novelraw Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Chapter 34
The inside of the hospital was dark.
All the lights meant to illuminate the waiting area were off, and a single lamp lighting the reception desk was turned on lonely.
Beyond the corner next to the reception desk, a corridor leading to rooms for various purposes, such as the consultation room and the injection room, stretched out.
From deep within the corridor, the sound of people chatting and laughing could be heard.
I called out toward the corner.
"Excuse me."
My thick voice filled the corridor with a resonant echo effect.
However, there was no returning answer.
The laughter of the workers was flowing out from inside the physical therapy room at the end of the hallway.
A thin sliver of lamplight was shining through the gap in the physical therapy room door.
It seemed they were having lunch inside the physical therapy room.
"Excuse me~."
I tried calling out once more, but the result was the same.
They were so busy chatting among themselves that they couldn't hear my voice at all.
Just as I was about to move my feet to enter the physical therapy room directly.
I discovered that a thin light was also forming in the gap of the door of the consultation room located near the center of the corridor.
I knocked on the consultation room door first.
Knock, knock.
A familiar voice flowed from beyond the door.
"Come in."
As soon as permission was given, I flung the door open and went inside.
Inside the consultation room, the Doctor was frozen while in the middle of slurping up jajangmyeon.
Both her cheeks were bulging like a squirrel's because she had sucked in such a large amount in one mouthful, and long noodles were hanging down below her lips.
Munch... munch... munch... munch...
The Doctor stared blankly at me with a surprised face, and the movement of her jaw slowly chewing the noodles was the only indicator telling me that she hadn't fallen into a suspended state.
I calmly closed the door and sat in the seat opposite the Doctor.
"I thought the staff ate at the restaurant, but that wasn't it. It was a structure where the restaurant delivers food to the workplace."
Munch... munch... munch... munch...
"Oh? Does the restaurant even issue receipts? Let's see. Jajangmyeon double portion and mini tangsuyuk set, 12,000 won. Request, please give a lot of pickled radish and include some jjamppong soup too. Hahaha, you're the type who needs soup when you eat."
Munch... munch! Gulp!
As she swallowed the noodles she had been holding in her mouth, the Doctor's face changed.
From a squirrel-like shape to her original human appearance.
The first words the Doctor brought out to greet me were cold, as if molded from contempt.
"You're crazy, aren't you?"
"Ah, I'm sorry."
"I guess you at least know how to be sorry?"
"Teasing about the soup was a bit much. Many people eat that way, after all."
"No! Not the soup! You entered my consultation room without permission!"
The Doctor expressed no small amount of displeasure regarding the intrusion into her territory.
However, I easily refuted the Doctor's displeasure.
"Doctor."
"What?"
"I knocked, didn't I?"
"Uh... you did do that."
"You told me to come in, didn't you?"
"Ugh..."
The Doctor couldn't find her strength and then, pretending to be choked up, she drank the cola that came with the delivered food.
After drinking a sip of the lime-scented cola and contemplating for a moment, she countered my words after a slight pause.
"If I had known it was you, I would have told you not to come in. In the first place, didn't you see the Lunch Break sign? You shouldn't come in as you please when it's not business hours."
"It's not content to be requested during consultation hours. That's why I came when it wasn't business hours."
"You idiot! My face was exposed! Naturally, I'd be eating with my mask off during lunch break! Can't you figure that out if you think about it?"
"Ayy, it's not a face that's so hard to look at anyway."
The Doctor's face, which I saw for the first time, was very impressive.
Her eyes were round, her cheeks were smoothly puffed, and the fat under her eyes was slightly raised.
She even ate like a squirrel, and she had a perfect squirrel-like face.
She was glaring at me with an expression of disgust while having a cute face, and this also had a strange addictiveness.
The Doctor gave a small dry cough and then seriously threatened me with a low voice.
"It's a rule that organization members basically do not reveal their faces to players. I'm in a position to suffer damage because of you."
"My, my, then you should have been more careful."
When I replied cheekily, she quickly lost her seriousness and flared up.
"Argh! I can't take it! I need to hit you!"
The Doctor grabbed my collar and shook me back and forth.
I left my body to the Doctor's weak physical strength and laughed heartily.
I was no different from an uncle who takes on the role of being subjected to WWE moves in front of a nephew acting out.
"Anyway, it's a rule to prevent various troubles. As long as trouble doesn't arise, no one will make an issue of it."
Since the organization wants to keep me around a bit longer, they would rather the Doctor maintain a close relationship with me.
Though the Doctor would be anxious because she doesn't know that fact.
It wouldn't matter if I told the Doctor the truth, but I think I'll just leave her alone since her being on pins and needles is quite delightful.
"Haah, I'm exhausted every time I run into you. Can't you just leave me alone?"
"I'll withdraw as soon as I finish my business."
The Doctor relaxed all her facial muscles and made it very obvious that she was annoyed to death.
"So what did you come for? Are you here to say goodbye before leaving?"
"I've decided to scrap the idea of contemplating whether to leave or not."
"I'm tired of this, so tired. Do I have to keep seeing your face in the future too?"
"Oh~ you aren't saying that you won't see me."
"You, come here. Let me grab your collar one more time."
The Doctor reached out and tried to grab my collar.
This time, I avoided it by leaning my upper body back.
I gave a bright smile to the Doctor who was huffing from being teased and then brought up my business.
"You have hypodermic needles that are scheduled to be discarded, right? I'd like you to provide those to me."
"Do you think that's possible?"
