Chapter 31

Chapter 031: Limit (10)

When Hee-soo opened his eyes after a long sleep, not only his father and mother, but both of his older brothers were also staying beside him.

President Yoon was the first to speak.

"Hee-soo! It's Mom! Mom! Do you recognize me?"

"Why is Mrs. Yoon here? Is this a dream? I think I had the same dream yesterday too... Even my eldest brother is here?"

The moment President Yoon heard Hee-soo's sleepy voice, she bent over him and burst into tears.

His eldest brother came closer and explained.

"Mother heard you were hospitalized, took a flight here that very day, and came straight to you without even unpacking. She's been taking care of you ever since."

Hee-soo spoke slowly, still sounding sleepy.

"Come on, Mrs. Yoon. Why were you so worried? I'm former special forces. By the way, how long have I been here?"

President Yoon slapped Hee-soo lightly on the chest with her palm.

"Special forces soldiers don't die? You didn't even wake up for three days, and you made your mother fly all the way here from America!"

"Three days?"

"Yes! You were in a coma for three whole days."

Hearing that it had been three days brought both relief and regret to Hee-soo.

Do you know how hard I worked to gather those three days? Still, at least I didn't use up all my remaining life while lying here.

He tried to sit up, but his body had no strength.

Haah. I can't move. I don't think I can go back to work like this. If my body would just move, I'd go straight back to work...

He suddenly wondered what had happened to everyone else.

He asked his second brother, who was the chairman of Suseong Hospital.

"Hyung. What happened to the others?"

"The two people who were injured while catching you are both being treated at our hospital. One of them suffered fractures in several places while trying to catch you after you came down the zip line. He'll need to stay in the hospital for quite a while."

The word fractures struck Hee-soo's mind.

His voice became a little clearer.

"Fractures? Who was it? Captain Gu?"

"That guy is unbelievably tough. He broke a rib, but he left the hospital after one day and returned to work."

Hee-soo immediately realized that Senior Firefighter Kim In-gyu of Rescue Team 3 must still be hospitalized.

"Ah. Senior Firefighter Kim..."

"Yeah."

Three days earlier, Captain Gu and Senior Firefighter Kim In-gyu had already come down and were waiting for Hee-soo.

A huge noise came from the building.

A massive cloud of dust rose.

Then they saw the steel cable go slack.

And Hee-soo was hanging from that cable, falling almost freely.

Captain Gu felt every hair on his body stand on end.

"Here! Over here!"

Chief Jang's eyes were filled with despair.

At that moment, Yoon-hee's legs gave out and she dropped to the ground.

Photographer Jang desperately held onto his camera, determined to capture the final moment.

Even the YouTube chat stopped scrolling as though time itself had frozen.

Then the line suddenly became tight again.

Captain Gu swore.

"That bastard jumped!"

"No! He fell! Look up there! The building tilted!"

Chief Jang screamed almost desperately.

"THE WINCH! REEL IN THE WINCH!"

But an ordinary towing winch reeled in cable painfully slowly.

Captain Gu grabbed the nearby mattress and dragged it into Hee-soo's falling path.

"In-gyu! Grab it!"

Senior Firefighter Kim understood immediately.

He put his arm through one of the mattress handles and braced himself for the impact.

But Hee-soo was coming in far too fast.

He had been falling at more than ninety kilometers per hour before he started slowing down.

His speed was much higher than that of the other firefighters.

The winch was desperately pulling the cable in, but it had only managed to raise Hee-soo enough to keep him from smashing directly into the ground.

Even within those few seconds, Chief Jang's face had turned pale.

Captain Gu and Senior Firefighter Kim could finally see Hee-soo clearly.

Fortunately, it didn't look like he would hit the ground.

But he was still flying straight toward the mattress the two of them were holding at tremendous speed.

Captain Gu shouted,

"HOLD!"

"Yes!"

Even at the moment Hee-soo struck the mattress, the steel cable was still being pulled upward.

Fortunately, they were holding the mattress behind the truck, so Hee-soo did not smash into the rear of the vehicle.

However, the moment Hee-soo collided with the mattress, Captain Gu and Senior Firefighter Kim were both thrown away with it.

Hee-soo also bounced off the mattress and flew directly into the air cushion inside the truck.

The impact was so strong that Hee-soo immediately lost consciousness.

Captain Gu was unable to endure the impact and was thrown away.

But Senior Firefighter Kim held onto the mattress until the very end.

He absorbed the impact with his entire body.

Because of that, he suffered fractures in several places.

After hearing the explanation from his second brother, Choi Hyun-soo, Hee-soo looked troubled.

"Why did he..."

Once his mind had cleared a little more, Hee-soo made a request to Choi Hyun-soo, chairman of Suseong Hospital.

"Hyung. Take care of him at our hospital until he's completely recovered."

"Of course. The reason you're alive right now is because of him."

"What do you mean?"

"If he hadn't held onto that mattress until the end, you would've smashed into the truck's rear bumper and died. He held onto the mattress and absorbed the impact. That's why you survived."

"Then where exactly did he break his bones?"

"His left arm and left shin, both compound fractures. Around six ribs are broken too. He'll need at least six months of hospitalization and rehabilitation."

"Hyung. Don't try to save money."

