# Chapter 14
The setting for the middle of Episode 6 was Haewon’s office inside the Esper Department. The neatly described Esper Department 1 was a magnificent building that provided personal offices for each esper.
Haewon hated that Garam kept popping up in his mind. His was a face he wanted to cut out with a knife.
But why was he completely occupying his mind and not leaving? Feeling frustrated, Haewon struck his chest several times. Yet the emotion that had risen like indigestion didn’t disappear.
The Haewon in the novel wasn’t suffering in pain, curled up like me. That made sense since espers recovered physically several times faster than civilians. On top of that, if they were a high-ranked SS-class esper, injuries that would require months of hospitalization could be resolved in days or even hours.
It was quite unfair. While I was here in a hospital room unable to speak after trying to save Kim Haewon, he was nonchalantly going to work at his office. It was absurd, but I thought it would be better to just read on quickly.
Haewon kept tapping on his desk. At regular intervals: tap, tap, tap, tap. He wondered if doing this would erase him, but instead of disappearing, the memory only became more vivid.
It felt like the hot blood that had flowed over his shoulder was still there. The red that had seeped between his teeth was still clear before his eyes.
Haewon stopped tapping the desk and looked at his hand. With this hand, he had strangled him. He had writhed in pain. That face was so clear in his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to visit the hospital room.
Haewon tapped the desk at regular intervals again. Tap, tap, tap, tap. How much time had passed? Changho, who had gone out, returned.
“Esper-nim, I’m back. I visited Guide Park Garam-nim. I’ll submit a report to the Esper Department.”
“Why are you doing unnecessary things?”
Haewon burst out in anger. Changho smiled awkwardly, as if he had expected this reaction.
“Still, for formality’s sake, I thought visiting once would make the disciplinary action lighter. I gave him pear and bellflower root juice, which is good for the throat. He seemed to like it.”
Haewon didn’t add anything to Changho’s words. He was scheduled to receive minor disciplinary action for concealing operation-related information from the guide.
Normally, this could have been overlooked as an SS-class esper’s discretionary judgment, but this time the situation was a bit complicated. The Diplomatic Management Department had strongly demanded punishment. Having to deal with Director Kim Jeongseon from Department 1 made things particularly troublesome.
“Then I’ll be outside. Please call me if you need anything.”
Changho was afraid of touching Haewon’s raw nerves. It was best to quickly bow and flee. But just as he was about to leave, Haewon slammed the desk.
“Yes?”
“How is he?”
“What, what do you mean?”
“I’m asking how that guide is doing.”
Haewon looked like his pride was severely hurt. Changho didn’t understand at first and asked, “Yes?”
“Are you going to make me say it twice? You understood! How was his condition!”
“Ah… Well, of course he’s not doing well. After being hit by you, Esper-nim…”
“I didn’t hit him, you know? I just tapped him, and he flew off.”
Haewon even stuttered slightly, as if feeling wronged. Changho was about to explain how much violence even a slight tap from an SS-class esper would be to an ordinary person, but he stopped himself. He just scratched his cheek and explained Garam’s condition.
“Yes, I’m sure that’s what happened. Anyway… he can’t speak at all. He says his voice won’t come out. His neck is all purple, and his ribs are broken and things like that… But since he’s S-class, he’ll recover quickly. Don’t worry too much!”
“Worry?”
Haewon frowned as hard as he could at that word and stood up. Changho took fright and fled from the office as if running away. Haewon stood there, seemingly shocked, and muttered once more.
“Worry? Who!”
Haewon sat down heavily in his seat, as if in disbelief.
You felt sympathy for Kim Haewon after reading this crap? Are you insane? I felt like curses were about to come out of my mouth. He was busy defending himself. Saying he didn’t hit him, didn’t harass him. He was trying to ease his own conscience. Selfish bastard. Unlike the Garam in the novel, I couldn’t see a single positive thing about him.
I was worried there might be people taking Kim Haewon’s side, so I didn’t read the comments and immediately opened Episode 7. The Garam in the novel finally gets proper rest as people’s visits decrease. Being S-class now, his wounds heal much faster than when he was C-class. After resting well for a week, he recovers to the point where normal conversation is possible.
This part was something I had already heard from the doctor in real life. Since my grade had changed to S-class, he said my wound recovery speed would be faster than expected.
