Ch.226—- —

# 226. —- —

It wasn’t difficult to grasp the situation, despite how bewildering it was.

I was lying in a hospital in the real world.

Hospitalization period: roughly 6 months.

Condition: essentially a vegetative state.

The owner of the voice who had questioned the doctor as soon as I woke up was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties.

I was conscious. My sight and hearing were fine. But I couldn’t speak or move my body. It was maddening. My body felt confined, and my mind felt trapped. I wanted to move, to say something… I was about to burst with frustration.

“Suhyeok…”

The woman sitting beside my bed gently stroked my bangs. I know it’s ridiculous to think this in my condition, but her face was as beautiful as her voice. Her figure was equally impressive.

How could a woman who was incomparably better than that damn workplace superior and junior of mine be calling my name so tenderly?

I had no connection with this woman, regardless of what had caused my vegetative state.

Ah, right.

Work.

Six months of unauthorized absence… I’d definitely been fired, right?

“Sigh… No, no. I should only show you my best side.”

The woman who had been calling my name with a tearful voice for a while patted her cheeks and cleared her throat.

Then she began to speak softly, like a mother telling a bedtime story to her young child, about the events of her day.

“You know what? Seyeon and Yuri got confessed to again today. I don’t understand how they can receive confessions every week. That’s something you’d only see in novels. Usually.”

Is she talking about her friends? From her tone, they sound more like younger sisters than friends. Considering how people of similar types tend to flock together, those friends probably had considerable looks too.

“They rejected them, of course, but how do you think they did it?”

As if this wasn’t her first time talking to herself in front of an unresponsive person, the woman before me spoke naturally, as if we were having a normal conversation.

At first, it seemed strange that someone I’d never met was suddenly telling me all these things, but beyond that, I didn’t mind.

It was pleasant to look at her, pleasant to listen to her. Besides, there wasn’t much else I could do.

Yes.

The frustration that had filled me was gradually dissipating.

“Confessing definitely requires courage. I know that. But what about the person receiving the confession? When you get confessed to not just once or twice, but multiple times, more than ten times. And even after saying you have a boyfriend… it becomes annoying and bothersome.”

I felt a moment of sympathy for these men, but it quickly faded. Confessing to a woman who already has a boyfriend? They were the type who’d say, “Just because there’s a goalkeeper doesn’t mean you can’t score.”

“Pfft, Suhyeok. If you could speak… how would you react? Would you show the composure of a winner, or would you flare up in anger? I think it would be the former.”

The composure of a winner? What does that mean?

After talking for a while, the woman drank some water, seemingly parched. Then she began massaging my body. Though I couldn’t feel it, her touch appeared very attentive.

“Arang, who was focusing on rehabilitation, is starting to show signs of improvement, and Subin, who used to pull all-nighters like it was nothing, seems to have finally settled into a routine where she can catch her breath. Seyeon and Yuri studied hard enough to be selected for scholarships…”

The woman’s stories were interesting. But I had questions.

If they were just close friends, it was strange for her to tell me about their recent situations. Well, she could if she wanted to. But as I listened, it felt like she was reporting to me, as if I had some connection to these people, as if I needed to hear this.

“Unni Yehyun seems to be thinking of quitting. Something about the vice principal and department head being trash. I asked if she wouldn’t miss out on her pension if she quit now, but she just said she’d figure something out. Said she’s still young.”

“As for me, I’m working hard on both fronts. But if you ask if it’s as enjoyable as before, well… honestly, I don’t think so.”

The woman sighed and turned my body to the side.

“And as for the game, Veritas… as expected, the consecutive perfect clear record has been taken by another raid team. We didn’t even attempt the new raid, to begin with.”

Game? Veritas? Perfect clear? Raid?

It was strange. If my body wasn’t in this state, I probably would have furrowed my brows.

Games. I do love them. But like most working adults, including myself, despite loving games, I didn’t have much time for them. That’s why idle games are popular, they say, but I wasn’t interested in those. Instead, I’d reduce my sleep a bit after work to play PC games…

The game the woman was talking about and the information related to it were completely unfamiliar to me.

