COLISEUM

Chapter 19

Herring and Hwa Hae Ji were eating together at the infirmary at the time. Joon Wen was laying on the bed watching them eat.

"Now what am I gonna do? I lost my chance to win the prize money for Joon's treatment."

"How long as he been sick?" Herring asked her.

"Five years now." Haeji replied before Mochi leaned in to lick the applesauce.

"Do you know what caused it?" Herring prodded further.

"Not really, I remember Joon started with flu-like symptoms before his skin got cold and clammy, then he lost muscle mass, his hair got thin and brittle. The treatments that could stop the progression of his illness got expensive, I had to steal hundreds, thousands of won to pay for a month's worth of treatment. We lived out in the streets for a while before he caught the illness. I've asked other wizards to help find the cause of his illness, but they didn't have any answers. I've slowly lost hope in finding a treatment, so I've sought to steal whatever I could find." Haeji explained, then sighed, "I just want to find a cure for his illness."

"If there was another way for me to help you and your brother, I would." Herring stated, which read to the host's ears.

"How are they treating you?" A feminine voice asked the sick patient.

"The food is good, I can't complain. Though this strange watch is kinda itchy." Joon Wen Ji replied. The hostess looked at the EMCuff.

"Perhaps some calamine lotion would help." Natalie looked through the cabinets looking for the vials and labels. Who would put an EMCuff on a sick patient? I'll have to check through the security cameras. She thought before she found the calamine lotion and applied it around Joon's wrist.

"Thanks. The itch had been killing me for a while now. Do you know where the bathroom is?" He asked before he shifted into a sitting position.

"There's one in the next room to your right." The host responded just as he stood up weakly, then walked up hastely to the bathroom door. Once he sat down, he grumbled something about “shouldn't have eaten that sundae.”

"If either of you want to participate in the Redemption Round for another chance to win the grand prize--"

"I accept the challenge." Herring interjected.

"Splendid! How about you, Ms. Ji?" Natalie asked before the young New Korean gave a scrutinizing glare at the hostess.

"Why would I want to join in another match when I got stabbed in the stomach!? I gave my all in that match and you want me to lose another one!?" Haeji reprimanded at the hostess while she gave an indifferent glance in return.

"I am not responsible for the decisions the judges make. I'm only in charge of organizing the matches." She responded before Haeji gritted her teeth.

"Well I don't want your dumb match." After Haeji said those words, they heard a loud thud coming from the bathroom.

"Joon!" Haeji shouted, the blonde combatant got out of the bed with gauzes and bandages covering her cuts. She saw that Herring and Nour rushed in to help lift the patient off the floor. They had to put him back on the bed before the nurse checked on him.