Chapter 132
Cars appeared here and there on the road, but I still couldn’t see the gray 2005 Avante.
My hands were slick with sweat from impatience.
Then, not long afterward, I spotted a gray 2005 Avante approaching a four-way intersection ahead.
There!
I pressed harder on the accelerator.
Soon, I was right behind the Avante Jung Hangyeol was driving.
Good. Just a little more.
I was just about to honk at him when I saw it.
At the intersection, where the yellow warning lights were blinking, a massive dump truck had crossed out of its lane and was barreling straight toward Jung Hangyeol’s Avante.
“Damn it... N-No!”
At this rate, the dump truck would slam directly into the passenger side of Jung Hangyeol’s car.
Then what I had to do was...
Half a second.
That was all the time I spent hesitating.
I instinctively overtook Jung Hangyeol’s Avante.
The engine roared in my ears as my car surged forward.
And just before the dump truck could smash into Jung Hangyeol’s car...
I rammed into the dump truck first.
CRAAASH!
With an ear-splitting impact, my entire field of vision flipped upside down.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Darkness.
Deep, cold, endless darkness.
I floated inside it.
I couldn’t feel my body.
I couldn’t feel the passage of time.
Where... am I?
Then a single ray of light appeared inside the darkness.
Images began playing inside that light.
The shock of opening my eyes right after regressing.
The first time I met Cha Seungjoon and Song Jaehyun.
The day I decided that instead of remaining a failed producer, I would put my own name on the credits of a real movie.
Everything that had happened to me after my regression began playing like a panorama.
Ah...
Is this what people mean when they say your life flashes before your eyes?
The moment I realized it, a strange emotion washed over me.
It wasn’t regret.
I truly didn’t regret choosing to save Jung Hangyeol.
But...
Is my second chance at life really going to end like this?
There were still so many things I had to do.
So many things I still wanted to accomplish.
Then...
“Kibaek...”
A faint voice came from somewhere impossibly far away.
“My son... please... open your eyes...”
It was Mom.
“Our Kibaek... you’re not the kind of bastard who’d leave your mother behind and go first...”
Along with her voice, the darkness seemed to slowly recede.
“Kibaek... I’m sorry I nagged you every time you came home drunk...”
Her voice was already wet with tears, even though she was trying to sound composed.
“From now on, even if you come home soaked in alcohol and dragging the whole liquor jar with you, I won’t say a single word...”
Mom...
I tried to make a sound.
Nothing came out.
“And the other day... when the woman next door said her son Jongcheol was sending her on a filial sightseeing trip to Zhangjiajie in China...”
Mom sniffled.
“I’m sorry I indirectly cursed at you, saying my son would never send me on one of those tours because he was worried my knees would hurt...”
Her voice trembled.
“Now that I think about it, that’s not what filial piety is.”
“Just staying alive and healthy... that’s the real filial piety.”
“So if you think of it as being filial to your mother... hurry up and open your eyes.”
Mom...
“And you said before that you wanted to eat the gamjatang I make...”
Her voice cracked again.
“But I was too lazy to cook it, so I told you to just eat whatever I gave you and never made it for you.”
“Whenever I think about that...”
She sniffled.
“How hard was it really to make one pot of gamjatang...?”
“Surely you’re not planning to make your mother cook gamjatang for your memorial table, are you?”
Her voice shook.
“If you wake up, I’ll make gamjatang for you all 365 days of the year...”
Ha...
Even in a situation like this, Mom still doesn’t lose her sense of humor.
That really is my mother.
“So please... open your eyes.”
“Our son...”
In the end, her voice collapsed into sobs.
Mom... I’m sorry.
I’m sorry I’m always making you worry.
The darkness became thinner.
Then I felt something warm.
Mom’s hand.
I tried with all my strength to move my fingers.
Just a little.
A little more.
I tried to squeeze that hand.
And then...
When I opened my eyes, I saw Mom sitting beside me, clutching my hand and murmuring over and over with her eyes closed as if she were praying.
The fluorescent lights and sharp smell of disinfectant stung my eyes and nose.
I was alive.
“Mom...”
My voice barely came out.
But Mom didn’t miss it.
Her eyes snapped open, and she immediately leaned her face close to mine.
“Kibaek?! Are you awake?!”
“...Mom...”
I forced the words out.
“I’ll send you to Zhangjiajie... so stop crying...”
The moment I said that, Mom burst into tears.
“Aigoo! My son is alive! He’s alive!”
Then she clasped her hands together.
“Aigoo, thank you, God! Thank you, Buddha! Thank you, spirits of heaven and earth!”
At Mom’s shouting, everyone in the hospital room rushed toward my bed.
“Mother, is Kibaek awake?”
Cha Seungjoon hurried over.
“Kibaek, are you conscious? Can you see me?”
“Shouldn’t we call the doctor and nurse first?”
Producer Baek Seonghan and Executive Director Kim Eunkyung peered down at me.
“Kibaek, thank goodness it wasn’t worse.”
“Hyung, do you have any idea how scared we were? You almost died.”
Ma Sanghee.
Moon Changsoo.
Moon Hyunbin.
Do Kijeong.
Woo Seungcheol.
Somehow, they had all gathered in the hospital room.
Mom wiped away her tears.
“They all came running the moment they heard about your accident.”
“They’ve practically been commuting here for the last two days.”
