RM 04

Chapter 4

Finishing his meeting with Director Jang, Horang pulled out his phone while sitting alone. The business had wrapped up successfully, but his mood was sour. It was because a text from Secretary Yoon had just arrived, stating that the tie pin hadn’t been found.

Horang adjusted his tie. With something that had rested right over his chest for over twenty years suddenly gone, he felt empty and hollowed out.

To him, that tie pin was a sort of protective amulet. Yet he had to lose it today of all days. Tomorrow was his surgery, after all.

“Excuse me!”

Right after he finished sending a reply to Secretary Yoon, someone called out to him. Turning his head, Horang scowled when he saw Bobae’s face. Since he had already lost his tie pin because he got tangled up with this woman since morning, seeing her again was the last thing he wanted.

“Ten meters.”

“Pardon?”

“I believe I said a ten-meter distance limit.”

“Ah, it’s not that—I have something to say to you.”

“Something to say?”

“As you probably heard from the conversation with Director Jang earlier, I’m a writer. A drama writer.”

“So what?”

He didn’t care. Whether this woman was a drama writer, a director, or an actress—it didn’t matter, nor did he have any interest. With broadcasting station presidents already lining up just to beg him for a little sponsorship, what did a mere writer matter?

“So, I wanted to tell you that I’m not a weird person. Actually, the reason I asked you to kiss me earlier was all because of the script……”

“Forget it. I don’t want to hear anymore.”

“No, still……”

“I already understand what you’re trying to say, so stop.”

Bobae had intended to apologize for earlier and formally ask for his help. But to think he claimed to understand even before she could explain—he must have been quick-witted. Still, it was a relief that the misunderstanding was cleared up. Otherwise, she would have been branded as a female pervert.

Thinking it was a relief, as she reached out to hand him the tie pin he had dropped, Horang muttered under his breath.

“Must be because your writing skills aren’t cutting it, so you’re throwing your body at people instead. Unbelievable.”

For a second, Bobae doubted her own ears and asked,

“Are you by any chance talking to me right now?”

“Why ask when you already know? I saw everything back at the cafe. Eavesdropping on our conversation.”

“No, that was……”

“Can’t make it with your writing, so you’re trying to use your body?”

“Excuse me?”

“Too bad, though. No matter how much you throw that body around, it’s not going to work. I have zero interest in a pitiful, impoverished figure like yours. Don’t lust after my body with such rotten thoughts. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

Horang looked her up and down as she spoke, leaving Bobae too utterly flabbergasted to say a single word.

A writer throwing her body at people just to land a sponsorship.

This man thought of her that way.

No matter how boldly she had approached him asking for a kiss, treating a person like trash in such a manner was infuriating and absurd.

“Hey! You’ve got the wrong idea about something…….”

“If you’re a writer, can’t you even understand human speech? Let me say it again. Even if you happen to see me, don’t act like you know me. And maintain a ten-meter distance minimum.”

Having finished his piece, Horang climbed into the car that had just arrived, and it drove off immediately.

“Hah! What kind of psycho piece of shit is he?! Hey! I don’t like you either! I have eyes, you know! I would never approach a stuck-up bastard like you! Even if you begged and pleaded on your knees for me to come near you, I wouldn’t go within one meter—no, one hundred meters of you, so don’t you dare think about coming near me either, you arrogant jerk!”

Clutching the innocent tie pin tightly in her hand, Bobae screamed at the empty air.

Whether he was the only man in the world or not, she genuinely hoped she would never cross paths with him again.

After finishing her part-time job, Bobae headed home.

Climbing a steep alleyway so steep you could ride a sled down it when it snowed, she spotted a dark, shabby building. For some reason, all the lights on the stairs and in the hallway were turned off, and a single light left on flickered desperately, trying to shine before losing its last bit of strength and going out completely.

Bobae dragged her body, heavy as wet cotton, into the building. Instantly, the first-floor light flickered to life, brightly illuminating the path in front of her. Every time Bobae climbed the stairs, the hallway lights turned on and off sequentially.

Reaching the rooftop, Bobae glared up at the light glowing brightly right above her head and muttered.

“Damn this electrical power of mine!”

