4. That fateful day (4)

Knock knock

A low voice came from inside of the room, telling whoever knocked to come in. Without hesitation, the hand that was clenched went to the door handle and pushed it open.

The door opened wide at the appearance of the guest. With a click, the figure closed the door and strode his long legs until he stopped a step away from the black work desk.

Black colored matte wallpaper, dark brown sofas with a coffee table in between, bookshelves full of important documents, and decorated with some gold colored ornaments. The room interior is quite dark and simple.

The guest's sight trailed around the neat pile of papers and file of documents on top of the table, then fixed his gaze to the hidden figure sitting on the black business chair.

The sunset glow penetrating from the opened black window curtain, made it feel as if the entire room is bathed in red-orange colors.

Yet, the back of the chair got engulfed in shadows.

The sitting figure seemed to be unperturbed by the guest in his office, and continued to gaze outside the window.

Not wasting any more seconds, the guest straightened his back.

"Deputy Master, Park Hyun-sik. I've come to report today's matter to Guild Master Kang Tae-yang." Park Hyun-sik said in formality.

Finally, a low voice came from the hidden figure.

"Hmm, at ease. You may speak."

The sitting figure, Soleil's Guild Master Kang Tae-yang, said so with a calm lazy tone, seemed unbothered by the guest's presence.

The said Guild Master didn't even bother to turn around and face his Deputy Master properly. But Park Hyun-sik doesn't mind it.

"Yes. A dungeon break happened at the high-level dungeon that I was stationed at the abandoned building near Chungmuro's station. The cause is still being investigated. I've sent the appropriate documents and reports to the management HQ."

No reply, indicating that he needs to continue.

"There are no casualties, the wounded are already instructed to take medical help, the monsters corpses were being taken care of,..." he stopped talking when a certain black haired man with light brown eyes popped up on his mind.

"Say it."

Even with the warmth emanating from the sunset, the voice of this person in front of him made the atmosphere feel ice cold.

Nevertheless, the black hues of Park Hyun-sik's eyes didn't waver one bit. He knew better not to hide anything from Korea's top guild's Guild Master.

"A passerby helped a mother and daughter escape from a high grade monster which was later confirmed to be the one that led the monster swarm."

The Deputy Master tried to recollect what happened during that time as he continues, "That person contributed to help defeat the monsters by using his abilities to the fullest, and I approved that his abilities are quite useful."

"An Esper that he himself stated to specializes in support. A paralyzing debuff that seems to be an area skill, and a buffing ability that doubled my power and energy, as well as decreasing my energy exhaustion rate and rampaging urge all at once."

Park Hyun-sik straightened his back and boldly stated his thoughts, "I believe his abilities would be helpful for future dungeons' clear up missions."

Oh my.

How rare, for someone so stern and reserved as Park Hyun-sik to be interested in an individual. Now it piques his interest.

"Interesting. You think so highly of this passerby Esper, so I can't help but be curious. His name and rank?" the Guild Master asked.

It made himself curious about this certain Esper that had a big contribution as a helping hand in the dungeon break case as well as to the S-ranked Deputy Master of the top guild in Korea. Park Hyun-sik replied a second late, thinking.

"...From the sense of it, he seems to be of an A-rank or higher. I haven't got the chance to ask his name, as he's currently still unconscious. We've put him under the guild's medical surveillance."

He was about to stop there, until the scene where one of the Guide's team, Park Jae-hwa took off the man's mask popped up on his mind. The sight that was both captivating yet shocking to all of them present.

White unblemished skin that looks paler due to the severe energy depletion along with that light brown eyes, also, the clear voice. There's no mistake.

"Albeit, I do have a speculation that he is.. 'that' idol who disappeared after the first dungeon break tragedy."

Clearly, it was an assumption not without any basis.

Hearing his reply, the back of the shadowed man tensed for a moment. The air felt even chiller than before, yet Park Hyun-sik stood still.

A low chuckle that gradually became a laugh burst out from the sitting figure of the Guild Master, breaking the chilling silence that surrounded the entire room.

The shadowed figure turned around his chair agonizingly slow. Nonchalant expression met the stern and reserved attitude of Park Hyun-sik.

"Haha.. ah, my apologies."

What should I do. It felt like the game of tag is coming to an end pretty soon, no?

'Really, how amusing.'

The evening sunset glowed brightly, decorating the sky and bathed the entire room with a red-orange color.

With his chin resting on the back of his hands, the backlight from the sun made his entire figure engulfed in shadow. And yet, the eyes that were full of boredom before, now glinted under the fiery colored sunset.

