Chapter 45

Oh...

What’s happening to me right now?

Before I could even think, the scenery in front of me changed.

I wanted to turn my head around, but my body wouldn’t move as I wished.

The scene in the emergency room.

The smell of medicine and the chilly winter air, along with the characteristic noisy sounds of the emergency room, filled my ears.

It felt like I was experiencing a VR simulation.

I could perceive everything, but my body was seated and couldn’t move.

What’s going on here?

Before I could even ponder, a familiar face appeared in front of me.

An elderly man lying on the bed.

It was Mr. Choi Ikhyeon, whom I saved on the day of the college entrance exam last year.

What?

Is this real?

If I could have moved my hand, I would have pinched my cheek.

It was so vivid.

Everything around me was so realistic, literally like reality.

Could I have traveled back in time like in a movie? Just as I was having such an absurd thought,

-Cough!

My gaze turned to the elderly man who was coughing and curling up. The focus was on his rib area.

The part I had pushed to save him.

At that moment, I felt apologetic.

What did I say back then?

-It seems you are in a lot of pain because of me.

Even though I couldn’t move, my mouth moved and spoke on its own, which was a very strange experience.

The aunt beside him waved her hand.

-Oh, don’t say that.

And the husband standing next to her nodded.

What? What is this?

This person is the one I saw in the hospital corridor just now.

-If it weren’t for Seon Woo-ju, my father wouldn’t even be able to lie in this bed, really.

-It’s a relief to hear that.

Then he handed me a business card.

It had the hospital logo and the following text:

[Professor Choi Yong-jae, Pediatric Cancer Center]

‘Huh?’

While I was feeling bewildered, my past self was chatting with the other person.

-If your grandmother is unwell or if you need anything at the hospital, just let me know. I’ll help as much as I can.

Just as I saw that, the scenery around me began to change again.

Back to reality.

The corridor leading to the room where my brother Biju was hospitalized.

I tried moving my hand, and it moved as I wished.

It felt like I had been watching a memory for about a minute, but it seemed that time in reality hadn’t passed.

“Brother?”

Biju, who was walking ahead, turned to me with a puzzled look. I handed him the bag.

“Biju, you said Minjun needs another surgery, but you couldn’t find a good doctor, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Maybe...”

I swallowed and said,

“There might be a good solution.”

“Huh?”

“Take this. Do you want to go back to the room first?”

“Brother, I don’t even know the way...”

“Go left!”

I handed the bag of apples to Biju, who was flustered, and approached the direction where Professor Choi was standing.

Biju was going right.

“Biju, go left!”

“Ah, okay!”

After confirming he was going left, I approached the other person.

“Hello!”

I greeted him with a bright smile. He looked puzzled.

After three seconds, a broad smile spread across the middle-aged man’s tired face.

“Seon Woo-ju?”

“Yes, it’s been a while, Professor.”

My mind was still in chaos.

I didn’t understand why this sudden flashback had appeared.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Do you have some time? It might be a bit sudden, but I’d like to treat you to a cup of coffee.”

I decided to grasp at any straw.

* * *

The room was quiet.

His parents had quietly left to get food, and Minjun, who had a fever all night, was now asleep.

His only brother in the world.

Every year, when the New Year came, Kim Biju would make a wish.

Please make my brother get better. I don’t need to be an idol; just make my brother happy.

But that wish was fulfilled in reverse.

He had won the number one spot on a music show even before his debut and had experienced dream-like happy times.

In contrast, his brother’s health had steadily worsened.

Recently, he had been hospitalized several times a month due to severe fevers.

I hadn’t heard the exact condition, but from the shadows on his parents’ faces, it seemed the situation wasn’t good.

Today was a bit better.

His fever had gone down, and he had enjoyed the time with his members.

It would have been nice if his sister had been here too.

He wanted to see his mother laugh more.

‘Thank you, everyone.’

He looked around at the members, feeling grateful.

Kim Jung-hyun, sitting in the caregiver’s chair, reading a children’s science book to Minjun; Seo Ryeok, frowning at his phone; and Wang Jihoo, lost in thought with his chin in his hand.

