OMS 2

Beep, beep, beep, Dong-shik felt his consciousness gradually returning to the regular mechanical sound. When he lifted his heavy eyelids, the first thing he saw was a pure white ceiling. And then a face suddenly appeared. It was a strange woman, and she looked surprised before quickly disappearing.

“Doctor, the patient is awake!”

As his consciousness became clearer, Dong-sik felt relieved.

Ah, I’m alive. Seems God hasn’t completely abandoned me. Or maybe He didn’t like the idea of making me a rich kid in my next life.

Soon, a man in a white coat appeared and shined a light in his eyes.

“Mr. Lee Hee-soo? Can you hear me? If you can hear me, blink twice.”

When he did as told, the doctor exchanged a few words with the nurse and disappeared. He tried to move his body but couldn’t. How did I get here? Who saved me? What about the person who fell in? Did they live or die?

Staring blankly at the ceiling, Dong-sik painfully turned his head and saw the IV drip beside the bed. Isn’t that white one really expensive? Shit… why did they give me that without asking? His gaze followed the line down to his arm and stopped.

Why is this hospital gown so loose? Is it extra-large?

Squeezing out what little strength he had to raise his hand, he noticed his wrist was strangely thin. His fingernails were neatly groomed, and the small scars on the back of his hand were gone. Moreover, his fingers were long and straight, giving him an uncanny feeling. The other hand was the same.

Dong-sik struggled to sit up. His face contorted as he lifted his hospital gown. The abs he’d carefully cultivated were completely gone, replaced by a flat stomach and slim waist, and his skin was so pristinely white it gave him goosebumps.

He racked his brain, which he rarely used. He’d heard that being underwater too long could cause decompression sickness or something that could cause hallucinations. Was he hallucinating from being in deep water too long?

He pinched his cheek to check. It hurt. The other cheek hurt even more when pinched harder. The funny thing was even his cheeks were soft like rice cakes. Dong-sik mustered his strength to get out of bed. Belatedly realizing this wasn’t a regular hospital room, he was dumbfounded.

There’s no way that stingy boss would put me in a place like this. And with such expensive IV fluids too. Maybe I saved that man? His clothes and appearance did look like a rich young master.

This could be a good opportunity to squeeze some money out of this.

Holding such expectations, he dragged the IV stand to the bathroom.

In front of the sink, Dong-sik froze when he saw his reflection.

“……”

He rubbed his face roughly with his hands. Not satisfied, he rubbed his eyes like they might pop out. Even for a hallucination, this is too much…? In the mirror stood not Park Dong-sik, but the man who had jumped into the water, mouth agape like an idiot. His pale appearance was ghost-like.

Why do I look like this man?

In confusion, Dong-sik touched the man’s face.

“What is this…?”

A sound he’d never heard before came from his throat. Ah, ah, even after grabbing his throat and trying several times, nothing changed. Well, maybe this isn’t a hallucination but a dream. Slap! He struck his cheek hard, but the pain felt real.

Slap! Slap! The more he hit, the redder the man’s cheeks became. His strength was so depleted that his wrist ached after just a few slaps. Still, he wouldn’t wake up, and the face in the mirror remained crumpled like paper.

Dong-sik gripped the sink with both hands and pondered. When did he usually wake up from nightmares? Right, when his life was in danger. He jerked his head up and punched the mirror with all his might. The mirror that would normally have shattered didn’t budge, and instead, terrible pain shot through his hand.

He clutched his hand and trembled.

“Ugh, fuck…”

Hearing curses in that bell-like voice felt strange. Dong-sik staggered back to the bed and looked out the window. Unable to bear the confusion, he immediately pressed the call button, and a nurse appeared. She was startled to see him standing.

“You shouldn’t be moving yet. You need to rest properly.”

She helped Dong-sik sit back on the bed.

“Excuse me, nurse…”

“Yes?”

“My condition right now… something’s wrong…”

“What feels wrong?”

“I think I’ve lost my mind.”

The nurse flinched slightly, then smiled naturally.

“Ah… that can happen when you’ve been in the water too long.”

Maybe it is decompression sickness after all. But can hallucinations be this vivid? Even when I sniffed glue and gas as a kid, I never experienced hallucinations like this. I should probably see the boss quickly. If he recognizes me right away, then this must be a hallucination.

“Can you call my boss? Never mind. I’ll go.”
“Boss? Who are you talking about… Oh no, you can’t get up!”

“Come on. It’ll just take a moment.”

“Please don’t do this. Patient? Patient?”

