Chapter 14

Chapter 3 of Episode 14: I Am a National School Student (2)

"Kid, you sure have a confident stride."

Lee Hee-sung watched his son leave the apartment complex with a pleased smile.

Even after his son had become a tiny dot and disappeared, he stood there for a long time.

To him, all these moments still felt like a dream.

Lee Hee-sung lost his parents in a traffic accident when he was in his early twenties.

He had no siblings and never borrowed a hand from relatives.

He lived on his parents' insurance money while struggling to write novels day by day.

Though heaven sent him an angel-like wife, he always had a premonition that his life would be unhappy.

In the tumultuous times, his only talent was his mediocre writing skills.

Thus, it seemed inevitable that economic hardship would strangle him and lead to his downfall.

But everything changed when Beot-eum was born.

If his wife was an angel, Beot-eum was a bundle of blessings.

From the age of one, Beot-eum brought endless blessings to the family.

He seemed to have foreseen his mother's traffic accident and cried, helping her avoid it.

In kindergarten, he saved a classmate, which led to a connection with the publisher's CEO.

Not only was he clever, but he also had a genius for crafts, sewing doll eyes and earning a third of a working adult's salary.

This money played a crucial role in the family's purchase of an apartment.

Now, Lee Hee-sung is a well-known author.

The royalties from his published books, along with requests for short stories and essays, have earned him twice the salary of an average working adult.

It would be redundant to say, but all this was thanks to Beot-eum.

Thanks to Beot-eum, his and his wife's lives have completely changed.

Lee Hee-sung still pinches his cheeks sometimes, feeling that this overwhelming happiness is just a dream.

"Hey, what are you thinking so deeply about?"

His wife embraced him from behind.

"Just feeling too happy. Happy to the point of feeling anxious?"

"What? You're saying strange things again. If you're happy, you're happy. Why would you feel anxious because of it?"

"To put it metaphorically, it's like building a beautiful sandcastle on the beach and worrying when the waves will come and destroy it."

"Worrying is part of your fate. With me and Beot-eum, everything will be fine."

"I know. But as a novelist, it's my nature to see the cracks in life, and I can't help it."

"Actually, I've always liked that about you. It feels like you carry the world's sorrows on your shoulders. That's why I wanted to protect you."

"In other words, you thought I was pitiful?"

Lee Hee-sung's frankness made his wife burst into laughter.

He saw her smile like the sun, and it seemed as if a rainbow was arching over it.

"I think I might not be having my period lately."

"Really? Maybe you're pregnant with a second child?"

Lee Hee-sung was surprised.

"I think I need to observe a bit more. My cycle is usually irregular."

"It would be nice if we had a second child. I hope it's a daughter who looks just like you."

Lee Hee-sung looked at his wife and gently kissed her cheek.

It was a perfect morning of a spring day.

* * *

"Beot-eum! Come out and solve this problem."

"Yes, teacher."

I stood in front of the blackboard, chalk in hand.

A sixth-grade math problem couldn't possibly fluster me.

I wrote down the solution and the answer in a flash.

The kids were amazed and exclaimed, "Wow!"

But the problem was that I didn't feel proud at all.

"Hmm... Well done. But you shouldn't daydream during class. You need to focus on the lesson."

"Yes, teacher."

I pretended to be remorseful and returned to my seat.

I wasn't daydreaming because I was ignoring the math teacher.

It wasn't because the lesson was too simple.

The reason I couldn't concentrate was entirely because of Kim Yo-han.

I kept looking at Kim Yo-han, who sat in the front row. Kim Yo-han's death was the first death I experienced in my previous life.

Through Kim Yo-han, I learned what it meant for a person to die.

At that time, death meant he couldn't come to school anymore.

'Let's think carefully.'

Kim Yo-han will die during physical education class around the school anniversary.

He stayed in the classroom because he was feeling unwell.

The first students to enter the classroom found him collapsed.

He was immediately taken to the hospital, but he never returned to school.

The teacher didn't reveal the cause of death.

There were no close friends of Kim Yo-han.

The reason for Kim Yo-han's death remains a mystery.

Even if I didn't have a significant connection with Kim Yo-han in my previous life, I wanted to save him.

- Death is something that can be accepted. But, you see, the death of someone like Kim Yo-han should never be accepted by a doctor.

- What do you mean?

- People exist across time, but Kim Yo-han is a unique existence that doesn't exist in the past or the future. So, you, as a doctor, are responsible for the one and only precious existence in the universe.

This was a famous quote from Professor Seo, my role model in thoracic surgery.

No matter how many times I pondered it, it was true.

In that sense, I wanted to save Kim Yo-han, a unique existence throughout history.

I wanted to see what kind of flowers he would bloom in his life.

Dying in the sixth grade of national school...

Isn't life too cruel?

From now on, I will save everyone I can.

This is my interpretation and responsibility for the new life I have been given.

Ding dong ding dong~.

The class bell rang, and the math teacher left the classroom.

Now it was my time.

To prevent Kim Yo-han's death, I first needed to understand who he was.

In my previous life, I was a shy child with no friends, so I knew little about the class dynamics.

All I knew about Kim Yo-han was that he died at a young age.

I had known his name and death for a long time.

I had thought about befriending Kim Yo-han early on.

