The sterile atmosphere of the Association's high-security medical wing usually felt like a shield against the chaos of the world outside. But today, the hum of the mana-stabilizers felt like a dirge.
Woo Jinchul stood outside a private observation room, his reflection in the glass looking older than his years. Inside, a man who had once built empires with a single phone call sat motionless, staring at a garden he couldn't truly see.
Yoo Myunghan. The Chairman of Yoo-Jin Construction. A man whose name was synonymous with the post-Gate reconstruction of Korea. To the public, he was an iron-willed titan. To Yoo Jinhee, he was a father who had always seemed as immovable as a mountain.
Now, that mountain was crumbling into a silent, white mist.
Jinhee stood at the terminal nearby, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She didn't look up when Jinchul approached. She couldn't. If she met his eyes, the professional facade she had carefully constructed over the last forty-eight hours would shatter.
"The cognitive decay has bypassed the secondary stage," she said, her voice a hollow rasp. "I ran the trace again. It's not a viral infection or a neurological disorder. His internal mana circuits are simply... thinning. It's like a cup that has developed microscopic cracks. No matter how much mana we pump into the room, it just leaks out of him. And when the cup is empty, the soul goes to sleep."
Jinchul looked through the glass at Yoo Myunghan. In his previous life, Jinchul had seen this happen to many. He had seen the "Eternal Slumber" claim the wealthy and the poor alike, a democratic tragedy that no amount of gold could bribe. In the original timeline, Myunghan had been one of the most high-profile victims, his collapse sending shockwaves through the global economy.
"He's at 40% saturation," Jinhee continued, her voice finally breaking. "My family doesn't know yet. They thinks Father is just taking a sabbatical due to exhaustion. How am I supposed to tell them that father will be affected by Mana Slumber? That the man who taught us to never accept defeat is losing a battle against the very air he breathes?"
Jinchul stepped closer, his presence a grounding force in the room's clinical coldness. "You aren't going to tell them that, Jinhee. Because it isn't going to happen."
"Jinchul, look at the data!" she snapped, turning to face him with eyes rimmed in red. "The 'Mana Exhaustion' disease is a death sentence. There is no recorded case of a reversal. Once the saturation hits 10%, the brain enters a permanent comatose state to preserve the remaining life force. He has weeks. Maybe days."
Jinchul didn't flinch at her outburst. He understood the desperation. He had felt it himself when he watched the world burn in his past.
He walked towards the place where they can talk with people on other side of room.
"Mr. Chairman, Jinchul here" Jinchul spoke to Myunghan who was sleeping inside the room
"Wait, Jinchul! What are you doing"
He ignored her, Yoo Myunghan turned his head slowly. His eyes, usually sharp enough to pierce through a board of directors, were clouded, drifting.
"Jinchul...?" the Chairman whispered "It seems, I am also affected. My Daughter couldn't even look at me properly and you are also talking from there not to affect me. So tell me the truth"
His mind was still sharp like sword arrived at the problem
"Yes Chairman, You are right. But we are lucky enough to find it early stages, so we can quickly cure it. Please do not worry" replied Jinchul
"I am not worried about myself but my family. Do you think we can find the cure so quickly Jinchul, I know it will take months or years. I know this room is blocking mana to a certain extent but still I too will have to sleep. My Daughter Jinhee, take care of our family and Jinchul take care of my Jinhee" told Myunghan to Jinchul & Jinhee like it was his last words.
"Father" she whispered from the other side "The Mana is now being restrained only outside the room. I will definitely strengthen it and make it sure not a single mana comes near you"
"It's a temporary patch," Myunghan cautioned. "It may hold for a few months, maybe less. Look into the cure, Daughter. I have taught you right, we need to look into" "Long term not short term benefits" Jinhee completed the sentence with low sobbing tone "Good you can do it. I believe you. Jinchul take care of her alright. She is like me who will disregard everything throwing herself into work"
Jinchul replied " I will take care of her Chairman. Do not worry. Please look after yourself as well"
"Good Good and I expect you to call me Father next time we meet" told Myunghan with a smile to which Jinhee blushed slightly.
Later sometime. Jinhee looked at her father, who was now resting peacefully, and then at Jinchul. The hopelessness that had been her constant companion since her father's diagnosis vanished, replaced by a fierce, driving purpose.
"I'll have the blueprints ready by the time you return," she promised, her voice firm. "And Jinchul... thank you. Not as a researcher... but as a daughter."
Jinchul nodded, already turning toward the exit. "Don't thank me yet. We will find the cure definitely Jinhee. Believe me. Now I need to leave for dungeon raid as the Guilds are already have their hands full."