“Ah geez. I said it’ll just take a moment. Why are you being so inflexible?”

While arguing with the nurse, the door suddenly burst open and an unfamiliar man entered. He was quite tall, wearing an oatmeal-colored coat with black sunglasses covering half his face, making him unrecognizable.

“Oh good, the guardian is here.”

Guardian? Who? After the nurse disappeared with relief, the man strode toward Dong-sik. Looking up at him for a while, Dong-sik suddenly thought: I’m not short by any means, so why is this guy so damn tall?

“Who are you?”

The man’s eyebrows twitched.

“This is unsettling.”

We’re both unsettled here. So who are you?

The man cupped Dong-sik’s cheek without permission, and Dong-sik smacked his hand away.

“What the hell, you bastard.”

“Honey… did you just say that to me?”

Honey? HONEY? Just as he was about to protest in confusion, an elderly doctor appeared.

“What’s going on, Director Jang? He doesn’t recognize me.”

The elderly director showed a respectful attitude while flipping through the chart.

“The tests show nothing abnormal. However, it seems he’s experiencing memory loss from the shock.”

Dong-sik deeply furrowed his brow at the mention of memory loss. What nonsense about memory loss. Today he collected 9.85 million won including interest. And in two days, he was planning to either settle things with Butcher Jang or gut him.

With memories this clear, what loss? The only loss is my patience, you bastards.

Looking closer, could they be planning to trap me in this expensive room to squeeze out hospital fees? Dong-sik ruthlessly pulled out the IV needle from his arm. Blood flowed, the nurse approached in alarm, and the doctor tried to stop him.

“Mr. Lee Hee-soo, you can’t do this. You need to rest now. Only then will your memories return—”

He couldn’t hear the rest, only the three syllables “Lee Hee-soo” stuck in his ears. Why had the doctors been calling him Lee Hee-soo? He wasn’t Lee Hee-soo. Turning around, he noticed the nameplate at the end of the bed.

[Lee Hee-soo, 27]

He just blinked, not understanding. Lee Hee-soo? Who’s that? As his confusion showed, the young man asked the doctor to leave them alone. Once alone, the man removed his sunglasses, and Dong-sik’s jaw dropped in surprise.

He had seen the man on TV. A young successful film director, the youngest winner at an international film festival or something. While grilling pork belly at home with colleagues, they had watched his program and lamented about God’s unfairness. Why give that bastard both looks and talent while giving them nothing?

Why was such a man standing before him? Before he could solve this mystery, a man grabbed Dong-sik’s shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. Unable to resist, his body was drawn to the man. The man nuzzled Dong-sik’s nape. It was clearly a sexual gesture, and Dong-sik pushed him away in confusion.

“What are you—”

The man smiled sadly while caressing Dong-sik’s cheek.

“Why can’t you remember me, Hee-soo?”

Hee-soo? Who? Me?

“You can forget everyone else, but not me.”

His mind went blank at the affectionate voice. The large hands were soft, and unlike before, the man gave off an unfamiliar scent. Strangely, perhaps because of that scent, his legs weakened and he felt a tingling below his stomach.

Ah, why is my body acting like this?

Before he could think further, the man’s lips devoured his. A tongue boldly invaded, exploring his mouth, while the man’s hands slipped under the hospital gown, touching his skin. When he brushed against a nipple, Dong-sik snapped back to his senses and pushed him away again.

Dong-sik wiped his lips with a disgusted expression.

“Shit, you scared me. Not even using a turn signal before entering?”

Despite the crude language, the man just smiled. Just then, the doctor returned, saying he could be discharged and giving some instructions. At the situation flowing so smoothly, Dong-sik exploded in anger.

“Wait! Discharge? That makes no sense in this situation. Hey, doctor. Did you examine me properly? Look at me carefully. Isn’t something wrong? I’m not Lee Hee-soo. You’re a doctor! Can’t you even tell that?”

The man beside him wrapped an arm around Dong-sik’s shoulders soothingly.

“Shh- enough. It’ll be fine with time. Don’t get angry, okay?”

Dong-sik shrugged off the arm in disgust. What kind of relationship did this guy have with this body’s owner to act like this? The way he freely hugged and touched him, he clearly wasn’t just anyone…

A lover? Or… husband?

Well, they say good-looking people stick together.

While speculating, the man said something unexpected with a serious expression.

“So let’s go home now, sister-in-law.”

Dong-sik was more shocked than when he’d seen the strange face in the mirror.

What the hell… did this bastard just call me?