Chapter 57

Cloudless Sky Part 2

1. Beat around

After being empty for a few days, footsteps were heard again in the dormitory. Even this room, which usually had only small living noises, and the relatively bustling next room had no signs of life for the past few days.

The footsteps that passed through the living room stopped in front of a door. After hesitating for a moment in front of the door that was closed sloppily with the hinges pulled out, he finally opened the door and went inside.

The living room looked the same as he had briefly seen before. He passed the living room and moved to the bedroom. The bedroom was a perfect fit for the description of being messy. Around the bed, dozens of books were piled up like in some eccentric's study. In addition to research books related to rifts, there were also some humanities books.

Like the room filled with books, the bed was also not neat. The bed was mixed with seven pillows and cushions, and other books, leaving only a small space for a person to barely lie down. It seemed like no matter which direction one turned, they would feel buried here.

At the head of the bed, he found a book he had seen before.

<Sign Language Interpretation: Advanced Course (2)>

The hand that touched the book cover was wrapped tightly in bandages. Both of the man's hands were mummified, but other than that, there were no major signs of injury. He soon reached out and tucked the pillow that the room's owner usually slept on under his arm. Then he moved to the dressing room attached to the bedroom.

Unlike the bedroom, the dressing room was neatly organized. In the front, familiar black suits were hanging, and in the built-in closet with a mirror in the back, there were casual clothes.

Tae-un opened the built-in closet and took out the sweatshirt and pants placed at the top and put them in a bag. The owner of this room was currently hospitalized after destroying the 1st-grade rift that occurred on Bukhansan. The person who entered this room now was also injured enough to be hospitalized for treatment for a few days, but not as much as the room's owner, Jin Soram.

When he woke up after completing the surgery on his left hand, Soram was still asleep. With bandages wrapped around his entire body and several blood transfusion packs attached, he had a peaceful face with his eyes closed as if he was having a long dream. Soram, who had fallen into the sleep he loved so much, did not wake up for a few more days.

In the meantime, Tae-un recovered his body enough to be able to move around. Enough to accept the request to bring clothes or items the next patient used, as it seemed his hospitalization would be prolonged.

He opened the drawer at the bottom of the clothes rack. Usually, underwear is stored in a hidden drawer near the bathroom. It was the same for Soram.

Tae-un hesitated in front of the lined-up underwear. He had just grabbed the clothes at the top, but he didn't know which underwear to choose. But if he stopped his hand and just stared blankly, it felt like he would become an even weirder person.

In the end, he grabbed the two at the very end and quickly put them in the bag as if he had committed a crime. After carefully closing the built-in closet again, he returned to his room through the broken door.

His dormitory room next door became quiet again.

Instead, a little later, the door of the hospital room where the owner of that room was currently staying opened. The smell of medicine was strong inside the pure white single room. It was because periodic disinfection and treatment continued for Soram, whose wounds were deep.

The wind blowing from the window shook the thin blinds. The bed below only had a blanket left in the shape of a person who had disappeared, but there was no one there.

"..."

The only fortunate thing was that the IV pole had also disappeared together.

Tae-un put down the bag he brought on the caregiver's chair and threw the pillow on the bed. Then he left the hospital room again.

On the hospital rooftop, a person in a hospital gown was sitting on the railing. An ordinary person would have gotten goosebumps looking at the dizzying view below their feet, but he was a hunter who could fly in the sky. This height was not scary enough for him to feel afraid.

Moreover, even if he fell from this height, he had a sturdy body that would only say, "Ouch, it hurts!" Now that his body had become a rag, it might hurt a lot more than that.

Smoke blew out towards the bright blue sky. Biting the cigarette filter again, he frowned. His hand touched the wound below his chest that had not yet healed. The pain persisted even with painkillers.

Still, Soram was able to smile soon.

Originally, the Bukhansan dungeon, which would have taken many lives of the headquarters' hunters, ended without any casualties. This alone was a better result than even the third life.

If there were casualties here, and that caused a rift with the Busan branch, the 3rd Great Rift would start with the worst atmosphere from the beginning. Even knowing that, until now, there was no way to stop that flow and the huge dungeon.

