Yerin answered immediately.
"Mom?"
There was no response.
Only breathing.
Yerin's smile disappeared.
"Mom?"
Her mother's voice finally came through.
"Yerin..."
Something was wrong.
"What's happened?"
Her mother tried to speak, but her voice trembled.
"It's Grandma."
Yerin immediately stood.
"What about Grandma?"
"She suddenly became very sick."
Yerin's heart dropped.
"What do you mean sick?"
"We brought her to the hospital."
"Which hospital?"
Her mother told her.
Yerin didn't even wait for another sentence.
"I'm coming."
She ended the call.
Do-hyun, who had been sitting across the room, immediately stood.
"What happened?"
Yerin looked at him.
"My grandmother."
He understood from her expression.
"What happened to her?"
"She's in the hospital."
Do-hyun picked up his keys.
"Let's go."
The drive was almost completely silent.
Yerin kept looking at her phone.
No new messages.
No calls.
Nothing.
Her fingers were tightly intertwined.
Do-hyun glanced at her.
"Try to breathe."
"I'm trying."
"Your mother is there."
She looked out the window.
"But she sounded terrified."
Do-hyun didn't answer.
He knew there was nothing he could say that would make her less afraid.
So he simply kept driving.
The moment they reached the hospital, Yerin rushed through the entrance.
Her mother was standing near the ICU.
"Mom!"
Her mother turned.
Yerin ran toward her.
"What happened?"
Her mother immediately hugged her.
"It happened so suddenly."
Yerin pulled back.
"Where is Grandma?"
Her mother pointed toward the ICU.
Yerin turned.
Through the glass, she could see her grandmother lying on the hospital bed.
Machines surrounded her.
A ventilator was helping her breathe.
Yerin stopped.
Her eyes filled immediately.
"No..."
She walked closer to the glass.
"Grandma..."
Her mother stood beside her.
"The doctors have been trying everything."
Yerin pressed her hand against the glass.
"She was fine."
"She was fine this morning."
"How did this happen?"
Her mother had no answer.
Yerin stared through the glass.
She couldn't understand how everything had changed in a matter of hours.
Time seemed to stop.
Yerin sat outside the ICU with her mother.
Do-hyun remained nearby.
Every time the ICU doors opened, Yerin looked up.
Every time a doctor walked past, her heart raced.
She couldn't sit still.
Eventually, she stood again.
"Mom."
Her mother looked at her.
"What?"
"Can we ask the doctor again?"
"We already did."
"I just..."
Yerin swallowed.
"I need to know she's okay."
Her mother reached for her hand.
"We're waiting."
Yerin nodded.
Then her phone vibrated.
She immediately looked down.
A message from Ji-hoon.
What happened?
Yerin quickly called him.
He answered almost immediately.
"Yerin?"
"Ji-hoon..."
Her voice broke.
"I'm at the hospital."
"What happened?"
"It's Grandma."
Silence.
"Is she okay?"
Yerin looked toward the ICU.
"She's on a ventilator."
Ji-hoon went quiet.
"What?"
"The doctors are trying to stabilize her."
He exhaled slowly.
"I'll come back."
"You can't."
"I can."
"Ji-hoon, you're to far. You can't just leave everything."
"I don't care."
Yerin closed her eyes.
"I'll keep you updated."
There was a long silence.
"Stay with Mom."
"I am."
"And don't leave Do-hyun's side either."
Yerin looked toward him.
"I won't."
The call ended.
She lowered her phone.
Do-hyun looked at her.
"How is he?"
"Shocked."
He nodded.
"Of course."
Hours passed.
Yerin barely moved.
At some point, her mother brought her water.
"Drink."
"I'm not thirsty."
"Yerin."
She looked at her mother.
"You haven't had anything since we came."
"I can't."
"You need to."
Yerin took the glass.
She held it but didn't drink.
Do-hyun quietly took it from her.
"Just a little."
He handed it back.
Yerin finally took a few sips.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
She looked at the ICU again.
"I don't understand."
"What?"
"Why does everything keep happening at once?"
Do-hyun didn't answer.
Yerin continued quietly.
"Graduation was supposed to be happy."
"It was."
"Then why does it feel like every time something good happens..."
She stopped.
"...something takes it away?"
Do-hyun looked at her.
"Don't think like that."
"How am I supposed not to?"
He moved closer.
"You don't have to make sense of everything tonight."
Yerin looked at him.
"Just get through tonight."
She nodded slowly.
Another hour passed.
Yerin's eyes were tired from crying.
She suddenly remembered the USB.
Her expression changed.
Do-hyun noticed.
"What?"
"The message."
He immediately understood.
Soon, one place at your table will remain empty.
Yerin's stomach tightened.
"What if this is what they meant?"
Do-hyun remained silent.
"We can't know that yet."
"But what if they knew?"
"We don't know."
"They knew things about me."
"They knew where I was."
"Then how do we know this isn't connected?"
"We don't."
Yerin looked at him.
His honesty frightened her more than reassurance would have.
"But we're going to find out."
She nodded.
"After Grandma."
"Yes."
"For now..."
Do-hyun looked through the glass.
"We wait."
It was nearly morning when the ICU doors opened.
A doctor stepped outside.
Yerin immediately stood.
Her mother stood too.
"Doctor?"
The doctor looked at them.
His expression was serious.
Yerin's heart began pounding.
"How is my grandmother?"
The doctor took a breath.
"We did everything we could."
Yerin's face changed.
"What does that mean?"
Her mother reached for her hand.
The doctor spoke gently.
"Her condition continued to deteriorate despite treatment."
Yerin shook her head.
"No."
The doctor lowered his voice.
"I'm very sorry."
Yerin stared at him.
"No..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"No, you can't say that."
The doctor remained silent.
Yerin's eyes filled with tears.
"She was just..."
She couldn't finish.
Her mother broke down beside her.
Yerin looked through the ICU glass.
Her grandmother was still there.
But the hope she had been holding onto was gone.
"Grandma..."
Her legs weakened.
Do-hyun immediately caught her.
Yerin clutched his arm.
"She's gone."
He held her steady.
She began crying.
Her mother stood beside them, tears streaming down her face.
For a long moment, none of them spoke.
There were no words big enough for the emptiness that had suddenly filled the hallway.
Eventually, Yerin pulled herself away from Do-hyun slightly.
Her phone vibrated.
She looked down.
Unknown number.
Her heart stopped.
She didn't want to open it.
But she did.
One sentence appeared.
One place is empty now.
Yerin froze.
Do-hyun looked at the screen.
His expression hardened.
Neither spoke.
Yerin slowly raised her eyes toward him.
The words from the USB came back to her.
Soon, one place at your table will remain empty.
It wasn't just a strange message anymore.
It had happened.
Her grandmother was gone.
And someone had known exactly what words would make the loss feel even more terrifying.
Yerin's hand began trembling.
"Do-hyun..."
He took her phone gently.
"We're going to find whoever did this."
Yerin looked through the glass one final time.
Her eyes filled again.
She whispered,
"Why my family?"
Do-hyun had no answer.
Not yet.
But one thing had become certain.
Whatever had started with the messages, the photograph, and the USB drive...
had now reached the people Yerin loved most.
And they were no longer dealing with warnings.
They were dealing with consequences.
...To Be Continued...