I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 33

33

Aboard the ambulance, Seonghyun checked on Seongwook, wincing despite himself. The pain was still a sharp reminder of what had just happened.

Judging by the absence of any further healing sensation, Seongwook’s condition seemed stable. That was a small comfort.

“Is he alright?”

Needing reassurance, Seonghyun asked the paramedic, who replied with a slightly strained expression.

“Ah, yes! Thanks to your treatment, he’s stable and responding well.”

“That’s a relief.”

The paramedic continued to monitor Seongwook’s condition throughout the journey to the emergency room, while also keeping an eye on Seonghyun.

‘To think this person is a healer.’

As someone who frequently saves lives, the paramedic was well aware of the emergence of healers [individuals with the ability to accelerate the healing process in others].

The paramedic also knew that this healer was a student at the Academy [a specialized school for individuals with supernatural abilities] and that they felt the pain in place of the injured when using their ability.

‘Falling from that height would have shattered every bone in his body…’

He had taken on the pain of broken bones, the pain of those bones piercing through his organs. The paramedic shuddered at the thought.

Just how immense was that pain?

The paramedic recalled the most severe injury they had ever sustained.

Was it when they broke their leg jumping between buildings as a child?

Or when they were briefly hospitalized after a traffic accident?

They couldn’t fully grasp the pain that person had felt falling from such a height; it was undoubtedly on a completely different level.

“Both of you seem stable, but it’s still advisable to get checked out thoroughly.”

“That’s good to hear.”

While checking their conditions and chatting briefly, the ambulance arrived at the emergency room.

Seongwook and Seonghyun were immediately examined and, as the paramedic had said, received confirmation that there were no abnormalities.

“There are no physical injuries, but he likely lost consciousness due to the initial shock. He’ll wake up after some time.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Seonghyun now sat beside Seongwook, who was lying peacefully.

He briefly considered informing Seongwook’s parents but wasn’t confident in explaining how he got hurt. The truth was too complicated and painful to recount.

“…Let’s just go back.”

Originally, he intended to stay until Seongwook woke up, but he didn’t want to burden him that much. His presence felt unnecessary.

“Excuse me, Hunter.”

“Yes?”

The paramedic who had ridden in the ambulance with them earlier called out to Seonghyun.

“I thought this might belong to you…”

The paramedic handed over a cell phone.

‘Ah, I dropped it and didn’t pick it up.’

“Thank you.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Are you heading back now?”

“I should. I don’t know when he’ll wake up, and there’s no point in me being here.”

“Thank you for your hard work today… You saved a life.”

The paramedic bowed to Seonghyun. They understood the weight of his actions.

They knew very well how significant it was to save a person’s life.

Seonghyun glanced at the sterile hospital building before turning and walking away.

A place where nothing could be seen.

Alone in the middle of it, Seongwook tried to look around, but it wasn’t just that he couldn’t see; it felt like nothing existed there. A void.

He felt no pain, so perhaps the afterlife was—

“The afterlife?”

Seongwook clearly remembered the events leading up to his arrival here. The memories flooded back.

He remembered gazing at the darkening sky from an empty classroom at the Academy, and then throwing himself as if to fly into that sky.

The immense pain he felt as he squeezed his eyes shut, and even Seonghyun’s voice he heard just before losing consciousness.

“…”

Recalling those memories, the faces of others now came to mind. He couldn’t escape them.

From Hwang Ui-hyun, who tormented him and caused all of this, to his parents, with whom communication had faded over time.

“What…will happen now?”

He thought he had given up on many things and escaped from fear, but now a new fear was creeping in. A chilling dread.

“Mom and Dad…will be okay, right?”

Seongwook desperately wanted to believe they would manage without him.

They might be sad for a while, but emotions were only temporary. Weren’t they?

“Temporary…”

Thinking that way, Seongwook began to wonder if everything he had experienced was also temporary. Meaningless.

“No, no. I remember everything from the beginning…”

Seongwook bit his lower lip quite hard, trying to anchor himself to reality.

