Chapter 2
“T,Then he won’t be able to walk?”
“Well, that, for now” The doctor blurred his words.
The injury in which nerve cells between C7 and C8 of the spine were cut off is enough to cripple the strong and sturdy young man.
“For now? What about surgery?”
“It’s not completely impossible, but the money required is..”
“Doctor! Please, please save my child! I will pay as much money as I can. How much will it cost? How much do you need? If I withdraw everything I have been saving-”
The middle-aged woman sitting in a small chair knelt on the floor and grabbed the doctor’s coat.
It took only about 3 seconds for the desperate request to walk again to turn into despair.
“About 2 billion.”
“……Yes?”
“Sorry.”
“N,No. No. How much?”
“It’s about… 2 billion”
The doctor sighed at the end. The middle-aged woman have already close her eyes.
“2 billion…This??”
“It is an operation that is impossible in Korea. In Germany… No, it’s complicated to explain in detail. Anyway, the approximate estimated amount is around 2 billion, but in fact, it may cost more. What I should say to you is 2.5 billion, no… It may cost more than 3 billion.”
In 2030, when virtual reality was created and self-driving cars traveled on the highway, money is still precious, and outstanding doctors and medicine were even more precious..
The doctor no longer spoke.
Middle-aged women loosened the strength of her hands and cried.
“Sorry.” The doctor apologized as if he had done something wrong. 2 billion. That’s a huge sum, how could a small house save 2 billion for the operation?
It was a military accident, so at first the doctor thought the government would provide support from them and he took a few steps to find out.
However, he got rejected. In the process of transferring the patient from the Armed Forces Hospital to the University Hospital, he even met a person in charge of the Ministry of National Defense directly, but it was useless.
“Why not?” The doctor went ahead and criticized them.
“The victim will be fined for negligence of the public affairs. According to the testimony of a soldier at the scene, he saw that the victim moved the ammunition carelessly. They were joking and playing.” A Department of Defense spokesman said while scratching his head.
“Then.” However, the doctor himself had never seen the scene and couldn’t argue with the words of the eye witness.
Once Leeha hears this. He didn’t drop the bullets, and there were no external shock, but it was labeled as ‘Carelessness of the parties’.
“Anyway, the pension or compensation will be paid properly, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“How can I not care? The young man became an invalid!”
“So, aren’t you saying that we need to pay for the cost of this surgery?”
“Ha.” The doctor yelled at a Department of Defense spokesman, but it was useless.
The military pension and disability compensation received as a lump sum have already been used to pay for this operation.
At the very least, the doctor had decided that the victim is only short by a small amount, and proceeded with the operation. If they had less money, Leeha might have been moved back to the Armed Forces Hospital, or the surgery may have been delayed until they were able to pay for the bill. In any case, various payments will be given to the hospital as soon as compensation is deposited to Leeha’s bankbook.
“Then I’ll get going.” The doctor, after recalling his interaction with the Department of Defense spokesman who had no sympathy, comfort, or even any explanation for the accident, got up from his seat with a sad expression.
“Gosh.” In the consultation room where doctors and nurses went out, the middle-aged woman who was lying on the floor and didn’t know how to stand up.
“My Leeha. My Leeha.”
To : Sergeant(Reserve) Ha Leeha，29y/o
Subject : Notification of Compensation payment
We wish you peace in your home.
You were in an accident while in the military service. We will notify you that all medical services have been properly settled, and all the compensation calculation procedures have been completed.
However, you are judged to be able to engage in labor due to the maintenance of both arms, face, and brain functions (see Attachment 1), and the negligence of the person involved in the accident is considerably acknowledged (see Attachment 2). You cannot register for mental and physical disability higher than level 7 .
Therefore, mental and physical disability payment compensation will be at Level 7. However, we regret to inform you that registration of persons of national merit and veterans compensation has not been approved.
For the above reasons, according to Article 23 of the Military Pension Act (variable pension), 397,000 won is paid monthly.
“Leeha. My Leeha.”
397,000 won per month in exchange for all the senses of the lower body.
Contrary to the statement in the official letter, it will not be easy to have peace in the home. The short official letter tore the heart of the reader.
There will not be many people who can blame Leeha even if he opened his eyes and went on a rampage.
——-
Ttok, Ttok, Ttok.
Leeha did not respond to the harsh knocking sound.
“This is a courier. Is there Mr. Ha Leeha? Mr. Ha Leeha!”
Leeha is still lying down.
He did not want to answer, and he hated answering and going to the front door.
“Mr. Ha Leeha? Mr. Ha Leeha!”
‘Just go.’
Most of all, he didn’t remember buying anything that could come by courier.
