seen the halberd he threw shatter into pieces. If it had been the halberd he usually used, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but unfortunately, the shattered halberd was a new one that he was just getting used to.
"Of course, we'll get you a new weapon to replace the broken one. So think carefully about what else you might need."
"Sounds like you're saying it's okay if I answer later."
"That's right. Contact me anytime it's convenient for you."
It was a very satisfactory answer.
If she had told him to answer right now, he would have requested an elixir as the most moderate choice. However, if she was giving him plenty of time, there was no need to answer hastily.
Of course, there would be no problem with choosing an elixir.
Since he was in a profession that used his body to directly slay monsters, there was nothing better than an elixir that raised his physical specs.
However, like the earring-type artifact Hong Yeon-ha had been wearing on her ear.
He thought he needed at least one artifact that could help him cope with situations that couldn't be overcome with physical abilities alone in specific circumstances.
Not only that, adding another skill like 'Night Walker', which had contributed greatly to defeating the Raid Squad leader who was much stronger than him, was also a good option.
"It's a bit funny to ask someone who just woke up, but do you have any plans next month?"
"That depends on how I schedule things once I go up."
"Then keep your schedule open next month."
"If it's something worth doing that for, I will."
Receiving Baek Woo-jin's calm gaze, Hong Yeon-ha stood up from the bed. Then, she neatly gathered both hands behind her back, glanced back at Baek Woo-jin, and spoke.
"We're going to get your weapon."
"If it's a dungeon, I'll pass."
"It's not like that. Anyway, I'll let you know once the exact schedule is set, so keep your entire next month's schedule open until then."
It was about getting his weapon, so it wasn't something he could refuse to go to, and thus Baek Woo-jin decided to keep his schedule for next month completely open as Hong Yeon-ha requested.
"I will."
"Good. You don't need to see me out, right?"
"No."
"Yeah. Then there's no need for discharge procedures, so just leave whenever it's convenient."
With those final words, Hong Yeon-ha left the hospital room briskly.
Left alone, Baek Woo-jin finally looked around the hospital room.
'They certainly treat their benefactor well.'
Without any exaggeration, the hospital room he was lying in was more spacious and antique than the house he currently lived in with his family.
It was definitely the rumored VVIP room.
"Still, a hospital room is a hospital room."
Didn't Hospital Director Lee Deok-soo say so?
That healthy people lose their vitality just by staying in a hospital for a long time.
Baek Woo-jin got off the bed and changed his clothes.
'Come to think of it, I didn't ask about that.'
He had completely forgotten to ask whether it was okay to share what happened in this linked dungeon with the outside world, or more precisely, with just Heo Sang-min.
"It's not urgent, but it's better to take care of it while I'm thinking about it."
Baek Woo-jin simply wrote down the main point and sent a message to Hong Yeon-ha's saved contact.
[ Hong Yeon-ha: It doesn't matter, but don't trust the Association too much. ]
[ Me: I'll keep that in mind. ]
He was already doing so, but there was no need to awkwardly dismiss the other person's goodwill, so he replied appropriately and immediately contacted Heo Sang-min.
[ The person you are calling cannot be reached... ]
He couldn't reach Heo Sang-min, who always responded within 2 seconds whenever he was contacted.
"That's unusual."
Thinking back to Heo Sang-min's condition the last time they met, it wouldn't be too strange for him to be sleeping at this hour in the morning.
"It's fine to talk over the phone, though."
Thinking that if he was resting, it wasn't a topic that required an in-depth conversation bad enough to disturb him, Baek Woo-jin finished by sending a single message and left the hospital room.