𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎𝟕
“……”
The first thing I felt when I vaguely regained consciousness was the smell of alcohol lingering around my nose. Following that, the faint sound of chatter. And when I opened my eyes, I realized this was an unfamiliar place.
‘Where am I……’
I want to think, but even that feels difficult.
I just desperately wanted to fall asleep again. But on the other hand, I wanted to know what had happened, so I looked around, holding back my drooping eyelids.
‘Is this a hospital?’
I don’t remember the details. But the last thing I vaguely recalled was the word emergency call, so I sighed inwardly, thinking this must be a hospital.
To think I was in such a serious condition that I had to be hospitalized.
Come to think of it, at the time, I really thought I was dying, so it wasn’t strange to be in a hospital.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, I felt a warm sensation in my left hand and looked down to see someone sleeping, face down, holding my hand.
‘Who is it?’
A slender physique and neatly arranged long hair. Just from that, I could tell the person lying face down was a woman, but the woman who knows me in reality is……
“Oh? You’re awake.”
“……?”
Before I could even think, someone else’s voice reached me. I turned my head to the other side and saw a woman I had never seen before looking at me.
“Wh……who are you?”
Was my question unexpected? The woman let out a small laugh and then briefly introduced herself.
“I’m Sina. Lee.Gi.Won-ssi.”
‘Sina?’
It’s not that I don’t know Sina. No, how could I not know her? However, Sina here was so different from the image I saw in Twilight. In Twilight, she had a generally pretty impression, but……
“Judging by your expression, you seem quite surprised.”
Here, she gave off a strong impression of coldness. Just looking at her neatly tied hair and the glasses she wore, she also gave off an intellectual vibe, but because of her haughty eyes, the overall atmosphere felt cold.
“Why is Sina-nim……”
“That’s what I want to ask. Where in the world is there someone who plays games all day without eating?”
“Huh?”
‘Food? What does she mean?’
I’ve been eating relatively well, so Sina’s words were hard to understand. Before that, what does me lying here have to do with food? I forced my tired brain to think and managed to come up with a question that might solve the mystery.
“What……what did they say at the hospital?”
“Malnutrition, they said? You collapsed because you consumed more energy than you took in, or something like that? I don’t know the details.”
“……”
Malnutrition?
I didn’t understand, but since the hospital said it was malnutrition, I had nothing to say. No, to be precise, I didn’t even want to think. Just being awake like this was tiring enough.
“Anyway, I got a message while I was playing the game. Yua received it too, so I guess everyone on Rudin-nim’s friend list probably got it.”
“A message?”
“Yes. A message saying that Rudin-nim’s condition was critical and you were forcibly logged out, and that an emergency call was requested.”
“……”
It seems they informed everyone about the forced logout and the emergency call. Why did they do that? I felt uneasy thinking that everyone had received news that wasn’t particularly good.
“I’m sorry. Because of me……”
“Don’t mention it. I’ve received a lot of help from you in Twilight, so this is nothing. And thank Yua rather than me.”
“Yua?”
“She’s right next to you.”
Sina pointed to the woman lying face down next to me. I wondered who it was, but it was Yua. However, my questions didn’t subside. Even if they found out about my condition through the message window, how could they have come all the way here?
“Why? Do you have more questions?”
“……How did you know and come here?”
“Yua lives nearby. As soon as she received the message, she logged out and went to Rudin-nim’s house. She saw you being taken away in an ambulance and rode along to get here.”
And I came after receiving a call from Yua, Sina finished her explanation.
‘Come to think of it, it was Yua who introduced me to the house I’m living in now.’
It was the house Yua introduced, so she couldn’t have not known the location. Thanks to that, I understood how they were able to come all the way here, so I nodded and expressed my gratitude.
“Well, it’s awkward to say this, but consider yourself indebted to Yua. She’s been by your side since yesterday when we came to the hospital.”
“Yesterday……”
“Yes. Rudin-nim…… No, is it Giwon-ssi here? Anyway, you woke up after a day.”