For a moment, my chest tightened as I looked at all the worried faces around me.
Then Jung Hangyeol suddenly flashed into my mind.
“Ah... J-Jung Hangyeol.”
I tried to sit up.
“What happened to Jung Hangyeol?!”
Cha Seungjoon quickly answered.
“Don’t worry about Jung Hangyeol.”
“Luckily, he only suffered some minor abrasions.”
Abrasions?
Ha... thank goodness.
Jung Hangyeol didn’t die this time.
Thank God...
Seeing the relief on my face, Baek Seonghan hesitated before speaking.
“But I heard from the assistant director that you chased after Jung Hangyeol.”
“What exactly happened?”
Cha Seungjoon, who had clearly been wondering the same thing, immediately jumped in.
“I visited Jung Hangyeol’s hospital this morning.”
“He said he never even saw the dump truck coming from the side.”
Moon Changsoo nodded.
“Yeah. The police said that if hyung hadn’t hit the dump truck first, Jung Hangyeol might’ve been in serious danger.”
Cha Seungjoon narrowed his eyes at me.
Then he asked in a probing tone,
“Don’t tell me...”
“You knew the accident was going to happen beforehand, did you?”
“Come on...”
Moon Hyunbin looked doubtful.
“Kibaek isn’t some shaman. How would he know something like that?”
Cha Seungjoon immediately turned toward him.
“No, hyung, you only say that because you don’t know what Kibaek’s been doing on set...”
Ah.
What the hell is this guy about to say in a situation like this?
I was just about to shut Cha Seungjoon up when the doctor and nurse entered the room.
“I heard the patient regained consciousness.”
The doctor approached me.
“Do you understand where you are and what’s happening right now?”
I nodded instead of answering.
After a brief examination, the doctor turned toward the nurse.
“Nurse Kim, please prepare for a few tests.”
Then he looked at everyone else.
“And from this point forward, we won’t allow any more visitors while we examine the patient.”
Everyone looked disappointed.
“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Baek Seonghan spoke first.
“No, don’t.”
I shook my head.
“You’re already busy with filming.”
“If both the producer and production manager are sitting here, what’s going to happen to the shoot?”
“I’ll check my condition and contact you.”
After saying goodbye to Baek Seonghan and Cha Seungjoon, I turned toward Kim Eunkyung.
“Executive Director, I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“The CEO and several other people wanted to come too.”
“But I stopped them because I thought it would become too chaotic here.”
“Ah... yes.”
I nodded.
“You did the right thing.”
“For now, Team Leader Min, don’t worry about the company.”
“Focus only on recovering.”
She looked genuinely relieved.
“Honestly, considering what happened, heaven must’ve been watching over you.”
Moon Changsoo spoke up.
“Hyung, we’ll come back tomorrow.”
Ma Sanghee and Moon Hyunbin nodded.
“No.”
I smiled faintly.
“You’re all busy.”
“I’ll contact you when I know how I’m doing.”
After Do Kijeong and Woo Seungcheol also said goodbye and everyone finally left the room, I let out a short breath.
Ha... thank goodness.
Both Jung Hangyeol and I survived.
Only then did that fact truly sink in.
The darkness I had been wandering through only moments ago already felt like something from the distant past.
The tests continued until the following day.
After reviewing the results, the doctor told me I could probably be discharged in a week.
“I heard the car was almost completely destroyed.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“The fact that you have no major injuries besides a dislocated shoulder is close to a miracle.”
I later learned that the dump truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.
After receiving the test results, I returned to my room and stared through the window at the orange sunset outside.
For some reason, this accident made me feel as though I hadn’t simply been given a second life anymore.
It almost felt like I had been given a third.
That realization left me strangely emotional.
Then...
My phone, sitting on the bedside table, chimed with a message notification.
I naturally picked it up and checked the screen.
What the hell...
What is all this?
While I hadn’t been checking my phone, dozens upon dozens of messages had arrived.
[Kibaek, how are you feeling? Should I come tomorrow? - Moon Hyunbin]
[Hyung, how are you? How long are you staying in the hospital? I’ll come visit again in a few days. - Woo Seungcheol]
[Team Leader Min, I heard from Executive Director Kim that your condition is better than expected. Take care of yourself. I’ll stop by soon. - Han Taesung]
[Kibaek, I’m sorry I couldn’t come because of filming. Do you know how badly you scared me? I’ll try to come by even if it’s late at night. Take care of yourself. - Song Jaehyun]
[Team Leader Min, I heard about the accident. How are you feeling? I was so shocked. I’ll visit soon. Please rest and recover properly. - Writer Hong Yeonhee]
And there were many more.
Employees from the planning team.
Actors from Starlight.
Writers and directors I had worked with over the years.
Every message was filled with concern and encouragement.
Before my regression...
I had been a failed producer wandering around the film industry like an outsider, without even a proper credit to my name.
People rarely approached me.
No.
More accurately, because of my own inferiority complex, I had been busy pushing away the people who did try to get close.
But after regressing...
The greatest change in my life wasn’t my reputation as a successful producer.
It wasn’t my career success either.
It was people.
I read the messages one by one and smiled softly.
People I trust and rely on.
People who always trust me, worry about me, and support me.
Maybe the true opportunity I was given in my second life...
Was people.
And when I thought about it that way, the future I would walk together with them seemed to glow with a golden light.
