John… promise me that even after I die, you'll keep smiling. Okay?"
I woke with a jolt.
For a split second, I didn't know where I was. Then pain shot through my back.
Cold wooden floor.My legs still half on the bed.
Right. I had fallen off.
I lay there staring at the ceiling.
"Three years," I muttered. "And tonight is when you decide to replay that memory?"
Fantastic timing.
I wiped the warm sweat from my forehead and pushed myself up. After splashing cold water on my face, I walked to the closet behind the door.
I opened it and grabbed the first coat that caught my eye.
The white one.
White coat. Red patterned waistcoat. Red tie. Hat.
If I was going to walk back into my past, I might as well look composed doing it.
I packed my clothes and the books I had bought for him into my small suitcase.
Before leaving, I turned around one last time.
The small curtain by the right window swayed gently as the wind pushed it inward. Through it, I could see the dark sky.
Three years of nonstop work.Three years of chasing a cure that might not even exist.
And now… I was finally going back.
Outside, Lyn was waiting.
She had grown into her role — twenty-three now, dressed in black with a dark green silk skirt, elegant and strong.
"Lyn… or should I say, Governor," I said softly. "Thank you. For everything."
"You're going to see my brother, aren't you?"
Her voice tried to sound steady. It failed.
"John… can't you stay?"
She bit her lip.
"I'm scared. I'm scared he'll die. And I'm scared you'll get hurt chasing medicine in dangerous places. I know I'm selfish… but please. Save Noe."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
I stepped closer and took out my red handkerchief — yes, I carry one, and yes, it's dramatic — and wiped her tears gently.
"I promise. I'll save him. However long it takes. I'm close. And Dr. James called yesterday. Maybe he has news."
She looked at me like she wanted to say more.
If I stayed any longer, I might not leave.
So I left.
A black car was waiting outside.
Snow had started to fall. The kind that makes everything look peaceful, even when nothing is.
At the train station, it was quieter than usual.
Maybe because of the cold.
Or maybe because the royal family had increased arrests for those without documents.
Nothing says "healthy kingdom" like fear.
I boarded the train and sat by the window.
When I opened my eyes again, we had arrived at the capital — colder than ever, marble streets gleaming beneath the snow.
The city had grown.
Taller buildings. More carriages. More luxury.
Higher taxes too.
Progress, apparently.
I headed straight for Central Hospital.
The driver glanced at me through the mirror.
"Sir… only nobles and influential families are allowed into Central Hospital."
"I know," I replied with a polite smile. "A very close friend of mine is staying there."
Friend.
The word felt strange in my mouth.
The hospital stood tall and familiar.
The scent of medicine filled the air.
I had missed that smell.
Not because people suffer there.
But because it's a place where suffering sometimes ends.
Dr. James was waiting in his office on the sixth floor.
He stood up when he saw me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
"My boy… you finally came back."
"I found it," I said, opening the small box from my suitcase. "The herb."
He froze when he saw it.
"John… how did you even get this?"
I smiled faintly.
"Doctor… I miss Noe's angry face."
He sighed.
"Come. I gave him the best room. Though he refuses to stop reading books, even now."
"I brought him more."
Second floor. Third room on the right.
I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Purple hair.
A book in his hands.
The only thing I didn't like was the white hospital uniform.
I straightened myself and said casually,
"Hello, beautiful. Need a ride?"
He slowly turned his head.
Golden eyes. That small beauty mark under his lip.
He smirked.
Then he threw the book directly at my face.
"Get out."
For a second, I flinched.
But he was angry.
Not sad.
That alone made me feel relieved.
I didn't even realize when tears started falling.
He looked away.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I crossed the room in seconds and pulled him into my arms.
He was smaller than I remembered.
Or maybe I had just grown stronger.
Then I heard it.
A cough.
His body trembled.
When I pulled back, I saw blood on my shoulder.
"Noe! Are you okay?!"
Dr. James rushed in and injected something immediately.
My legs gave out and I collapsed beside the bed.
The doctor's hands on my shoulders were cold.
"John… the herb you brought will ease his pain. But it won't cure him."
My chest tightened.
"I don't want to hear that."
For the first time, I raised my voice at him.
He took a deep breath.
"They say this illness is a curse… left behind when the Moon Vampire was unjustly exiled."
My heart stopped.
"The curse weakens the body… steals the mind… until the victim craves blood and drains others completely."
"Isn't there a cure?"
"They say no… but I've heard rumors. There is a doctor."
Hope flickered painfully inside me.
"But to find him, you must enter the Forbidden Land."
Silence.
"If the king finds out, you're finished," he continued quietly. "That doctor is a descendant of Luna. And you know how sensitive the king is about her bloodline."
I wiped my tears.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
He looked at me the way he did ten years ago — when I made another impossible decision.
"I have a friend near the border. Rest tonight. You leave tomorrow."
Tomorrow.
Another goodbye.
Another risk.
I swallowed.
"If I don't come back… tell Noe…"
My voice trembled.
"Tell him to keep smiling. Even after I die."
The doctor's eyes filled with tears.
"Oh John… you always make me cry. I wish you could just stay here. Work again. Live a normal life with him. I believe in your healing power."
I let out a hollow laugh.
"I wish, Doctor. I really do."
Snow continued to fall outside.
And for the first time in years,
I wasn't afraid of death.
Only of losing him.