“Jun's guardian. It's been a while since you've come by.”
“…Hello.”
At a hospital in Seoul, Geumyi wasn't known as Ma Geumyi, the A-class Hunter and influencer.
Here, she was simply a patient's guardian.
“Would you like to go into the room and see him in person?”
“I... didn't apply for visitation beforehand….”
“It has been a long time. We happen to have one protective suit left.”
The person speaking to Geumyi was a nurse from the special ward. In a cheerful voice, she told her to wait and started walking away, but Geumyi quickly stopped her.
“No! It's okay. Really... it's enough if I just see him through the glass.”
“Hm? Ah….”
Only then did the nurse seem to notice the look on Geumyi's face. She hesitated for a moment before nodding in understanding.
“Of course. Whatever makes you most comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
As Geumyi lowered her head in gratitude, the sorrow she couldn't conceal was written plainly across her face. Although she had come here of her own accord, she now dragged her feet as though something invisible were pulling her forward, slowly making her way toward the hospital room.
And there lay the patient.
No... her only remaining family. Her other half.
“…Jun. I'm here.”
Beyond the specially reinforced glass that blocked mana, the hospital room could be seen, filled with a bed and life-support machines.
Someone who looked almost exactly like her lay there in silence.
Her gaze fell upon the transparent plastic case hanging from the bed rail.
Patient's name. Age. Admission date.
And beneath them, the diagnosis printed in cold, emotionless letters.
Ma Jun
Male / 21
Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome
Beep—
Beep—
Beep—
Even though the thick glass completely sealed the room off, she could almost hear the machines inside.
Without realizing it, Geumyi placed her hand against the glass.
“…I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit often.”
The end of her quiet murmur cracked with grief.
“I've been a little busy lately. But... I think I'll be able to come more often now.”
Her face twisted so badly it was impossible to tell whether she was laughing or crying. The hand resting against the glass trembled violently before finally slipping away without strength.
“…I'm getting tired. I'm so tired, Ma Jun. When are you going to wake up?”
She let herself complain, knowing he couldn't hear a word.
The emotions she had buried deep inside, the feelings she had desperately pretended not to notice, surged upward from the pit of her stomach until they clogged her throat.
“You just sleep peacefully every single day….”
Ma Jun.
He was Geumyi's twin younger brother.
Five years earlier, on the day of the Great Cataclysm, he had become the only family their parents had managed to protect with their lives.
'What does it matter? Even my only remaining family ended up like this….'
It happened shortly after their parents died.
As the nation slowly returned to order, a joint funeral was held for all the victims.
Amid that overwhelming chaos, Jun suddenly collapsed.
It wasn't an ordinary fainting spell.
His initial diagnosis had simply been "loss of consciousness from unknown causes."
There was nothing physically wrong with him, nor were there any obvious abnormalities.
Yet every few days, he would suddenly crumple to the ground like a machine whose power had been cut.
As time passed, the intervals between the attacks grew shorter, while the amount of time he remained unconscious gradually increased.
Eventually, doctors identified the illness.
Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome.
More patients with identical symptoms began appearing.
After investigating those cases, researchers concluded that the mysterious energy known as mana, which had appeared after the Great Cataclysm, was most likely the cause.
The evidence was clear.
Whenever Jun approached a Gate, he would collapse immediately, even if it wasn't time for another attack, and remain unconscious for days.
Dungeon byproducts produced the same result.
So did every other kind of item.
He could barely tolerate even the presence of low-ranked Hunters.
'We've discovered a new material capable of blocking a certain amount of mana. We plan to use it to build specialized hospital rooms.'
As the country stabilized, the era itself changed.
Hunters walked openly through the streets.
Mana was used everywhere.
Dungeon byproducts became construction materials.
Gates appeared and disappeared throughout the world without warning.
In a world like that, people suffering from Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome were essentially living with ticking time bombs.
Fortunately, doctors joined forces with the Hunter Association and managed to devise temporary measures for patients with the syndrome.
'Ms. Ma, we're currently developing a new medication, but it's going to take time. The question is whether Mr. Ma Jun can survive until then.'
'Isn't there... any other way?'
'It's difficult.... We can buy some time by isolating him in a special hospital room, but the financial burden... Insurance doesn't cover any of this. It'll be extremely expensive.'
Financial burden.
