Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 15

For now, the loan shark never came back bringing up the Cloyden name again. And Ehit didn’t show up at the medical center with a scary face either.

‘That part is a relief, at least.’

But the problem—the real problem—was that Elzers hadn’t shown up either.

There was no reply to my telegram. I even took a train to Regen to look for him, but I couldn’t see even the tip of his nose.

The fact that my brother—who normally clung to his house or laboratory like a ghost—was nowhere to be seen made me even more anxious.

‘Where did you go, seriously.’

After spending the whole day wandering around places in Regen where Elzers might go, I returned home and pressed a hand to my stress-filled forehead.

‘Come to think of it, Elzers liked hiding in empty corners ever since we were kids.’

I don’t remember my childhood clearly enough to recall everything, but I do remember playing hide-and-seek with my brothers endlessly.

And every time we played, it was always the same.

My second brother, Enric, would run around wildly in obvious places.
My third brother, Adlen, would say he wasn’t interested, then get provoked and join in with an angry face.

And my eldest brother, Elzers, would hide away like a hermit in some remote corner.

Back then, I thought he was just incredibly good at hide-and-seek…

‘That was when we were kids. Why are you still like that now?’

Letting out a deep sigh, I returned to Bellachen. A hot breath, packed full of worry and stress, rose from the depths of my lungs.

‘Please regulate your breathing.’

Why did that line suddenly come to mind now?

I gathered my breath and took a big deep breath into the night air, then headed back to the dormitory.

‘Let’s just wash up first.’

After washing off my tired body from walking around all day, I returned to my room and collapsed onto a chair.

I melted over it like slime, then barely forced myself up and sat in front of the mirror.

‘At least I should brush my hair before resting.’

Yes. That thought was the very last calm moment before a much bigger disaster began.

Had the stormy days leading up to now all been just a prelude for this moment?

Up until now, my pain had been psychological. From here on, it became physical.

‘Should I try horse racing or something? If I want to break off the engagement, I still need at least 1.5 million harks on top of what I’ve saved. If I take my time, my brothers will just cause more trouble. To make money fast…’

Letting my exhausted thoughts drift freely, I picked up the brush and mechanically ran it through my hair.

Once.
Again.

And then—

I froze, like someone who had spotted a bug that suddenly stopped moving.

“…….”

I shifted my gaze slightly backward, toward the floor behind me.

‘Was there always this much hair on the floor?’

The scattered curls looked unfamiliar—there seemed to be a lot.

‘No. I have thick hair to begin with. Of course a lot would fall out.’

Right. It must just be my imagination. Things you see every day can suddenly feel strange if you really notice them.

These hairs must be the same.

I forced my stiff body to move again.

“La la la~”

I hummed a tune I normally wouldn’t, finished brushing my hair, and picked up the fallen strands from the floor.

Then, with my body and mind neatly settled, I lay down on the bed.

Time to sleep! Tomorrow will be busy again!

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“…….”

Sleep.

I need to sleep.

But even lying down, something felt off… strange…

To put it plainly, my scalp felt cool.

No, it’s just my imagination. Go to sleep.

But after a few minutes, I couldn’t stand it anymore and suddenly sat up. It bothered me too much to sleep.

I threw off the blanket and lit the lamp on the bedside table again. Standing in front of the mirror, I slowly turned my head this way and that, checking my hair.

‘No way… right. That can’t be…’

And then I saw it.

Right on the left side of the back of my head.

“…Huh?”

A small bald spot.

“Huh?!”

A stupid sound slipped out of my mouth. I closed my eyes, opened them again, and even brought a brighter light closer—but it was the same.

A white patch, about the size of a one-hark coin, sat right there.

The spot where my hair had fallen out was painfully clear.

“A bald spot…?”

A bald spot? I got a bald spot?

The me in the mirror went from blank-faced, to deadly serious, to forming a thin, frightening smile.

“Hahaha…….”

Ha… haha… hahahaha……

Then I collapsed onto the floor.

“…….”

Once again, it became painfully clear that I would not be enjoying a romantic story like the transmigrators I’d read about in my past life.

