“…Choi Sang-hyuk….”
Kim Min-seok murmured as he lifted his heavy eyelids. As soon as he opened his eyes, tears streamed down his face.
“Seo Ha-yoon.”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s voice came from beside him. When he turned his head, he saw Choi Sang-hyuk in a dress shirt, looking at him.
“Ha-yoon, are you okay? You slept for a long time.”
From the other side, Ha Jun-seo’s voice reached him. When he turned again, he saw Ha Jun-seo sitting on the edge of the bed, his expression filled with concern.
“…I’m fine.”
Kim Min-seok muttered in a hoarse voice and turned his gaze toward the ceiling. The lingering emotions from the dream were too vivid to fade away.
This dream had been different. Usually, in his dreams, Kim Min-seok had felt like a bystander, watching from the outside. But this time, he had completely merged with Seo Ha-yoon. The overwhelming despair, fear, and fury Seo Ha-yoon had felt were still gripping his chest, refusing to let go. Especially the regret that had flooded him in the moment of falling from the rooftop—it weighed down his entire body.
Tears continued to stream down Kim Min-seok’s face as he kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling. The two men said nothing, simply holding his hands in silent support.
“Seo Ha-yoon….”
After what felt like an eternity, Kim Min-seok finally stopped crying and opened his mouth to speak. Clutching the hands of both men tightly, he continued.
“Seo Ha-yoon didn’t jump from the building.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
The air between them instantly sharpened.
“That day, Seo Ha-yoon was summoned by Seo Chang-seop and, as usual, was threatened by him. But this time, the condition Seo Chang-seop proposed was something he could never accept…. Realizing he would never escape from Seo Chang-seop, Seo Ha-yoon decided he’d rather die together with that bastard.”
“In the struggle that followed, he was pushed off.”
“That fucking bastard….”
Choi Sang-hyuk ground his teeth. He squeezed Kim Min-seok’s hand tightly before letting go and pulling out his phone as he walked out of the room. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was about to do, but Kim Min-seok didn’t bother to stop him. Seo Chang-seop was garbage who deserved to disappear from this world.
“Ha-yoon must’ve had good days too. But you only ever remember the bad ones… what are we going to do about that?”
Ha Jun-seo gently brushed away the lingering tears at the corner of Kim Min-seok’s eyes with his fingers.
“Yeah… but at least now we finally know what really happened to Seo Ha-yoon.”
Kim Min-seok sniffled and gave a faint smile as he spoke. Ha Jun-seo’s expression darkened. He gazed at Kim Min-seok with a sorrowful look in his eyes. After holding his gaze for a moment, Kim Min-seok hesitated before finally opening his mouth. He felt like he needed to talk about what he had seen and felt in the dream. Since Choi Sang-hyuk had stepped out, this was the perfect timing.
“Jun-seo… Seo Ha-yoon, he….”
“Shh—”
As if he had already guessed what Kim Min-seok was about to say, Ha Jun-seo gently pressed a finger to his lips. The warm light in the room reflected in his soft brown eyes, making them shimmer.
“Don’t say that yet.”
“But….”
“You haven’t regained all of Seo Ha-yoon’s memories, have you?”
“…No.”
“Then don’t jump to conclusions. People have all kinds of memories and emotions. If you only focus on fragments, you might misunderstand the whole picture.”
Ha Jun-seo’s words made sense. After a brief pause, Kim Min-seok gave a small nod. Ha Jun-seo smiled at him.
Click—
Right on cue, Choi Sang-hyuk walked back into the room. His expression was still terrifyingly cold.
“That bastard will never breathe under the same sky as us again.”
His tone was absolute. It was clear what kind of phone call he had just made. Kim Min-seok didn’t ask, nor did he object. He simply nodded in silent acknowledgment before speaking.
“Thank you.”
At those two simple words, Choi Sang-hyuk’s hardened face softened. He ran a hand roughly through his hair, a hint of guilt lingering in his expression.
Kim Min-seok wondered—what was it about Seo Ha-yoon that had captivated these two men so completely? He still didn’t fully understand. But one thing was certain: he envied Seo Ha-yoon.
Suddenly, he felt like the time had come. Seeing Seo Ha-yoon’s final moments in his dream—it must have meant something.
“Jun-seo.”
Kim Min-seok pushed himself up and called Ha Jun-seo’s name. Ha Jun-seo immediately placed two pillows behind his back, helping him sit comfortably.
