# 054. Day and Night (8)
“Jeongwoo! Jeongwoo! Wake up!”
“Oh my, what’s wrong with this young man? Is he having a seizure?”
“His heartbeat and breathing seem fine…”
People on the subway gathered around the collapsed Jeongwoo. As Jaehee kept shaking Jeongwoo and calling his name, a middle-aged man next to him stopped him.
“Kid, you shouldn’t shake someone who’s collapsed like this because we don’t know why they fell. First, lay him down flat on the floor. Position his head like this to prevent his tongue from blocking his airway. Yes, like that.”
Jaehee quickly took off his own clothes, spread them on the subway floor, and laid Jeongwoo on top. His palms were damp with sweat from the shock. He couldn’t understand what was happening.
Jeongwoo was completely limp and unconscious.
Jeongwoo had once explained that when they completed the tutorial, their entire bodies were reconstructed. That’s why their bones, internal organs, and tissues were much stronger and more durable than normal people’s, making them unlikely to get ordinary illnesses.
What could possibly be happening?
Could something I said earlier have shocked him that much? Or is this the result of pushing himself too hard until now? All kinds of thoughts swirled in his head. Or maybe when the atmosphere turned sour with the Guild Sahae leader, did something happen to him that I didn’t notice?
Although he had been defending Shinhoo until now, when he thought that Jeongwoo might have been harmed, murderous intent surged within him.
If Shinhoo was responsible for Jeongwoo’s condition, he wouldn’t let him get away with it.
Until now, they had experienced various incidents like dungeons and monster attacks, but Jeongwoo collapsing like this was something he had never imagined. Jeongwoo had always been a reliable presence he could lean on.
“Um, Jeongwoo. Please wake up.”
Looking at Jeongwoo’s pale, collapsed face made Jaehee feel like his heart was being squeezed.
Following the earlier advice not to shake someone who had fainted, Jaehee stopped shaking Jeongwoo and just sat beside him, talking to him.
Someone said they had called 119 (emergency services). But they also mentioned that since the world had changed, emergency services rarely arrived on time even when called. People suggested that laying Jeongwoo down and waiting for paramedics to take him to the hospital would be the best option.
When they checked his pulse and breathing, they found nothing abnormal. Jeongwoo was simply unconscious, with no other issues.
People who didn’t know Jeongwoo was an Awakened One kept asking about chronic diseases. But there was no way an Awakened One would have such conditions.
“Kid, don’t worry too much. This can happen sometimes if someone gets startled. His breathing and pulse are normal, so he’ll regain consciousness soon.”
People around them commented that Jaehee looked more like the patient, but their words barely registered with him.
He would have felt better if he were the one who had collapsed instead. With Jeongwoo down, he truly didn’t know what to do. Jaehee slumped down on the subway floor next to where Jeongwoo was lying.
People offered to help move Jeongwoo outside, but Jaehee refused. He was worried something might go wrong while moving him.
Jaehee stared intensely at Jeongwoo.
The people who had gathered in concern for the collapsed Jeongwoo gradually dispersed as the train passed several stations. Quite some time had passed, but there was no sign of paramedics arriving, and eventually, only Jaehee remained by Jeongwoo’s side.
Jaehee massaged Jeongwoo’s arms and legs. Someone had mentioned earlier that massaging sometimes helps people regain consciousness.
“Jeongwoo. I’m getting scared now. Please open your eyes.”
Jaehee’s throat tightened in that brief moment. Fearing that Jeongwoo might disappear if he took his eyes off him even for a second, he didn’t look away. With his eyes closed, Jeongwoo looked like he was just sleeping, exhausted from fatigue. Jaehee held Jeongwoo’s hand. It was cool to the touch. That scared him so much that Jaehee vigorously massaged Jeongwoo’s hands, sharing his own warmth.
Just you wait until you wake up, Woo Jeongwoo. I’ll give you a good knock on the head when you do.
How dare you scare me like this. From now on, you need my permission before you collapse like this.
Amid these silly thoughts, Jaehee found himself smirking. If he told Jeongwoo to get permission before collapsing, knowing Jeongwoo, he probably would actually do it.
Jaehee tried to act nonchalant as he muttered to himself while massaging Jeongwoo’s hand.
Just then, there was a sharp metallic sound like someone forcefully applying brakes. The train rattled a few times and then came to a complete stop.
Jaehee, who had been half out of his mind, raised his head in surprise.
“Have we arrived at a station…? No way… did we reach the last stop already? Or did some accident happen?”
The sound from before was not the normal sound of stopping.
It was the sound of emergency braking.
He couldn’t remember how many stations they had passed while he waited for Jeongwoo to wake up. It didn’t seem like that much time had passed, so could they already have reached the terminal? Looking around, he couldn’t see anyone.
Peering out slightly, he couldn’t see anyone on the subway platform either. When they first departed, the subway was so crowded it was difficult to find a seat, but now everyone had disappeared.
He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong, but he felt an eerie sensation.
After realizing there was no one on the subway, Jaehee soon noticed that there was no sound at all.
Even if it were an empty subway or station, there should still be some sounds.
The routine subway announcements couldn’t be heard, and the surroundings were eerily silent.
Normally, even without people, subway stations have some level of noise. For example, the sound of ventilation fans or machinery is always present. But now it was as quiet as if all sounds had been turned off.
Cold sweat ran down his back. Something was definitely wrong.
Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo, who still hadn’t regained consciousness, and swallowed hard.
As frightening as it was, there was no one else he could ask for help. He took out his phone to check, but as expected, there was no signal at all.
Suddenly, turning his head to look inside the subway, he saw an endless line of connected subway cars.
Seoul’s subway normally requires all the doors connecting the cars to be closed, so you shouldn’t be able to see other cars. Yet, countless connected subway cars were visible all at once. It was like some shape infinitely replicated by mirrors placed face to face.
His mouth went dry. Then, he saw the lights going out from far away inside the subway. It felt like darkness was rushing in. Starting from a point that looked like a dot, the darkness suddenly expanded.
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk.
Each time a light went out, there was a hollow “thunk” sound that echoed through the subway interior. His body flinched at the sound.
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk.
Even the thunking sound seemed to be replicated, continuing endlessly.
The darkness approached rapidly, coming very close in an instant.
The thunking sound of lights going out was like the footsteps of darkness.
Jaehee looked around once more, hoping there might be someone else, but of course, there wasn’t. Actually, in this situation, having someone else there might have been frightening in its own way.
All of this felt like a scene from a horror movie. And the worst part was that he was in the protagonist position of that horror movie.
The darkness surged forward like an undulating wave, reaching right up to him in an instant.
Even if he wanted to run away, there was nowhere to go, and Jeongwoo was in front of him. Carrying someone much bigger than himself would be impossible.
There was no time to react. As the darkness approached right in front of him, Jaehee pulled Jeongwoo close and held him in his arms. His heart pounded loudly.
With a “thunk” sound, the lights in the car where Jaehee was went out. In an instant, everything around was covered in pitch-black darkness where he couldn’t see anything.
Looking around and confirming that only darkness filled his vision, he began to feel suffocated. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t see anything; it felt like something pitch-black was pressing down on his lungs.
“Hnngg…”
A choked groan escaped his lips. Breathing heavily, he tightly held onto Jeongwoo. In a place covered entirely by darkness, the only thing he could be sure of was Jeongwoo in his arms.
Jeongwoo’s scent.
Jeongwoo’s body heat.
These were the things barely keeping Jaehee anchored to reality.
Something was approaching. Though he couldn’t see or hear it, he was certain that some unknown entity was coming toward him.
