<Episode 92>
But, as always, happiness did not last long.
“…You mean you have to go back now?”
“I’m sorry. We can’t keep leaving our restaurant unattended forever. The recovery work here has progressed quite a bit too.”
What the lady said was true. During the two weeks they had been handing out free gukbap, the area that had been left in ruins was gradually returning to its former appearance.
‘They run a restaurant somewhere else, so they can’t stay here forever. I knew that, didn’t I?’
Even so, he couldn’t help feeling upset and empty. Instead of saying that, Hyunwoo simply bit his lip and lowered his head.
“That’s good. I need to focus on studying anyway, so I wouldn’t have time to come here anymore.”
Then he abruptly turned around and plopped down onto a pile of boxes in the distance.
Fortunately, Haneul was still at school. If he saw her face right now, he felt like he might burst into tears like an idiot.
The lady occasionally glanced back at him as if worried, but Hyunwoo stubbornly kept his eyes fixed on the ground. He knew he was being childish, but controlling his emotions was harder than expected.
It was while he sat there gloomily staring at the floor.
From far away, Haneul’s lively voice rang out.
Instinctively, he looked up. Haneul had spotted him too and was waving enthusiastically with a bright smile.
“Oppa~! Have you eaten dinner yet?”
After hesitating for a moment, Hyunwoo raised a hand slightly in response.
“No, not yet…”
“What? I can’t hear you!”
“I said I haven’t eaten yet!”
He raised his voice again, but apparently it still wasn’t enough to reach where Haneul was standing.
Leaning over the bridge railing, she looked down below.
“Whaaaat~ did~ you~ saaaay~?”
“I said I haven’t! Eaten! Yet!… Ugh, never mind.”
After shouting even louder, Hyunwoo let out a long sigh.
Judging by the grin on her face, she was clearly pretending not to hear him just to tease him.
For some reason, being around Haneul always made him act childish. Trying to compose himself, he straightened his expression.
“Oppa, are you sulking? I’m coming down right n– Huh??”
At that moment…
The body dangling from the railing lost its balance and fell beneath the bridge.
Hyunwoo stared blankly as he followed the trajectory of Haneul’s falling figure.
Splash!
The vivid sound of a child falling into the dark river below struck his ears.
Only then did his senses snap back.
“Haneul!!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Hyunwoo sprinted forward and threw himself into the river.
Splash!
The freezing water wrapped around his entire body.
Ghk!
The river in December was far colder than he had imagined.
It felt as though thousands of needles were piercing every inch of his body, making it hard to breathe.
To make matters worse, the current was much stronger than it had looked from above.
His soaked school uniform and coat became as heavy as a wet quilt, dragging him downward.
‘Get a grip, Lee Hyunwoo!’
Biting his lip, Hyunwoo fought against the current.
In the distance, he spotted a small figure drifting away on the water.
The hair tied with a red ribbon swayed helplessly with the flow.
“Haneul! Jung Haneul!”
Summoning every ounce of strength he had, Hyunwoo paddled desperately.
His lungs felt ready to burst, and he could no longer feel his arms and legs, but he couldn’t stop.
At last, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the collar of Haneul’s clothes.
“Gasp! Got you–”
But there was no time for relief.
Haneul had already lost consciousness and felt as heavy as a stone.
Hyunwoo struggled with all his might to keep her afloat, but the raging current swirled around them as though trying to swallow both children whole.
‘No, not like this…!’
He was running out of air.
His vision flickered.
Gradually, Hyunwoo’s strength gave out, and his body began sinking beneath the water.
Just as fear started to overwhelm him…
Splash!
Someone jumped into the river beside them, sending up a massive spray.
“Hyunwoo! Grab on!”
A desperate shout rang out.
A large, rough hand seized both the back of Hyunwoo’s neck and Haneul’s waist at the same time.
It was Haneul’s father.
With terrifying determination, he cut through the current and dragged both children safely onto the riverbank.
“Cough! Cough! Hack…!”
The moment he emerged from the water, Hyunwoo collapsed onto the ground and vomited up the water that had filled his stomach.
His lungs felt torn apart, and his entire body trembled like a leaf.
But he rubbed his wet eyes and turned toward the side.
“H-Haneul…?”
Haneul, cradled in her father’s arms, wasn’t moving at all.
The hair tie that had tightly bound her hair had come undone.
Her face was pale blue, devoid of any color.
The little lips that were always chattering nonstop were tightly shut.
“Haneul, open your eyes! Haneul!”
Hyunwoo crawled toward her and slapped her cheeks, but her head merely lolled limply to the side.
Thud.
It felt as if his heart had dropped straight to the ground.
His vision went white.
“What do we do? Haneul! Please wake up!”
“The hospital! Honey, let’s get her to the hospital first!”
