“Come on, ah.”
I turned my head away from the spoon that came close to my mouth.
Then, Yuna, who was holding the spoon, looked at me and asked.
“Why, is it too hot?”
“No. That’s not it. Why are you feeding me?”
At that, Yuna gave me a look as if to say, why are you asking such a thing?
“Why? Well, because I’m your caretaker, that’s why.”
She was right.
At some point, Yuna’s name was written as my caretaker, and when I asked the nurse if there was some error, she said that it was the guardian who applied for it personally.
My guardian was officially Lee Ye-eun.
That meant that Lee Ye-eun had designated Yuna as my caretaker for some reason I didn’t know.
“…Then I’ll just eat by myself. I’m not so helpless that I can’t use a spoon.”
“Hmm, is that so? But you have to eat everything and not leave anything behind, okay?”
Yuna said that and obediently handed me the spoon.
Yeah, that was the problem.
She accepted it without any resistance and started acting like a real caretaker.
To be honest, I thought she would refuse the role of a caretaker right away.
And as if she noticed my thoughts, Yuna answered without any hesitation.
‘First of all, I’m your servant in name. It’s natural that this kind of thing is included in the servant’s job, and more importantly, I’ve already been paid as your servant. It’s much easier for me to do this kind of work.’
…What could I say to Yuna who said that?
I had no choice but to accept her as my caretaker.
And what was really surprising was that the other kids, except for her, also accepted her as my caretaker without any objection.
The reason was that, as I said before, there was a fairly reasonable reason for her to take care of me, but also because everyone else was busy with their own things, except for Yuna.
In the case of Han Soo-young and Choi Hyun-woo, they were looking for clues about Nam Hyun-hwa, who had disappeared, and in the meantime, Choi Hyun-woo said he was looking for a new sword to use.
In the case of Ivan, he had gotten a feel for the new ability of the Magic Bow, but it was still unstable, so he was training repeatedly and sometimes asking for advice from Evangeline.
Finally, in the case of Jin Ye-seul, she was staying at the place where her sister, Jin Ye-jung, was staying, organizing the information she had obtained and doing various experiments with the ankle of the ‘Children of Militia’ officer she had stolen.
…Of course, I could see that Han Soo-young and Jin Ye-seul sometimes showed signs of displeasure, but anyway, they seemed to agree on the surface.
“Do you want some help?”
“No, it’s my job, what. It’s not that hard.”
Yuna answered cheerfully to Choi Hyun-woo’s question.
She skillfully opened the window and then took off my pillow cover to change it.
Ivan was sipping his coffee and watching me eat.
“Why are you staring at me eating like that? It’s uncomfortable.”
As I said that while eating something that I couldn’t tell if it was rice porridge or soup, he snickered and laughed.
Then he lifted his paper cup slightly as if to toast.
“No, I was just thinking. Maybe I’ll have some chicken with Hyun-woo later.”
When I stopped eating at that, he chuckled and sipped his coffee.
I sighed softly and then Han Soo-young, who was sitting next to me, asked me.
“Ji-hyuk, do you want some chicken?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I’m sick of eating porridge every day.”
“Then should I sneak some in for you?”
Han Soo-young asked me with a gleam in her eyes, but the one who answered her was not me, but Yuna.
“What if you get caught? You’ll be banned from visiting me for sure this time.”
“Ugh.”
Han Soo-young made a sheepish expression.
It was because she had been warned once by An Joo-hyuk when she brought me some tuna kimbap that she said she would give me.
“But Yuna, you’re really good at this…”
Han Soo-young muttered, feeling embarrassed.
Yuna, who was skillfully changing the pillow cover and tidying up the surroundings, smiled slightly and answered.
“I used to help the nun and take care of the kids. So I know how to do simple things like this.”
Han Soo-young nodded slightly at her words.
I smiled at her and said.
“Let’s eat together later. The doctor has a reason for telling me not to.”
At my words, Han Soo-young made a sour face, but she obediently nodded.
“Hoo…”
After eating most of the porridge, I turned my head without thinking and met eyes with Jin Ye-seul, who was staring at me.