I mean, I’d heard of protagonists getting sick and then recovering…

But stress causing a bald spot? I had never heard of that.

‘Aaaah!’

Sitting in front of the mirror, I screamed silently.

If I’d had even a little more strength, my clenched fist might’ve shattered without me noticing.

‘What is this? No, seriously, what is this?’

I have thick hair! As far as I know, my parents and brothers all have hair so thick it puts southern and northern forests to shame!

And at that moment—knock, knock.

‘Who is it at this hour?’

My frightening, stress-filled gaze turned toward the door.

The knocking grew louder, turning into bang, bang. It was the kind of sound that rattled your nerves when you were already overwhelmed.

“Just a second! I’m coming! I said I’m coming!”

Half-dazed, I rushed over and flung the door open.

“At this hour, who on earth—”

And the moment I saw the man standing there, my mind went completely blank. I even forgot to let go of the doorknob, just blinking at him.

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

The naval base office.

Beyond the open window, the sound of nighttime waves drifted in softly. Mixed with it was the constant sound of papers being turned.

The office of the Bellachen Central Fleet’s Second Squadron had been like this every day lately—always busy.

To finish work faster and go home, Dellers—now a major in the Second Squadron—along with his senior Ariel and juniors Belize and Mendel, had gathered in Ehit’s office to work together.

Dellers glanced from Mendel, who was nodding off with his orange hair drooping, over to Ehit.

In front of the solid wood desk against the wall, their superior was flipping through documents with a blank expression.

‘Dapflen engaged to the colonel…’

He’d heard the news, but it still didn’t feel real.

He couldn’t imagine the everyday life of Bellachen—where he often saw Dapflen—changing because of it.

Ehit, seated at his desk, looked deep in thought. He rarely showed emotion on his face, but now the irritation he felt was clearly visible.

‘No wonder his head hurts. Mine’s pounding too—how must he feel?’

With how busy the colonel always was, would he even have time to pay attention to Dapflen?

Bellachen was the Empire’s largest port city, which meant endless missions. That was exactly why Ehit, the youngest officer ever promoted in the navy, had been sent here.

The navy’s plan was to wipe out all the drug dealers and pirates around Bellachen within half a year.

They’d recently caught one drug distribution route, but there was still a long way to go. No wonder their superior looked so stressed.

Letting out a long breath, Ehit’s large hand turned another page. As his black fountain pen tapped against the paper, his gaze shifted to two items on his desk.

On the left was a gray box.

Inside it lay a brown pin engraved with its owner’s name—a belonging his fiancée had dropped during her recent visit.

On the right was a black document folder.

Ehit’s eyes moved to the papers beneath that folder. They weren’t the kind of reports his aides were reviewing.

Even the name on them was different.

「Dapflen Aileta. Born July, Imperial Year 1325.

Graduated from the Imperial Yohavis Academy in 1343.

Obtained healer certification from the Imperial Medical Research Institute in 1345.

Since 1345, working as a senior healer at the Bellachen Central Medical Center.」

It was nothing more than basic personal information, without much detail.

But for Ehit, even this basic information was something he was seeing for the first time.

‘Graduated from the Medical Research Institute in just two years? She must be persistent.’

The reason Ehit was only now reading up on his fiancée was simple.

He knew absolutely nothing about her.

Every time they met, Dapflen was full of mysteries, and that stirred a strange irritation in him.

He couldn’t tell what kind of face lay behind her airheaded mask.
He didn’t know how much time was left in the life that had once coughed up blood.

Was what she’d tried to hide when she visited a few days ago also about her lifespan?

Ehit rubbed his tired eyes. Strangely, whenever he thought about Dapflen, he had trouble sleeping.

After several sleepless nights, he decided to learn more about her. If his irritation came from not knowing her, then knowing would solve it.

‘Cough… at most half a year. At shortest… three months. That’s hardly any time left…’

If she truly didn’t have long to live because of illness, that was a clear reason for breaking off the engagement from the Cloyden side.

Breaking an engagement that had received official approval from the church usually meant paying a penalty—but that could be shifted onto the other party if it was their fault.

Silently, Ehit scanned the section detailing her medical history. This was what he was most curious about right now.