Season 2: Chapter 42. The Family (1)
“Phew,” Sang-Hyeon steadied himself with a deep breath.
Song Ha-Na didn’t miss the brief flicker of emotion in his eyes.
'He had hopes.'
She knew the feelings of patients who hadn’t been able to properly use parts of their bodies for a long time. Even the slightest spark of hope in their minds became fireworks. They always clung to even a thread of hope until the fifth year. That hope then turned into despair over the fact that they would never recover. Such patients would cry all day long...
After that, they would change. If someone talked about hope, they tended to react negatively instead. It became a survival mechanism because they didn’t want to get hurt anymore. They bitterly learned over the past five years that they would not recover.
They would only refuse what they heard if anyone spoke sweet words to them. Choi Sa-Rang was like that until she heard the entire story. Sang-Hyeon also reacted similarly.
When Song Ha-Na looked into his eyes, it was as if he was observing a swindler rather than a doctor.
'But still, he harbored some hope for a moment.'
Song Ha-Na detected hope in him. For a brief moment, she saw it passed through Sang-Hyeon’s eyes.
'If a patient remains positive, any treatment becomes much easier.'
A patient's mental state affected their body, whether it was hormones or some mystical influence. A cause and effect always certainly existed. No doctor could deny that.
If a patient gave up, there was no way forward regardless of the treatment. Vise versa, hope always existed if the patient didn’t give up.
"Hmm..."
Song Ha-Na cleared her throat and turned on the hologram screen. She spoke brightly as if teaching kindergartners.
"First, I thought it would be good for you two, the only reported cases in our country, to share your conditions with each other. I explained this before, right?”
Sang-Hyeon nodded.
“Yes.”
They had already agreed to share their information for treatment purposes.
“You know I'm getting your capsule information, right?"
"Yes."
This was also agreed upon for treatment and research purposes. Sang-Hyeon sent his capsule information to Song Ha-Na every day.
“Based on that, I created some formulas. It's hard to explain, so I simply thought about what kind of formulas would be good. Actually, this type of formula is my specialty. VNS was also created by my teacher.”
Song Ha-Na displayed the letters 'SKED' on the hologram panel. Given that she didn’t explain the first letter S, Sang-Hyeon assumed it stood for Song.
"Just think of it as neural compatibility. In simpler terms, it shows how much your legs and arms have deteriorated or improved in numbers. A positive figure obviously means improvement and a negative figure means deterioration. Shall we take a look?”
Choi Sa-Rang’s information appeared first.
[Choi Sa-Rang]
[Negative 1.7]
Choi Sa-Rang's SKED value had decreased by 1.7 this month.
‘A decrease?’
Sang-Hyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘It was tough enough to maintain, but a decrease? What has she been doing? JeonJaPa doesn’t even play games anymore, does she?’
However, it wasn’t the time to worry about others.
“Shall we see Sang-Hyeon’s now?”
“...!?”
[Yu Sang-Hyeon]
[Negative 3.2]
Sang-Hyeon’s value had dropped by 3.2. It was good that he didn't have any high hopes.
He inwardly reassured himself, ‘I guess it was bad news.’
He felt foolish for having even a bit of hope.
‘Why is this interesting? Perhaps JeonJaPa enjoys pain.’
Various thoughts swirled in his mind and a hot surge welled up inside him. For him, who rarely experienced emotional disturbances, he was unusually shaken even though he knew this was just the beginning of the story.
His head wasn’t in it, but his heart raced impatiently.
“Don’t be too surprised.”
Song Ha-Na noticed his agitation and slowly patted his hand comfortingly.
“This value naturally decreases as you age. Like joints, there's no going back to better. If it doesn't decrease, it’s like you stopped aging.”
‘Oh... so that’s how that works?’
“Ah ha...”
Sang-Hyeon felt relieved. So, a positive value was fundamentally impossible. Like aging, negative was natural. The heat in his throat gradually cooled.
“Our goal is to slow this decline as much as possible. But! We can't spend our lives lying down like corpses, right?”
Song Ha-Na nodded to both of them and sought their agreement.
“How much can we slow it down while still living a fulfilling life? That's the cost-effective aspect we're considering.”
In other words, to live life as much as possible while dying slowly. Everyone sought that as a common goal.
“Ever since you changed capsules, the decline rate relative to your playtime has significantly decreased.”
That was good news. Changing capsules didn’t just have a superficial effect like reducing his sweat, but also a fundamental one.
“Sa-Rang also showed interest in this capsule and ordered one.”
At that statement, Choi Sa-Rang nodded from beside him.
"Sang-Hyeon, if the pace continues like this, your right arm will become unusable for daily activities in your sixties."
"...?"
‘My sixties? Did I hear that right? I’ll be unable to perform daily activities in my sixties?’
"I've told you that it’ll keep declining. This can happen to anyone in their sixties when something breaks down in their body."
That made sense at such an old age. One would probably even have an implant or two by then. Joints could go out. However, receiving such a direct prognosis felt different.
"If!" Song Ha-Na continued. "If you don't use the capsule continuously, in my opinion, it's possible to use your arm until you're eighty."
A twenty-year difference... Sang-Hyeon had to sacrifice twenty years for streaming.
'Twenty years?'
He swallowed dryly. Twenty years of living like the dead without streaming or twenty years of enjoying life while streaming but reaching the limit sooner.
Sang-Hyeon already knew which one to choose. He remembered how many years it took to recover during those frustrating three years.
The twenty years from sixty to eighty and the twenty years from thirty to fifty held completely different values. Even the body would produce different hormone levels.
