Chapter Text
The emptiness felt in his chest was like a massive hole. Humin had never lost someone close to him and didn’t know how painful it would be for his sensitive heart. He was used to experiencing others' pain as his own, but his own suffering felt like hell.
Baekjin's death had crippled him; it pierced through his soft insides, hidden deep beneath his skin. The former Park Humin was gone, along with the image of the invincible hero Eunjang.
Baku had stopped showing up at school and answering calls. He isolated himself from society, shutting out even his closest friends. The world now consisted solely of his tiny bedroom.
“Come on, Baku!” Gotak shouted, banging on the door. “Aren’t you going to leave the house at all? I get it — it’s hard, but you need to move on. You have your whole life ahead of you! It would be a shame if you gave up and missed everything! We really miss you, Baku! Me, Juntae and Sieun. We don’t want to lose you!”
Baku lay there, staring at the wall. Tears blurred his vision. He bit down on his fist to stifle the scream that threatened to escape.
“What if I don’t want to live?…” he thought. “I can’t be happy when I’m the one responsible for his death!”
“How about our walks? Basketball? Good food? School is calm now. No one is fighting. Isn’t that great? Right? This is what we wanted — to live peacefully and not hurt anyone. We did this, Baku!”
Gotak received no response from him. He sighed, pressing his forehead against the door.
“Go away, Gotak…” Baku weakly said. “I won’t come out. You’re wasting your time.”
Gotak felt his anger boiling over. He slammed his palms against the wood and took a deep breath.
“I’m going to kick down this damn door, Humin! I’m serious! We haven’t seen you in a month and a half! I’m going to forget what you look like!”
He took a moment to collect himself.
“Please!…” His voice trembled. “Let us help you. You don’t have to go through this alone!”
Something clicked in Baku’s mind. What was the point of his isolation? It wouldn’t bring Baekjin back. It only made his friends worry about him. Better to die than condemn them to mourn a friend who was still alive but trapped in the past.
With great effort, he got up from the bed and approached the door, clicking the latch open. Humin slightly opened the door. A pair of surprised eyes stared back at him. He shyly looked away. Without hesitation, Gotak pulled him into a hug, and Humin broke down.
“I let him down so much, Gotak!... I killed him!”
Tears streamed down his face one after another. Gotak tightened his grip on his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.
“That’s not true. Don’t even think that! You didn’t kill Baekjin! The Union did!”
Baku’s chest tightened painfully. He sniffled.
Suddenly, a phone rang. Reluctantly, Baku released Gotak and searched for his phone, which was on the nightstand by the bed. An unknown number lit up on the screen. Baku wanted to reject the call but found himself staring at the screen for some reason.
“Why aren’t you answering? Who is it?…”
Gotak approached him, glancing at the display.
“Maybe you should answer? It could be important!”
Baku looked at him and finally accepted the call, bringing the phone to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Hello, sir!” a sharp male voice came through on the other end. “I don’t know if the owner’s name showed up... He... well, he’s injured,” Baku’s heart skipped a beat. “I don’t know what happened to him... I found this number in his contacts. According to the documents, his name is…”
Baku felt a primal fear coiling in the pit of his stomach.
“...Na Baekjin.”
A void formed in his mind. The phone slipped from his hands. Gotak recoiled, staring at his friend in confusion. Humin dropped to the floor.
“What...?!” Gotak exclaimed, throwing up his hands. Humin picked up the phone again, pressing it to his ear.
“Where is he??” he asked anxiously. The muscles in his jaw twitched. Gotak was worried about his frantic energy. “Yes. Yes. Thank you, sir!”
Humin ended the call and began rummaging through the entire bedroom. Gotak watched as his hands trembled while he searched through his belongings.
“Baku! Who was that?...” Gotak asked, stepping aside to avoid getting in Humin's way. Finally, Humin found his red hoodie, hurriedly pulled it on, and dashed out of the room. “Baku!”
Gotak exhaled sharply, muttering a quick “damn”, and sprinted after his friend.
“Can you say something?! Where are we running?”
“To the hospital!” Baku finally replied, bounding down the stairs. Gotak kept pace with him. His heart pounded wildly in his chest.
“Someone's in the hospital?! Who?”
“Baekjin,” Humin tossed out as he continued to run faster. Gotak froze in shock.
“What?!...” he exclaimed before snapping back to reality and racing after Baku. “Wait!”
They arrived at the hospital. Baku burst into the lobby and immediately rushed to the reception desk.
“Excuse me! Can you tell me where I can find a patient named Na Baekjin?”
Gotak could hear the tremor in his friend's voice.
“Na Baekjin...” the receptionist repeated, clicking away at her keyboard. Baku nervously tapped his fingers on the counter and bounced on his feet.
“The patient Na Baekjin is in critical condition. He is currently in the emergency department,” the receptionist stated calmly, looking up at Baku. “Please wait in the waiting area. We will notify you when his condition stabilizes. Leave your phone number.”
The receptionist returned to filling out some paperwork.
“Wait!” Baku exclaimed, leaning over the reception desk. The girl regarded him with a cold stare. “Where is the emergency department?”
The receptionist sighed.
“Visitors are not allowed there. Please wait. We will call you.”
Baku was now openly irritated. He raked a hand through his hair in desperation and shouted:
“I can’t just sit here and wait!”
Gotak stepped closer and gently pulled him aside.
