The blurred world gradually regained its form. He couldn't imagine how long he had spent huddled in the darkness. Was it a day? Two days? Or perhaps a year?
He didn't particularly feel like hiding. Rather, he wanted to burst out into the world and run. He wanted to smash that bastard's filthy smirk, and he wanted to stroke the hair of the girl who always stayed by his side. Surely, it would be fleeting again.
I Han's pupils were already clear. His eyes took in the world he had not seen in ages.
As expected...today, too, there was no one. Only I Han lay sprawled alone in the quiet space. Jieun-ah.
He had missed her. A longing, tender emotion flowed faintly.
An Onho...!
He wanted to kill him. I Han's rage was so great that he wanted to bash his skull in and devour his brains. "Keuk!"
Two conflicting emotions surged. The two feelings, tumbling over each other, rapidly plunged into chaos.
Ch. 1/11 p.
Date: 14.01.28 15:45
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He didn't want to go.
He didn't want to be dragged back to the dark place again. He wanted to get up immediately and rush out into the world. But his will would not let him move as he desired.
Swish.
His eyes closed once more. No—they were definitely open, but the world was growing hazy. It grew hazy and hazier until it turned dark, and in that darkness, I Han huddled himself once again. Once more...he was alone.
The world, empty of everything, was silent. Because he could not tell the flow of time, his fear was all the greater. I Han, who had been huddled for the longest time, raised his head. He couldn't see anything, so he couldn't muster the courage to move. It was terrifying.
Without hiding his trembling pupils, I Han buried his head between his knees. And he spread his palm.
Swish.
In the darkness within darkness, where he could not see his own hands, legs, body, or anything right beside him, I Han waited in that place once more for the brief moment he could escape from here. Waiting only for that moment when the outside world with its bright light would enter his sight again, he sent away the time that refused to pass.
The silence persisted.
How much time had passed like that? In a world where the very concept of time had vanished, I Han discovered a bright light approaching from afar.
Ch. 2/11 p.
Ah...it had finally come.
The moment he had been waiting for had arrived once more. Due to the sudden light, the world was hazy, but as time passed, he gradually grew accustomed to it.
"Ha... Han?"
And he saw. Sitting right before him with tears welling in her eyes—the lovely girl, Choe Jieun. Jieun-ah...
I Han's mouth opened. But no sound came out. He merely moved his lips, yet even that was an astounding sight. Perhaps because of that, Choe Jieun's eyes grew wide. But they quickly returned to normal. And she looked at I Han with a somewhat strange air.
"Of all times, you open your eyes now?"
What...did that mean?
I Han wanted to ask but forced his mouth shut. "Sorry. I'm seeing someone else. We'll be getting married soon. I came today to tell you this, and you just happened to open your eyes."
Choe Jieun said this with a faint smile. Marriage...?
I Han felt his heart was surprisingly calm. "I can't...live with you lying like this for the rest of my life. Even if you end up walking again, don't contact me."
Her words were a sharp dagger piercing his eardrums, but surprisingly, I Han didn't feel pain.
Ch. 3/11 p.
"I'm going. Take care."
She rose from her seat. I Han turned his gaze to follow her back. Ah...
Of all times, the world grew dark once more then.
She froze.
Choe Jieun, who had been walking, stopped. And slowly turned her head. Before anyone knew it, I Han's pupils had become hollow. A single tear, sparkling like a jewel, fell from her eyes down her cheek as she realized I Han had once again disappeared into the darkness.
"You have to get up, no matter what."
She approached I Han. And gently wrapped her hand around his.
"I'll watch over you forever."
Choe Jieun, who had been looking at and crying over I Han for the longest time, wiped away all her tears with the back of her hand.
"Maybe I won't be able to see you again, so it hurts so much, but..."
She stood from her seat.
"As long as you can get up again, I don't care what happens to me."
And she turned her back once more. She would never be able to see I Han again now. Because she knew how much I Han had loved her, because she knew how much he loved her—these were words and actions she could take.
"Because that's the kind of man you are."
But I Han was that kind of man.
Ch. 4/11 p.
The kind of man who, once she said she wanted to break up first, would never contact her first. Because that was I Han.
I Han, who had been huddled in the darkness, raised his head. He, who had been unable to move because he feared the darkness until now, now wore a truly calm expression.
Darkness...it was nothing. If it were now, even if something were before his eyes, he would not be afraid, nor would he be scared.
Swish.
For the first time, I Han rose from his place. Then the space filled with darkness began to shake violently. It became a nauseating churn that cruelly shook his inner self.
Ugh.
He felt a pain that could not be explained with words. Whether it originated from his body or was due to someone's absence, there was no way to know. But he could endure it now. He felt he could endure it.
Tak.
And so he took a monotonous step. It was a very simple motion, but also the most difficult movement in the world.
Thud.
The moment that motion was made, darkness began to recede like a lie.
Thud.
As he took another step, the retreating darkness gained speed. In an instant, terror and fear disappeared. At the same time, I Han's hazy pupils, which had been lying on the bed, quickly cleared.
Emptiness, longing—no, that thing which could not be expressed with such words. That was what pushed away the darkness. But behind that clarity, there was a trembling that could not be hidden.
More frightening than darkness...
Because she was not by his side.
I Han's roar filled the hospital room. "Uaaargh!"
His pupils flashed, filled with killing intent, and his two fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails had dug into his flesh. "I'll kill...! I'll kill him!"
I Han, who had been lying in bed all this while, spat out roughly. The reason for that stemmed from an object occupying the corner of the hospital room.
[Yes. Player An Onho is currently maintaining his position in the lead group. His jaw is set and his gaze is fixed forward, isn't it?]
[That's correct. The angle of his elbows is also good. The angle of his upper body is also appropriate at around 15 degrees.]
[At this pace, there's a good chance he'll make the rankings.]
Ch. 6/11 p.
[Yes. We hope he continues running just like he is now.]
I Han, who had been looking around, grabbed the object his hand found. It was a flower pot, and he threw it toward the TV screen.
Thud.
But the flower pot passed the TV and crashed into the wall. The TV was intact, and An Onho's face was caught in a close-up.
[Player An Onho, you are truly amazing!]
[He's the pride of South Korea.]
Between the caster and commentator's conversation, I Han's rough sounds spread once more. "Kuaaaah!"
Perhaps having heard that sound, a nurse passing by the hospital room hurried in. "Oh my, you're doing this again!"
She skillfully placed a syringe against I Han's forearm. Whether it was because it contained a sedative, I Han's excitement quickly subsided.
"Haah, haah..."
"Phew, really."
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and then cleaned up the broken flower pot. And after changing the channel, she slipped out of the hospital room.
Ch. 7/11 p.