And Seon Woo-ju, who wasn’t here.

Thinking of his face, Kim Biju covered his face with his hand.

‘Ah, embarrassing.’

It would have been embarrassing even in a romantic setting, but he had poured out his heart while choosing items at the supermarket.

‘I usually don’t say such things...’

He felt like he had shared every trivial detail.

But he couldn’t help it.

Seon Woo-ju had looked at him with deep, warm eyes, as if waiting to listen to whatever he had to say.

Still, it felt somewhat relieving.

It was the first time he had shared such stories with someone.

‘But why did he bring up the surgery?’

He couldn’t understand what had happened earlier.

Seon Woo-ju had looked like he had discovered an important opportunity and approached the man in the white coat.

‘Does he know this professor?’

Just as Kim Biju was thinking this,

“Brother.”

He turned to see Wang Jihoo approaching and sitting down nervously. His usual mischievous expression was gone, replaced by a cautious one.

Kim Biju smiled at him.

“Is your ankle okay?”

“Yes, I put on the ointment you bought.”

Wang Jihoo lifted his ankle, showing the patch that was already peeling at the corners.

“Let me fix it.”

Kim Biju properly applied the ointment to the youngest member’s ankle. Then he looked at Wang Jihoo, who seemed to have something to say.

“I have something to say to you, Brother.”

“What is it?”

“I... I’m sorry for being so immature. For complaining about the food this morning and for always making a mess of my room. And...”

So that was it.

He had thought Biju was in a lot of pain, but it turned out he had been watching his reactions.

“Brother has been suffering for your sake every day, and I’ve been causing trouble with Lee Hyuk.”

“Don’t include me. I’ve been doing well for Biju.”

Seo Ryeok, who had been looking at his phone, spoke up.

The youngest member, who had been glaring at him, looked even more subdued and cautious.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay.”

Kim Biju smiled and patted Wang Jihoo’s head.

While doing so, he thought,

It would be nice if Minjun had hair to pat too.

“I always found you cute, even when you were being a brat. You’re still young.”

“I’ll do better from now on.”

“Me too.”

Seo Ryeok interjected, making Wang Jihoo frown.

“Why are you sneaking in when I’m apologizing? Do it separately.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Guys.”

Kim Jung-hyun, who had been reading a book, spoke up.

“Minjun just fell asleep.”

The two younger members immediately shut their mouths. Kim Biju smiled inwardly at this.

It was fine even if they didn’t change.

They were one of the few elements that brought joy to his life.

Every time he ate the food they cooked and praised it, or saw them wearing the school uniforms he had ironed, he felt content.

While Wang Jihoo and Seo Ryeok were having a silent battle with their eyes, Kim Jung-hyun approached.

“Where did Woo-ju go?”

“I don’t know. He said he had something to talk about with a doctor he knows.”

Unlike the two younger members, Kim Jung-hyun was a comfortable friend to him.

They were the same age, and he didn’t need to take special care of him; a friend who could take care of himself.

This comfort might have led to him sharing his situation with him earlier.

Then,

‘What is Woo-ju to me?’

It was hard to define.

Seon Woo-ju was someone he couldn’t quite figure out.

Sometimes he seemed incredibly warm, and other times cold.

He could lie on the sofa all day, looking like the laziest person in the world, but on weekdays, he would stay up all night in the practice room.

Sometimes he would lock himself away, working on songs to the point of becoming a recluse.

He was a person who was impossible to understand.

One thing was certain: thanks to him, he had accomplished impossible things.

He had won the top spot in the year-end evaluation when his morale was at its lowest, and he had won the number one spot on a music show and in music charts.

If he had to define Seon Woo-ju, he would say he was someone he wanted to rely on.

It felt like this person could solve all his problems.

Someone he wanted to confide in.

It seemed that was why he had opened up about his brother’s re-surgery earlier.

‘That’s absurd.’

Seon Woo-ju isn’t Superman; he can’t solve his brother’s hospital issues.