“…”
Then she turned her head away without a word.
She was clearly and deliberately avoiding my gaze.
A few days ago, she came to my bed in the early morning and slept, and when she woke up, she ran away like a madman, making a strange noise that sounded like a scream.
And the next day, she came alone and apologized for bothering me, and since then, she had been acting like this.
Jin Ye-jung said that she flipped the blanket over and screamed like crazy.
She casually told me that the mattress of the bed was ruined because she kicked the blanket and went wild.
“Ji-hyuk, can you lean forward a bit?”
“Huh, huh.”
In the midst of that, Yuna, who had changed the cover of the pillow, put them behind me.
Then she nodded at the almost empty dishes and took out a water bottle with a straw.
“Here, Ji-hyuk. Water. Drink it slowly so you don’t choke.”
“…”
I sat silently for a moment at her attitude, which was like taking care of a child, and Yuna tilted her head and asked.
“Why? Do you want to go to the bathroom? Or do you want me to wash your hair?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Are you having trouble moving?”
I shook my head vigorously at her question.
It was because I remembered that until yesterday, she calmly took out a patient’s urinal and told me to tell her anytime if I had trouble moving.
“I’m not that sick, okay? I can eat by myself, and I don’t need your help with anything from going to the bathroom to washing. I’m really fine, okay?”
At that, Yuna looked at me with a slightly stern eye.
“An Joo-hyuk didn’t say that. Neither did the nurses.”
“Hey, that’s…”
“And you said that your condition is because of a curse, right?”
Yuna spoke in a soft voice, but with a firm tone.
“He said that the weakness caused by the curse can make your condition temporarily better or worse, so you have to be extra careful, and no one knows how your body will change since it hasn’t been long since it happened. That’s why you can only go for a walk at a fixed time and only in front of the hospital. What if you get worse after feeling a little better and do something reckless? What are you going to do then?”
“Sigh.”
I sighed softly at her words.
Yeah, I had been waiting for a chance to tell them, but maybe this was a good opportunity.
With that in mind, I looked at everyone with a serious eye, including her, and said.
“This is something only you should know. The truth is…”
I quietly told them that my current condition was due to the overload of my ability, and that my weakness was nothing but a penalty for that.
I couldn’t tell them everything from the Seven Evil Races to the Thorny King, so I explained it vaguely, and added that I would be fine as time passed, so they didn’t have to act like that.
“So, Ji-hyuk, you’re saying this?”
Yuna, who had been serious and crossed her arms, looked at me and asked.
“You’re saying that you’re weak now because you got a penalty for using your ability too much, and you’ll get better as time passes?”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t lie.”
Yuna spat out in a cold voice.
And she looked at me with a frosty gaze, just like before.
“Are you asking us to believe that?”
“No, I’m serious. Why would I lie to you? I hid this because I don’t want anyone else to know about my ability.”
“You’re really stubborn…”
Yuna started to tremble with a red face.
Not from embarrassment, but from anger, I realized, and quickly looked at Jin Ye-seul.
“Ye-seul, you know, right? Whether I’m lying or not. And you saw me lose my strength after using this last time, right?”
“Huh, huh?”
Jin Ye-seul was startled, and then gave an awkward smile.
And she nodded slightly.
“Yeah… Ji-hyuk is not lying right now.”
I breathed a sigh of relief at her testimony.
It was then that Han Soo-young, who had been sitting quietly, asked me quietly.
“You’ll get better as time passes?”
“Yeah.”
“Then how long will that take?”
“…Huh?”
“You said that, Ji-hyuk.”
Han Soo-young said in a calm and even voice.
“You said it was a penalty for using your ability too much. Then you should know something, Ji-hyuk. How long does it take for the penalty to be imposed by the overload, and how long does it take for your body to heal?”
She said that and looked at me quietly.
“I hope you don’t say you don’t know your own ability.”
I quickly checked my status window.
But as I remembered, there was only an explanation that a curse was imposed as a penalty, but there was no information on how long it would take for the penalty to be lifted.
