Episode 8
It was five days ago, around the time Han Chasu had just been brought to Yubaek Hospital and put on a ventilator.
That day, Baekdam received a call he had been eagerly awaiting for no less than two years. It was a call from his one and only beloved younger brother.
“Seon, what is it?”
The hand gripping the receiver trembled with joy.
It had already been two years since his brother had stormed out of the house, declaring that he couldn’t stand it anymore, and joined the Cheonryeong Guild.
Baekdam held his breath, wondering if his brother was finally coming back into his arms.
“Are you trying to come home? Our Seon, you’ve finally realized that leaving home means suffering, huh? Don’t worry, your brother has been waiting for you all this time. The password is still the same, so….”
But what rang in his ears was something entirely different.
—Hic, big brooo. Fuuuck, I can’t believe I have to call you myself. Waaah.
“…”
“Seon?”
—You… come to Yubaek Hospital right now.
Baekseon declared it to Baekdam in a firm voice, even as he sniffled adorably.
—If you come running right now and save someone, I’ll cancel my runaway act.
“What? Did you call me while crying over some other bastard?”
—Are you coming or not?!
His younger brother even shouted at him, adorably. Baekdam wondered what kind of bastard had made Baekseon cry, but decided to give in for the moment.
He was the older brother. He couldn’t very well try to beat his younger brother.
And that was how Baekdam, vice-guild leader of Philoso, the third-largest guild in the country, and one of only five S-rank healers in the world, ended up treating Han Chasu.
“…
That’s how it happened. I’m grateful to you, Mr. Han Chasu.”
Baekdam placed a hand over his chest and bowed. His smooth hair rippled along with him.
“If you hadn’t been in a condition where it wouldn’t have been strange for you to drop dead at any moment, Seon wouldn’t have called me.”
“…
I see.”
Having composed himself, Han Chasu looked over the man before him.
‘So this must be the man Baekseon really didn’t want to contact.’
Despite his rather saintly air, his speech and behavior had been fairly rough from the start.
Still, he was the person who had treated him, so he ought to thank him. Even if it had been entirely unnecessary.
Han Chasu bowed in return and quietly opened his mouth.
“Thank you for your help. By the way, I heard that Baekseon had an older brother, but I didn’t know it was you, Mr. Baekdam.”
“Seon must have talked about me a lot?”
Baekdam’s eyes gleamed as he lightly clapped his hands.
Even that ordinary gesture exuded elegance, thanks to his long, supple limbs.
“He didn’t even pretend to know me, so I wondered if I’d come all this way for nothing. How cute. I guess he really did miss me. He even talked about me to someone he isn’t close with.”
He was the type to ruin all the points he earned with his first impression by talking.
Han Chasu sighed inwardly.
I should make some small talk and send him away.
Han Chasu was absentmindedly humoring Baekdam’s words when he suddenly went rigid.
It happened when Baekdam briefly adjusted his sleeve during their conversation.
“Mr. Han Chasu?”
Baekdam fluttered his delicate eyelashes at the sight of Han Chasu’s cold, rigid gray eyes.
Han Chasu wasn’t answering his call. He was staring obsessively at something.
Following his gaze, Baekdam let out an exclamation.
“Ah.”
What had caught Han Chasu’s attention was the bracelet Baekdam always wore.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it? Seon and I each wear one.”
Baekdam, secretly pleased, rolled up his sleeve to show it off.
“…
Was it made from a dungeon by-product?”
“You have a better eye than I expected. That’s right. Since my work involves a lot of physical activity, I had it made from something that wouldn’t wear down easily.”
Baekdam raised his arm so it could be seen clearly.
The bracelet took the form of a silver-white snake coiling tightly around his thick wrist.
The snake, biting its own tail, had two eyes adorned with green gemstones. Han Chasu frowned at the jewels’ glittering light.
‘Strange.’
Why did it feel so familiar?
In his original world, he had never seen such an extravagant ornament. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to it.
That was when it happened. A buried memory struck the back of Han Chasu’s head and flashed past.
[Terrible screams echoed through the damp cave.
“Aaaaargh!”
They belonged to Han Chasu.
Baekdam slowly walked deeper into the cave.
“You came earlier than expected.”
“That way, I can watch that thing suffer for longer.”
“…
Just heal him.”
Jeong Ihun tossed aside the leg he had been holding and walked out of the cave.
“Don’t come! D-don’t come! I said don’t come!”
Baekdam paid no heed to Han Chasu’s screams.
“I’ll treat you perfectly again today, Mr. Han Chasu. I’ll make sure not a single place hurts.”
That way, he would be able to suffer a little longer.
As Baekdam slowly raised his arm, the silver-white snake around his wrist gleamed with green eyes.]
