Uncle and I
Chapter 02 —
Hospital Intensive Care Unit
Inside the busy ICU, where nurses and doctors hurried back and forth, a small child lay on a bed surrounded by machines connected all over his tiny body.
The name on the chart read Lee Se-jin (Age 3).
The three-year-old boy had been unconscious for six long months.
He had been in a car with his parents when a truck from the opposite lane crashed into them. His parents died instantly at the scene.
Thanks to his mother, who used her body to shield him in the back seat until the very end, the child was still barely breathing when the ambulance arrived.
But the accident was too severe for his small body. He had multiple fractures and was in critical condition.
Even after emergency surgery and being moved to the ICU, he was in a fragile state, clinging to life through repeated brushes with death.
Even the doctor couldn’t promise his survival. Everyone could only pray for a miracle.
And then one day—
The child’s finger twitched.
But the busy medical staff didn’t notice.
‘Ugh… it hurts.’
Do-young couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or awake. His body wouldn’t move, and everything hurt terribly.
‘Why can’t I move? Where am I? Am I dreaming? But this pain feels too real for a dream… Oh, right—I remember collapsing outside Ha-jin hyung’s columbarium. Did I get hurt then?’
He tried to move his body, but could only manage to twitch one finger before losing consciousness again.
A few hours later, Do-young’s eyelids fluttered open.
A nurse, who had come to check on the patient, gasped when she saw his eyes move.
“Over here! Patient Lee Se-jin just regained consciousness! Please call the attending physician immediately!”
As soon as Do-young opened his eyes, he saw the nurse shouting.
And he heard her call him ‘Patient Lee Se-jin.’
‘Lee Se-jin? What’s she talking about? I’m Kim Do-young… Did they record my information wrong when I was brought here?’
He tried to speak, to tell her his real name—but no sound came out.
Only a faint rush of air escaped his throat. A respirator was attached to his mouth, making it impossible to talk.
“Da-da-da-dak!”
Footsteps rushed toward him. A doctor in a white coat appeared.
“Dr. Kim! Did patient Lee Se-jin really wake up?”
“Yes, sir. When I came to check, his eyes were open.”
The doctor hurried over, held Do-young’s eyes open with his fingers, and shone a small light.
Then he checked the readings on the monitors and finally sighed in relief.
“Haah… This is a miracle. I didn’t think he’d wake up, but he really did. His vitals are stable, and his reflexes are good. Please contact the guardian right away—they’ll be overjoyed.”
“Yes, doctor. Mr. Seo Ha-jin has been so worried. He’ll be thrilled to hear Se-jin woke up! I’ll call him now.”
The nurse smiled brightly and hurried out to the desk.
The doctor smiled too and leaned closer to the boy.
“Se-jin, you did great. You really did. Let’s get you well soon so you can go home, okay?”
Do-young was too confused to process what he was hearing.
‘Wait… Seo Ha-jin? No way—Ha-jin hyung? That can’t be. He’s dead… Is it someone else? But—wasn’t his nephew’s name Lee Se-jin? What on earth is happening?’
Before he could think further, the ICU doors opened.
Someone hurried in after pressing the call bell.
“Doctor! They said our Se-jin woke up—please tell me it’s true! Is he really awake?”
“Yes, guardian. Patient Lee Se-jin regained consciousness. The doctor confirmed it himself. Please, go ahead and see him.”
As soon as the nurse spoke, Ha-jin entered with another man beside him.
‘!!!’
Do-young froze in shock.
Standing there, alive and crying, was Seo Ha-jin—the very same man whose funeral he had attended and whose ashes he had placed in a columbarium.
Beside him stood Cheol-hwan, the manager.
“Se-jin! You really woke up! Why did you make us wait so long? Your uncle was so worried… Thank you, thank you for coming back to us, Se-jin. Thank you…”
Ha-jin clutched Do-young’s hand, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Hey, Ha-jin. Don’t cry on such a happy day. You’ll scare Se-jin. He just woke up!”
“I know, but… I was so afraid we’d lose him too…”
Hearing their conversation, Do-young felt dizzy.
Seo Ha-jin—who should have been dead—was alive and crying right in front of him.
And everyone was calling him Ha-jin’s nephew, Lee Se-jin.
