Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 323. Again, Spring

I could barely remember how I managed to hold myself together until we arrived at Seoul Hospital.

‘Please, please, please…’

The hospital hadn’t contacted us yet, so it seemed the test results weren’t out. Adding to my anxiety, Joo Eunchan hadn’t read my messages, and Thirteen was still nowhere to be found.

“Hajin, Hajin…!”

As soon as we arrived at the hospital, I jumped out of the car and headed straight for the elevator at a run. My vision had narrowed so much that I almost caused an accident, barely noticing a car passing by. If Doha hadn’t caught my arm just in time, I might have turned this relief into another disaster.

Since the incident at the pension, Doha’s attitude towards me had changed, and he now raised his voice, something he rarely did.

“That was dangerous!”

“…I’ll be careful. Just let go of me.”

The problem was, I had no room for caution at the moment.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Thirteen to handle things, but this anxiety wouldn’t subside until I confirmed with my own eyes that Ji Suho’s vision was intact. My expression must have revealed just how desperate I was, as Doha hesitated before loosening his grip on my arm.

Behind Doha, I saw the other members, who had also gotten out of the car and were following us.

More specifically, I saw Dan Haru, whose face was just as stricken with fear as mine.

“……”

Probably, Dan Haru—

That twenty-six-year-old Dan Haru inside knew what had happened to Ji Suho in the past. After all, his plan to join Miro in this timeline involved using Ji Suho, so he must have expected something like this.

And the other eighteen-year-old Dan Haru inside him seemed to have realized it too.

He seemed to understand that the voice trying to take over his body was behind Ji Suho’s blindness in this timeline.

“……Let’s go quickly.”

But I still didn’t have the composure to look after Dan Haru.

Unable to say anything, I simply averted my gaze and quickened my pace towards the elevator. However, when I reached it, the elevator was already on its way up, far above the 10th floor.

“Damn it…”

I barely managed to hold back the curse that wanted to slip out. It seemed busier than usual, with people coming and going in the parking lot. I was about to head for the stairs when someone grabbed my wrist again.

“…?”

“There’s a patient transport elevator at the back. I got the guardian card from Wook-hyung, so let’s go there!”

Turning my head, I saw Haru swiftly putting a hat and mask on my face, which he must have gotten from somewhere, before pulling me along by the wrist. Suddenly, I remembered that we had scouted out all the elevators when planning Joo Eunchan’s escape from the hospital.

“What about Wook-hyung and the others?”

“Wook-hyung said he needed to handle something on the 8th floor, and the others are registering at the entrance. There was only one guardian card. I came ahead to give it to you.”

His face, which had been full of fear earlier, was now back to its usual sharpness as he responded quickly and led the way to the patient transport elevator. When we arrived, Haru used the guardian card, and the elevator, which was already at a lower floor, began descending rapidly.

As soon as the doors opened, we stepped in and pressed the button for the floor where Ji Suho and Joo Eunchan’s room was located. Neither of us spoke on the way up.

“……”

Soon, the elevator arrived on the 14th floor. There was an automatic door between the elevator and the ward entrance, which could only be accessed with a card key. Seeing the guard at the entrance, Haru handed me the card key without hesitation.

“You go in first, hyung.”

“What about you?”

“When there’s a guard, only one person can enter with a card key. I’ll call Eunchan-hyung or go in with the others.”

“……”

“Hurry…!”

Seeing me hesitate, Haru impatiently shoved the card key into my hand. Without responding, I took the card and quickly made my way into the ward.

The automatic door opened after I scanned the card key. As the guards checked my card and room information, Haru stayed where he was, watching me. Leaving him behind, I rushed toward Ji Suho’s room.

“……”

The door to Ji Suho’s room was slightly ajar, but the lights inside were off.

This wasn’t unusual, though, as Ji Suho had been in a dark room since his eye surgery to help him rest. Standing at the door, I took a deep breath and carefully grabbed the handle.

“…Thirteen.”

I called out softly, hoping for a response, but there was still no answer. When I checked the status screen through the system, it only showed that Ji Suho was currently resting.

“……?”

Then, I heard a faint sound from inside the room—someone moving an IV stand and muttering to themselves.

There was no way Ji Suho, who had been in a coma for days, could move around, so it was most likely Joo Eunchan, who had recently had his cast removed.

Trying to steady my nerves, I opened the door. As I stepped inside, my thoughts began to clear. I realized that I needed to check on Ji Suho’s condition before Haru arrived.

“……”

“…Oh, Hajin-hyung?”