“Damn it.”
Han Chasu groaned. No wonder it had been bothering him so strangely.
Baekdam, the S-rank healer. In the original story, he was one of the people who took part in torturing Han Chasu.
His reason was the same as Jeong Ihun’s. His younger brother had died in the Frost Giant dungeon because of Han Chasu.
‘The healer who was suddenly called in. Right. That was Baekseon.’
No wonder he had felt something off when he spoke with Baekseon that day!
There had been another person nearby who would torture him if things went awry.
‘Thank goodness Baekseon survived.’
If he hadn’t shoved him away then, who knew how badly things might have gone wrong?
‘That bastard used the fact that he was a healer to keep tearing my limbs apart and putting them back together.’
A cold sweat ran down his spine, and Han Chasu shuddered involuntarily.
Ah, living as a villain was really hard.
‘I want to quit already.’
“Mr. Han Chasu?”
When Han Chasu shuddered, Baekdam’s eyes widened.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
His manner of speaking might have been unpleasant, but he was a healer by profession, and his approaching face was filled with concern.
“I could heal—”
“No, no. It’s nothing.”
Clatter.
Han Chasu pulled away and vehemently rejected Baekdam’s kindness.
The man’s face coming so abruptly to the fore had reminded him of the original story.
[The only one here who worries about you is me. You’re grateful, aren’t you?]
Of the perverted way he had watched Han Chasu being tortured by Jeong Ihun, smiling white as snow.
“I’m fine. A sudden cold draft came in.”
“Oh dear. You should be careful.”
Baekdam clicked his tongue and went to close the window himself.
“After all, I went to such trouble to save you.”
“……”
Until just moments ago, Han Chasu had thought Baekdam was simply the type to speak without thinking.
Now, every word he said sent chills down his spine.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Han Chasu forced the words out.
“You’re right. I need to recover quickly… and be discharged.”
And I don’t want to get tangled up with another lunatic like you.
Han Chasu’s concern was entirely justified.
Baekdam’s love for his younger brother was no less intense than Jeong Ihun’s.
In other words, he was also more than likely to come charging at Han Chasu, insisting that he wanted to repay the debt he owed for saving his brother.
‘I’m pretty sure what I read was a modern-fantasy novel….’
Why did every character in it have such deep sibling bonds?
As Han Chasu swallowed a sigh, Baekdam tilted his head.
“You’re already talking about being discharged?”
“You can’t live in a hospital forever, can you?”
Han Chasu spoke while avoiding his gaze.
“I can’t keep inconveniencing the guild, either.”
“Ah, no wonder Seon was saying something about quitting.”
“Baekseon has already told you that, too?”
“Yes. He was getting teary-eyed, asking what would happen if you quit and disappeared. The boy’s heart is just too soft…. Hmm.”
Baekdam’s voice, which had been muttering quietly, lowered.
He seemed to ponder for a moment before suddenly grabbing Han Chasu’s hand.
Han Chasu was startled by his cool body temperature and was about to strike him when—
“Then why don’t you come to our guild?”
“…
What?”
“I’ll treat you well.”
Baekdam smiled shyly, his eyes narrowing as if to beguile him.
“Your body’s already ruined. Wouldn’t it be better to stay near an S-rank healer if possible?”
Han Chasu regretted it sincerely.
He should have just struck him instead of holding back.
***
“Think about it carefully!”
Baekdam was persistent, but Han Chasu finally got him out by telling him he needed to sleep. At last, peace returned.
“Ha….”
When he looked out the window, the sun had already gone down.
Han Chasu clutched his throbbing head and lay down on the bed.
His entire body was filled with weakness, as though all his energy had been drained away.
A nurse would be bringing his meal soon.
Even as he reminded himself that he shouldn’t skip a meal, Han Chasu slowly closed his eyes.
“……”
Steady breathing echoed through the silent hospital room.
On the sixth day since transmigrating into the body of a villain who was a ticking time bomb,
Han Chasu fell into a peaceful sleep while remaining in his right mind for the first time.
***
Life in the hospital wasn’t too bad.
What first captured Han Chasu’s heart was the food.
The meals provided three times a day were plentiful and varied.
The menu changed every day, and it was clear that great care had gone into its nutrients and calories.
Thanks to that, his days remained a delight to both his eyes and his mouth.
“Not bad.”
It was a little ridiculous that everyone treated him like a sugar figurine that might shatter at any moment, but it was livable.
The bedding had also been replaced with something much softer than what he’d had on the first day, making it pleasant to roll around on.
‘I wonder if they’d tell me where they bought this if I asked.’
Han Chasu was pressing down on the mattress when—
“Hyung, what are you doing?”
Baekseon, a runaway adult, opened the door and walked in.
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