.

I recalled some thoughts that I had at the time when I heard the story about Ban Hwee Hyul. The nationwide Number one’s brother was being in an unconscious state. That was a famous story. And Balhae Medical Center was a large health-care facility usually accommodating long-stay or surgical patients whose diseases were untreatable in primary care providers or local clinics.

“Hwee Hyul,” I called him carefully. He turned his head and looked at me. I asked him again, “Do you mind if we can go together?”

Ban Hwee Hyul replied without batting an eyelid, “You’re already here.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s true, but…”

As if he felt a little tired, Ban Hwee Hyul closed his eyes and shut his mouth. I stared at him with a frown, wondering, ‘So is it okay or not?’

Amid the prolonged silence, I finally made a conclusion that considering his personality, he would have forced us to get out of the bus earlier if he sincerely didn’t want us accompanying him. While I rambled those thoughts in my head, twisting the end of my hair, Yoon Jung In, beside me, opened his mouth all of a sudden.

“Hey, Ban Hwee Hyul.”

Ban Hwee Hyul opened his eyes again and asked, “What?”

“Wow, so charismatic! I thought you’re a mob boss… no, that’s not what I’m trying to say…” said Yoon Jung In. Drawing a line with his finger over his face, he continued, “As you can see, I have proof here that I got beaten, which makes me feel a little better since I can report this to the school, but are you really okay? Unlike me, you have no signs that you went through the same situation, so it’s a little tricky to report what they did to you. Don’t you feel mad or unfair?”

Even when Yoon Jung In added, ‘Should I go find and gather some witnesses?’ revealing his active and amiable attitude, Ban Hwee Hyul just kept silent while blinking swiftly as if it was his first time learning human emotions. Then after a while, his sudden response startled both me and Yoon Jung In.

“I… am not mad at all,” said Ban Hwee Hyul.

“What? Dude, do you think that makes sense? That bastard threw the ball and almost smashed the back of your head out of the blue even for some ridiculous reasons.”

“I am really fine. No, instead…” Ban Hwee Hyul ended his sentence showing a timid grin on his handsome face, “I even feel good.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, it seems like now I finally achieved my goal for going to school while dressing and looking this way. Now I became…” Clenching his fist, Ban Hwee Hyul uttered, “… the same as him.”

While the bus was heading toward the hospital, I was lost in thought for the whole time. Who was ‘him’ that Ban Hwee Hyul was referring to? Although I seemed to be pretty clear about his personal story, this wasn’t something that I couldn’t even guess.

After the conversation, Ban Hwee Hyul just kept his mouth shut as if he had no will to explain the situation properly. However, he didn’t deny us following him at the same time. Thus, it just looked like he was deeply submerged in his thoughts.

When the bus pulled over, at last, I got off hurriedly and looked at the huge white building across the street. Whether it was from Yoo Chun Young and Eun Hyung’s fathers or from Eunmi’s case, I became quite used to that place.

‘Now I come to think of it, it’s been a while that I haven’t seen Eunmi. Will there be any time today to stop by for a second?’ While I wondered that way, Ban Hwee Hyul walked past me and stepped inside the hospital.

Yoon Jung In and I just followed his back, having no idea what was going on. Ban Hwee Hyul checked in at the reception, talked to the person about something, then changed his direction to take the elevator.

After passing a few long hallways and taking two more elevators, I realized that this path was quite familiar. It was the way to the intensive care unit for long-stay patients.

Walking frantically, Ban Hwee Hyul finally came to a halt in front of a ward. Flinching, I also stopped walking then raised my head to read the letter engraved on the doorplate.

The name ‘Ban Hwee Ahn’ printed neatly on a white paper was attached to the doorplate.

“By any chance…” I uttered cautiously; however, Ban Hwee Hyul didn’t even try to listen but just opened the door and went inside the room.

Yoon Jung In and I looked at each other for a second then followed Ban Hwee Hyul soundlessly as if we had turned into ghosts.

The room was almost the same as Kwon Eunmi’s room that I had in my memories; only the size was a little small. Since Eunmi was the family member of Yoo Chun Young’s close acquaintance, the hospital seemed to provide better service and take more care of her. However, there was a crucial difference between the two patient’s rooms even though things were almost the same except for the size.

No one here was awakened. Only silence was prevailing in the space alongside the quiet breathing sounds.

The moment I saw Ban Hwee Hyul approaching a bed and placing his hand on the metal side rail, I took a deep breath and pulled Yoon Jung In’s arm.

The silent air surrounding the whole space, the view of people deeply asleep in their beds, and the look Ban Hwee Hyul had on his face, staring inside the bed, bending his huge body over it, were all telling us that we weren’t supposed to be here.

As if Yoon Jung In also found a boy lying on the bed with his eyes closed, who also resembled Ban Hwee Hyul’s appearance, he grimaced and took a step back.

“We… will be waiting outside, so please take your time,” whispered Yoon Jung In.

“…”

Ban Hwee Hyul nodded wordlessly. Yoon Jung In and I took backward steps carefully and went outside to the hallway. As soon as we closed the door as gently as possible, we looked at each other and heaved a big sigh.

Sweeping his hair back, Yoon Jung In murmured, “I should have expected that he had some unspeakable personal history from the way he dressed and behaved in school… Geez, but I’ve never imagined that I’d see something like this out of the blue.”

“Yeah…”

“Were you aware of this? Is that why you’ve tried to take care of him so much?”

I thought for a while then gently nodded at his question. Even when I had no idea that Ban Hwee Hyul was the nationwide Number one, I kind of assumed that someone close to Ban Hwee Hyul was hospitalized in this hospital according to what Eun Hyung had witnessed.

Ever since I knew that he was the nationwide Number one, I was almost convinced that his little brother would be staying here as a patient.

However, there was a big difference between just imagining things and seeing things happening in real life. It was the same as the difference between just reading a novel and actually going through the episodes in reality.

Sighing, I swept my hair back. It seemed like many people around me were undergoing difficulties in life. The bigger the challenge, the higher the possibility of the person taking a more major role in this novel.

But was this necessary? Why did it have to go this further? I questioned myself.

Whenever I faced this kind of big thing taking place once in a while in my everyday life, it suffocated me and made me become at a loss for words while feeling so dizzy, weak, and helpless.

The happiness I was enjoying seemed like it was achieved from committing something bad and from someone else’s sacrifice; it burdened and sat heavily on me.

The moment I just gripped and released my empty hand, there was an indication of someone being around across the hallway. As I lifted my head up, the first thing that came into view was a light gray blazer, a school uniform.

Having that in my sight, I stepped back instinctively but soon stood still quite clumsily.

Yoon Jung In asked in wonder from beside me, “What’s wrong? Found someone you know?”

“Ah, no…”

“Then what’s going on? Oh, that’s the school uniform of Sung Woon Science High School where all the smart kids are at.”

I nodded. In fact, our school was also reputable for having many brilliant kids; however, quite a lot of our students bought their way to the school, donating a huge amount of money, or passed a special admission program to get accepted. Sung Woon Science High School, on the other hand, seemed like it was purely an institution for academically gifted students.

While I kept nodding timidly, Yoon Jung In poke me in the side with his elbow and asked, “Why are you scared white, looking at the school uniform? You did something wrong to someone in that school?”

Slightly furrowing my brows, I replied, “No, so to speak, a person from that school did something to me.” Speaking that way, I examined the boy’s face approaching us.