Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 3



Only Krnovel

Episode 3. Back to the Future

“… … How much of the epi did you get in?”

… … What … … Blood?

“… … has been entered.”

Someone is pressing hard on my chest at a steady rhythm.

The thought of pushing away hit me hard in the head.

I’m so frustrated.

What the heck?

Am I not dead?

Beep-

It’s annoying again.

“Get out of the way. … … Get ready.”

The suffocating feeling that had been weighing on my heart disappeared at the man’s words.

I thought it would get easier… … but no.

I can’t breathe.

It’s more frustrating.

“100 lines.”

“100 lines! Take it!”

“Clear!”

thud!

what?

My mind suddenly snaps to life.

“One more time! 200 lines!”

no.

I think I’m feeling better?

But seeing as my eyes still haven’t opened, I don’t think things are okay yet.

“leasehold!”

“Clear!”

Kuung!

What the heck!

Wow, this is really starry.

One thing that is certain is that the pressure has gone down considerably, as if a boulder that was weighing on my chest had been lifted.

“The pulse is back!”

Again someone shouted.

Whatever it is, it means I survived, right?

I squeezed out all my remaining strength without even being able to open my eyes properly.

Because I have something to say.

Our long-headed bones… … no, this is too long.

I don’t think I can talk that long.

“Wow… … Huh… … .”

“It’s okay now! Yes! Don’t worry, student. We’ve overcome the crisis.”

“Aww, wow, wow… … Oh my… … .”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Just trust us.”

No… … Our tongue… … It’s okay aaah… … Go… … Oh… … .

“Student… … I’m the only one asking… … you… … .”

Someone keeps saying something… … .

Dark.

It’s dark again.

The water came rushing over me.

* * *

A bathroom in the emergency medical center of Korea University Hospital.

Professor Lee Beom-seok received water with trembling hands and wiped his face repeatedly.

“What on earth is going on… … .”

It has been over 10 years since I started working as the director of the emergency center at my alma mater, Korea University Hospital, a tertiary hospital.

It wasn’t greed that he still held on to the position of center director even though he was getting old enough to pass it on to his juniors.

So, a sense of professional calling?

well.

It’s not that grand.

The faded trauma of a man whose entire body is etched with the traces of time.

And it was a desperate struggle to overcome the trauma.

Professor Lee Beom-seok said that cars will disappear from the world—

Or, if it is something that cannot be eliminated, I think it should be converted to 100 percent autonomous driving as soon as possible.

The reason was simple.

Because cars are weapons that have taken the lives of countless people.

But even now, a month later in 2025, cars still won’t disappear.

It hasn’t even reached the stage of fully autonomous driving.

They say Tesla in the US is leading the way in autonomous driving, but I’m not sure.

In any case, the reason Professor Lee Beom-seok was visiting the emergency room at night, which was not suitable for his schedule, was also clear.

If I were there, I could save at least one more traffic accident victim.

“… … I need to see it again.”

no.

I feel like it has to be that way.

“… … was frozen.”

My friend is frozen in time at the age of nineteen, so I can’t forget him no matter how hard I try.

-Dong-ha… … We couldn’t recover the body. I’m sorry… … .

The skinny guy that the guy called Long-Haired Bone apologized to me, his father, and his uncle with a guilty face.

In that sadness, Lee Beom-seok imagined.

‘I wonder if that guy is still alive?’

– He’s definitely dead, student. Come to your senses. We’re assessing that he was thrown from the car by the impact of the accident and fell under the bridge. We’re doing our best to find him, so please. Please go away. Okay?

As his friend continued to go missing, Lee Beom-seok fell into countless delusions.

For Lee Beom-seok, delusion was an anesthetic to forget his sorrow.

If only the guy had grown older instead of dying.

So if you had been by my side.

If only we could have clinked glasses of soju while enjoying the era when pineapples were so common and the memories as a side dish.

I’ve boiled countless bowls of that kind of ramen.

If only one of those countless ramen noodles had been cooked properly.

