Lune fell back as he lost his footing, feeling his qi beginning to pulse irregularly through his body, affecting the little spiritual energy around him as well. He felt someone tightly grab hold of his arm next to him, but his head was hurting too much to bother.
Once again, he felt the many consequences of overexerting himself with his power as fatigue took him over, threatening to bring him down right there and then.
No. Not yet.
Though he'd managed to suppress the earthquake within a mile radius from where he stood with his qi, many were still injured. He sensed them far away, but most importantly, he sensed the severely wounded man that lay before him.
Saving everyone from danger may be impossible for him, but the least he could do was make sure no one dies. And this one in front of him...his legs were already depleted of any trace of spiritual energy, by no means will he be able to walk again if the mortals were to treat him.
Perhaps if he just gave him a bit of his essence energy...
It took him some effort to force his throbbing in his temples to subside, clearing his mind so that he can concentrate his energy to regain just a bit more of a natural composure. He took one step towards the injured man before comprehending that someone was still holding onto him, and he stiffened as discomfort crawled up his arm with the realization.
The voice that spoke up then identified that person to be Channing, and his tone was filled with skepticism. "Lune-, Mister Lune," he corrected self-consciously. "What happened to you?"
Seeing he was just concerned, Lune relented from shrinking his arm away. Either way, he felt he had no strength to do so at the moment. "The wounded," he breathed, his brows furrowing hearing his own, faint voice. "His legs..."
"Help will come and Mister Liu will be fine," Channing told him, his tone pressed with disbelief and incredulity. "Don't worry about him, but are you okay?"
Lune gave up trying to explain himself and continued forward, forcing Channing to move along with him until he knelt down on one knee beside the man named Sam Liu.
"What are you doing?" Jae questioned as he backed away, perplexed.
The grown man pouted as he was ignored, watching as Lune reached to touch the elder man's flesh-torn legs. The warm, oozing blood was sticky to the touch, and he was able to feel the misaligned bone beneath the rough material of ripped pants and skin.
Lune drew a breath as he gathered the essence to his fingertips, stopping just at the right amount.
[Transfer.]
.
.
Channing hesitated as he released Lune's arm once he knelt beside Liu, reluctant to let go.
There was definitely something wrong with him, only he seemed extremely unwilling to acknowledge it out loud. His obsession with the CEO's bloodied leg only irritated him further, as he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to him.
It wasn't like he could just blackmail him into listening like he would Jae...but-
Channing paused, his thoughts erased from his mind once he noticed Lune with his hand on Sam Liu's leg, his fingers coated with a thick, dark red. He opened his mouth to protest his actions but stopped again when he saw the elder man's pain-twisted expression unfold and relax, most of the tension evaporating into thin air.
"What-"
Jae and Jenna weren't oblivious as well, and they quickly rushed to sit the patient up on the group. Jenna snatched up the ripped blue cloth from her dress to wipe away the sweat on Liu's forehead. "Sir, how are you feeling?"
"I- my leg...doesn't feel as painful...," he started slowly. "I can still move it!" His wide eyes moved to the mysterious man who was still crouched over his wound. He jumped, startled, when he removed his hand and turned his head to smile at him weakly.
Though no one else could understand, as the open flesh and blood remained unchanged, Sam was the only one who knew what this man had done for him. Before, when he was dragged out from the wreckage, he had already known his leg was done for. But now, the warmth had returned to his dead limb, and the bone was miraculously replaced.
Whoever he was, some black magician or whatever, he did not know how he was supposed to repay him. "My savior...!" he breathed in awe, his voice barely audible.
The person appeared to hear him still but didn't say a word as he slowly got back up on his feet.
Whilst the two cousins were busy bickering over the cellphone for the paramedics, Channing wasn't yet ready to let go of Lune's condition. He had yet to understand what had just happened.
What did Lune do?
Lune suddenly turned to face him, his face barely inches away from Channing's.
[You are curious...]
Channing stepped back, blinking in surprise at the sudden voice that appeared in his head. He spun around violently, searching for another presence around them. He frowned when he found no one.
[What are you doing?]
There is was again. But once more, he couldn't find anyone. Frustrated, he turned back to Lune, feeling as if he was being toyed with by the heavens. "Did you hear that-...too...."
His voice trailed off when a light smile touched his lips, giving him the obvious answer. "That was you...," he said hesitantly. His mouth fell open in amazement.
So much happened today, and here again, another phenomenon was taking place, this time, only between him and the peculiar man in front of him.
The still land in midst of an earthquake, the blasting of the ballroom doors, the flickering lights, and whatever happened to CEO Liu's leg...has to be something to do with him.
Definitely has to be.
[You have figured it out, Channing.]
The president tensed at his voice in his head, unused to the echoing that came without warning. All of this, he didn't know what to make of it. What was it?
Was it some sort of technology?? Sorcery?? Lune looked nothing more or nothing less of a human to him, and it only perplexed him even more.
[If you want answers, I'm afraid I cannot tell you, especially not now.]
"What?" Channing exasperated out loud, drawing the others' attention. He scowled, unsure how he was supposed to feel at the moment. Without warning, he reached forward and grabbed Lune by the arm, shaking him slightly. "What do you mean? Who are you?"
The space between Lune's brows creased and he seemed to struggle in Channing's strong grip. "I said...not now," he replied listlessly.
Channing flinched as he realized what he was doing, quickly letting go in regret. "Ah...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- hey, hey!"
