Chapter 152

In So Yeri’s vision, the silhouette of a person obscured by the curtain barely came into view.

Since awakening to S-rank, this was the first time her vision had been this blurry. So Yeri raised an eyebrow.

—Shrrk!

At that moment, from the spot So Yeri was watching, a skinny hand shot out and yanked the curtain aside.

The figure, which had only been glimpsed intermittently through the gap, was now completely hidden.

Bruises dotted the exposed arm here and there, and the skin was rough and scaly like fish scales.

“…Professor today said…”

“You in that liberal arts class…”

Sounds from outside filtered through the slightly open window.

They seemed to burrow especially deep into her ears, more than any other noise.

Laughter from what sounded like college students rang out.

—Rustle.

The person behind the curtain peeked out again, subtly parting it.

Then, they quietly glanced out the window.

So Yeri could guess what she was looking at. She was watching the college students wandering freely.

Unlike herself.

On the name tag at the foot of the bed, the name was censored. But the age below it was visible.

That meant she was 25 years old. With 11 months left until her birthday, she was 27.

So Yeri felt like she knew what lay beyond that curtain.

Besides the block calendar, there would be a worn blanket and a fraying hat.

The knitting hat left behind by a friend who no longer visited would be almost unraveled by now… probably.

And the phone would have been dead for ages, gathering dust between the cracked screen.

Though it was a distant memory, she remembered those things clearly.

“…-nim.”

At that moment, she saw a nurse push the curtain aside and enter.

For some reason, So Yeri couldn’t move, so she just watched from the center of the room.

“Yes.”

“Let me just check your vitals once. Nice weather today, huh?”

The nurse’s voice carried a natural attempt at conversation.

But the patient responded indifferently, over and over.

“Shall I wash your blanket? A fresh, fluffy one might lift your spirits a bit.”

“Just leave it. What’s the point of washing it? It won’t last much longer anyway.”

Gruff replies came one after another.

“A new item alone could change your mood.”

The nurse said that, but the patient snapped in irritation.

“Fine, just go.”

“Then rest well.”

The nurse finally gave up on further talk and slipped out through the curtain.

After the worried-faced nurse left, So Yeri heard mumbling from inside the curtain.

“What’s the use of buying new? I won’t even use it next year.”

It was the patient’s voice.

Days and nights passed countless times like that.

The room brightened and darkened in an instant, like fast-forwarded footage.

Throughout it all, the patient’s curtain never opened.

It only parted briefly when medical staff came and went.

Then, the rapidly flowing time slowed back to normal.

So Yeri’s vision remained fixed on the curtained spot.

She couldn’t look away.

«?»

It was then, as So Yeri tilted her head.

A voice suddenly sounded.

“Patient Shin Jae-heon? Time to change clothes…”

Her ears perked up at the name. So Yeri’s eyes widened.

It felt like her mind snapped awake.

“I told you not to go on that slide there.”

“It was just a slip.”

A girl’s voice around the same age joined in.

A school uniform flashed at the edge of her vision.

Ah, it’s Hunter Shin Yuri.

But the voices sounded much younger than now.

If So Yeri could move, she would have covered her mouth.

“Sliding down is faster than walking. Why bother walking?”

—Smack!

“You still haven’t learned even after breaking your leg.”

“I just need more practice so it doesn’t break next time—”

—Smack! Smack!

“Just change your clothes.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Silence followed briefly, then the curtain was flung open with a whoosh.

“You have to take it off when I leave, right? Isn’t stripping right away the way?”

A boy’s laughter rang out.

It was So Yeri from her high school days and Hunter Shin Yuri.

So Yeri’s vision blurred.

The moment she heard their voices, she realized who was behind that closed curtain.

She understood the meaning of the system window that had appeared when she entered this place.

And she vaguely knew how to escape this ‘Unescapable Past’…

“Let’s go. Time to weigh yourself.”

“You close your eyes.”

“Why?”

While listening to the whispering voices of Shin Jae-heon and Shin Yuri.

So Yeri’s vision blurred.

At some point, So Yeri was inside the curtain.

It must have been from the moment she realized where this was and what this ‘Unescapable Past (L)’ meant.