So if the guy was older.

Or if he had lost his memory and remained alive after that.

If that were the case, I might have passed by you on the street without noticing you at this age.

As his thoughts reached that point, Lee Beom-seok’s shaking hands stopped.

“That’s right… … . That’s really right… … But that’s impossible?”

It is certain that the face of the young patient who was brought in today after a traffic accident is exactly like Dong-ha.

No matter who beats him to death, no other words will come out of Lee Beom-seok’s mouth.

How could I forget that guy’s face?

A brat who always got first place in the whole school while playing the guitar annoyingly.

Even though his parents poured money into it, he was able to study hard and get into Korea University’s medical school.

The pain of losing that guy remained as a trauma at the age of nineteen, and I lived like a ghost in the emergency room with the thought of saving as many people as possible from an unexpected accident.

Lee Beom-seok’s own face looking at himself in the mirror pulled him out of his delusions.

“There is no time. That is ridiculous… … .”

Rather, if a man in his 50s, who looked like a guy, had come, it would have been more realistic, even if it was not recognizable at first glance.

It appears in dramas and such.

After losing his memory due to the aftereffects of an accident, he reappeared after several decades… … something like that.

But the other person is still in their late teens or early twenties.

It’s as if he’s the only one in whom time has stopped.

“… … Professor? Are you okay?”

The voice of a junior doctor is heard from behind.

Lee Beom-seok broke free from the delusions that had engulfed him and returned to the serious and strict face of the emergency center director.

“Oh. I’m okay. I guess I was a little sleep deprived.”

“Rest. You will be fine.”

“Yeah. I guess so. I need to rest… … a little.”

Lee Beom-seok slowly shook off the remaining moisture from his hands.

It’ll take some time for the student who looks just like Dong-ha to wake up anyway.

* * *

How long did you sleep?

My body feels weak, but my mind feels refreshed. Looking at it like that, I think I may have slept longer than I thought.

Dim light in the darkness.

Still, it wasn’t uncomfortable to check anything.

A long line visible overhead.

A bag of sap hanging at the end of the line.

Tick-tick- even a machine that makes sounds at a regular beat.

Next is my body.

A cast on his left arm.

Another cast on his left leg.

What should I call this on my neck… … .

It’s not a cast, but it’s just a piece of plastic that keeps my neck from turning.

Because of that, my eyes are suffering.

I couldn’t see my lower body, which I could see by lifting my neck or waist, so I just looked down and my eyeballs almost fell out.

“after…….”

After confirming that his lower body was still intact, he let out a sigh of relief and quickly put strength into his fingers.

Even the fingers of a broken arm can move as desired, although slowly and weakly.

As long as your fingers are fine, that’s fine.

Other parts will heal anyway. You’re still young.

“iced coffee.”

Even the neck isn’t damaged or anything.

It’s fate.

It seems like the sky wanted to hear my song.

At that thought, a feeling of relief spread throughout my body like a drug.

at that time.

The door opened with a creaking sound and a man wearing a white gown who said, “I am a doctor” walked in.

“… … Are you awake? Are you feeling any discomfort?”

Do I really have to ask this?

“It’s very uncomfortable.”

I wasn’t saying it bluntly. It’s just the way I am.

“Do you know who I am?”

“… … ?”

I carefully considered what the doctor said.

……i get it.

“Ah! I remembered. Thank you! You’re the teacher who saved me earlier, right? That one. Jiiing paang!”

“… … Ah. Yes.”

Seeing the rather lukewarm reaction, I wondered if my words of gratitude were not enough.

But whatever.

Since he saved my life, I can be proud of him to that extent.

“I’m feeling like this. I’ll greet you properly when I get better.”

“Oh, no. Haha… … I guess there was a misunderstanding. I didn’t come here to say hello.”

“Then?”

“The general affairs department or nurse will come and ask about this later… … .”

The doctor paused for a moment and then continued speaking as if he had made up his mind.

“There’s nothing in my pocket that could identify me. Not my wallet or my cell phone.”

cell phone?