The first person I saw as I opened the door was Joo Eunchan, who had just come out of the bathroom after washing his hands. He looked much better than the last time I had seen him, but there was no time for pleasantries. I tried to calm my frayed nerves as I spoke sharply to him.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“Huh? Ah…! I must have left it in the room. Sorry. Did you try to call me?”

“What about the Director? How is he? Have the results come out?”

“Um… He’s still asleep from the medication they gave him for the tests. I haven’t heard the results yet, but he should wake up soon, so I was waiting here.”

“…Okay, got it. I’ll stay here, so go get Haru. He’s stuck outside by the patient elevator because he doesn’t have the card key.”

“Really? Okay, I’ll go. Hyung, can you stay with the Director? He’s been twitching a bit, so I think he’ll wake up soon.”

“Yeah.”

Nodding, I watched Joo Eunchan pass by me with his IV stand and leave the room.

After the door closed, I carefully walked toward Ji Suho’s bed. There he was, his usually neatly combed bangs now grown out and covering his forehead. It was a far cry from his usual polished look.

Still, for someone who had been in a coma for over two weeks, he didn’t look too bad. They must have hired a good caregiver to keep him clean and groomed.

“……Ugh.”

“……!”

I had been staring at Ji Suho’s closed eyes for several minutes, wondering if the marks on them were from surgery or scars from the accident.

Just as Joo Eunchan had said, Ji Suho’s eyelids twitched a few times before he slowly began to wake up, as if emerging from a deep sleep.

“……”

Fully awake, Ji Suho stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression. I wanted to shout at him, ask him if he could see me, but for some reason, the sight of him like this made it hard to even breathe.

If the world Ji Suho was seeing right now was nothing but darkness, my voice would only mark the beginning of his despair.

“……….”

“……….”

In the continued silence, Ji Suho’s eyes slowly wandered around the room until they finally settled on where I was standing.

I still couldn’t bring myself to speak, waiting instead for Ji Suho to say something first. The way his gaze seemed unfocused made me even more anxious.

‘Please, please…’

Finally, still sounding half-asleep, Ji Suho spoke.

“…Wow.”

“……”

“I really can’t see.”

His calm tone, as if he had expected this, made me feel as if all the blood was draining from my body.

Ji Suho spoke again, just as I was struggling to stay on my feet, staring at him.

After coughing a few times as if his throat was dry, Ji Suho spoke with a chuckle in his voice.

“…Why are you just standing there, man? I’m not dead.”

Was he talking to me?

Still unsure, I squinted and took a step closer to Ji Suho. As I did, I saw his eyes follow me, tracking my movement with precision.

The moment I realized this, I froze in place. Ji Suho let out a tired laugh, blinking slowly.

“Ahem, ahem. Cough, cough. …Wow, this really is something.”

“……”

“If you’re going to stand there, at least get me some water.”

“…You can see me?”

Tense with worry, I asked, watching his eyes, which occasionally lost focus, as if he was trying to keep up the facade of normalcy. Ji Suho, sounding drowsy from the medication, answered in a low, whispered voice.

“I can’t see anymore.”

“……”

“I can’t see your white light anymore.”

Normally, I would have understood immediately, but today my brain seemed to be frozen, unable to process what he was saying or what this meant.

At that moment, as if to

help me understand, the system alerts I had longed to hear chimed repeatedly, and several blue windows updated in front of my eyes.

[Ji Suho (Awakened)]

Modifier: ‘Of Burning Passion,’ ‘Of the Deepest Shadow’

Trait: Star Maker☆

-Identifies individuals with the potential to become stars ‘by fate.’ (Accuracy rate: 77%)

-Depending on the potential, different colored auras appear.

Note: Interaction with the Chosen Regressor has influenced past timelines (Déjà Vu).

[System Alert: The past event (Blindness) of ‘Ji Suho’ has been replaced with Trait Removal (Star Maker).]

[System Alert: ‘Ji Suho’ is no longer influenced by ‘past timelines.’]

[System Alert: ‘Ji Suho’s timeline has been newly recorded.]

And through those system windows, I saw Ji Suho’s clear and focused gaze directed straight at me.

“Your system friend wanted me to tell you it did its best and that it’s sorry. Thanks to that, I wasn’t bored while time-traveling in my sleep.”

“……”

Still sounding as if he were dreaming, Ji Suho chuckled and looked down at me with a playful smile.

“…What do we do? I’m not a superhuman anymore. Just an ordinary guy.”

Thirteen had succeeded.

That was the only fact that registered in my mind. Overwhelmed by relief, I closed my eyes and sank to the floor.