Episode 174. Hospitalization (5)

Only after Nam Daeun’s reddened eyes calmed down did she call the women waiting outside into the hospital room.

Nam Dahee and Liliana entered the hospital room, each with a piece of bread in their mouths.

It seemed Scarlet had calmed them down with food.

‘Nom nom.’

‘What did you talk about?’

Liliana, eating her bread, asked me.

‘Oh, nothing much, it wasn’t a big deal. By the way, you seem to have gotten pretty close with Dahee, huh?’

Seeing them eating bread together, nom nom nom, makes it seem like Liliana and Dahee are getting along well.

Is it because their mental ages are similar?

‘My unnies were super nice to me!’

‘Mm, that’s good.’

Nam Dahee looked at me with sparkling eyes.

Unlike her unnie, this one is quite expressive.

‘Oppa, oppa. What did you talk about with my unnie?’

‘Hm? Oh, you know… we just said hello since it’s been a while.’

‘Daehee-ya. You shouldn’t ask things like that.’

Nam Daeun took Nam Dahee, who was asking the question with her hand resting on my bed.

‘Unnie, unnie. Are you dating Lee Hoyeon oppa?’

‘No…?’

‘Why? Going to cafes and seeing movies together means you’re dating.’

‘….’

Nam Daeun couldn’t find words to answer and rolled her eyes back and forth.

She looked at me with pleading eyes, so I chimed in.

‘Okay, okay, Dahee-ya. Have you ever met the Saintess?’

‘Huh? The Saintess? Never!’

‘I’ll introduce you later. She’s here at this hospital right now.’

‘Wow… Oppa, are you friends with the Saintess too?’

I need to examine Nam Dahee’s body.

There’s a chance the illness itself is a lie… but you never know.

‘… Thank you. That’s a relief, Dahee-ya. Hoyeon is going to help.’

‘Yeah, I want to see the Saintess, Unnie!’

She doesn’t usually call me Hoyeon, but she seems to be calling me that familiarly because of her sister.

While the Nam sisters comforted each other, I spoke to Liliana, who was eating her bread.

‘Liliana. Speaking of which, haven’t you gotten a reply yet?’

‘Reply to what?’

‘You sent a letter to your mother, right? Haven’t you gotten a reply to that?’

‘Ah… yeah. It’s strangely late. It usually arrives in a day. Maybe the mail got spilled?’

The letter sent to ask about the Demon King of the Underworld.

It’s a bit strange that there’s still no reply after quite some time has passed.

Could there be some kind of situation?

If Liliana’s parents were in danger, it would break my heart too.

‘Hoyeon-nim.’

‘Hm?’

As Liliana frowned and pondered, Scarlet approached me and whispered.

‘Should I give yesterday’s video directly to Miss Alice?’

‘Ah… yes. Deliver it right away.’

The video filmed yesterday under Director Scarlet’s initiative.

I don’t know if Alice will come to visit, but it would be good for her to see the video beforehand in case she does.

‘Daeun-ah, can you bring Dahee back to the dormitory with you?’

‘Hm?’

Since Nam Dahee was here, I called her familiarly too.

‘It’s a bit awkward to keep her in my dormitory continuously, isn’t it?’

Of course, while I’m hospitalized, it’s just the girls staying together… but in my opinion, staying with Liliana might not be good for her emotional development.

It would also become awkward once I’m discharged.

‘Uh. Hmm….’

But Nam Daeun strangely continued to ponder.

Is this something that needs deliberation?

★ Heroine Status Window

[Nam Daeun]

• [ Affection: 82 ]

• [ Lust: 23 ]

• [ Appetite: 40 ]

• [ Fatigue: 38 ]

Current Status: The dormitory is so filthy that I absolutely cannot bring Dahee… and there’s nothing there.

‘….’

I don’t know how filthy it could possibly be to warrant such deliberation.

But I can relate to the ‘nothing there’ part.

She couldn’t even buy shampoo because she was a few hundred won short, so she probably doesn’t have any personal belongings in the dorm.

That means it’s a harsh environment for Nam Dahee to live in.

She wouldn’t want her own sister to live in such a poor environment.

