Episode 22
Han Chasu was honestly impressed by his fixation on Chasu’s health.
It was a markedly different reaction from when he had heard the same thing a few hours earlier.
Because now he knew that Jeong Iheun would not stop him from being discharged. They had put an end to the talk of the contract.
If he could get out of here in exchange for undergoing one examination, it was a profitable deal.
“All right. I’ll go to the hospital.”
When he accepted obediently, unlike before, Jeong Iheun looked visibly pleased.
It even felt as though he had been afraid Chasu might refuse, and just as Chasu was about to feel puzzled—
Dududududu.
—The rough roar of a helicopter tore at his ears, along with a gust of air that seemed to beat down on the top of his head.
“I’m glad you agreed. I nearly got scolded by the vice guild master for wasting money on a pointless errand.”
Jeong Iheun smiled, glanced at the ladder descending toward them, and held out his hand.
“Hold on tight. Ah, if you’re nervous, you can cling to me. The most important thing is safety, after all.”
“……”
“Mr. Han Chasu?”
Instead of answering, Han Chasu looked at the black helicopter descending toward them and thought.
This man wasn’t just a pushover. He was definitely an insane pushover.
***
Going to the hospital by helicopter. Just the thought alone was incredibly bewildering.
Even if he was wearing a mask, it was the sort of thing that would draw attention.
However, Han Chasu soon realized the advantage of a helicopter.
‘…I’ll get home a little faster.’
Even without that, it was obvious that the Gate that had burst open in the middle of the bridge would have caused terrible traffic congestion.
In that situation, a helicopter cutting through the sky without obstruction was an extremely attractive option.
In the end, Han Chasu took the hand extended to him.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“Of course.”
With a delighted expression, Jeong Iheun helped him onto the helicopter.
The hospital they arrived at was unexpectedly very noisy, but…
“You said you just came out of an irregular Gate. Did you perhaps sustain any injuries during combat?”
“I did not participate in combat, nor did I come into contact with any monsters.”
Thanks to Jeong Iheun volunteering to act as his guardian, the examination was over quickly as well.
As he removed the various measuring devices attached to his head and body, Han Chasu asked,
“Are the results out?”
“Ah! Yes, yes. Mr. Han Chasu… Let’s see. There doesn’t appear to be anything problematic on the chart.”
It was the first doctor he had seen since coming to this hospital.
The doctor, whose hair was twisted up high, explained the chart to Han Chasu in a tone befitting a professional.
Of course, there was almost nothing he could understand.
“To put it simply, the wavelengths are uniform, and there are no distortions. There shouldn’t be any major problems going forward, either.”
The kind doctor added an explanation at the patient’s level.
Han Chasu nodded with a calm face.
“Then may I go home?”
And he asked as if he had been waiting for that very moment.
He heard the sound of air escaping beside him. It was clearly Jeong Iheun, but Han Chasu ignored it.
He had a reason he needed to return home as quickly as possible.
‘I have to check whether that damn diary is safe.’
How had he gotten out of the house?
His memories up to the moment he lost consciousness were hazy, so he needed to confirm it.
If he had opened the door and come out, couldn’t someone have gone in and rummaged through the place?
Since it was a fairly expensive apartment complex, he had a faint confidence that the security would be good, but…
‘My situation isn’t good enough to rely on other people’s goodwill.’
Without waiting for an answer, Han Chasu rose from his seat.
“Thank you for examining me. I’ll be going now, then.”
When he picked up his coat, the doctor also stood up before he knew it.
It was to give the final explanation to the guardian.
“If the patient later complains of headaches, auditory hallucinations, or visual hallucinations, bring him to a hospital without delay.”
“Should I bring him back here?”
The doctor shook her head.
She bent over briefly and scrawled something on a piece of paper.
Then she folded the paper small and handed it to Jeong Iheun.
“The national hospital under the headquarters of the Awakened Management Bureau would be more certain. Go to the place written on the note and tell them I sent you.”
“Thank you.”
For some reason, he felt like a child who had come along with his parent.
He frowned at the subtle sense of incongruity, but only for a moment.
“Then we can go back now. I’ve had a car put on standby, so let’s head down.”
At Jeong Iheun’s thorough consideration, Han Chasu was deeply moved.
If he was this kind of pushover, maybe it was fine even if he was a little crazy.
‘It’s not like I’ll be by his side forever anyway.’
His intention to leave Cheonryeong Guild as soon as the matter with Geum Myeonggyeol was resolved remained unchanged.
If so, rather than continuing to push him away, it might be better to comply with his requests within a reasonable line.
