The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 51 - Yesterday’s Enemy, Today’s Ally (3)

 

 

“Ugh!”

 

Lee Man-deuk clutched his chest, groaning as pain rippled through his body with every movement.

 

“Patient, are you okay?”

 

“You shouldn’t move yet!”

 

The nurses in the emergency room rushed over to steady him.

 

“Get the hell off me! Move!”

 

Gasping for breath, Lee Man-deuk slapped away the nurse’s hand. The nurses didn’t even flinch; they were long used to this kind of outburst. One of them pressed down on his shoulder and called out,

 

“Please get the doctor.”

 

“Yes.”

 

But just as one of them turned to fetch the doctor—

 

Beep—!

 

Time stopped.

 

The monitor froze mid-beep, the bustling medical staff stood motionless—only I remained able to move in the still world. There was only one person who could have done this.

 

“With your body in that condition, you still managed to use magic?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Lee Man-deuk brushed aside the hands holding him down and forced himself off the bed.

 

“You… you’re working with that bastard, aren’t you?”

 

He grabbed me by the collar, his bloodshot eyes burning with murderous intent. The sight sent a chill down my spine, but I’d seen that look from him before. My voice stayed calm.

 

“That bastard? Who do you mean?”

 

I tried to pry his hand off.

 

“Ji Geon-hyuk!”

 

The name made me suck in a breath. For a moment, even in the frozen world, I felt paralyzed—not by the magic, but by shock.

 

“You’re working with that bastard, aren’t you?”

 

I couldn’t answer.

 

Ji Geon-hyuk.

 

Why was that name coming out of Lee Man-deuk’s mouth? The answer was obvious. The returnee who caused the accident that dragged my grandfather into it—was Ji Geon-hyuk.

 

‘Why?’

 

Why him, of all people?

 

Unlike the first question, this one had no easy answer. I bit my lip and forced out a trembling reply.

 

“…What makes you think that?”

 

Lee Man-deuk snorted, his voice rising.

 

“He showed up the moment you left the soup kitchen, like he’d been waiting for you!”

 

He did?

 

No way…

 

Was he watching me? Had he seen me wandering near Seoul Station looking for him? Or maybe he’d told the homeless to report if anyone came asking about him?

 

‘Did he know I’d come?’

 

As that thought flashed through my mind, the mage’s expression twisted into a furious scowl.

 

“Who the hell is that guy?”

 

That was a question I desperately wanted answered. Ji Geon-hyuk should’ve been drifting around Seoul Station as a homeless man at this point. So, why had he met Lee Man-deuk and made such a request?

 

Across 365 regressions, I’d met him countless times. Yet this Ji Geon-hyuk was starting to break every pattern I knew. I wanted to confirm if the Ji Geon-hyuk of this timeline was truly the same man.

 

But first, I needed to calm Lee Man-deuk down.

 

“Tell me while I’m still asking nicely…!”

 

Thud!

 

I clenched my fist and drove it into Lee Man-deuk’s stomach.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

He gasped, eyes widening in shock.

 

“You… bastard…!”

 

His voice, strained with hatred, rasped out:

 

“I’ll kill you!”

 

A frail mage who looked like he might collapse any second was making threats. I couldn’t help but smile faintly at that.

 

“Guess that wasn’t enough to break your spell.”

 

I actually wanted to talk to him about Ji Geon-hyuk, but in his condition, even keeping this time-stop magic active was draining him. His face was pale, drenched in cold sweat. If he kept this up, it might kill him.

 

So—just to be clear—this wasn’t an act of emotion.

 

I clenched my fist again.

 

“For now, get some rest.”

 

And I drove my fist into his gut again, harder this time—putting all my strength behind it.

 

“Kuuh…!”

 

This time it worked. Lee Man-deuk let out a low groan, his body going limp. I caught him before he hit the floor—just as time began to move again.

 

“Huh? The patient?”

 

The nurses cried out in alarm. I handed Lee Man-deuk back to them and forced a wry smile.

 

“He must’ve been so startled he tried to jump out of bed.”

 

“The patient did that?”

 

“Yes. I think he panicked when he woke up and realized he was in the hospital.”

 

“Ah… I see.”

 

The nurses exchanged uneasy looks but soon nodded. They had no way of knowing what had really happened while time was frozen. My excuse worked perfectly.

 

“Then, I’ll go call Mr. Lee Man-deuk’s siblings.”

 

Once I stepped out of the emergency room, I called Lee Deok-soon to let her know about his condition.

 

—Really? Hey! Oppa’s awake!

 

—Hyung! We’re on our way!

 

—Please wait a moment!

 

Clatter!

 

The call ended with the sound of frantic movement. I’d told them to rest at the café, but the moment they heard the news, both of them jumped into action.

 

Honestly, those two were far too good for someone like him.

 

‘That’s probably why he cherishes them so much.’

 

Because he knows they’re too good for him.

 

While waiting for Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk to arrive, I scrolled through the photos I had saved, checking them one by one.

 

After seeing the traces left in the kitchen, Lee Yoo-seong said he was worried Lee Man-deuk might’ve fought a bear. But what Lee Man-deuk fought wasn’t a bear—nor was it any ordinary monster.

 

No.

 

There had been a monster.

 

The opponent was Jin Geon-hyuk.

Lee Man-deuk, a mage with countless titles—Savior of the World, Great Tower Lord, Noble of the Slums, Punisher of Trash, Mage of the Stars—had faced him.

