Hye Won stepped off the train, her face pale, eyes red from crying. She looked lost. Then, she saw him. Han Chen stood near the exit, hands in his pockets, his gaze locked onto hers. He didn't say anything—just walked up. Then, without thinking, she clutched his sleeve. He didn't pull away.
"Let's go," he said leading him to the taxi he called outside.
The emergency department was dimly lit, the scent of antiseptic filling the air, accompanied by the quiet beeping of machines. Han Chen walked beside Hye Won as they reached the reception desk.
She was trembling as she spoke. "My mother... she was brought here earlier. Her name is Jin Mi." The nurse checked the records. "She's in the Neurology Ward, Room 703."
"Neurology?" Hye Won whispered. Han Chen placed a hand on her back. "Let's go."
Inside the hospital room, Jin Mi lay unconscious, an IV drip attached to her arm, a heart monitor beeping steadily beside her. Hye Won rushed to her side. "Mom…"
Her mother's face looked thinner than she remembered. How long had this been going on? Had she ignored the signs? A doctor entered, holding a chart. "You must be Jin Mi Cui's daughter."
Hye Won stood up immediately. "Yes! What happened to her? I—she never told me anything about illness!"
The male doctor sighed. "It's not exactly a simple illness. Its an aggressive tumor. According to her records when she was briefly conscious, she had headaches for months but dismissed them as stress. Tonight, she suffered a seizure, likely caused by swelling in the brain. The people who helped her here were her neighbors. You should properly thank them, fortunately it was in public, if she was in home, no would have known."
"Then what now?" Han Chen asked.
"We're stabilizing her. An MRI confirmed it's mid-stage glioblastoma."
Hye Won felt her knees go weak. Han Chen caught her before she could stumble.
The doctor continued, "We will discuss treatment options in the morning. Right now, she needs rest."
Hye Won nodded weakly, catching onto Han Chen's dress. Nurses administered medication before leaving them in privacy. Still crying muffled sobs, she held her mother's hand, lost in thought about the future.
Han Chen used his spirit sense to examine Jin Mi's condition. The cancer had spread to the brain-stem and spinal nervous cells. Pure healing wouldn't work—this mutation was too common in a world lacking spiritual energy. In other realms, where energy was abundant, such cases were rare.
His wisdom raced through millions of thought processes, from human biology to alchemy, crafting a healing technique that could physically alter her condition at the genetic level.
Randomly giving her a healing pill would cause swelling, potentially making her brain ooze out through her pores. This needed a special approach—removal and reformation through life law energy. Unlike direct spirit healing, law energy followed set rules, guiding the process under rapid controlled genetic changes leading to healthy cell proliferation without requiring precision work of spirit from him.
Watching Hye Won silently cry, he felt that tightness in his own heart again. He motioned for her to come near. As she approached, he pulled her into his embrace on the sofa.
"What are you doing?"
"Giving you a shock to recover."
"This isn't funny at all." She tried to pull away, but Han Chen guided her to sit on his lap, staring at her mother. He spoke slowly.
"Do you want my help?"
She hesitated. "...No… yes. If you can… I don't have the money to cover this at the moment. Even after insurance, it's a huge sum. I'll pay you back somehow later."
"Hmm… That's okay. I can pay for her full treatment if I want to. I have another question. Why did you call me first? Don't you have any relatives here?"
"mmh… Your name was the only one that came to mind. As for relatives, my father passed away eight years ago in a road accident. My family moved here from South Korea about eighteen years ago."
"It's been tough, hasn't it?"
"She was a very strong woman. She deserves all the credit for making me who I am."
"...Let's talk about something else for a while. You've already spent hours looking up her medical records, cancer details, and insurance policies. Get some rest."
"They said it's a genetic mutation… Will I get it too?" Her body tensed again.
"Cui… does your confession to me still stand?"
...
The abrupt change surprised her, but in her sadness, there was no blushing or teasing. She spoke honestly, feeling comforted and safe in his arms. "I always want to be near you. I feel safe around you… Yes, I still like you very much. Why? Do you want to be my boyfriend Now?"
"Yes, ..... I would like that very much."
She turned around slowly, her face inches from his. "Do you really? Or is this just comfort talk? Because I'm very serious right now."
