FLIA 10

Lee Hyunmook quickly cleared the debris and uncovered two or three intact medicine bottles. However, after skimming the ingredients, he casually tossed them aside. Instead, he searched a treatment cart in the nearby hallway and found a bundle of sterile gauze and proper disinfectant supplies. Yohan placed the precious medical items into his backpack and gripped the straps anxiously.

“What were those pills you threw away earlier?”

“Thyroid hormone medication and diabetes meds. Why, do you need them?”

“N-no….”

Neither was of any use to Yohan in his current condition. Before falling into the Abyss, he’d been perfectly healthy and had no chronic illnesses. When Lee Hyunmook finished clearing the wreckage, he gave a nod toward something that looked like a small metal elevator door.

“A dumbwaiter… it’s a device used to deliver medicine from the compounding lab. So the lab or medicine storage room should be right below us.”

Yohan’s face lit up. With a former doctor accompanying him, he was hopeful they could find the right medicine without getting lost this time. Following closely behind Lee Hyunmook, Yohan asked carefully,

“Um… so, you don’t remember anything from when you were corrupted?”

“I still am corrupted.”

The answer was indifferent, but to Yohan, it felt like a small miracle. At least Lee Hyunmook had understood the question. After a pause, he answered slowly,

“It feels like a half-remembered nightmare. I didn’t even know why I was at the hospital…”

Most corrupted people didn’t completely lose their rationality or memories, so this meant Lee Hyunmook’s corruption was far more severe than usual. Yohan trudged on, feeling as if he were looking at his own future. But he forced himself to focus on the more immediate task: getting the medicine to treat his leg.

At the stairs leading down to the first floor, Yohan hesitated. His leg was in bad shape. Gripping the dusty railing tightly, he started descending one slow step at a time. Watching him, Lee Hyunmook glanced once down the stairwell, then turned back up and picked Yohan up without warning.

“Waaah!”

Yohan yelped. Earlier, he’d been too overwhelmed to react, but this time, being suddenly lifted while fully conscious, he was flustered. Hyunmook carried him down the stairs two steps at a time and gently set him down. Yohan’s face was flushed, whether from embarrassment, fever, or both.

“The first floor is clear, but there’s something strong on the third floor. Stick close behind me.”

Sensing the warning about another monster above, Yohan hurriedly took his place right behind Lee Hyunmook and kept glancing at him nervously.

High-level awakened ones, especially damage dealers and tanks, typically had large, sturdy builds. With heightened senses and physical strength, they were like walking weapons. Hiding behind Lee Hyunmook’s broad, solid back gave Yohan a sense of comfort.

He worried another monster might attack, but fortunately, they reached the compounding lab of the pharmacy department without incident. Like the previous rooms, the door here was locked, but with a little force from Lee Hyunmook, it burst open with a dull crack.

“There it is…”

Yohan whispered in awe, careful not to attract any other monsters. Unlike the in-house pharmacy, this room was packed, cabinets stuffed with medication. His eyes sparkled with renewed hope.

Lee Hyunmook strode toward the cabinets, and Yohan quickly pulled out his flashlight to help. But Lee Hyunmook waved him off with a lazy gesture.

“I can see just fine in the dark. You focus on finding useful stuff.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yohan replied cheerfully, though he kept sneaking glances at Lee Hyunmook. It was pitch-black without the flashlight, yet Lee Hyunmook sorted the medications like he could see perfectly. Meanwhile, Yohan searched every corner with his light and found a useful-looking [Spill Kit] and a stash of saline solution. He stuffed those and anything else that looked useful into his backpack until it was nearly bursting.

“Here.”

Lee Hyunmook handed over a few boxes of medicine. Yohan cradled them like treasure, but then Lee Hyunmook muttered ominously,

“…Not sure if they’re still usable.”

“B-because of the expiration dates? Even if they’re a bit old, I’ll still take them! It’s only been a month…”

Lee Hyunmook fell silent, quietly watching Yohan cling to the boxes with desperate hands. Feeling a sudden wave of anxiety, Yohan silently prayed the meds were still good. He cast a regretful glance at the countless other pill bottles left behind as they exited the lab.

Luckily, they left the hospital without encountering any more monsters. Exiting through the emergency room, they headed straight for their shelter.

Along the way, Yohan worried about what might happen if Lee Hyunmook’s condition suddenly worsened again. No matter what, it was better to be treated by a doctor than trying to handle things himself. He had another embarrassing moment when Lee Hyunmook scooped him up again on the way back, but at least, for now, he seemed stable.