All the words he was saying now were just excuses for taking his own life. He knew it.

Emotions might be temporary, but the scars left by those events were not. They lingered.

They either wouldn’t heal properly or would remain as scars even after healing.

“Sob…”

He tried to hold back, but the tears that burst out were unstoppable. A torrent of grief.

“Why…why did I do that?”

Regret upon regret began to flood in, drowning him in sorrow.

It seemed he had made a choice he shouldn’t have, led by a rash decision and the temporary emotions he knew so well. He had been a fool.

He wanted to turn everything back. To undo his actions.

To before he jumped from the empty classroom, to when he first met Hwang Ui-hyun, to before he entered the Academy. A desperate wish.

At that moment, light suddenly began to appear around him. A beacon in the darkness.

It wasn’t that he could see anything, but facing the light in the endless darkness felt like facing hope. A chance for redemption.

Soon, as the light swallowed all the darkness, his surroundings finally came into view.

“Hosp, hospital…?”

Seongwook momentarily thought this was truly the afterlife. A cruel trick of fate.

“Are you alright?”

A nurse who happened to be passing by approached the awakened Seongwook, who simply stared at her without saying a word, dazed and confused.

“Uh…are you okay?”

“Ah…yes…but what happened…?”

“You…fell from a high place.”

The nurse tried to hide the fact that Seongwook had attempted suicide, choosing her words carefully.

There was no need to tell someone who didn’t remember what happened that they had tried to kill themselves. It would only cause more pain.

“But why is my body fine…?”

“Ah, Hunter Kim Seonghyun healed you.”

“Yes, yes? Seonghyun did?”

Seongwook was well aware of the magnitude of the pain he had felt when the incident occurred. It was a pain beyond words.

It was a pain that was hard to describe with simple, short words like ‘painful’ or ‘agonizing,’ and the fact that Seonghyun had taken that pain in his place was quite shocking. A selfless act.

“He checked on you and just left.”

“Ah…did that friend have any injuries?”

“No, he seemed fine.”

Seongwook bit his lower lip tightly and got out of bed, a newfound determination in his eyes.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You should rest a bit, even if you don’t feel any pain…”

“I’m fine.”

Seongwook barely supported his momentarily staggering legs and ran towards the hospital entrance, driven by an urgent need to see Seonghyun.

He had just left, so he couldn’t have gone far.

“Ah, thank you.”

Seonghyun’s voice was heard from the front.

Having received his phone from the paramedic, Seonghyun was about to leave the hospital.

“Se, Seonghyun-ah!”

“Oh? You woke up quickly?”

Seonghyun’s expression seemed unfazed, almost indifferent.

He looked too calm to be someone who had felt that immense pain, and his eyes lacked the greed to demand a deserving compensation. A stark contrast to what Seongwook expected.

Seonghyun and Seongwook sat on a quiet nearby bench, the silence thick with unspoken words.

This time, Seonghyun bought the drinks that Seongwook had bought before, a subtle gesture of understanding, and they began to talk.

“Why did you make that choice?”

“…”

It was a short question, but Seongwook, unable to find a suitable answer, replaced it with silence. Shame and regret warred within him.

“It’s because of Hwang Ui-hyun.”

“…Actually…”

Seongwook explained to Seonghyun everything he had experienced so far, pouring out his heart.

From the moment he entered the Academy until now, it was a short time of less than a year, but for Seongwook, it was a longer time than ever. A year of torment.

Seonghyun listened to Seongwook’s story from beginning to end without any change in expression, his gaze steady and unwavering.

Although his face was expressionless, Seongwook couldn’t help but suppress the emotions that welled up, as if he understood everything. A silent empathy.

“It must have been hard.”

It was just a short word, but it resonated more deeply than any words of comfort. A simple acknowledgment of his pain.

“Was I holding on too much? Let’s go now.”

Seongwook got up as if everything was fine now and returned to the hospital to complete the discharge process, a newfound resolve in his step.

