Chapter 168: The Summer We Couldn’t Wake From

“Huff!”

Do Ihyeon shot up, drenched in sweat.

He looked around, trying to figure out if this was a dream or reality.

Just a moment ago, his old friend and Ryu Harang had appeared in his dream.

There was a time when he often had dreams like this, but ever since he coincidentally saw Dana in the dungeon, the dreams had stopped.

Maybe because it had been a while since he last dreamed about such painful memories from the past, his heart was pounding fiercely.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and got up from the bed.

His whole body was soaked with sweat.

As he got out of bed and walked to the window, a single tear dropped from his face.

One tear became two, and soon, tears were streaming down his face like rain.

He buried his face in his hands and swallowed his sobs.

‘Please, if only I didn’t have to dream of that scene…’

The fact that he was dreaming of Ryu Harang now meant that the moment of Dana’s accident might also appear in his dreams later.

Consumed by a foreboding feeling, he prayed he wouldn’t have to relive that moment in his dreams.

He still couldn’t get the image of Dana being hit by the car out of his head.

The moment Dana’s body rolled across the hood and fell, he couldn’t remember how he had managed to run to her.

It was as if his mind had stopped working; he couldn’t think of anything.

‘If only I hadn’t lost my power, none of this would have happened.’

Though he had spent more days as an ordinary civilian than as an Awakened, at times like this, he missed the power he once had.

If he was still the Awakened with strong physical abilities, those punks from Technical High wouldn’t have dared to mess with him.

Even if something did happen, he wouldn’t have just stood there watching Dana get hit by a car.

He would’ve had enough time to rush over and save Dana right then and there.

But having lost his Awakened powers, his body was so much slower and weaker than before.

So when Dana was rolling over the car and just about to fall, as he tried to carry her and run to the emergency room, he was overwhelmed by helplessness.

He couldn’t run as fast as before, and he couldn’t use a Skill to safely lift Dana without hurting her.

Because of that helplessness, when Ban Eunhyeol blamed him and drove him out of the hospital, he just stood there blankly, taking all the criticism and letting himself be kicked out without protest.

The thought that if he hadn’t gone to Dana’s house, none of this would have happened, completely took over his mind.

‘At least she wasn’t hurt badly—no, even this much is already a serious injury.’

Others said it was fortunate Dana wasn’t seriously injured, but even breaking an arm in the middle of summer would be uncomfortable enough.

And having gone through the era of Gates where people always got seriously injured, everyone’s standard for ‘serious injury’ had gotten higher.

Even a fractured arm was actually a significant injury.

He wiped away his tears and looked at his phone.

It was a new phone, since his old one had gotten smashed.

He remembered Dana’s number and saved it, but all the texts they had exchanged so far were gone.

Just seeing that made his heart ache, so he put the phone down again.

‘Would it be better to let things end like this………….

Since then, he hadn’t visited the hospital even once until Dana’s discharge day.

***

“It’s discharge day!”

I shouted in an excited voice as I cheerfully prepared to leave the hospital.

Even if it was a VIP Room, a hospital room was still a hospital room.

This was my first time being hospitalized for so long, and it was even more boring than I had imagined.

If it weren’t for Ban Eunhyeol, Yeon Hayeon, and the Four Heavenly Kings coming by so often, I would’ve been bored out of my mind.

And the hospital food didn’t really suit my taste, either.

“You’ll still have to wait a while for the bone to fully heal, so be careful.”

“Of course.”

Ban Eunhyeol, who was helping me pack up, threw out a quick warning.

I answered energetically, as if to say not to worry, and left the room.

But the moment I stepped outside the hospital, a wave of despair washed over me.

“It’s so hot, I feel like my arm is going to melt…”

Breaking my arm in midsummer turned out to be much worse than I thought.

Just imagining having to go around with a cast in this heat made me dizzy.

At least Ban Eunhyeol had the car waiting right outside the hospital.

Before getting into Ban Eunhyeol’s car, I took one last look around in front of the hospital.

‘He never came, not even once.’

I thought Do Ihyeon might visit at least once while Ban Eunhyeol was away.

But considering he’d been driven out and never got a reply to his messages, maybe it was too hard for him to come.

I wanted to show Do Ihyeon that I wasn’t seriously hurt and was doing fine.

With a bit of regret, I started to get into Ban Eunhyeol’s car.

‘Huh? Do Ihyeon?’