“Your leg.”

At Lee Hyunmook’s request, Yohan sat down quickly, pulled out the medical supplies from his pack, and rolled up his pants. He reached for his flashlight again, but Lee Hyunmook stopped him.

“I can see fine in the dark. It might be easier on your nerves if you don’t look too closely.”

Yohan’s anticipation at finally getting treated was replaced by fear. He glanced at the oozing, pus-filled wound. Just imagining disinfectant pouring onto it gave him chills.

“…It’s going to hurt a lot, isn’t it?”

On the verge of tears again, Yohan looked up. Lee Hyunmook blinked, then said calmly,

“Want to hold your backpack?”

So it was going to hurt! Panicked, Yohan hugged his backpack tightly. What followed was, just as expected, a brutal ordeal. As Lee Hyunmook lanced the infection and scraped out the pus, Yohan screamed and wept in pain.

“I-is it over…?”

He asked in a stuffy voice, eyes blurry with tears. But when he looked up, Lee Hyunmook was staring absentmindedly at his hand, at the splattered blood on it. His expression hovered between dazed and disturbed. Sensing danger, Yohan shouted instinctively,

“Let’s eat! Food! I need to eat before I take medicine, right? Right?!”

That finally snapped Lee Hyunmook out of it. He slowly raised his head, looking at Yohan with a complicated, unreadable gaze.

“…You.”

For a moment, a strange glint flickered in his eyes. But it quickly faded, replaced by his usual heavy stillness. With a faint, self-mocking smile, he grabbed Yohan’s ankle to stop him from crawling away.

“Gotta dress the wound. And your hand needs disinfecting too.”

With calm efficiency, he cleaned and bandaged the injuries. Yohan got the sense that Lee Hyunmook had wanted to say something else, but no more words came. Once the treatment was complete, Yohan dug through their food stash. He opened one of the few remaining rations: a can of ham and a can of corn.

“You’ve done so much today, you should eat a lot.”

At the sight of food, Yohan’s stomach growled. Unlike before, when Lee Hyunmook had devoured ham with his hands, this time he accepted the utensils Yohan offered and ate with clean, composed movements. There was no trace of madness in his manner. With his leg treated, Yohan finally relaxed and enjoyed the meal.

Afterward, Lee Hyunmook gave instructions for taking the medicine.

“…Take this three times a day. Disinfect the wound once or twice daily. And obviously, keep it away from water or dirt.”

“I’ll make sure to follow it!”

Yohan nodded enthusiastically. The sky was always dark red here, day and night didn’t exist, but thankfully, he’d found a wristwatch during one of their supply runs. Then Lee Hyunmook added,

“If anything feels off, don’t take it. I tried to pick out the right meds, but my memory isn’t completely intact. Some of it might be bad.”

“I-I’m sure you picked the right ones! They’re fine, really!”

Yohan had seen Lee Hyunmook pause in confusion a few times while choosing meds, but he gulped them down anyway, antibiotics, painkillers, fever reducers. He already felt a little better.

“What’s this one?”

Even while tired and aching, Yohan was happily sorting through the supplies from the hospital. Tilting his head, he examined a box of small vials and colorful pills. Hyunmook replied slowly,

“Morphine. Narcotic painkillers.”

“Morphine?!”

Yohan’s eyes went wide. Even someone like him, far removed from drugs, had heard of morphine.

“You mean… from opium? From poppies? The drug?!”

“This is a place where even that kind of drug becomes essential. You should keep it close.”

Accepting his words, Yohan carefully tucked the morphine stash into his backpack with trembling hands. If a little infected wound had hurt this much, he’d need real painkillers for anything worse.

After finishing, drowsiness hit like a wave. Feverish and heavy-eyed, Yohan tried to stay awake. Lee Hyunmook caught him by the collar and laid him down on a makeshift bed made from padded jackets.

“Sleep.”

“But… I want to talk a little more…”

This time, he’d been lucky. Lee Hyunmook had come back to his senses and treated him. But who knew what might happen after they slept? What if he was a madman again by morning? Yohan looked up with pleading eyes. Meeting his gaze, Lee Hyunmook silently sat down beside the bed. Now that the chance for conversation had come, Yohan hesitated, then finally spoke.

“I hope there’s a way to cure corruption…”

If he could stay with the sane version of Lee Hyunmook, how much better would things be? The thought wouldn’t leave his mind. Lee Hyunmook looked down at Yohan, who was already half-asleep, with an expressionless face. Then he slowly reached out, covering Yohan’s eyes with his hand.

“…I feel the same.”