Prey - Chapter 51
“Wake up. Suho. Lee Suho!”
I heard a voice calling me from beyond my hazy consciousness.
Who is it?
Who’s calling me?
I didn’t know, but I just wanted to keep sleeping like this.
“Hey, damn it, you can’t die too! Wake up!”
…Me dying too?
I opened my eyes wide.
In front of me was the figure of a young man. It was a face I had seen a few times in the neighborhood.
When our eyes met, the man sighed in relief.
“Oh, you’re awake. You woke up. Thank goodness. Can you see me? Huh?”
“…I can see you.”
As I tried to sit up with a groan, the man stopped me and said,
“You’ve inhaled a lot of smoke, so you’re probably dizzy. Just lie down. I’ve called an ambulance, and it’ll be here soon.”
An ambulance?
I shifted my gaze in the direction the man was looking.
I saw a fire truck putting out the fire at the orphanage. In the distance, the sound of a siren was ringing.
Was it because I inhaled smoke, as the man said? My head was spinning.
Confusion swirled in my dazed mind, but I collected myself and asked the man,
“Was there a fire?”
“Uh… yeah.”
The man nodded. Now that I thought about it, there was soot on his face in several places. His clothes were the same.
As I quietly observed him, I asked,
“You’re the one who shouted that there was a fire, right?”
“Yeah.”
The man replied.
“Fire! Fire!”
When I woke up to that cry, the thick smoke filled the room.
I assessed the situation and woke the children sleeping next to me.
“Wake up! There’s a fire! We all have to get out!”
After waking up, I rushed to lead the children out with the director and another teacher, but I inhaled a rush of smoke.
Cough, cough!
A severe cough erupted. After bending over for a moment to cough, I lifted my head. Flames were blocking the entrance.
…Am I trapped?
I can’t get up.
I sank down to the ground.
The acrid smoke made me cough again, and my consciousness began to fade. I saw the flames intensifying in front of me.
Should I just stay here…?
As I sat on the heated floor, I felt my vision becoming hazy.
My whole body was hot, but I didn’t feel much fear.
It seemed like I didn’t really need to go outside. There were no waiting mom and dad out there, anyway.
Before my eyes, the bright red flames leaped up, licking the ceiling like a tongue.
Mom… Dad, I miss you.
I thought that if I closed my eyes now, I might be able to meet them.
At that moment, beyond my fading consciousness, I heard someone calling my name.
“Suho! Lee Suho!”
Dad must have come to get me… Did Mom come too? That would be nice.
As I was thinking this, the figure of the man appeared in front of me. Then I lost consciousness.
When I woke up to the sound of the man shaking me awake, it was now.
“I thought it was Dad…”
The man looked at me in response to my quiet mumbling.
“What? Oh, the ambulance has arrived. Lee Suho, let’s go. Don’t close your eyes!”
The man shook me again.
If only Dad had come to get me.
I thought this as I was being carried on the man’s back.
Two men entered the hospital room where I was admitted. They came in when there were no other people in the room and stood in front of the bed.
Who are they?
I looked at the unfamiliar men in front of me.
One looked quite old, but even for a young person like me, there was an unusual atmosphere about him. The man next to him seemed to be in his thirties.
The older man, who was looking down at me, said,
“Are you Lee Suho?”
“Yes, I am.”
“..…”
The silent gaze was intimidating. But he seemed to resemble someone.
Who does he resemble? I don’t know anyone so scary…
As I was thinking this, the older man facing me gestured to the younger man beside him.
“Process the discharge.”
The young man looked troubled.
“Chairman. The paternity test…”
The older man raised his voice in anger.
“Can’t you tell just by looking at his face? Start the process immediately!”