But unfortunately, fate was not on my side.

Kim Yo-han transferred to our school during the winter break of fifth grade.

He was in a different class, and because he missed several days of school before the winter break, there was no chance to build a friendship.

Reincarnation is not a magic solution.

I was reminded of this important fact through Kim Yo-han.

"Do you like drawing?"

I approached Kim Yo-han and spoke in a friendly tone.

During breaks, Kim Yo-han always scribbled in his notebook.

Now I noticed that his drawing skills were quite good.

A popular robot among children was depicted impressively on the blank page.

"..."

Kim Yo-han looked up at me silently.

There was a subtle hostility in his eyes.

I hadn't done anything to make him dislike me, as I had just met him.

I was slightly taken aback by his dismissive gaze.

"Can you draw a robot for me? I like Granjo."

Regaining my composure, I tried to connect with Kim Yo-han.

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't like Granjo."

"Then what do you like?"

"I... I... I like Dagan."

"Then draw Dagan. If you draw Dagan, I'll buy you tteokbokki."

"No. I'm bothered."

Kim Yo-han firmly rejected and turned away from me.

It was clear he didn't want to interact with me anymore.

I realized why Kim Yo-han was like a ghost in the class in my previous life.

Kim Yo-han exuded a gloomy and eerie atmosphere, unlike other children.

It was as if he had surrounded himself with thorns to prevent other children from approaching.

I thought that understanding why Kim Yo-han was different from his peers might provide clues to saving him.

"Lee Beot-eum, what are you doing? Let's eat lunch."

"Huh? Okay."

I decided to retreat for now.

For some reason, Kim Yo-han disliked me, and further conversation would only backfire.

So, I turned around and ate lunch with Kka-bburi, Kim Ji-won, and another friend.

Even so, my eyes persistently followed Kim Yo-han.

During lunch, Kim Yo-han returned to the classroom and continued drawing.

No one talked to Kim Yo-han, and he didn't talk to anyone.

Kim Yo-han was the only loner in the classroom.

'Hmm... It seems his family isn't well-off...'

I carefully observed Kim Yo-han's appearance.

His sweater was worn out, and his pants were frayed at the knees.

The pencil he was using was a cheap one.

So, I formed my first hypothesis.

Kim Yo-han has a chronic illness, but his family is too poor to provide proper treatment.

However, this hypothesis was quickly shattered by the next question.

Did Kim Yo-han show any signs of illness during today's class?

The answer was no.

Although he wasn't very active, I didn't notice any specific health issues with Kim Yo-han.

No signs of anemia, irregular breathing, or complaints of headaches.

Then, did Kim Yo-han have a reason to hide his illness?

I don't think so.

Even if he tried to hide it, it would be impossible for me, a former thoracic surgeon, not to notice.

Then, could he have an undiagnosed illness?

That would be a more serious problem.

How could I detect an illness that even the patient doesn't know about?

Even if I did, I had no reason to persuade Kim Yo-han to seek treatment at a large hospital.

'This is not easy.'

Deep wrinkles formed on my forehead.

I mentally reviewed the diseases that could cause sudden death in a national school student, but nothing stood out.

Kim Yo-han's death was a giant question mark to me.

But I didn't feel discouraged or disappointed.

Saving a person is inherently difficult, and the path of a doctor is also inherently difficult.

Moreover, the road ahead is even more challenging, so I couldn't afford to give up here.

"Lee Beot-eum! Why are you always looking at something!"

"Ouch!"

A sharp pain in my side made me jump.

Turning my head, I saw Kim Ji-won glaring at me with a stern expression.

Why did she pinch me while I was quietly eating lunch?

"Why suddenly?"

"Is he prettier than me?"

Kim Ji-won's sharp question made me chuckle.

I had been looking at Yo-han during lunch, and coincidentally, a female classmate was in my line of sight.

In other words, Kim Ji-won was jealous of a female classmate.

"What are you talking about? You are the prettiest in our class."

I smoothly deflected with a line I had used on my parents.

Kim Ji-won's cheeks turned red. The emotions of a national school student were so simple.

"Really? I'm the prettiest?"

"Yes, that's what I think."

"Yay! Kim Ji-won and Lee Beot-eum like each other~. Like each other~."

"Shut up, you!"

Kka-bburi seized the opportunity to tease, but Kim Ji-won quickly silenced her.

'So, this is how life changes.'

Watching the bickering between Kim Ji-won and Kka-bburi, I felt a strange emotion.

In my previous life as a national school student, I was similar to Kim Yo-han.

After our secondhand bookstore was sold due to my mother's debt, our family's situation plummeted.

As a result, I struggled with the three things that are hard to hide: sneezing, love, and poverty.

I had almost no friends.

Now, I was at the center of the class, and all the students liked me, the smart and handsome one.

Even Kim Ji-won, who was popular among boys in my previous life, was no exception.

'I can do it. Definitely.'

My gaze returned to Kim Yo-han.

If I could change my and my family's lives and successfully alter the surrounding environment, there was no reason I couldn't save Kim Yo-han.

I had the strength to do it.

Although my body was that of a sixth-grade national school student, my mind was that of a seasoned thoracic surgeon.

As time passed, lunch ended, and the afternoon classes concluded.

Now it was time to move on to the second phase.