"Fuck———"
After uttering the word,
the two young nurses stood frozen, and Dr. Im also paused for a moment.
It was far too crude and blunt.
Park Tae-hyun didn't bother explaining; he simply reached out and lifted the white cloth covering the girl's head.
It's her, it's definitely her!
No wonder she hadn't been hurt at all just now.
There wasn't even a scratch on her body.
This wasn't because she'd lucked out by sitting in the last row.
In reality,
She'd been the most critically injured among all the children, and the doctors had been doing everything in their power to save her just moments ago.
Her soul had already slipped away, but she hadn't realized it.
She was still reminding Others not to smoke in public and comforting her classmates and other injured children.
In truth,
none of the other children could see her.
Throughout the hospital,
the only person who could see her was Park Tae-hyun!
"Is she dead?" Park Tae-hyun asked, glancing around.
"Kim Min-woo?" Dr. Im looked at her husband.
She didn't want to acknowledge the vulgarities he'd just spat out, as she'd noticed her husband was acting erratically.
"She's not dead yet—keep trying to save her!"
Park Tae-hyun suddenly grabbed Dr. Im's arm, pulled her closer, and shouted:
"The rescue window hasn't closed. She might still wake up. Keep trying!"
"Sir, sir!"
The two nurses, witnessing Park Tae-hyun's rough grip on Dr. Im, quickly stepped forward to restrain him.
In their eyes, Dr. Im's husband seemed unstable, bordering on abusive.
Park Tae-hyun shoved the nurses aside, released his hold, and muttered under his breath:
"Where are you, where are you, where on earth are you?!"
He bolted out of the room, searching frantically.
Moments earlier, the girl's soul had been wandering among the children, offering comfort, but now it had vanished.
Had she moved on to the afterlife?
She was already dead.
Was it too late?
Park Tae-hyun felt a surge of confusion. He didn't understand why he was so agitated, why his heart raced with anxiety.
Perhaps it was his professional duty to treat any patient with a chance of survival. Or maybe it was because that kind, resilient girl had just shared a moment with him.
"Uncle, are you looking for me?"
A familiar child's voice sounded behind Park Tae-hyun. He turned immediately and saw the little girl again.
But the girl's form was no longer solid; now she was translucent.
"Uncle, I'm cold," the little girl said, squatting and folding her arms.
"I asked the nurses for a coat, but they ignored me. Do they hate me? Am I really that annoying?"
Faint glimmers radiated from the girl.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Park Tae-hyun recognized this phenomenon—it had happened to him before.
"Kim Min-woo, come back with me!" Dr. Im called out at that moment.
The girl turned her head to look behind her.
"Don't look!" Park Tae-hyun stepped forward and covered the girl's eyes. No one knew what might happen if she saw her own lifeless body lying on the bed.
Would she collapse?
Would she realize she was dead and simply vanish?
When Park Tae-hyun's hand touched the girl, his nails grew warm.
They didn't elongate or darken, but he felt their heat.
Simultaneously, the girl's form began to twist, forming a ring of light around his fingertips—a light invisible to everyone else in the room.
"Get out of the way, she can still be saved!"
Park Tae-hyun rushed back to the bedside.
"Kim Min-woo!" Dr. Im's chest heaved.
The girl was gone, and she couldn't fathom why her husband was ranting like a madman.
His background in civil engineering had no place here.
The two nurses, witnessing the scene, didn't dare to intervene.
Park Tae-hyun lifted the sheet and placed his hands on the girl's chest.
Yes, this was how he'd returned to life.
Your soul is here.
It can return.
You can survive!
As the light from his fingertips seeped into the girl's body, Park Tae-hyun began chest compressions, pressing down with both hands.
"Wake up!"
"Wake up!"
The nurses stood back, exchanging glances with Dr. Im.
"She's dead," Dr. Im said flatly.
"The golden hour isn't over. I've been timing it," Park Tae-hyun insisted, continuing the compressions.
"She can make it, she can make it!"
Dr. Im pursed her lips, pushed Park Tae-hyun aside, and took over the compressions.
"Your force is too harsh. She's injured. Ahn Chul, reconnect the equipment and keep trying."
Park Tae-hyun stepped back but didn't argue, his gaze fixed on the girl on the bed.
The only relief was that the parents, detained by the traffic police, were oblivious to the chaos unfolding.