Kim Haewon still doesn’t visit until then. But then a strange thing happens. A Santa Claus appears. Every night when morning comes, a gift is placed in my hospital room.
First, it was a neck massager. The Garam in the novel ignores the gift, thinking someone was mocking him. But the problem was that someone left a gift every day. The next day it was a brand-new phone, and the day after that, an expensive bulletproof vest. Then he receives a watch worth tens of millions of won. When he asked the nurses and doctors, they all claimed they hadn’t seen anyone enter the room.
The Garam in the novel finally pretends to sleep and lays in wait. And then he makes eye contact with someone.
‘What? How can they end it here?’
The problem was that the novel ended there. It didn’t reveal who he made eye contact with. I recalled the previous novel.
No matter how I thought about it, after the Mastermind Gate, the two protagonists improved their relationship; they didn’t become estranged like Kim Haewon and me. I casually threw my phone on the bed and leaned back.
I was looking forward to receiving gifts. But a neck massager? Who would choose such a tasteless gift? Thinking that even Kim Haewon wouldn’t prepare such a crappy gift, I closed my eyes.
I just wanted my body to recover quickly so I could eat a proper meal. The best thing about this VIP ward was that the menu was diverse and delicious. But since my throat was hurting, I couldn’t eat anything other than liquid food. Hoping to eat something delicious even in my dreams, I tried to sleep. Having been pestered by people for several days, sleep came easily. So much so that I wouldn’t notice if someone came.
* * *
As in the novel, during the week that passed, no one came to see me. Even the research department said they had collected enough data and stopped visiting. It was the same with the Guide Department and the Management Department.
I put the food that filled my tray into my mouth.
Being S-class was good. Wounds healed quickly, and the hospital food was delicious. I thought simply. There was nothing I could change anyway, so I had to enjoy what I could in the given situation. I had already gotten a refill for dinner.
The meals in the VIP ward were really delicious. Compared to the cold chicken mayo and tuna mayo we received at the barracks, this was nothing short of heaven.
The staff who served the food liked me too. They said people in the VIP ward didn’t appreciate the carefully selected, high-quality ingredients delivered right to their doorstep.
They always complained about the side dishes, saying they would order hotel lunch boxes instead of eating this well. They were full-bellied people. I kept my promise to eat their share too.
The nurse who changed my IV solution laughed, saying, “You really eat a lot.” The more I ate, the faster my recovery seemed to be, which was great.
Above all, I was a patient. It was important to eat well, excrete well, and sleep well. I kept those three beats well, and my body got better and better. The dark red wound on my neck had subsided quite a bit. It still didn’t look very good, but I didn’t care much since I only met hospital staff.
“Ah, I’m full.”
I pushed away the tray and ate the fruit that Director Ham had bought. I had been nibbling away at the basket full of fruits, so quite a lot had disappeared.
“I wonder if anyone else will buy me fruit.”
I thought while peeling a tangerine. For a man living alone, fruit was precious. I was too stingy to buy it with my own money, but I was confident I would enjoy it if it was available. I ate two tangerines and half a pineapple, then turned on the novel application.
Author HatefulCat had been on hiatus for a week without any notice. In the comments for Episode 7, there were continuous comments looking for the author.
There were also comments asking to just reveal who that person was that made eye contact. After briefly looking at the comments, I entered the association application to check on the situation.
Kim Haewon received a one-month probation for intentionally not informing me of relevant information. However, since SS-class espers don’t deploy as frequently as other grades anyway, it was a meaningless disciplinary action. The Diplomatic Management Department, which had requested strong disciplinary action, expressed that it was “regrettable.”
The Guide Department, which should have been on my side, kept their mouths shut as if they had eaten honey. The fact that they did not express any position showed they were just watching the Esper Department’s reaction. Useless Director Ham. I clicked my tongue briefly and put down my phone. With a full stomach, I became sleepy.
“I should brush my teeth before sleeping.”
I raised my heavy body and headed to the bathroom. After quickly finishing brushing my teeth and washing my face, I came out to the hospital room to find something placed on my bed. I approached and examined the object.
“A neck massager?”
The tasteless gift I had seen in the novel had really arrived. I looked around. No one was in sight. Only the hospital room window was brightly open.
