"Whi...te."
"White…" A voice called his name.
With a sudden shock, he regained consciousness.
"Hahh… Hahh…" He panted, his breath heavy, his face covered in sweat. His eyes widened in fear as he clutched his hoodie right over his heart.
'What was that? It hurt like hell, as if someone was trying to choke me. It was hard to breathe. My body wouldn't respond to me at all—and even now…'
He lifted his hand; it was still shaking violently. Looking around, he realized his other hand was being held tightly by Bell. Her small fingers gripped him as if she feared he might slip away forever.
He turned to see who the voice belonged to just as his phone's notification chime rang out:
"Price recovered."
He checked the time. It was 6:00 AM.
It's already six, which means the night Miku was supposed to die has passed. But I still don't have any idea if my wish actually worked.
Gently lifting Bell in his trembling arms, he walked into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed.
'I feel completely drained right now, but first thing's first.'
He dialed the hospital's number, but there was no answer. He tried again, yet the line remained dead.
'I have to go check on her.'
Slipping on his shoes, he slipped out of the apartment. He ran all the way to the hospital and scrambled into the elevator. The entire journey was a blur of nervous terror. He was terrified of what he might find, wondering if he had actually managed to make a difference, even as dark, unsettling thoughts clouded his mind.
Reaching her floor, his legs shook with anxiety. He approached Miku's room and slid the door open just enough to peek inside. His eyes widened. She was hooked up to various pieces of hospital equipment, an oxygen mask covering her face. Shu was fast asleep on a stool, her head leaning against Miku's bed. She looked completely exhausted, but White felt a wave of relief wash over him—Miku was still alive, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths.
He sighed in relief and closed the door. As he turned around, he found himself face-to-face with a nurse in uniform.
"Excuse me… are you a relative of hers?" she asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.
"Ahh… well, no. I was just worried, so I came to check on her. I'm her friend."
"I see. Well, she's stable right now, but things were incredibly serious yesterday. Her breathing stopped, her heart rate plummeted, and everyone panicked. But somehow, she survived. It felt like a miracle—suddenly, her vitals just snapped back to normal."
"I see…" White looked down for a moment, then looked back up at the nurse with a relieved smile. He bowed deeply. "Thank you… for taking care of her."
He walked back to his apartment, his mind spinning with relief, already calculating what his next steps should be to keep Miku safe.
When he unlocked his door, he found Aisha waiting inside. He entered calmly, completely ignoring her presence.
"So, you really traded your own life force just to give her one more day…" she said, her voice heavy with disappointment at his reckless wish.
"I did what I had to do," White replied bluntly. "But right now, I just want to sleep. I was unconscious, but my body still aches. It's hard to breathe, though it's much better than it was last night."
He walked toward his bedroom. As he grabbed the doorknob, Aisha spoke up again, not even turning to face him.
"I'm telling you, stop this nonsense. Feeding yourself false hope will only destroy your mind."
Without a word, he shut the door behind him and lay down beside the sleeping Bell. He tried to rest, but the agonizing pain in his chest and his racing thoughts kept him wide awake. Frustrated, he opened the nightstand drawer, took a couple of sleeping pills, and tried again. It was no use; he just tossed and turned, completely unsettled.
After a few hours of trying to sleep, he realized it was already time for school.
'I can't sleep anyway. The pain isn't completely unbearable, but it's enough to keep me awake. Maybe going to school will distract me.'
He freshened up, prepared some breakfast, and went back into the bedroom to wake Bell.
"Bell…" he whispered, shaking her gently.
"Umm… PAPA?" Her vision blurred with sleep, but the moment she recognized him, she jumped up, hugged him tightly, and began to cry.
White stroked her hair softly, trying to calm her down. "Don't worry, Bell. I was just exhausted. Look, I'm perfectly fine now. You don't have to worry anymore."
"But… when Papa fell down so suddenly, Bell was so scared! I went to Big sister Elsa, but no matter how much I called out to her, she couldn't see or hear me. It was…"
"It's okay now. Let's go eat breakfast."
Bell agreed, and they ate together. However, when White got ready to leave for school, Bell grew stubborn, crying and begging to go with him. He tried to refuse, but he couldn't win against her tears, so he finally gave in and let her come along.