"Hyung's here!"
J closed his wide-open arms, shut the door behind him, and strode over to the bed. The stagnant air swirled around him. Bringing with him the outside wind, J bent down slightly and asked.
"What were you doing?"
"..."
There was no answer. The only response was the slightly narrowed, dull eyes and the faintly raised corners of his mouth under the bandages, which soon disappeared. Beneath the expressionless face, the fingers on the blanket twitched slightly. By now, J had co to understand most of the anings hidden in the boy's small gestures.
"You were waiting for ."
J dragged a small chair closer to the bed and sat down. J leaned his masked face closer. The boy leaned his upper body back a little. With a voice tinged with laughter, J asked.
"You missed , didn't you?"
The boy blinked slowly and turned his head away. Judging by his tightly closed lips, he seed upset again. The boy J had observed so far was strong-willed and often changed his mood as quickly as flipping a coin. Though this ti, J had an idea.
J crossed his arms and sighed.
"...I'm really sorry. I wanted to co sooner, but I had a lot to do."
Since the boy had regained consciousness, J had been visiting the hospital regularly. After receiving a keycard, he would sotis drop by quietly like a phantom. Despite his irregular schedule, he sohow made ti to procure the antidote, see the boy, and have conversations that went unanswered. Several months passed like this.
The boy's head was turned towards J, but his eyes were directed at the empty space beside J.
"..."
"Recently, the number of rifts..."
Oops. J stopped speaking mid-sentence, covered his masked mouth with his fist, and discreetly scanned the surroundings. A black CCTV cara in the corner of the ceiling was watching them. He confird it was a model that didn't record audio, but he still couldn't speak carelessly without certainty.
'It's not confird yet...'
The number of sudden rifts has been increasing recently. It was so subtle that only a very few hunters working in the field could notice. But he couldn't act on re suspicion. His words carried more weight than those of others.
'I should discuss this with Jung Bin.'
The boy tilted his head as if to ask why J wasn't speaking. J, clenching his fist tightly, said.
"I missed you too."
Maybe because he spoke in a hurry, his buried true feelings unexpectedly burst out. Soone who had to hide his face, voice, and heart rarely expressed his honest feelings. The boy's fingers lightly grasped the blanket.
Now, instead of the beeping of machines, the sound of the boy's breathing and heartbeat was louder. Many of the wires connecting his body to the devices had been removed. Compared to the days when he lay there like a corpse, it was a significant improvent.
'He can sit up now.'
Although he still needed help from people and lay on a bed, the boy's condition was improving day by day. So much so that J was thinking about a future far beyond tomorrow.
"..."
After fidgeting with the blanket for a long ti, the boy slowly reached out his hand. J, without hesitation, took it. His sturdy hands completely covered the small hand. As J gently rubbed the back of the boy's hand, he asked.
"How are you feeling? Not in pain? I heard they changed the dicine mix a bit."
The boy nodded very slightly.
"That's good."
"..."
"Seeing you sitting up like this... you might be able to walk soday."
Soday, he might be able to write sothing to express himself, to walk out of the bed, and to leave this room on his own.
'Who knows, maybe he'll be able to speak.'
The thought suddenly crossed his mind. Since becoming a hunter, J had never thought about the distant future. He was too busy surviving each day.
Leaving thoughts to others, reassuring himself it was okay, and swinging his spear, believing that peace would eventually co, and that a house of peace would be built on the foundation he laid.
But this boy made J dream of a different future. Not a grand future where peace arrives, but a more personal one. J looked at the small hand moving in his grasp and opened his mouth.
"Have you ever seen the sea?"
The cloudy eyes rolled to look at J. The boy's lips pouted as if asking what kind of question that was. Or maybe he thought J was mocking him. J smiled.
"I'm not mocking you. I was thinking we could go to the sea when you get better."
"..."
"I went to Gangneung once to catch a Kraken or a giant squid... Anyway, its sucker was really big. That's not the point..."
"..."
J cleared his throat and patted the boy's hand.
"The sea was beautiful there. Let's go together when you get better."
"..."
"If you like the idea, blink."
