Chapter 59 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

When ​he ​opened ​his ​eyes, ​he was already in ​a ​hospital. Specifically, a ​single room where ​the ​luxurious ​interior ​was ​the ​first thing that ​caught ​his ​eye.

“……What is this.”

He ​blinked, needing a moment ​to grasp ​the situation. ​Then, he ​heard the ​sound ​of ​a sigh followed ​by a ​familiar voice.

“Are you awake?”

It ​was Jeong Si-jun. He ​was sitting in a ​chair next ​to ​the bed, looking at Yoon Ki-hyun ​with an incredibly complex ​expression ​on ​his ​face.

“Team ​Leader Jeong. What ​happened?”

“What do ​you ​mean what happened? ​I ​thought you collapsed while we ​were on ​the ​phone, so I ​went ​to ​your ​place.”

“……Ah.”

“Do ​you have ​any ​idea how ​shocked I was when I called 119, ​broke the door ​open, and found ​you passed out?”

It wasn’t ​hard for ​Yoon Ki-hyun to ​imagine ​the disaster his ​room must have ​become. He ​felt ​dizzy just ​thinking ​about himself, ​the ​paramedics, and ​Jeong ​Si-jun ​all crammed into ​a ​narrow room ​that ​didn’t ​even ​have enough space for a few people to sit. It was also embarrassing.

“Thank you for helping me.”

“……Sure.”

Jeong Si-jun scratched the back of his head with a troubled look.

He had been excited when Yoon Ki-hyun called him before work, but that feeling was short-lived. During the call, Yoon Ki-hyun had coughed violently several times, followed by a loud crash.

The image of the gosiwon, with blood splattered here and there, was still vivid in his mind.

‘Damn that gosiwon. Calling a place like that a home.’

He couldn’t describe how flustered the paramedics were when they arrived and saw Yoon Ki-hyun sprawled out in a space so cramped they could barely move.

Yoon Ki-hyun slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position. He rubbed his face as if washing it with his dry hands, the grogginess finally fading, and muttered.

“By the way, this looks like a single room…….”

The logo printed on the hospital gown he was wearing happened to be from a university hospital. A single room at a university hospital, notorious for being expensive. His mind began to race with thoughts of jumping out of bed and completing the discharge process immediately.

“Don’t worry about the hospital bills.”

“What?”

“I’ll pay for it, so just focus on getting better.”

With a deliberately firm expression, Jeong Si-jun pushed Yoon Ki-hyun back down onto the bed. The way he pressed down on his chest to lay him back showed he was no stranger to such gestures.

Having been pushed back onto the bed unexpectedly, Yoon Ki-hyun could only blink. He felt like his pride should be wounded by the offer to pay his bills, but for some reason, he felt relief first.

“I’ll go call the doctor for now.”

Jeong Si-jun stood up and left the room.

Not long after, the doctor who entered the room was, surprisingly, a face Yoon Ki-hyun knew well.

“I expected to see you at your next appointment, but we meet like this instead.”

The professor, wearing a gentle smile, was the one who had diagnosed and was treating Yoon Ki-hyun’s illness. It was the very same professor he had seen just a few days ago.

“Your immunity has dropped significantly, leading to a severe cold and body ache. It progressed into pneumonia, which is why you coughed up blood. Still, you should be able to be discharged in about two weeks.”

He thought it was just a simple cold, but he hadn’t realized it had progressed to pneumonia.

He wasn’t keen on the idea of staying in the hospital for two weeks, but because of his underlying condition, the doctor explained that it could easily lead to complications, making hospitalization necessary for close observation.

‘I guess I have no choice…….’

The hospital bills that Jeong Si-jun offered to cover continued to weigh on his mind, but he felt he had to [stolen content]prioritize his health first. Even if he paid him back laRead on Read BL Novelster, he would need to be healthy to do so.

“Are you taking your medication properly?”

The professor asked in a softer voice than usual. Yoon Ki-hyun nodded without hesitation.

Given how expensive the medicine was, why on earth would he skip it? Even if he went without food, he took his medicine religiously.

“Is there any discomfort or pain anywhere else when you perform guiding?”

Yoon Ki-hyun, who was about to answer that there were no particular symptoms as a matter of habit, slowly opened his mouth. Come to think of it, there was something he needed to tell the doctor.

Normally, he would have waited a few weeks until his scheduled appointment to mention it, but as it happened, they met again sooner than expected. He was lucky once again.

“It’s just my guess, but I think there’s something wrong with my memory.”

As soon as Yoon Ki-hyun spoke, the professor’s expression turned serious.

After finishing the conversation with Yoon Ki-hyun, the professor left the room. Then, as if taking over a baton, Jeong Si-jun returned.

He smelled of the cold wind, as if he had stepped outside for a moment. Plumping down into the chair next to the bed, Jeong Si-jun asked.

“What did the doctor say? He only told me that I shouldn’t worry too much.”

