“Mmmpf!”

Manager Park tore off the blue tape that had been plastered over my mouth.

He looked down at me as I gasped desperately for air, his eyes blank and indifferent.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Y-You already took everything, so why... why go this far?”

The financial giant of Myeongdong—Cheon Taesan.

After the grandmother who raised me passed away, he appeared before me for the first time, claiming to be my maternal grandfather—someone whose existence I hadn’t even known.

After that, I lived the life he wanted me to live.

But when he died, his two greedy sons-in-law—my mother’s brothers—took everything away.

Through a joint deal with the 'Cheongpunghoe', they stole everything from me.

“Haha, I only do what I'm told. What would a lowly servant like me know?”

“M-Manager Park. No, Seonggi, please... spare me.”

“I’m sorry. But I’ll make sure it’s painless.”

Manager Park twisted his lips and ignored the tremble of my voice filled with regret and fear. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He placed a rock on the accelerator pedal and shut the car door.

“Goodbye.”

The car, with me tied up inside, began to slowly roll downhill.

“No! Hey! Manager Park!”

Tied up in the vehicle, I shouted desperately for him.

But in the desolate reservoir, my voice reached no one.

Soon the car picked up speed.

The darkness of the reservoir swallowed my scream.

Splash.

Water gushed into the car like madness.

My vision was quickly filled with water, and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ it began pouring into my nose and mouth.

As my consciousness began to fade, the only face that came to mind was that of the grandmother who raised me.

‘Grandma... I’ll be there soon. Wait for me.’

That was my last memory.

* * *

“Ugh, what the—?”

I woke up with a jolt from a strong smack to the back.

Turning my head, I saw a familiar punk grinning while pressing two fingers to the corners of his mouth.

“Yo! Muhyuk, how ‘bout a ciggy, ba-da-bee-doo?”

What the hell...?

Frantically, I looked around.

A space enclosed by cement walls, noisy voices, boys in school uniforms.

‘Dongsung Technical High School?’

In that moment, my thoughts raced.

‘What is this? I definitely drowned in that car in the reservoir...’

“Hey! Muhyuk, aren’t you coming?”

“Uh, sorry, I’m still half-asleep. Go on ahead.”

“What the hell? What’s with the Seoul accent all of a sudden? You’re acting weird, man.”

He grumbled under his breath and walked out of the classroom alone.

I stared blankly after him.

Reality started trickling back.

The book placed like a pillow on my desk was titled Korean Language Year 1.

Looking down at my school uniform, I saw a white name tag.

‘No way... First-year at Dongsung Technical? Wait, wasn’t that 1990? What day is it today?’

I lightly tapped the back of the boy sitting in front of me.

He flinched and turned around, startled.

“What’s today’s date?”

“Huh?”

“Today’s date.”

“Uh... hang on. It’s... September 21st.”

When I nodded, he studied me with a worried look before turning back around.

Seems like it was just after the start of the second semester.

‘No... Wait a second. September 21st?’

I sprang to my feet.

“Grandma!”

September 21st.

The day the grandmother who raised me suddenly died from a heart attack.

I bolted out of school like a madman and ran to the shabby one-room apartment we used to live in.

As I opened the door, I saw my grandmother collapsed on the floor.

“Grandma!”

Dropping to my knees, I shook her.

But she showed no response.

“Someone, help! Please, anyone!”

That shabby room in the slums. As a kid, I used to hate this place because it had no soundproofing.

But now I was thankful for that very lack of soundproofing.

Screaming until my throat tore, I started CPR.

Just then, a man burst through the door.

“What’s with all the yelling! What’s going on?!”

“Mister, call 119! Please, 119!”

“What? Muhyuk, what’s going on?!”

“Please...”

Seeing the situation, the man gasped and ran back outside.

I continued CPR, desperate.

“Grandma, please... Grandma... don’t die. I can’t lose you again... Please! Grandma!”

How long had passed?

“Gah! Cough! Haaack...”

My grandmother let out a rasping breath.

I quickly put my fingers to her nose.

Faint, but definite—she was breathing.

“Grandma... Please, don’t die.”

I held her hands tightly and waited.

About fifteen minutes passed.

The man who had run out returned with the emergency responders.

Staggering back, I watched the paramedics check her condition.

“Muhyuk, what happened here?”

“Thank you, sir. I came home and found her collapsed...”

“And now?”

