"Don't you think the fresh recruit pushed way too hard? You should've covered for him at least that much~"
"How was I supposed to know the kid would throw himself off a bridge?"
The faint sound of someone's conversation reached my ears.
"Mm, mmh."
I pried open my leaden eyelids, and a ceiling with white lights came into view.
"Where... cough, ggk...."
I barely managed one word, and my throat stung as though I'd swallowed a knife.
Even swallowing a single mouthful of saliva was agonizing enough to make me wince.
'I'm pretty sure I'm back in reality....'
I moved only my eyes, checking my hands and legs.
The blue mold had vanished without a trace, leaving only clean skin.
'But then, why does my throat...?'
My lips were bone-dry.
My throat, the area around my mouth—everything was parched.
"It's aftereffects~ The jiangshi's influence is all gone, so don't worry~"
"Take the medicine and you'll be back to normal."
A woman with striking green wavy hair and Gam Doyeong approached.
"Not a trace of mold in sight. Okay~"
The woman wore a blue shirt with a name badge clipped over it.
The badge bore the Cheonsu Airlines logo and read "Specialist Physician."
"I'm Han Sowol~ The one and only ghost story specialist physician at Cheonsu Airlines. You were out cold for three hours~?"
Han Sowol spoke in a languid, unhurried way.
I slowly sat up.
A faint smell of disinfectant hung in the air, and looking around, I could see other beds lined up beyond light blue curtains.
Ah, so this is where the headquarters infirmary was.
Han Sowol smiled brightly and placed pills in my palm.
'Since when do people take eight pills at once....'
"Shove them all in at once. Just try skipping even one."
Gam Doyeong said, arms crossed, looking down at me with a slanted gaze.
"How, cough, am I supposed, to take all of these, at once...."
"Stop nitpicking and just take them."
"Doyeong's still rude as ever~ and always beating around the bush~ If he'd just keep quiet, he'd be so popular with women~"
Gam Doyeong shooed Han Sowol away from my bed, telling her she was being noisy.
"Try not to end up here if you can help it~"
Han Sowol giggled, waved her hand, and went off to check on other beds.
"Cough, why, is my throat, like this...."
"As you know, with Type 2, you're supposed to revert to normal when you return to reality. But in severe cases, aftereffects can sometimes linger."
Gam Doyeong ground his teeth and heaved sigh after sigh as he spoke.
"Beyond reckless... hah. I don't think you're even sane. What, are you a fighting dog? A battle junkie? Huh?"
"Ha, ha, cough cough...."
Strangely, the moment I swallowed the pills, it became easier to swallow.
"Your new schedule's up."
Gam Doyeong handed me my phone.
Checking immediately, the original schedule had changed significantly.
Wait, through next week too...
"It's empty?"
"You ever seen a flight attendant fly every single day? It was originally empty only through this week, but I submitted an aftereffects diagnosis form and got it extended. After that, you're back on flights."
"Ah, I see. What about you, Senior?"
"I'm flying to Taiwan tomorrow."
"That's not what I meant—you got grabbed by the jiangshi at first."
At my words, Gam Doyeong furrowed his brow and stared.
"Unlike someone, I've got a healthy body."
"That's a relief. Are the others okay?"
"They're lying in the beds right next to yours. And the one next to that. And the one next to that."
Just then, some kind of commotion came from further inside.
"Oh come on, only patients are allowed in here~ Everyone out, out~"
Han Sowol shooed someone away and closed the door.
Then she carried a hefty basket over to my bed.
"Popular new recruit, aren't you~ They insisted I deliver this~"
I took the basket, which had a large pink ribbon attached to it. Inside, glossy fruits were packed so full they nearly spilled over the rim.
A photograph and a small piece of paper were tucked in as well.
The photo showed CQ117, the aircraft from my very first flight. The sunlight reflecting off it made the blue plane sparkle even more.
The paper was a small note. Dizzying Korean letters covered it, as though a flamboyant earthworm had crawled across the page.
Gam Doyeong picked up the note.
"[Give birth soon, Yuja-cheong. Safe delivery, safe delivery!] ...Are they insane? It's from First Officer Gong Gyedo and Naviq."
TL Note: The note uses 낳다 (to give birth) instead of the similar-sounding 낫다 (to recover), turning a get-well wish into a maternity blessing.
"Hahaha, that's too kind."
"That brat with no manners and a girl who looked like his classmate also stopped by earlier and left."
So Siun and Hyena came too.
I pulled a small tangerine from the large basket in my hands and turned it over in my fingers.
Then I slowly spoke.
"...At the welcome party a while back, you said something. Didn't I find it funny—barely making it in here, then throwing around talk of quitting so easily."
"Why bring that up now? I told you to forget it."
"Something came to mind while going through this ghost story."
[Out of all adults in Korea, what percentage actually achieved their childhood dream?]
