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Episode 5
Hajin, holding his phone, made a call to Cheolhwan.
“Hyung. It’s me.”
“Oh, Hajin. What’s with your voice? Is something wrong?”
Cheolhwan, alarmed by Hajin’s unusual tone, asked with concern.
“Hyung, a reporter just snuck into Sejin’s hospital room.”
Hearing this, Cheolhwan, who had been working in the office, was so shocked that he shot up from his seat.
“What?! What are you saying? And then? Is that bastard still there?”
Cheolhwan’s loud voice startled the office employees who turned to look at him, but he was too focused to notice.
“No, the hospital security guards took him away, and they probably reported it to the police. I called because I think we should handle this together as a company.”
“Yes! I’ll check it out and take care of it. Is Sejin okay?”
“Yeah. He cried for a bit out of shock, but he’s asleep now.”
“Ha... Seriously, these trashy scumbags are insane. What about you? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I was startled, but I’m fine now. More importantly, what about hiring bodyguards?”
“Ah, we’ve arranged for three bodyguards to take turns guarding the room around the clock. They were supposed to start tomorrow, but of all days, this had to happen today. I’ll contact the security company and see if they can start right away. I’ll try to send someone over as soon as possible.”
“Alright. Please take care of that. And don’t let today’s incident slide. File every charge possible, including trespassing.”
“Got it. I’ll talk to the law firm that handles company matters and make sure they deal with it. But do you think the media might catch wind of this?”
“I don’t care. From now on, handle anything related to Sejin with zero tolerance. File lawsuits against everyone involved—whether it’s reporters or malicious commenters—no matter the cost.”
Hajin’s icy tone made Cheolhwan nod in agreement.
“Right. Sejin isn’t a celebrity, so dealing with this properly from the start will make others think twice before acting recklessly in the future.”
“Yeah. That reporter is apparently from a place called ‘True Magazine.’ Check if we can sue the company as well.”
“Alright. I’ll look into it.”
“And before this leaks and causes more chaos, make a public statement from the company.”
“Understood. I’ll coordinate with the PR team to draft and release a statement. Is there anything else you need?”
“Right now, I think that’s it. My mind is still a bit all over the place, but I’ll call again if anything else comes up.”
“Okay. I’ll have a meeting with the staff and handle things before stopping by the hospital.”
“Alright. Thanks, Hyung.”
After discussing how to proceed, Hajin hung up and leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes.
The unexpected incident had left him feeling drained, and his eyes stung with fatigue.
A little while later, the caregiver lady who had gone out for lunch returned.
“Sejin’s uncle. On my way back, I noticed some commotion and asked the nurses at the desk. They said a reporter broke in. Are you okay?”
“Oh, you’re back? Yes, everything’s fine now.”
“What about Sejin?”
“He was so startled that he cried but eventually fell asleep.”
“Oh dear! Seriously, the world is full of such awful people. Of all the places they could target, why would they pick on such a little child?”
“Exactly.”
“I shouldn’t have gone out for lunch. If I’d been here, things might have been better.”
“No, it’s fine. I told you to go eat. And besides, the reporter snuck in during the short time I stepped out, so it was an unavoidable situation.”
Hearing that, the caregiver nodded and said, “From now on, we must never leave Sejin alone. You and I will have to take turns making sure someone is always here.”
“Yes, that seems like the best plan,”
Hajin sighed as he replied.
Even though having bodyguards on-site would likely prevent future incidents, they still needed to prepare for any unexpected situations.
“Have you eaten anything, Sejin's uncle? You’ve probably been so busy taking care of Sejin that you haven’t had anything.”
“Oh, I was so shocked I don’t have any appetite.”
“I understand, but you still have to eat something to keep going. You’re already so thin… Taking care of someone is harder than it seems, so you need to eat well to stay healthy. Since you don’t have an appetite, rice probably won’t go down right now. Let me cut up some fruit for you—at least have a little of that.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Grateful for her kindness, Hajin responded and went back to Sejin’s room to check if his nephew was sleeping well.
A little while later, the caregiver called Hajin quietly.
“Sejin's uncle, could you step outside for a moment?”
“Oh, sure.”
When Hajin walked into the sitting area, he saw one of the nurses who had rushed over during the commotion earlier.
“Hello. Are you the guardian?”
“Yes, I am. Is something the matter?”
“Oh, it’s just that I thought this might help. Earlier, I recorded a video just in case. I figured that reporter might make up some nonsense later.”
“Oh! Thank you! I didn’t even think of that…”
Hajin snapped out of his daze at the nurse’s words. Having even one piece of evidence like this would be helpful.
“Who should I send this to?”
“Oh, just a moment.”
Hajin pulled out his wallet and handed the nurse Cheolhwan’s business card.
“This is my manager’s contact information. Could you send it to him?”
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
The nurse took the business card, attached the video to a message, and sent it to the phone number.
“I’ve sent it.”
“Thank you. This is crucial evidence, and I appreciate you taking care of it.”
“Oh, no. We should be the ones apologizing for not realizing there was an intruder.”
The nurse waved her hand dismissively.
“You don’t need to worry too much. Nurses are busy, so how could anyone have anticipated and stopped someone who was determined to sneak in? I understand, so please don’t stress about it.”
“Thank you. We’ll be more vigilant from now on. I’m truly sorry once again.”
“It’s alright. Starting tomorrow, bodyguards will be stationed at the door, so please be aware of that.”
“Oh, that’s good. It’s reassuring to hear.”
“Yes. It might be a little inconvenient for you when entering and leaving the room, but I hope you’ll understand.”
“Of course. We can’t let something like this happen again. Besides, the rooms here often have bodyguards, so we’re used to it. Anyway, you must be tired—please take some rest. I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you.”
