NTH 50

Nana had obtained a refund of over sixteen million won after excluding the purchase and betting amounts from a total of three races. However, after the third race ended, Nana broke out in a cold sweat and seemed to be in rapidly deteriorating condition, so Jeha had to forcibly drag him out.

“You know, I think I have an amazing talent for horse race betting, don’t you?”

“You do.”

“I was surprised too. I never dreamed I would be so good at guessing. Should I start going to the racecourse every day and earn some money?”

“No. Don’t go again.”

“Why? I earned sixteen million won just by sitting still today. That’s way more money than I’ve ever earned in my entire life.”

“This is no different from gambling. If you don’t guess correctly, you don’t get a single won of your original bet back.”

“That’s true, but I’m confident I can do well. If I had known this before, wouldn’t I have become rich too? In the underworld, it’s very common to lend some money to homeless people and borrow their names.”

“Do you think Chairman Cheon would have just sat back and watched you become rich?”

“Ah, right…”

“And didn’t you feel your physical condition getting worse and worse after each race ended? Your face turned pale, and your breathing became rapid.”

As if his energy was being absorbed by the racecourse.

He swallowed these words in his mind, but Nana’s condition, as Jeha saw it, was truly like that.

“Well, maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I’ve been in such a crowded place. Still, the horses were so cool. It was a waste to just watch them on TV at home. Aren’t horses really the coolest animals in the world?”

At Nana’s words, Jeha briefly thought of someone.

“If you like horses that much, I’ll buy you one, so you can go and take care of it yourself sometimes and even ride it.”

“What? Where can you buy a horse?”

“There must be a ranch. Somewhere in Jeju Island or Gangwon Province.”

“How much is one?”

“I don’t know, but don’t worry about the price. It’s not like I can’t afford to buy you one.”

Still curious, Nana took out his phone and searched, then shouted in astonishment.

“My gosh! They say a racehorse costs tens of millions of won?”

“Well, of course. It would have a good bloodline.”

“Suddenly I don’t want one anymore. Come to think of it, I think other animals are cooler than horses.”

Jeha chuckled at Nana who suddenly changed his attitude.

“Really? What kind of animal do you think is cooler than a horse?”

“There must be many. Um, a fox, for example.”

“A fox?”

“Yeah.”

Nana, who had stopped talking and was lost in thought for a moment, turned to look at Jeha.

“You know, I want to see Il-beon and Sam-beon and the other ones I saw when we visited that shaman friend. Aren’t you going to see that friend anymore?”

Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had contacted Goo Minho. Jeha reached out, stroked Nana’s head, and replied.

“Let’s go together around the end of the month.”

A few days after going to the racecourse, Nana finally obtained a resident registration number.

Under Jeha’s orders, Chief Jeong had appointed a lawyer and had been proceeding with the legal process to create a family register. Thus, it was ruled that Nana’s claim of not having had the opportunity to obtain a family register as an orphan with no family ties was justified.

When deciding on an official name, Nana agonized for days. It was because he had lived his whole life as just ‘Nana’ and had never thought of another name.

As Chief Jeong offered a mug of warmly heated herbal medicine, Nana, who was sitting blankly in the living room, took the cup and asked him.

“Mister, do I get to choose my last name as well as my first name?”

“That’s right.”

“What should I choose? Should I go with Kwon like Jeha, or Jeong like you, mister?”

“You could, but if you’re a bit sad about completely parting with the name Nana, you could also go with the last name Na.”

“Really? Should I? Then what about the first name?”

“That’s something you should choose based on what you like, Mr. Nana.”

“Umm… It’s so hard to think of one now. How about ‘Na Yoonsoo’?”

“If you want, well, it’s not bad.”

For the next few days, from the time he came home from work until he fell asleep, Jeha had to listen to the name candidates Nana had thought of throughout the day.

“How about ‘Na Gwanggyun’?”

“Where did you see that name?”

“On the cover of a 4th-grade math workbook. It said he graduated from S University. He must be a very smart person.”

“That may be so, but the name doesn’t suit you.”

“Then how about ‘Na Dongseok’? Doesn’t it sound like a strong and powerful person?”

“Not at all.”

Then one day, Nana, with a solemn expression, said to Jeha who had come home from work.

“Jeha, I’ve finally decided on a name.”

“Really? What are you going with?”

“Jin.”

“Jin?”

“Yeah. I’m going to be ‘Na Jin’.”

“It’s okay, but how did you decide on it?”

“A mountain spirit decided it for me.”

“What did you say?”

“Anyway, just know that, and go change your clothes and come out. Tonight’s dinner is truffle gnocchi and steak with a seafood salad.”