I'd once seen an article with that intriguing title.
A survey of 2,000 adults. The final result showed that "66.3% of South Koreans fail to realize their dreams."
I smiled faintly and continued.
"Who would have thought? That ghost stories actually exist. If I'd been too scared and terrified to even consider dealing with ghost stories, I would have followed you from the accepted candidates' room to the rejected candidates' room that very first day at Senior Gam Doyeong's urging."
"......"
"To give up."
I handed the tangerine in my hand to Gam Doyeong.
"But... because I wanted this job so badly, even knowing ghost stories were real... isn't that why I kept my acceptance and tried it, even if just for a little while?"
Imagining the jiangshi still makes me shudder.
The memory of the bell shattering and blue mold spreading across my entire body—agony enough to black out in a single second—was vivid.
Even so...
Meeting good colleagues, the memory of that long-awaited first flight—they wouldn't let me quit this job easily.
Those who achieve their childhood dreams make up a tiny minority, while the proportion who forget their dreams entirely is high.
And workplace satisfaction isn't exactly generous either.
I know full well that people don't work to feel satisfied.
It's because you need to buy dinner tonight, or pay rent, or pay back debt—there are countless reasons why you live as a working member of society.
But in that moment, seeing the vast sky from the cockpit and working above the clouds—I was truly happy.
It was one of those rare moments where I could feel fulfillment at the same time as doing my job.
"If I can just get rid of the ghost stories and do my job, I think I'd be reckless all over again."
"What?"
I touched my throat.
The stinging was completely gone.
Since I'd come out of the Type 2 space, there weren't any wounds.
"Just like those two who resigned still worked as flight attendants, even if only briefly—I wanted this job that badly too."
I turned my head slightly and looked down at Gam Doyeong's feet.
Instead of dress shoes, he wore sneakers with the laces pulled tight, prepared for ghost stories.
"Next time, I'll wear sneakers too. Like you said, preparation is key."
"I'm so dumbfounded I can barely speak."
I pondered what supplies would be good to bring before the next ghost story.
Sport sneakers would be better than regular ones, right? I think I had a pair in the shoe rack somewhere.
Should pack a spare shirt ahead of time too.
SMACK—!
Gam Doyeong's broad palm connected beautifully with the back of my head.
Rubbing my throbbing skull, I looked at him.
"There isn't a single thing I like about you. Calling this the 32nd class ace—what a load of bullshit."
Gam Doyeong clicked his tongue and walked away.
"He was rushing me to bring you in and see you quickly, and now this~ Honestly, just when I think I understand him, I don't~"
"Shut it."
"Can we please keep this mouth closed for once~"
Han Sowol, who had appeared at some point, lightly smacked Gam Doyeong's lips as she spoke.
"Ow, ouch, stop hitting me."
"I'm going to grab a coffee real quick. Rest up as you please, and sign out before you leave~"
Han Sowol left with Gam Doyeong, and the infirmary fell into quiet stillness.
I lay back down in bed, stared blankly at the ceiling, and closed my eyes.
The moment I closed them, it felt as though I could hear the sound of bells again.
[Give birth soon, Yuja-cheong. Safe delivery, safe delivery!]
"Pfft."
That's so absurd it's actually funny.
For the two more hours I slept there, until I woke, I heard no Chinese scenery, no chilling hopping sounds, no silver bells at all.
It was simply refreshing.
***
[Ding ding ding— Good morning—]
[Ding ding ding— Good morning—]
"Ugh... it's already 10 o'clock...."
The muscle aches were absolutely killing me....
Since getting off work yesterday, pain had been shooting through my arms, legs—my entire body.
Well, I had been running, falling, sliding, and... even diving lately.
I painfully stretched my aching arm to turn off the alarm.
Since Gam Doyeong had submitted the aftereffects diagnosis form, my schedule was empty for about eight days.
['One Step, Two Steps into the World!' Today we've come to the Zhaozhou Bridge (赵州桥) in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China—]
Through the slightly open bedroom door, I could hear the TV in the living room.
A very familiar country was being mentioned, so I dragged my feet out to take a look.
[This ancient arch bridge has over 1,400 years of history, also known as the 'Zhaozhou Bridge.' The total length of this bridge is approximately 64 meters, with a height of about 7.3 meters. The river flowing beneath it is called the Xiaohe (洨河) River...]
"That bridge is really long. Tall, too—I couldn't go there."
Mom muttered while watching TV.
'I've personally fallen off one....'
"Did you sleep well? It's a rare day off, you should've slept more."
"The muscle aches are a bit bad. I woke up on my own."
"Sudden muscle aches? Have you been working out lately?"
"...Something like that. Running and stuff."
I couldn't exactly tell the truth, so I made something up.
"Oh please, don't be dramatic. You could stand to bulk up more. You look so scrawny."