No, he hadn’t bought anything recently. Far from buying anything, he hated going outside, moving, eating, and even breathing.
When he was a sergeant, he had a sturdy physique.
‘Did he leave?’ When Leeha, who was lying down, finally found peace, another buzzing sound was heard outside the front door.
‘What else?’ He heard a sound that he couldn’t understand properly, then heard a knock on the front door again.
“Hyung! Leeha hyung! I know you are there! Can you open the door? If you’re doing something weird by yourself, get on your pants quickly! I will open in just 10 seconds!”
‘Shit……. Who are you kidding?’ Leeha, who was lying down, barely raised his upper body..
What did he mean ‘doing something weird’ and ‘get on your pants’? It’s too harsh of a joke to someone with a disabled lower body.
Leeha had to endure it because Gijeong was a close cousin, and if it were someone else, Leeha would have ran them over with a wheelchair.
The door opened with the sound of a door lock opening while Leeha was crawling towards his wheelchair
An installation engineer with a bright and cheerful expression appeared with an embarrassed face.
“Hyung! I knew you were here. Mister, please install that over there.”
Gijeong pointed the location to the installer while entering the house. I’ve never bought something like this, and it’s pretty much bigger than a refrigerator box, so it’s just absurd.
“What is it? Mister, what is that?”
“That’s-”
“I’ll explain, just install it quickly.”
“Yes.”
Gijeong stopped talking to the installation engineer and approached Leeha who is in a mermaid-like posture with only his upper body in bed. With the natural cooperation of the two, Leeha was soon sitting in the wheelchair.
“What is it, Gijeong? I’m not in the mood to play.”
“Again, again, you’re depressed. Didn’t I come here to help you feel better? Can people be like this every day? You have to get some air to be healthy.” Gijeong pushed the wheelchair and opened the door in the balcony. The world outside the transparent window, where cool wind blows.
However, it is now too scary and rough for Lee Ha to live.
“How can I live healthily with this body?.”
Of course, Leeha also knows that there are many people who live with more difficult lives, however, Leeha was having difficulties adapting to such a world.
No, most of all, he couldn’t admit and accept his condition.
“umm……. You know me well, hyung. Ppuing ppuing?”
“You’re so excitable.” Leeha snorted and shook his head.
‘This guy is also suffering. Because of me.’ While thinking that, Leeha is listened to Gijeong.
For Leeha and his mother, who live in disgrace, only Gijeong visit whenever he has time.
Since Leeha knew that Gijeong has good intentions, he couldn’t treat him coldly.
“So what is that?”
“Are you curious? Are you curious?” Gijeong moved to a place near an installer who was sweating while pushing the wheelchair.
What came out of the box was a huge, chair like object.
‘Is this something like an extremely luxurious massage chair?’
“Virtual Reality Connector?”
Leeha looked up at Gijeong with an embarrassed expression.
‘What is a Virtual Reality Connecter doing here? The price is quite… expensive. If he have that kind of money, I would just save it. But this guy has so much money, so this.’
“No, no. It’s not a normal connector. It’s perfect for playing 「Middle Earth」.”
“Middle… … What? So that’s… for gaming.”
Gijeong raised his finger and said proudly, but the expression harder than Leeha.
“Not just a normal game! 「Middle Earth」 has Virtual reality game market share of 31% and total number of subscribers worldwide exceeded 100 million in 4 months after its launch! It was so hard to convince aunty.”
“What do you mean? Why are you bringing mom into this?” Gijeong cares about Leeha, but Leeha’s mom cares more about him than Gijeong will ever be.
“I asked aunty to buy it for me.” Gijeong’s last words made Leeha realize.
“My mom? Hey! Are you crazy? What are you talking about!? You want me to play right now? Knowing our situation clearly… … You mean you urged mom to buy a game machine?”
“Oh? No, hyung, not that-” “Is it not?? Mom is already working so hard to take care of her stupid son. And you want me to play games?” Leeha’s 0pleasant and optimistic nature disappeared along with the senses of his lower body. Lee Ha took everything negatively and he sharply shouted at Gijeong with a bloodshot eyes.
How could he not? Knowing clearly the circumstances of Leeha’s family, Gijeong convinced Leeha’s mother to buy something like this.
“Listen to me, hyung. Would I ask you to only play a game?
“「Middle Earth」! Do you think I persuaded aunty without thinking? She said that you are not able to find a job! But with 「Middle Earth」 you can make money while playing!”
Lee Ha was angry, but he couldn’t push it anymore.
“Come on, what can a kid like you know?” “I know you’re angry, but believe me. If you just log on, your heart will be unburdened.”
“……Haaa. All right, then. What’s the point of arguing with you?”
Leeha barely pressed down his boiling anger.
(To be continued…)
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