Unless he had some powerful connections.

Even with his father’s network as a former university professor, it was difficult to secure a surgery schedule.

Just as he was thinking this,

“Biju!”

Everyone was startled by the door slamming open and the shout. It was his mother.

“Mom?”

His mother, with a flushed face, ran to him and hugged him tightly.

It was confusing.

What’s happening?

He wiped the tears from his mother’s eyes and asked,

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Minjun, Minjun...”

His mother, as if something was stuck in her throat, couldn’t continue.

Kim Biju waited calmly.

“Minjun’s surgery schedule has been set!”

“What?”

“His surgery schedule has been set!”

Everyone, including the members, stood there with puzzled expressions.

At that moment, three men appeared from the open door.

Seon Woo-ju, with a gentle smile; his father, with red-rimmed eyes like his mother; and the doctor he had seen earlier.

His mother wiped her tears and smiled.

“Biju, this is Professor Choi Yong-jae.”

“Oh.”

He had heard of this name.

He was an authority in pediatric cancer surgery, and it was said that it would take at least three months to secure a surgery with him.

Just as he was thinking this,

“Professor Choi said he will perform Minjun’s surgery.”

“What?”

Even if the world were to end tomorrow, he wouldn’t have been more surprised. Kim Biju looked at his father with wide eyes.

His father nodded.

Then he looked at the calm professor standing in the middle.

While awkwardly greeting him, Kim Biju looked at Seon Woo-ju.

Seeing him nod with a smile, he felt an indescribable heaviness in his heart.

* * *

The characters from Toy Story came to mind.

Those green aliens.

The cute ones who say ‘Oh’ and ‘Ah’ and ‘Eh’ whenever something happens while waiting in the claw machine.

The people in front of me were like that.

Every time Professor Choi continued speaking, the people in the room would say ‘Oh,’ ‘Ah,’ and ‘Eh.’

“His surgery schedule will be set. Just to be safe, don’t mention what happened today to anyone. It could cause problems if it gets out.”

“Yes! Yes! Of course.”

His mother nodded repeatedly. His father, after wiping his tears with his sleeve, said,

“I don’t know how to thank you... for taking time off your vacation to help us...”

“You should thank Seon Woo-ju, not me.”

Professor Choi pointed at me and said,

“He saved my father’s life, risking his own. How could I refuse his request? I’ll do my best to help.”

Everyone looked at me with a mix of gratitude and burden.

The professor added,

“Of course, I can’t guarantee that the surgery will go well. But I can assure you that I will do my best.”

He didn’t give the usual hopeful words that doctors often do.

But his sincerity was conveyed through his best effort.

Biju’s parents and our members kept bowing.

Finally, when Professor Choi left the room, his brothers rushed to him.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

“Do you know this professor?”

“Is this real?”

He explained to his brothers in detail.

That man was the son of the grandfather he had saved on the day of the college entrance exam last year, and he had met him by chance today and talked to him.

He had cautiously asked for help, but the professor had unexpectedly offered to perform the surgery himself.

Biju’s parents had met him on their way to the room.

After this short story, Biju couldn’t continue.

“Brother...”

But I couldn’t continue either.

Biju’s father approached me and hugged me.

“Thank you, really.”

A voice identical to his son’s echoed in my ears.

Before I could regain my composure, his mother and Biju joined in. I don’t know why I ended up in the embrace of this crying family.

But it didn’t feel bad. It felt good.

“Mom, why are you like this?”

Minjun, who had been asleep when the professor came, woke up to the commotion. He looked at us with a puzzled face.

Biju immediately explained the situation.

And that day,

As I was returning to the dorm, I held a miniature trophy in my hand.

It was the trophy Minjun had given me.

It was much smaller than the trophy he had received for winning the music show, but to me, it was a more precious gift.

* * *

And a little while later.

We were sitting in a circle in the practice room, listening to the news on the phone.

The result of Minjun’s surgery.

His mother, who had been sobbing, relayed the professor’s words.

It went very well.

He said to buy a school bag and stationery before next spring.