"You… how could you do that to me?"
James winced at the loud shout as he grabbed his head. Who the fck even bothers a man on his deathbed? At least let me die in peace.
James thought out loud to suppress the disturbance around him.
Everything became quiet for a bit as he took a deep breath. The next instant, he heard a loud, glass-shattering noise.
Crunch!
"Alex, be careful!"
"Young sir, move back, it's dangerous!"
The commotion around him was just too much as James snapped one eye open, only to freeze when the first thing he saw was an exquisite statue struck to the ceiling just above his head.
James's mouth hung open. He looked at the massive hall in confusion. 'What the fck is going on here?'
He rubbed his temple. The last thing he remembered was the annoying nurse looking at him with eyes full of pity. What happened to her?
He looked at the hall as teens in black and white uniforms rushed toward a young boy who had just crushed glass in his hand.
James tapped his cheek to snap himself out of this dream, but no matter how hard he hit, nothing seemed to change.
It was only when those around him started to stare at him that he stopped.
But just then, a black haired, lean boy draped in the same clothes screamed, "You bitch! I will remember this!"
The sound was so loud that James felt like insects were crawling all over his body.
He squinted toward the boy's hand and saw him pointing toward a blonde girl in a blue dress walking with a couple of guys in white clothes beside her.
It was hard to judge from the back, but all he saw were slightly perky peaches swaying at each step.
After spending the last few months trapped in a hospital, he really enjoyed the scene.
But just then, he saw the boy turning back and shouting at him in anger, "Don't cry for that other slut! That entire family is the same!"
James tilted his head in confusion. He pointed to himself, but froze when he saw the golden scroll in his hand.
He instantly glanced at the teen boy and saw he had the same golden scroll in his hand. 'Wait, what?'
Before he could make sense of anything, he felt strong pain at the back of his head. Before he could even yelp, he fell flat.
The last thing he saw was the boy grimacing in disgust.
Darkness swallowed him whole. And when light returned, it wasn't chandeliers or shouting nobles, but the sterile, suffocating white ceiling he knew all too well.
A nurse in a blue dress asked in a soft voice, "Do you really have no money left?"
James barely turned to her, as even taking a single breath stung.
Even though he had not gotten used to the pain, this time the intensity was too much.
His lips just twitched as he tried to form a smile, but failed even at this simple action.
The inability to even form an expression on his face stung him more, but deadliest were those eyes.
The way she looked at him, her eyes had the same pity as theirs.
James turned his eyes up to the blank white ceiling, desperately clinging to the last bit of life, not allowing it to leave his body.
The familiar white ceiling suddenly reminded him of the dream he had seen before.
He mentally chuckled, 'Hehe, so I can still have such vivid dreams.'
After lying in the same room for the past six months, he thought even his dreams had dried out.
For the past few days, all he saw was death.
He still could not believe how life had played such a big prank on him.
For the first 24 years of his life, he did his best to achieve success.
He was the topper of his school, ranked among the top 10 in university, and even performed best in the last internship, finally landing himself the dream job.
Those around him all called him a genius.
It was only he who knew how much he had to grind and sacrifice to achieve those things.
However, the years of hard work had paid off.
Not only that, but he finally gained the confidence to propose to his childhood sweetheart.
When he thought about that, he could not help but chuckle. "Hehe, miserable."
This instantly flared up his lungs as he felt like thousands of pins stabbing his lungs from inside.
It was like someone had lit up a fire within his lungs. His heart rate increased as sweat formed all over his face.
He clenched his teeth to control the urge to scream, knowing that would only make the pain worse.
Just barely uttering a word was already bad. If he screamed, he might die.
The nurse beside him panicked. "Wait, are you having another attack?"
He just clenched his teeth and tried to calm himself down.
The nurse stood up.
He saw her going through the cabinet, but he knew it was no use. He had already used the last meds.
The nurse shouted, "Shit, there's nothing here."
She looked at him for a few seconds and then rushed out. "Endure it for a moment. I'll buy the medicine. You can't die on my money. No!"
With that, she rushed out.
But James rolled his eyes and did not care as the last six months started flashing through his eyes.
That day had been so perfect. Everyone around him was so happy.
All the grind was over, and from then on, he should have enjoyed his life, but instead, he started having that cursed coughing.
And before he could understand, he started coughing blood.
All of that was so surreal that when he opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital bed surrounded by the same faces.
But this time, the way they looked at him changed.
All of them stared at him with eyes full of pity and sympathy.
It was only then that he came to learn he had an incurable terminal illness with less than a 5 percent chance of survival.
Even thinking about that moment froze James.
In the quiet hospital, he just convulsed, rolling around on the bed with the pain.