Chapter 14
암술수술수술 : You absolutely must not take any medication before entering the hospital.
Senior Choi Yuna.
Yeah.
I called out to Choi Yuna the moment I checked the comment from the gallery-certified hospital nut.
I was in the middle of getting a pain suppressant shot in my thigh.
Could you maybe not give me that?
I blurted it out without even explaining.
Because I thought a senior would at least hear me out....
Yeah.
After saying that, Choi Yuna put the pain suppressant away in her pocket.
Really?
Yeah.
I haven't even told you why yet.
Do you have bad intentions?
No.
Then it's fine.
Choi Yuna trusted my words without a hint of suspicion.
I couldn't tell whether to call her cool or say she doted on her junior to an excessive degree.
May our hospital nut's advice be of some help to the senior.
Hmm.
Why?
No. My mouth was dry.
The more I thought about it, the more regrettable it was. I should've gotten the shot a little later.
They say if you save a drowning man, he asks you to hand over the bundle.
Only after getting the pain suppressant shot did I feel a little resentful toward what the hospital nut had said.
How materialistic humans are.
Once you're done, join us! We'll run out of daylight at this rate!
A Chungnam Branch operative called to us from in front of the hospital entrance.
Was I from the Gwanak Branch?
If we make it back, I should also check how many branches the Bureau has nationwide.
In contrast to the fog all around it, the hospital's exterior was neat.
Usually, the cliché would be something eerie—an old, ramshackle abandoned hospital.
For some reason, this place felt more like it had opened recently than the hospital near my family home.
Once we get into the lobby, we'll hand out the response guidelines, so memorize them.
Yep.
Among the staff members, a guarded the left, b the middle and apparently the leader, and c the right—c was the one who spoke.
I didn't come up with the abc labels; they did.
Apparently, there's no benefit to saying your name when entering a location-type entity, or something like that.
So I was named Newbie, and the senior was named Wonko.
Wonko, huh. What could that possibly mean?
‘You're sticking with me again this time, right? Huh? We recovered the entity last time thanks to me, too.’
‘No, even if he's a newbie, shouldn't he at least have insurance with an ability user....’
b's earlier words came to mind, and I had a really bad feeling.
Kreeeak.
The hospital door opened, the abc staff member went in first, and then the senior and I entered.
“It’s cleaner than I expected inside.”
“That line tastes purple.”
The hospital lobby was wider and cleaner than I expected.
However, unlike other hospitals, there was no nurse at the information desk, no guardians waiting, and no patients in hospital gowns to be seen.
It was a truly empty facility.
“Take this.”
“Thank you.”
“Only read the beginning and save the rest for later. We don't have that much time.”
“Yes.”
c came over and handed out two sheets of paper.
It must be the response guidelines.
I handed one sheet to Choi Yuna and started reading.
++++
[42nd Iteration Response Guidelines - For Field Response Team Only]
For reasons unknown, Yeongsaeng General Hospital has been found to adapt the moment its response guidelines are made public outside.
However, test results show that what happens inside the hospital does not apply, so only personnel who enter the hospital are required to review this document.
Aside from the shared location of the lobby, a different ward appears every time. Refer to the department written above the ward entrance.
*Based on the rescue requester's call, the 42nd iteration has been confirmed as Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine.
[Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine Guidelines]
1. Nurse
When entering the ward, two nurse entities can be seen at the lobby information desk.
The nurses verify and classify everyone entering the ward, then guide each subject according to their status.
The classification system confirmed so far is as follows.
Patient, guardian, visitor
The nurses show different attitudes depending on the classified role.
If a subject is uncooperative with the hospital's instructions, or forces their way into a controlled area, tries to leave, or attempts contact with patients, the nurses immediately summon an entity called the hospital public-service worker.
The hospital public-service worker then carries out physical suppression and restraint of the subject.
2. Hospital Public-Service Worker
The hospital public-service worker is presumed to be a humanoid entity responsible for maintaining order inside the ward and subduing subjects.
According to testimony, it wears purple-toned clothing and has a frame so massive it's hard to think of it as human.
In some cases, it has been seen writhing out from spaces physically impossible to pass through, such as ward entrances, inside ceilings, and gaps in narrow hallways.
.
.
.
++++
Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, huh.
Of all things, this was where I ended up after getting a pain suppressant shot.
Could it be a coincidence?
I was about to check the gallery, but I stopped when I felt the senior's gaze.
“Don't be too tense.”
“Senior, you can even pack a lunchbox, so maybe you're fine, but this is my first assignment.”
“The departments may be different, but those three over there are hospital veterans.”
“That's right! It's already the fifth time?”
“No matter what else, hospitals are in the palm of our hands.”
“I'm not the Chungnam Branch ace for nothing.”
The abc trio answered with smug confidence.
Surviving four times, no less.
I thought it was an accomplishment well worth bragging about.
“Then have you been to Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine too?”
“No? It's my first time.”
“How different could it really be?”
“A hospital is a hospital.”
