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Chapter 41
The Terminal Baby Doctor Doesn’t Hide Her Genius
It was a lump of fur, covered in something dark red.
I could just barely make out its ears and tail, so I concluded… it was a puppy.
“What kind of puppy has ears this big…?”
For a moment, I thought it might be dead—but the fur was moving, just barely, with a slow, faint rise and fall. Like it was on the verge of its last breath.
I carefully took a handkerchief out of my bag and gently picked it up.
I’ve never taken in a stray before…
In a previous episode, I’d been caught working at the market to gain experience.
Back then, the kids from my household had beaten me up and dumped me in an alley.
‘A filthy back alley suits you. It’s dirty and stinks.’
The sight of the abandoned creature brought that memory back. I couldn’t just leave the puppy there.
“This place is too filthy. I’ll wash you and patch you up.”
Not long after we returned, Dad came back with a sour look on his face.
“I told you to wait. Where did you wander off to?”
I grinned and showed him what I was holding in my arms.
“Say hello! A new family member!”
“…So now, after herbs, and after bringing in both your elder and younger brothers, you’re planning to raise a wild animal too?”
Wait—what? Something weird slipped in there. Why am I supposedly raising my uncle?!
I didn’t even get the chance to explain.
After we bought the last of what we needed, Dad whisked us away immediately.
But unlike when we left, I felt a little dizzy.
Is this guy… being petty with me for some reason?
Why am I suddenly feeling motion sick?!
By evening, the first traces of starlight were faintly showing in the sky.
The east side where Dad and I lived backed onto a mountain.
And because our “garden” was so overgrown with trees and weeds that it was embarrassing to even call it a garden, we often saw various wild animals.
If we leave it alone for a few more years, it could turn into a little forest.
A healthy puppy would have plenty of space to run around.
I’ll train it to bite Commander Heukdae on the butt.
Right now, the things we’d bought today—a special iron-barred pen, and the puppy I’d picked up earlier—were all floating lightly in midair.
Dad’s ability really did seem convenient sometimes.
Yawning, I thought about Uncle Undeok and Jeok Yunha.
If they drink from it again, they might really die this time.
Their shocked faces were still vivid in my mind. And what I’d said to them last—was it true?
Well, technically yes. Even a 0.0000001% chance of death is still death, right?
As long as I’m here, the chance of dying is basically zero. Still, I’d said it that way because—
This way, they’ll definitely hunt down the culprit.
Yunha would fixate on this and find both the perpetrator and the cause.
She probably would have investigated even if I’d said it normally.
But she was under the sway of the power of fire—giving her a spark to obsess over was much more effective.
Anyway, she won’t die this time.
Uncle Undeok had no reason to hate the Heuk family anymore, and Yunha wouldn’t bid me a permanent farewell.
…That kind of ending—one where they never accepted me—wouldn’t happen in this life.
It’s a good start. Things are going smoothly.
And that was all thanks to Dad coming with me.
I smiled so wide my cheeks warmed.
“Dad… thanks.”
For some reason, Dad just stared at my face for a long, long time without answering.
“…Dad?”
Startled, I tugged at the hem of his clothes. Since he came along quietly, I grabbed both his cheeks and turned his head from side to side.
My doctor’s instinct kicked in.
Something was seriously wrong.
“You okay? Breathing alright?”
“Yeah.”
For a moment, the items floating in the air wavered and paused.
I knew it—he’s not well!
We were almost home…!
That’s why I kept telling him to eat properly!
Once we got home, I’d make him some restorative medicine…
But before I could finish that thought, Dad stumbled. The rise and fall of his chest was clearly abnormal.
“Dad!”
The staggering stopped.
“…It’s fine. Just a little dizzy, that’s all—”
“What little?! Your face is pale as a sheet!”
“Isn’t it normally pale?”
“Not the time for jokes!”
With a soft huff of air, a large hand came down to rest on my head.
“To make a doctor worry… I’ve failed as a warrior.”
“Now is not the time to say that—”
“I remembered something.”
I froze. …What did he just say?