The colors of the sky and the sun resonated beautifully together with the red-auburn hues of Soleil's Guild Master's eyes, as if something had lit in it.

The corners of Kang Tae-yang's lips pulled upwards slightly.

"It seems we had found a missing little rabbit this time."

***

A low groan vibrated from my throat as I slowly opened my eyes.

I blinked twice to adjust my sight, my vision still out of focus whether from the deep sleep or the seemingly never-ending heat.

I tried to move my limbs slightly but my whole body felt sore and limp. A feverish headache came straight at me, pounding my head. In the end, I gave up trying to sit up and just lay down with a hazy mind.

The first thing I see is the dark ceiling. It looked light grey so I thought it was just the interior colors being dark, but apparently that's not the issue.

'Why are the lights not turned on?'

Glancing around a little bit, he wonders if this is a hospital room. But his clouded field of vision hindered him due to the fever combined with the darkness.

Light brown eyes of his looked around and managed to find the only light source coming inside from the window with its curtain opened.

There's a shadowed figure standing straight with his back leaning against the window.

The crescent moon glowed dimly in the night sky, bathing the back of the figure with its glow. A streak of moonlight illuminated the person's face when his head moved slightly to the side.

'Who..'

I tried to see clearly, but my eyesight is unwilling to cooperate.

Lightweight footsteps made its way to me and stopped next to the bed I am currently lying in. The figure of a man looked straight at me, as if observing my complexion.

Despite the dark, I could feel the intensity of his gaze.

My lips gaping open as I wanted to ask him questions, but all I could do was cough a few times.

My throat felt like a sandpaper. When was the last time I drank any water?

After letting out a low grumble, a hand came up and brushed my neck slightly, then slowly made its way up to the corner of my eyes.

"Sleep more. You still have a fever."

Contrary to the hand's low temperature, the tone of the shadowed figure sounded soft, as if soothing me to calm down.

The touch felt cold yet it gave me comfort from my feverish body that I couldn't help but lean my face on it.

And with that, my eyelids went droopy again and darkness filled my entire vision as my body relaxed in slumber.

***

Warm sunlight shone through the clear glass window of the room. The lying figure trembled slightly before the pair of eyes opened drowsily.

The white ceiling came into view. His body felt comfortable because of the warm mattress, but suddenly he got tense. As if realization hit him, Moon Jin-soo's eyes got clearer.

His previously sluggish body felt refreshed as he slowly sit up and looked around the dazzling room. The warm blanket that covered up to his chest slid down and pooled on his lap.

A chair and a brown leather sofa, coffee table decorated with a fresh looking flower inside the vase placed on top of it, tall wooden cupboard that almost reached the top of the ceilings, a wall clock, a water dispenser, and two doors..

'Maybe one of them leads to a bathroom while the other leads to outside?'

The interior made everything looked more like a hotel room than a hospital room.

There's an IV attached to one of his hands as his eyes trailed down, as well as light blue colored patient clothes that he's currently wearing. He stared at it blankly until something struck him.

"Where.. are my clothes? No, before that, where the hell is this?" he frowned at how hoarse his voice sounded, but continued to glance around the place anyway.

In addition to his missing clothes, his black mask and baseball cap are nowhere to be seen.

The foreign and an out-of-place feeling made him uncomfortable now. Along with the confusion, Moon Jin-soo tried to recall the events prior.

'That's right.. there's a dungeon break, we defeated the high grade monster, then I.. did I passed out after that?'

The sudden fever penalty at that time was so painful to the point it knocked him out and seems to have messed up his memories.

'...even though I planned to go home after helping them so I can cook my meals..' he sighed, his grocery bags are definitely gone by now. Goodbye, my precious food.

He tried his best to remember more, but nothing except the low tone of a man's voice and the sound of a car engine came up right before he passed out. And what happened after that..

There seems to be something amiss..

Had he forgotten something?

"Haa.."

How frustrating, he gave up. If he had forgotten about it then it may be something unimportant.

Anyways, if he went outside then someone would probably tell him where is this.

'I can just grab a person and ask them then leave immediately by taxi..'

Uneasiness surged inside him for staying in an unfamiliar place without anything to hide his face for God knows how long has it been.

Just when he lifted the blanket covering his lower half and let his feet out of the bed, the door suddenly opened.

"Ah"

Both him and the intruder, who wears a white lab coat, blurted out at the same time and frozen still.

"Y-You're awake!" the man exclaimed in shock and hurriedly went to his side. He took one of Jin-soo's hands in his.

"Are you okay? How do you feel? Is there any discomfort somewhere?" flustered by the many questions bombarding at him, Moon Jin-soo just shook his head to the side.