Dr. Im pressed on, sweat beading on her forehead.
She didn't know why she was pushing so hard, but something in her husband's eyes unnerved her—a determination she couldn't quite place.
The monitor was reconnected, yet the line remained flat.
The nurses stood by, helpless.
No hope?
Even after her soul was restored,
No hope?
A heavy sense of loss washed over Park Tae-hyun.
"BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…"
Suddenly,
the flatline on the monitor began to flicker.
Dr. Im stared at the screen in disbelief.
Could this be...
A medical miracle?
By the time Park Tae-hyun drove home from the hospital, evening had fallen. Dr. Im was at the wheel, and the two sat in silence.
Silence had always been the norm in their marriage. In the past, it was Kim Min-woo who'd tried to bridge the gap, but today, it was Dr. Im who spoke first.
"Have you studied medicine?"
"No," Park Tae-hyun replied.
"The technique you used—it was very precise," Dr. Im noted.
"I picked it up during my driving test," Park Tae-hyun lied.
"But you don't have a license," Dr. Im frowned.
Park Tae-hyun said nothing.
Dr. Im let it drop.
"Thank you for not giving up today."
"You're welcome," Park Tae-hyun waved it off.
In his heart, he still saw himself as a doctor.
Saving a patient required no gratitude.
The girl remained unconscious, but there was finally hope.
"I'm grateful on her behalf," Dr. Im said, checking her phone.
"It's nearly eight. My Mom and Dad are waiting for us."
Mom and Dad?
Park Tae-hyun's head throbbed.
Was he about to meet his mother-in-law and father-in-law?
The car pulled into a high-end residential complex. Tongmyeong, adjacent to Seoul, was situated at the opposite end of the Han River estuary.
While not as expensive as Seoul, housing prices here were still steep.
Dr. Im parked the car, and they entered the building together.
The elevator carried them to their floor, where Dr. Im unlocked the door.
The apartment was elegantly furnished, a duplex that signaled the family's affluence.
Park Tae-hyun's status as a "live-in son-in-law" only reinforced this fact.
In the living room, an elderly man with graying hair sat on the sofa, engrossed in a news rebroadcast.
He barely acknowledged them as they entered.
"Yoon-joo, you're back," the mother-in-law called from the kitchen, her tone sharp.
Dr. Im's younger sister emerged from her study, nodding at Park Tae-hyun—a silent reminder to mind his manners.
Park Tae-hyun washed his hands in the bathroom, where Dr. Im joined him moments later.
They both used hand sanitizer, scrubbing meticulously.
Dr. Im glanced at Park Tae-hyun a few seconds longer before rinsing her hands and heading into the living room.
Park Tae-hyun followed suit, drying his hands before joining everyone.
The mother-in-law served dinner with a visibly sour expression, placing each dish with exaggerated force, especially in front of Park Tae-hyun.
He took his seat beside Dr. Im.
The mother-in-law brought out the rice, her expression stern as she set each bowl down.
"Kim Min-woo, do you think we've treated you poorly?" she asked before anyone could eat.
"Very well," Park Tae-hyun replied.
"Then why the cold shoulder last night? Who were you snubbing?"
"Mom, let's eat. He mentioned something about the store," Dr. Im interjected.
The mother-in-law and father-in-law exchanged a glance, surprised their eldest daughter was defending her husband.
They fell silent, momentarily at a loss.
The younger sister watched from the sidelines, equally stunned.
She'd never shown interest in her brother-in-law before.
Why the sudden change?
"Let's eat," the father-in-law said, picking up his chopsticks.
"You too," he added, gesturing at Park Tae-hyun with his chopsticks—a gesture that was rude but implied the prior tension was over.
"Wan-joo, try the braised pork. I've been cooking it all day," the mother-in-law said, placing a piece in Dr. Im's bowl and her younger daughter's.
After a pause, she reluctantly added a piece to Park Tae-hyun's bowl.
Park Tae-hyun realized he hadn't eaten since his resurrection the previous night.
He ate without ceremony.
The moment the meat hit his mouth,
His face contorted.
'Shit......'
A wave of nausea hit him, and his stomach clenched painfully;
"Ugh..." Park Tae-hyun gagged, as if the food were poison.
The table fell silent.
The mother-in-law and father-in-law exchanged a glance.
The atmosphere at the dinner table dropped to an icy stillness.
