“Ugh!?”
I sprang up, startled, and found that it was nighttime.
The surroundings weren’t completely dark. I could see light flickering beyond the curtains, and there was a faint glow in this room too.
I blinked a couple of times and looked around.
It seemed I was in a hospital.
…it hadn’t even been six months since I came to this world, and yet here I was, visiting the hospital multiple times. Back when I was a high school student, I rarely had to come to a hospital.
“…”
…Hmm, let’s stop escaping reality now.
Yeah, stop running away, you coward who kissed and then bolted.
“…”
It was nice to hear the voice in my head, but—
No, I didn’t wake up because I wanted to!
Well, it’s true you woke up in shock.
“…”
Damn it, I can’t argue against that.
And how could I? I had no idea I would end up kissing Sara in that moment.
Sure, I was the one who leaned in, but it was Sara who caught my cheek. Plus, it wasn’t something I initiated; it was more like I was taken by surprise.
Honestly, isn’t it a completely understandable situation to be flustered?
Have you never kissed in your past life?
…Crap, I couldn’t argue against that either.
Yeah, I had never kissed anyone.
I mean, you need to have a girlfriend to even think about kissing. I had been solo throughout my previous life, without even a female friend to speak of, let alone a girlfriend.
…….
As I was lost in thought, Sara, who often teased me, suddenly fell silent.
And at the same time, a feeling brushed against the depths of my heart—
No, no!
—Before I could label that feeling, Sara shouted out.
No way! No way!
…What’s not happening?
Anyway, it’s not!
No, she’s the one who said it in the first place, so now she has nothing to say.
I scratched my head absentmindedly and looked around again.
It didn’t seem like the emergency room. The emergency room lights would be on regardless of the time. Maybe I had arrived in the regular ward after being in the emergency room.
My arm felt a bit weird, so I looked down and saw an IV drip in my left arm. Following that line upward, I noticed the bag was almost empty.
It seemed I had been here for quite a while.
…Well, looking at how dark it was outside, it made sense. I wasn’t sure exactly when I was taken by Choi Na-kyung, but at that time, the sky was definitely blue. It hadn’t felt like evening at all.
“Ugh….”
Someone groaned, prompting me to lower my gaze, and there was Ha Neul.
She had unfolded the helper bed next to the hospital bed and was sleeping on it, face down on the bed. She seemed to be having a bad dream, frowning heavily and groaning.
I was slightly curious as to why she was in such a position when I noticed someone else next to her.
Sitting next to Ha Neul was Sohee. She wasn’t in a maid outfit. Instead, she looked like she had come straight from school, dressed in her uniform.
Sohee was also face down, groaning just like Ha Neul.
And beside her was Sua, in the same position.
…There’s no way I could lie down like that.
They looked incredibly uncomfortable, and I thought that surely they were like this because they were thinking about me and ‘Sara’.
As I brushed Ha Neul’s hair behind her ear, a warm feeling spread through my chest.
Usually, when I got close with the other kids, Sara would openly express discomfort, but it seemed like she had formed a bond with these kids during the time she’d spent moving around.
No, that’s not it!
Whoever is commenting. Whatever, forget it.
Deep in my consciousness, I sensed Sara was sulking, but I just bitterly smiled and shrugged.
Maybe sensing that, Sara muttered, If you come back…
That was a bit scary.
Fed up with Sara’s tantrum, I turned my gaze back. Now that I thought about it, there should have been one more person.
So…
“Wahh!”
Right, Yang Hye-in.
I discovered her sitting in a corner of the bed, wrapped in black clothes, and I let out a startled sound.
Even in such a dim situation, having someone hidden away in the corner was bound to be terrifying.
Not the kind of horror movie with ghosts.
More like the thriller where someone unexpected shows up at home.
Plus, Yang Hye-in was staring at me, perfectly still in that position.
“…Um…”
“Have you woken up, Miss?”
“Yes.”
