Chapter 87
Jun-Hyuk's mother had been receiving treatment at a mental hospital for several years. However, on the day of her appointment, she attempted to commit suicide. Fortunately, she survived, but she was discovered late, and her life was in danger. Currently, they were transferring her to a university hospital for treatment.
"I only heard that she was hospitalized, but I never knew she was in a mental hospital... Anyway, that's what they say."
Suddenly, I remembered Jun-Hyuk's awkward expression whenever I asked where his house was. Come to think of it, he never went home after school. He would either go straight to the training center or leave without revealing his destination. Perhaps Jun-Hyuk visited his mother at the hospital as soon as school ended.
"Is it okay for you to tell me all this?"
Hearing such a heavy story made me feel uneasy, but at the same time, I wondered if it was really okay to hear this kind of story from someone else's mouth. In-Ah smiled slightly and nodded.
"He asked me to tell you directly. He said he's sorry for not being able to visit you."
"Ah... How is his mother doing?"
"She's conscious, but, um, how should I say it..." In-Ah trailed off, shaking her head and nervously biting her lip for a while. Perhaps it was a sensitive topic, but she struggled quite a bit before speaking. It seemed like she was carefully selecting the appropriate words among countless options.
"Well, Jun-Hyuk said that, um, his mother can't recognize his face."
"..."
"He told me not to take it too seriously. Just listen to it with a light heart... although it's not exactly a light story," In-Ah forced a bitter laugh.
As she said, it wasn't a story to be taken lightly. How would Jun-Hyuk feel about having to take care of a mother who couldn’t even recognize her own child? How would I feel if, by any chance, I was able to reach the underground prison somehow and save my mother, but she was unable to recognize me? What would I do if she loathingly said she didn’t know me...?
Just imagining it made me feel sick.
"Ah, right. Have you seen that person?" As if trying to clear the heavy atmosphere, In-Ah forcefully changed the topic in order to lighten the mood. What exactly did she mean by that person?
"That person?"
"When the Basar Market caught fire, they said a student from our school was there, putting out the fire and rescuing people. They said he pretended to be an apprentice paladin and even used Paladin Order equipment. I thought you might have seen him."
"...I'm not sure."
"Really? They said that everyone at the Basar Market saw him. I thought you would have seen him too," In-Ah said while tilting her head.
I also followed her and tilted my head. In-Ah's words raised more than a few questions.
“...How did I end up in the hospital in the first place?" I asked subtly as if trying to figure things out. At my words, In-Ah's eyes widened in surprise.
"Y-you might have amnesia—!"
"No, I remember. I remember, but I was just wondering what you know about the situation."
"Oh, what was it... Weren’t you at the Basar Market at the time? That’s what the teachers said.”
I quietly nodded. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a wrong statement because I was indeed at the Basar Market at that time. However, it seemed like the fact that I impersonated an apprentice paladin and saved people was not known to the school. To be precise, it looked like the teachers knew, but the students didn't seem to know about it.
Perhaps they thought there was no need to mention it. Whether I saved people or not, it was an undeniable fact that I impersonated an apprentice paladin and illegally used the Paladin Order's equipment. Florence Academy had a strong tendency not to disclose controversial information.
Afterward, In-Ah spoke to me about meaningless topics and stood up when the sun had completely set.
"Take care of yourself. Don’t forget to contact me when you're discharged."
"It's bothersome." I jokingly said, and In-Ah pouted her lips.
"Bothersome? Am I bothersome?"
"Yeah."
"...Don't complain and contact me. Otherwise, I'll hit you. Seriously."
In-Ah clenched her fist and glanced at me, and then she suddenly burst into laughter. I also laughed along with her. Afterward, she left the hospital room. The room I was left alone in was filled with gifts from Ji-Ah and In-Ah. The smell of apples floated in the air.
* * *
Strangely, on the night that Ji-Ah and In-Ah visited, I couldn't fall asleep. The moonlight that came through the window filled the room. The moonlight was cold and had a faint blue color. It was a mysterious shade.
[The strength of the replication spell depends on your knowledge and imagination. In that sense, your grandfather and the first Cult Leader, Do Jun-Gil, was a person with a lot of knowledge and great imagination.]
