The Emperor’s Hospitalization

The secretary could not hide his confusion at Jiwan’s unusual behavior, but he did not ask for the reason.

The secretary was merely someone who assisted Jiwan with his work, and Jiwan was not someone who explained himself to his secretary.

‘He’s probably just managing his image.’

Since Jiho had been hospitalized due to an accident involving the guild leader of the Domun Guild, the secretary assumed Jiwan was doing this for the sake of public image.

However, his thoughts and Jiwan’s thoughts were different.

‘…He said he needed money.’

That was why he had tried to remain by his side……. Jiwan recalled Jiho who had been with him in the past shown by the trap.

The moment Jiho stepped inside his boundary, every word Jiho had said became important to him.

If Jiho were to wake up and face difficulties because he could not work for a while, that would not do, so Jiwan decided to give him money under the pretext of compensation.

‘…Come to think of it, I should find out why he needs money in the first place.’

If it was because of debt, Jiwan even thought it would be fine to take over the debt itself.

‘No, it would be better to find out everything about Shin Jiho entirely.’

Thanks to the past shown by the trap, Jiho likely knew almost everything about Jiwan.

But Jiwan had not seen Jiho’s past, so he knew nothing about him.

“Investigate Shin Jiho.”

“Yes, sir.”

What kind of person was Shin Jiho?

Jiwan was truly curious.

Anyway, because of Do Jiwan’s strong insistence, I ended up being hospitalized like an emperor.

Even though I felt this was already enough, Do Jiwan refused to let me go.

“That’s strange. I’m feeding him well, so why is he still in a mild state of malnutrition?”

“Ha…… ha…….”

Hearing Do Jiwan mutter in confusion, I could not say a word.

Despite the stereotype of tasteless hospital food, the meals served in my hospital room were highly nutritious and incredibly delicious.

And yet the reason my condition did not improve was probably that.

‘Because Shin Jiho’s body is dead.’

This body was practically an undead moved by my divine power.

That was surely why it kept showing symptoms of mild malnutrition.

However, that was a secret I had to keep until the mission ended, so everyone’s doubts would remain unresolved.

Still, Do Jiwan’s sincerity was not entirely useless, and I could feel my body gradually improving day by day.

‘If things go well, maybe even the malnutrition symptoms will disappear.’

If I were to consume something like a spirit beast’s inner core, perhaps it would be possible.

But using something so extremely inefficient for this situation was simply impossible.

After all, a truly powerful inner core could even change a hunter’s rank, so using it to fix my malnutrition would be far too excessive.

Anyway, two weeks passed just like that, eating and resting.

People might say I was living in luxury beyond my means, but now I was getting restless and no longer wanted to stay in the hospital.

So I cautiously tried to speak to Do Jiwan.

“Um…….”

“What is it?”

The reply came immediately.

Because Do Jiwan was in one corner of my hospital room.

It wasn’t for nursing me, since I wasn’t actually sick.

He had practically set up an office in one corner of my room, as if to monitor me so I wouldn’t get discharged.

‘Isn’t that uncomfortable…….’

Do Jiwan, who commuted to my hospital room every single day, was truly the embodiment of stubborn determination.

No matter how much it was arranged like an office, a hospital room was still a hospital room and not suitable as a workplace.

Even so, he showed not the slightest sign of being bothered or inconvenienced.

‘Well…… the people under him probably suffered more.’

The secretary and staff members went back and forth between the office and the hospital room repeatedly…….

That didn’t mean Do Jiwan had it easy either.

The work must have been delayed as much as the time the employees spent moving around.

Maybe that was why, even long past working hours, Do Jiwan continued to work in the office set up inside my hospital room.

He worked so diligently that I, who was just idling around, felt somewhat embarrassed.

‘Not only that…….’

Sometimes he even slept in my hospital room.

He did that for half the week, so calling it “sometimes” might be inaccurate.

You might imagine him sleeping cramped on a narrow cot, but that wasn’t the case.

Naturally, he had another bed moved next to mine and slept on it.

Even though it was a single room, it was a VIP room and spacious enough that adding another bed did not make it feel cramped at all.

‘Even if this is a Domun-affiliated hospital…… Do Jiwan’s influence is truly immense.’

In this hospital, there was absolutely nothing that Do Jiwan could not make happen if he wanted it.

“What is it?”

When I didn’t respond because I had fallen into thought, Do Jiwan frowned and asked again.

I snapped out of it in surprise.

“……You must be tired, right?”

“Not particularly?”

As if wondering what I was trying to say after hesitating so long, one of his eyebrows lifted slightly.

Thinking about how to persuade this tyrant, I slowly continued.

“Even if you’ve set it up like an office…… this isn’t originally the Domun Guild building, and commuting here every day must be exhausting.”

“So?”

The moment I finished speaking, Do Jiwan immediately pressed on.

His “So?” didn’t mean “What do you want me to do about it?” but carried a subtle expression as if he was anticipating something.

I looked at him with hope, thinking he might finally allow my discharge.

But the words that came out of his mouth were not what I wanted.

“So…… are you saying I should just stay here continuously?”

“……What?”

“You said it looks hard for me to commute. Doesn’t that mean I shouldn’t commute and should just stay here?”

“That’s not it!”

When I denied it vehemently, his face crumpled.

On someone else, it might have looked like a squashed red bean bun, but a handsome man remained handsome even when frowning.

“Then what is it?”

“I want to be disch—”

I couldn’t finish the word “discharged.”

The moment the word left my lips, Do Jiwan shot me a piercing glare.

Of course, it wasn’t literal death rays, just a sparkling gaze that clearly showed his displeasure.

After staring at me with those flashing eyes for a while, he broke the silence in a voice that sounded genuinely puzzled.

“Why?”

“……Pardon?”

He bit his lip as if in anguish and let out a heavy sigh.

Seeing such a troubled expression on someone who usually appeared so strong made my chest ache strangely.

But I could not back down.

I could no longer live like livestock being fattened under the name of hospitalization.

I not only had a mission to monitor Do Jiwan and reform him, but also to prevent the Demon King’s subordinates from approaching him.

‘I can’t stay in this hospital room forever.’

Noticing that my resolve did not waver even at his vulnerable expression, Do Jiwan clicked his tongue softly.

“Why are you so eager to be discharged? Isn’t it comfortable here?”

“Well, it is comfortable…….”

It truly was comfortable.

If this weren’t a hospital room but a hotel, it would feel like a luxury staycation.

But as I said, I had a mission.

And since I couldn’t speak about it, I had to come up with another reason.

“……I feel uncomfortable.”

At those words, Do Jiwan fell silent.

I, who had always been swayed around, had finally stood firm and said no.

Now he had only two choices.

Listen to me, or do as he wished.

‘Of course, choosing the former would be right…….’

Honestly, I was confused.

I couldn’t understand why Do Jiwan was so desperate to keep me hospitalized at his own expense.

All I did was eat, sleep, and zone out.

It didn’t seem like he wanted something from me or intended to make me do anything…….

‘I can’t think of any reason.’

Was there something on Do Jiwan’s bucket list like “Lock someone up like an emperor—no, hospitalize them like an emperor and watch over them”?

That ridiculous explanation was the only thing that came to mind.

After all, his current behavior was not only hard to understand, but completely different from the person he usually was.

If he were altruistic, I might think he hospitalized me out of genuine pity, but he was far from altruistic.

‘Don’t try to understand it. First, I need to get out of here.’

Even though I was curious why he was acting like this, that wasn’t what mattered right now.

I looked at Do Jiwan, who remained silent.