‘Then, will you stay at the dormitory until I’m discharged? Anyway, it’s just girls there. And you’ve gotten close with Liliana, so it seems a shame to part ways.’

‘Huh? Uh, yeah, that’s true.’

Liliana, still eating her bread, looked at me and nodded.

‘Unnie, I want to play with Liliana unnie too.’

‘Alright. If that’s what you want, Dahee, let’s do that.’

Fortunately, Nam Dahee seems to like Liliana too.

As for emotional education… Scarlet will probably handle it.

It seems the immediate tasks are settled.

We chatted a bit after that, and before they left, I summoned Baek Ahyoung.

‘This child is the sister of Hoyeon’s friend?’

‘Yes. She’s been unwell since she was young.’

‘Aha… Just a moment.’

A warm light emanated from Baek Ahyoung’s hand, enveloping Nam Dahee’s body.

Nam Dahee closed her eyes tightly, her hands resting on her knees.

Even though she was jumping with joy upon meeting the Saintess, she seemed nervous now that the examination began.

Nam Daeun watched the scene next to her, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Liliana and Scarlet were sent outside.

I didn’t want to show Baek Ahyoung too many women.

Nam Daeun is her sister, so that’s one thing, but a blonde woman like Scarlet… it’s a bit much.

‘Hoo….’

A moment later, Baek Ahyoung sighed and pushed her hair back.

‘How is it…?’

I nervously asked about the progress.

‘The treatment is finished. It seems she developed quite severe complications. It looks like long-term malnutrition or stress was the cause, but the procedure is done, so she’ll be fine if managed properly.’

Wait, it’s already over?

‘…?’

‘…?’

Nam Dahee and Nam Daeun were still confused, tilting their heads as they tried to grasp the situation.

I quickly clapped my hands and spoke.

‘Wow, wow! Just as expected from the Saintess! You cure any illness in an instant.’

‘Hm? Well, it wasn’t that serious an illness…’

‘It’s amazing! Amazing! Come on, kids. Let’s thank her. Thank you.’

Cutting off Baek Ahyoung’s words, I bowed my head and offered thanks.

‘Thank you, Saintess!’

‘Thank you.’

‘Oh, uh, thank you.’

It was infuriating that the Buyer Guild bastards had kept her hospitalized for what wasn’t even a serious illness, but there was no need to tell the sisters that.

They’re sad enough as it is; telling them would only make them sadder.

After Baek Ahyoung left, Nam Dahee and Nam Daeun also said they would head back to the dormitory soon.

‘We’ll be going now.’

‘Yeah. Go carefully. Dahee, you too, be careful, okay?’

‘Oppa. Can’t Unnie stay with us at the dormitory too?’

‘Daehee-ya. Don’t say things like that. You’re making Hoyeon uncomfortable.’

I grabbed Nam Daeun’s hand as she was about to take Nam Dahee away.

‘No, no. It’s fine. Stay together. You haven’t seen each other in a while, so you probably want to spend more time together. Feel free to stay until I’m discharged.’

It’s an issue that they’ll be entering a male dormitory… but Scarlet will handle it well.

‘… Thank you. I’ll visit again.’

‘Thank you, oppa! I love you!’

‘Yeah, yeah. Go home safely.’

The Nam sisters left the room hand in hand.

They probably joined Scarlet, who was waiting outside, and headed back.

With four people suddenly gone, the room became quiet all at once.

‘Haa… What kind of sons of bitches are there like this.’

The illness plaguing Nam Dahee wasn’t that serious.

Baek Ahyoung healed it instantly, so they probably could have cured it quickly if they had just hired a decent healer.

But they deliberately dragged things out and postponed the treatment.

‘Sigh. Those guys are the ones who came from the Underworld.’

Sighing, I reached for the banana Scarlet had given me.

Rumble-

At that moment, the desk the banana was on shook.

Then, when I came to my senses, I was holding Dr. Kang Hyorin’s hand instead of the banana.

‘Oh my, someone with a girlfriend shouldn’t be acting like this.’

Kang Hyorin smirked as she looked at me.

