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Today's meme is here. [ ]
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After their father went missing, it was mom alone who raised the siblings Jin and Jin-Ah.
He hated owing someone, or someone owing him, so he made sure that such a thing never happened, but still….
He owed his mother a debt that he could never possibly repay.
It was then. Every second that passed felt like an eternity. He could feel the magic working, her cells rapidly dividing and healing, almost reversing time itself. Her skin became smoother, healthier, and the years I lost while laying here in coma came back as the time she had lost has seemed to melt away, making her look even more beautiful. As if her age itself got reversed.
As the spell's effects continued, he could see her body responding to the magic. Her features grew softer, and the lines that had etched themselves onto her face seemed to vanish. Even the smallest scratches and marks disappeared, leaving her skin unblemished.
Jin's heart pounded as he watched the transformation unfold. His nervousness gave way to a profound sense of awe, almost like performing a miracle.
And then, the moment came when her eyes slowly fluttered open. For a moment, her gaze wandered, and he held his breath, waiting for her to recognize him.
"Who.... No, wait, could you be... Jin-Woo?"
The words hung in the air, and he felt a mixture of hope and trepidation. The mother who had given so much, who had endured so much, was finally waking up. The memories that had been stolen by those years began to return, slowly but surely.
Jin's eyes met hers, and he nodded ever so slightly, unable to hold back his emotions. His gaze was a mixture of love, gratitude, and a quiet yearning for the connection his body shared.
As she continued to awaken, her expression shifted from confusion to recognition. Her eyes filled with tears, and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"Jin-Woo? Is it really you?"
Her voice trembled with a mixture of emotions, and he nodded again, his own tears glistening in his eyes. The moment they locked eyes, he knew that the bond the body shared was unbreakable.
Tears welled up in her eyes, too, as memories flooded back, filling the gap of those lost years. And then, in a voice filled with warmth and love, she asked the question that he had been waiting to hear.
"How long have I been lying here, son?"
Like water slowly filling up an empty bowl, blurry memories of the past filled up the empty hole of the last four years in Jin-Woo's mother, Park Gyung-Hye's mind bit by bit.
It didn't take her a long time to realise why she was lying on the hospital bed like this. As she repeated her question again.
"How long have I been lying here, son?"
"It's been four years, mom."
He could've also added that it was four years and a few days, but he didn't. His mother currently needed as much calmness, a sense of stability, so he did his best to sound and look normal.
But, mom was still taken back by the revelation of four years, and she hurriedly asked him.
"What about Jin-Ah?? Is your sister alright??"
It was then, Jin felt something powerful welling up from deep within his heart.
She had been teetering on the edge of life and death for the last four years, yet the first thing she asked after waking up was the well-being of her daughter…..
'It's no time to worry about that girl, you know.'
He wanted to say that out loud. But, he suppressed his emotions and formed a thin smile, instead.
"Yes, mom. The little trouble maker is doing well."
His mother sighed, her expression one of genuine relief.
Jin was inwardly concerned, hoping that his mother would start worrying about herself soon, but at the same time, he began to relax somewhat as his mother seemingly hadn't changed at all.
'Things will go back to how it's been, soon.'
Finally recognising that mom's illness had been cured, his heart palpitated again. But then, he was jolted out of his thoughts. Mom was holding his left hand even before he had noticed it.
"Mom?"
"Thank you, son. You kept your promise."
Promise?
'…Ah, I forgot.'
Then again, he never had any memories of Original Jin. He was an imposter impersonating how og Jin should be with own flavour text added to it.
But it was the most obvious thing in the world, so it was possible that he didn't consciously see it as a promise.
The so-called 'Eternal Sleep' disorder, where you'd fall deeper and deeper into slumber, until you'd never wake up again….
It became harder for mom to carry on with her daily life as drowsiness frequently assaulted her without warning with every passing day. Out of the blue, though, she asked Jin for a favour.
– "If mom can't wake up one day, will you promise me to take good care of your little sister?"
She carried a smile of a mother asking her child for a simple errand back then.
That was why og Jin had been enduring until now. He didn't resent her at all. Because all he did was to take over the burden his mother had been carrying until then.
However, mom tightly squeezed his hand as if she knew everything.
"My son…. It must've been hard for you."
Jin tried to smile like he had done before to assuage his mother's worries. As if nothing of note had happened until then.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.
All the tears he held back until then travelled down his face, and his lips parted all on their own.
"Yeah."
***********
"What was that??"
The director of Seoul-Ilsin Hospital, Doctor Lee Seong-Chul got to hear a rather stunning piece of news. A patient suffering from 'Eternal Sleep' disorder had woken up from the terminal stage of the illness. Something that never happened something always considered impossible before.
"Are you telling me the truth??"
"Yes, Director. I've confirmed it personally."
As a doctor, his ears would perk up greatly if such an event occurred in someone else's hospital, yet the patient in question was actually on his own??
'Who knew such a jackpot would come knocking at my door?'
The exceptional brain of Director Lee Seong-Chul began punching some numbers in his mental calculator.
"Isn't this an unprecedented event in the whole world?"
"You're correct, Director."
The doctor in charge nodded his head.
Lee Seong-Chul's smile was so wide that it actually broke past his ears and threatened to rip his face in half.
