Two nurses led Dr.Liu to room 115. The patients in room 115 were few, all having a status of some sort, but also in uncertain conditions. Dr.Liu was flipping through his papers as the male nurse explained dutifully.
"Mr.Shî has been unconscious for years, we noticed signs of him waking up yesterday. We didn't expect any movement, but his ringer has gone off. Security just sent a video. He's awake and disoriented."
The female nurse asked nervously, "should we contact Ms.Wán?"
Dr.Liu answered while still reading, "Yes," after a moment of thought he added, "tell her not to rush or panic. Mr.Shî has been in perfect health, he should be fine now as well."
With that, the female nurse went to make a phone call and Dr.Liu and the male nurse entered.
Once they walked in Gim Woojin looked at them. His eyelids were too heavy to hold up, drooping as he exhausted a sigh. His chest fell and his brows tensed, he appeared to be fighting fatigue.
"Check his vitals."
/Two hours later/
Wán An came bursting through 115's door. She disregarded the other sleeping patients and looked ecstatically at her hospitalized nephew.
"My treasure, you're awake!" She ran to his bedside and looked with eyes of joyful tears. He was shocked to see this Aunt in person, as she was considerably different from Shî Bao's memories.
The last time the aunt and nephew met face-to-face Shî Bao was just graduating high school. Being an early graduate, that was nearly 7 years ago.
The originally all-natural chubby and gray-haired lady looked like time rewound.
Now that she was thinner and fit, with long and flexible-looking limbs, it was obvious she had big bones. She looked as young as a healthy woman in her earlier 50s, with not too many wrinkles and
snow-white skin. Her hair must've been dyed, as it changed from its aging-gray color to pure black. Even more unexpected, she wore a thin layer of makeup.
Seeing that her nephew hadn't responded, Wán An softened her voice. "Bao, can you hear me? It's Auntie An." She looked down at him with a mixed expression of tears and excitement.
Realizing he was staring, he instead showed a momentary look of surprise, then gloom. He didn't want to waste the time chitchatting since there were still things he didn't know, so he quickly expressed discontent.
He looked to the blanket over his legs and meekly started, "My legs.."
Naturally, Wán An knew the details of his condition. She purposefully asked for him not to be told when the nurse called her. However, Gim Woojin needed to know for the sake of his mission.
Seeing his face, her happy expression turned gloomy. She sat beside him and then squeezed her purse tighter. After releasing a strangle sigh, she quietly explained.
"My treasure, you... you and your parents were in a very, very bad accident. The fact you're alive is a miracle, but, your legs... Dr.Liu is afraid there was too much damage. At best, you can go through physical therapy and make do with a wheelchair. You wouldn't.."
She swallowed hard. It had been 3 years since the accident, but it was still her youngest sister and her brother-in-law. Both her sister and nephew ended up in comas, but only her nephew was in a promising condition. Though, "promising" was a bit generous; the injuries he sustained were deadly, doctors originally tried to persuade her to let him go, along with her sister. Luckily, she didn't.
She wiped away the moisture in her eyes and continued looking down.
"At worst, you may suffer from paralysis later on. Your leg nerves suffered and died, but enough remains now... Nonetheless, one day, we would have to consider amputation, in case of something developing." She glanced at him, then went wide-eyed.
Although Gim Woojin was distraught for a reason different than she assumed, he was still distraught. There was a chance he wouldn't be able to walk in the future? That was new... Too new for him. He wasn't prepared!
His feelings showed on his face: Watery eyes from sheer frustration with the idea, slightly biting back his lip in a stressed manner and staring sharply back at Wán An.
He was only absentmindedly staring, but the lost-in-thought look in his eyes also dug into Wan An's heart.
She jumped to grab him in her arms, pulling him into a tight, reassuring hug as she spoke. "You don't have to worry about that! Dr.Liu says your health is perfect, paralysis and other conditions are unlikely. Yes, very unlikely!"
She tried to sound cheerful, if Woojin could read her heart, he'd see traces of doubt.