 

Ji Geon-hyuk, the one who had stood above all monsters. While I spent a thousand years as an undying, enslaved undead, he spent those same thousand years inside the Gate—hunting, taming, and commanding monsters. All of this, Ji Geon-hyuk had once told me himself.

 

But then—why?

Why did you target my family?

How did you even know Lee Man-deuk was a returnee and make such a request of him?

 

‘Why, damn it… why?!’

 

The unanswerable question spun through my mind again, leaving my thoughts in chaos. Just then, my phone rang.

 

[Seo Do-hwan]

Boss, I checked out the site. What should we do next?

 

The message pulled me out of my thoughts. I took a deep breath before replying:

 

Good job. Head back home. It seems like it’s raining heavily, so drive safely.

 

…But things didn’t go that way.

 

“Why did you come here?”

 

Seo Do-hwan had come to the hospital—with Lee Yoo-seong beside him. Somehow, they’d found out where Lee Man-deuk was hospitalized and came straight to his room.

 

“I was worried about Man-deuk,” Seo Do-hwan said casually.

 

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

 

“You were worried about Mr. Lee Man-deuk?”

 

“Yeah. Am I not allowed to be?”

 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t allowed—but it was an obvious lie. Despite his words, his eyes were fixed on me. Just as I expected.

 

“Actually,” Lee Yoo-seong cut in, “Do-hwan hyung said he was worried about Yoon-hoo hyung and insisted we come to the hospital.”

 

“When did I say that?”

 

“If I repeat Do-hwan hyung’s exact words…”

 

That idiot boss might be getting strangled by Man-deuk, so we should go check.

 

“That’s what you said.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong delivered the line without hesitation. Seo Do-hwan turned red.

 

“H-how do you remember that?”

 

“I’m smart, you know.” Lee Yoo-seong grinned and pulled something from his bag. “Look—it’s my report card! I took a private mock exam at school and got first place!”

 

Sure enough, his rank was listed as 1/14,799.

 

Even if it was a private mock exam, ranking first among nearly fifteen thousand students was impressive.

 

“By the way,” Lee Yoo-seong continued, pointing to the bed, “did Do-hwan hyung do that to him?”

 

He was referring to Lee Man-deuk.

 

Thanks to my help, Lee Man-deuk was now receiving treatment at AMA Seoul Hospital—but he was sleeping as if dead. His injuries were severe; it was probably best for him to stay under until the pain subsided.

 

“He’s not dead, is he?” Lee Yoo-seong asked.

 

Lee Man-deuk was indeed sleeping so deeply he looked lifeless—but no, he wasn’t dead.

 

“He’s just asleep because of the medication,” I said.

 

“Oh, what a shame,” Seo Do-hwan muttered, pretending to sound disappointed.

 

He’d claimed he came because he was worried about Lee Man-deuk. Right. No point calling out the lie.

 

“What about his siblings?”

 

“I told them to go home and rest.”

 

“Then who’s watching over him?”

 

“Me.”

 

“What?” Seo Do-hwan looked appalled. “Why the hell are you looking after Man-deuk?!”

 

“Exactly, Yoon-hoo hyung!” Lee Yoo-seong quickly added, nodding in agreement. “That guy hurt you!”

 

“I’m not hurt,” I said flatly.

 

“Still!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong, who’d once punched Lee Man-deuk in the face hard enough to injure him, now wore a troubled expression.

 

“I’d rather watch over Mr. Lee Man-deuk myself!”

 

“A kid who has school tomorrow is saying that?”

 

Seo Do-hwan jabbed him in the side. “Boss, I’ll stay and watch him.”

 

If Lee Man-deuk woke up and saw Seo Do-hwan’s face, the entire AMA Seoul Hospital would probably be reduced to rubble.

 

‘Absolutely not.’

 

My grandfather was hospitalized upstairs. At least until he was discharged next week, I couldn’t risk any kind of incident happening here.

 

“Everyone calm down,” I said. “My grandfather’s in this hospital too, remember? And the reason I’m staying with Mr. Lee Man-deuk… is because there’s something I need to do.”

 

“Because of that guy you’ve been looking for?” Seo Do-hwan asked sharply.

 

“Yeah. It looks like he met with Mr. Lee Man-deuk.”

 

To be precise—they did meet.

 

Seo Do-hwan, unaware of that fact, frowned deeply. “Even so, this isn’t a good idea.”

 

“Seo Do-hwan.”

 

He pressed on. “Do you really think Man-deuk’s just going to tell you everything about the guy you’re looking for?”

 

A fair point. Lee Man-deuk wouldn’t easily reveal anything about Ji Geon-hyuk.

 

After all, the moment he woke up, the first thing he said to me was:

 

“You’re in cahoots with that bastard, aren’t you?”

 

He clearly thought Ji Geon-hyuk and I were allies.

 

But I could say with confidence, “He will.”

 

“Boss!” Seo Do-hwan shouted, frustrated—

 

“Um, excuse me. Is this Mr. Lee Man-deuk’s room?”

 

A voice interrupted.

 

Someone stepped in, holding a bouquet of flowers. It was the person I’d called as a precaution—someone to help keep Lee Man-deuk in check before I came to AMA Seoul Hospital.

 

I turned and greeted the newcomer with a bright smile.

 

“Welcome, Kang Ye-seong.”