Now she could see the patient’s name.

More precisely, the details on the patient bracelet around her own wrist.

The patient bracelet stamped with her own name. And her thin arm, pallid skin.

…And a name only she knew.

«Ah.»

A name she’d wanted to forget. A name she’d discarded upon becoming a hunter. A name she’d desperately turned her back on.

The moment she saw that name, So Yeri felt like ice water had been dumped down her neck.

This was the past.

But she could only share her past self’s vision; her body wouldn’t move.

“…”

So Yeri had no choice but to follow her past self’s silent gaze and movements out the window.

“…so you have to be quiet.”

“Yes, yes.”

Whispers came from beyond the curtain, the bed opposite.

They weren’t speaking loudly at all.

Just quietly enough not to disturb the others in the six-bed room.

But to So Yeri, they sounded especially loud.

…Probably the same for her past self.

Judging by the twisted lips.

So Yeri sensed that her past self resented the pair’s whispers.

“Today, when the teacher mentioned your injury, the kids asked why you got hurt.”

“So what’d you say?”

“What else? I told them you did something you weren’t supposed to and took one for the team, smashing your leg.”

The young voice of Hunter Shin Yuri. She must be in high school now.

Their school life stories seemed to flow back and forth.

Shin Yuri especially, thinking hospital-bound Shin Jae-heon might be bored, shared various tales.

“On the way here, this grandma was waiting for a student and gave me this.”

Rustle. Something was shaken.

A drink?

Her past self was unconsciously perking up her ears at the sound.

“I thought she was some cultist at first, but then I realized she’s the one I helped last time.”

“You always help people and then forget.”

Shin Jae-heon teased, and Shin Yuri responded in exasperation.

“Why bother remembering? It’s enough to feel proud in the moment.”

—Pop!

The crisp sound of a can opening rang out.

The more So Yeri listened to their conversation, the more her heart ached like it was being squeezed.

The emotions her past self had felt surged up unchanged.

It was jealousy.

If I were healthy, I could live like them.

“…”

Her past self bit her lip.

Even without biting, her dry mouth always tasted of blood.

The hospital was right next to the university, so college students’ voices drifted in from outside.

They had the college life she lacked.

She envied them, but after realizing no effort could give it to her, it turned to anger.

And the kids across from her, who would soon have it too—that made her unbearably furious.

So.

—Shrrk!

Her hand moved.

So Yeri wanted to stop her past self but couldn’t.

In an instant, the view cleared, revealing the young Shin Jae-heon and Shin Yuri hidden by the curtain.

“Hey, could you be a little quieter?”

It was plenty quiet, but she just wanted to say it.

Healthy kids didn’t need to come to the hospital and make noise.

Twisted thoughts like that.

—Shrrk!

Even though louder chatter came from other beds, the two startled, their eyes widening.

Oh no.

So Yeri wanted to cover her eyes.

This really was an unescapable past.

A past she regretted every time she remembered it.

But because it was the past, it was irreversible.

“You’re so damn noisy.”

Her past self said it loud enough to be heard, then lay back on the bed.

Oh god, oh god!

Trapped in her past self, So Yeri screamed silently.

“Sorry.”

A voice came from beyond the curtain then.

Shin Yuri’s small voice.

She seemed so apologetic it showed through the curtain.

No!! Hunter Yuri, you don’t need to apologize!

I was just jealous!

No matter how much So Yeri clutched her head internally, her past self didn’t respond.

Sensing the coldness, soon a hand slipped in from outside the curtain.

Her past self’s sharp gaze turned that way.

A hand in a school uniform quietly placed a snack with a sticky note on the windowsill and withdrew.

And what was left was a snack.

Her past self got annoyed.

“I can’t even eat this; it scratches the roof of my mouth.”

What, mocking me for only eating liquid food?

—Thwack!

Her past self didn’t even take the note or snack; she threw them straight into the trash.

The snack hitting the bin rang out loudly.

As if making sure it was heard.

“…”

“…”

Not just the kids’ side, but the whole room fell silent.

And watching her past self do that, So Yeri screamed internally.

«Arrrgh! No! Stop!!!»

Of course, that didn’t change the past.