He was not paying attention to her heart or her words at all. After the preliminary shock, he calmly questioned Sixty.
Will I be unable to walk? Since the original died in the crash, there was the possibility his condition would be that bad. From under his pillow, Sixty telepathically replied.
"Of course not, Host! This body has been preserved for your first world, we wouldn't put you in an unfamiliar situation. This body will heal to your original condition over time, except for scars." |
He inwardly heaved a sigh of relief, then zoned back in. In response to Wán An's surprisingly tight hold, he weakly rubbed her back, comforting her.
Now that he didn't need to be worried, he thought about why Wán An was. The original Shî Bao was an extreme fan of sports, a very sporty guy. He tried many in his lifetime, and even participated in many public events, competition, festivals, fundraisers, etcetera as long as it required him to be active.
Gim Woojin would compared the original's ambition to Choe Seokjeong, his musician brother. They were obsessed with perfecting all lengths of their profession. Seokjeong learned to write music and music sheets, and how to play multiple instruments to become more trained in his talents, the original Shî Bao had played and gotten experience in many sports, all of which he showed promise in. He was a sports protege.
He finally settled on the sport that he started on and enjoyed the most, basketball.
At 21, the reason he and his parents were on that flight was to fly to a country with the world's most World-renown Sports University so he could join their basketball team. He applied and, despite their 8% acceptance rate, he was accepted for try-outs. Whether he would make the team was yet to be decided.
However, Gim Woojin could determine, from the original's memories, boarding that plane was the happiest moment of his life.
As such, it was hard not to feel great sympathy for him. Wán wouldn't know the extent of his sporty nature, nor his dream or university acceptance letter, but she'd seen enough photos and rewards to know not being able to walk or run would shattered him.
Yet, here the boy was, comforting her instead of being comforted. There was nothing she could do to reverse this.
-
A few hours later, Wán An was still there. Woojin barely spoke a word while she spoke non-stop, going from one hot topic to the next. As it seemed, she was a gossiping type of person.
This wasn't a surprise to Woojin, since this was always her personality. Most of the gossip was from within the family, her own brothers, sisters, in-laws, and children. She spared no one, though she refrained from ruthless words and extremely personal things.
For example, Woojin learned that Wán An and the original's mother, Wán Juan, were two of seven. Of the five siblings, four did not care about the original and his parents.
From the memories, Woojin knew there were seven siblings, but he had no idea the family relations were so bad.
It was unnecessary to talk about those who didn't care, but Wán An had fun using their failure children as a way to spite them. While Woojin listened close and learned some semi-interesting details about those failure children.
Afterwards, she started talking about Wán Min. Saying apologetically, "Uncle Min feels terrible that he can't make it, he sends love, love, and more love! I'm sure he'll arrive in the coming days, but he's on another continent so it's a bit difficult.."
Wán Min is Shî Bao's uncle who is only a few years older than his mom, he's the 2nd youngest of the siblings.
Woojin didn't need a introduction to him, Wán Min was Shî Bao's favorite uncle, his favorite relative in general. Wán Min did a lot of travelling and collect exotic things; Shî Bao's family travelled a lot and he was quite curious of new, strange things. One way or another, they became close.
Moving on from her siblings and their children, she started talking about her family, those with Luó blood.
She only briefly mentioned her husband, Luó Xiaofen, sending good wishes, then went on to complain about her children and grandchildren.
Gim Woojin wasn't very curious about Luó Xiaofen, though the original had been. In his memories, both Wán An and his parents would sometimes mention the man, often by praising him or with cautious words. However, the original never met or spoke to him.
Naturally, the original wondered what the man was like. Woojin, on the other hand, was not very interested in the Luó Family in general.
In the storyline, they were basically all-powerful. Even Fù Genji, the "favorite", at the height of his power was overshadowed by their chosen heir, who was unnamed. The Luó Family had to be full of those with strong characters, Gim Woojin wanted nothing to do with those kind of headache-inducing people.
