Consciousness returned.
'Mmm.'
Groaning inwardly, he slowly opened his eyes. Ihan, who had blanked out for a moment, slowly raised his upper body.
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, pain came crashing down.
"Ah..."
Only then did he recall the machine collapsing, and himself screaming in agony before losing consciousness. Ihan urgently tried to check his legs. But he couldn't muster the courage.
"S-Senior."
Just then, An Onho happened to enter the hospital room.
"How is... your body?"
"..."
Ihan didn't answer. The stabbing pain in his legs and the strange sensation lurking beneath that pain filled him with anxiety. So he couldn't look down at them all at once. That anxiety was so overwhelming that he was afraid it would become reality.
"Senior..."
But at An Onho's demeanor, Ihan's expression twisted terribly. He tried to dispel the foreboding that had crept one step closer. Yet at the words that immediately followed, all of that effort turned to foam.
"I'm sorry. Because of me... your legs..."
"My legs... what's wrong with my legs?"
Ihan ultimately couldn't lower his gaze. The moment he checked his legs, he felt he would fall into deep despair, so he consciously kept his head held in place.
"Your athletic career is no longer..."
"Ha, haha. What's wrong with you? What's wrong!"
Ihan's eyes reddened.
"I'm fine."
But then why were tears falling? Ihan wiped the heat on his cheek with the back of his hand.
"I'm fine!"
He shouted as loud as he could, but in the end, nothing changed. After remaining silent for a long while, Ihan looked at An Onho and opened his mouth.
"I want to be alone."
"Senior..."
"Get out."
"Yes."
The moment An Onho turned his back, Ihan unknowingly raised his head. And he blankly stared at the sight that captivated his eyes.
He's smiling?
At first, he couldn't understand what was happening or what the situation was, but after An Onho left the hospital room and he thought for hours, he reached one conclusion.
"No way!"
The bizarre smile that had formed at the corner of An Onho's lips the moment he turned his back was stuck in his head and wouldn't leave. He tried to avoid it and thought it couldn't be, but the answer was already set.
Everything was....
Only then did he realize. No, he had finally witnessed with his own two eyes the truth he had already known. Everything had been a plan.
"Ke, kekek."
Why was he laughing? He should be angry, but contrary to that, laughter came out. Whether his mind had snapped or his emotions had gone mad, the laughter didn't know how to stop.
"Keh, kekekeh. Kehahahahaha!"
After a bout of laughter, a strange smile was drawn at the corner of Ihan's mouth. It was the kind of smile that someone who hadn't experienced it could never understand, absolutely could never understand.
It was raining.
On small leaves, raindrops fell in round beads. Rainfall that could not be blocked by hands embroidered the air and soaked the ground. That rainwater, which stole one's gaze and even one's mind, made his faint heart even more desperate. Forgetting even the passage of time, he focused on the rain. Bit by bit, slowly, dark rain that made wounds throb fell upon Ihan's heart like that. Conveying pain that felt as if it would burst and maddening agony, the rain struck Ihan's heart.
"......."
Ihan, who had been blankly staring into the empty air, came to his senses at the sound of the door opening. He turned his head, casting an indifferent gaze. It was cold to the point of stinging.
"You're awake."
It was the doctor in a white coat. Ihan slowly nodded.
"Your colleague told me."
"Yes."
"Would you like to hear... the details?"
Ihan nodded once again. Having confirmed that, the doctor explained Ihan's condition.
"The bones in your knee were broken. The degree was so severe that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were pulverized. The problem wasn't just that. Damage to the bones and muscles starting from the toes continued up to the buttocks. The impact on the thigh and pelvic area is also severe. Of course, the biggest problem is the knee that suffered major damage, but..."
"So?"
"The surgery ended successfully, so amputation was avoided. However, unfortunately, it seems you will no longer be able to continue your athletic career."
Ihan looked at him with a composed gaze.
"Will I be able to walk?"
At Ihan's question, the doctor's expression stiffened.
"Mmm."
"Please tell me honestly."
"Sigh. The results will vary depending on how diligently you undergo rehabilitation training."
"Doctor."
Ihan quietly called out to the doctor. And he didn't continue speaking. Whether the doctor realized the hidden meaning, he made a troubled expression.