Without even changing out of his soaked clothes, Haneul’s father carried her into the car.
The lady grabbed Hyunwoo by the wrist.
“Hyunwoo, get in too! Just in case, you should get checked out at the hospital as well.”
Hyunwoo sat beside the unconscious Haneul.
Curled up in the corner of the back seat, he held her ice-cold hand and rubbed it over and over.
I should have caught her.
I should have grabbed her sooner. Tighter.
Guilt crushed his chest.
When they arrived at the hospital, the medical staff rushed out.
A flurry of examinations and treatment followed.
Fortunately, he was diagnosed with only mild hypothermia and bruises. Rest and warmth would be enough.
Instead of sighing in relief, Hyunwoo asked heavily,
“…What about Haneul? Is she okay?”
“Patient Jung Haneul doesn’t appear to have any major abnormalities in her examination results. However, she still hasn’t regained consciousness, so we’ll need to monitor her condition a little longer.”
Still, the doctors sounded optimistic that she would wake up soon.
The lady let out a relieved sigh and turned toward Hyunwoo.
Her bloodshot eyes contained worry, gratitude, and deep sorrow all mixed together.
“Hyunwoo, thank you so much. You saved Haneul. I don’t know how we could ever repay this kindness…”
Without saying anything, Haneul’s father patted Hyunwoo on the shoulder.
After changing into dry clothes purchased from a nearby clothing store, Hyunwoo realized it was already well past ten at night.
“It’s gotten really late. I’ll drive you home. Get in.”
He wanted to say that he wanted to stay by Haneul’s side too.
But it was already pitch dark outside.
In the end, he left the hospital in Haneul’s father’s car.
“You can drop me off around here.”
“…Are you sure? I can take you all the way home.”
“It’s an alleyway. It’s hard for cars to get through. This is fine. Thank you.”
Not telling them the orphanage’s address may have been the last bit of pride he had left.
In the stillness of the night, when everyone was asleep, Hyunwoo quietly slipped into his room like a stray cat and buried himself under his blanket.
Curling his body tightly, he prayed for the first time in his life.
To a god he had never once sought.
Please let Haneul be safe.
Please let her forget all the terrible things that happened today and smile again.
Several days passed.
Haneul was discharged from the hospital safely, but he heard that she had caught the flu and her fever had risen to 39°C (102.2°F).
“So I think we need to head home right away. I’m sorry, Hyunwoo.”
The lady hugged him tightly one last time.
That was the last time he saw her.
Just in case, he faithfully returned to the area beneath the bridge after school every day.
But all that remained where they used to be was the old pile of boxes he had once used as a makeshift chair.
‘…I should have at least asked where their restaurant was.’
Then he could have gone to see Haneul later.
At the very least, he should have asked for a phone number.
He was kicking pebbles in frustration at his own stupidity when someone approached him.
“Oh, there you are. The daughter from the gukbap restaurant asked me to make sure this got to you. I stopped by their restaurant recently and picked it up. Here.”
What he received was a letter envelope decorated with a squirrel.
Haneul wrote me a letter?
With trembling hands, Hyunwoo carefully opened the envelope.
—
[Hello, Oppa? It’s Haneul. How have you been?
I told Mom I wanted to come see you, but she said I have to wait until my cold is completely gone…
The problem is, I don’t know when that’ll be.
So I was thinking… could you come visit me instead?
Without you around, I’m so bored, and nothing is fun anymore.
I’m including our restaurant’s business card, so please come visit as soon as you can.
I’ll be waiting for you.
P.S. Come to think of it, you never properly told me your name, did you?
Make sure you tell me when you come next time!
– Haneul –]
—
Inside the envelope was the business card for the restaurant run by Haneul’s parents.
Jeongdameun Restaurant.
Hyunwoo repeated the name over and over before carefully tucking the card deep into his pocket.
‘I’ll go see Haneul tomorrow no matter what.’
If he hadn’t awakened as an S-Rank Hunter the very next day, he undoubtedly would have visited the restaurant to see her.
But fate cruelly sealed away that memory.
For a long time afterward, he lived while unconsciously longing for that warmth.
So the reason he had missed her all this time was…
.
.
.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo! Are you okay?”
How much time had passed?
The wave of memories that had surged in alongside the excruciating pain drilling into his brain had already settled into calm waters.
Hyunwoo slowly lifted his head and looked at the person standing before him.
“I didn’t know recovering memories would hurt this much! What do we do…? Are you in a lot of pain?”
The moment her voice reached his ears, the time that had stood still finally began moving again.
Slowly, Hyunwoo’s lips curved upward into a smile.
The person who had saved him.
The savior he had searched for his entire life, even after losing his memories.
She was standing right in front of him now.
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