Chapter 112: The Long Wait

Taewoon, having been moved to the Center’s hospital, was immediately taken into the treatment room. Due to the urgent situation, five healing-type Espers and I focused on guiding him and treating his body.

With his combat suit completely removed, there wasn’t a single part of Hyun Taewoon’s body that hadn’t turned black from the devil’s ability. Some parts were soft, with bones completely shattered, while others were swollen and hardened.

His recovery was slow, even with a healing-type Esper attending to him. Seeing that only made me more anxious. Fortunately, after the S-Class healing-type Esper from the American Association arrived, he began to recover little by little.

When he first arrived at the Center’s hospital, the doctor, looking at his guiding level and physical condition, said there was no hope. When I first heard those words, I couldn’t even stand for a while due to the shock-induced shortness of breath and dizziness.

But contrary to the doctor’s words, Hyun Taewoon was still breathing. The problem was that he hadn’t woken up for over a week.

The healing-type Esper said it was normal for him to wake up by now, but he was still asleep on the bed.

I had planned to go to the Awakened protection zone that Sehyun had recommended once the gate closed, but seeing Hyun Taewoon hovering between life and death, I couldn’t bring myself to leave him. I wanted to at least see him wake up before I left.

The S-Class healing-type Esper’s ability had restored his scorched body and damaged organs, but due to the excessive use of his own abilities, his wavelength was still running wild and unstable, as if on the verge of a rampage. A guide had to stay by his side constantly to raise his dropping levels. Otherwise, his guiding level would continue to decrease, eventually leading to his death.

At first, Minseong was guiding him, but Hyun Taewoon’s wavelength rejected the guiding of all guides except me. As if he was trying to keep me by his side.

In the end, I had no choice but to stay by his side and guide him all day. Instead, it was decided that he would be connected to a guiding machine from 10 PM to 7 AM. His condition was much worse when he was receiving machine guiding than when I was with him, but if I, who hadn’t rested, collapsed, he would also be in danger, so there was no other choice.

So, every night, I would get a little sleep to conserve my energy, and then from the morning, I would stick by his side again.

Today, around 9:50 PM, a doctor and a nurse appeared with a knock. Together with them, I skillfully attached the machine guiding electrodes to Hyun Taewoon’s body.

“Guide-nim, you must be tired, please go and rest now.”

“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

After attaching all the electrodes, I glanced at Hyun Taewoon’s gaunt face. Then I went down to the underground parking lot.

Jinseok’s car was parked there. Even though he was no longer my manager, he was still helping me.

“Guide-nim, you’re here. You’ve worked hard until late.”

“You’re the one who’s working harder, Manager. Thank you, as always.”

I also expressed my gratitude to him and sat in the passenger seat. The heater was running warmly. Winter had arrived before I knew it.

We drove home in silence. When we arrived in front of the apartment building, Jinseok handed me a shopping bag from the back seat.

“What’s this?”

“Tomorrow is your birthday, so I prepared a small gift.”

“My birthday…?”

I was slightly surprised by the mention of my birthday. I had forgotten all about it while taking care of Taewoon. Jinseok, noticing that I had forgotten, looked at me with a pitiful expression.

“Please get a good night’s sleep tonight.”

“Yes, thank you for the gift.”

I got out of the car with the shopping bag in my hand. It was already the end of November. The Devil’s Gate had closed in May, so it had been over half a year since Hyun Taewoon had collapsed.

When on earth was he going to wake up? Would I ever see his eyes again…?

With heavy steps, I entered the apartment building’s entrance. The place I was currently staying at was an apartment I had bought with the money I had saved up. It was a secure place where only guides could stay.

I stood in front of the elevator, then turned around and went back outside. I didn’t want to go home just yet.

As soon as I stepped outside, a cold wind clung to my body sharply. Thankfully, it was night, and there were no people on the streets. I walked without a destination, and when I came to my senses, I was in front of Hyun Taewoon’s house.

It seemed I had wanted to come to the house where we had lived together.

As I entered the lobby for the first time in a while, the security guard who recognized me was happy to see me and hurried over.

“Guide-nim, what brings you here?”

“I have something to get from Esper Hyun Taewoon’s house.”