"Phew, I understand. But this is entirely my subjective judgment."
"Please tell me."
"Miraculously... there have been people who walked."
A miracle.
"But."
Then the doctor spoke again.
"Spasmodic pain may follow."
At those words, Ihan smiled faintly.
Spasmodic pain—those words meant that he wouldn't know when the pain would appear. Even if he walked, even if he ran, even if he competed in a tournament, pain might occur and torment Ihan.
'Kekek.'
The doctor continued speaking, but it no longer entered Ihan's ears. Already, the answer was out.
"But your current condition is better than what was written in the data. If you work hard, sufficiently..."
The doctor looked at the blankly staring Ihan for a moment, then turned his back. Pity settled in his eyes, but there was nothing he could do. Because now, everything depended on the patient's will.
Squeak.
The doctor left the hospital room, and Ihan was alone once more. The strong eyes of Ihan, who had been lying in bed, began to fill bit by bit with emptiness. As one hour passed and two hours passed, the density of that emptiness deepened to the point of being unbearable. That deepened, hollow gaze no longer thought of returning to its original state.
A day passed, and two days passed. Many people came to visit him in the hospital, but Ihan remained the same. He said nothing and took no action. Even when his girlfriend came, Ihan merely stared at her blankly.
"Really... how long are you going to be like this!"
It was Choi Jieun, his longtime lover whom he had been dating for over five years.
"You need to get up quickly and do rehabilitation exercises. Huh? So you can walk around, and run around... you have to, it's the right thing to do..."
She tried getting angry and encouraging him, but Ihan didn't even open his mouth. For Choi Jieun, looking at such an Ihan, each day was pain and despair.
"Hana, please......."
Even at her despair-laced voice, Ihan's pupils were empty. Having become a hollow existence unable to converse with anyone and no longer showing any reaction whatsoever, time passed in that state.
Waiting is torture. Waiting with hope might be enjoyable, but in the opposite case, it is a hellfire for the person concerned.
"Doctor."
"Mmm."
The doctor who had been watching Ihan for a long time pondered for a while before opening his mouth. It was time to inform the guardian of the results he had studied and researched until now. But since Ihan had no family, he had to tell at least his girlfriend, who was always nursing him by his side.
"It seems he has trapped himself."
"Trapped himself?"
"Sometimes, after receiving a great shock, there are people who refuse to come out into the world. But this patient's case is very severe. Of course, there are people who don't speak. But that patient can still do everything by himself."
The doctor briefly caught his breath.
"And there are people who just space out. But even such patients usually have their minds awakened for a few hours a day. This patient is not like that. He doesn't move on his own. Fortunately, it seems he wakes up once every few days, but that time is barely a little over one minute. It seems he has woken up a few times so far, but at those times, someone was always away from their post. Since no one was there, we had no choice but to check via CCTV."
"He had woken up?"
"Yes. Looking at the CCTV, there was movement once every few days, for a very short time."
Choi Jieun's eyes reddened.
"Th-then... what should we do now?"
"I also searched through the data for a long time, but there is no exact answer."
Choi Jieun's eyes sparkled as she caught the strange nuance in the doctor's voice.
"Does that mean you found an answer that isn't exact but is possible?"
"Yes. But..."
"Please tell me. Doctor, I beg you."
"It may be useless, or perhaps it could get even worse."
"I'll do anything. So please, tell me."
"Sigh."
The doctor also had an expression full of worry. But he had come this far to tell her. Further thought was meaningless.
"You give him another great shock."
"What?"
"Within that one minute he is conscious, you inflict another mental shock."
"That's..."
"That's why I'm telling you. It could get worse... or it could get better."
"Ah..."
Her eyes shook greatly upon hearing the doctor's words.
A shock... another mental shock...
She didn't want to do such a thing. But she couldn't just leave him like this forever.
"I'll step out now."
The doctor slightly bowed his head, then turned his back. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped for a moment.
"Any further... there is nothing more I can do for you."
Now the choice was hers. Whatever she did, she had to choose it herself and bear the responsibility for that choice.
"Ihan..."
Left alone, she stared at his face for a long while. Her eyes filled with affection and apology.