“That’s… maybe a month or two.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Now even Choi Hyun-woo and Ivan were looking at me with serious expressions.
Han Soo-young sighed softly and asked.
“…You don’t know, do you?”
I was about to deny her words right away.
“Don’t lie if you’re going to, Ji-hyuk.”
Jin Ye-seul whispered quietly.
She was looking straight into my eyes.
“I can tell you’re nervous right now. I can hear your heart beating, your pulse racing. If you lie, I’ll know right away, just like you asked me before. Just tell me this.”
You don’t know the exact time, do you?
With that, an uncomfortable silence ensued.
As everyone’s eyes were focused on me, I had no choice but to nod my head, and Yuna, who saw that, clenched her teeth and turned her body.
“…I’ll be back in a bit.”
As soon as she left, Han Soo-young and Jin Ye-seul also got up.
“Sorry. Hyun-woo. Can you watch the place for me?”
“…”
…Something was going wrong.
As I was about to get up, Choi Hyun-woo quietly put his hand on my shoulder.
“Ji-hyuk, I know how you feel, but you went too far this time.”
“Yeah.”
Ivan also looked at me with a troubled expression.
“We’re not stupid… How could you underestimate us like that?”
“No, hey. Why are you guys…”
“Ji-hyuk.”
Choi Hyun-woo sighed softly.
“We all know that you can get weak from a penalty for using your ability too much.”
“Hey, I didn’t answer properly because I just haven’t used my ability that much. That’s why I don’t know how long it takes to recover…”
“You just said it yourself.”
He said, with a pained expression, as if he was ashamed of his own powerlessness.
“You said you haven’t used your ability that much, right? But that much ability… Even to the point of being pushed to the brink of death, literally squeezing it out. How do you expect us to believe that the price for that is just that?”
“…”
I closed my mouth quietly.
I think I finally understood why the three of them suddenly opened the door and left.
Choi Hyun-woo, who had his hand on my shoulder, just bowed his head, and Ivan was muttering something in his native language.
In the atmosphere that felt like it was going to suffocate me, I heard Spengali whisper quietly.
[This is worse than any morning drama.]
I closed my eyes as I heard his chuckle.
I had a feeling that anything I said now would only deepen the misunderstanding.
***
…I don’t know if it was because of the backlash after the commotion, but ten days passed without any incident.
I thought Yuna, Han Soo-young, or Jin Ye-seul… or even Choi Hyun-woo and Ivan would bring up that day’s event again, but they acted as if they had made a promise not to say anything about it.
I also kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to stir up trouble.
Every time I tried to talk to them, they all had similar reactions.
After experiencing Spengali’s laughter or Raune’s silent nod several times, I realized that it was better to just take care of myself.
“Well, we’ll see you later.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Kim Yu-hyun and Choi Hyun-sung, who had come to visit me, said that and got up from their seats.
It was thanks to the fact that my condition had improved in the past few days, and the management and rules had become relatively lax.
Meanwhile, Abel Grossman, Kang Yeon-kyung, Hori Yuzuki.
Or people like Evangeline and Laura, who I had befriended in the Ten Kings, had often come to see me.
Even Ahn Do-hoon had surprised me by showing up, and I had received an anonymous letter with a neat handwriting that said to take care of myself, which was clearly sent by Nam Hyun-hwa.
Kim Yu-hyun and Choi Hyun-sung, who had just left, probably came only after hearing that I was not well, but most of the people knew the situation to some extent.
That’s why every time they came to visit me, they created a heavy atmosphere, and I had to be careful too.
In that sense, Kim Yu-hyun and Choi Hyun-sung’s visit was a good mood changer for me.
It was when I picked up one of the novels they had brought me as a gift.
Knock knock.
“Yes, it’s open.”
Yuna, who was sitting by the window and reading a book as well, got up and answered the knock.
And before she opened the door, someone opened it and stuck their head in.
“Excuse me. This is definitely… ah, this is it.”
The person who came in smiled and looked at me.
“Ryle sunbae?”
“Long time no see.”
The person was none other than Cass Ryle.
He lifted up the bag he was holding and said to me.
“I came to visit you.”
