I’m Your Guardian

Drip. Drip. Drip…

In the deathly quiet surroundings, the slow, light sound of water droplets echoed in his ears.

It was a very faint sound, but it was enough to jolt his deeply sunken consciousness awake.

Soon after, a dull, throbbing pain spread through his body, as if he’d been beaten all over.

The pain was bad enough that a groan escaped him on instinct.

Haejin tried to twist his body without thinking, but for some reason, it wouldn’t move the way he wanted.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he couldn’t even twitch a finger.

His body felt pinned down, like he was suffering from sleep paralysis—he couldn’t even turn his head.

“Ugh…”

As if being beaten senseless wasn’t bad enough, the moment he tried to force himself to move, the pain intensified.

Haejin let out a low groan and slowly lifted his heavy eyelids.

At the same time, a startled voice sounded very close to him.

“H-Haejin-ssi! Are you conscious?”

“…Beom…woo-ssi…?”

Unable to turn his head, he stared up at the white ceiling when Beomwoo’s face suddenly entered his narrow field of vision.

Beomwoo’s expression as he looked down at him was a complicated mix of shock, relief—and something like anxiety.

In that moment, the memories from right before he lost consciousness came rushing back, as if struck into his head. He’d been on his way to the car after grocery shopping… and then he’d been hit by a motorcycle.

At the time, Haejin had genuinely thought he was going to die. The situation had been similar to his death before regression, and the pain—so intense it felt like his body was shattering—had been the same.

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t died.

After roughly grasping the situation, Haejin unconsciously tried to shift his position. But just like before, his body barely responded, as if it were tied down. Even the slightest movement sent sharp pain through his ribs.

“Agh…!”

“Don’t move. You’re in a cast—it’ll be difficult to move.”

When Haejin frowned and groaned again, Beomwoo startled and gently pressed a hand against his shoulder, easing him back down.

A cast?

Since he couldn’t move his neck, he couldn’t see his body clearly, but judging from the way his neck, arms, and legs were all tightly wrapped in bandages, it was no wonder he couldn’t move properly.

Well, considering the pain had been comparable to dying, it was only natural his body was in this state. If anything, it might’ve been a miracle that things hadn’t turned out worse.

“Now that you’ve regained consciousness, I’ll call the doctor. Please wait a moment.”

“Ah, I—”

Beomwoo looked at him for a brief moment, then, as if realizing this wasn’t the time, hurried out of the hospital room.

No, it was just that his throat was dry, and he’d wanted to ask for some water…

But his voice wouldn’t come out properly, and Beomwoo disappeared so quickly—like a gust of wind—that there was no chance to stop him.

Was he always that fast?

Haejin thought about it for a moment, then gave up. Just being awake was exhausting enough, so he simply stared back up at the ceiling.

As the accident happened, Haejin had thought that no matter how hard he tried to escape, fate couldn’t be defied—that in the end, he would meet the same death as in his previous life.

But… maybe that wasn’t true?

Thinking about it, there were already too many differences from his past life to say everything was predetermined.

Despite suffering a near-fatal accident and mysterious injuries, the fact that his life wasn’t over yet—that fate was changing—was enough to bring him some comfort.

* * * *

According to the doctor, he had been unconscious for a full three days.

Haejin hadn’t thought deeply about why Beomwoo had looked so startled when he woke up, why his expression had been so complicated, or why he’d rushed to find the doctor in such a hurry. Honestly, he’d even thought Beomwoo was being a bit overdramatic.

But after hearing he’d been unconscious for that long, the reaction made sense.

The doctor explained the seriousness of the situation, but also said it was extremely fortunate.

Thanks to prompt emergency treatment, he’d narrowly escaped death. For now, he only had broken bones and severe bruising, and with hospitalization and rest, he would recover quickly.

After the medical staff finished checking on him and left, only Haejin and Beomwoo remained in the room.

For some reason, Beomwoo—rather than the injured Haejin—looked more depressed, as if the situation weighed heavily on him.

Wondering if he should say something, Haejin rolled his eyes slightly before breaking the silence with a question he’d been curious about.

“What happened to the driver? I think I grabbed him at the time, but… he still got away…”

Just before losing consciousness, he vaguely remembered grabbing at the rider’s pant leg, desperately wanting to hold onto something.

His mind had been clouded by pain, so the memory wasn’t clear, but it felt like the driver had roughly shaken him off and fled.

When Haejin asked while recalling that moment, Beomwoo’s already serious expression hardened even further. After a brief pause, he spoke.

“It was a hit-and-run.”

“A hit-and-run…?”

“Yes. The motorcycle was modified and didn’t have a license plate. Judging by how he fled immediately, it seems intentional. We haven’t identified the culprit yet, but we’re narrowing down the investigation. We will catch him.”

Beomwoo spoke firmly, telling him not to worry—they would catch the culprit no matter what.

A hit-and-run… It was shocking, but also something Haejin had half-expected based on his fading memories before blacking out.

Given Beomwoo’s capabilities—someone who could make even the impossible possible—his promise to catch the culprit felt believable. So that wasn’t what worried him.

Something else did.

Seeing Haejin’s expression turn more serious, Beomwoo studied him closely.

“Don’t worry. We’ll catch him. You just focus on recovering.”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Is there something else bothering you?”

When Haejin trailed off, Beomwoo pressed him, looking ready to do anything if Haejin just said the word.

The intensity was a little overwhelming, but it wasn’t something he could brush off now.

And since it wasn’t a problem he could solve alone, Haejin hesitated before carefully speaking.

“Well… if I have to stay hospitalized for several days, what then? I don’t have a guardian to take care of me…”

“…What?”

At this point in his life, there was no way he had proper insurance, so hospital bills were a concern—but that was something Beomwoo would obviously tell him not to worry about.

He didn’t take Beomwoo’s financial help for granted, but Beomwoo knew his situation well enough that bringing it up would probably earn him a scolding instead.

So he decided to set money aside.

The real problem was a guardian.

No matter how good the hospital room was, with a body he could barely move, he’d need someone to take care of him—and there was no one.

He’d asked the question seriously, but Beomwoo reacted as if he couldn’t believe Haejin would even ask.

Given the grim situation—being severely injured, unconscious for days, and the victim of a hit-and-run—worrying about not having someone to care for him might not fall within what most people would consider normal priorities.

But Haejin had been serious.

When he continued to look at Beomwoo earnestly despite his incredulous expression, Beomwoo furrowed one eyebrow, as if he’d heard something strange.

“What are you talking about? I’m your guardian.”

“…What?”

That didn’t make any sense.

He knew he needed a guardian—but the idea that Beomwoo himself would take on that role had never crossed his mind, not even once.