People have to blink because of physiological needs, but it was a suggestion nonetheless. However, the boy blinked without hesitation. In his closed and opened cloudy eyes, J was fully reflected. The corners of his mouth curled up.
"It's a promise. Even if you don't want to go later, I'll carry you there."
J held out his pinky finger. Then he carefully grabbed the boy's bandaged hand and linked their fingers. The boy let out a small sigh. J chuckled.
"Oh, you can sigh now."
The corners of the boy's mouth curled up under the bandages.
What was the source of the rifts, where did the dungeons connect to, where did the monsters co from? What was the system that chose humans and lent them power?
The world turned upside down since the Day of the Rift was full of unknowns. The days were so ssy that it was hard to judge what was right and wrong. But that ssy world was J's everyday life.
The one constant in the endless changes was the one who waited for him. The place he had to return to. J closed his eyes and bowed his head.
It's strange. It felt like you were showing the way. That I wasn't wrong.
What happens when lonely people et? J now knew the answer. When lonely people et, they beco each other's only. The boy had grown into a significant presence, so much so that no special words were enough to describe him.
How long has it been? The boy fell asleep while listening to J's random stories. His irregular breathing beca even, and his grip loosened. Watching his chest rise and fall weakly, J stood up. Without letting go of the boy's hand, he bent down and gently cupped his cheek with his other hand. Brushing against the bandages, he whispered softly.
"Do you know?"
"..."
"You're my only success."
J withdrew his hand from the boy's cheek. A serene atmosphere surrounded them. The small sound of breathing and heartbeat. It would be nice to continue being together like this. Like a family.
He had thought that way once.
***
After staying by the boy's side for a long ti, J sensed a small presence and stepped out of the hospital room. Ga-young, holding a file to her chest, was waiting for him with her other hand in her coat pocket. Bowing her head, she whispered.
"Hello, J! I have sothing to tell you."
"What is it?"
"It's about the antidote and the boy's condition, uh... Shall I give you a brief explanation?"
Ga-young glanced at J's wrist. His watch screen was blinking. It seed the Awakened Managent Bureau was contacting him. The sender was...
Jung Bin.
"Just a mont."
"Okay."
J half-turned and manipulated the watch. The ssage displayed on the small screen was brief.
Jung Bin: I would like to et with you. Please let know if you're available in the evening.
What could he want to discuss? J was a bit puzzled, but it might actually be a good thing. He needed soone discreet to talk to about the changes in the rifts. J lowered his eyes and, lost in thought, replied.
"I have a little ti. Please tell briefly."
"Oh, okay! Then I'll report. Recovery is progressing smoothly. We still need to administer the antidote regularly, but the detoxification process is almost complete. After the detoxification, we plan to start research on restoring the damaged body."
"Will he be able to walk soday?"
"Well, I think it's possible. Honestly, I'm not sure about the eyes and vocal cords. Um, but we'll do our best."
J let out a deep breath. Ga-young, who had been bowing her head, glanced at J and asked.
"But are you going to keep calling him 'that boy'?"
"...What?"
J opened his eyes wide. Holding the file under her arm, Ga-young spoke awkwardly.
"We still don't know his na, right? He can't write, and he can't speak... And we can't find his family either."
"..."
He recalled the ruins covered in venom. The two lted corpses that had been surrounding the boy. Identifying people in a place where everything was engulfed by poison was impossible. There was neither the ti nor the manpower to invest in that. It was a harsh reality. Ga-young muttered.
"Anyway, since you brought him, J... How about you give him a na?"
"A na."
"Yes. A na is important for a person. I think the boy would like it too."
"...No."
J glanced into the hospital room and muttered.
"It's fine. He must have his own na."
"..."
"Soday, he'll tell us his na himself."
"...What if he can't?"
"What?"
Surprised by the sudden question, J looked at Ga-young. Receiving his gaze, Ga-young straightened up and answered.
"Oh, I an... not in any other sense, but his vocal cords might not recover. He might have forgotten how to write."
J nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, "Why are you asking that?"
"I'll give him a na then, myself."
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