"I will..."
Sang-Hyeon prepared to answer. He thought it wasn't even worth considering, but Song Ha-Na wasn't waiting for his response.
"But there's an interesting phenomenon."
This was the highlight.
Shush.
The hologram changed with a gesture from Song Ha-Na.
"Of course, it seems trivial compared to monthly or weekly figures. Strangely..."
Just three days the hologram showed data for just three days.
"These three days, your SKED levels didn’t drop at all while you used the capsule."
"Huh?"
"So, you'll see how amazing this is if I explain it this way." Song Ha-Na pointed at the clock and continued, "Sang-Hyeon, your time stopped for two days while using the capsule. You didn't age at all. This is a tremendous discovery.
"So maybe, I can find a hint to heal your arms and legs."
Song Ha-Na tapped on the keyboard.
"I've sent the data to a related research institute in the USA. They said it's interesting and will start working on it immediately."
Email exchanges and other data appeared on the screen, but Sang-Hyeon couldn’t clearly read all of it with his blurry vision. His ears grew too sweaty, so he didn't catch the explanation well either.
"Let’s think about this positively. I think it seems possible."
The last sentence kept echoing in his head.
‘Positively.’
This was the first positive thing he ever heard about his arm.
‘Really? Can this happen? Can I believe it?’
This time, it felt different. His intuition was telling him so. This time was different from the vain hopes he had before.
His right arm trembled. No, his whole body trembled.
Choi Sa-Rang intently observed Sang-Hyeon's face and softly asked, "... Are you crying?"
"I just yawned."
Sang-Hyeon quickly denied it and shook his head.
***
Afterward, Sang-Hyeon and Sa-Rang underwent routine check-ups for a few hours. The tests calculated the margin of error between the data sent by their capsules and the actual data.
“We are examining how much error there is between the information received from the capsules and the actual measurements.”
Song Ha-Na continued as she reviewed the data.
“As expected, there are no deviations beyond the existing margin of error. Sang-Hyeon, perhaps it’s because you consistently exercise; you’re very healthy.”
This included basic health screenings, too.
“Sang-Hyeon, your hormone levels are good. And so are Sa-Rang’s, but recently your weight...”
Song Ha-Na stopped speaking because she could see someone turning very sharp.
“Ahaha. I recommend starting your day with a light breakfast as part of a healthy diet to increase your daily metabolism.”
Sang-Hyeon understood what that meant as a former athlete but pretended not to understand.
Naturally, sitting in a wheelchair all the time would lead to weight gain. She was probably exposed to delicious food all the time. He recalled a meal they once shared. Sa-Rang ate quite a lot while still being elegant and graceful.
“Both of you have worked hard! Thank you!”
With that, all the medical consultations had concluded.
A stately sedan awaited them as they left the research facility. Even Sang-Hyeon, who wasn't particularly interested in cars, recognized it from videos on YouTube titled ‘The World’s Most Expensive Cars.’ It wasn’t the large van that came last time.
“Thank you.”
Sa-Rang expressed her gratitude to Sang-Hyeon for pushing her wheelchair. She didn't have her attendant waiting outside today. It seemed she didn’t need any company with her electric wheelchair.
Sang-Hyeon pushed it out of courtesy, but Sa-Rang seemed quite pleased by it and mentioned how someone pushing her felt more stable than moving alone.
The driver's door opened, and an attendant hurried over.
“Miss, why didn’t you call us?”
It appeared they were supposed to meet her inside.
“I can go by myself,” Sa-Rang said, swiftly approaching the car.
‘Huh?’
Sang-Hyeon scratched his head at her contradictory statement but soon forgot about it.
“Sa-Rang!” a middle-aged man’s voice rang out.
A sturdy man stepped out from the back seat.
“Ah... Dad, I told you not to come.”
The previously dignified, mature, and even decadently aloof woman was nowhere to be seen, replaced suddenly by a teenage girl.
“What are you talking about? I’m here to see my daughter!”
It seemed her father also came.
“OMG, you’re so loud, Dad. And why did you bring this flashy car...”
“What’s flashy about it? This is just a standard black sedan. It’s not even tuned. Should I change the car? As a man, I was...”
“Enough, Dad.”
“Ah, you must be the Almond,” her father said in a booming voice as he approached.
“Yes, nice to meet you, sir,” Almond greeted him.
“Thanks for pushing my daughter’s wheelchair today.”
He expressed gratitude, but his eyes seemed to say, 'My daughter’s wheelchair isn’t just for anyone to push.’
Almond took a step back.
“Dad.”
The intimidating man hurriedly looked back because of his daughter's stern voice. The expression Sang-Hyeon just saw from him suddenly disappeared, and only the back of his head could be seen.
“Ahahaha. Alright, alright.”
He brushed his hair back and extended his hand.
“Men should always shake hands when parting.”
“It was an honor to meet you, sir.”
Sang-Hyeon respectfully shook his hand. He worried if the man would use a strong grip, but it seemed he refrained from doing so because of his daughter’s watchful eye.
“Dad...!” she kept urging him from the window.
“Hahaha! I’ll see you next time, Almond.”
He seemed like an incredibly successful man, someone unfathomable to many. However, the sight of him awkwardly rushing back to his daughter made Sang-Hyeon smile.
Sang-Hyeon envied having a family...
“You have someone to pick you up too.”
A familiar car approached, and his friends in the car waved at him.
“Almond!”
“Hey, Nut!”
They both looked happy after a successful date.
Sang-Hyeon waved back with a broad smile and looked just as happy.