Perhaps she felt awkward to keep calling me Rudin in reality, so Sina switched to calling me Giwon, my real name.
I didn’t even care about that, though.
‘By the way, I collapsed like that again?’
This was the second time I collapsed for a whole day, so it wasn’t surprising. Therefore, I accepted it calmly, but this appearance of mine seemed unfamiliar to Sina.
“You don’t seem very surprised?”
“I don’t have the energy to be surprised.”
I answered vaguely like that and looked at Yua, who was lying face down. Honestly, there’s no reason for Yua to go this far. Yua and I just met in Twilight, didn’t we? So, it was hard to understand Yua’s actions since yesterday, but on the other hand, I also felt grateful.
‘……It’s complicated.’
What is Yua thinking? While I was having such questions, Yua’s body, which was lying face down, stirred for a moment, and then she slowly raised her head.
And Yua’s face was revealed.
“……”
For a moment, I felt like my mind had stopped. It was the face of Yua that I had always seen in Twilight. However, I didn’t know it would be the same face in reality, so the shock was even greater than in Twilight.
“Ah…… Sina?”
“You’re awake?”
“Yes, what time is it?”
“11 AM. I told you to go in and sleep.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Still, Yua, who looked tired, shook her head and then turned her gaze towards me, and thanks to that, I made eye contact with her.
“……”
“……”
Yua looked surprised to see me awake. As if she couldn’t believe it, she looked at me and then, with a beautiful frown, buried her face in my chest.
“Sob.”
‘……Why is she crying?’
I didn’t even dare to ask anymore. I just waited for Yua to calm down, and Sina, who was watching me and Yua, said with an expression as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
“Anyone would think you woke up after months.”
I also thought so, as Yua’s behavior was perplexing. Anyway, as I waited silently, Yua began to calm down little by little, and realizing this, I carefully spoke to her.
“Are you okay now?”
“Uh, yes.”
To think that I, the one hospitalized and lying down, would say such a thing.
It was a somewhat awkward situation, but I tried to ignore it. More than that, I needed to thank Yua first. I owed her a lot, including her coming all the way here.
“I heard the story from Sina. Thank you.”
“No problem. Rather than that, how are you feeling? They said it would have been dangerous if it had been a few days later……”
“I’m fine now.”
And listening to Yua, it seemed the situation wasn’t as serious as I thought. Dangerous if it had been a few days later? I was taken to the hospital by emergency call, and at the time, I really thought I was dying, but it seemed like my mistake.
‘……But is it really a mistake?’
Suddenly, the sensation from that time came to mind unintentionally. The dizzying feeling of strength draining from my whole body. I felt a chill as I thought I would die when that strength disappeared.
“That’s a relief. I was really surprised when I saw the ambulance.”
“Ah, I, I’m sorry.”
I quickly pulled myself together and answered.
Actually, if I hadn’t moved, Yua wouldn’t have come here. No, since the message was delivered, would she have been worried and unable to do anything? Either way, I felt very sorry for Yua, whom I had only caused worry.
“You don’t have to apologize. It’s better than not being able to contact you for days.”
“……”
It was a burdensome mindset. Conversely, if Yua had been hospitalized, would I have acted the same way? Thinking about it made me feel somewhat pathetic.
“Aren’t you going to talk about that?”
Suddenly, Sina, who had been watching me and Yua, spoke.
‘That story?’
“Ah, Gi, Giwon-ssi.”
Yua called my name as if she had just remembered something because of Sina’s words. She stuttered a little, probably because it was awkward to call me by my real name, and then she started saying something strange.
“Actually, I’m going to move near your house.”
“……Move?”
What does this mean?
“Why?”
I didn’t know the reason, but it seemed related to me. Otherwise, there would be no reason to bring it up. So, I asked about it, but Yua seemed hesitant to answer readily and showed a cautious attitude.
“I just thought it would be good.”