He reached for a tray of food a nurse brought per Wán An's request. It was the same food as when he first woke up. He ate, peering out one of the room's windows.
It looked like they were a few floors high since tall trees swayed in front of the window, covering the rising moon. He could see the pavement meters away, the hospital has a long front lawn. There was one walking path, but people were actively talking on the grass. A man wearing a suit, in contrast to everyone else in casual or hospital clothes, strode down the path to the hospital. Woojin guessed he came from an event or something.
After shoving some of the family's dirty laundry in his face, she started to talk about things happening in Sania.
"Oh dear, I've been rethinking transportation these days. Car accidents are becoming more frequent. Personal drivers are still drivers, I don't trust them anymore!" She quietly exclaimed. She went on sorrowfully, "Ah, just a little over a month ago a reckless driver crashed and killed a poor woman. She was a mother of a young man, a wife in the Fu family. Such a status and she still dies so painfully?"
She sighed with short-lived fury, "not to mention the driver lives without a single lawsuit! The news has more stories about these accidents, it's terrible." Her worry almost affected Woojin, but he focused more on where this news placed him in the timeline.
He looked at her with a frown, a few grains of rice hiding on his cheek, "has her funeral been held yet..?" He didn't want to jump hurdles and assume. A month meant a lot, but a funeral means more.
Wán An shrugged with a partial nod. "I believe it was 2 weeks ago. It was a very private affair though. Apparently, even the will wasn't read infront of extended family." She spoke then grabbed Shî Bao's napkin to wipe the grains of rice. "Clean your mouth before speaking." She chuckled lightly.
Gim Woojin tinted pink, nodding as he shyly turned back to the window, "thank you." Usually he only ate with family or by himself, who needed etiquette at those times? Since his father wasn't strict about it, Woojin often forgot unless he made himself consciously aware.
Now he had a much better timeline. Two weeks ago was Rén Aihe's funeral, meaning Fù Genji would succeed in bribing Fù Kai's personal servant in two months, and is already trying to gain Fù Kai's trust. Without the servant's help Fù Kai won't mention his mother's company or the likes.
So, it's just the beginning. Almost the very beginning, that had good sides and bad sides. The good was that nothing major would happen until Fù Kai was attacked, and that should be at least a year away. The bad was that gave a lot of time for the virus system to change things, and small changes could have big affects.
Ugh, he really needs to get out of this hospital.
"Oh, treasure, I almost forgot, do you know where you are?" Wán An tapped his shoulder, making him turn back to guess.
Woojin had a good feeling it was either Arian, the Country the original was flying to, or Sania, the Country they flew from. They didn't live in Sania and weren't there to anyone's knowledge, it was for the dad's business.
City wise? No idea.
Wán An saw his clueless face and shook her head. "Of course, what was I thinking. We're in Tessn, Arian, the best hospital in the country. We'll be leaving to Sania as soon as you heal."
Woojin nodded wordlessly, then paused. Although he could make a uneducated guess, he still asked her: "How long until I recuperate?"
She remembered what she was told and reiterated unconcernedly. "Dr.Liu said a year, perhaps longer."
Woojin choked–A year!?
He looked incredulously at Wán An, who returned the look with surprise at his sudden choking.
It wasn't difficult to find why he had. She frowned sadly, then placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Don't worry, a year will pass in no time, and you'll be able to stand up, walk, maybe even run again."
She spoke reassuringly, but her words were not comforting.
Gim Woojin couldn't stay hospitalized for a full year! There was too much to look after. If he was coming into Shî Bao's body at this time, then that virus system was already doing something it shouldn't! It could be messing with Fù Genji, Péng Hai-Rong, Gōng Mo, even warning one of the brothers or mothers not to trust Fù Genji. He can't allow the chance!
If he's in the hospital of a different country for a year, he won't be able to do anything!
Immediately, Gim Woojin checked in with the system. Will it take me that long to recover? Will I be accused if things change while I'm incapacitated? He asked.