To really survive in field response, do you have to be that optimistic?
The abc staff member led the way and opened the door to Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine.
[What brings you here?]
The moment we entered, a grim voice came from the information desk.
Two mannequins dressed as nurses.
Their heads were turned toward us.
“I'm the guardian. I'm here to visit the patient.”
[I'll check. Please sit and wait for a moment.]
a was chatting with those things as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
So that's what separates the experienced from the rest.
It'll take about 30 minutes, so make sure to do your final check within that time.
After hearing b's explanation, I moved to a slightly secluded seat and opened the gallery.
ㄴ(글쓴이)갤질참쉽죠 : Why did you say I absolutely mustn't take medication?
Replies started coming in live.
ㄴ암술수술수술 : Usually it doesn't matter.
ㄴ암술수술암술 : Depending on which ward it is, medication taken or administered can be a problem.
ㄴ(글쓴이) 갤질참쉽죠 : Where is that?
ㄴ암술수술암술 : Neurosurgery, internal medicine? Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine too.
ㄴ암술수술암술 : If you got assigned to another department, you can ignore it.
You happened to hit the mark exactly, though.
(글쓴이) 갤질참쉽죠 : I'm in the Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine lobby right now.
ㄴ암술수술암술 : Jesus fucking Christ.
A creeping feeling began to rise that this wouldn't end with just a sore shoulder blade.
That was when it happened.
“What are you looking at?”
“Yes?”
Choi Yuna suddenly popped up behind me again.
No way, had she seen the gallery?
“Why are you typing when there's nothing on the screen?”
“Ah, this is….”
Choi Yuna tilted her head.
And yet my device was clearly showing the gallery screen.
Could this Bureau gallery... be invisible to other people?
If that's the case.
“It's a routine.”
“A routine?”
“You know how athletes have rituals before a match, right? I concentrate better if I mess around with my phone every so often.”
“Like only eating curry your wife made before a match, or placing two water bottles in front of the chair with the labels facing forward during a game.”
That was the only way I could think of to rationalize touching the blank screen.
“I see.”
Thankfully, Choi Yuna accepted it without a fuss.
“Do you have a routine of your own, senior?”
“Karaoke.”
“Karaoke?”
A word I never would have imagined coming out of her mouth.
“After the mission's over... let's go together.”
“Senior, that's a death flag.”
Choi Yuna tilted her head again.
Leaving her behind, I focused on the gallery again.
If other people couldn't see it, I needed to gather as much information as possible while I still could.
[뒺기ㅣ ㄴㄱㄴㅇㄹ싫은 뉴비 필도 ㄱ]
Author : 암술수술수술
Don't ask any questions. Chug everything you can drink right now, and in the bathroom, get rid of as much water as you can.
And pray you can withstand the pain.
I warned you.
[Comments]
갤질참쉽죠 : Why, what's this about? Explain.
ㄴ(글쓴이) 암술수술수술 : Instead of typing, drink some water, you asshole.
15 minutes left.
I had less time than I expected.
“Hey, Chungnam seniors.”
“What is it?”
“Can I use the water dispenser in the lobby?”
“Yeah, that's fine for now.”
I walked over to the water dispenser in the lobby and drank nonstop.
By the time I'd swallowed the equivalent of ten paper cups' worth of water, my body started rejecting it, but I kept forcing it down through the nausea.
“Seongbin?”
Choi Yuna noticed my strange behavior and came over, but I ignored her call and kept drinking water.
Because I had no idea what would happen if I ignored something even dead people were warning me about.
My bladder started sending signals.
I ran toward the abc seniors.
“May I go to the bathroom?”
“Yeah, that's still fine.”
“Nervous? Well, that figures, since you're a newbie.”
“Just don't piss your pants later, haha.”
After getting the all-clear, I hurried to the bathroom and emptied the water from my body.
Even while peeing, I kept forcing the water from the paper cups down my throat.
Haa....
2 minutes left.
To think I'd be in such a crisis before even properly entering the hospital.
This really isn't easy.
“Are you okay?”
“I'm fine.”
The senior rushed over as soon as I came out of the bathroom.
“It was a necessary process.”
“I don't understand.”
“Honestly, neither do I.”
It was better to be treated like a weirdo than to ignore orders and get into trouble.
[Identity verification is complete.]
Looks like two minutes have passed.
[Identity verification results.]
The nurse mannequin pointed at the senior with one finger.
[One guardian.]
Next was me.
[One medication-misuse patient.]
And the abc staff members.
[Three critically ill medication-misuse patients.]
“What?”
“We never had a case like this before.”
“Hey, over there!”
The spot c pointed to—the entrance to the ward.
There, a huge lump of fat in purple clothes was curling up and slowly wriggling its way out.
Is that the hospital public-service worker?
[All patients except the guardian will be taken in for treatment immediately.]
Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine classified the four of us who had received the pain suppressant shot, including me, as patients.
That meant we had become the prey Yeongsaeng General Hospital wanted.