“……”
If it were the usual me, I would have asked further. But today, having received a lot of help from Yua unintentionally, I saw her attitude and couldn’t bring myself to ask, so I just let it go.
* * *
“Whew.”
Now that it was evening, after some time had passed, I stepped outside the hospital, wanting to get some fresh air. This was also because my condition had improved enough to walk around.
Anyway, I sent Yua and Sina home in the afternoon, and after taking care of various things related to the hospitalization costs, I sighed and recalled what had happened in Twilight.
‘I should never use that intuition again.’
Well, regarding the hospitalization, the hospital concluded that I had simply collapsed due to skipping meals due to lack of appetite. Thanks to that, Yua looked at me with an even more worried gaze, but I couldn’t tell her about the intuition.
‘Come to think of it, I was hospitalized in exchange for a quest.’
To exaggerate, it was as if I had completed the quest at the cost of my life. It was a dangerous thing, but on the other hand, I didn’t think about quitting Twilight.
Less than a month…… No, just the quest I completed yesterday alone earned me 500 gold and a unique item, which could be worth close to 100 million won at market price.
What kind of work in this day and age could earn me that kind of money?
It might be greedy, but my honest feeling was that I wanted to go as far as I could.
“What are you doing here?”
“……Sina?”
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice and turned my head to see Sina standing there, whom I thought had gone back with Yua.
“Weren’t you going back?”
“I went back and came again.”
“Why on earth……”
“Ah~ I’m tired. Let’s sit there for now.”
After saying that, Sina sat down on a nearby bench. Then, she made a refreshed expression in the blowing night breeze and spoke to me.
“Aren’t you going to sit down?”
She wouldn’t have come back without a reason. Thinking so, I approached Sina and sat next to her.
“What do you think about what Yua said earlier?”
“The story about moving?”
“Yes.”
Aside from the intention behind the question, honestly, Yua’s words were hard to understand. Why on earth is she moving? I had a few things in mind, but if it’s Sina, she would probably know for sure.
“Actually, Yua is worried about your life after this, Giwon-ssi…… Ah, this is awkward. I’ll just call you Rudin-nim.”
“My life?”
“You collapsed after playing games for days without eating. It’s understandable to be worried. Because of that, Yua and I thought Rudin-nim might have Reality Avoidance Syndrome.”
‘What’s Reality Avoidance Syndrome?’
“Ah, it’s a new term that emerged with the release of Twilight. It refers to people who deny reality and find meaning only in the virtual world…… You can find quite a lot of them if you look it up. Those kinds of people.”
“You’re saying I have that Reality Avoidance Syndrome?”
“Aren’t you? At least I think so.”
“……”
Sina’s words continued after that.
“Anyway, there’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again. Yua is too kind to say this directly, but.”
In short, it seemed she was moving near my house to prevent this from happening again.
“You can think of it as her making that decision because she wants to help Rudin-nim in a simple way.”
“There’s no need for Yua-nim to go that far.”
“I told her that too. I asked if it was necessary to go that far. But Yua said that when she first met Rudin-nim, she wanted to help you.”
‘When she first met me?’
The first time I met Yua was on the first day I started playing Twilight. Did Yua say she wanted to help me then? Thinking back, I remembered her saying something like that before logging out that day.
But……
“Isn’t she talking about things in Twilight?”
“What is there to help you with in Twilight?”
“……”
I was speechless for a moment. Something to help me with in Twilight? Listening to Sina, it really seemed like there was nothing.
“So, this is what Yua thought. Since she can’t help you in the game, she wants to help you in reality. That’s what she and I talked about yesterday.”
“……”
“Either way, if you want to stop her, now is the time.”
“Are you leaving?”
I looked at Sina as she slowly got up from her seat.
“I came to say what Yua couldn’t. Now that I’ve said it, I should go.”
“……Yes, please be careful.”
“Ah, and just in case, please don’t hate Yua.”
Sina left after leaving those words. I couldn’t say anything as I watched her back.
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