Sun Woosung, contrary to his outward appearance, was a warm-hearted person, so it was no surprise that he would worry about him. But for him to be this deeply involved in his affairs—it was more than he could accept. He hadn’t shared what he’d gone through to burden others with the weight of his misfortunes.
“I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need to worry about me so much.”
He spoke while looking Sun Woosung straight in the eye.
“I don’t want you stressing over me, Colonel. If I had known you’d react like this, I wouldn’t have said anything in the first place.”
“……”
Sun Woosung’s lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stayed silent. Seeing the darkened expression on his face, he relaxed his own a little.
“I’m really fine, Colonel. I wasn’t seriously hurt, and I’ve already been discharged, haven’t I?”
“……Yes.”
Sun Woosung dropped his gaze.
He looked visibly shaken, enough to stir some doubt.
***
I returned to my daily routine, but Min Yugeon’s condition showed no signs of improvement. By the third day, my steps toward the hospital after work felt even heavier.
“Ah, Suho. You came again today.”
“Hello.”
“How are you feeling? Are you sleeping okay?”
After exchanging a few light words with the nurse who greeted me kindly and showed concern, I headed toward Min Yugeon’s hospital room.
I carefully opened the door to find the room empty except for Min Yugeon lying on the bed. When I had been hospitalized, I’d often run into Lee Minha, who stayed by his side even late at night. But since we’d set that appointment, I hadn’t seen her once in the room.
I couldn’t tell whether she had other obligations during this time or if she was deliberately avoiding me until the day of our meeting.
I stood next to Min Yugeon and looked him over. As always, he lay with his eyes closed, unmoving.
“Min Yugeon.”
“……”
“You’re losing muscle. If you don’t get up soon, you’ll regret it.”
I muttered a pointless joke as I sat down. If he were conscious, he probably would’ve been appalled even if I’d said it as a joke. Maybe he was suffering even now, somewhere deep in his unconsciousness. He was the kind of guy who’d twitch if he missed even a day of working out.
All I could do here was talk to him one-sidedly, like just now, or fuss with his blanket for no reason. Still, time passed quickly, and before I knew it, it would be time to head home. Since visiting hours were limited, I couldn’t stay overnight.
Absentmindedly, I kneaded his hand and was struck again by how rough it felt.
Must be from working with machines.
When Min Yugeon had just started working as an engineer, he used to get injured all the time. Every time he showed up with one of his hands wrapped in white bandages, my heart would sink. Maybe he’d noticed how worried I was—he’d always grin like it was nothing, pretending to be fine.
It’ll get better once I get a little more used to it.
Still, take care of yourself, will you?
Hm… I don’t know, Suho being worried about me feels kinda nice. What if I said I want to get hurt every day so you’ll worry—would you get mad?
When his dark brown eyes sparkled mischievously like that, I’d respond with a cold glare instead of an answer, and he’d whine not to look at him like that as he clung to me. Unable to bear the weight of that big, heavy body, I’d eventually stumble and we’d both end up tumbling to the floor.
…I wanted him to wake up and say those ridiculous things again.
After lightly massaging his arms and legs, it was time to head home. I slowly stood and stepped out of the room.
“Oh, you’re the friend of patient Min Yugeon. Here for a visit?”
A medical staff member walking over—maybe to check on Yugeon—spoke to me. I nodded and answered with a glance.
“Yes, I was just about to leave.”
“I see. Well then, let’s head in… Oh!”
The doctor let out a small exclamation, as if something had just occurred to them.
“By any chance, have you seen Min Yugeon’s mother? We haven’t seen her since a few days ago. She’s not answering our calls, either.”
“…Pardon?”
“Now that I think about it, she hasn’t been around since the day you were discharged.”
“…!”
My eyes widened in disbelief.
I thought we just hadn’t crossed paths due to timing. But she hadn’t been at the hospital at all?
The same Lee Minha who used to stay by Yugeon’s side almost all day out of worry?
“Maybe she’s busy with something, but it’s generally best for family to be around when the patient regains consciousness.”
The doctor looked troubled as they spoke. I paused for a moment before replying.
“I’ll try giving her a call.”
“Oh, that’d be great—thank you.”
