Kang Jin-Ho couldn't bring himself to ask. But, if he did ask for more clarification... He feared the answer would be something he was thinking of. The heavy, trembling panting coming from the other side of the line seemed to be crushing him.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly spoke, “What's her condition?”

He had to say something, knowing he couldn't maintain this silence forever.

- It's really bad, Jin-Ho.

“...I see.” Kang Jin-Ho didn't ask any further. He could already estimate so many things from Park Yu-Min's brief reply. One of those things was that Sister Yi's matter wasn't over yet. And that he had no time to meander like this. “Okay, got it.”

- I thought you should know, too.

“You made the right call. Thank you. Wait for me for a little while longer.” Kang Jin-Ho ended the call there and took a deep breath. He then turned his head toward the administration clerk manning the desk nearby. “Sergeant Lee Myeong-Chan, sir?”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Is it possible for me to get my leave now?”

“Mm? Your leave?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let me see. Hold on…” Sergeant Lee Myeong-Chan opened the list of scheduled leaves, perused it, then frowned deeply. “Well, it's not impossible. It's still stuck in the approval stage, though. If you want your leave now, you'll need a convincing reason. Do you have one?”

“Sir, an acquaintance is sick.”

Lee Myeong-Chan shook his head. “That alone isn't good enough. We aren't even talking about your direct family member, after all. How urgent is your situation?”

“I need to go home as soon as possible, preferably right now, sir,”...