Seonghyun, watching his retreating figure, soon got up from his seat and left, disappearing into the bustling city.

Looking at the new window that appeared before his eyes. A new path forward.

Having finished all the procedures, Seongwook headed home with a lighter expression and heart than before, the weight of his despair lifted, if only slightly.

“Hah…I’m tired of waiting.”

“Hwang Ui-hyun…?”

Hwang Ui-hyun had directly witnessed Seongwook falling from the classroom window today, a twisted satisfaction in his eyes.

And even Seonghyun healing him directly, a minor inconvenience.

“Thanks for coming back alive.”

A chill ran down his spine at the words that didn’t match the murderous expression, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

“Le, leave me alone now!”

“What? Haha! What did he say to suddenly give you courage? Ah, did you turn the courage you had to throw away that insignificant body this way?”

“Shut up.”

Ui-hyun’s face, which had been wearing a sneer until just now, quickly hardened at the word ‘shut up,’ his anger simmering beneath the surface.

“You’re crazy?”

After that, no other conversation was needed. The air crackled with tension.

Ui-hyun tried to prove the murderous intent he held, and Seongwook tried to shake off the pressure, his body trembling with fear.

‘I may not be able to win, but…’

At least, couldn’t he show a minimum of will? A spark of defiance.

If he had to live like this every day anyway, wouldn’t it be okay to resist every day? To fight back against his tormentor.

As he was preparing for the pain that would come, a familiar voice was heard from behind, a welcome sound in the face of danger.

“I knew it would be like this.”

It was Seonghyun’s voice, calm and reassuring.

“Kim Seonghyun? Why are you here…”

“Wow, you really came?”

“I did.”

It wasn’t just Seonghyun. He wasn’t alone.

Inhwan and Sangyeon were also there, standing in solidarity.

“Let’s do it 3:1…? You cowardly bastards.”

“3:1? Nonsense. You’re not even worth putting that much effort into.”

It was none other than Seonghyun who said these words, his voice laced with disdain.

“Ha, did you think I’d let you off just because you’re the only one with a power?”

“You must be a little nervous, judging by how long you’re talking?”

“…You son of a bitch…”

Ui-hyun’s grinding teeth reached Seonghyun, his anger reaching a boiling point.

“Are you okay?”

“…Am I okay?”

“Yeah.”

Compared to Ui-hyun, who was fully prepared for a fight, Seonghyun approached Ui-hyun without taking any stance, his movements relaxed and confident.

“Ha, are you thinking of getting beaten until I’m exhausted?”

Ui-hyun regained the smile he had lost and moved with a relaxed demeanor, underestimating his opponent.

‘You’re relying on healing alone to take me on?’

He could only laugh at the absurdity. A foolish strategy.

To think he would rely on his great endurance, when all he could do was heal others. A one-trick pony.

“I heard you feel the pain instead, did your personality change that way?”

“Is it worse than a pervert who gets stronger by feeling pain?”

Seonghyun had already heard information about Ui-hyun from Seongwook, using his knowledge to gain a psychological edge.

“…Kang Seongwook, that bastard, finally…okay. If it weren’t for you, I’d make sure those two idiots behind you couldn’t come to the Academy for a while.”

Ui-hyun rushed at Seonghyun with a confident expression, ready to unleash his pent-up rage.

Because pain was immediately converted into power, he didn’t hide his weaknesses and was happy to accept the opponent’s counterattacks, a reckless and dangerous approach.

“…Huh?”

But something was strange. A sudden shift in the atmosphere.

He hadn’t received any attacks, but suddenly his body was overflowing with power, surging through his veins.

‘Co, could it be the re-emergence of a new ability?’

If so, he was a chosen human, destined for greatness.

Enough to overwhelm Seonghyun, who had the only power in front of him. A twist of fate.

“Hahaha!”

Even as he had these thoughts, his body continued to overflow with power, an intoxicating sensation.

With this much power, he felt like he could be among the top in Korea, a force to be reckoned with.

“Beg me to save you.”