Chapter 43

〈 Chapter 43 〉 Me? Why?

* * *

‘Could it be...’

As the game progressed, and the Dragon was taken away from him twice in a row, Li Zishan’s suspicion soon turned into certainty.

Prisoner is not in a normal state right now.

Perhaps, his life is in danger.

[qq7785dd55 (Twisted Fate): jg are you okay?]

So, Li Zishan, who rarely chatted, typed a message to Prisoner.

[Prisoner (Lexai): okok no problem]

No problem?

No, you’re not okay.

Each of his moves told Li Zishan that Prisoner’s physical condition was far from good.

What was even more chilling was that Prisoner was still performing well.

‘...Prisoner.’

Even without his usual sharpness,

Even without his former fantastic management,

Even without the super plays he used to pull off like eating a meal,

Prisoner still steadily moved toward victory.

It was as if he was a monster born to achieve victory.

So, he became even more intriguing.

The game continued.

After a fierce battle where neither team gave an inch, they finally wiped out the opposing team.

—Victory!

The long-awaited words appeared on the screen as the opposing team’s Nexus exploded.

[Victory]

Although the words were in Korean, which he couldn’t read, he knew their meaning all too well.

They had barely secured victory after a long and intense battle.

“Phew...”

Despite the cold snap outside, Li Zishan’s head was drenched in sweat due to the excellent heating inside the dorm.

That’s how intensely he had focused on the game.

‘...Good.’

Li Zishan was unusually tense.

Despite a lifetime of reigning over others, today he felt like a trembling teenager.

What should he say?

No, I don’t even know Korean, do I?

“Coach Jang Seokhwan!”

Li Zishan urgently called out to Coach Jang Seokhwan, who was lying somewhere in the dorm.

If Prisoner left the post-game lobby, it would be hard to get another chance to talk.

At that moment.

[Prisoner: 4390uwpt6yj 2oi­5m=］ w］

‘Huh?’

In the post-game lobby, Prisoner had said something.

Li Zishan, who didn’t expect Prisoner to initiate a conversation, read the chat with tension.

‘What is this?’

But he couldn’t understand it at all.

A bizarre string of characters.

Li Zishan’s mind was filled with confusion.

‘What does it mean?’

It couldn’t be Chinese, and it wasn’t Korean either.

English? No way.

It seemed more like random keyboard mashing...

“Huh?”

At that moment, a natural image formed in Li Zishan’s mind.

After the game ended, Prisoner had collapsed onto the keyboard.

“Could it be...”

Li Zishan’s heart pounded.

He knew all too well what it would mean if Prisoner had collapsed.

[qq7785dd55: hey]

[qq7785dd55: you okay?]

No response.

No response even after waiting for a long time.

It was ominous.

The creeping sense of foreboding began to wrap around him like a snake.

[qq7785dd55: prisoner?]

Still no response.

The creeping sense of foreboding had now become a reality before Li Zishan’s eyes.

‘No, no, no, no, no.’

Prisoner dying?

No, Prisoner can’t die in a place like this.

He must look toward even higher places with me. He has the talent and ability to do so.

[qq7785dd55: hey?]

[qq7785dd55: where are you]

[qq7785dd55: i'll go]

He had to find Prisoner.

The thought dominated Li Zishan’s mind, and he first thought of calling an ambulance.

“120, I need to call 120...”

What’s the number for 120 in Korea?

Is it the same 120?

[“This is the civic complaint service...”]

That’s not the right number.

Even without knowing Korean, he could sense it from the calm tone of the operator.

No, he had the wrong idea from the start.

How could he report and help when he didn’t even know who the person was or where they were?

“No, no, no, no, no, no...”

Li Zishan felt despair for the first time in his life.

He couldn’t let Prisoner go like this.

Prisoner still had much to do.

“Coach Jang Seokhwan!”

At the near-scream, Coach Jang Seokhwan, who had been taking a nap, rushed out of the room.

“What, what is it?”

“Prisoner, Prisoner...”

“What about Prisoner? What’s wrong?”

“He seemed off, so I asked if he was okay, and he said he was, but then he went silent right after the game ended, so I need to find Prisoner, but I don’t know where he is.”

Coach Jang Seokhwan frowned at Li Zishan’s unusual rambling.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he could tell that leaving Li Zishan like this would lead to trouble.

“Calm down. I’ll do what I can.”

Coach Jang Seokhwan quietly assessed the situation.

Li Zishan, who was half out of his mind,

The strange chats in the post-game lobby.

From these, Coach Jang Seokhwan deduced what had happened.

‘Did Prisoner collapse?’

Prisoner was a terminal patient.

It wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed.

Given this, it was understandable that Li Zishan, who was obsessed with Prisoner, was half out of his mind.

“I’ll call everyone I know. Maybe someone can get in touch with Prisoner.”

He said this to calm Li Zishan, but it wasn’t a very effective method considering their last encounter with Prisoner.

‘But it’s better than doing nothing.’

After all, it was a matter of life and death.

‘I should call 119 first. The only clues are the game ID and phone number, but it’s better than doing nothing.’

As Coach Jang Seokhwan was busy making calls on his phone,

Click

Li Zishan, without even putting on a coat, burst out of the dorm.

“Where are you going all of a sudden!”

Coach Jang Seokhwan hurriedly chased after Li Zishan, but the elevator had already left.

“Damn...”

Li Zishan ran out of the dorm without a plan.

It wasn’t a rational or planned action.

It was a purely impulsive and instinctive act.

Li Zishan ran through the streets, searching for Prisoner, whose location he didn’t know.

“PrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisonerPrisoner...”

Li Zishan wandered the streets.

“Where... are you...!”

Searching for Prisoner, whose location he didn’t know.

He just kept wandering.

* * *

Losing consciousness isn’t unfamiliar.

What’s unfamiliar is the sensation of regaining consciousness after losing it.

A strange feeling different from waking up from sleep.

In that strangeness, I saw the dim light of a night lamp and my mother’s worried face watching over me.

“Ugh...”

“Yujin! Are you okay?”

The sudden loud voice made my head throb.

“...Where am I?”

“Where? At home, of course.”

Only then did I notice the surroundings.

I thought it would be a hospital room, but it was my room.

“The doctor has been here. He said it’s probably because it’s your first time. ...How lucky. When you collapsed, Mom was...”

“...First time?”

What’s the first time?

And what’s lucky?

My throat was tight, and I could barely speak.

“This is... I’ve raised a daughter before, but I don’t know what to say.”

My mother awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Yujin.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t be too shocked, just listen.”

“...Okay.”

What is she going to say?

Is... am I really dying?

As various thoughts swirled in my head, my mother finally spoke with a determined look.

“The doctor said you have a bit of anemia, but your body is fine. You don’t need to worry too much. You’ll be okay after some rest.”

“Okay.”

“But...”

Even though she said I was fine, her hesitant expression was awkward.

If I’m not dying, why is my mother so flustered?

“...You, you got your period.”

My brain froze for a moment.

What did I just hear?

“...Huh?”

After living as a man for over twenty years, a sudden unfamiliar word naturally led to a question.

“Me? Why?”

* * *