#96

I wasn’t really fainting because I was sick; it was just that I had a flashback of past memories of Goo Won. But I couldn’t honestly say that here, so I had no choice but to brush it off. However, that seemed to give those around me the impression that I wasn’t truly okay.

“Let’s at least go to the hospital. Even if you’re fine now, it might get worse as time passes.”

“That’s right. You should go to the hospital, get a check-up, and some tests.”

There was a general agreement with Secretary Sung Yoojun’s quiet suggestion from the back. I hurriedly opened my mouth, recalling the documents on my desk that I hadn’t finished dealing with yet.

“I’m really fine, though……”

“Actually, I already asked Manager Ahn earlier to contact the hospital. Everything’s already arranged. You just need to go down, and they’re ready to take you.”

This thorough person. I hadn’t seen Manager Ahn Siwon anywhere, which seemed odd. I looked at Sung Yoojun with a slightly reluctant gaze. Sung Yoojun calmly added.

“Dr. Kang is waiting. He’s been insisting that we bring you over right away. It would be best to leave as soon as possible.”

In this situation, there could only be one person Secretary Sung Yoojun could be referring to as Dr. Kang. I sighed quietly, recalling Uncle, whom I had seen just yesterday. It seemed I couldn’t stubbornly refuse to go to the hospital anymore.

“I’m sometimes curious about the extent of your abilities, Secretary Sung.”

Since I couldn’t avoid going, I muttered under my breath just a little. Sung Yoojun smiled slightly.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

It was a truly irritating smile.

***

I was wrapped up in my coat and the padding that Tartarus had draped over me, and was escorted to the parking lot. Although I had walked there on my own, for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been transported.

As soon as we reached the parking lot, Manager Ahn Siwon was waiting. He told me that he had thoroughly prepared to transfer me to the hospital immediately in case I couldn’t regain my senses. Fortunately, I had regained consciousness before needing to be transferred, so I didn’t get to see what preparations Manager Ahn Siwon had made.

I was driven to the hospital in a car driven by Secretary Sung Yoojun. Upon arriving at the hospital, I was immediately grabbed by Uncle, who came rushing toward me, and subjected to every possible test. It seemed like Uncle had planned to conduct a full-body examination from head to toe and didn’t let me go until late.

After spending the entire day undergoing tests, the conclusion was that I should be hospitalized to monitor my condition. I was about to refuse the hospitalization, but when I saw Uncle gazing at me with concern and Sung Yoojun, who seemed ready to carry me to the hospital room if I refused, I quietly gave in. I didn’t want to cause a fuss and draw attention to myself.

The hospital provided me with a VIP room, which, as expected, was a luxurious one. Lying on the high-end bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling of the room and quietly spoke.

“Honestly, I didn’t really need to be hospitalized.”

Secretary Sung Yoojun, who had been sitting next to the bed peeling an apple, responded.

“It’s easier to just give up and accept it when something’s already happened.”

I glared at Sung Yoojun with a displeased expression in response to his calm words. He then pierced a piece of the apple with a fork and put it into my mouth. I chewed the apple with force.

“Would you like some more?”

“Later. I’m full for now.”

I had eaten the luxurious dinner Uncle had brought me not too long ago, so I was still full. Upon my refusal, Sung Yoojun stopped peeling the apple and placed it on the table beside the bed. At that moment, the door to the room opened, and Uncle entered.

As soon as Uncle entered, he exchanged a look with Sung Yoojun. I couldn’t tell what they had communicated with their eyes, but after a brief moment, Sung Yoojun stood up, saying he would wash his hands, and left the room. Since there was a bathroom inside the room, I could tell that it was just an excuse to leave.

Once Sung Yoojun left, Uncle sat down in the chair he had vacated.

“How are you feeling, our Chairman?”

“I’m fine.”

“No pain anywhere?”

“No, none at all.”

So, please discharge me quickly. I stared at Uncle fervently with that look in my eyes, and he burst out laughing.