The man sighed in relief, then his grip on Moon Jin-soo's hand was released. "That's good then.. your fever seems to have died down as well. Oh, I'm an A-rank medic Guide here by the way, my name is Bom Jeong-won!"

Long ash green hair tied low to the side, and dark brown pair of eyes behind the rectangle shaped glasses.

The straight hair swayed a bit as the man took a seat on the chair right next to his bed with a beaming smile.

Medic Guides.

In a world where Espers are divided into combat and noncombatant ones, Guides are also divided into normal ones where they participate in dungeons, and medic Guides.

Just like its name, medic Guides are guides who also excel in medical knowledge.

They're people who were awakened as Guides, but pursued medical careers as well and mostly stationed at hospitals or other medical facilities, including a guild's.

Even though Espers gained abilities like humans with superpowers, Guide's powers in guidings are a bit different.

True, they're able to reduce Espers' exhaustion rate, refill their energies, and reduce the rampaging urge boiling inside.

That is also the reason why people referred them as healer Guides.

Nonetheless, it's not the kind of magical healing abilities in video games like the one you thought of just now.

Theoretically speaking, they could reenergize a person's vitalities, whether it's a talented person or normal citizens, by sacrificing their own.

It doesn't sound good but if a Guide completely depleted their energies, they are able to recharge those themselves gradually over time by resting enough.

That's why, healer Guides' performances in medical fields are amazingly helpful and exceptional, especially in a world full of monsters and dungeons where Espers are the ones which are more likely to get hurt.

'In other words, it's a combined profession of a doctor and a guide.'

The patient sitting on the bed with his legs dangling to the side just quietly stared at the sitting man in front of him.

Truthfully, the medic Guide looked genuinely concerned for him. But the abrupt friendliness just now kind of took him aback.

Moon Jin-soo licked his dry lips. His conscience pricked him, forcing him to feel the need to introduce himself as well.

Since the other party did it, and he received tremendous help and care, he should mind his manners.

"I'm.."

A hoarse cough erupted from my throat. The healer Guide swiftly brought a glass of water from the dispenser a few steps away.

I took the glass with gratitude and drank the entire glass. Lukewarm water cleansed my sandpaper throat in an instant.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, the man took the empty cup from my hands then put it on the table.

The brown eyes of Bom Jeong-won turned, his eyes looking straight at him.

"Moon Jin-soo ssi.. am I right?"

Ah.

Right, his covers were all blown away.

With a troubled expression, Moon Jin-soo didn't answer. Instead, he only nodded his head meekly and down casted his gaze.

His fingers fiddling on his lap, carefully avoiding the IV injected to the back of his hand.

Feeling the awkward atmosphere, Bom Jeong-won scratched his cheek with a stiff smile.

"Well, um.. it's okay, I'm professional at work so uh.. anyway, you might be confused because you've just awoken. I'll inform him to come here right away since you regained consciousness now, so please wait for a bit."

Him? Who?

"By 'him', you mean..?"

The eyes behind the glasses widened slightly, Bom Jeong-won's lips formed like an O when he said 'Oh'

"Right, your memory might be blurry since your fever was high. It's the man that brought you here, Park Hyun-sik. Do you remember?"

Ah, of course I remember him. He did saved me after all. My head nodded up and down as a confirmation, and the man in front of me stood up from his seat.

"I was ordered to bring him to you as soon as you wake up, he will fill in the details for you. So please wait a moment!"

Just like that, Moon Jin-soo was left alone for a while.

Right, he remembered when he was inside a car. It was the man called Park Hyun-sik that brought him here.

Not long after, the door slides open, revealing a tall man that he had worked together with during the incident.

When the room door shut, the man calmly walked closer to my direction and sat down on the chair next to my bed.

The high ranked Esper that helped me and brought me here, Park Hyun-sik.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, my body felt normal. I appreciate the generosity, but it was uncalled for." I replied indifferently.

Even though I'm sure I refused that day, you still brought me to an unfamiliar place.

"I can manage even if you don't do this."

Park Hyun-sik's expression turned stern at my cold answer, he replied, "You helped me defeat that boss monster, so it is simply a token of gratitude. And yet, you seem to not have noticed how dire your situation that day."

What?

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

Park Hyun-sik stared at me for a second, then he sighed.

"You fainted due to energy depletion and at a risk to undergo a rampage. I brought you here to get immediate treatment by our medical facilities and healers."

He gestured his chin to point at the clock hanging on the wall.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for two and a half days, Moon Jin-soo ssi."