DI Ch 83

“You keep getting sick.”

My fingers twitched at the faintly heard low voice. There was a fishy taste of metal in my mouth, and my ears were ringing as if they had gone deaf. And my body was so hot. The fever rose to the point where I thought it was a cold again. It was so bad that when a cold washcloth touched my face, it brought tears to my eyes.

I was in excruciating pain. I felt like I was dying. Especially my head hurt so much. No, my legs hurt the most. No, it was my chest… My whole body was in pain. It felt like something inside me was collapsing, and I had become a lump of flesh.

I felt so dizzy, like when I was drunk. Maybe that’s why it was difficult to tell whether this was a dream or reality. However, there was someone next to me. I reached out with my only moving arm to grope around.

As I weakly whimpered, someone grabbed my hand. Their grip was firm as if they were determined not to let go. However, it provided me with a sense of relief, like a ray of light in the darkness, and my anxiety faded away.

“…You said you were healthy.”

The gloomy voice was eerie. It felt oppressive as if it were overwhelming and pressing down on me from all sides. I hesitated for a moment when someone touched me, but soon realized it was Tae Seong-je. His anger seemed insignificant compared to the overwhelming and oppressive atmosphere that filled the space.

There was a sound of shuffling papers hastily. It seemed like there was someone else here besides us.

“Um, I’m really fine.”

“This?”

I turned my head in the suffocating tension. Something felt strange. There was something obstructing my mouth. I reached out to remove it, but my hand kept fumbling awkwardly as if it were wearing gloves. As I wiggled my fingers, I felt a soft cloth.

“It’s nothing strange. Don’t move.”

‘Hyung…’ I groaned softly and frowned. As I continued to fumble, he gently brushed my forehead and asked.

“What’s the matter? Do you feel stuffy? It’s just an oxygen respirator.”

What, oxygen respirator? I shook my head saying it wasn’t necessary. Then I felt the respirator slowly being removed. I carefully lifted my eyelids. I expected to see the familiar hotel room ceiling, but something strange greeted my eyes. The ceiling had collapsed. No, the building had collapsed!

“Huh.”

What happened? There was no light, only the loud sound of rolling stone fragments, and no sign of presence. I was startled and quickly looked around. Was there an earthquake? Why did it become like this? Has this place collapsed too? Am I going to die again?

There was no visible passageway to get outside. There didn’t seem to be any way out. It had completely collapsed. Breathing was difficult, and I had to open my mouth to breathe heavily. My legs wouldn’t move at all. Oh, I can’t even move, and there’s no way out. The fear seemed to tighten around my throat.

“Haa…uh… Here… here…”

“Seo Seung-won.”

As my breathing became increasingly erratic, I was on the verge of panicking when someone hugged me tightly.

“Seung-won, look at me. Look at hyung.”

The steady voice was reassuring, but what was more familiar was the person’s presence. I focused my gaze on one spot instead of scanning my surroundings, and I gasped for breath for a moment.

“Uh… Hyung, bleeding…”

Red blood was dripping so much that it drenched half of his face.

“Where.”

Tae Seong-je immediately examined and touched every part of my body. Ignoring his urgency, I reached out and gently covered his forehead with my hand. It was so scary because blood was flowing so much, to the point where it seemed strange that he wasn’t dead.

“Hyung, your head, what… what should we do? Blood from your forehead…”

I trembled as I applied pressure to Tae Seong-je’s forehead with my shaking hands. Then, the hand that had been exploring my body stopped abruptly. Meanwhile, blood continued to flow from his face. The color drained from his face, and his pupils dilated, making him look like someone on the verge of death.

“No, no! Hyung, don’t die. Is there anyone here? Someone’s trapped in the building! Help! Help!”

I needed help. If things continued like this, it seemed like this person would die, so I shouted in frustration. I screamed as loud as I could because my legs were stuck in the collapsed ceiling. I screamed for help so loudly that the veins in my neck stood up. But this place was too narrow and far away, and I also lost too much blood.

“Ugh, uh.”

I was too weak, and most importantly, the oxygen here was thin. As I struggled to breathe properly, he quickly brought the respirator back. As my breathing gradually became calmer, I suddenly wondered. It was so cramped here, and you were dying. There was nothing here…

Strange. Could this be a dream? A lucid dream? Could I be dreaming this because I can’t remember anything?

I blinked slowly. But it didn’t make sense. A perfectly fine hotel collapsing like this. However, it was so narrow, cold, and eerily real… Could this really be a dream? The uncertainty only increased my anxiety.

