A young doctor in a white coat stood beside me.
He turned on a penlight and shone it into my eyes.
The examination was over while I was still staring blankly into the stark white field of vision.
"Pupil response is normal. There's nothing wrong with your brain or nerves, but you have a rib fracture, so you'll have to lie flat for a while."
He checked my IV bag himself.
He slowed the drip, drip of the fluid and checked the tube connected to the back of my hand, then spoke nonchalantly.
"You have a lot of painkillers and sedatives in your system, so you'll feel dazed and sleepy. If you feel tired, don't fight it, just sleep. If you feel anything strange, please tell the nurses. You see the nurse call button here? Just press this. You must not try to get up on your own."
Still in a daze, I opened my mouth.
"What about Woo Seung-geon?"
The doctor, who had been calmly explaining my condition, fell silent.
I pressed him for an answer.
"How did the surgery go, doctor?"
He said, evenly, "When your meal comes, don't skip it. Get plenty of rest."
The doctor turned his back, drew the bed curtain, and left.
He said I'd be sleepy and dazed from the painkillers and sedatives, and he was right.
My head wasn't working properly.
I could only twitch my fingertips, gripping the blanket.
I slowly read the name of the hospital written on the patient gown I was wearing.
"Incheon International University Hospital…."
This place is near our ballpark.
Right, the accident happened on the road that led out to the coast.
Woo Seung-geon, who was in the car with me… he must have been injured and had surgery… where is he hospitalized…
My thoughts were fragmenting, like chunks of rice cake being chopped.
My thought process couldn't flow smoothly, and I zoned out before closing my eyes.
The moment my vision was covered by my eyelids, the scene of the accident flashed back.
Screeeeech!
I felt a massive impact as the skidding car collided with us.
There was no time to react.
The airbag covered my vision, and the entire world turned white.
"Heok!"
I sucked in a sharp breath and my eyes flew open.
My chest ached, maybe from the sudden breath, or maybe because my heart was pounding.
My torso, with its fractured ribs, was immobile, and just breathing in a little too deeply made me break out in a cold sweat from the intense pain.
"Haah, haah…."
The white bed curtain in front of me looked just like the airbag that had exploded.
I reached out to pull back the curtain that was blocking my view, but the muscles over my broken ribs screamed.
"Ngh…"
It was a vicious cycle of pain; when I coughed from the ache, my chest would throb all over again.
I fumbled at my own body.
My ribs were injured, but I felt no pain in my wrists, elbows, or shoulders.
That might be a relief.
At least my career as a player wasn't over.
'This season is ruined.'
With an injury this bad, I probably wouldn't be able to play for the rest of the season.
I'd have to go back down to the second-string.
It would be better if I were traded to another team, but at this rate, I'd probably just be released.
Would I even be able to keep playing baseball…?
My thoughts were cut off again by the medication.
I didn't have the energy to force myself to worry, so I stopped thinking and closed my eyes.
Every time I did, the airbag exploded on the inside of my eyelids.
But if I tried to keep my eyes open, fatigue washed over me like a wave, and my mind went blank.
My body was exhausted and wanted to rest, but my mind was in a state of alertness, the memory of the accident vivid. I groaned at the cognitive dissonance.
I thought of Woo Seung-geon again.
I remembered how he had looked, much more injured than me.
It had seemed like he'd even stopped breathing.
Still, the ambulance arrived quickly, so he must have made it through the worst of it, right?
He was in his prime. The thought of him being unable to play properly because of an injury made me feel so guilty.
The accident happened because he came to see me. I had to struggle to escape the guilt that was crushing my whole body.
'He'll be okay. He'll be able to keep playing. Woo Seung-geon is strong, so he'll rehab quickly and come back. It's fine, it has to be fine.'
I rubbed my face with my bare hands.
My heart continued to beat faster than normal.
Thump, thump.
The last I saw of Woo Seung-geon, he looked too much like a corpse.