With a few words of appreciation, the staff entered Min Yugeon’s room. I watched them go before turning to leave.
As I exited the hospital, I tried contacting Lee Minha, but there was no answer. I stared at the watch screen, listening to the endless call signal.
Could something have happened?
Should I contact Min Sanghan?
The two of them lived together, so he had to know what was going on with her.
Still…
I stopped at the platform to catch the train and blinked as I looked down at the tracks.
Maybe I should just walk.
–Hey. What’s up, Suho?
As I started walking home, I called Min Sanghan. It took a moment to connect, maybe because he had something going on at this hour. But his voice sounded as usual, so I got straight to the point.
“Sorry to call so late. I went to see Yugeon at the hospital earlier and was looking for your wife.”
–……
There was a short silence on the other end.
–Really?
The reply came soon enough, but it wasn’t what I expected—his tone was more puzzled than concerned.
–I haven’t been home much lately. No idea what’s going on.
“…Is that so?”
–Yeah. But didn’t she say she was supposed to meet up with you soon? If you’ve got questions, why not just ask her then?
His complete lack of initiative left me momentarily speechless. Even if they weren’t on good terms, she was still technically family. Her absence should matter. But Min Sanghan sounded like he was talking about some acquaintance he barely knew.
And more than anything, it was like he couldn’t care less about being at Min Yugeon’s side. That realization made a wave of anger rise in me, unbidden.
“Understood.”
I responded in a voice so cold I could hear it myself.
–Suho?
“I’m hanging up.”
He started to say something, but I ended the call. I stared in silence at the now-dark watch screen.
But wait—about that appointment with me… did he hear that from Lee Minha?
***
Lee Minha had never intended to tell Min Sanghan that she had arranged to meet Seo Suho.
Because if he found out… he’d figure out why she was meeting Suho alone.
Her thoughts returned to the moment she’d reunited with Suho in Min Yugeon’s hospital room.
Seeing her son in that dreadful condition, she had nearly broken down and confessed everything right then and there. No resolve or preparation was necessary—she had wanted, more than anything, to blurt out all the truths she’d kept hidden and beg for forgiveness.
It felt like everything that had happened to Min Yugeon was her fault. She could no longer bear the weight of her silence.
The one who had stopped her from letting the floodgates open was Min Sanghan.
A man who had tried to kill Seo Suho—even at the cost of endangering his own son. A man she couldn’t bring herself to call her husband, much less Yugeon’s father.
The way he had casually interrupted their conversation, pretending to support her as he pulled her away, had been utterly repulsive.
And yet, in that moment, she had been grateful to him—for the first and only time. What she had nearly confessed to Suho wasn’t something she could allow to slip out on impulse.
—Come home. Now.
That night, Min Sanghan had sent her a command-like message ordering her return. He was undoubtedly enraged by her attempt to reveal the truth to Suho in the hospital room.
But she had no reason to expend her energy confronting him. She was too overwhelmed tending to her own emotions and staying at Yugeon’s side.
She had ignored his summons completely, only returning home briefly during hours when she knew he was away at work, grabbing whatever she needed.
“Suho, hey… are you free sometime soon?”
“Soon?”
Around that time, she had cautiously arranged to meet Seo Suho as he was nearing discharge.
…Maybe meeting at the hospital had been the mistake.
“You… you heard that, didn’t you?”
Lee Minha asked, trembling in fear.
After ending his call with Seo Suho, Min Sanghan turned his head away from his watch and stared at her. She was bound tightly and forced to sit on the couch.
“Of course. You think Yeo Wonjin’s the only one with ears on this ship?”
Grinding his teeth, Min Sanghan muttered that if the hospital staff he had paid off hadn’t relayed her conversation with Seo Suho, things would’ve gone very badly for him.
He sat across from her with one leg crossed over the other, bouncing his foot restlessly as he rubbed at his temple.
At first, he had only wanted to shut her up before she could start talking nonsense.
But once he realized she had made up her mind to cross the line, it became clear that this wouldn’t end with a mere warning.
From the moment he knocked her unconscious at home and tied her up, Min Sanghan had been deep in thought—about how he should deal with Lee Minha.
