IRLPLBIO Chapter 32 Part 1

Chapter 32 #7. What’s Changed After My Manifestation? (1)

I barely managed to blink my blurry eyes for a moment, but the color of the sky outside the window had changed. My body was still completely limp, and each time my consciousness briefly returned, my senses also slowly recovered.

After the sun had set, Joo Hae-jun and Kim Min-jae came to visit.

“Jae-gu still not up? Good grief.”

With a worried grumble, Joo Hae-jun held out a rustling plastic bag.

“You haven’t eaten either, right? Eat this. I brought gimbap.”

“…Thank you, Hyung.”

“No. He paid for it.”

Joo Hae-jun chuckled, pointing at Kim Min-jae who had come with him. Jae-gu’s body, which hadn’t fully recovered, almost shot upright because of Joo Hae-jun.

A few rolls of gimbap don’t cost much, and that bastard made a middle schooler pay for it?! How is that different from extortion?!

“I’ll eat well.”

“Kwang-cheol, I thought you might be hungry… You helped a lot last time too.”

Kim Min-jae replied shyly. It was at least a relief that he wasn’t aware he’d become a gimbap errand boy.

While Kwang-cheol picked up and ate the gimbap, one by one, from the foil, Joo Hae-jun next to him also started stuffing them into his mouth. His chattering, like “Oh, there’s a lot of tuna!” was annoying. Jae-gu vowed that as soon as he got up, he would first smash that guy’s head.

“Oh, right. I heard they caught the karaoke bar owner. The cops were quick for once.”

“It’s not a true story, it’s arson. They’re diligent because they’re catching criminals.”

“True story? It is a true story. You were there earlier, why are you like this?”

“Hyung-nim, that ‘true story’ isn’t what I meant. I was referring to ‘실화’ as in ‘accidental fire,’ meaning it was accidental…”

Kim Min-jae, pushing up his round glasses, was about to seriously explain the difference between ‘accidental fire’ and ‘arson’. Joo Hae-jun shivered, making a sound of disgust. He was showing an allergic reaction to the smart, studious type.

Joo Hae-jun immediately turned his head and looked at Kwang-cheol.

“But, how did you know there was going to be a fire?”

“…Because it was suspicious in many ways.”

“Why, so you just called me first?”

“Hyung-nim, he called me too.”

“Ah, forget it.”

Kim Min-jae’s voice, which was about to interrupt, was sharply cut off by Joo Hae-jun.

“I heard something was found in the drink. They said something about it, but what was it again…”

“Zoletil. They said it was an animal anesthetic. And that it works on humans too.”

This time, Kim Min-jae successfully interjected. Joo Hae-jun nodded vigorously.

“Oh, right, that! If you’d drunk it without knowing, whether there was a fire or not, you wouldn’t have been able to evacuate and would have just croaked right there, I heard.”

Then he made a gesture of drawing his thumb across his neck. It was such an excessively graphic gesture that Kim Min-jae involuntarily shivered.

Jae-gu thought with his half-submerged consciousness. In the future, dangerous animal anesthetics like that would require a veterinarian’s license or a separate permit to purchase, but it seemed they could still be bought easily now.

In the past, there were also lunatics who made and sold drugs using animal anesthetics. That caused quite a stir for a while, but which faction was it again…?

As thoughts followed one after another, his consciousness began to fade again, but as if to stop it, Joo Hae-jun’s voice rang out again.

“I really thought you’d stolen and worn a fortune-teller’s underwear or something! How can everything line up so perfectly…?”

Jae-gu truly thought. Kwang-cheol’s friend, Kim Min-jae, was kind and smart, but why was his own friend, Joo Hae-jun, like that? The saying ‘birds of a feather’ had never been so irritating. Dammit…

With a surge of anger, he momentarily lost consciousness, and when he opened his eyes again, everything was quiet. The sky outside the window was still dark, but he knew instinctively. It wasn’t night, but dawn.

As he blankly blinked his eyes, his vision finally focused. Jae-gu, who had been staring at the white hospital room ceiling for a while, turned his head. He saw Kwang-cheol sleeping, leaning his face against the corner of his bed. Han Ga-yeon must have visited, as Kwang-cheol’s clothes had been changed to a comfortable t-shirt and pants.

It was a shame he hadn’t seen Han Ga-yeon, but he wasn’t upset. While Jae-gu and Kwang-cheol were in the hospital, she must be very busy reviewing the investigation results. He even felt sorry for burdening her with complicated matters.

Jae-gu carefully moved his hand towards Kwang-cheol, but seeing a burn dressing on one arm and an IV drip on the other, he stopped abruptly. He had felt his fingers were uncomfortable, and indeed, they were in a cast.

Still, it was a relief. His arm could be covered by clothes, and even if it was exposed, it could be considered a man’s medal of honor. That Kwang-cheol’s handsome face wasn’t hurt made him truly proud.

Furthermore, this incident was also proof that he could change the future. Jae-gu rather happily accepted his injuries.

‘I’ll raise you to the highest position. I’ll put you back in your rightful place.’

Jae-gu, towards Kwang-cheol, repeated the vow he had made countless times.

He wouldn’t let it happen like last time. The future where he had to helplessly watch while Kwang-cheol was dying would be erased. Because he wouldn’t live like a fool who knew nothing until he was stabbed in the back and died.

To shake off the terrible memory, he shook his head. Suddenly, he felt a desire to touch Kwang-cheol. Jae-gu immediately acted on his thought.

Since his arm didn’t move well, his fingertips also trembled. Still, when he lightly tapped Kwang-cheol’s hand, a sense of reality finally returned. Kwang-cheol’s hand, which his fingertips touched, was warm.

“…Hyung?”

Kwang-cheol, who had opened his eyes groggily, seeing Jae-gu blinking, stood up in surprise.

“You’re awake? I was so worried…!”

“Nah, it’s just this much. I’m fine… Ugh.”

Jae-gu, who was bluffing by waving his arm, saying he was fine, recoiled again. As Kwang-cheol was about to press the nurse call button, he shook his head to stop him. It was true his arm hurt and he was sweating cold, but there was something more urgent than that.

“I need to get up.”

“Why? Just say if you need anything. I’ll bring it to you.”

“No, it’s not that…”