By Zephyria 
I gasped for breath, feeling a sense of emptiness. Perhaps it was because of that sliver of hope. I calmed my heaving chest.
Yes, even if I met them, I wouldn’t have had much to say anyway…
But.
Still.
Even though it couldn’t be helped.
‘To miss them right before my eyes.’
The regret and frustration felt particularly strong. A sudden wave of self-reflection washed over me, wondering if I was obsessing over Ban Pyo-ran too much. I calmed myself down again. Yes, perhaps it was fortunate that I didn’t find them just now. It was a situation I hadn’t prepared for or planned for perfectly.
‘Ah, I don’t know!’
I shook my head, trying to clear the myriad of thoughts. I was thirsty. I wanted to stop thinking. I didn’t care about this novel world.
Feeling exhausted, I wanted to sit down somewhere and rest, but there was nowhere obvious to sit. In the end, I trudged back to the hospital room with heavy steps.
My mood was as gloomy as my thoughts were complicated. I decided to think about something else entirely. More importantly, the doctor had said he would wake up this afternoon; had Seong Hae-min woken up? People in patient gowns passed by.
‘Patient…’
On the way to the hospital room. I recalled the novel’s plot and mulled it over.
Ban Pyo-ran’s reason for visiting the hospital was also because she had a close patient: her mother.
In the original work, Ban Pyo-ran was an illegitimate child. It was a cliché setup involving birth secrets and illicit affairs. You can picture it, right? His legal wife was someone he met through an arranged marriage, without love, and his true love was Ban Pyo-ran’s mother.
So, Ban Pyo-ran’s father led a double life. It was the most fundamental problem.
Both on paper and in reality, Ban Pyo-ran was raised alone by a single mother. Despite such circumstances, Ban Pyo-ran’s mother was a strong and upright person who raised Ban Pyo-ran steadfastly, without ever showing greed or despair.
Of course, Ban Pyo-ran’s father wished Ban Pyo-ran’s mother would be more greedy, but in my opinion, Ban Pyo-ran’s mother was realistic. If she went to a rich family and claimed to be the real wife, she would be in a position with no money or power and might face harm. Ban Pyo-ran’s father couldn’t protect her from everything.
In any case, Ban Pyo-ran, raised by a wise mother, was unpretentious, easygoing, and a steadfast, determined individual who didn’t falter in the face of hardship. And it was precisely this quality that made Lee Beom and the other Four Heavenly Kings fall for her. It would be strange if they didn’t.
As I thought about Ban Pyo-ran and the novel’s setting, I found myself back in the hospital room. The fatigue from thinking about it, even a little, descended like a flock of hellish birds. Thinking I needed to rest, I slowly opened the door.
“Jjoona! Where were you!”
“Where did you go?”
The Four Heavenly Kings, who hadn’t been there when I woke up earlier, were all gathered in the room. And…
“Hae-jun-ah.”
A voice filled with apology called me. I blinked slowly. Seong Hae-min was awake.
The sun was setting lazily beyond the clean hospital window. When did time pass like this? The slanting sunset light stung my eyes. I slowly closed and opened my eyes. I hadn’t misread. Seong Hae-min was truly awake. Seong Hae-min, who had been asleep for about a full day, looked far from well.
“…You’re, um, cough, cough, awake. That’s a relief.”
My voice cracked awkwardly. Cough, cough, I cleared my throat again. My throat, which had been panting from running so hard, was hoarse.
‘Am I relieved because Seong Hae-min is awake…?’
As if my strength had finally given out, as soon as I finished speaking, my whole body went limp. My legs suddenly felt wobbly. Wanting to sit down anywhere, I stumbled towards the portable chair beside the bed.
Come to think of it, the hospital room was quiet. Everyone, including Min Si-hu who had cheered and welcomed me earlier, had serious expressions. They looked worried, and perhaps their eyes were also reddened…
Could it be that Seong Hae-min has more problems? My heart sank with fear.
“Why do you all look like that? Is there something wrong with Hae-min…?”
“…Ugh, no, no!”
Min Si-hu waved his hands with a bright smile, but it felt off. His smile seemed a bit stiffer than usual. I looked at Lee Beom, and his eyes twitched. We stared each other down for a moment. I felt like whoever looked away first would lose, so I stubbornly kept my gaze on Lee Beom. Eventually, Lee Beom was the one who broke eye contact first.
Even though I won the staring contest, I couldn’t understand why everyone looked like they were attending a funeral. As I slightly furrowed my brow, Seong Hae-min carefully took my hand.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Hae-jun.”
“It’s okay.”
“You went through a lot. For me to be the older brother… I’m sorry.”
Seong Hae-min gave a faint smile with a contrite expression. I shook my head vigorously. To wake up after surgery and say sorry? What did he have to be sorry for? A sharp pain pricked at a corner of my heart, like a splinter. The one who suffered was the injured person; I had only just woken up and come here.
“Let’s go eat meat together when Mini is discharged!”
“You’re treating, Si-hu, right?”
When I started to feel uncomfortable with everyone’s glances, Min Si-hu, trying to change the mood, raised his hand brightly. Seong Hae-min chimed in. Their efforts slightly eased the somber atmosphere in the room.
“When is he getting discharged?”