At my words, the guard offered to escort me to his house. There was no one at the Association who didn’t know that I was taking care of him. So, the Association’s people were friendly to me, even though I had resigned a long time ago.

I knew my way around the house, having lived there for three years. I politely declined the guard’s offer and got on the elevator.

The password to his door was still the same. I was actually worried that it might have been changed, but it seemed he hadn’t changed it, perhaps in consideration of me coming.

As I stepped through the open door, the automatic light sensor turned on, illuminating the house. The interior was set to an average temperature, but it felt incredibly cold to me. I placed the gift from Jinseok on the sofa table and slumped down on the sofa.

His wavelength lingered very faintly in the surroundings. Feeling a small sense of peace for the first time in a long time, I lay on the sofa back with my eyes closed for a while. It felt strange that this place, which had always felt uncomfortable and awkward, now felt comfortable.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I could see the greenhouse beyond the terrace window. I wondered if the greenhouse was the same as I remembered it.

With careful steps, I opened the terrace door and approached the greenhouse.

As soon as I opened the greenhouse door, a fragrant scent wafted out. It was dark, so I couldn’t see the inside well, but the scent of flowers told me they were there.

When I turned on the light, the place was filled with daffodils. Someone must have been taking care of them, as the daffodils were in full bloom, emitting a beautiful yellow light.

I stood there for a while, just looking at the daffodils. Hyun Taewoon must have prepared them, thinking of me who would one day return here.

I examined the flowers one by one, as if imprinting them in my eyes. It was clear that a hired gardener was taking care of them.

Among them was a familiar pot. It was the pot with the daffodil he had given me as a gift.

The past had changed, but Hyun Taewoon had decorated his house just as it was before, as if to show me that what we had was not a lie.

I took the pot he had given me and slowly headed to the room I used to use.

The moonlight came in better than on the terrace, so the room was bright. Perhaps it was because I had gotten used to the dark.

As I placed the pot on the side table, a small box caught my eye. I had never seen it before. Puzzled and curious, I carefully opened it. Inside was a bracelet. I had suspected it since he wore a bracelet, but as expected, he had prepared one for me as well.

I placed the pot aside and gently placed the bracelet in my palm. It was the first time I was seeing it in person.

Suddenly, something hot welled up in my chest. My lips trembled, and finally, tears burst out. Like the beads of the bracelet, tears fell drop by drop, ceaselessly.

I remembered myself, who, blinded by misunderstanding, had rejected him and acted so cruelly. I clutched the bracelet tightly in my hand and sobbed on the bed all through the dawn, not even knowing the meaning of my tears.

The next day, Sung Yohan came to visit Hyun Taewoon’s hospital room. He, like me, had also left the Association. He was living the free life he had always wanted, not belonging to any place.

“Shinui, have you been well? How is Taewoon?”

“He’s the same as usual.”

“I hope he wakes up soon.”

At his uncharacteristic words, I gave him a suspicious look. He looked down at Taewoon with his usual smile-less face and said.

“Taewoon hated me, but I think of him as my only friend.”

“…He’ll wake up.”

I believed that he would wake up someday. He wasn’t a weak man who would die like this.

“Don’t you want to go back to the past and see him again? If you want, I can send you back.”

“No. It’ll be the same even if I go back to the past.”

Even if I went back, the same situation would just repeat itself. I had decided not to cling to the past anymore and live in the present.

Sung Yohan looked disappointed and then, after talking to himself for over a few dozen minutes, he prepared to leave.

“Take good care of Taewoon. I’ll come again.”

After he left, I held Hyun Taewoon’s hand even tighter and guided him. The thought of what would happen if he didn’t wake up lingered in my mind.

“When are you going to wake up… What kind of dream are you having that you’re sleeping for so long.”

My eyes started to turn red before I knew it. I wasn’t tired from just half a year. It was the fear, as Sung Yohan had said, of what would happen if he didn’t wake up.

“Wake up. Wake up, you stupid b*stard.”

My tears fell onto his hand. As his hand got wet, I felt embarrassed, as if he were watching me cry, and I hurriedly wiped my tears.

Hyun Taewoon woke up four months later, on a day when spring was just beginning.