Chapter 16: Three Months Left

“Hey, Choi Siram.”

“Don’t say anything. Don’t say a single word and just follow me quietly.”

“…f*ck. Who do you think you’re ordering around like some dog?”

“If you cause any more trouble here right now, then I’m really done with you. I won’t talk to you ever again. No conversations, nothing. We’ll live like complete strangers. Like we’ve never even met. Are you okay with that?”

“…f*ck!”

As Choi Siram glared fiercely through gritted teeth, Park Suchang finally lost his temper completely and kicked one of the toys scattered nearby with all his strength.

It was only a small soccer ball children played with.

But the moment it struck the center of the glass wall perfectly, the entire pane covering one side of the reception desk shattered violently.

Fragments of glass scattered across the floor, scraping sharply against the tiles.

The deafening crash echoed throughout the emergency ward.

“Park Suchang!!”

“Fine. I’m going. That’s what you want, right?”

“…You. This time I’m seriously not letting it slide, so prepare yourself.”

“Yes, yes. How could an S-rank like me ever dare oppose such a noble Guide? Obviously I should bow my head and crawl.”

Still speaking in his usual mocking tone, Park Suchang eventually followed behind Choi Siram.

Park Suchan kept asking what had happened, but Park Suchang only mouthed something toward me without giving any proper answer.

Cradled weakly against Kim Seokhwan, I stayed still and tried calming my violently pounding heart until Park Suchang, Park Suchan, and Choi Siram completely disappeared from sight.

The physical pain was terrible enough.

But the fact that I’d been beaten by someone from my own team was even more shocking.

The left side of my face, where Park Suchang had repeatedly pressed down with his shoe earlier, had been sliced open by the glass shards that flew during the impact.

The wound gradually reddened.

Drops of blood dripped steadily onto the white floor below.

Against the snowy white tiles, it looked like bright red cornelian cherries scattered across a frozen field.

At the sight, I swallowed down the tears threatening to spill again.

‘Useless bastard.’

Park Suchang’s lips had definitely formed those words.

“My god, Jaeyoon. Where on earth did you get hurt like this? Your injuries didn’t heal at all—they’ve gotten even worse!”

“…I’m sorry, doctor. I really have no excuse.”

The attending physician who rushed over after hearing the news immediately scolded me harshly.

He stared in horror at the discharge seeping between the stitches before examining the bruises blooming across my chest from Park Suchang’s kicks.

Even though I was the injured one, guilt strangely crept over me while watching the doctor turn pale and practically scream in distress over my condition.

After finally calming me down, Kim Seokhwan lowered me carefully onto a bench near the emergency ward before stepping away to speak privately with the control room staff.

Center officials who had hurried to the scene demanded an explanation from him about what happened.

“Jaeyoon!”

“Y-Yes. I’m listening.”

“When you came for your examination this morning, I clearly told you to be careful for at least another two weeks. So what exactly happened in half a day for you to come back looking like this?”

“…There were circumstances. You know how often I clash with the team members.”

As I awkwardly tried explaining myself, the doctor sighed as though the mere thought was exhausting and quickly began treating my wounds with the medical tools he’d brought.

He pressed several alcohol-soaked pads over the stitched areas to stop the bleeding from worsening.

Since I lacked the patience to endure being stitched again while fully conscious, he briefly disinfected the wounds before injecting anesthetics and antibiotics one after another.

Soon, the anesthetic began taking effect.

My head grew hazy, and the horrifying pain slowly dulled.

“Jaeyoon.”

“Yes?”

“If it gets too hard to endure, at least submit a transfer request to the management department. You’ve already suffered enough.”

“…Actually, since there isn’t much time left on my contract anyway, I’ve been considering it. I know you’re busy, so… thank you for worrying about me.”

The doctor’s name was Kim Kyungwoon.

Ever since I’d been assigned to Attack Team 3 and started visiting the emergency ward constantly, he had been the only person who consistently stayed on my side.

I learned by chance later that he was also from a conflict zone.

That was why he paid such close attention to me.

Every time Kim Kyungwoon worried about me far more than necessary, I sensed a strange familiarity from him.

Something faintly resembling home.

Of course, the place where I was born and raised could never honestly be called a good place to live.

But despite that, the people there never lost their smiles.

They were warm.

Steadfast.

Kim Kyungwoon was that kind of person too.

