The Trash Wants to Live

He immediately picked up the phone because the silence made us all uncomfortable.

“Hello? Yes I am… Yes? Hospital?”

Jang Eui Yeol’s expression turned cold as he looked back at us. We immediately left the house and went to the car after the call ended. We took Cookie with us because he would have been left alone if we didn’t. 

“What Hospital?”

“Sung… Sungwoon Medical Center.”

“Then we’ll go to the Sungwoon Medical Center right now.”

With Cookie whimpering under my feet, I got inside the car and told the driver our destination. The car began to move. We raced to the ER at Sungwoon Medical Center.

“Grandma!”

“Oh you came? This is not a big deal—” 

Jang Eui Yeol, who was almost crying in front of his Grandma, looked at the doctors as if they were not doing enough. He slumped beside her, perhaps he was tired out. 

She wasn’t in great shape; I noticed while looking at her. I consulted the doctor while Jang Eui Yeol was speaking to his grandma.

“What happened?”

“Oh a little car accident out of the alley. I fell, and because my bones are weak, they fracture very easily nowadays.

“But since the car was going slowly, no bones were broken and in need of surgery.”

“Nevertheless, since it was a vehicle accident, we need to keep an eye on her for a day or two… Ma’am, you are a tenacious individual.”

“I’m fine… I don’t need hospitalization. We can go home now.”

“Grandmother!”

“All about the money here… I still need to work tomorrow you see.”

“But your legs!”

Jang Eui Yeol and his Grandma began bickering about what was going on with her body after she had stated that she had to go to work. I took out my phone and silently texted Doraemon— or Ki Hyun-joo. The department manager arrived at the emergency room within a few minutes after I sent the text.

“I have arrived.”

“Please take care of this patient on behalf of Sungwoon.”

“I’ll have a hospital room ready right away,” said the doctor.

“Ah… but I’m not a member yet… so this isn’t necessary.” Jang Eui Yeol ran over to me as soon as he finished talking with his grandma. His grandma also was shocked after hearing my words.

“I’m fine! We have no money so I’m good!”

“Hello Grandma. Don’t worry about the money. We’ll take care of that.”

“Who might you be?”

“I’m Ki Yoon Jae… Jang Eui Yeol’s friend… and I will cover all of your expenses.”

“Yes?”

“Everything was written in a contract so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Jang Eui Yeol, who was silently listening beside me, turned his eyes in thought. I beckoned my people and forced his grandma to go through an examination. We went into the single room where she would be hospitalized after completing the checkup and showed her the contract.

“This is a legally binding contract with a safety precaution.”

As I previously stated, the contract with a lifeline was a contract with the leash, designed to keep individuals with power from betraying me. The only conditions were that they would neither betray me nor kill me.

The legally binding agreement was printed on ordinary A4 paper and included a number of conditions.

“As you can see, guild members receive free treatment from the Sungwoon Medical Foundation. They don’t claim it’s all family, but there’s a hint that it’s within a few communities—”

“I intend to do so.”

Jang Eui Yeol grabbed a pen and signed the contract right away. I had intended to settle the contract, but I had no longer had reservations because the situation was critical.

Even if Jang Eui Yeol signed a contract, it would be useless if his grandmother declined because he required his guardian’s consent…

‘I didn’t say anything because there were a few hazardous provisions in the contract, but as long as you don’t betray me, there’s no problem.’

“Grab some things from home since you would be staying in the hospital until your legs are healed.”

As a result, Jung Yi Joon was also put to work. I felt bad for the driver who was forced to work overtime on the spur of the moment, but… that’s why you must compensate employees for working overtime.

I was alone, so I set down Cookie who I’d been holding silently. Pacing around the room, I asked Cookie.

“Do you have any special abilities?”

Since it was a celestial beast, I was hoping for some kind of healing power. Hence, I inquired, but Cookie only inclined his head in response.

[I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ki Yoon Jae.]

“No… I mean, healing a person, breathing fire, growing—”

[Is this what you’re hoping for?]

Ahh! Cookie’s body suddenly expanded to enormous proportions. Like a legendary Pokémon, the little tuft of fur that blended in with the front and rear grew and  extended into a graceful body.

Compared to the cow Jang Eui Yeol had tamed, it was a colossal beast… He was almost the size of a full grown person.

“You can grow?!”

[I couldn’t before, but it seems that I can now.]

“What?”

[After I smelled you, I have grown stronger.]

Cookie pressed his snout into my armpit and made some ominous, deadly comments. I took a sniff and then noticed something odd. I suddenly got the impression that I was being followed…

[Master! Let me sniff!]

“—Shrink! Before they get here!”

[Why? You didn’t expect to see me exhale fire, did you? Are you ready to spit it out?]

“We’ll talk later! Hide!”

I screamed at him because I was under pressure at the moment. Cookie realized what he’d done wrong. He shrunk quickly. He wagged his short fat tail and shook his hips, yearning to be hugged. I held him once more and murmured to him.

“Now’s not the time… let’s do this later.”

[Okay.]

The door swung open and Jang Eui Yeol’s grandmother slowly entered the hospital room. The nurse dragged in the bed she had been riding on and transferred her to it, then she asked about the test results.

“The results of the blood tests are still pending. The CT scan is now being examined. The results will be available in an hour.”

“Ok.”

Cookie struggled to be freed from my arms, then he went straight to Grandma.

“Oh… is my baby here?”

Cookie stretched out his tongue and licked Grandma. She stroked him with her wrinkly fingers. I stood and watched in embarrassment as the two of them greeted each other affectionately. Grandmother gazed at me silently then opened her mouth.

“Can… Can I say something?”

“Please feel free to do so.”

“You… seem to be an influential man, based on what I’ve heard.”

The director of the department and the doctors appeared to have leaked some information about me. With a wave of my hand, I smiled.

“I’m still a student… I’m Eui Yeol’s classmate. My father and grandfather are the powerful ones.”

She appeared to be ecstatic when I replied. Grandma clasped my hand in hers as I sat next to her and murmured under her breath.

“It’s lovely.”

She broke out laughing when she saw that I was stiff and unsure of how to respond.

“I thought you were an angel because you were so pretty.”

“Haha. That’s something.”

“I couldn’t ask before since I was still disoriented, but what did you mean by Eui Yeol paying hospital bills?”

“Ah, that—”

I took out the contract which Jang Eui Yeol had signed earlier. Naturally, I only revealed to her the legally binding contract and not the leash contract. As soon as her attention fell on the contract in my hands, I passed it over to her.

“Eui Yeol… can he really do this?”

Ki Hyun Joo told me not to tell the guardian and to stay out of it… especially the gate stuff with Eui Yeol and Yi Joon.

But since the guardian was a grandma, I thought it would be alright to tell her. She gave an expected nod.

“You know—”

“I’m assembling a group of exceptionally gifted individuals. To retain them, I formed a guild. Eui Yeol’s benefits are written in this contract.”

The amount of money he would be paid, as well as the benefits he would get. Grandma’s attention followed mine as I pointed to the page detailing the benefits his family would enjoy.