“They said it’s best to monitor his condition for about two weeks.”
“Okay, got it.”
Two weeks. It was shorter than I expected, less worrying. I nodded.
I would have to stay at home without Seong Hae-min during that time, but the surgery seemed successful, and he was awake, so that was enough to be grateful for. Something in my chest felt like it was loosening. The tension in my sweaty hands also eased.
Even if this were a novel… being safe was the best.
No matter if it was a novel, no matter if they were just characters in a novel. Seong Hae-min, the person I’d known the longest and my closest blood relative, being injured was more shocking to me than I’d realized.
While the Four Heavenly Kings bickered in the hospital room, evening arrived, and Seong Hae-min received his patient meal. While Seong Hae-min ate his early dinner, Min Si-hu fussed beside him, trying to do something strange by cutting an apple into the shape of a rabbit.
Unfortunately, Min Si-hu had absolutely no dexterity. On the plate he presented, claiming success, was not a rabbit but some kind of rock. As Lee Beom laughed and tossed the rock-shaped apple into his mouth, Min Si-hu jumped up, shouting it was for Jjuni. Jeon Jae-hyung, amidst the commotion, remained sound asleep with his arms crossed.
“Hello.”
“Sunbae Yeon Su-hwan!”
Just as talk of needing to eat dinner ourselves began, Yeon Su-hwan appeared in the room with a bright smile. In his hands, he held a packaged sushi bento box.
‘Seong Hae-min already ate his patient meal?’
As I tilted my head, Min Si-hu, seeing the expensive sushi, bounced around the room with delight. He rushed over, quickly grabbed the packaging, and checked the contents.
“Sunbae, but why are there only two lunchboxes?”
“There’s none for you, don’t worry.”
“Eeeeh! Then whose are they?”
“Mine and Hae-jun’s.”
“Poooh!”
At Yeon Su-hwan’s firm reply, Seong Hae-min lowered one eyebrow and gave an awkward smile.
“Wow…”
And then, looking at Lee Beom’s eyebrows, I let out an exclamation, forgetting everything else around me.
Min Si-hu’s expression turning exactly (-3-) at Yeon Su-hwan’s answer was absurd, but Lee Beom was truly… his twitching eyebrows were just like the novel’s description of worms. One eyebrow twitched powerfully, like an (-_-^) emoticon.
These crude emoticons were such accurate descriptions of reality. I couldn’t hide my surprise.
Seeing me with my mouth open in wonder, Yeon Su-hwan chuckled and handed me the sushi bento box. Before Yeon Su-hwan could say anything, Lee Beom spoke first.
“Do you like sushi?”
“……”
“……”
Silence descended upon the hospital room.
Lost in thought, I accepted the bento box Yeon Su-hwan handed me, contemplating trivial matters like what kind of sushi was inside or how much the bento box cost. Then, realizing how quiet it had become, I looked up.
Five pairs of eyes in the room were fixed on me. I blinked.
What is it?
“Are you asking me?”
“Who else would I be asking?”
“Uh… I do like it, I guess?”
Lee Beom replied curtly, twisting his lips. Feeling bewildered, I nodded vaguely.
“Then what do you dislike? Jjuni, what kind of sushi do you like best?”
Min Si-hu asked a new question, his eyes sparkling. I was flustered. Why was my liking sushi such an important matter that five people were listening intently to my answer? But I hid my displeasure and answered honestly.
“I can’t eat shrimp with soy sauce… I like eel the most.”
“Eel!! Got it!!”
“No shrimp with soy sauce, and eel… huh.”
“Hae-jun couldn’t eat shrimp with soy sauce…”
As everyone mumbled about eel, Seong Hae-min quietly murmured, as if he had just realized something new. I had answered without much thought, but seeing Seong Hae-min, I realized my mistake.
‘Can the old Seong Hae-jun eat it?’
I said it because I couldn’t eat it.
I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes. Glancing at Seong Hae-min, I saw thankfully that he didn’t look at me strangely. It seemed he was just reflecting on how little he knew about his brother. Relieved that I wouldn’t arouse suspicion, I thought, ‘Sorry, Seong Hae-min.’ My last shred of conscience whispered an apology.
While the room was quiet for a moment, Yeon Su-hwan, who had separated his wooden chopsticks, broke the silence.
“Your tastes are the same. Here, Hae-jun will eat sushi with me, so be quiet.”
“Si-hu, include me too!”
“Buy your own and eat it. Though, by then, I’ll have already finished eating with Hae-jun.”
“Ugh, you devilish Sunbae!”
Min Si-hu grumbled and quickly left the room. Lee Beom, who had been twitching his eyebrows with a displeased expression, also quietly followed.
Jeon Jae-hyung, who I thought was asleep, was suddenly sitting beside me with a bag of bread. Yeon Su-hwan, who handed me neatly separated wooden chopsticks, let out a hearty laugh upon seeing Jeon Jae-hyung seated and ready.
“I thought the troublemaker was gone, but there’s another one?”
“Sunbae, this is my room.”
At Seong Hae-min’s sharp remark, Yeon Su-hwan winked. Then, he peeled open the bento box himself and pushed it towards me. I stared blankly at the bento box.
Seong Hae-min is the patient, so why is he doing this to me!