Then, I saw a man off in the distance looking this way.

He was wearing a cap, so I couldn’t tell by his hair color, but from the silhouette, I was sure it was Do Ihyeon.

So he did know today was my discharge day.

Seeing Do Ihyeon, even just once, I almost waved at him out of happiness.

I reflexively started to raise my right arm but put it down and instead smiled in greeting.

At that, Do Ihyeon turned around on the spot and started walking in the opposite direction.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting in?”

“Oh, I’m coming.”

Prompted by Ban Eunhyeol, who was already in the car, I climbed in.

Safely, I arrived in front of my house in Ban Eunhyeol’s car.

He told me to rest and take care, saying he’d be in touch, and then left.

‘I wonder if my parents are home?’

After finishing their trip and coming to see me in the hospital, my parents had been so relieved, saying it was a miracle things weren’t worse.

And thanks to my friends taking such good care of me, my parents felt comfortable enough to go to work and thanked them.

Since then, my parents had come to the hospital every evening, but Ban Eunhyeol had spent even more time caring for me.

Now, thinking my parents would be taking care of me in place of my broken arm, I felt both sorry and warmly grateful.

I punched in the door code and swung the door wide open.

“Dana! You’re home!”

“Eunhyeol said not to worry, and you really did get home safe.”

My parents came rushing to the entrance as soon as the door opened, looking at me with worried eyes.

Maybe because Ban Eunhyeol had already told them he’d bring me home, my parents were cooking all kinds of food that would be good for me.

I inhaled the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen and stepped inside.

“I’m home.”

A cheerful laugh came out naturally.

***

Summer vacation flew by faster than I’d thought, thanks to my accident and hospital stay.

Since it was so hot, I didn’t go outside much even after being discharged, and I started to feel like I was wasting my summer vacation.

So, I just decided to go out.

“Ugh, it’s hot.”

It might be scorching out, but once I got into a cool Shopping Mall, things would be better.

I was feeling cooped up at home, so I ran out without contacting anyone first.

Entering a big Shopping Mall near my house, I sent a message to Ban Eunhyeol.

Then, I took a leisurely stroll around the Shopping Mall, enjoying a moment to myself.

That’s when I noticed a poster of the Four Heavenly Kings stuck on the window of an outdoor clothing brand.

‘They’re all so handsome.’

Even though they were my close friends, seeing them like this made them seem like celebrities from a faraway world.

I took a step back from the glass and admired the poster with a satisfied smile.

Then, through the window, I saw Ban Eunhyeol walking up behind me.

Seeing his perfectly styled self on the poster, and then in person, made my eyes twice as happy.

“Are you admiring me?”

As soon as Ban Eunhyeol got close, he draped an arm around my shoulder and looked at the ad poster.

“Pretty handsome, right?”

“Whoever his girlfriend is, he’s disgustingly handsome.”

One side of his mouth curled up in his signature, dashing smile.

I gave a small laugh, making a face that said I agreed, and walked along with him.

Walking through the Shopping Mall, I saw lots of familiar faces on posters in various stores.

After the Gates disappeared, most Awakened returned to their former lives, but not all of them.

Those who had gained popularity as Awakened and had done a lot of commercials were still loved as advertising models.

Some even appeared on TV shows and had their own Fan Clubs.

The Four Heavenly Kings were representative of that group.

People who remembered their legendary days as Awakened weren’t ready to let the Four Heavenly Kings go so easily.

There were even fans who demanded that the Four Heavenly Kings start a Band—not because they could sing, but just so they could admire their good looks.

‘A Band, huh? Just imagining it makes me tired.’

I was never a fan of internet novels where the protagonist was a high schooler in a Band Club or a member of a famous band.

I hadn’t read many, but the ones I did seemed to have much bigger settings than a regular school, so they were full of all sorts of wild things.

And, of course, they were always super popular.

They were already popular enough to be exhausting—if they started a band, would I even be able to walk outside with Ban Eunhyeol like this?

‘Definitely not.’

If I didn’t at least get cursed out for being Ban Eunhyeol’s girlfriend, I’d be lucky.

Even now, watching people sneak glances at Ban Eunhyeol as we walked by made me sigh.

But then, while Ban Eunhyeol went to the bathroom and I was waiting outside, it happened.

“Um… noona, you’re the ‘Outlaw Noona’ of Hyeolhyang, right?”

A boy with a rather unusual look shyly approached and asked me.