You could tell just by looking at his honest eyes and the genuine concern in his attitude toward me.

“If you ever need a medical statement or anything, tell me. I didn’t survive ten years in this field for nothing. Whether it’s filing a police report or handing authority over to the center’s legal department, just take care of your body first.”

“…If something like this happens again, I’ll really do what you said. I promise.”

“…Then let’s start stitching you up again first. Judging by the discharge, the secondary infection has already started. I’ll prescribe stronger antibiotics this time too. If you don’t want things getting worse, eat properly and take your medicine on time. Understood?”

“Of course. I’ll remember.”

“You always say that.”

Even though it was already past nine at night, he never frowned once.

He worried only about my condition.

Maybe this was what a true doctor looked like.

I quietly watched the soft brown strands of hair swaying above his dark eyebrows before slowly closing my eyes as the needle pierced through my skin again.

Moistening my split lips with my tongue, I clenched my teeth tightly.

“It’s done. The swelling around the wound is pretty severe right now, so it’ll probably stay swollen until the day after tomorrow. If it gets unbearable, freeze an ice pack and hold it against the area. Nothing works better for swelling than that.”

“Doctor.”

“Yes?”

“…I know I’m not really in a position to say this after causing trouble again, but… thank you. Really. You always make sure I don’t get hurt worse, and you always treat me.”

The doctor laughed awkwardly and asked why I was suddenly praising him so much.

I laughed quietly along with him, pushing aside the lingering pain for a moment.

There were people like Park Suchang in the world.

But there were also people willing to risk themselves to help me like this.

I endured the crushing misery by holding onto that thought alone.

‘Three months left… was it?’

Thinking about the roughly three months remaining on my contract, I stared quietly up at the moonlit night sky.

Just a little longer.

Just a little more.

“Are you done?”

“…Kim Seokhwan.”

“I asked if you’re done.”

“Yes. They stitched the wounds again, and I got the prescription too. I just need to pick up the medicine and head back to the dorm.”

Kim Seokhwan had returned after finishing his business.

I lowered my head and apologized for causing such a scene.

No matter the circumstances, from Kim Seokhwan’s perspective, he’d already been overwhelmed with schedules and now had to clean up my mess on top of everything else.

It made sense for him to be irritated.

And judging by the expression on his face since earlier, he absolutely was.

He sighed heavily in frustration, but every time our eyes met, he immediately turned his head away and blatantly ignored me.

I was used to being treated badly.

But that didn’t mean I’d ever grown accustomed to people pretending I didn’t exist right in front of them.

Even after multiple doses of anesthetic, the pain inside my chest still felt sharp enough to rip my lungs apart.

“…Are you clueless, or just stubborn?”

“…What?”

As I stood there quietly clutching my swollen wrist like a scolded child, Kim Seokhwan tilted his head and finally spoke.

“Do you seriously not know when to stop?”

“…I already apologized for what happened today.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Why are you so desperate to keep clashing with Park Suchang? You know what his personality is like. Couldn’t you just lower yourself a little and keep him in a good mood?”

“…….”

“Is swallowing your pride once really that hard?”

Maybe I’d been mistaken all along.

Maybe I’d convinced myself that among the paired Espers, Kim Seokhwan cared about me the most.

That he at least acknowledged me as part of the team.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I hadn’t expected a little from him.

For someone constantly starved for warmth, Kim Seokhwan protecting me from Park Suchang earlier had felt overwhelmingly significant.

That was always my problem.

If someone treated me slightly well or showed me the smallest kindness, I immediately got carried away by hopeless misunderstandings and ruined everything.

“Why do you keep being stubborn for no reason and dragging even Choi Siram into this mess? I really didn’t want to say this, but because of you, the entire team atmosphere is ruined. At this rate the whole team’s going to fall apart.”

“…I didn’t ask to be assigned to this team either. The center director forced it…”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Then what exactly did he want me to do?

Taking a place that was never mine had never been my choice.

I was just another expendable byproduct needed to keep the machine running.

A cheap replacement.

After all, the Espers of Attack Team 3 were all top-tier elites from District 1’s Special Relief Zone.

Children of wealthy families.

Their parents would do absolutely anything for them.

Finding highly compatible Guides to place beside them was effortless.

So what could someone like me possibly do?

A mere B-rank refugee.

“How much time did you say you had left on your contract again?”