I was terrified that he might really never open his eyes again.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Beyond my closed eyelids, I saw two Woo Seung-geons.
"I love you, Seong-ha."
The face that had confessed to me, and the face that had been limp, like a corpse.
"It's okay, he'll be okay."
I mumbled, as if praying.
"Senior, it's okay, it's…"
The sound of the humidifier covered my murmuring voice.
Shhhhhh.
The frighteningly quiet room was filled only with silence and stillness.
Lying in bed all day was boring.
I had lost my phone at the accident scene, so I had no way to communicate with the outside world.
I thought my mom or dad would come to visit if they knew their son was hospitalized like this, but there was no sign of them.
Even the team staff had gone completely silent.
I didn't know why I was being left alone like this, and this situation didn't feel normal.
So, at breakfast time, I pretended to be asleep even before the nurse bringing the food tray pulled back my bed curtain.
Swish.
The curtain opened, and I heard voices.
"Oh my, he's sleeping."
"What should we do? Should we bring it back later when he wakes up?"
"Let's do that."
There were two of them.
I sensed one person setting the tray on the side table and the other checking my IV. I deliberately slowed my breathing.
The nurse, thinking I was fast asleep, said, "Can you see from here?"
"Just a sec."
I heard the sound of slippers.
It seemed I was hospitalized in this room alone.
If I were in a shared room, I would have heard coughing or other signs of people, but there was nothing of the sort.
That must be why the nurses were talking so freely.
"Yeah, I can see. The reporters are still at it. So diligent, starting this early, phew."
Reporters?
I perked up my ears, focusing on their conversation.
"The police presence has increased, too."
"With things like that, of course the patient's family can't get in."
"Still, I saw some men in uniforms, maybe coaches? They were walking around."
"They were with the police. Must be a lot to investigate."
"Well, it is… a pretty shocking incident."
What on earth were they talking about?
I opened my closed eyes.
Beyond the curtain, which I couldn't open by myself, I saw the backs of the two nurses.
One had short hair, and the other had long hair tied in a low ponytail.
They were leaning against the window, peeking outside. I called out to them.
"What are you talking about?"
The two nurses jumped in fright at my voice.
"Oh my god!"
"Oh!"
Their faces clearly showed their mistake.
As if they'd said something they shouldn't have in my presence.
I pressed the point.
"What about reporters and police? Are they here because of Woo Seung-geon's accident?"
They looked like they were in a difficult position to speak.
The doctor, too… why was this so hard for everyone to talk about?
Was it patient confidentiality, or something like that?
My frustration made my voice lower and sharper.
"He's the senior who was in the car with me. We were in the accident together. I have a right to hear how badly he was hurt and what his prognosis is after surgery."
The two nurses exchanged glances.
I swallowed the feeling that my stomach was turning inside out and asked, "Are you not going to tell me?"
The answer came from somewhere else.
"I will tell you."
I turned my head in the direction of the voice.
Two men I'd never seen before were standing in the doorway of the hospital room.
Men in their 30s, dressed in polo shirts.
The one who spoke to me had a cold impression.
Eyes so narrow his pupils were barely visible, a long nose, tight lips, and a stiff expression.
They didn't look like hospital staff; their atmosphere was heavy.
The man with the cold impression approached me, as I frowned and watched him warily.
He took something from his pocket and showed it to me.
A police badge.
"Officer Kim Kyung-min, from the Incheon Western Police Station, Violent Crimes Unit."
Violent Crimes Unit?
Why was the Violent Crimes Unit handling a traffic accident?
While I was frozen, unable to grasp the situation, the other detective who had come with him discreetly nodded at the nurses.
The two nurses hastily left the room.
Swish!
Detective Kim Kyung-min, after closing all the window curtains, stood in front of my bed.
His gaze was as keen as a well-honed blade.
It was a sharpness that came from experience dealing with violent criminals.
