Dream Breaker

“Gasp...!”

The moment my eyes fluttered open, I was gasping for breath.

Had the air I always breathed ever tasted this good before!

'Ah!'

Isn't it incredibly refreshing! The air I'm breathing now doesn't have a trace of the stench of blood mixed with filth... Hm?

"You're alive!"

"This is a miracle!"

"It completely stopped…?"

"Thank goodness!"

Thanks to the noisy voices around me, I was able to snap out of my own world.

'What's going on?'

I was lying neatly on a pure white bed, and around the bed were people who appeared to be doctors and nurses.

With expressions of disbelief.

"Where am I...?"

"This is Elmorangs Hospital!"

The doctor answered my question straightforwardly.

"...I'm alive?"

"Yes! Truly miraculously!"

"......"

I was killed by Choi Kang-min who transformed into the Magical Boy.

They say I miraculously survived?

'That can't be!'

My condition, having experienced hell, was at a level that modern medicine couldn't treat.

Even if I was quickly transferred to the hospital and had my life saved, there's no way my arms and legs could be intact.

The doctor continued to explain the situation.

"Mr. Kang Moon-soo, you suddenly collapsed in room 1906 and were unconscious for 9 hours."

"Ah..."

Room 1906.

The moment I heard that word, I realized why I was miraculously alive.

'I woke up from a dream!'

But I couldn't just be relieved.

"And a little while ago, your heart stopped."

"My heart?"

"Yes. So we performed CPR. But when there was no effect even after 20 minutes and we were about to give up, you started breathing and woke up."

"...I see."

I got the chills. At the fact that I almost died in reality, not in a dream!

But now,

Whump.

Thanks to the doctor's words, I was able to let go of my tension.

'I survived... I made it...'

There was a crisis, but in the end, I survived, didn't I?

I relaxed my shoulders and sank into the soft bed.

I really thought I was going to die.

The terrible pain and fear that was hard to believe was a dream.

Just bringing that time to mind made my arm tremble.

"Is your arm uncomfortable?"

"...A little."

I couldn't say it was due to a terrible nightmare.

Was that really a dream?

It was too vivid.

"It's probably an aftereffect of your heart stopping. After all, it was stopped for a full 20 minutes. We'll need to run some detailed tests to know for sure, but if your body is fine, that would be even stranger. It's truly a miracle that you, Mr. Kang Moon-soo, came back to life."

"A miracle... is it?"

A miracle.

It must be a miracle since I escaped from a desperate situation where I was targeted by a monster that ridiculously lifted a truck with one hand.

"Is there anywhere else you're uncomfortable?"

"...I'm hungry."

"Haha! That's a relief. It's proof that your metabolism is active! Unfortunately, it's now 5 a.m. and there's not much to eat."

"That's a shame."

"If you're okay with porridge from a convenience store-"

"How about the payment?"

I started to worry about hospitalization and treatment costs already.

"Mr. Choi Kang-hoon said he will cover all the costs. Ah! This porridge is on me."

"Huh? Why..."

"Because I get depressed for a few days when a patient dies in front of me. This is a reward for lifting my mood."

"Really...?"

The reason was absurd. The doctor who saved the patient's life is thanking me in return?

He gave me a broad smile and turned away.

"Please rest."

"Thank you."

"I should be the one saying that."

Left alone in the large ward, I stared at the dark hospital ceiling.

Zoning out-

I tried not to think about anything for now.

Even so,

'That guy...'

I couldn't help but think of Choi Kang-hoon.

...It's not about the hospital bill.

Although I couldn't meet him because I didn't have an ID, Choi Kang-hoon in my dream was living a very desperate life.

And Choi Kang-min said,

He did it.

While trampling me like a bug with the body of an innocent boy-

'Let's not think about it.'

I emptied my mind again.

Then,

Swoosh-

The door to the ward I was using alone opened and a doctor in a white gown came in.

"Thanks for the porridge- huh?"

The doctor who brought the porridge heated in the microwave on a tray.

But the doctor who slowly revealed her figure in the darkness was a completely different person.

"I'm glad you woke up."

"Ah! Hello."

It was Vice President Seo Hye-joo.

She spread a patient's dining table directly on my waist lying in the hospital bed, and placed the porridge and dishes on it.

"Please eat before it gets cold."

"Thank you. But..."

"It's Seo Hye-joo."

I remember the name. I just don't know why she visited me at this very dawn.

'Let's not worry.'

I'm not in a relaxed state to spend my mind on a not-so-important problem.

I decided to ask directly.

"Vice President Seo Hye-joo."

"Vice President? The real Vice President would be very upset if he heard that. I'm just a manager."

"Ah... I'm sorry, Manager Seo Hye-joo. I confused you with someone else."

I naturally assumed it would be the same because 'Seo Hye-joo' in the dream was a vice president.

"You must be curious why I came to see you, Mr. Kang Moon-soo?"

"Yes, I am."

"Because I was so surprised."

"Um... Why?"

"I was surprised because your symptoms were exactly the same as Mr. Choi Kang-min."

"...I see."

Seo Hye-joo is Choi Kang-min's primary doctor.

I understood right away.

"And I was surprised for the second time when I heard that you suddenly died of a heart attack less than a day later, and I was surprised for the third time when I heard that you came back to life 20 minutes later."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you so much."

