I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 121

121

‘Seil Hospital, huh…’

It’s a decent-sized hospital, but not quite big enough to represent an entire region.

I thought about visiting today, but I figured I’d run into Professor Seong if I went now, so Seonghyun postponed it.

Professor Seong had to come to the Academy, which naturally created some free time for me.

“They said she hasn’t been able to get up for six years.”

Yet, she’s only 12 years old.

What must the child be thinking, having her body and even her family ruined at the tender age of six, a time when she should have been full of life?

“Hello. What room is Seong In-wook’s daughter in?”

“I’m sorry, but… oh?”

Since the emergence of Hunters in this world, giving out information about hospital room numbers has been strictly prohibited.

Many people have gained power, but unfortunately, many have also failed to take responsibility for that power.

Hunters and ordinary people are now treated in separate hospitals, but that wasn’t always the case, and injured Hunters were quite easy targets.

That prohibition, established back then, remains in place to this day.

So, a refusal would have been the natural response, but upon closer inspection, the face was quite familiar.

Famous enough for an employee who deals with so many people to remember.

“Are you, by any chance, Hunter Kim Seonghyun…?”

“Ah… yes.”

He had pulled his hat down low, so people around hadn’t recognized him, but up close, the hat was practically useless.

The employee brought a finger to their lips as he answered, lowering his voice as if he understood.

“She’s in room 1312. More importantly, if you don’t mind, could I get an autograph…?”

Normally, they shouldn’t reveal that information, but Seonghyun is a top-ranked Hunter with healing abilities.

If any problems arose, they could shift the blame to Seonghyun, and if something good happened, they could even promote the hospital as one visited by Seonghyun, who used his healing abilities.

The autograph, of course, was the employee’s personal desire.

“An autograph?”

He had never experienced anything like this before his regression, nor even usually, so he wondered if the autograph the employee was talking about was some kind of agreement with the hospital, but the blank paper they brought wasn’t that.

He had heard that some people often get autographs from top-ranked Hunters, and it seemed the employee was one of those people.

“Kim Narin.”

“Yes, Ms. Kim Narin…”

He wrote down the employee’s name along with a signature that looked like it would be used for credit card payments, and added a message wishing them good health.

“Thank you so much!”

“Ah, no problem.”

Seonghyun gave an awkward smile at the employee’s expression, which seemed as if they had received healing, and headed to room 1312.

He could feel gazes on him in the elevator, but thankfully, his identity wasn’t revealed thanks to the deeply pulled-down hat.

This is a hospital.

If anyone recognized Seonghyun, their reaction would be obvious.

The more desperate they are, the more they’ll endure anything.

They clearly wouldn’t give any thought to what side effects Seonghyun might experience when using his abilities, or what repercussions might occur when using them in a hospital.

They would kneel, shed tears, and beg.

“It’s incredibly quiet.”

Room 1312 was on the top floor of the hospital.

Except for the small rooftop walkway.

And in the first place, there weren’t many rooms.

Moreover, seeing that no one was walking in the hallway, it seemed like this floor was for people who couldn’t move or were unconscious, like Professor Seong’s daughter.

The nurses in the middle were also preparing for any emergencies that might arise, without making even the slightest noise.

Room 1312 was located at the end of the hallway.

It seemed that those who absolutely couldn’t leave their beds without someone’s help were placed at the very end.

Only the sound of nurses typing on keyboards and Seonghyun’s footsteps echoed in the hallway, and soon he arrived at the room at the end of the hallway.

He carefully opened the door, worried he might disturb their precious sleep, but seeing an empty bed and a drawn curtain on one side, it seemed there was only one person in this room.

“Aish, really, if you can’t even eat this properly.”

A venomous voice, unfitting for such a room, was heard.

“How can you not eat even when I’m pouring it into your mouth? Huh?”

Seonghyun, who was stepping into the room, stopped in his tracks and stared at the silhouette reflected on the curtain.

A rather large-looking figure and the voice of a venomous middle-aged woman.

“Do you even know how much your father is suffering because of you? Still, you did one thing right. Aren’t you the one who killed my husband? If he hadn’t jumped in to protect you, that spot wouldn’t be empty. I’m so grateful that I’m even taking care of you like this, you know?”

“…”

Seonghyun withdrew half of the foot he had stepped in with and left the room.

Then, he headed straight to where the nurses were.

“Hello. I have something to ask.”

“Ah, yes. What is it?”

“About the patient in room 1312.”

At the mention of room 1312, the nurse’s eyes showed pity and sorrow.

“Is there someone specifically taking care of her?”

“Ah… that person?”

The look of pity she had shown until just now completely disappeared at Seonghyun’s question, and a somewhat unpleasant expression appeared on her face.

“That person said she’s the guardian’s wife, but it doesn’t seem like it. Last time I overheard them talking, it was all one-sided…”

“Ahem! Nurse Kim?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

He didn’t hear the rest of the story in detail due to another nurse’s interruption, but it was enough to understand.

The woman in the room is infatuated with Professor Seong, and Professor Seong isn’t accepting her feelings.