“It was… a little surprising. And touching.”
“…What? What did you remember?”
“I think… I’ve seen you from afar before.”
“….”
“But why did I turn away back then? The reason… urgh.”
He staggered again, but didn’t drop me. Instead, our floating luggage began falling to the ground.
It’s hurting him so much he can’t even focus on controlling his ability.
My face hardened.
“Seeing those two—father and son—looking so close today… made me think of it.”
His gaze was unfocused.
These were signs of an impending seizure or fainting spell. I needed to prepare for what came next.
But when I reached out, my hand was stopped. Dad’s expression was almost desperate.
“Dad, let go. I need to—”
“I should have apologized to you first, shouldn’t I?”
Words that made me pause.
No—he’s not in a normal state right now.
Tempting as it was, I steeled myself. I was a doctor.
I can’t let myself waver.
We could talk later—right now wasn’t the time.
“Fine, tell me when we get home. Just lower us down first.”
“You must have resented me. Growing up alone… you must have been lonely.”
His voice was unusually warm. My breath caught despite myself.
Don’t waver, Heuk Biyu. You’re a doctor.
No, I had to at least examine him…
But that was only possible if he let me go—and I couldn’t break free no matter how I struggled.
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll be the judge of that!”
I glanced around. We still had some distance to cover.
Could I run ahead and bring Uncle, or someone else, to help?
But what if Dad collapses in the meantime?
“I thought about your name.”
Out of nowhere? Maybe helping him recall memories had pushed him too far.
I was greedy. Sudden changes always cause problems.
Even medicine, if overused, can worsen an illness.
What a basic mistake for a doctor to make…!
While I was panicking, Dad bent his head and hugged me lightly.
“Heuk Biyu… I think it’s a good name. You chose well.”
I knew I should move, but… I couldn’t.
…I’m happy.
Because his voice sounded so much like the gentle one I’d heard in my memories—one I’d thought belonged to someone else.
“Every time I remember something, I end up grinning like an idiot…”
And that was his downfall.
“Dad!!”
Dad suddenly dropped to his knees—still managing not to drop me.
He clutched his face with one hand, breathing hard and ragged.
He was burning up. Sweat beaded all over him.
A fever spike.
If only I could use a diagnostic spell—but I couldn’t even reach the water flask.
Sorry, Dad!
I pinched his hand hard. I’d have to run and get Uncle.
Or at least have him let go so I could open the water flask, come on, Dad…!
“I’m really fine.”
Still holding me, Dad patted my back.
As he exhaled in short breaths, the dropped luggage and the puppy floated back into the air.
“You told me to guard you properly. I have to… fulfill my duty as a warrior.”
“Stop talking about commanders and subordinates right now—”
I gripped his clothes tightly and forced the words out, and he chuckled.
“Alright. Let’s go home.”
Using his ability to the very end, Dad brought us home.
And the moment we arrived—he collapsed.
He’s not dead…
Smack! I slapped my own cheeks.
This was trauma talking.
Forcing away the many images of patients dying in my mind, I pressed my hand to Dad’s forehead.
As I thought—he’s burning up.
I looked at him with a complicated expression.
Even right up to collapsing, he’d made sure to carry both me and our things.
I can roughly guess what kind of man he was before losing his memories.
Stubborn as hell, and with a strong sense of responsibility, apparently.
I pouted.
Heuk Biyu. It really is a good name.
My chest tightened.
“A patient with memory loss… shouldn’t give me something like hope.”
“Phew…”
Early the next morning.
Heuk Biwon wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“This bastard—how could he live without even tidying his house? How did he survive when it rained?”
“I agree.”
The one walking over was Heuk Birang, grumbling with his handsome face.
“Hyung, there are holes all over the roof too. Was the guy planning to just get rained on to death?”
“I agree, little brother.”
The two of them were currently at Heuk Bihu’s residence.
There were reasons the messy yard and the broken roof tiles had to be replaced, but…
Damn it—my niece is going to be living here!
Just then—
The door opened, and Biyu came out, her eyes bloodshot.