"Nicely done!! Doctor Choi!!"
"I beg your pardon? D-director, I haven't done…."
"Ehheii, my man, don't be like that now!"
Lee Seong-Chul sent a meaningful gaze at the doctor in charge.
"It doesn't matter 'how' it happened, we can always cook something up later. And let the media fill the cracks in the wall. But, it's only right and proper that the doctor in charge is praised for the work well done when a patient gets better! Am I wrong?"
Not to mention, the hospital that the doctor was working in would be praised, too!
"Ah, y-yes…. T-thank you very much, director."
The doctor in charge gave in and bowed his head slightly to the director.
Even though the doctor's response was rather lukewarm, the wide smile on Lee Seong-Chul's face didn't want to leave him, knowing that he had been blessed with an unexpected boon.
'If we play our cards right, the world's attention might gather on my Ilsin Hospital!!'
Being constantly talked about by other people because of a good piece of news was, in a word, free publicity. Which again bring more customers There was nothing to lose here, and everything to gain.
If this news got out, reporters from all over the world would descend upon this hospital and absolutely lose their minds trying to uncover any related info, however small or insignificant it was.
This was a great opportunity to advertise the hospital's name without spending a single penny.
'What those reporters want to know would be the treatment method, but….'
Well, all he had to do was to keep the patient nearby and find out what happened a step at a time. Indeed, nothing could go wrong here. That's what Lee Seong-Chul thought.
The doctor in charge acted as if something was troubling him and cautiously spoke up.
"The patient's legal guardian requested for immediate discharge."
"What was that?!"
No, that definitely could not be allowed!
Reporters would only come to the hospital if the patient was still here! No, never mind the reporters, he needed to keep the patient here in order to figure out how the disorder had been cured, to begin with!
Lee Seong-Chul's brows quivered.
"What was the status of the patient?"
"Everything was normal, in fact it's more than normal as if her body was in hibernation and time was stopped for her body in fact as if time was reversed for her body as it gained a level of vitality never seen in a normal person before. director."
"The patient's been asleep, completely immobile, for the past four years, yet you are telling me that her body was completely fine? And it's not just done but healthier then a normal person"
"Couldn't it be because of the life support machines?"
"H-mm….."
Indeed, the performance of the machines being too good could also be a factor here.
"Delay the discharge for as long as possible with an excuse that… we need to observe the patient for a while longer to make sure she's fine."
"I said the exact same thing to the guardian, but it didn't work, Director."
'We can't keep a patient here without a valid reason if she wishes to leave, can we…..'
If that was the case, then he had only one option remaining – and that would be to let the world know before the patient left the hospital.
"Let's alert the press while they are still on the premises."
The doctor in charge shook his head.
"That will be…. difficult, Director."
"How come?"
"We can't expose the identity of the patient. If we handle this poorly, something really bad will happen, Director."
Hearing those unexpected words, Lee Seong-Chul could only form a flustered expression. Seeing the doctor's own troubled expression, he didn't seem to be exaggerating things, either.
Lee Seong-Chul's attitude became a lot more serious.
"Is the patient such an important person?"
"It's not the patient herself, but the guardian, well…. The protection of the private information has been requested by the guardian himself, actually."
Now that Lee Seong-Chul thought about it, Doctor Choi was being super respectful whenever he mentioned the legal guardian.
"Just who is this guardian supposed to be that you're acting like this?"
What kind of a person was the guardian that the hospital had to honour the request for the protection of the patient's information, as well as Doctor Choi being this polite?
"Have you heard about Mister Mage Machine?"
"Mage Machine?"
Was he a powerful politician? Or, a CEO of some massive corporation? The name seems to be made up.
Lee Seong-Chul thought that he had heard of the name somewhere, but couldn't quite recall the face, and helplessly tilted his head. As if he expected this to happen, the doctor in charge quickly offered up an explanation.
"He's the Hunter who was one that saved everyone from impending doom created by Ice Empress and she was also present at that time both being S rank hunters who have yet to reveal their identities."
"Two rank S!!"
Here was the reason why Doctor Choi was being so cautious. Who would have guessed that the patient's guardian happened to be not one but two rank S Hunter?
'This… It'll be the end for us if we make a rash move and things go sideways as a result.'
The influence a rank S Hunter had over society was extensive, to begin with, but more importantly, if such a Hunter lost his cool and decided to rampage around, and they had two hunters not one which is ridiculous. then….
Lee Seong-Chul nervously swallowed dry saliva when a rather unexpected name was brought up.
'That sure was too close for comfort….'
"Are you sure it was same those two you encountered"
"Yes sir, I am it's not about what they could do it's about their very presence as you already know I have operated on many hunters and by luck also got the chance to operate on A rank hunter let tell one thing the very air around was different then anything I come to expect the coldness around ice empress was something I never experienced so much blood lust looking into her eyes I felt like I will die and mage machine was very calm but his eyes promised pain his wish wasn't followed."
As young started to describe his encounter with two S rankers Lee Seong-Chul looked at the young doctor and saw him not only sweating in ac but his body was visually trembling.
After hearing the story of their encounter both doctors knew what they had to do as they subconsciously came to an agreement without muttering a single word.
With a hardened expression suddenly softened into a cheery smile.
"Begin the discharge procedure right away."