"You are Mr. Shin Seong-ha, correct?"
I didn't know the situation, but I responded calmly.
"Yes, that's right."
"Do you remember the accident yesterday?"
"Yesterday?"
"Yes, July 7th, Friday, at 2:11 PM. You were in an accident while riding as a passenger in a car driven by Mr. Woo Seung-geon."
I was aware of the accident, of course.
But what surprised me was the date.
"That was yesterday?"
The other detective approached Kim Kyung-min and said, "They said he was unconscious for over half a day after the surgery."
"Ah."
Kim Kyung-min looked at his watch and spoke again.
"A day has passed since you regained consciousness after your surgery, Mr. Shin. It is now July 8th, Saturday, 8:11 AM."
It must have been a bigger accident than I thought.
Though they said I wasn't badly injured, other than the rib fracture.
In any case, I nodded, and he began the main topic.
"The driver of the vehicle at fault tested positive for narcotics. Upon investigation, he was a habitual drug user."
Drugs.
So that's why an officer from the Violent Crimes Unit was here to investigate.
But I still didn't know why he'd come to me, so I just listened quietly.
Detective Kim Kyung-min then said something I couldn't understand.
"He was bold enough to receive a drug delivery in broad daylight. Do you know the cafe in front of Aider Stadium? The name is…"
The other detective behind him quickly answered.
"Triple A Cafe. It's an independent cafe."
"Yes, that's what they said."
My mind ground to a halt, like rusty machine parts.
Aider Stadium was the one our team used.
And Triple A Cafe must be the place where I bought my iced Americano every day on my way to the ballpark.
"So?" I asked.
Kim Kyung-min's detailed explanation followed.
"The suspect in this accident obtained the drugs at that cafe, took them in his car, and caused the accident while driving under the influence."
For a moment, I seethed.
I couldn't swallow the hot anger and ended up spitting it out.
"What kind of crazy bastard does that?"
"It's an ongoing investigation, so I can't give you the details, but…"
"What investigation? A psycho high on drugs just slammed into us, didn't he?"
Both Kim Kyung-min and his colleague fell silent for a moment.
In that instant, I instinctively felt it.
There's something else.
I clutched my head, which wasn't working properly because of the drugs, and said, "Is the drug supplier some big shot? Is that why you're being so secretive?"
"I cannot give you the details."
"If drugs are involved, is it the entertainment world, or politics, something like that?"
"Mr. Shin, that is not what we are here to discuss. We checked the CCTV for people who were at the cafe at the time the suspect received the drugs. A tall, thin person wearing a hood made contact with the suspect. We are investigating everyone, male and female, who fits that description."
What in the world?
I pressed my hand to my head.
"I get it, I get it, but… someone was hurt. I want to know the patient's condition first."
Kim Kyung-min glanced at his colleague.
The colleague shook his head, looking flustered.
When Kim Kyung-min turned back to me, his gaze was just as piercing as before.
Honestly, I was getting pissed off.
The drug crime, or whatever, that was the police's job to investigate.
What was important to me right now was how badly Woo Seung-geon was hurt and where he was recovering.
"I asked you what Woo Seung-geon's condition is."
Kim Kyung-min finally opened his mouth.
"The case is... unusual…"
Why were they coming to a hospital room and harassing a patient?
I couldn't hold back anymore and shouted.
"I don't care about the case! I want to know what happened to Senior Woo—kuluk!"
My whole body ached from the shock of shouting.
My body was a wreck from the fractured ribs.
And because I was on so many painkillers and sedatives, I couldn't even understand what people were saying properly.
An utterly unfamiliar word lodged itself in my confused mind.
"Mr. Shin, this is a critical interrogation regarding the death of Mr. Woo Seung-geon."
I looked up at Kim Kyung-min, who had spoken without batting an eye.
I couldn't understand his words at first and just gaped.
"What?"
Whose death?
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