While marveling at Nana’s increasingly luxurious dinner menus, Jeha was able to hear the true identity of the mountain spirit who had given Nana the name ‘Jin’ during a phone call with Chief Jeong the next day.

“Mr. Nana was so frustrated that I took him for a walk in the riverside park. There, an old man with white hair and a beard suddenly said this to Mr. Nana.”

「Tsk tsk, your life is short.」

「What did you say? Are you talking to me? Can you see me, old man?」

「Of course I can see you. You skinny, pale thing. Your body is so weak, you won’t live long.」

「How do you know that, old man?」

「I know just by looking. Because I am a mountain spirit.」

「Really? But why are you in the middle of Seoul and not in the mountains?」

「Sigh, I’m too hungry to go back to the mountains.」

「Why are you hungry if you’re a mountain spirit?」

「That’s because these days, people don’t hold ancestral rites in the mountains, so there’s nothing to eat.」

「I see. I hope you find something to eat soon. Then I’ll be on my way.」

「What, you punk? If you’ve talked this much with a mountain spirit, you should pay the price before you go! Especially a punk whose life is short already!」

“What is that. He’s just a strange old man, isn’t he.”

“I thought so too, so I told Mr. Nana that we should go, but he insisted on talking more with the old man.”

It was surprising that the old man had stopped the faint-presenced Nana from the beginning, not Chief Jeong.

“So what happened?”

“As you know, Mr. Nana doesn’t have a pushover personality either, so he immediately retorted quite boldly.”

「What did you do for me that I should pay a price, old man? Did my life get any longer from talking to you?」

「No, I’m saying I’ll teach you the way right now.」

「What is it? I’ll decide whether to give you something after I hear it, so go ahead and tell me.」

「Hmm hmm, let’s see. You, what’s your date of birth?」

「You’re a mountain spirit, can’t you tell just by looking? Isn’t my date of birth and date of death written above my head for only spirits to see?」

「Only grim reapers can see that, not mountain spirits.」

「Then that’s a shame. I’m an orphan, so I don’t know exactly when I was born.」

「Sigh, you rootless commoner. Then what’s your name?」

「Name? My name is Nana.」

「That’s it! That’s the problem. Your name is very problematic!」

「Even a child, not a mountain spirit, knows that the name Nana is strange.」

「No, I mean, if you change your name as I say, you can become healthy and your life can be extended, that’s what I’m saying.」

「Really? I was worrying about my name these days anyway. What should I change it to?」

「That is… let’s see… Ah, yes! Jin! Change your name to Jin.」

「Jin…?」

「Yes, Jin. The ‘Jin’ from ‘Jinjja’ (real)!」

「The Jin from ‘Jinjja’! That’s not bad. If I really change it to that, will I not get sick and live a long life?」

「Of course, I’m telling you! This mountain spirit says so. You like it too, right? Now, give me the price for the name.」

「Alright! Here. I hope you buy a lot of food with this and return safely to the mountains!」

“And with that, Mr. Nana gave him two fifty-thousand-won bills. The old man who received them stared with wide eyes and couldn’t say anything for a long time.”

“I’m so dumbfounded that I’m at a loss for words. Are you saying Nana believed everything that strange old man made up on the spot?”

As Jeha clicked his tongue after hearing the full story, Chief Jeong’s low, serious voice came through the phone.

“I’m not sure if he really believed it, or if he pretended to believe it, but it seems he did react to the phrase ‘the Jin from Jinjja’. Because Mr. Nana has always been anxious about his own ambiguous identity.”

“Jin…, you say.”

“But I think that was also said without any thought. On the way home, I saw that old man buying and eating various things at a convenience store, and among them, the name of the cup ramen was exactly that.”

After finishing the call, Jeha was lost in thought.

Although it was a name obtained through strange twists and turns, the character for Jin (眞), meaning ‘true,’ seemed decent enough. Most importantly, the fact that Nana liked it was the most important point.

And so, Nana’s official name became ‘Na Jin’, and he also obtained a resident registration number.

On the day Chief Jeong brought him his shiny new resident registration card, Jeha silently held Nana tightly as he sniffled while staring at it endlessly.

Jeha’s promise to go see the foxes around the end of the month, to get straight to the point, was not kept. It was because Jin’s anemia had worsened, and he was hospitalized.

As soon as he heard the news that Jin had collapsed, Jeha cancelled all his remaining afternoon lectures and rushed to the university hospital. Jin was still in the emergency room at that time, and Chief Jeong was handling the admission procedures.

In the emergency room corridor, Jeha asked Chief Jeong.

“What happened?”

“Mr. Jin has been very tired and not in good condition for the past few days. The test results show that his hemoglobin level has dropped to 5.1, and his platelet count is around 40,000.”