Mom said with a hearty laugh.
"You've stopped working weekends, right?"
"My son got such a great job that I can sleep in on weekends too. How does that place pay so much? Seems like more than even Daehwan Airlines or AsiAGo."
I'd recently received my first paycheck.
During the training period, you'd normally only receive a portion of your salary, but Cheonsu Airlines was clearly in a league of its own.
'After catching up on overdue utility bills and loan interest, there's still plenty left for living expenses.'
'Right? They pay a new hire this much? Lucky you got a good job. That's my son.'
'Uh...... it's a good place, hahaha....'
On top of that, the per diem for overseas schedules was more generous than elsewhere.
The other benefits helped too, and our household had regained a bit of breathing room.
Today was my first worry-free day off since graduating college.
"Oh right, your shirt and pants were covered in dirt. I'll need to take them to the dry cleaner, so stop by on your way."
Mom pointed at the shopping bag she'd put my dirty uniform in.
"While you're out, visit your dad at the hospital too. You haven't gone once since you started work. It's been almost two months since you've seen his face."
"A moment ago you told me to sleep more since it's my day off."
"That's just how I talk~ Just take the apple juice over there."
Mom giggled as she spoke, and I couldn't help but laugh along.
[Save K Hospital]
Past the hospital entrance, I took the inner elevator to the tenth floor and arrived at a familiar corridor.
Whenever I walked through the pure white, meticulously sanitized hallway, nothing but the strong smell of disinfectant filled the air.
The tenth floor was connected to the pediatric ward, and far off I could faintly hear children running and crying.
[1003, Yoo Jeonghun / Kim Yeongsu]
The room that two members of the Yoo family had shared now had a third name tag slipped in beside Dad's.
"Dad."
"Cheongho! What—showing up without even calling!"
"Why are you so gaunt?"
"The hospital food tastes like garbage, that's why. Nothing salty, nothing spicy, nothing sweet—if I were plump despite all that, something would actually be wrong."
Dad chuckled as he spoke.
He'd lost a little more weight since I'd last seen him, but he was as humorous as ever.
Back in high school, when we'd been in a car accident together, Dad—in the driver's seat—had barely pulled through.
His spine and lower body had sustained severe damage, and at one point, it looked like paralysis could leave him unable to walk.
He was currently hospitalized again for a repeat spinal surgery and rehabilitation, which would take about another year.
"Oh, is that your son?"
When the man in the neighboring bed asked, Dad's eyes lit up as he answered.
"This is my son who just got a job at an airline! Takes after me—handsome, isn't he? The place he got hired at is... uh, what was it?"
"Cheonsu Airlines."
"Right, Cheonsu Airlines. You see their ads all the time these days, right? Must've been busy flying, since he's only coming to see me now."
A company that took down its recruitment posting the same day it went up wasn't exactly running TV commercials. But I didn't want to let Dad down, so I forced a smile.
"But really, they looked at this and still gave you a pass, no questions asked?"
Dad's finger gently pointed to my scar.
The long scar stretching across my right eye was still making its presence emphatically known.
I'd actually asked the First Officer about it during the welcome party, concerned about the scar.
'A scar? Even better. Perfect match for ghost stories. You think the ghosts'll take one look at your face and run? Bwahahaha!'
He'd been supremely optimistic.
"Doesn't seem to matter. I think they just look at qualifications."
"That's a relief. Must've been my brains you inherited to pass right away. Good job, good job. When's your next flight?"
"Eight days from now, straight to Thailand."
"Before that it was Japan, right? Spreading your wings across the world, hahaha!"
Dad, beaming with pride, clapped me on the back and went on an absolute tirade of parental bragging to the man in the next bed.
Once he got going like that, he wouldn't stop for at least twenty minutes, so I excused myself to grab a drink.
I got a canned juice from the vending machine and sat in a hallway chair for a moment.
RATTLE.
The sound of a patient dragging an IV stand, nurses pushing dressing carts.
I quietly closed my eyes.
'Honestly, I didn't want to come back here.'
I'd spent nearly a year as a patient here, after all.
I'd been unconscious for a week after the accident.
I'd looked as haggard as a corpse, and before I could even worry about the hospital bills, it had been surgery after surgery after surgery, rehabilitation on repeat.
Forget studying—I couldn't do anything properly.
'It was absolute chaos.'
Memories from that time came creeping back, and just as I stood up thinking I'd go smoke a cigarette,
BUZZ.
[Naviq (Cheonsu Airlines): Cheongho, it's your day off right? Heard you're all better, glad to hear it.]
[Naviq (Cheonsu Airlines): I'm reeeally sorry but... could you help me out please ㅠㅠ?]
Right when my mind was unsettled, Naviq sent an SOS by text.
Seeing the stream of teary-eyed emoticons, I wondered what was going on and gave him a call.