"…What do you think?"
The little girl looked at Lance with a bright, innocent kind of sorrow. Her tone was sharp for soone so small—clever, cheeky, and wise beyond her years.
Lance was a little nervous. "Yeah… we really do have to listen to our bodies."
"So… good luck!"
He paused, then added honestly, "Sorry, I don't really know what else to say except that. But still—good luck!"
He clenched his fist and gave a strong, encouraging pump.
From the steps below, Mahos caught the signal and followed up, also clenching a fist: "Good luck!"
The girl glanced at Lance, then at Mahos. Finally, she looked at Kelce.
Kelce: …
He blinked. A beat too slow, he scrambled to catch up, quickly raising a fist and blurting, "Good… luuuuck…" His voice trailed off.
Why did that feel so weird?
The girl let out a long breath.
Sigh.
Was that a sigh?
"Even when you grow up… you don't just magically have all the answers, huh?"
Lance: …Why did he feel like she was judging him?
But he couldn't deny it.
Lance shrugged. "Yeah. Everyone's got their own problems to face and figure out."
The girl nodded. "Mm. I guess I still have to rely on myself."
And that was that.
Seeing the little girl's "I'm thinking, don't bother " face, they wisely turned to leave.
Creaaak.
The stairwell door opened. The three of them stepped into the hospital corridor, exchanging glances. Even though it had only been a short encounter, it was strangely morable.
Smiles crept up their faces.
"Excuse —where's the chemotherapy ward?"
Lance stepped forward to ask at the nurse's station.
"Straight ahead, then left at the end…" the nurse began automatically, but then suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief, like she might explode.
Their towering fras gave them away—they'd been recognized.
Lance smiled and sold out his teammates imdiately: "Yup, this is Kelce, and this is Mahos. I told them they'd make terrible 007s—way too easy to spot."
The two gotcha victims looked at him in stunned betrayal, totally blindsided.
The nurse, a cheerful woman in her forties with rosy cheeks and a short haircut, chuckled heartily.
"Of course, I know! I know! You're our captain. You're the perfect Jas Bond in my heart. God, yesterday's ga was incredible. This season feels like a dream!"
Lance smiled. "Oh? You watched the live stream?"
The nurse nodded. "Broadcast. And yeah, you're headed to the chemo ward? The kids will be over the moon. During chemo, their favorite thing is listening to the ga—ho or away, they never miss one."
Kelce blinked. "I didn't know we had a Chiefs fan club here."
The nurse bead. "Once a Chief—"
"Always a Chief," she and Kelce finished in perfect unison.
But Lance caught another detail. "Kids?"
The nurse didn't notice his tone shift, but her smile took on a more solemn edge. "Yeah, our ward's a little different. All our chemo patients are under eighteen. So of them… have tough family situations too."
Under eighteen.
In other words, they hadn't even had a chance to live, yet were already facing the possibility of an early end.
The mood shifted. Kelce and Mahos' smiles slowly faded.
Cancer was already a brutal test for anyone—
But for kids? It was unimaginable.
And for their parents… maybe worse.
The nurse seed to sense what they were thinking. "So, who are you here to see?"
Lance brought his focus back. "Felix Gray."
Recognition lit the nurse's face. "Felix." She took a deep breath and forced a steady smile. "He's strong. He's been fighting hard. God, that kid is 100% a Chief—never gives up. If he finds out you three are here, he's gonna lose his mind."
She stood and led the way.
The hallway ahead was long and pale, seemingly stretching forever. The playful mood they'd had slowly quieted.
Outside one room, a middle-aged woman in a gray dress stood facing a doctor, her expression tense with hope.
The doctor said sothing quietly. The woman froze for a mont—then suddenly broke down in tears.
"You an… it's working?"
"Yes, Ms. Gallas. So far, it looks good," the doctor confird.
She quickly wiped her eyes, a ssy smile breaking through. "Oh, that's good news. That's such good news." But the tears didn't stop. They just kept falling.
Even without knowing the full story, the joy in that mont was overwhelming.
As Lance passed, his eyes t the woman's. He offered a soft smile and a small nod of encouragent.
She returned it with a tearful, grateful smile.
They passed each other quietly.
The chemo room was just ahead.
Before they even opened the door, voices inside could be heard—excited, passionate—
"…That's when the rookie stepped in."
"All eyes were on the field. The ga was so tense, nobody noticed. Not even the caras caught it."
"But I saw it. Just a glance—and I spotted him."
"Calm. Composed. Unshaken. Like nothing had happened. The path ahead just opened up for him, like the Red Sea parting for Moses."
"He just… appeared."
"You can't imagine what I felt. I can't even explain it. But in that mont, I knew we were going to win."
"The rookie showed up—just like that."
Creaaak.
The door opened. A tall, powerful silhouette filled the fra, casting a long shadow over the room. Everyone inside instinctively turned toward the door—everyone except the boy in the center, still mid-performance, waving his arms and spitting fire like he was retelling an epic.
The rest of the kids stared in disbelief, jaws dropping.
The boy shouted, "And then we all yelled together!"
Off to the side: "Lance!"
The boy lit up, glancing over. "Yeah! That's it—Lance! We all shouted together!"
"Lance! Lance! Lance!"
The room erupted in scattered, eager cheers.
Felix's eyes went wide. "Yes, yes! Just like that!" Then he noticed everyone staring at the door and turned to look.
And there they were—three hulking figures awkwardly squeezed into the doorway like Snow White had just walked into the Seven Dwarfs' cabin.
Felix was completely stunned.
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