SS 8(2) Part 5

Tears streamed down Song Jaeho’s wrinkled cheeks without a moment’s pause. Of all places, he had injured his head. Because it was a shabby hospital, the doctor had only stitched up the open wound.

To properly treat it, they needed to go to a better hospital or buy a healing potion… but neither of those was something Song Jaeho could do for Bomin right now.

What if Bomin never woke up like this? If he was left alone in the world again, how would he live?

Even though it hadn’t been long since he met Bomin, Song Jaeho was living a life where he looked forward to tomorrow more than ever before. Just Bomin smiling at him was enough to relieve the exhaustion of the day.

Having someone’s warmth linger in the space that used to be filled with loneliness when he returned home was sweeter than he had imagined.

Now that he had tasted it, Song Jaeho couldn’t go back to a life without Bomin.

“I can’t…”

He was about to say he couldn’t be alone anymore when…

“Ugh…”

His long eyelashes fluttered, and his dark, unfocused eyes slowly opened. Bomin frowned at the light pouring into his eyes and then slowly came to his senses, feeling the warmth in his hand.

“Am I still…”

In a dream.

He didn’t know whether to be relieved or to say he was going crazy being trapped in a dream that he didn’t know when he would wake up from.

Thinking of those in reality, he felt he should throw himself somewhere to wake up from the dream, but when his eyes met those of the young Song Jaeho gazing at him blindly, he felt it would be incredibly frustrating to leave like this.

‘No, to begin with, is this really a dream if the pain feels so vivid?’

His head was throbbing. This kind of pain was a long time coming. Whoever hit his head, if this had happened in reality, that person would already be dead.

The faces of those he missed came to mind. He let out a soft sigh to hide his sinking heart, and then something strange caught his eye.

“…What the. Are you crying?”

Song Jaeho was shedding large teardrops without even blinking. Bomin gasped in surprise.

The child, who had always lived bravely even in the most desperate situations, was crying as if it were the first time he had ever cried.

“Why are you crying…?”

Bomin reached out and wiped Song Jaeho’s eyes. As soon as he wiped away the tears, more flowed down the already formed trails.

“I’m sorry, hyung.”

After speaking informally for a while… Song Jaeho apologized in a trembling voice and covered Bomin’s hand, which was cupping his cheek, with his own.

“Why are you sorry? Those bastards are the bad guys.”

This place was even more lawless than where Bomin had been. The neighborhood where Song Jaeho lived was a gathering place for those who weren’t protected by the law, but perhaps because it was an earlier time, thugs were rampant to an excessive degree.

Moreover, Song Jaeho at this time was still a powerless child.

Every time Bomin saw the child struggling to protect himself, he couldn’t stand how foolishly he had lived in the past.

“Did the treatment cost a lot?”

He never thought he’d worry about money. Even before entering the novel, Bomin had never lived in poverty.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Seeing Bomin’s concern about the hospital bill, Song Jaeho abruptly stood up. He picked up the wad of money on the bed and tucked it into his pocket.

“Stay here for a bit. I’ll go take care of some things outside.”

“What do you mean…!”

In the first place, it wasn’t a number of people that Song Jaeho could handle alone. Even with Bomin, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered; if Song Jaeho went to find them alone, he might return with injuries far worse than Bomin’s. …He could even die.

He didn’t know for sure whether this was Song Jaeho’s dream or his past, but it was excessively realistic. He had a strong premonition that if something happened to Song Jaeho here, something would also happen to him in reality.

“I can’t let you go alone. If you’re going, I’m going too.”

Bomin sat up. Even lying still made his head pound, and the sudden movement made it throb even more.

“I told you to stay lying down!”

“You’re talking about walking into your death; how can I possibly stay put?”

Song Jaeho was surprised and tried to make Bomin lie down again, but Bomin was equally stubborn.

“You can’t come in here!”

Just as the two were bickering, the sharp voice of a nurse erupted from beyond the door.

“Kyaaaak!“

Following that, the sound of something shattering rang out, causing both of them to hold their breath and stare into each other’s eyes.

“…It’s those bastards.”

Bomin gritted his teeth. He had anticipated them coming after them since they hadn’t incapacitated them before escaping. Moreover, Bomin had lost consciousness in the middle, making it difficult to grasp the situation.

“Let’s go down that way first.”

Song Jaeho followed Bomin’s gaze and nodded firmly. As soon as Bomin got up, Song Jaeho pulled the bed Bomin had been lying on and blocked the door with it.

Fortunately, there was a cabinet next to the door, so he wedged the IV stand between the wall and the cabinet. It seemed like it would hold for a while even if they pushed from the outside.