He hastily stepped forward in alarm, catching Lune's limp body before he could crumble to the rubbled ground. "Sir Lune? Lune?" he called, his voice etched with concern.
He attempted to awaken him by shaking him by the shoulder, but he got no response as the body sagged against him.
Channing cursed to himself as he lowered Lune to the ground, letting his head rest against the crook of his arm. His lips were slightly parted in a frown on his still face, his long hair in a damp mess.
Channing noticed the crooked blindfold across his eyes and his free hand moved to hover above it, tempted to pull it off.
"Yah! gwaenchanha?"
Channing quickly withdrew his lingering hand away from Lune's face as Jae came up next to him, looking down at them with a raise of an eyebrow. He rolled up his slipping cuffs, baring his forearms as he squatted down beside his friend.
"What's wrong with him?"
"I...I don't know."
Jae scratched the back of his neck and gave Channing a pat on his shoulder. "Well, no worries, Chan. Jenna has got help coming. They'll be here soon."
.
.
Jae, Jenna, and Channing were all standing near the windows in one of the hospital's waiting rooms when a doctor knocked on the open door, his eyes scanning the near-filled white room.
He took a glance at his clipboard and pulled a pen from the pockets of his white coat. He opened his mouth, just about to call for the next patient's family when his eyes found the three staring at him from the blinded window.
"Ah, there you are!" he said with a wave of his hand. With long strides he quickly arrived right in front of them, greeting, "Evening! You came with the patient Sam Liu, yes?"
"Right," Jenna answered. "How is he?"
The doctor smiled broadly. "We've just got him out of the surgery room. He's going to be fine. Actually, it's quite a miracle seeing how his bone was completely fine when the muscles were nearly cut through. Lucky man he is!"
Channing and Jae shared a look as Jenna asked, "That's great to hear, may we know what room he is in?"
"Of course!" the doctor replied, looking down at his papers. "Room three-sixty-one...his wife has already been notified and will arrive in about ten minutes. Everything's good here."
"Thank you so much, Doctor."
"You're welcome!"
The doctor then turned to leave, and Channing had to stop him to remind him. "Excuse me, Doc," he requested, "what about our other patient. Mister Lune?"
"Lune," the doctor repeated. He turned back around and frowned, confused. He started flipping through his papers. "Lune...Lune...what of the surname?"
"Er...we just know his name is Lune."
The doctor flashed him a skeptical look, but Channing dodged it quickly, saying, "He's my height, long black hair, he's blind..."
Finally, the doctor's face lit up, and he nodded. "Ah, yes! I remember now. Hold on a moment."
Channing watched in anticipation as the man scratched his head with the tip of his pen, muttering some inaudible words to himself as he flipped through his records in hand.
After a minute, the doctor pulled out a sheet of paper and scribbled a few words on it, signed it, and handed it to him. "I remember you said you don't know his family and we're a bit busy due to the earthquake, so you'll have to sign this," he said, handing him the pen as well.
"Honestly, us doctors ran a few tests on your friend, but we couldn't find anything wrong with him," he confessed, his expression uncertain. "He's been unconscious for quite a while, some of the tests didn't even work, and there were some strange things going on with the MRI as well-"
Channing cut him off, scowling at the document in his hands. "So you want to keep him, and you think I will allow it?" he asked darkly. He flashed the shorter man a steely glare, and the doctor stood him up with a headstrong gaze.
"There is something strange with the patient, it's up to the medical field to find out what's wrong, in case the patient's life may be in danger-"
He was interrupted with the loud crinkle of paper as Channing crushed the document before his eyes, his eyes blazing with rage.
"Ay! Chan! Calm down!" Jae grabbed hold of his arm, trying to calm his friend's fury. "Calm down, you can just talk this out if you have anything to say!"
Channing clenched his jaw. Over the past few hours, he really took the time to think about it. None of them knew who Lune was or how he lived his life, and no one besides himself had experienced the moment when they had communicated through telepathy.
That alone was already evidence that Lune is no ordinary human.
He should've known better that this was going to happen, and that bringing him to a government-owned hospital was a bad idea. For someone so high up in the social hierarchy, it was well known to him that the government held many shady ambitions.
Instead, he should've taken him to his private clinic, one that his assistant helped run and trusted, and simply waited for him to wake up.
Jae waved his hands in front of Channing's eyes. "Bro?"
Channing shook his head, forcing himself to calm down as Jae said. He dug out June's business card from his wallet and stuck it on the doctor's clipboard.
"What is this-"
"This is my assistant's number, he will take care of your hospital's concerns regarding this patient." Channing drilled his eyes into the doctor's eyes of ridicule. "You don't have to be concerned, I simply just don't trust you...and will be sending the patient to another clinic. Now tell me his room number."
The doctor darted his eyes between them, reluctant. But seeing how neither Jae nor Jenna was going to take his side in the disagreement, he sighed and relented. He plucked June's card clipped it properly onto the files. "Room five-o-seven," he said flatly. "I'll sign out the patient for you."
Channing wrinkled his nose, satisfied. "Hmph. Thank you, doctor."
The doctor gave another sigh, turned and left, leaving the three of them alone.
Jenna, crossed her arms, wrapping the lab coat the hospital provided to her over her torn gown tightly. "Well Channing, you've won again," she mused. "I'll stay here to wait for Missus Li's arrival."
She nudged Channing's arm lightly. "Room five hundred-seven, correct? That's two floors above. You should go check on your friend, take my dongsaeng with you."
Channing nodded, saying, "We'll be back quick, I'll call June so we'll have a ride back."