"Don't worry, don't worry! Host would be able to walk in six months without physical therapy, it will take half the time with it. We won't deliberately delay you with a weak body." |
It answered, once again making Gim Woojin relieved. That means it should take approximately 3 months for him to heal enough to walk? Although it was still long, it's also a much shorter time than a normal person would be able to fully heal. In addition, if he worked harder to recuperate, it might even be shorter.
So, with that in mind, Gim Woojin pretended to be assured by Wán An's words. She smiled, reassured by him being reassured.
"In the meantime, my gentle boy and I will take care of you. Oh, Dr.Liu will too." She concluded, giving a final pat on the back before distancing herself.
Before Woojin could ask who she was referencing, a man entered the room.
He was wearing a suit and his hair was slicked back, he looked uptight. Woojin thought back to the man through the window, and it made sense now. Woojin and the man's eyes met for a moment before he decided to ignore Woojin and looked over to Wan An.
Woojin didn't take offense, but did frown. The man had golden-orange colored eyes in a pretty shape, it felt weird to be looked at so blandly by those eyes. If the man wasn't obviously a child, Woojin's pride would've been hurt.
Woojin assumed he was a child because he looks around Shi Bao's age, and his real self was nearing 30. Wán An noticed Woojin's gaze, seeing the man she smiled brightly. She motioned for him to come over.
The man walked over as Wán An introduced him and Woojin finished the food tray, wiping his mouth.
"This is my grandson, Luó Jingyi, he was with me when I got the call, therefore he came along. This boy left soon after we arrived, he couldn't check on you with me, but don't fault him," She opened.
Then she turn back to him, "this is your cousin, Shî Bao. He's your senior, treat him respectfully."
Woojin showed a surprised expression before asking, "How old?" Luó Jingyi, standing sternly infront of them showed a bit of surprise as well, then answered quietly, "20."
Woojin was truly surprised by his answer, he's younger than the original by 4 years and himself by nearly 10! He thought they were closer in age because of how mature he looks.. jeez, Woojin felt a bit old.
"Grandmother, we should be leaving." Luó Jingyi suddenly urged, not saying why.
"Oh, I'm sorry to keep you when you're busy Auntie." Woojin smiled softly and apologized. "Thank you for visiting.." Wan An interrupted, patting her hand on his shoulder with a frown, "Don't apologize! I'm not so busy today," she looked at Luo Jingyi with a glare, "and I am not leaving when it's still early."
Luo Jingyi frowned, glancing at Woojin blamefully, then bending to take his grandmother's hands.
Woojin grabbed the hand on his shoulder and smiled more. "If you can stay.." Luo Jingyi interrupted with her other hand in his, "we can't." Woojin frowned with Wan An, but Luo Jingyi only supported his case, "grandfather wants you home early."
Woojin internally sighed, then let her go. He wanted her to stay to see what else she knew that would be helpful and to keep him company. Sixty was an unlikely conversational partner, and Wan An is talkative and has a loving undertone when she speaks. He wasn't much of a loner, but he wouldn't hold her from her husband.
Wan An also hesitated after hearing who wanted her. She saw Woojin give up on the idea, then grabbed Luo Jingyi's hand back. "I'm going, but you must stay with him than,"
Luo Jingyi looked very against the idea. Wan An stood up with his help and huffed, "I will not leave my nephew with no one. We were supposed to return in a month, so you have that much time in your schedule free, correct?" He didn't answer, but it was obviously a yes. She smiled, "Good. I know you're busy, but watch over him for me."
Luo Jingyi couldn't say no, but he didn't say yes either. He nodded, glancing over Woojin who sat with a smile, then looking towards the door. "Let's go."
Wan An blew a kiss to Woojin, "bye bye my little treasure~! Auntie will contact you, be safe for me." She walked out the door, followed by Luo Jingyi. "You too, Auntie!" He shouted back.
Now the room was free of visitors. It was just the sickly, and Woojin had nothing but his thoughts.