“Is it serious? What are the normal levels for a healthy person?”

“Hemoglobin should be between 11 and 15, and platelets should be over 140,000 to be in the normal range. So he needs a blood transfusion right away, but…”

Chief Jeong trailed off, glancing at Jeha. Jeha realized that he still did not know Nana’s blood type. Realizing his own oversight, he put his hand to his forehead.

“He needs a transfusion right away. What’s the problem.”

“Well, due to a patient who had a major surgery this morning, all the blood pack inventory has been used up…”

“How can a hospital this big have no blood stock at all just because of one surgery?”

Just then, something flashed through Jeha’s mind. He asked with a sharp gaze.

“Is it type AB?”

“…”

“Answer me. Don’t tell me it’s AB, RH-?”

Chief Jeong looked down at the floor as if in resignation.

“Yes.”

Without looking back, Jeha walked straight towards the automatic doors of the emergency room. Chief Jeong called out urgently.

“Wait, Young Master. I will try to find some as quickly as possible.”

“If that were possible, you would have already found it while I was on my way here.”

“I am looking into every possible avenue. Please just wait a little longer.”

“No matter where you look, it can’t get to Jin faster than I can right now.”

Pushing past the restraining Chief Jeong, Jeha roughly undid the button on the cuff of his white dress shirt. As he passed through the automatic doors, an emergency room nurse said to him.

“Only one guardian per patient is allowed in the emergency room. Who are you here to see?”

Jeha rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and replied.

“I’m here to give a blood transfusion to the patient ‘Na Jin’. Please proceed immediately.”

Jeong Yoonsoo, who had been watching this, let out a deep sigh.

When Jin’s blood test results first came out, Chief Jeong deliberately did not tell Jeha the full details. It was because Jin’s blood type was not only AB, but also RH-negative, which coincidentally was the same as Jeha’s.

His blood type itself was AB, the least common type, so Jeha had been a source of concern for his family since he was in his mother’s womb. Since all four of his older siblings were RH-positive, he was also a high-risk case for miscarriage due to problems like intrauterine antibody formation.

Fortunately, Jeha was born healthier than anyone, was surprisingly free of even common minor illnesses, and had never been injured enough to need a blood transfusion. Thus, after Jeha, the youngest, became an adult, his family had no reason to worry about him over his blood type, but Chief Jeong alone had always remained on edge.

Chief Jeong had also grown very fond of Jin and cared for him while taking care of him exclusively. However, if he had to choose only one between Jin and Jeha, it would undoubtedly be the latter, so he had been deeply concerned about a situation exactly like this arising.

As Chief Jeong approached Jeha, who was lying on the bed next to Jin preparing to donate blood, Jeha spoke to him in a low voice.

“Chief Jeong-nim. No, Yoonsoo hyung.”

“…Yes.”

“If Jin can live a long life, I can give him even my heart.”

“…”

“A life without Jin has no meaning to me anymore.”

“…”

“Even if my parents, my family, no, everyone in the world laughs at me for being a fool, if just one person, hyung, is on my side, I will have nothing more to wish for.”

Jeong Yoonsoo was so choked up that he could not answer.

“I will confirm one last time before the transfusion. What is the donor’s name?”

“It’s Kwon Jeha.”

“What is the donor’s blood type?”

“AB, RH-negative.”

“A direct blood transfusion is a method of supplying blood directly by connecting the donor’s and the patient’s veins. It is expected to take at least two hours. Is that alright?”

“Yes.”

“Then we will connect you.”

An experienced nurse inserted the needle into Jeha’s arm. Soon, dark red blood could be seen moving through the thin, transparent tube to Jin.

“It is connected well. You can be comfortable now, and it’s okay to sleep if you feel sleepy.”

“Thank you.”

The nurse left, and Jeha quietly listened to the steady mechanical beep coming from the pulse oximeter connected to Jin’s index finger. That regular sound, along with Jin’s shallow breaths, gave Jeha a slight sense of calm.

Was it a simple coincidence that his and Jin’s blood types were the same? Especially since it was a rare blood type that only 0.5% of the entire population has. He wondered if this might be related to the reason why he and Jin were always reincarnated in the same period.

The blood that had left Jeha’s body slowly reached Jin.

Even if it had not been mere red blood cells or plasma that are created daily in a healthy body, but something that, once gone, would cause an irreversible loss, Jeha would not have regretted it in the slightest.

The thought that the blood that had just been circulating in his own body was becoming a part of Jin made his heart ache with a tingling pain.

Breathing in sync with Jin’s deepening breaths, Jeha fell asleep without realizing it.