‘What… What is this? Did I somehow go back in time? Into Se-jin’s body? But I remember—Ha-jin’s sister’s whole family died that day… How could this be?’
In Do-young’s memory, Ha-jin had lost his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew in the accident. The grief had destroyed him.
‘So somehow, by ending up in this body, the past has changed. If that’s true… then maybe this time, Ha-jin won’t make that terrible choice. I hope so. But wait—if I’m in this body… what happened to me? Did I die when I collapsed? Or is there another me somewhere?’
Before he could figure it out, exhaustion took over, and he fell asleep again.
Ha-jin, watching him anxiously, asked, “Cheol-hwan, are you sure he’s really okay? What if he doesn’t wake up again?”
“Don’t worry. The doctor said his condition has improved a lot. If all goes well, he can move to a regular room in a few days.”
“Really? Then why did he fall asleep again?”
“He’s still weak. His body’s just adjusting. The doctor said it’s normal for him to drift in and out of sleep. Don’t worry too much—and take care of yourself too. You’ll need your strength to look after him.”
Ha-jin squeezed Se-jin’s small hand and nodded firmly.
“You’re right. I have to protect him now. I’ll stay strong—for Se-jin, for my sister, for my brother-in-law. I won’t let them down.”
After looking at Se-jin’s sleeping face for a while, Ha-jin and Cheol-hwan finally left the ICU.
It wasn’t visiting hours, but the medical staff had made an exception.
Outside, Ha-jin wiped his tears. “Cheol-hwan, I suddenly feel hungry. Let’s go eat.”
“Ha! That’s rare, hearing you say you want food. Looks like Se-jin already did his uncle a favor.”
“Haha, maybe so. Isn’t he just the cutest? I can’t wait to bring him home.”
“Yeah. Just hang in there a bit longer. From now on, only good things will come for you and Se-jin. Oh, and let the other members know. They’ll be thrilled to hear the news. You should tell them yourself.”
“Right! They’ve been so worried because of me.”
“Go ahead. Call them.”
Ha-jin took out his phone and dialed Jae-won, the group leader.
“Hyung!!”
“Ha-jin? What’s going on? Why do you sound like that?”
“Hyung! Se-jin woke up!”
“What?! Are you serious?? Are you at the hospital? We’re coming right now!”
The other members overheard and started asking questions.
“What’s happening? Did something happen to Ha-jin?”
“Jae-won, what’s going on?”
When they heard Jae-won’s shocked voice, they panicked.
“No, no—it’s good news! Se-jin woke up! That’s what he said!”
“What? Really??”
“Wow… thank God. That’s incredible.”
“Tell him we want to come see Se-jin right away!”
Hearing their cheerful voices over the phone, Ha-jin smiled brightly for the first time in a long while.
Everyone had been gloomy because of him, but now, thanks to Se-jin, they were all smiling again.
“No, hyungs. You don’t have to come now—it’s not visiting hours. We barely got in. He’ll be moved to a regular room soon, so come then.”
“Got it. Are you coming back to the dorm after dinner?”
“Yeah, I’ll eat with Cheol-hwan-hyung first.”
Hearing Ha-jin’s light, lively tone, Jae-won felt his heart finally relax.
Ever since his sister’s accident, Ha-jin hadn’t eaten properly. It had been so long since he’d heard him talk about food.
“Alright. Make sure Cheol-hwan buys you something good. We’ll talk more when you get home.”
“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”
After hanging up, the members looked at Jae-won.
“Ha-jin said he’s going to eat?”
“Seriously? He’s eating?”
“Wow… it’s been ages since we’ve heard that. I’m so glad.”
“Yeah. If things had gone on like this, he might’ve ended up hospitalized too.”
“And Se-jin waking up—it’s a miracle. The doctors said there was no hope.”
“I know. I still can’t believe it. I prayed every day for that kid to wake up.”
“What? You don’t even have a religion!”
“Hey! You don’t need one to pray. I just prayed to all the gods I could think of. The more, the better, right?”
“Ha! You only use proverbs when it suits you. ‘The more, the better’? Really?”
Everyone burst out laughing.
For the first time in a long while, laughter filled their home again.
They had all been tense and miserable for months watching Ha-jin’s pain—but now, after one phone call, it felt like a dark cloud had finally lifted.
All they could hope now was that only good things would await Ha-jin and Se-jin from this point on.