If not for this cursed ability of hers, today’s events never would have happened. She wouldn’t have begged a total stranger for a kiss like a lunatic, nor would she have been subjected to the insulting remark that she was using her body because her writing sucked.

“No. Even without it, I would’ve written a great kiss scene. A super thrilling one.”

Lying flat out on the wooden porch bench, Bobae replayed the day’s events in her mind.

That sculptured, handsome face that had saved her from falling, his rock-solid forearms and broad shoulders, and the electric tingle that had surged the moment their bodies touched.

According to her common sense, electricity was supposed to flow from her to a man. But this time had been different. It had flowed from the man to her. She had never experienced anything like that before, and she figured she never would again for the rest of her life.

“So what if he did? He’s a total, grade-A jerk.”

“Can’t make it with your writing, so you’re trying to use your body?”

“I have zero interest in a pitiful, impoverished figure like yours.”

“Don’t lust after my body with such rotten thoughts. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Ten-meter distance minimum!”

Recalling what the man had said earlier, Bobae kicked angrily at the empty air.

“Ugh! What? Impoverished figure? Fine! Poverty has sunk into my very bones, so my figure is impoverished too, you damn jerk! And what was that? Ten-meter distance limit? There will come a day when you’re begging and pleading on your knees to come near me! I’m going to make sure of it!”

Fuming, Bobae looked up at the sky. A full moon hung brightly in the dark sky. Without a speck of fine dust, the sky was unusually clear tonight.

“It’s pretty. The full moon.”

Staring at the moon for a long time, Bobae pressed her hands together and made a wish.

“Moonlight. If I ever see that man again, make him go crazy with longing to come near me. Make it so he can never utter phrases like ‘ten-meter distance limit’ again, and make him beg me for forgiveness on his knees. Please!”

Making her wish with clasped hands, Bobae held out her pinky finger toward the moon. As if in response, the full moon twinkled brightly—shining intensely as though it really intended to grant her wish.

“Sigh. What does a guy as high and mighty as him have to regret to make him apologize to me? Right. You’re off-limits too. Just you dare come near me, and I won’t let you off easy!”

Just as Bobae was shouting into the empty air, a thunderous roar rumbled from the depths of her stomach.

“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t eaten a single thing all day.”

Heading into her room, Bobae tore open a loaf of bread left on the table and sniffed it.

“It smells a little sour? No, this much is fine. The expiration date only passed by five days, what’s the big deal? Oh man, I’m starving.”

Just as Bobae began devouring the bread ravenously, dark clouds gathered around the brightly shining full moon outside. Then—flash! A silent lightning bolt rent the clear sky, and a cold rain began to fall.

The next day. Taesung Hospital.

“So, this is the artificial heart battery that was newly developed?”

Horang asked, looking at the thumbnail-sized battery resting on the desk, to which Professor Kwak replied.

“I went through a lot of trouble to get my hands on this brand-new item, absolute state-of-the-art.”

“I am no early adopter. Especially when it comes to objects that are going to be inserted directly into my body.”

“Don’t worry. Even though it looks like this, it’s a semi-permanent battery developed by Johns Hopkins.”

In truth, Horang had lived relying on an artificial heart due to a weak heart since childhood.

There had been no major issues. He lived just like anyone else and could exercise to his heart’s content, as long as it wasn’t too strenuous.

The real issue was the battery. Fearing a discharge of the battery keeping the artificial heart beating, he had to undergo periodic replacement surgeries.

There were no major health concerns. The only problem was that whenever news broke that Horang had gone under the knife, company stock prices fluctuated wildly, turning him into easy prey for those constantly eyeing his position.

“You aren’t using my body to run a performance test on a brand-new battery, are you?”

“You think I’d doubt my own skills?”

At Professor Kwak’s retort, Horang smiled faintly.

Though he grumbled, Professor Kwak was one of the top-tier skilled doctors in the world. He was also a close friend of his late father.

“Just focus on conditioning yourself. This will be the last surgery I ever perform on you.”

“I leave it in your capable hands.”

Bowing his head in greeting, Horang looked out the window.

The rain that had started last night was still moistening the ground. After the surgery, he wanted to see a clear, bright sky.