After the nurse left, Hajin sent a text to Cheolhwan to inform him about the video.
The caregiver, who had been watching Hajin, placed a plate of fruit on the table.
“Uncle, have some of this and take a break. I’ll watch over Sejin.”
“Thank you.”
After watching the caregiver enter the room, Hajin sat on the sofa.
He sat there blankly for a moment before taking a fork and putting some fruit into his mouth.
The cool and refreshing fruit touched his palate, and only then did he realize how hungry he was.
‘Alright! Let’s eat! I need to eat and regain my strength to protect Sejin.’
Once his hunger kicked in, Hajin quickly emptied the plate of fruit.
Leaning back on the sofa, he closed his eyes and unintentionally dozed off.
About an hour later, Sejin woke up from his nap.
As he opened his eyes and looked around the room, he noticed the caregiver grandmother dozing off on a chair next to the bed.
Seeing this, Sejin remained quiet but began to ponder over the incident from earlier in the day.
‘Hmm. What was that earlier? I clearly saw a snake on that reporter’s arm, but why didn’t anyone else think it was strange? They were so close to it, but no one noticed—how is that even possible? Oh! Could it be that I was the only one who saw it?’
Sejin carefully recalled the snake he had seen.
‘Now that I think about it, the snake looked strange. I thought it was just a black snake, but no. It looked kind of like it was in black and white, as if it had been processed in grayscale. And I was so startled at the time that I didn’t think about it, but it had a kind of ink-painting vibe, like the edges were blurry. Hmm. Ever since I ended up in this body, have I started seeing strange things? This has never happened before, but I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on it. It might just be a one-time thing. If I mention it to Uncle or anyone else, they’ll only worry and might even start questioning my mental state.’
Sejin decided to leave it at that for now and stopped thinking about it.
He didn’t know how things would unfold, but if he saw it again, perhaps he could find some clues.
For now, he had too little information to make sense of it.
‘I need to use the bathroom. This body is so small that I can’t even get off the bed by myself. How inconvenient.’
Though he didn’t want to wake the caregiver, he had no choice.
“Grandma!”
Startled, the caregiver woke up.
“Oh dear! I must’ve dozed off for a moment. Did you call me, Sejin?”
“Yes. I need to use the bathroom.”
“Alright. Let me help you down. Come here.”
Sejin stretched out his short arms toward the caregiver grandmother.
The caregiver slipped her hands under Sejin’s armpits and lifted him off the bed.
“Do you think you can walk? It’s good to try walking little by little, but if your legs feel weak, I’ll carry you.”
“No, I can walk.”
“Really? Then hold Grandma’s hand so you don’t fall.”
Holding the caregiver’s hand, Sejin slipped into his slippers and began walking slowly.
Having spent about six months unconscious in the ICU, his body was frail, and even walking was still difficult.
However, Sejin moved his body step by step, taking it slow.
As Sejin exited the bedroom, he noticed Hajin fast asleep on the sofa.
“Grandma!”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Uncle is sleeping. Shouldn’t we cover him with a blanket?”
“Oh my, how thoughtful! You want to cover your uncle with a blanket so he doesn’t get cold?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. Grandma will take you to the bathroom first, and then I’ll put a blanket on him.”
The caregiver led Sejin to the bathroom.
Although the adults always offered to help whenever Sejin needed to use the bathroom, Sejin, with his adult consciousness, couldn’t accept that.
Luckily, the bathroom in this hospital room was equipped with a child-sized toilet and sink, so he could manage on his own.
After washing his hands thoroughly, Sejin stood in front of the mirror above the sink.
In the mirror was a very cute and handsome little boy.
He had slightly long, thick black hair, fair and smooth skin, large eyes with subtle double eyelids, a high nose bridge for a child, and lips that were darker than pink—like cherry blossoms—standing out against his pale skin.
His cheeks were a little sunken, but if he ate well from now on, they’d soon fill out, making his face even cuter.
As someone aspiring to become an actor, Sejin was very satisfied with this appearance.
He flashed a big smile at the mirror and then knocked on the door with his tiny hand to leave the bathroom.
Knock, knock.
He couldn’t open the door himself because of his short stature.
The caregiver, waiting outside the bathroom, opened the door.
“Grandma.”
“Hm? Do you need something else?”
“My hair is bothering me! It keeps getting in my eyes like this, and it hurts.”
Sejin pointed to his bangs, which were long enough to poke into his eyes.
“Now that you mention it, your hair has gotten quite long. Since we can’t go to the hair salon, let’s tie it up while you’re in the hospital. Do you want to go back to the bed, or would you like to stay in the sitting room?”
“I’ll stay here.”
The caregiver seated Sejin on the sofa opposite Hajin and said,
“Grandma will get a comb and a rubber band, so sit here quietly, okay?”
“Yes.”
The caregiver brought a comb and a yellow rubber band from the bedroom, then sat behind Sejin and began combing his hair.
“It’s too much to tie all your hair, so I’ll just tie your bangs, alright?”
“Yes.”
With skillful hands, the caregiver gathered Sejin’s bangs and tied them up with the rubber band. She made sure to tie it loosely so it wouldn’t hurt.
“All done! Look this way so I can check if it’s tied well.”
Sejin turned around, showing his face. His tied-up bangs, resembling little leaves, looked adorable in what’s commonly called an 'apple hairstyle.'
At that moment, Hajin woke up from his nap, hearing the conversation.
Seeing his nephew’s cute appearance, Hajin burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! What’s with your hair, Sejin?”
Despite the difficult events from earlier, Sejin greeted his uncle with a bright and cheerful expression.
“Uncle!! You’re awake!!”
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