My confusion lasted only a moment, and soon fear took over me.

“Ah… … . Did you have to pay a lot of hospital bills?”

“It won’t be that much since it’s covered by health insurance. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“Ah… … yes.”

thank god.

There was a huge uproar last year or the year before when they implemented mandatory health insurance. It really helps.

The doctor asks the question again, perhaps seeing the expression of relief.

“Do you have your guardian’s contact information?”

“Oh, yes.”

“How old are you exactly?”

“Open… … .”

“Are you a student? A high school student? Where do you go to school?”

“Yes? I’m a high school student. Yes, school is… … .”

“What is your name?”

“… … .”

I stopped my trembling mouth and stared blankly at the face of the doctor who was urging me.

What is this, old man?

When you ask a question, you have to give yourself time to answer.

Um… … but… … .

It looks somehow familiar.

Very strangely… … .

Did you feel the same way as me?

The doctor, who had been hesitating, asks again with a determined look on his face.

“Dong-ha… … right?”

For some reason, my heart sank at the friendly tone of voice.

A strange familiarity.

And because of the very strange sense of alienation that was added to it.

“who are you?”

“Answer me. Is that really true?”

“Yes, that’s right. But how do you know? You said you didn’t have any identification. Have we met somewhere?”

“That’s ridiculous… … .”

Instead of answering, the doctor muttered to himself and sat down with a thud.

I want to take care of you and hope you’re okay, but my physical condition is worse.

I can’t move.

“Are you okay?”

I lowered my eyes as much as possible.

The man hanging out of my field of vision says this with a resentful expression on his face.

“Why… … Why are you here now… … Dong-ha… … . I… … People… … have been waiting for so long… … .”

* * *

That’s ridiculous.

The doctor even had tears in his eyes… … .

“Why… … are you like this?”

“It’s true. I’m Beom-seok. Your friend Lee Beom-seok.”

He said his name was Beomseok, my friend.

class monitor.

Sancho.

Whatever it is, you are my best friend.

“My friend has a lot of hair.”

“This… … son of a bitch… … is coming back alive after decades… … .”

“Why are you swearing?”

“It’s really Dong-ha. He really is shameless… … .”

No, but this doesn’t make sense.

“You do look like Beomseok… … Clearly. Are you Beomseok’s uncle? Or maybe your maternal uncle?”

Beomseok is not my father. I know Beomseok’s father’s face well.

I was sad that there was a second generation of doctors in my family, but my father said that I was a good person and gave me pocket money from time to time.

And it doesn’t make sense in the first place.

When I opened my eyes after the accident, my friend who was 19 years old had become a doctor in his 50s with all his hair gone?

no way.

It’s foolish to believe that.

So we argued for a while.

“That’s right. I’m Beomseok. Look at the name in the middle here.”

“Yes, I understand, sir. But you are not my friend.”

“That’s right! We went to Piccadilly to see Back to the Future together, right?”

“One? Two?”

“Two. Back to the future two.”

“So you’re Beomseok’s uncle. I didn’t know he had an uncle. I guess Beomseok is close with his uncle too. He even talks about things like that.”

After that long and drawn-out battle… … .

“Then it’s my friend Beomseok, right?”

“okay!”

“Let me ask you one more thing, then.”

“Ask me anything.”

“What the hell happened? Did my friend Beomseok get old, or did I really come to the future like in Back to the Future?”

“If I’m right… … . You came to the future. Right after that accident.”

……hmm.

“Then what year is it now?”

“It’s December 7th, 2024.”

… … Well, … … This is driving me crazy.

If this doctor isn’t Uncle Beom-seok, who escaped from the mental ward and stole a doctor’s gown.

Or, if it wasn’t for Uncle Beom-seok, who was a doctor, going crazy from overwork.

Besides, if this guy isn’t just joking with Beomseok or some other guy to make fun of me for waking up.

Except for those three cases… … .

“You mean I’ve been here for… 30 years?”

Does that make sense?