"No, it's okay. On the contrary, I'm grateful."

"To me?"

"Yes. Because I saw hope thanks to you. Hope to treat my patient, Choi Kang-min."

"Ah..."

Come to think of it, that makes sense.

She's in charge of a patient who doesn't have even 100 days to live. So she must have seen a 'possibility' in my recovery, who had the same symptoms.

"I may seem calm, but I'm actually very anxious."

"Because of Choi Kang-min?"

"Yes. Mr. Choi Kang-min is a very important patient to us. He is the child of a shareholder who owns quite a few shares in Elmolangs. We can't ignore that."

"Ah ha!"

It was similar to the dream.

There was a difference that the patient was not the child of a shareholder, but the major shareholder himself.

"When the President and the Vice president gave up on him, I thought it was an opportunity to advance. But that was not an opportunity, it was arrogance."

"I see."

Right now, I, who didn't want to think about 'Choi Kang-min' at all, just pretended to listen and responded appropriately.

"How did you wake up?"

"I don't know."

I really don't. If I knew, I wouldn't have experienced that hell!

"I'll change the question. Can you help me?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go to work from tomorrow."

Work! What a heartwarming word!

Although it was hard because of my aptitude, I secured a great job(?) that guaranteed even the cost of living for at least one year.

"Once a week."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not asking you to help for free."

"...Do you pay by the hour?"

I had no choice!

* * *

There was a loud voice waking me up from my deep sleep after eating warm porridge.

"Hyung~~!"

"...Kang-hoon?"

I was a little annoyed because I was still tired, but as soon as I saw the boy with rabbit-red eyes, I completely melted.

'Let's think positively.'

That means he was worried about me. It's definitely not because he's scared of the medical bills.

"I'm glad! I thought something big happened!"

"I'm fine."

Haven't I returned safely alive like this? In reality, Choi Kang-hoon didn't go to prison.

That's enough.

"I'm really sorry! I asked for your help and put you in danger!"

"I didn't do anything."

"No! You showed the same symptoms as my brother! You must have been infected trying to help!"

"Hmm... That's not wrong."

I met Choi Kang-min in my dream, living as he pleased.

"You're amazing after all!"

"I failed."

But I failed to persuade him and was bullied by force. Like a bug that had its legs and wings torn off by a kid in a playground.

"But you're still amazing!"

"...Thank you."

My younger brother's sincere compliment slightly restored my dignity, which had fallen to the bottom.

"Ah! And dad said to tell you he's sorry!"

"I'm already fine."

"It's the first time for you, Hyung! The person who influenced your brainwaves. I barely understood because there were a lot of technical terms, but it seems like the attending physician explained it well to dad."

"I see."

I'm glad the misunderstanding was cleared up.

"So dad said he's going to give you a lot of money for treatment as an apology. He just needs your bank account number."

"My bank account? It's troublesome... Isn't it better to just pay the hospital?"

"Huh? Ah! I already paid for your treatment! The treatment money dad mentioned is your share!"

"Even though the treatment failed?"

"But dad was happy because we got hope thanks to you!"

Hope.

He seems to be influenced by Manager Seo Hye-joo's positive explanation.

"That's ridiculous!"

I struggled to get up from my lying position.

"Bro, can you move already?"

"I'm fine. And I promised to meet Coach Soo-yong tomorrow. I need to clean up the house before that."

"Ah! I'll help you clean the house!"

"It's okay."

"You're a patient! There's no need to refuse!"

"...Alright."

The more I looked at Choi Kang-hoon, the more pitiful he seemed, so I let him do as he pleased.

'Does he know?'

The fact that his half-brother sees him as an obstacle, a hindrance.

"Kang-hoon."

"Huh!"

"...It's nothing."

Choi Kang-min, who considered him as a person not even worth visiting, I wanted to advise this innocent boy.

"Huh? What is it, what is it?"

"I just called you."

"Huh!"

But I swallowed the impulse that reached my throat.

'He's a man who's going to die soon.'

Moreover, there's no benefit for me to speak ill of someone else's family. I don't even have a way to prove my words.

"Bro, you can't just go. You need the doctor's diagnosis and permission to be discharged."

"Really?"

"Really! It's determined by law."

"......"

I didn't know because I had never been hospitalized. My father didn't even have a chance to be discharged.

Ding-dong♪

Choi Kang-hoon pressed a call button that looked like a doorbell next to my bed.

(Patient, how can I help you?)

The nurse's voice came out of the speaker immediately.

"We want to get discharged. Please let us see the doctor."

(Okay. Please wait a moment.)

Under Choi Kang-hoon's lead, everything proceeded very naturally up to this point.

"You're good."

"I often came to see you, bro. I naturally learned how to do it."

"...I see."

Not long after the call, the doctor came.

"You're already getting discharged?"

"Yes. I can't leave my house unattended for too long."

I moved my arms and legs lightly as if to show off my health.

"Hmm... Anyway, please get a check-up."

"Does it take long?"

I couldn't help but be wary because I remembered getting tested for a very long time in my dream.

"It won't take long."

"Please tell me the exact time."

"......"

"......"

"...If it ends quickly, about 8 hours-"

"I won't take it!"

I knew I would react like this!

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