"What's there that wouldn't be possible?"
"Medical waste is required to have its quantity recorded when it's discharged. If I provide them as I please, there will be trouble later."
"So, please inquire with the higher-ups and get permission."
The Doctor rested her chin on her hand and stared at me with a pathetic expression.
Her thin lips repeatedly opened and closed.
She looked like she was about to scold me, asking why she should do it, but on the other hand, she seemed to be contemplating because she didn't know what I would do if she didn't grant the request.
Based on her experience of dealing with a person like me so far, she was certain that I would definitely cause some bizarre trouble.
"If I don't listen to your request, you're going to do something weird and trouble me, aren't you?"
"Well. Has there ever been a time when I troubled the Doctor?"
"Ehew, I should just stop talking."
"If it's not possible, I'll inquire with the Dealers."
"Fine. Anyway, even if you talk to the Dealers, it's obvious it'll circle back and become my job. I'll take care of it, so just know that."
Regular check-ups for organization members, nano-injection prescriptions, injections given to patients who come every time a game ends, and so on...
The situation was that hypodermic needles scheduled for disposal were always overflowing.
If I mobilized various materials sold at the Shopping Mall and added a bit of processing, I could utilize them as materials for my ability.
Above all, the advantage of them being easy to carry because of their small volume was the best part.
The Doctor waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.
"Is that enough now? I have to eat, so get out. And don't tell the players that you saw my face."
Even if she grumbled about it being annoying or that she hated it, the Doctor always ended up listening to my requests.
Including the fact that she returned the 5 million won yesterday, she had a weak side to being pushed despite acting tough.
I brushed off my seat and stood up, heading for the door.
And as I opened the door to leave, I teased the Doctor with a sly voice.
"Doctor."
"What?"
"About when I saw your face for the first time earlier. Honestly, I was very surprised."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"Hmph, I wonder which one it is?"
Without revealing which one it was, I closed the door.
The sound of an object hitting the door came from beyond.
Considering that the hitting sound was light, it was estimated that she had thrown a wooden chopstick.
I wished for the Doctor to have a spare chopstick and left the Shopping Mall.
***
The third day, the last day of the rest period, passed quietly without a single minor incident.
The morning of the 3rd Round, which arrived after the three-day rest ended.
What woke me from my deep sleep was, as expected, January's announcement.
[Players, did you rest well during the past three days? Today is the day to play the 3rd Round.]
[Before I convey the progress method for the 3rd Round, I would like to deliver some new news.]
[The number of players currently able to participate in the game is 35. Considering that the number of people has decreased sharply and it's not a condition for collecting data, we have decided to draw 15 players from other islands and incorporate them into this game site.]
An influx of players from other islands.
It was not an announcement to be taken lightly.
Because it was the first time it was revealed that this Money Game isn't just at our game site, but is being played simultaneously in several places.
The fact that there are people being incorporated from other islands to our island meant that, conversely, players from our island could be incorporated into other islands at any time.
Since the surrounding environment and people could change at any time, one shouldn't just be complacent just because they know everything about the existing players.
Depending on what tendencies the people incorporated this time have and what abilities they possess, the survival rate will fluctuate greatly.
January's announcement continued.
[For this 3rd Round, we have prepared five types of games. The number of participants per game is 10.]
[This time, we will grant the right to choose the game first in the 'order of who spent the most money during the rest period'.]
[Players with the same expenditure will be ranked in order of who has the highest remaining balance.]
It was the moment it was revealed that the rest period was a preparation for the next game.
The amount spent itself was information.
Even if they survived, the players' holdings were worlds apart, and it was a situation where they didn't know how much each other had earned.
However, since one could guess the holdings through the amount spent, the announcement of the spent amount would directly affect this 3rd Round.
After a while, January announced the 1st place in spending.
[1st place Lee Ju-seong, expenditure 40 million won.]
Hotel accommodation fees, a dinner on the 1st day, room service orders, and shopping to supply equipment to be used in games.
Even in society, it would be 4 million won worth, so I had spent quite generously.
The important thing was that my balance was overflowing even after spending a significant amount.
[Current balance: 2.305 billion won.]
Thus, I gained the right to choose the game first in the 3rd Round.
When I went out to the playground after simply washing up and getting dressed, gazes poured in.
About 50 players who had come out to the playground one step ahead were taking positions all over the playground and watching me.
Among them, there were those who were shooting particularly venomous gazes.
They were the players who had eaten and slept in the gym for the past three days.
They had a shabby and hollow impression as if they were wearing matching group uniforms.
"Is he the one? The one who said he took down Yoon Ji-ho?"
"Hah, they say he spent 40 million won in three days. I guess he has money to rot."
"This feels like crap. Some people have 40 million won in debt to pay off, but some are splurging 40 million won just on eating and sleeping."
Irritation and anger fermented within an uncomfortable lifestyle were being converted into envy and jealousy toward me.
It was like a preview PV telling me that this game would also be a difficult journey.
Well, whatever.
Bad reviews are also a type of interest.
It would be better than indifference.
I engraved the faces of those who were hostile toward me into my mind one by one and then went to the front of the game site.
'I'll have to get my hands on a new ability in the 3rd Round too, though. I should choose a game where the conditions for copying abilities are established.'
Five standing signs with the game events to participate in written on them were placed in front of the game site.
Three of the five were games I had encountered through the drama.
Without even thinking about it, I stood in front of one standing sign.
The following text was written on the standing sign in front of me.
[Musical Chairs]