“I know you don’t like hospitals, but just bear with it a little longer. It’s been a long time since you passed out like that. We need to check your condition thoroughly.”

I looked at Uncle with a dazed expression after hearing his words. Listening to him speak, it seemed like…… well, like the Goo Won character in the game had collapsed like this before.

“……How long has it been? Since I passed out like this.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I cautiously asked, as if probing for an answer, and Uncle responded.

“Hmm…… I think it’s been about a year, but who knows? There might be more, and you may not have mentioned it.”

So, I must have collapsed like this before…… I furrowed my brow at the growing headache. I used to be really healthy, someone who never even got the slightest cold……

“Oh no. What could have made our Chairman look so upset?”

As soon as Uncle saw my furrowed brow, he teased me in a cheerful voice. I sighed softly at Uncle’s behavior, treating me like a child even though I was already thirty.

“Why do you keep sighing like that? If you keep it up, you’ll lose your luck~.”

“That’s just superstition.”

“In the old days, when I told you things like this, you’d look at me with bright eyes and say, ‘Really?’ But now that you’re grown up, you don’t care about that anymore…… Uncle is so sad.”

As he said this, Uncle dramatically wiped his eyes with his sleeve as if he were crying. Of course, I didn’t react to Uncle’s antics. After pretending to cry for a while, Uncle, sensing the continued silence, slowly lowered his sleeve and looked at me. Seeing my cold expression, he pouted.

“Not cute at all.”

“At my age, it’s hard to be cute.”

“To me, you’ll always be my little baby boy.”

“That’s only true for you, Uncle.”

Uncle finally let out a small laugh as I retorted to his every word. Following his lead, I gently lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile. Uncle stared at me with a somewhat shimmering look in his eyes as I smiled, then slowly opened his mouth.

“President Go Woonjae came to visit today. Did that old man say anything out of line?”

I hesitated for a moment at Uncle’s question, then cautiously spoke up.

“He talked about Seohyun.”

“I knew that old fool would say something like that! Don’t worry, I’ll go see him soon and give him a proper scolding.”

Uncle muttered curses about President Go Woonjae, clearly angry. I wanted to dig for more information about the memory I had seen earlier, the one from the game involving Goo Won.

“Uncle…… about that accident……”

But as soon as I started speaking, Uncle’s face turned panicked, and he rushed to grab my hand that was lying on the bed. His grip made me unable to continue my words, and I fell silent.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. It’s fine if you don’t want to think about it either. There’s no need to force yourself.”

Uncle spoke in a hurried voice, carefully inspecting my condition. It seemed like he was worried about what might happen if I brought up the incident.

From his reaction, I could tell that the condition of the Goo Won in the game and the accident I had seen were deeply connected. Perhaps, like what happened earlier, recalling the accident would make me faint or something similar.

“I’m fine.”

But that was, after all, the story of Goo Won in the game, not mine. It was truly a sad and unfortunate accident, but there was no reason for me to be shaken by it.

I gently took Uncle’s hand that was wrapped around mine and spoke calmly. Uncle looked at me with a worried gaze, as if checking if I was truly okay. To reassure him, I smiled faintly.

“……I think you really are okay. It’s been so long since anything like this happened, I was worried that maybe your condition had worsened.”

After a long observation, Uncle came to a positive conclusion. He patted my hand a few times, then cautiously continued.

“To be honest, when I heard you had collapsed, I was really worried you’d go back to how you were before. But it seems like that’s not the case, so I’m relieved.”

“Was my condition really that bad before? I don’t think it was that serious……”

I said this a bit playfully, trying to extract more information. Uncle’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“You don’t think it was that bad? At the time, I honestly thought we were going to hold a funeral. You kept refusing to go to the hospital, even though it was obvious you needed to. I even said I’d send a doctor to your house, but you refused that, too. I was so worried, I nearly lost my mind. If you were going to be that stubborn, you might as well not have gotten sick at all. And when we couldn’t reach you, I’d go to check on you, and sure enough, you’d be passed out. I think I lost about 20 years off my life back then because of all that.”