“Well, she’s breathing now, at least...”

“Guardian?”

I turned at the call from the paramedic and stepped forward.

“You did the CPR?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks to you, she’s alive. We’ll transport her to the hospital right away.”

“Thank you, thank you...”

We arrived at Dongsung University Hospital about ten minutes later by ambulance.

As the doctors rushed around my grandmother, my body finally lost strength.

Just then, a nurse approached me.

“Guardian? Please go to administration and get her registered.”

“Sorry?”

Seeing that I didn’t quite understand, she explained again.

“Please head to admissions and complete registration and payment.”

“Ah... Okay.”

“Please do it quickly.”

With that, she hurried back to the patients.

I understood the words—but I stood there helplessly.

‘I don’t have any money.’

Back then, we were desperately poor.

I hated being poor. I hated my grandmother. I hated that house.

So I got into trouble constantly, hanging out with the wrong kids. And every time, my grandmother would run to the police station, to the school, begging on her knees for me.

I hated her for that. No, I resented her.

It wasn’t until she suddenly died that I realized it.

That I truly, truly loved her.

And only after entering society did I understand just how enormous her unconditional love had been.

I couldn’t just stand there. I went to the admissions office to register.

“You qualify for medical assistance. The total will be 10,400 won.”

“...I rushed out without bringing anything. Could I possibly borrow a few coins?”

“Ah...”

Looking at me with pity, she handed me some coins.

I stood at the phone booth outside the hospital, wondering who I could call.

‘Who can I ask for help?’

No one came to mind.

After much hesitation, I flipped through the phone book and called the Dongsung Tech faculty office.

— Dongsung Tech, this is Park Seokmin speaking.

“Teacher, this is Muhyuk.”

— What? Muhyuk?

“Yes, sir.”

— Where the hell are you? They said you vanished.

I explained why I had ended up in the hospital.

— I see. And your grandmother—is she okay?

“Yes, thanks to you. Could you tell Myungsoo to bring some money and come to the hospital? I came in such a hurry I didn’t bring anything...”

— Myungsoo? Got it. How much do you need?

“About twenty thousand won? I think he’ll have it. But if he doesn’t, please... lend it to him. Please, sir.”

— Haa... Alright. I’ll send him right away.

After the call ended, I sat on a bench.

I hadn’t even had time to sort through what had happened.

I tried to calmly piece together the situation.

‘I definitely died... Manager Park dumped me into the reservoir with the car. But I’m back in 1990? Is that even possible?’

The Butterfly Dream.

Is this real, or just a dream? Confusion swirled around me.

But the vivid memories of 30 years told me—this was no dream.

“Muhyuk!”

A familiar voice snapped me back to reality.

Panting, Myungsoo ran toward me.

“Haah... What happened?”

“Ah... It’s...”

Hearing the situation, Myungsoo handed me 20,000 won.

“Whew... Is your grandma okay?”

“Yeah, they said she’s stable for now.”

“Alright. Go pay the bill first. I’ll wait here.”

I returned to the administrative office and completed the payment.

“Thank you.”

I gave back the coins I had borrowed earlier and stepped outside.

Myungsoo was sitting on the bench, waiting for me.

“You paid?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s head into the ER. I want to see your grandma before I go.”

“Okay.”

We went into the emergency room together. My grandmother was lying on one of the beds off to the side.

I stood quietly, holding her hand.

From behind, Myungsoo gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

A moment later, the doctor pulled back the curtain and walked in.

“Student.”

“Yes.”

“Your grandmother seems like she’s going to be alright. She’ll probably regain consciousness soon.”

I nearly collapsed in relief at those words.

“But she should be admitted for proper testing. She qualifies for medical assistance, so the costs won’t be too heavy, but even so, a few hundred thousand won might be needed for hospitalization and tests. Still, there’s no threat to her life for now.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who saved her.”

I bowed deeply as the doctor walked away with a smile.

Still standing in silence, Myungsoo suddenly asked,

“Muhyuk.”

“Yeah?”

“You got any money?”

“...Money?”

“You’ll need quite a bit for the hospital stay and tests.”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“I’ll lend you some.”

I silently shook my head.

“It’s okay. I’ll manage.”

“Hey! Muhyuk. Aren’t we friends? I’ll explain the situation to my dad and borrow it. Just wait.”

“I said it’s fine.”