“Baku, they’re helping him. That’s already something good!” Gotak smiled encouragingly, rubbing his shoulders through the fabric of the hoodie. “Let’s just allow the doctors to do their job.”
Baku wouldn’t meet his gaze. His eyes were cast down, but he nodded a few times.
“Alright!” Gotak clapped him on the shoulder. “Good job.”
Baku jotted down his number and Gotak’s on a small piece of paper and stepped back. Gotak returned to the reception desk.
“Can I find out how bad it is?”
“There’s no information in the system yet. He’s receiving first aid.”
Gotak thanked the receptionist and turned around, finding no sign of Baku.
“Baku?…”
Gotak anxiously glanced around, but he couldn’t see him anywhere. He dashed into the hallway behind the reception area. Medical staff, patients, and visitors bustled about. Gotak pulled out his phone to call, but almost immediately spotted his friend at the end of the corridor by a glass wall. He ran toward him.
Baku was staring at something beyond the glass, pressing both palms against its cold surface. Gotak followed his gaze and saw medical personnel wheeling a gurney with a very pale guy on it. Simultaneously, one of the doctors was administering first aid to him.
The guy really looked like Baekjin, but Gotak wasn’t a hundred percent sure. He turned to Humin. Tears were streaming down his friend's cheeks, his lips trembling. Suddenly, he bolted toward the glass wall.
“Baku!” Gotak called out belatedly, following his best friend as he always did.
He watched as the injured guy was wheeled into a room. He tried not to lose sight of Baku, who was desperately trying to get to him. Gotak was out of breath; an old injury was flaring up. He stretched his knee and continued to follow his friend.
Eventually, Baku found the right door. He came to a sudden stop against the wall, and Gotak lightly bumped into his shoulder.
“He’s here...” Humin mumbled in a daze, tugging at the handle of the iron door. Behind it was a small area with a window. They rushed over to it.
Through the glass was Baekjin’s room. Gotak had to admit that it was really him. Baku let out a sigh of relief as he watched them resuscitate Baekjin. Under the hospital lights, the guy looked deathly pale. His skin was stretched tightly over his skull. His lower eyelids were swollen, and his cheekbones were sharp. His right forearm was splattered with blood, already dried.
The longer Baku watched, the more his heart tightened. While one of the doctors was ventilating Baekjin’s lungs, the anesthesiologist administered anesthesia. Baku noticed he hadn’t been breathing this whole time. He took a gasping breath, chills running down his spine.
The doctor opened Baekjin’s mouth with a laryngoscope and inserted an intubation tube into his trachea. After securing the tube, he connected the ventilator. The nurse unbuttoned the white shirt with large burgundy stains on the guy and then removed it completely while the orderly held the patient’s shoulders. Humin gasped painfully. Baekjin’s chest was marked with wounds and bruises. The nurse carefully treated them and bandaged them up. Then she placed electrodes on his chest to monitor his heartbeat. The orderly cleaned and stitched up the wound on Baekjin’s right arm.
With equal caution, they put a hospital gown on Baekjin and covered him with a blanket. The orderly applied a cast to his right arm. The nurse set up an IV with medication. Baku watched Baekjin intently; the fire in his chest was slowly dying down.
Once all the procedures were finished, some of the medical staff headed for the exit of the room. Baku and Gotak quickly rushed out and returned to the lobby. After a while, an administrator called them over to the reception desk. A middle-aged woman with her hair pulled back into a bun stood at the counter.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Choi Gimna. I’m Mr. Na Baekjin’s attending physician.”
Baku and Gotak greeted her.
“We stabilized the patient’s condition. He is experiencing respiratory failure. We’ve connected him to a ventilator until he can breathe on his own. There are many bruises and wounds on his body. The wounds are not deep—there was no need for stitching. A cast has been applied to his right arm,” the doctor reported briefly. “The patient is currently unconscious. I do not recommend disturbing him until tomorrow.”
The doctor smiled.
“Come back tomorrow. I think he’ll regain consciousness soon, and you’ll be able to visit him.”
“And until he wakes up, we won’t be able to see him?” Baku asked anxiously.
“I can only answer that question tomorrow.”
Gotak nodded in understanding. The doctor gave them a knowing look and left, her heels clicking on the floor.
“Let’s go, Baku,” Gotak murmured, grabbing his friend by the sleeve. “They won’t let us see him today anyway.”
Baku, who had been staring blankly ahead, finally turned his attention to him.
“I want to get to his room.”
Gotak exhaled in disbelief.
“Don’t be foolish! He’s very weak. His immune system is probably compromised right now. It would be easy to bring in a virus. It’s not worth it.”
“You’re right,” Baku agreed, nodding and lowering his gaze. “I’m just worried.”
Gotak gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
"I know. Let's go home."
"Maybe I should stay?" Baku said, casting a hesitant glance at his friend. Gotak let out a weary sigh. "I don’t want to leave him alone..."
"You know it doesn’t make sense."
Baku swallowed the lump in his throat. He looked tense and even scared, which made Gotak anxious.
"Hey! Don’t do anything stupid!"
He tugged at his friend's sleeve again, forcing him to look at him.
"I know you! You’ll sit here all night on just coffee. Go home. Get some sleep. Baekjin needs you strong and composed. He’ll need a reliable shoulder to lean on when he wakes up."
"And he will get it!"
Baku sounded indignant.
"I get it. Let’s go home."
He didn’t wait for a response. He just turned and headed for the exit. Gotak sighed and followed him.