"No… I've thought about it. I was chasing an empty target before, but recently, things became clear. You've liked me for over a year and a half. You never backed down, treated me genuinely, even joined the same college, confessed twice… Yeah, I know. The second time, you whispered it in my ear when you thought I was sleeping."
A small blush crept up her face.
"As much as I like to be with you,...Being with me comes with its terms. You won't escape my clutches later, and breaking up isn't an option… Are you sure? I have many secrets. If you want to be with me, you'll be part of them too. Do you really want that?"
"Hmm… What big secrets do you have that I can't even escape? Can I sign a non disclosure and leave later?" she teased.
"Bigger secrets—ones many would find tempting. And no, there won't be an NDA. If you're in, there's no going out." Han Chen smiled at her joke.
She placed her lips just few inches above his, her breath warm, flowing against him. "Will these big secrets harm me?"
"No."
"Will you harm me?"
"No. I Promise. But don't do anything harming me in the first place… or I'll harmlessly kill you."
"Hmm… Pretty suspicious."
"Do you promise to only love me and not chase someone else like that target you mentioned? To never leave me alone?"
"You probably wish I wouldn't promise… I told you—I have many secrets. You barely know me. Are you sure?"
"....."
"Rascal. Openly admitting it… Will you love me?"
"Yes."
Hearing that, she leaned down and kissed him. Inexperienced as she was, her first attempt was clumsy, her passion fueled by stress and relief. Han Chen gently took the lead, the kiss lasting for minutes before she pulled back, dazed.
Realizing what had just happened, she covered her face in embarrassment. " Girl, you started this relationship with a kiss. That's skipping too many steps and I didn't ask your end of the deal "
She acted as angry and banged on him playfully saying, 'yeah she will treat him' the same but she took years of effort for him to get to acknowledge her, so he has to treat her better.
Then, she remembered where they were. "Han Chen, my mother is here. Our first kiss happened while she's in the hospital… What kind of daughter am I?"
"Oh, about that… She's in a coma, but she heard everything passively. She'll remember it all once she wakes up. No escape for the shameless daughter." He teased her.
"What?! Is it true? Since when are you knowledgeable of coma patients?!"
He snapped his fingers seemingly for nothing. " I read in reports on news of such events. I will get permit for stay during night. You wait here. "
Han Chen booked a private ward, allowing them to stay with patient the entire time. Exhausted from everything that had happened, she quickly fell asleep in his arms.
He slightly lowered her to nearby place after ensuring she was asleep and went to her mother. The curtains drew closer and door locked itself under his intent. Even though patient monitoring devices were not in the room, it is there outside the window.
Raising his hands over Jin Mi's head, he activated his modified healing technique. Laws fluctuated, a shiny golden-green threads extended from his fingers, like roots weaving into her skin effortlessly.
Spirit sense guiding them their targets. The reformation happened silently in the affected cells. The swelling in her brain subsided instantly. Blood vessels relaxed. Han Chen withdrew his hands, just after stabilizing and helping her expel some of the byproducts through her nasal pores and cleaning them outside. "Wake up tommorow" He then left saying that to see his new sleeping girlfriend.
__________________________
While she slept, Han Chen activated the Soul Corridor on her, letting it take full effect.
Obscure incantations connected them together. Consumption was very high to activate it. It would appear confusing even to the immortals, as this was his successful research after studying consciousness for a long time with his enlightening heaven defying system in previous life.
A small, tattoo-like circular mark appeared on her chest, just above her abdomen. It had a symbol of yin, similarly one formed on Han Chen's place with a symbol of yang. Now, they could hear each other's thoughts if both wished, perceive emotions and share their senses freely. Temporarily empower each other. But without any trace of strength she can't use any of it properly without his help. I will let her know eventually.
Unlike before, there was no master-servant restriction. As they grew stronger, more abilities would unlock. Etching the same protecting spell on her, just as his parents, he started meditating his spirit. Inside, he could perceive her tiny soul seemingly sleeping in spirit form at the far end of his mind.
This was a spiritual connection—one that went beyond life and death. If one of them died, even if their soul was completely destroyed, they would be reborn through the other, memories intact.