Perhaps she’s helping with the daughter’s care to win his heart.

He had no intention of interfering in their relationship, but there was one thing wrong.

‘What sin did that young daughter commit…’

It might have been better if Professor Seong’s daughter was unconscious.

He couldn’t even imagine how the person hearing those words directly would feel.

“Thank you.”

“Please, pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.”

“Really? Then… please do me a favor.”

“Yes, yes? What… favor…”

“A recorder. Do you have one?”

A recorder was essential at the nurses’ station.

It was to prevent irregularities, but recorders were always placed on floors with patients who couldn’t move like this.

“I’ll borrow it for a week.”

“Ah… yes, yes…”

The woman came out of room 1312 the moment he received the recorder.

Then, she found Seonghyun in front of the nurses and approached him with a friendly smile.

“Oh my, a handsome young man has come?”

“…”

When he just stared at her without answering, she seemed embarrassed and covered her mouth with her hand, laughing as she spoke.

“If you need anything, tell me. I can help a lot, if not everything.”

“…Thank you. I’m Kim Seonghyun.”

“Ho ho. I’m Lee Soon-geum.”

Seonghyun, who had been just staring at the outstretched hand, replaced the handshake with a smile.

“Yes.”

With a sullen expression, the woman headed to the restroom, and Seonghyun briefly went into the room in the meantime.

“Hello. I’m Professor Seong’s student.”

The child was staring at the ceiling, not at him, with dull eyes.

Aside from being a vegetable, it seemed she had already suffered a great deal of emotional trauma.

“Just hold on a little longer.”

Seonghyun carefully stroked the child’s hair and said again firmly.

“Just a little.”

Perhaps thanks to Seonghyun’s firm words, a bit of life returned to the child’s somewhat dull eyes.

Of course, it disappeared again.

As he was leaving the room, he ran into the woman who had come back from the restroom.

“Oh? Why are you coming out of there, young man?”

Perhaps because she had done many things that would make her suspicious, her expression and tone as she looked at Seonghyun were full of suspicion, and Seonghyun scratched his head awkwardly as he replied.

“I thought it was room 1306.”

“Hmm… is that so.”

But there was nothing to pick on, so the woman let Seonghyun go.

Seonghyun left the hospital and immediately called Inhwan.

When he needed help in this area, there was no one more reliable than Inhwan.

“Hello?”

“Inhwan.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a middle-aged woman named Lee Soon-geum who’s taking care of someone in room 1312 of Seil Hospital. Look into her for me.”

“Okay. I’ll get back to you. It’ll take a day.”

He might have asked what was going on, but perhaps thanks to Seonghyun’s hardened voice, Inhwan didn’t ask for the details.

Perhaps because of that voice, Inhwan called back in just three hours, not even a day.

“Wow, Seonghyun. I don’t know how you found out about this person, but she’s no ordinary character.”

“Why? What’s up?”

“She first met her ex-husband 15 years ago, and only the husband died in an accident during a trip. She received all of the insurance money. Then, she made another husband 10 years ago, and strangely enough, he also died during a trip. This time, she also received the insurance money.”

“…That’s amazing.”

Perhaps the woman was trying to win over the heart of the struggling Professor Seong by taking care of his difficult daughter, and was planning to do something again, just like she had done before.

“Thanks. Put that in writing and leave it for me.”

“Okay. I’ll send it to you for now, so check the rest.”

It would be impossible to learn anything through events that happened 10 years ago.

He decided to regard it as just one measure to judge what kind of person she was.

Now, all he had to do was wait a few days.

It would be great if she repeated the words she had said today, but even if she didn’t, it seemed she often said such things when she was alone with the child.

‘It would be nice if healing or purification could restore the child…’

Even if it didn’t, what needs to be cut off must be cut off.

If necessary, he could request caregiver support from the Academy, or Seonghyun could hire a caregiver himself.

The information Inhwan sent had also arrived.

It wasn’t direct information about the woman, but it contained quite detailed information about when she emptied the room and when she appeared, and whether that time was fixed.

“I’ll see you again next time.”

——————————————–

“Ah! Hunter Kim Seonghyun!”

The same employee who had received the autograph last time greeted Seonghyun on the first floor.

“Haha… yes.”

Seonghyun awkwardly waved his hand and got into the elevator, heading to room 1312.

“Hello. I came again.”

As he was taking out the recorder placed behind the pillow, he saw a wound on the child’s body through her clothes.

“Huh.”

There was a bruise on her skin, as if someone had pinched her, and it was a bruise in a subtle location that wouldn’t be visible unless you lifted her clothes directly.

The sound of teeth grinding was heard for a moment, and Seonghyun took a deep breath and said.

“It’s time to wake up from your dream.”

He wasn’t sure if healing and purification would work on the child yet, but it seemed like he had never wanted something so desperately as this time.

His head was filled with the thought that it had to work, not just that he hoped it would.

The child regained a bit of the life she had lost in her eyes at Seonghyun’s touch on her head.