“He said the cold progressed into pneumonia. Because my immunity is low.”

“If it’s pneumonia, you’ll have to stay a bit longer.”

“He said I might be able to be discharged in two weeks…….”

Yoon Ki-hyun’s voice grew smaller. He knew it was useless to worry about Jeong Si-jun’s financial situation, but he couldn’t help feeling a pang of guilt.

After all, a Guide who hadn’t been employed for long—barely a few months—was now hospitalized.

“Like I said before, don’t worry about the hospital bills and just think about getting better. It’s about time you had a proper rest. Commuting to the Center must have been secretly stressful for you.”

Jeong Si-jun muttered, absentmindedly adjusting Yoon Ki-hyun’s blanket. He could feel the consideration in the attempt to make him not worry, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“It wasn’t really like that.”

“Anyway. It looked like the professor who treats you.”

“Ah, since he came by, I mentioned the memory issue.”

“What did he say?”

“……Apparently, there are reported cases of such symptoms.”

It would have been better if it were simple forgetfulness. The professor explained that short-term [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copy -->memory loss is sometimes stolen contentreported in patients suffering from other restrictive awakened body abnormalities.

Since the primary symptoms are usually full-body pain, difficulty breathing, and coughing up blood during prolonged guiding, it wasn’t a frequently mentioned symptom.

“Does it hurt when you guide too? I saw you in pain while guiding last time.”

Jeong Si-jun stared at the IV line inserted into the back of Yoon Ki-hyun’s hand. The sight of an IV in a thin, gaunt hand was familiar to him.

Why did the back of Yoon Ki-hyun’s hand overlap in his mind with the small, shriveled hand of his mother fighting her illness?

“The doctor said about 30 minutes a day wouldn’t be a major problem.”

Yoon Ki-hyun breathed slowly, trying to hide his anxiety. In truth, the professor did not recommend guiding. Since this was a disease affecting the awakened body that only occurs in those awakened as Guides, the most important thing was not to stimulate the awakened body.

However, telling someone who makes a living through guiding to stop guiding was essentially telling them to stop making money. And without money, he would die.

Inevitably, the maximum time the doctor compromised on was 10 minutes a day.

Given Yoon Ki-hyun’s guiding skill, that was enough time to sufficiently care for Jeong Si-jun, but since it looked absurdly low by objective standards, he had slightly exaggerated. He feared that if he were perceived as unable to guide, Jeong Si-jun might terminate the contract.

‘I feel like I’ve committed employment fraud by inflating my specs…….’

The number of times he guided Jeong Si-jun per day was two or three at most. Often, there were days he only guided once.

Since the time spent guiding was at most 5 minutes, there was nothing particularly wrong with Yoon Ki-hyun’s guiding itself. [stolen content]That is, excluding the current situation where he couldn’t guide properly because he was constantly sickly.

“I don’t intend to stop guiding while I’m hospitalized. The professor also said I could do it once I’m in a condition to guide…….”

It was while Yoon Ki-hyun was rambling incoherently, desperate to make up for the unexpected two-week gap.

“Do you not remember what I said earlier? I told you to just rest while you’re hospitalized.”

“Then, for the salary, if we calculate it by subtracting the hospitalization period…….”

“I’ll give you the full salary and I’ll pay the hospital bills. We’re done talking about this, so let’s stop now, shall we?”

Jeong Si-jun cut him off sharply.

If he had known he’d hear this, perhaps he shouldn’t have proposed being a personal Guide.

His emotions fluctuated whenever he looked at Yoon Ki-hyun. Looking at that pretty face would make him smile unconsciously, but listening to him draw lines and say frustrating things made irritation surge.

‘What exactly is the problem?’

The biggest problem was that, despite everything, he was the one who wanted to keep Yoon Ki-hyun by his side.

Even though he knew the man was pricklier and harder to handle than expected, he couldn’t give up. Naturally, he didn’t want to lose him to someone like Seo Yi-kyung.

Would it have been different if his wavelength had been of a nature similar to other Espers?

Jeong Si-jun stared intently at Yoon Ki-hyun’s pale face, whose large eyes were darting around as he read the room. His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent.

“Yoon Ki-hyun.”

“……Yes.”

Seeing him take so long to answer after his name was called made Jeong Si-jun’s chest feel tight.

What did he want to do with this ill-tempered, prickly beauty who looked like he might faint at any moment, read his every move, yet generally refused to give him what he wanted?

He wanted to be closer than the typical relationship between an Esper and a Guide, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like he wanted to enter a formal romantic relationship.

If so, the only thing left was that. However, he couldn’t bring himself to ask someone who had just regained consciousness if he wanted to be sex partners, so he glossed over his words.

“For now, just think about getting fully recovered and being discharged. If you need anything, tell me.”

“……I understand.”

Jeong Si-jun looked at Yoon Ki-hyun’s reluctant expression and stood up. Now that he had confirmed the man was awake, it was time to return to the Center.