While gazing at the moonlight, I listened to Legba's lecture. The title of the lecture was 'Achievements of the First Cult Leader and Understanding of the Replication Spell.'
I had made it up just now.
[However, you don't have the same knowledge and imagination that Do Jun-Gil had. Thus, even though you went through the Ritual of Succession, you can only use a part of his true strength.]
Replication spells required knowledge of the ancient Voodoo Cult as a basis. It was because it was a spell that ‘replicated’ the weapons and tools used in the ancient Voodoo Cult, as the name suggested. However, all the literature about the ancient Voodoo Cult had been burned and destroyed after the Holy War.
[There must be some literature hidden by your father... But I don't even know where he hid it. I thought it would be in the box.]
"Hmm."
The box my father left as a keepsake contained no documents about spells or literature on the ancient Voodoo Cult. There was only my grandfather's bone dust. Thanks to that, I was able to escape the crisis, but it was a bit disappointing. It would have been better if there were documents or literature along with the bone dust.
[Do Myung-Jun, that guy was always a bit strange. He deliberately scattered things around instead of keeping them in one place as if he was setting up a game of treasure hunting. He’s a perverted bastard.]
I nodded at Legba's words.
It was a long time ago, but I remember my father giving me some sort of puzzle as a birthday present. He promised to give me the real gift after I solved the puzzle. In the end, I didn't receive the gift. It was because the puzzle my father gave me was a 5,000-piece puzzle. At the time, the puzzle was simply too massive for a child like me.
The truth was, I did solve the puzzle. However, when I finished it, my father was already dead. I solved the puzzle, but no one could give me the gift. It was an unpleasant story to dwell on.
[Come to think of it, you're similar too. The Do family are all a bunch of strange people.]
"Well, that's a bit exaggerated."
[I have never exaggerated before.]
Knock knock.
When I was having a not-so-serious conversation with Legba, a knock was heard. Legba suddenly became quiet. I also shut my mouth. The current time was about ten past twelve. It was deep into the night when it would be strange for someone to pay a visit.
Creak...
Soon, the door opened. I closed my eyes and pretended to be fast asleep. When asked who I was talking to, my plan was to say that I was sleep-talking.
She walked up to me briskly and looked at me while I was pretending to sleep.
"Pretending to sleep?" she said, poking my arm.
A shiver ran down my spine. It was a chilly sensation as if ice was flowing down my back.
Since she had already seen through me, pretending to sleep any longer would be meaningless.
"...How did you know?" I asked, opening my eyes and looking at her.
"I just know by looking."
"Really...? That's amazing."
"Who are you trying to deceive?" Jin-Seo said.
She looked at me with a strangely empty gaze and said, "Don't think about deceiving me. Don’t ever think about doing it in the future either."
As she spoke, her lips formed a faint but clear smile.
The blue moonlight that came through the window wrapped around her like mist. Her hair, swaying from her shoulders, shimmered with a deep blue color in the moonlight. It felt strangely mystical to me.
When I silently nodded, Jin-Seo quietly stared at me. Silence followed.
"And don't die," she said in the moonlight.
The smile on her face had disappeared. It appeared that she was speaking seriously and was not joking.
“...Do you think things will just work out like that just because I want it to?” I said while forcing back a laugh.
"I will make it so."
"What if I get hit by a car while walking on the street?"
"It’s fine if I save you," Jin-Seo said with a face that was more serious than I had ever seen before.
Compared to her serious tone, her words were so childish that I couldn’t help but let out the laughter that I was holding in. She looked at me and tilted her head.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because you’re not very dependable?"
She had never been in a position where she saved me, not even once during the Jun-Min incident and up until now. I didn't really believe that she would save me just because she said so. She looked at me with her head tilted, staring at me for a while, and then she blushed as if she belatedly understood the meaning of my words.
"Until now, until now that may not have been the case... But I’m saying that it’ll be like that from now on."
“Sure, sure.”
“It’s a promise.”
“I said I got it,” I responded while laughing, and she subtly glared at me with narrowed eyes.
"You didn't listen properly."
"I listened properly, though."
"You’re not listening. You’re still listening with indifference."
"I said I'm listening properly."
Honestly, I wasn't listening properly. I was just casually going along with the flow and giving vague responses. Jin-Seo looked at me with suspicious eyes. In that moment of silence, the moonlight that filled the hospital room disappeared.