‘… Can’t you just appear normally? And I don’t have a girlfriend.’

‘That’s no fun. But I didn’t expect you wouldn’t even be surprised by this.’

Kang Hyorin chuckled playfully, let go of my hand, and took out some documents from her bag.

‘Documents on the Buyer Guild’s corruption. The investigation is complete.’

‘Wow.’

Falsified double-entry ledgers and a list of clients handled by the Buyer Guild. Besides that, evidence of everything from drug smuggling to arranging prostitution was compiled.

‘With this much, they’re finished the moment it blows up.’

‘Right? Shall I make it blow up? That’s possible as a service.’

‘Mm… No.’

Kang Hyorin’s service is appreciated, but I need to see the situation before making it blow up.

Specifically, I wanted to use this for Nam Daeun’s route too.

There will surely be pressure on Nam Daeun, who isn’t responding to contact.

It will quickly be discovered that Nam Dahee is missing… I’ll be able to handle it then.

‘Is that so? Then I’ll be going. The commission is complete, so please address me as Dr. Kang Hyorin or Professor Kang Hyorin from now on.’

‘Yes, well. But don’t you take personal commissions?’

‘Hmm. Maybe?’

Whoosh-

Dr. Kang Hyorin was sucked back into the desk and disappeared.

‘Who is that person.’

Still, she organized the documents well.

She works hard, but she’s a strange person.

Knock knock.

‘Yes. Who is it?’

‘A visitor is here. It’s Professor Im Sol, shall I let her in?’

‘Yes. Please let her in.’

There were still plenty of visits I was scheduled to receive.

• The day before Lee Hoyeon received his visit.

Lucy and Lumi, who had visited the hospital on the day he woke up from his coma, were turned away by the nurse and returned dejectedly.

‘Lumi… Lee Hoyeon will be okay, right?’

‘Hoyeon-ssi… will be fine. Yeah. Definitely.’

Lucy and Lumi walked down the street wearily.

Since they had skipped class and mustered the courage to come for a hospital visit, their disappointment grew.

‘We can’t help it. Let’s just go to our afternoon classes, Lumi.’

‘Yeah. Let’s do that.’

‘… Lumi. Is Lee Hoyeon really dating the school nurse?’

Lucy brought up something she had been holding back.

Lee Hoyeon had said it wasn’t true last time, but she had recently seen the leaked CCTV footage.

The sight of him throwing himself to save Baek Ahyoung was undeniably the sacrifice of a lover.

‘It can’t be. Hoyeon-ssi said it wasn’t true.’

But Lumi was firm.

Normally, Lumi might have agreed somewhat with Lucy’s words, but whenever Lee Hoyeon came up, she would adamantly state her own opinion.

‘That’s right, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. If Hoyeon-ssi says it’s not true, then it’s not.’

However, even Lumi, saying this, harbored some doubt.

Of course, exams and festivals had been happening continuously.

There had even been several terrorist attacks.

Lumi understood this well, but the disappointment was still there.

It was because her meetings with Lee Hoyeon had become less frequent, and their secret friend activities had decreased.

‘Lumi. Let’s go get lunch!’

‘… Yeah.’

In the end, Lumi couldn’t concentrate during class and returned to the dormitory.

‘What’s the problem? Ugh… Should I try searching for it?’

But she couldn’t think of what exactly to search for.

Just then, Lumi’s eyes fell on a magazine.

It was a magazine Lucy had left behind the last time she visited.

The magazine cover read: ‘[New Image Transformation to Capture Men’s Attention!]’

‘….’

Lumi began reading the magazine.

The magazine emphasized image transformation.

‘Image transformation….’

But for Lumi, the concept of ‘image’ itself was too abstract.

Lumi slowly read through the examples written in the magazine.

‘Clothing style change. That’s too difficult… Hairstyle change… Hairstyle change?’

Isn’t cutting hair something you can just ask for at a hair salon?

Of course, you can just go buy clothes too, but she didn’t have the confidence to choose clothes that suited her from hundreds of options.

No matter how she thought about it, hair seemed easier than clothes.

Finally, Lumi started searching for hairstyles online.