With that belated realization, Han Chasu got into the car.
“This time, I’ll get you there safely, Mr. Han Chasu!”
The driver shouted in a booming voice.
Han Chasu looked at him and blinked for a moment.
The driver who had fallen into the Han River because of Geum Myeonggyeol was sitting there perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.
“Ah, you don’t need to worry. I may not look it, but I’m A-rank.”
“Ah… That’s a relief.”
Sinking into the seat, Han Chasu let out a sigh.
The car had just pulled out of the hospital with a smooth ride when—
“Guild Master.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Could we perhaps stop by an item exchange for a moment on the way home?”
Han Chasu looked at Jeong Iheun with a serious face.
***
A few hours after leaving the hospital, the car carrying Han Chasu stopped safely in front of his home this time.
“Stay seated for a moment.”
Jeong Iheun got up himself and opened the door for him. It was because of the luggage Han Chasu was carrying.
“Thank you for bringing me home. Then please take care, Guild Master.”
On the way home, they had briefly stopped by an item exchange.
As Han Chasu got out of the car, the odds and ends inside the bag clattered.
“It looks like you don’t have enough hands. If you don’t mind, I’ll help you.”
At the momentum that seemed as if he would follow him all the way inside, Han Chasu quickly shook his head.
“It’s fine. I can just set them down on the floor for a moment.”
“…I see. If anything hurts, contact me right away.”
It was quite an enthusiastic refusal.
Thinking that nothing ever went easily with him, Jeong Iheun smiled silently.
“Then rest well.”
“Yes, Guild Master. You worked hard as well.”
“I’ll see you again later.”
With a farewell that seemed to leave some lingering resonance, the car departed.
“Ha, finally…”
Like a man who had just had an aching tooth pulled, Han Chasu turned around.
It was a home that felt both sickening and, at the same time, welcome.
“Haa, huff…”
‘Thank goodness it’s on a lower floor.’
The elevator was broken, so he had no choice but to take the stairs.
Fortunately, it seemed this much was not enough to trigger the penalty.
Han Chasu carefully left the stairwell and stepped into the corridor.
Thump, thump. He could feel his heart pounding clearly from the tension.
“Whew…”
After steadying his breathing, Han Chasu strode forward. And nearly collapsed on the spot.
“Ha, damn it…”
The door was firmly shut.
“What a relief.”
A sigh of relief escaped him without his realizing it. Han Chasu naturally leaned his body against the wall.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he tilted his head back.
The cement against the back of his head was cold.
‘From now on, I should set up a barricade in front of the door before organizing luggage.’
How many horrifying delusions had plagued him the whole ride home?
What if Han Chasu’s filthy past had been exposed by an unknown intruder?
And as a result, despite all his effort in saving Jeong Seoheun, what if he ended up being dragged away by Jeong Iheun?
But fortunately, such a thing would not happen.
After taking another deep breath, Han Chasu opened the door.
With a short beep, the messy interior was revealed.
It was the result of his duel with the ghost that had suddenly popped out of the box.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Han Chasu picked up an object sprawled in the entryway.
If his memory was correct, it was definitely something that had been inside the storage room.
“It’s not like an explosion went off…”
Seeing things scattered everywhere, it looked like he would have to check them one by one while looking for the diary.
Han Chasu sighed and was picking up items bit by bit like a gleaner when—
In the middle of the corridor, a half-torn book caught his eye.
“What’s this now…”
He stared at the untitled spine, then flipped the book over in one swift motion.
“Ah.”
Han Chasu let out a long sigh without realizing it.
Daily records packed so densely it made one wonder if it was obsessive-compulsive disorder.
What he had found was the past diary of the original Han Chasu, the very thing he had been searching for so desperately.
***
“Mm… Is this all of it?”
Looking down at the diaries he had gathered together, Han Chasu stroked his chin.
There were roughly five diaries.
A fair number of them had been torn apart because of the battle with that ghost bastard, but it was fine.
What remained was enough to grasp the contents.
No, to begin with, there was almost nothing to grasp.
“This Han Chasu bastard wasn’t in his right mind.”
Picking up the diary from six years ago, the oldest one, Han Chasu let out a sigh.
There was only one thing written inside.
[I’m not a failure.]
He flipped through it from beginning to end, but truly, that one sentence was all there was.
The diaries after that were at least a little better.
[I didn’t fail. I’m not a failure. It’s not my fault things went wrong!!]
[It was strange from the beginning. They were trying to screw me over from the start. Of course they were. I didn’t do anything wrong. That bastard, if it weren’t for that son of a bitch!]
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