:: Hi, this is from the city hospital. Your mother has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer—stage four, to be exact. We urgently need you to arrange 1,200 Imperial Crowns for her treatment, or we may have to discharge her. ::
"I—I will arrange it soon," a man replied, seated on his bike, holding the phone with both hands as he absorbed the devastating news from the city hospital where his mother was receiving treatment. His eyes seemed hollow, dark circles forming beneath his helmet, and his hands trembled ever so slightly. It was evident that the toll of his job as a construction worker weighed heavily on him. He looked weary, as if life had drained him of all vitality.
Despite his muscular build, his exhaustion was palpable. His voice dripped with a hollow emptiness as he spoke, and he nodded as he listened to the hospital staff on the other end of the line.
:: We need the payment within half an hour, or she will be removed from her room. ::