As I talked with Myungsoo, I noticed the dialect I had forgotten started slipping naturally from my mouth again.

Myungsoo smirked.

“There it is. That’s the Muhyuk I know. Shit, I thought someone else was pretending to be you or something. Whatever. Just pay me back later. Wait right here.”

And with that, he left the ER. I couldn’t stop him.

Because the truth was—I really didn’t have any money.

And right now, I couldn’t just go calling my grandfather, especially not when he didn’t even know I existed yet.

“Uuugh...”

A groaning sound made me turn. My grandmother slowly furrowed her brow and opened her eyes.

I immediately flung the curtain open and shouted,

“Doctor! She’s awake!”

As the doctor and nurses rushed over, I grabbed my grandmother’s hand tightly again.

“Grandma...”

The doctor opened her eyes and checked her pupils while continuing to talk.

“Ma’am, can you hear me?”

My grandmother, still groggy, barely moved her lips.

“Where... am I...”

“You’re in the hospital. Do you know where you are?”

“Grandma!”

At the sound of my voice, she slowly turned her head toward me.

“Muhyuk... my baby.”

“Grandma, do you recognize me?”

“Of course I do. How could I not recognize my baby?”

“Grandma...”

Tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing that, mine filled too.

“Ma’am, your grandson saved you.”

“...What?”

“You collapsed from cardiac arrest, but he performed CPR and brought you back. You’ll need to be admitted for further tests and rest.”

“No...”

At the doctor’s words, Grandma weakly shook her head.

I held her hand tight and said,

“Grandma! Please stay in the hospital.”

“But...”

“If it’s because of money, I’ll take care of it. I’m begging you.”

“Muhyuk...”

My chest tightened as I squeezed her hand harder.

She gently stroked the back of my hand with her other hand.

“Haha. You’re such a good grandson. Talk with him first, then we’ll move you to a room soon. It’ll be a shared eight-person room. Since you’re a medical assistance patient, that’s almost free. Any smaller room would be expensive. Is eight-person okay?”

“Yes.”

The doctor went on explaining the admission and testing procedures, but none of it really sank in.

After the doctor and nurse left, Grandma and I looked at each other in silence.

“Muhyuk.”

“Yeah? What is it, Grandma?”

“School? Did you eat?”

“Grandma! Is this really the time to be worrying about me?”

“Still, you need to eat.”

“I ate. Don’t worry. I’m not a kid anymore. I’ll take care of myself. Just focus on getting better.”

“...”

Just then, the curtain opened and Myungsoo came in.

“Oh? Grandma’s awake?”

“Myungsoo? What about school?”

“Haha. Soon as you see me, you’re scolding me about school? Are you okay?”

“I shouldn’t be skipping school... What brought you all the way here?”

I stopped her from trying to sit up.

“It’s okay. I called Myungsoo. I rushed you here so fast I didn’t bring any money or anything, so I borrowed some from him.”

“Aigoo~ Myungsoo, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll stick close to Muhyuk. We’ll eat together, go to school together, everything. You just focus on getting better.”

Every word Myungsoo said hit me deeply.

I stared at him in silence until he cleared his throat and looked away.

“Muhyuk, let’s step outside for a bit.”

“Grandma, I’ll walk Myungsoo out.”

“Okay, okay.”

We sat side by side on a bench outside the hospital.

“I talked to my dad. I’ll lend you 500,000 won. Use it for the hospital bill and maybe a tonic for Grandma.”

I was so grateful and so sorry that I couldn’t even speak.

Seeing my expression, Myungsoo smacked my back for no reason.

“Shit. Muhyuk! Are you embarrassed to borrow money from me? You’re not planning to stiff me, are you?”

“No...”

“Hey! If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead by now. Remember? Those punks in middle school? No one touched me because of you. I even got into the same tech high school thanks to you. So wipe that face off.”

“...”

“Forget it. I’ll bring the money tomorrow. Use it or don’t, it’s up to you. I’m out. See you tomorrow.”

I watched his back for a long time as he walked away from the hospital.

Lee Myungsoo—one of my closest friends.

He grew up well-off thanks to his dad owning a big bar in Nampo-dong, Busan. But because he was shy, he got bullied and extorted by delinquents after entering middle school. I couldn’t stand it, so I fought those punks. That’s how we became friends.

But...

After my grandmother died in the original timeline, I abandoned him.

< Returned (1) > End.