Hesa slowly opened his eyes and instinctively touched his shoulder.
The last thing he remembered was Heeseung disappearing after his brothers had finally decided to end the terror they had caused.
Jungwon had patted him gently on the shoulder, his expression filled with sorrow. From his words, it was clear the spirit felt guilty about Heeseung's decision to leave on his own.
The memory alone was enough to make Hesa burst into tears.
A moment later, the door opened.
He quickly wiped his eyes.
"Hesa."
"Khan."
Arkha smiled in relief when he saw his senior awake.
"Why are you crying?" Arkha asked.
"It's nothing," Hesa replied.
"It's okay if you're not ready to talk about it," Arkha said softly. "Right now, you should focus on recovering."
Hesa glanced at the small cabinet beside his bed. Leaning against it was a walking crutch.
"A crutch?"
"You were in a car accident," Arkha explained. "Your car crashed into a tree, and your leg got trapped between the wreckage. You'll need that for a while."
Little by little, Hesa remembered everything.
After receiving a call from Heeseung saying Joan was with him, he'd rushed out of school in a panic. He never noticed his brakes had failed. He'd steered the car into the roadside to avoid hurting anyone, and then Heeseung had appeared... slamming his head against the steering wheel.
"Wait... Joan! We have to find him!"
Arkha immediately calmed him down as he tried to get out of bed.
"Calm down. Kayn found Joan. The two of us already rescued him."
"Really?"
"Yeah. When I was about to look for you, Kala told me we had to save Joan first because, according to him... you'd be okay."
Hesa let out a long breath of relief.
At least...
...one more matter had finally been resolved.
~~~~~
After several of his friends had visited, Hesa was finally resting alone in his hospital room.
The doctor had allowed him to continue treatment as an outpatient, so he'd already called Jaehyuk to pick him up after school.
"I'd rather recover at home than stay here," Hesa muttered casually while biting into an apple.
Creak...
The door slowly opened, revealing a sweet-looking young man with crimson-red hair.
"Hi. How are you feeling?" Kayn asked.
Hesa stared at him for a moment.
His mind drifted back to the underground warehouse...
...to the past.
"I-I'm feeling much better," Hesa answered. "The doctor even said I can go home."
A sharp pain briefly pierced his chest, but he forced himself to remain calm.
"That's great," Kayn smiled. "I thought you'd have to stay here for a few days."
"The doctor actually recommended that," Hesa admitted. "But I insisted on going home."
"Oh."
Kayn nodded in understanding while awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"I brought you some fruit too."
He placed a fruit basket on the table.
"Why are you so nervous?" Hesa asked bluntly.
"I-I was wondering if... maybe we could take a short walk."
"Sure. Jaehyuk hasn't arrived yet anyway."
Hesa reached for the crutch beside his bed.
"Why don't you use a wheelchair instead?" Kayn suggested.
"I don't want to trouble you."
"You've helped me before too," Kayn replied. "After Riki kidnapped me."
Hesa looked at him for a moment before sighing.
"...Alright."
Kayn happily pushed the wheelchair out of the room.
The two wandered quietly through the unusually peaceful hospital corridors.
"Kay..."
"Yeah?"
"What's the name of this hospital?"
"Given Hospital."
Hesa immediately stiffened.
He remembered that exact name from Wish's story about the past.
"Oh, right," Kayn said. "Your friends are still hospitalized here, aren't they? Want to visit them?"
"No need. Only Jio and Niki are still here."
"They're doing much better now. They even visited my room earlier."
"That's good," Kayn replied. "Asta told me their souls had been trapped before."
"O-Oh..."
"Luckily they're okay now."
A few seconds later, Hesa realized something.
"Kay... the garden isn't this way."
"You're reading the signs wrong."
Kayn suddenly stopped walking.
When Hesa turned around, he saw an expression of surprise on Kayn's face.
"... Kyla."
"Huh?"
Kayn smiled and pointed toward a young woman standing outside the ICU, staring through the glass window.
"She's Kala's cousin."
"What a coincidence. She must be visiting someone too."
"...Kala's in there. In the ICU."
"K-Kayn... You're joking, right? Kala's already gone."
"I mean... He's been in a coma this whole time."
"Asta...was actually Kala possessing me."
"Y-You're lying..."
Kayn slowly shook his head.
"That's why...When he accompanied you that morning..."
"He acted like he hated me."
Hesa turned his face away, trying to hide the tears forming in his eyes.
He couldn't understand what he was feeling.
Relief.
Sadness.
Hope.
Grief.
Everything mixed together.
"Kayn."
Without either of them noticing, the young woman had already walked over.
She stopped beside Kayn.
"Oh, Kyla. Is something wrong?" Kayn asked.
"Auntie told me you've still been coming here to visit Kala."
"Yeah."
"I come here sometimes."
Kyla smiled, though tears quietly rolled down her cheeks.
"Are you okay?" Kayn asked gently.
She nodded.
"Can you come with me for a moment?There's something I'd like to tell you."
Kayn glanced at Hesa.
Hesa simply nodded.
"G-Go ahead."
The two of them walked away together.
Not long afterward...
Hesa suddenly felt an unbearable tightness in his chest.
He looked toward the nurses' station.
Only a few meters after they left—
He saw Kayn suddenly running toward the ICU window.
Moments later...
Hospital staff wheeled a patient out of the room.
Hesa silently watched everything unfold.
His hand instinctively clutched his aching chest.
"Hesa."
Kayn returned, forcing a smile after wiping away his tears.
"K-Kayn..."
"Let's head back. Sorry for making you wait."
Hesa didn't reply.
He simply let Kayn push him back to the room.
Once inside, Kayn carefully helped him back onto the bed.
"What happened?" Hesa asked quietly.
"N-Nothing..."
Kayn answered, unable to hide his trembling voice.
"...Kala's gone."
"Kala recovered."
"Don't lie to me."
"They wheeled him out of the ICU completely covered by a sheet."
"I'm not lying. Kala recovered. He's not suffering anymore."
The moment those words left his mouth, Kayn broke down crying.
Hesa's own heart felt like it was breaking.
Without saying anything, he pulled Kayn into a comforting embrace.
"Kala finished what he came here to do...He protected you."
"So...Please let him go."
Hesa gently closed his eyes.
"I know, Kay. I'd never stop him from leaving peacefully."