Clap - 28

I don’t know how many hours or days have passed. Jaemin’s condition, under the influence of the drugs, worsened gradually. Fever and body aches were just the beginning. Vomiting was sporadic. His head throbbed all day, and he had a nosebleed. A lot of blood, enough to soak his chin, hands, Ihyun’s hands, and the porridge he was being fed. It was blood that Jaemin wasn’t familiar with.

He had been given food at the construction site and even at places like meat restaurants. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he could get rotten potatoes, onions, or pickled radish. So even if he had one meal a day, sometimes two, he never had nosebleeds.

Moreover, subjectively, this nosebleed wasn’t just from fatigue or nutritional deficiencies. It felt more like… like brain melting away like ice cream under the scorching sun, a feeling of a melting brain flowing down.

Breathing was also strange. There was a wheezing sound. No matter how much he tried to inhale, he couldn’t feel the air.

Ihyun’s face nearby turned grave all of a sudden. He took out his phone from his pocket and called Ichan. Soon, Ichan appeared with all sorts of medications and syringes.

Jaemin swallowed the dry saliva. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like something serious was happening.

“Am I… dying?”

“There’s no way. We have two skilled doctors here.”

“No. No way. How can you be doctors? You’re the ones killing me.”

Jaemin muttered in a low voice. Ihyun and Ichan just pursed their lips with unreadable expressions, not saying a word. It seemed like they deemed it unnecessary to respond.

“Lie down.”

Ichan, who had piled up pillows high on the bed, pushed Jaemin’s shoulders. Jaemin’s body slumped as if giving in. Ichan climbed on top of Jaemin. Jaemin turned his head stubbornly, twisting it away. It was a posture that was hard to decipher the intention behind.

Ihyun neatly displayed various syringes on the bedside table. The sharp needles seemed to sneer at Jaemin. Another injection. Now, every time he swallowed saliva, he could smell the scent of ethanol from his throat. Why again…

Ihyun covered Jaemin’s nose with a transparent object. It was an artificial respirator he had only seen on TV. Jaemin’s body stiffened with tension.

“Jaemin.”

“…”

“You might have a seizure.”

“What…?”

“There might be a cardiac arrest…”

Ihyun said with a faint smile. It was definitely not a situation to smile about. Jaemin’s pupils darted rapidly from side to side. Seizure and cardiac arrest. Oh, it seemed like those crazy bastards were finally trying to kill him.

As the accident escalated, he couldn’t just stay still. When Jaemin clenched his fist and reached towards Ichan’s face, a thin syringe pricked his wrist.

The effect hit Jaemin directly. His chest convulsed, shooting upwards. His limbs stiffened like dead branches. His fingers and toes curled up like burnt squid legs.

His eyelashes shot up at a right angle. And at that moment, Jaemin felt as if his whole body was falling from a great height.

His heart stopped. The whole world went dark.

But the faces of Ihyun and Ichan were strangely clear.