Darkness came.
The room instantly became dark just because the moonlight disappeared. Jin-Seo sat on the edge of the bed, and only her silhouette was vaguely visible. Her expression was completely hidden in the darkness.
"...This is something that I’m going to say because it suddenly came to mind," Jin-Seo tilted her head slightly and spoke while looking at the moonlight.
"You seem to be getting along well with that person."
Her voice echoed in the darkness. It was as clear as if she was whispering right next to my ear. A strange chill came over me.
The wind blowing outside the window was unusually cold.
"That person?"
"It's In-Ah."
"Ah, yes. What about her?"
"She seems close. She even came for a visit today."
"Erm... So...?"
"Just saying."
The moon, which was hidden behind the clouds, finally revealed itself. Moonlight slowly filled the hospital room. As the darkness lifted, her expression became visible. She had her usual clear, gentle, and beautiful smile on her face.
"Why are you so surprised? What did you do at In-Ah's house?"
In-Ah's house? How did she know that I went to In-Ah's house? No, rather than that, why was Jin-Seo's aura so different from usual?
"What are you talking about? I don’t really..." I quickly changed the subject.
The moonlight outside was swaying dimly. It was easier to distinguish her expression when it was either all dark or completely bright. However, as the light swayed, I couldn't tell if she was frowning or smiling at all. The curtain fluttered lightly along with the blowing wind.
"Didn’t I tell you not to think about deceiving me?" she whispered as if she was scolding me. Her voice was incredibly cold.
My body did not move at all, as if it was being pressed down by scissors. Even flicking my finger was difficult. The moonlight, which had been shaking like a gust of wind, gradually regained its composure. The same cold, blue moonlight filled the hospital room like before.
"Why are you so surprised? It was just a joke."
"..." She seemed to smile innocently like a child.
Her smile shone in the moonlight. I watched her silently with my mouth shut. What on earth was the joke?
"I'm leaving now. It's too late."
Jin-Seo looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and stood up abruptly. Meanwhile, my body remained completely still. Jin-Seo still had a faint smile on her face as she looked at me with narrow eyes.
"Good night."
She left, and sleep naturally overwhelmed me. I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. I didn't dream at all.
* * *
The next day, I finally went through the discharge process. The doctor said it was still too early to be discharged, but for various reasons, I decided to leave the hospital early. I was because I was the type of person who didn’t like staying in the hospital too long.
With Jin-Seo’s help, I was able to skip various procedures. It seemed that her father, Chairman Chang-Won, would also cover the hospital expenses. Well, considering that this hospital was owned by the Florence Foundation from the beginning...
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jin-Seo asked as we finished the procedures and were leaving the hospital.
I had been intently staring at her unconsciously. The reason was undoubtedly because of that strange night that I experienced yesterday, which was difficult to distinguish between reality and dream.
"You yesterday..."
"Yesterday?"
While asking, I stopped and examined Jin-Seo’s face. She had an indifferent expression as if she knew nothing. Her eyes, which were piercing through me, were as sharp as usual. There was a faint smile on her lips, but it didn't feel as cold as last night.
"...Nevermind."
"Yesterday, what?"
She tilted her head.
I recalled last night. The moonlight was too vivid to be called a dream, yet too surreal to be called reality. It was clear that I had a conversation with Jin-Seo in the hospital room. However, it was difficult to distinguish whether the conversation afterward was a dream or not. The moonlight that day seemed to blur the boundary between a dream and reality.
"Ah, sir."
As we walked together, we suddenly arrived at the hospital parking lot. There, Jin-Seo's driver was waiting for her in the car. After Jin-Seo got in the back seat, she rolled down the window and leaned out to ask me a question.
"Which way is your house—?"
Vroom—!
The car started before Jin-Seo could finish her sentence. The car quickly left the parking lot at a threatening speed and entered the road instantly. In the blink of an eye, the car she was in disappeared from my sight.
[It seems like the driver doesn't like you.]
"I didn't do anything to deserve hate."
[You're the type to attract hate even if you stay still,] Legba said mockingly.
I chuckled and walked toward the underground chapel. No one was there to greet me. It was because I hadn’t told anyone that I had been discharged from the hospital.
The next day, I went to school, but there was no one in the classroom.
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