And the fact that I was supposedly the leader of an amazing raid team in that game, had developed numerous strategies, and had claimed perfect clears every time a raid boss appeared.

Weren’t these all things that would make me say, “Excuse me? Me?”

If I had to categorize myself, I was a casual player and a light user. After work, I didn’t have much mental or physical energy to delve deeply into anything.

But the woman, while talking about old memories, seemed genuinely happy recounting episodes from that game. And somehow, watching her face made me happy too.

However, when the game talk ended.

After staring at me intently for a while, the woman’s expression was tinged with sadness.

She suddenly lifted her head and blinked rapidly, then smiled as if she had never worn such an expression.

It was beautiful, but somehow melancholic.

“I’ll come again. Take care, Suhyeok.”

After repositioning my body, she left.

**

“Hah… seriously, aren’t they crazy? I told them I have a boyfriend and to get lost, but they won’t give up, they just won’t! Aren’t they embarrassed?”

A day had passed. Today was Saturday, it seemed, and a different woman came to visit me. She was one of the people the previous woman had mentioned, named Ayuri. She also talked to me and massaged my body.

Being a college student, she was young and fiery in many ways. She was a different kind of beauty compared to the woman from the day before. She was tall and looked very healthy.

While she was different from the previous woman in every way, one commonality was that she too was a member of the Veritas raid team.

“Hah… no, no. I should stop sighing. You must be having the hardest time, oppa.”

How did I end up having a connection with such a female college student?

I had pondered during the day after the previous woman left.

Six months of hospitalization.

Complete paralysis.

Complete strangers acting familiar with me.

The unfamiliar information and memories these people shared with me.

The expressions of happiness and sadness on their faces as they looked at me.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I had to come to a conclusion.

Amnesia.

I no longer thought of these as merely interesting stories about others, but listened attentively, considering them as stories about myself.

“There’s so much I want to do with you, oppa. I want to walk around campus together, go hiking together, go to the beach and play in the water, spend a whole day at an amusement park, explore famous restaurants across the country, and someday even travel abroad…”

Today’s woman, or rather Ayuri, held my emaciated hand and let her imagination soar. Ayuri’s eyes were intense. It was as if she didn’t care at all about my condition and was determined to fulfill all her fantasies.

“So you need to wake up soon. You used to be a light sleeper and would wake up quickly, but you’ve been oversleeping for six months now. Right?”

Ah, um. She even knows my sleeping habits?

“And we’ll have to do something about this body too. To get back to your original self, you’ll need intense rehabilitation… If you wake up now, you could do rehab with Arang…”

Ayuri said that much, then squeezed my hand tightly and jumped up from her seat. She planted a loud kiss on my cheek and strode out of the hospital room.

Somehow, I felt a sense of regret.

**

Slice, slice-

Day six.

The sound of fruit being peeled tickled my ears. When I opened my eyes, there was another woman skillfully peeling an apple.

By this point, I was becoming afraid of myself.

What kind of player was I before losing my memory? I had wanted to avoid getting involved with women because of my superior and junior, but even if they were all from the same raid team, for them to be this devoted…

“I want to say ‘eat a lot,’ but I’ll eat your share too.”

This woman’s name was Eun Subin. She had a somewhat intellectual and dignified career woman image. She was the only one who was the same age as me.

“Suhyeok.”

“Ban Suhyeok.”

After peeling the apple, she stabbed a piece with a fork and held it out while calling my name. Naturally, I couldn’t answer or eat it. After holding it out for a while, she popped it into her own mouth. She repeated this six times until the plate was empty.

“Sweet and delicious, this apple.”

Eun Subin wasn’t very talkative. The previous six visitors had shared as much as possible about their recent situations and stories related to me, but she just gazed at me silently and massaged my body.

How should I put it… she looked extremely tired. Her atmosphere, her expression, the dark circles under her eyes that even makeup couldn’t hide.

I felt sorry. I felt sorry because it seemed like it was because of me. Ignoring the fact that she was the sixth woman, she seemed to be either close to me or even more precious…

While I was grateful that she was taking care of me when even my family wasn’t visiting, I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to come.

“Suhyeok.”

I’m listening, Subin.

“I love you today too.”

….

“I’ll come again.”

My heart ached.