The biggest factor in resolving the matter well was the existence of Han Tae-un. In the previous life, he didn't know that the newly awakened Tae-un was this strong, so he didn't use him to his full potential.

This time, there was a coincidence where the two of them fell near the rift together, but as a result, thanks to him, they were able to successfully destroy the rift. As a price, both of them suffered considerable injuries, and Soram in particular was the most severely injured since the start of his fourth life. However, this was truly a small price to pay.

While in the hospital, he received a message from Min-ki. [Sorry I couldn't go.] The short message posted in the group chat with Ga-eul and the three of them was filled with disappointment. Perhaps Min-ki said he would go, but the others stopped him. Instead of saying it was okay, Soram replied that the choice was right, so don't worry about it.

"It's a happy ending."

Up to this point, that is.

Perhaps the time he could live as the lazy Team 7 leader might be a little longer than expected. A small sound of wind flowed from Soram's throat as he looked around the scenery visible from the rooftop. Tired of all the songs released during the repeated time, he hummed a song that came out long before the regression period.

[Don't be surprised even if I fly freely in that sky.]

Mumbling along with the lyrics, he looked up. On the electronic display board where memorial phrases were displayed in the previous life, advertisements for cars and perfumes were showing. Although the citizens stayed up all night worrying after hearing the news, the next day, everyone returned to their daily lives.

Namsan Tower, large buildings, small buildings, old villas, schools, winding roads, countless cars. Soram took a deep breath as if to swallow all the sounds coming from this moment. And he exhaled the smoke as if leaving a trace. However, the cigarette smoke quickly dispersed in all directions.

Still, for the first time in a long while, he felt like he was living a new life, not a remnant of the past life. He didn't even expect to feel a sense of accomplishment in this life.

The rooftop door opened behind him. Soram only greeted with his eyes without turning around. The newly arrived person slightly frowned at the patient sitting precariously on the railing. He was probably worried about the person still in a hospital gown, with an IV pole attached like a tail behind him.

After seeing Tae-un's strength and various aspects that he had never known in his previous life, the previous afterimages he used to project onto him also felt faded.

Hmm, now I don't want to bother him for no reason when previous memories come to mind.

Or maybe in this life, we could be friends. Soram's eyes that held Tae-un crinkled softly.

Tae-un walked over and stood next to Soram.

"Jin Soram ssi."

Soram tilted his head.

"Do you remember the promise you made to me at the end of the dungeon?"

He looked into his eyes for a moment, then pushed his pale lips upward.

"Yes. I remember."

Soram's voice was full of hoarseness. It was because he had been lying down for a long time, and his throat was swollen from the fever as his wounds healed. Even now, the look of a patient was evident on his face.

Tae-un took one step closer. He reached out his hand to Soram. The hand approaching his face looked like it would hit him on the forehead. However, instead of his forehead, he pulled Soram's shoulder as he was sitting precariously.

"Jin Soram. I told you to stay put at least when you're sick."

"..."

It was full of meaning, asking if he couldn't stand it and went out the window.

Soram thought Tae-un's informal speech would definitely be awkward. However, whether he wanted to speak informally enough to bring it up as a wish in that urgent situation, Tae-un's informal speech was very natural and without hesitation.

Soram grabbed Tae-un's hand and lowered it.

"Hey."

And he crossed his arms. The dimples that sank deeply into his thin cheeks were darker than usual.

"It's working hours right now, you know?"

It was a weekday afternoon when people were busy moving under the blue sky. The wish of "wanting to speak informally in private outside of work hours" was caught like this. Soram hopped down from the railing.

"Let's go. Han Tae-un ssi."

* * *

Except for his two hands that were starting to heal, Tae-un now had no inconvenience in moving around.

Even on the first day he was brought to the hospital, his arm bones were also cracked, but they healed completely in two days. His left hand, which had all possible injuries such as lacerations, poisoning, and fractures, was still wrapped in bandages but moved fine. The remaining level of injury was manageable with outpatient treatment.

Therefore, Tae-un stayed in the dormitory instead of the hospital room and became the one to move various items for Soram, who could not be discharged, let alone go out. The general hospital affiliated with the headquarters was only 300m away from the headquarters building, so he had no complaints.

Around noon, Tae-un opened the hospital room door again, holding two books.