I don’t know what’s a dream and what’s reality. I don’t even know what’s real and what’s fake. It’s complicated and scary.

A chill ran down my spine as I squirmed in his arms and at that moment, my arm was suddenly grabbed. The unidentified hand that was pulling me felt wet and unpleasant. I could feel a sharp needle piercing my flesh.

I was startled, but I didn’t have the energy to flinch. I just breathed heavily. Tae Seong-je’s two hands were holding me. What was that hand just now? I couldn’t see it, but someone’s hand had grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing!”

A stern and loud voice erupted, and at the same time, the needle was removed. Sounds of people falling one after another followed in a chaotic uproar. I lay sprawled in Tae Seong-je’s embrace, rolling my eyes around in confusion. I couldn’t figure out what was happening.

While I was in distress, his rough hands continued to touch my face relentlessly and gently. I felt somewhat reassured, but the fear hadn’t completely dissipated.

“He, he looks so, uh, agitated…”

“Who made you do that? How dare you grab his hand without permission!”

The voice was muffled and scared. The voice was unfamiliar, but it seemed like I had heard it somewhere before. Who is it? Where is this voice coming from? I strained my heavy eyelids to open my eyes again, but my vision was blurred, and I couldn’t distinguish what was what.

“What’s the matter.”

He asked. I could sense the horror in his calm voice. Maybe he was scared too. I wondered if there was something frightening.

‘The building collapsed.’ I muttered weakly. Tae Seong-je once again began to stroke my head as if it were a matter of course. His voice was soothing, and it reassured me.

“It’s okay. We can just leave.”

‘I don’t think we can get out.’

I mumbled, my lips quivering, and looked around to figure out the situation. Although he seemed to be holding up well, the situation didn’t look relaxed enough for us to clear away the heavy rocks and get out. The boulders weighing down on Tae Seong-je’s back came into view, and tears welled up again. I was terrified that you might die. I felt like I would be crushed to death at any moment by what had once been walls, ceilings, and floors. The trembling didn’t stop.

‘I might die like this. I don’t want to die…’

“You won’t die. Don’t even think about it.”

Tae Seong-je whispered softly as he looked at my trembling lips. He hugged me protectively. I wanted to hug him and comfort him too, but I had no strength. Am I dying? I’m so scared. Tears fell from my eyes, and my unfocused gaze continued to wander.

‘Hyung, I don’t want to die.’

“It’s okay. You won’t die.”

Even though he assured me that it would be okay, I still felt anxious. This was because I could not feel anything in my weak body. All I could feel was his breath and body warmth. Then, a faint scent reached my nose.

‘Flower…’

“Clothes?”

‘Flower…’

As I kept repeating the word, Tae Seong-je removed the oxygen mask slightly. Still feeling dizzy, I mumbled with my eyes half-closed.

“Flowers… I can smell the scent of flowers.”

After a brief commotion, the scent of flowers suddenly filled the air as if it were right in front of my nose. It brought some comfort to my anxious heart. With my half-closed eyes, I felt a shadow approaching. When a warm hand covered my forehead, I realized it was his hand.

His hand gently moved down to help me close my eyelids. A cool cloth touched my face. I had no idea how messy my face was, but considering how sweaty and exhausted I felt, I must have been sweating profusely.

Perhaps I was too tired to understand this ambiguous situation, and my eyes kept closing. My consciousness began to fade slowly, and my eyelids drooped. A cold towel that had been soothing my eyes gradually moved away. I was drained of energy, and the silence and stillness around me caused drowsiness to seep in little by little.

If I had been left alone like that, I might have fallen asleep like a dead person. However, someone disrupted the silence. A weak and pitiful voice began to utter miserable words.

“Ugh, give me one more chance, a little more time… This time, I swear! Ugh? Keug, keugghh!”

“Be quiet. He’s sleeping.”

Tae Seong-je lowered his voice and spoke in response to the sudden agonizing cry that burst forth. But even though it sounded like he was speaking, I couldn’t quite hear it. The faint voice felt like a lullaby. However, for someone, it seemed like a nightmare as they started sobbing.

“I didn’t ask for anything too difficult from the doctor.”

As I tried to ignore the growing drowsiness and listened, I finally heard Tae Seong-je’s voice. He sounded extremely agitated and emotional.

“I didn’t demand an immediate cure. Damn it, what’s the cause? Why is the kid like this? Can’t you even figure that out?”

“Pl-please wait a bit longer… It’s a case like no other, and more time is needed…! Ugh!”

At that moment, a suppressed groan was heard as if the person’s throat was getting choked.

“I’d never entrusted you any time…”