“What is it? Are you thirsty? Or hungry?”
Ha Jun-seo asked kindly. Kim Min-seok shook his head. Looking at the two men beside him, he spoke firmly.
“I need to find Seo Ha-yoon now.”
Both men fell silent at the same time, as if it had been rehearsed. But Kim Min-seok didn’t waver and continued.
“Jun-seo, before I fell asleep, you said you knew a way to find Seo Ha-yoon. And Sang-hyuk, you also spoke as if you already knew where he was. I remember it clearly.”
“But Ha-yoon, don’t you remember how you were before you fell asleep? Just the idea of finding Seo Ha-yoon put you in such a bad state. Do you really have to do this right now?”
Kim Min-seok looked at them both with clear, unwavering eyes. Then he asked.
“Don’t you both want to find him? You say you love Seo Ha-yoon. Sang-hyuk, do you love him?”
“…Yeah.”
“And you, Jun-seo?”
“…I love him.”
Both men answered, albeit a beat late. Hearing them say it out loud again strangely put Kim Min-seok at ease. Yeah. If they love him this much, then they should have him back. That’s how it should be.
“Then what are you hesitating for? If you love someone, you have to bring them back.”
Kim Min-seok spoke clearly, firmly.
Choi Sang-hyuk and Ha Jun-seo had strange expressions on their faces. Kim Min-seok couldn’t understand it. Finding the person you love should be a joyous thing. So why did they look like that?
“You both have always known where Seo Ha-yoon is, haven’t you? But I just don’t understand why you refuse to find him. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Ha-yoon, it’s just…”
Ha Jun-seo started to speak but didn’t finish. Kim Min-seok turned to Choi Sang-hyuk. He, too, remained silent, his lips pressed together in a firm line.
“I don’t get it. I don’t understand how you love him so much, how you hold on so tightly to his memory, yet still refuse to find him.”
Ha Jun-seo let out a small sigh and squeezed Kim Min-seok’s hand tightly.
“It’s because, Ha-yoon… you look so much better now. I told you yesterday, didn’t I? That every time I looked at Ha-yoon, he seemed like he would disappear at any moment. That fleeting emptiness in his eyes—it was unbearable. But you don’t have that now. You’re stronger. You look happier than before. That’s why… I wanted to leave things as they are. At least, that’s how I feel.”
“Seo Ha-yoon probably seemed that way because of Seo Chang-seop. He was abused in the past, constantly threatened—of course, he’d have deep trauma. But now that Seo Chang-seop is gone, won’t he start to recover? Once he knows that Seo Chang-seop has disappeared, maybe he’ll want to come back.”
Kim Min-seok found it laughable how he was trying to convince them to find Seo Ha-yoon when, in truth, he wanted nothing more than to keep Seo Ha-yoon’s body for himself. But he knew this was the right thing to do. Otherwise, he’d never be able to live with himself.
Choi Sang-hyuk and Ha Jun-seo exchanged a glance. Kim Min-seok didn’t try to eavesdrop on the silent conversation happening between them. He simply waited.
“Follow me.”
Suddenly, Choi Sang-hyuk spoke. Ha Jun-seo helped Kim Min-seok sit up and get out of bed. Choi Sang-hyuk led the way, with the other two following closely behind. They walked to a room on the second floor.
Choi Sang-hyuk opened the door and turned on the light. The room was a neatly arranged study. He walked over to the desk in the center of the room, pulled open a drawer, and took something out.
Thud—
He placed an object on the desk. Kim Min-seok stared at it in confusion.
It was a phone. The screen was cracked in several places, broken to the point where it seemed completely unusable. Yet, when Choi Sang-hyuk pressed a button, the screen lit up as if mocking its ruined exterior.
“What… is this?”
Kim Min-seok asked, his confusion deepening. Ha Jun-seo, standing beside him, held out another phone—the one Choi Sang-hyuk had bought for him, the one he had been using all this time.
“Call your phone, Min-seok. Maybe someone will pick up.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Right now.”
There was a quiet determination in Ha Jun-seo’s face as he held out the phone. Kim Min-seok didn’t understand what any of this had to do with finding Seo Ha-yoon. But there had to be a reason they were doing this.
Taking the phone from Ha Jun-seo’s hand, Kim Min-seok dialed the familiar number and pressed the call button.
