Chapter 346
“……”
“……”
Shana, who had sat with a perpetually sour expression the whole time, ended up leaving in less than an hour. It probably took her longer to get here from the Center than the time she actually spent with me.
If she was just going to sit there and sulk, I have no idea why she even bothered coming.
But the confusing line of visitors didn’t end with them.
“Rose, there are some people who really want to meet you. If you’re uncomfortable with it, though…”
It was uncharacteristic of Irene to act so cautiously, so I wondered who it could be.
When I gave my permission, Irene brought them in. It turned out to be none other than the Guides from outside the line, the ones we had parted with that day.
I had seen with my own eyes that they had been rescued, but no one had told me much about them or the incident afterward. Probably out of concern that it might stir up any trauma I might have. Even though I didn’t need such concern.
Despite the hospital room being large and nice, it could only hold a limited number of people. So only a few Guides who really wanted to come had come as representatives.
Up until that point, I had assumed the Guides who had shared a room with me or had exchanged even a few words with me would come.
But surprisingly, most of the faces were unfamiliar, and some of the people I expected didn’t come at all.
“Deon is on a date,” Donna explained awkwardly.
“A date? With whom?”
“Who else? His fiancée, the one he got that necklace for.”
“……She really waited for him?”
“Not exactly.”
Donna shook her head at my surprised question.
According to her, Deon’s fiancée had met someone else and gotten married after Deon had been missing for two years. However, that marriage didn’t last long.
When Deon found out about this through his family, he contacted her immediately. Whether their relationship would be rekindled remained uncertain, but for now, Deon was busy, giddy as a schoolboy, spending his days in excitement.
“Well, that’s Deon for you…”
I wasn’t particularly close with Deon, so it didn’t bother me that he didn’t come. But I was a little hurt that Helga, someone I considered a close friend, hadn’t shown up.
It wouldn’t have bothered me if no one had come at all, but even Guides I couldn’t remember were coming to say hello to me.
“Uh, Helga said she’d visit you separately,” Donna said, her eyes darting nervously as she tried to gauge my reaction.
“…Really?”
“Yeah. She insisted on seeing you alone, so she let us come first.”
Sensing my disappointment, they were trying their best to defend Helga. I decided to let it slide.
After all, no news is good news.
Now that they were living in the safety of the Center, maybe Helga was afraid to leave, even for a short trip to the hospital.
I figured I would see her again once I returned to the Center.
It didn’t take long to confirm that Donna’s explanation wasn’t just an excuse. Helga really did come to visit me separately, just as she said she would.
However, she didn’t come alone, and her companion was someone I never would have expected.
“…How are the two of you here together?”
No way. No way. No way.
I had a gut feeling, but I couldn’t believe it, so I asked. Helga, looking a bit embarrassed, answered.
“He’s my father.”
“……”
“I heard that you and my father already knew each other.”
The man who had accompanied Helga was none other than the Director of the Center.
At first, it seemed unbelievable—an even more surreal combination than Irene and Oscar.
But it turned out that the daughter the Director had once mentioned as being kidnapped was Helga.
“My father wanted to personally thank you, so we thought it would be better to visit separately. As you can see… he’s a bit emotional.”
There was a reason Helga was explaining this.
The moment the Director stepped into the room, he was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Can a human body even produce that much water? I wondered if he might collapse from crying so much.
“……Please understand. As long as I’m nearby, he’ll keep crying like this.”
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