I felt compelled to respond, so I quickly answered.
And then, a bit cautiously, I asked, “…How long have you been there?”
“I’ve been here since I returned.”
…So, since what time exactly?
And returning? Did she go somewhere?
I recalled Yang Hye-in’s last appearance. Wearing a black hat, all wrapped in black clothing, she crawled into the car holding an umbrella.
At that moment, I thought it was exceedingly good to see her, but now that I thought about it, it was honestly a frightening sight. Plus, it was Yang Hye-in who broke the car window.
…Could it be she chased after Choi Na-kyung to ensure she was completely taken out?
“…Are you okay?”
Of course, I couldn’t ask that directly, so I cautiously inquired again.
“Yes, I’m unharmed. More importantly, are you alright, Miss?”
“Well…”
To be honest, I was not really okay.
My arms and legs were still hurting. I was in a school uniform, and the lower half of my body was covered with blankets, so I wasn’t sure if I had any injuries.
But it still hurt. Choi Na-kyung must have tied me up pretty tightly. There was no doubt that moving my body at that time was quite the ordeal.
Plus, my head had also taken a hit from the car window.
…Even if I hadn’t looked closely, I was sure I had bruises. It was a nagging ache that felt worse than I expected.
It must have been that I treated Sara’s body too roughly.
What nonsense is that?
…Huh?
This body will be with you for a lifetime. Thus, it’s also your body. Just a little knocked around trying to save it; there’s no need to feel guilty about that.
No, still—
It’s fine. The original owner is saying it’s fine.
“…”
If I kept saying I was sorry, Sara would surely get annoyed, so I decided to just drop it.
“…What about the chairwoman?”
When I asked that, Yang Hye-in promptly bent forward and answered.
“I apologize. Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung fled the scene immediately.”
…Was there another car around? Ah, did she escape in the car that Yang Hye-in drove?
“She hitched a ride with a passing car.”
“…”
Uh…
Does that mean there was a car around that picked her up?
“The police are currently viewing it as a passing vehicle, but they are tracking it anyway.”
“Did the police come?”
“Yes, we called the police right after that.”
Hmm…
Yeah, it seemed like it would be good to get the police involved in this matter.
No matter how much bribery was involved, after such a clear incident, the police wouldn’t just sit idly. Unlike child abuse, which could end at home, this was an outright kidnapping.
Moreover, a kidnapping targeting a daughter.
“…”
Will it really be okay?
After all, she was Sara’s mother. Of course, I didn’t want to accept that fact, but still, what to do if I said she ‘wasn’t a mother’? What about Sara’s happy childhood? The reason Sara called that person ‘mom’ and loved her was because she couldn’t forget that childhood.
So, I asked Sara whether it was really okay to proceed and condemn Choi Na-kyung.
…It’s okay.
Sara simply answered like that.
But I felt a lot from her voice.
“Understood.”
Then, let’s allow this matter to continue as is. If the police request cooperation, I will cooperate fully.
“Ugh…?”
Did our voices get a bit too loud? Ha Neul, who had been sleeping closest to me, made a sound.
Struggling a bit, Ha Neul rubbed her eyes, and our gazes met.
“…Sara?”
“Yes.”
I nodded at Ha Neul, smiling.
“I’m back.”
“…Sara!”
However, Ha Neul didn’t respond to my words.
Instead, she dashed directly toward me and tightly hugged my neck.
“Sara…!”
And after that, she couldn’t finish her sentence and just kept repeating the same words over and over.
“Ugh…?”
“Ugh….”
Following her lead, Sohee and Sua almost simultaneously woke up.
“Sara!”
“…Sara!”
They both shouted like that.
It was as if they had forgotten how to speak, calling my name over and over as they rushed toward me, and I was unable to bear the weight of three people and fell backward.
But that weight was a pleasant weight.
…Ah, I’m back.
Feeling that happy weight, I thought to myself.
