"Hey Jiho! It actually wasn't too bad." said Minchae, hiding the truth.
He couldn't muster up the courage to tell Jiho that he cursed him and thought his mom was sleeping with him.
"So, the god would've looked scary but it was so fa-" Minchae hesitated, considering that the god could've been listening in on the conversation but decided to continue anyway since he was outside the god's domain and couldn't be harmed.
"fat that it's fear factor couldn't compare, hah."
"Well, glad you didn't have a nightmare or something." Jiho replied.
"Oh about that, I joked around with the giver and he actually got pissed at me. That was probably the scariest situation I've ever been in." Minchae said with a smile masking his emotional trauma.
"What happened! What did you say?" asked Jiho excitedly, desperate to know more about these quest gods.
"I said that if I don't like my desire, could I get a refund? And he snapped... Something about me mocking The Cycle Of Chaos or whatever. Thankfully, the judge was there to calm him down." Minchae explained.
"Wait now. That might make you think he was a scary god but the way he was speaking was as if he'd known me for years." Minchae elaborated.
"Hah, sounds like a tsundere to me!" Jiho joked.
"That's not what that means..." Minchae said, making a flat face in disapproval of Jiho's fruitless attempt at trying to be funny.
"So tell me more about this judge." said Jiho, hiding his embarrassed face with his hand.
"Ok so he was this stern, strict guy with the vibe of a valedictorian. He was obviously the more mature and smart one."
"Reminds me of my brother." said Jiho.
"Exactly! Just like him!" added Minchae.
"Well, it was glad to hear you didn't face anything scary. That actually reassures me for my incoming visit as well." said Jiho.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. It's much easier than they say it is." said Minchae attempting to comfort Jiho as he lied through his teeth, hiding the shivering soul beneath.
Another week passed, unusually quick...
Jiho was walking along the sidewalk, scrolling on his phone, stealing a glance at every person he walks by, just out of curiosity. Until a man caught his attention.
It was Kang Tae seok. The same person from the billboard him and Jiho had been talking about a week ago. He looked confident, perhaps too much. Much more than he seemed in his picture on the billboard. He received a call and was about to pick it up as he stood looking at the construction of a new skyscraper.
A large green sign bearing the words, "FORESTRA Corp" was being put up. Their new project in Seoul was about to begin in just a few months.
Meanwhile...
A translucent green figure stood atop the building, ignored by the construction workers, as if they couldn't see it. There hung a large metal beam, unstable, as if it were ready to fall any second.
The figure raised its hand into a snap. It clicked its fingers and the beam came loose and dangled, pointing downwards.
Another flick of the wrist with a circular motion and the beam came tumbling down along with numerous pieces of debris.
The CEO had only just heard the sound as the beam fell. But Minchae had already grasped the whole situation. His reflexes were quick but far from superhuman. As soon as the beam dangled, he had already made a run for it and by the time it fell, he tackled the CEO, pushing him out of the way.
Minchae almost escaped the clutches of the beam but his left leg was crushed beneath the pressure. It seemed like his left leg was never there to begin with and it looked way beyond healing.
The translucent figure dissipated into the air, probably feeling thwarted. The paramedics rushed over to the scene at the slightest information.
"What are the damages?!" asked a paramedic as he rushed out of the vehicle.
"Young boy, late teens, probably around 19, left leg beyond treatment, must be amputated!"
"40-50 year old male, minor scratches! Not fatal! He's fine!"
The paramedics pulled out the stretchers in haste, desperate to save the lives of the two.
"Drive quicker! There's too much bleeding! He could die from blood loss!" yelled a paramedic to the driver.
The ambulance sped off weaving through cars galore. The monitors beeped with alarming intensity. The ambulance didn't waste a second, parking. As soon as it arrived, it screeched to a halt. Minchae was rushed into the emergency room by several doctors and medics.
"We have to amputate. The leg's basically not there." the doctor said.
The surgery had begun while the reception attempted to contact any family they could. Fortunately, they received a phone from a paramedic and it was still turned on since Minchae had been using it at the time of the incident.
They frantically scoured across the phone attempting to find a contact labelled 'Mom' or 'Dad' but their efforts were in vain. The next best option was to contact the number saved as 'Jiho', also the one he was in touch with most of the time.
"Hello? Minchae?" answered Jiho, expecting him to say something silly or invite him to the tteokbokki place.
But the horrifying news that he received was the complete opposite of the normal and positive presumption he had.
"Excuse me, Minchae got into an accident and is currently in surgery. You were the only connection we could find. We are at Hygieia hospital in Seoul."
"Wait! What happened? I'll be right there!" shouted Jiho into the phone, as he was filling up with fear.
Jiho threw on whatever clothes he could find the fastest and immediately rushed to get a cab to the hospital. Upon arrival, he was told to wait outside the operation room.
Jiho paced around the corridors, with his hands on his head, worried about what was happening and how Minchae's leg was. Just then, a man entered. Jiho could recognize him from somewhere, just not sure from where.
"I'm Kang Tae seok, CEO of Forestra Corp. Here's my business card. You can contact me whenever you want, since you are that young man's friend. Keep in touch regarding his treatments."
"Oh yeah, I've heard about you. So you're the guy, Minchae saved, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm the guy. That young man sacrificed a limb for someone he's never met. What can I do to repay him? My life was worth nowhere near as much as his leg." said Tae seok as his eyes teared up in regret.
"No, actually, I'm quite glad it was you he saved. I've heard about your projects." said Jiho, thinking about the time him and Minchae were talking about the CEO's billboard advertisement.
"Thanks... Anyways, I'll wait here with you until he wakes."
Hours passed... No response. Jiho was brimming with anxiety by now, waiting for the next update. He heard a creaking sound. The door to the operation room had opened.
"Doctor! How is he? What happened?"
"He's survived. But unfortunately, we had to amputate his left leg. He won't be able to walk now, but he could always use crutches or a prosthetic."
"At least he lived." thought Jiho, hearing this devastating news.
He wasn't the type to cry at the death of a person. But Minchae was so dear to him that even the loss of a leg, made him tear up.
"Doctor, I would like to pay for all medical bills for the kid." said Tae seok, determined to do the least he could to pay him back.
"Yes sir, you can take it up with the reception at the time of discharge."
"So, when can we meet him?" asked Jiho, itching to talk to Minchae.
"Just wait a few hours for the anesthesia to wear off and for the vitals to stabilize."
The following hours would've been short, had they been playing a game or resting, but it felt like eternity for Jiho, considering his best friend had been crippled. Soon, they were escorted into the recovery room where Minchae was stationed.
"Minchae? You up, buddy?" asked Jiho.
"Who?" whimpered Minchae.
Tae seok stood at the back, feeling broken and lacking the courage to speak with the man to whom he had caused so much harm.
"It's me, Jiho. How are you?"
Minchae didn't reply. He fell back into a deep sleep. Jiho ran to the assigned doctor to inform him of Minchae's sudden slumber and they were told to wait for even longer.
"We did a few more tests and it's unfortunate but Minchae has fallen into a coma."
Jiho flinched at this statement and zoned out for a second, thinking of all the negative implications of this situation.
"Now, we can't say for sure that this is a horrible thing since he could possibly wake up in the same day as well. So we will be conducting tests until he wakes up."
(If he does, that is.)