Those words pierced straight through Geumyi's heart.
She couldn't abandon Jun.
He was her only remaining family.
The only person their parents had left behind for her.
'I'll do it. I'll find a way somehow. Please... save my brother….'
From that day onward, she took every job she could.
She dropped out of school.
Every cent of her parents' insurance payout went toward Jun's medical bills.
She sold their house.
She sold nearly everything they owned.
At sixteen years old, all she had left was a tiny basement studio barely bigger than the palm of her hand.
And her sick twin brother.
She couldn't afford to stop working.
Unable to bear wasting even the smallest scraps of free time, she started using social media as well.
She sold her appearance.
She sold her story.
She accepted whatever donations people were willing to send.
Two years passed like that.
At eighteen, Geumyi awakened.
A Gate had suddenly opened while she was working as a delivery driver, and she became caught in the incident.
The result—
An A-class Fire Mage.
For the first time in her life, she found herself on the side with power.
Signing bonuses.
Contract percentages.
Status.
Everything came so easily that it almost felt undeserved.
The young Geumyi chased immediate profit.
She knew contracts could be dangerous, but she was too desperate for money to think about the future.
The person who finally gave her room to breathe...
...was Seo Munhyeok.
'Hello.'
She first met Seo Munhyeok in a quiet café.
It was a meeting held over a preliminary contract.
At the time, Geumyi had already been leaning toward signing with one of the major guilds that had offered her the largest signing bonus.
But Seo Munhyeok's proposal completely shook her resolve.
'This may be inappropriate, but... while looking into your background, I learned a little about your family situation.'
'...Excuse me?'
'I won't waste your time. If you join our guild, we'll cover your brother's medical expenses in full.'
The guild would never interfere with her choice of hospital.
His treatment would remain entirely in Geumyi's hands.
There would be no financial limit.
Furthermore, a portion of the guild's profits would be invested in developing medication for Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome.
Seo Munhyeok explained every one of those conditions without the slightest hesitation.
His manner remained calm and matter-of-fact.
Unlike the representatives from the other guilds, he never tried to probe her or calculate what she was worth.
That was why Geumyi chose him.
His offer had certainly been attractive, but more than anything, she believed the clear, unwavering eyes that looked directly at her.
Out of everyone she had ever met, Seo Munhyeok seemed the most like a true adult.
Someone capable of protecting not only her...
...but her brother as well.
'And now look what's happening….'
The brief trip down memory lane ended as Geumyi clenched her teeth, letting out a pained groan.
Anxiety and helplessness crashed over her like endless waves.
'If I get kicked out... what happens to Jun's hospital bills?'
In truth, that wasn't her only concern.
Strictly speaking, she had enough savings to cover the medical expenses for a while.
During that time, she could join another major guild.
Or she could assemble her own team as a freelance mercenary and accept commissions.
The real problem...
...was that she wasn't sure her mind would survive that process.
“……”
Jun's condition continued to worsen.
That was simply the nature of the illness.
The special room blocked mana, but it couldn't block it completely.
That mysterious energy drifted through the air itself.
Current medical technology had no way to cure it.
His extreme sensitivity to mana also made it nearly impossible for Healers to treat him.
'From now on... Jun will just keep dying a little more every day….'
The thought that she would have to watch it happen with nowhere left to turn made it hard to breathe.
Normally, the guild members took turns accompanying Geumyi whenever she came to visit Jun.
She had grown deeply attached to all of them.
She didn't even want to imagine having to part with them.
“Um... Ms. Ma, Jun's guardian.”
It wasn't until her legs began to ache that Geumyi finally left the visitation room.
She was about to head home when someone called out to her from behind.
“...?”
Turning around in confusion, she saw the same nurse who had greeted her earlier.
“Please take this with you. I thought you might need it.”
“…Huh?”
The nurse approached with a gentle smile and placed something into her hands.
Looking down, Geumyi found herself holding a black cap.
“Ah….”
“Please keep it. You don't have to return it.”
The nurse said nothing more.
She didn't ask if Geumyi was alright.
She didn't tell her everything would work out.
She didn't tell her to stay strong.
She chose silence instead.
“Th-thank... you….”
Even that silence felt incredibly kind to Geumyi.
The tears she had been desperately holding back finally spilled over.
The nurse gently patted the back of the hand that clutched the cap so tightly.