“I’ll go down first. Trust me and jump.”

“Okay.”

Song Jaeho quickly opened the window and jumped down. Fortunately, the hospital was on the second floor. If it had been the third floor, it would have been difficult to jump without anything to break his fall.

Landing lightly on the ground, Song Jaeho spread his arms wide. Bomin sat on the windowsill, catching his breath.

Unless Song Jaeho had Esper abilities… As a regular person, he felt instinctively afraid to throw himself down. The fact that Song Jaeho’s physique was smaller than in reality also contributed to his fear.

“Don’t just stand there?!”

Bomin turned his head at the loud shout from behind. A gap had formed between the door and the frame, and large men were struggling to remove the IV stand blocking the doorway.

The door rattled loudly as if it would burst open any second. Bomin closed his eyes tightly and jumped down. He’d rather break a leg than be caught by those guys.

“Ugh…”

“Ugh…”

Song Jaeho caught Bomin, but unable to withstand the weight, they both tumbled to the ground. Bomin clutched his head, gasping for breath, not only from the impact of colliding with Song Jaeho but also from the splitting headache.

“There they are!”

“Everyone, this way!”

“…Fuck.”

At the shout from the end of the alley, Song Jaeho cursed and got up. Bomin also slapped his own cheek. He could only afford to feel pain when he had the leisure to do so. If he hesitated because of the pain, he would be done for.

“Huh…?“

Suddenly, Bomin’s view changed. Song Jaeho had started running with the staggering Bomin on his back. Bomin was startled and tried to tell Song Jaeho to put him down, but because of the men chasing close behind, he quietly hugged Song Jaeho.

The motorcycle they had ridden to the hospital would already be in the hands of those guys. As Song Jaeho frantically moved his legs, trying to figure out where to go…

“Let’s go where there are a lot of people.”

Bomin whispered in a small voice, as if he had read Song Jaeho’s mind. Song Jaeho looked around and, as Bomin suggested, ran towards the main street.

“You bastards!”

A flustered voice erupted from behind. Even for those who lived outside the law, it was too risky to commit crimes openly on a main street.

“Just a little further.”

The street with pedestrians was getting closer. Bomin patted Song Jaeho’s shoulder, hoping that people wouldn’t just ignore their plight.

Thwack—

“…Song Jaeho!”

However, they tumbled to the ground just a few steps away from the main street. It seemed there was an Esper among them.

A man appeared in front of them as if by magic and punched Song Jaeho in the face. Song Jaeho collapsed, spraying blood from his mouth. Bomin fell with him.

He happened to brace his fall with his hand, resulting in a sharp pain in his wrist. However, Bomin was more worried about Song Jaeho than his own pain.

One side of Song Jaeho’s face was a mess from the force of the man’s punch. Blood from his reddened nose and busted lip quickly stained the lower half of his face crimson.

“Ugh…”

Bomin, who was half-crawling towards Song Jaeho, grimaced at the pain in his head.

“Let go of his hand…!”

Song Jaeho yelled, roughly wiping away the blood. The man who had punched Song Jaeho in the face was now behind Bomin, gripping his black hair tightly.

Blue veins stood out clearly on his white neck. His head, bent back at an extreme angle, looked as if it would snap in the man’s hand.

Song Jaeho rushed towards the man but stopped when he saw the man’s hand brutally tightening around Bomin’s neck.

“If you take one more step, I’ll break this bastard’s neck.”

The murderous glint in the man’s eyes made it clear that he wasn’t bluffing. While Song Jaeho hesitated for Bomin’s safety, the alleyway filled with the man’s companions.

“Just thinking about how much trouble you’ve caused us…”

The man who appeared to be the leader roughly ran a hand through his hair. Song Jaeho gritted his teeth, trapped in a situation with no escape.

Everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by men. Would other people notice their predicament and help if he shouted? He considered it briefly, but the fear that Bomin might die overwhelmed him. Judging by his unnatural movements, the man holding Bomin hostage was an Esper.

“…Let him go. You have business with me anyway.”

In the end, Song Jaeho knelt on the ground with his hands raised. The men, remembering the trouble they had gone through to catch a single kid, chuckled.

“But you’ve done too much for that.”

“Ugh…”

At the leader’s signal, the Esper ruthlessly twisted Bomin’s arms behind his back and bound them tightly with rope. The ropes were so tight that they cut off circulation, causing the flesh around his wrists to swell.

That was when Bomin started showing strange symptoms. His small face flushed crimson and then quickly turned pale.