"You're seriously worried about that? He saved your life."

"Is he conscious?"

"He never lost consciousness in the first place. Seriously, every one of you is ridiculously tough."

Only after hearing that did Hee-soo finally look relieved.

Chairman Choi watched him and shook his head.

"Do you have no concern for the family that was worried sick about you?"

"Ah. Father. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"You should be. Quit being a firefighter immediately."

"Father, I can't do that."

"The main reason I survived with injuries this minor was because I was wearing the equipment I developed. Chief Jang also helped me. I need to continue researching this if I want it to improve."

Chairman Choi shouted.

"THEN WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TEST IT WITH YOUR OWN BODY?!"

President Yoon jumped in surprise and quickly stopped him.

"Dear! He just woke up."

Chairman Choi quickly suppressed his rising emotions.

Then he spoke again in a quiet, dignified voice.

"I am against you continuing work this dangerous. Leave the fire station. Once you're discharged, report to Namdaemun for work immediately."

President Yoon also supported him.

"Your mother agrees. Do you really need to do this when your life keeps hanging by a thread?"

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

The medical staff entered.

"We're here to check Director Choi's condition."

The family stepped back.

More than ten department heads from different specialties had come and began examining Hee-soo.

The moment the medical staff finished, Hee-soo was wheeled out of the room in his bed for various tests.

Chairman Choi and President Yoon watched him leave with deep worry on their faces.

"How are we supposed to make that boy stop doing this... What if you take him back to America?"

"How could I possibly break that boy's stubbornness? Even when I told him to get American citizenship, he insisted on serving in the military and joined the Special Warfare Command."

"Haah. That's true. But we still can't leave him like this."

Hee-soo returned after completing his tests four hours later.

President Yoon and Chief Jang were together in the hospital room.

Chairman Choi had left because of his schedule.

Chief Jang looked like a guilty criminal, while President Yoon was comforting him.

"Chief Jang, our Hee-soo survived because of you. You don't have to blame yourself so much."

"No. I should have prepared more. My preparations were lacking, and Hee-soo was injured because of it."

"The important thing is that he's alive. And he doesn't have any major external injuries."

The moment Hee-soo was wheeled back into the room, Chief Jang rushed over to check him.

Hee-soo tried to sit up, but he had no strength and fell back onto the bed.

"Ah, Chief Jang. I can't even sit up."

"Stay down."

Chief Jang took Hee-soo's hand.

"I'm sorry."

"No. What are you apologizing for? You saved my life."

Chief Jang still lowered his head as though he felt guilty.

"Chief Jang, by the way, where's my phone?"

"Ah. Your phone. It was completely destroyed. It won't even turn on."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. So I prepared a new phone for you. I'll give it to you after you're discharged."

"Understood."

Hee-soo became worried.

Wait. If my phone is destroyed, how am I supposed to install the app?

While he was worrying about that, there was another knock at the door.

Then the members of Rescue Team 3 entered one after another.

President Yoon asked,

"Who are these people?"

Chief Jang introduced them.

"They're members of Rescue Team 3 from Dobong Fire Station. They're Hee-soo's coworkers. They're also the people who helped save him."

President Yoon immediately stood and greeted them.

"So you're Hee-soo's coworkers. I'm Hee-soo's mother. Thank you for saving my son."

President Yoon offered her hand.

Captain Gu quickly put the fruit basket he'd brought down beside him and shook her hand.

"So you're his mother. I'm sorry. We should have managed things better so Firefighter Choi wouldn't end up like this."

"No. Thank you for saving our Hee-soo. I'm simply grateful that all of you are healthy too."

"Actually, every one of us owes Hee-soo our lives. If it weren't for Hee-soo, all of us would've died."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yes. If it weren't for the protective suits Hee-soo gave us, the team wouldn't have endured that hellish rooftop. And because of his fast and accurate decisions, everyone on that roof was able to survive."

He had said it to comfort President Yoon.

But it didn't comfort her at all.

She gave a bitter smile and stepped away.

"Thank you for coming to visit. Talk with Hee-soo. Just don't stay too long. He only recently woke up, so he needs rest."

"Yes. Understood."

President Yoon and Chief Jang left the room.

Hee-soo asked the expected question.

"How are the victims?"

"Fortunately, everyone's fine."

Hee-soo had already seen the successful rescue messages, so he hadn't been too worried.

"I heard Senior Firefighter Kim was badly injured."

"He broke quite a few bones, but he's fine. It's a bit more than a small injury, but he'll recover. At least he'll be able to receive proper treatment this time. I heard Suseong is also going to provide living expenses."

"Suseong Hospital will take full responsibility for Senior Firefighter Kim's treatment."

"Good. Hearing you say that is reassuring. We're also going to apply for recognition as an injury suffered in the line of duty."

"Don't worry about that case."

"I'll handle all of it."

"You'll handle it?"

"Yes. From his treatment to every administrative procedure, I'll take care of everything. You don't need to worry."

"If you'll do that, we'd definitely be grateful."

A commotion suddenly came from outside.

It was Min-jeong's voice.

Captain Gu stood.

"Looks like someone else came to visit."

"Hee-soo, don't worry about the rescue team. Focus on recovering first."

"Understood."

"We're leaving."

"Yes."