“Ouch. My stomach……. It feels like I’m dying from the pain.”

Bobae had spent the entire night clutching her stomach and rolling around her room after eating that sour-smelling bread.

It hurt. It hurt so badly she couldn’t even breathe properly, but she had tried to tough it out. Thinking she would feel better if she just took some digestive medicine, she had popped a pill into her mouth and waited for a long time, but there was no sign of improvement. In fact, rather than getting better, her stomach hurt increasingly more.

“I can’t…… take it anymore…….”

Weeping, Bobae finally dialed 119.

“My stomach…… my stomach hurts so much. Please help me.”

Reading off her address, Bobae pleaded desperately.

“Excuse me! By any chance, are there any female officers among the 119 crew? A female officer has to come; if a male officer shows up, it’ll be a disaster. Please make sure it’s a female officer……!”

Unable to bring herself to explain the reason, Bobae could only blindly cry out for a woman.

A moment later.

The ambulance carrying Bobae pierced through the pouring rain and arrived at Taesung Hospital.

Bobae was transferred to the emergency room and underwent several tests there.

“It’s acute appendicitis.”

“Appendicitis? You mean a burst appendix?”

“Yes. You’ll need surgery.”

Surgery. She had thought she just had indigestion from eating spoiled bread. Come to think of it, her stomach had been hurting even before she ate the bread. She had thought it strange that her lower abdomen had been cramping for the past few days, yet in that state, she had gone and eaten spoiled bread because she was hungry.

“We will proceed with surgery right away.”

“Pardon? Right now?”

“Yes. Right now.”

“Excuse me, Doctor.”

Bobae looked up anxiously at the female doctor who had assisted with her tests and said,

“You’re going to be the one operating on me, right?”

“No, the surgery will be performed by someone else……”

“I really, really want to be operated on by a female doctor. Truly.”

It was her first surgery in her entire life. Whenever she had needed to visit a hospital, she always booked places with female doctors, but she never expected something like this to happen out of nowhere.

“My surgery absolutely must be done by a female doctor, or else we’ll both end up with complications— Ow! My stomach…….”

“Moving to the operating room!”

At the exact moment Bobae’s bed was being rolled into the operating room, Horang’s surgery began.

Rain was still pouring heavily outside the sky, and occasional flashes of lightning accompanied by roaring thunder split the heavens. However, inside the windowless operating room, there was no way of knowing whether it was raining or lightning outside.

“The battery.”

As Professor Kwak held out his hand, the assisting doctor handed him the battery.

Once this battery was connected, Horang would never have to step foot onto an operating table again for the rest of his life. That would free him considerably from those eyeing his position.

Anticipating that day, the exact moment Professor Kwak connected the battery to the artificial heart!

Rumble-rumble! Crack-crack-boom!

Amidst a violent crash of thunder, the battery connected to Horang’s heart sparked with a flash of light. And a moment later, the operating room—and indeed the entire hospital—plunged into pitch darkness.

“What is this?”

“Looks like a blackout.”

“A blackout?! How does that make sense? What about backup power?”

“That is…… it seems there’s some kind of problem.”

“Is that something to say in the middle of surgery?! Go figure it out fast!”

“Yes!”

Professor Kwak’s sharp shout echoed, but with not an inch of visibility, moving around was extremely difficult.

It was while the doctors and nurses were stumbling around in the dark to activate the emergency backup power.

A single beam of light appeared at the end of the dark hallway.

It was the sole light illuminating the darkness-shrouded hospital.

The light entering from the end of the hallway soon linked to the next light, and then the next.

The lights were turning on one by one, following a rolling bed rushing down the corridor.

It was the bed carrying Bobae!

Using that light as a guide, people began finding their way, and they were finally able to resolve the issue.

“Emergency backup power activated!”

As the lights flickered back on, Professor Kwak immediately checked Horang’s condition. Both his heartbeat and blood pressure were completely normal. The artificial heart and battery were properly connected, and his heart was beating steadily like a healthy person’s.

Though there had been a brief blackout, thankfully, there were nothing wrong with Horang.

“Alright, let’s close him up now. Scalpel.”