The voice was fragmented...
As if it were coming from somewhere very far away.
Cold breaths.
Then a faint whisper:
"The smell... of guilt... is coming from you."
Minsoo slowly closed his eyes.
Trying to piece together his scattered thoughts.
That perfume...
He knew it.
And even though the voice he had heard on the night of the stabbing wasn't the same voice, something connected them.
He remembered the girl from the fan meeting event.
He remembered her gaze.
Then he remembered the assailant approaching him after the stab wound.
His body had been sprawled on the ground, his blood gradually losing its warmth.
But she had leaned close and whispered:
"You are... paying... for your sin."
His breathing trembled.
In that moment...
He watched her footsteps as she walked away.
Everything had been blurry.
As though time itself had slowed inside his head.
He couldn't see her face.
But...
The shoes.
His eyes widened slightly.
I know those shoes...
I'm sure of it...
His fingers tightened against the blanket.
Was it really her?
Or was his exhausted mind searching for answers where none existed?
Every time he tried to grasp the memory...
It slipped away.
A gentle knock on the door shattered his train of thought.
"May I come in?"
He lifted his head.
"Please."
The door opened.
Han Sera stepped inside.
A small fruit basket rested in her hands.
She approached quietly and placed it on the nearby table.
Then she sat down beside his bed.
And for the first time in years...
She looked tired.
The dark circles beneath her eyes were impossible to hide.
Even her carefully maintained appearance couldn't conceal the exhaustion etched into her features.
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then quickly looked away, trying to regain her usual composure.
"How are you feeling now?"
She hesitated.
"I mean... are you okay?"
Minsoo nodded.
"Mm..."
"I'm... okay."
Han Sera added,
"The doctors say you survived by a miracle."
Minsoo tilted his head as if thinking deeply.
Then asked,
"Really?"
He paused.
"And who exactly survived by a miracle?"
His gaze wandered around the room.
"I... wasn't aware of that."
At last...
Han Sera smiled from the bottom of her heart.
For days, she had feared seeing fear or brokenness in his eyes.
But that answer alone was enough to tell her that Minsoo was still himself.
Silence lingered for a few seconds.
Then the smile slowly faded from Minsoo's face.
And he asked quietly,
"Director..."
"How is the world outside?"
Han Sera let out a deep sigh.
As if the question had brought back everything she had been trying to ignore.
The press.
The rumors.
The investors.
The company.
The fans.
And the countless sleepless nights since the incident.
Then she said,
"It was harder than I expected."
But she immediately raised a hand when she noticed the tension forming on his face.
"Don't worry."
"Focus on your recovery."
"And leave everything else to me."
Despite his concerns, Minsoo felt a measure of reassurance.
After all...
He trusted her more than almost anyone.
She continued,
"The police want your statement."
"When you feel ready, let me know."
He exhaled slowly.
As though trying to push away the dozens of questions circling his mind.
"Alright..."
"When I'm ready."
At that moment...
The door opened again.
Hemi stepped inside.
She was no longer as pale as she had been over the past few days.
It was as though life had finally returned to her cheeks.
"Oh..."
"Director, you're here?"
Han Sera smiled.
"Hemi."
"It looks like you're finally alive again."
Hemi laughed shyly.
Then walked directly toward Minsoo.
As if she had forgotten everyone else was in the room.
She leaned slightly toward him and said,
"I brought you some food."
"Let me help you sit up."
Minsoo looked at her cautiously.
Then spoke in the tone of a child afraid of being scolded.
"Hemi..."
"I don't really feel like eating."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Be quiet."
"I'm not asking for your opinion."
Minsoo sighed in surrender.
While she helped him sit upright.
"Hemi..."
"I already said no..."
But she completely ignored him.
She picked up a bowl of beef bone soup.
Then began feeding him one spoonful after another.
Every now and then, she smiled at the increasingly hopeless expression on his face.
"Tell me."
"How does it taste?"
"Is it good?"
After several spoonfuls...
Minsoo clamped his mouth shut.
And refused to open it again.
But Hemi's voice was firm.
"Open your mouth."
He shook his head decisively.
A muffled protest escaped him.
"I don't want to."
"Have mercy on me..."
"I'm sick."
Hemi raised her voice.
"I said open your mouth right now!"
She held the spoon toward him.
And stubbornly pushed it closer.
"Now."
"Open."
Han Sera watched the scene in silence.
Then suddenly burst out laughing.
Both of them turned toward her at the exact same moment.
Their eyes asking the same question:
What's so funny?
She struggled to suppress her laughter.
Then said,
"You two look like an elderly married couple who's been together for forty years."
Both of them froze.
Embarrassment immediately spread across their faces.
They started talking at the same time.
"Director!"
"What?!"
Han Sera laughed even harder.
Meanwhile, Hemi said shyly,
"Are you sentencing me to life imprisonment?"
But Minsoo immediately replied with a childish look of indignation.
"I'm life imprisonment?"
"Execution would be kinder than marrying you."
Hemi's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"What did you just say?!"
Then she pointed a finger at him.
"Minsoo!"
"Do you have a death wish?"
"If you weren't lying in that bed right now..."
"I'd beat you to death."
Han Sera laughed again.
Then suddenly said,
"Hemi..."
"Are you sure you're the same person?"
Hemi paused.
"What do you mean?"
Han Sera answered softly,
"Just a few days ago..."
"You were crying day and night."
"Until you collapsed."
Silence filled the room.
The laughter vanished instantly.
Minsoo looked at her.
For several long seconds.
As though he were seeing something he had never noticed before.
He remembered her swollen eyes.
Her trembling voice.
The fear she hadn't even tried to hide.
Something heavy settled inside his chest.
Something he couldn't quite name.
As for Hemi...
She quickly looked away.
As though afraid he might see everything she had tried so hard to conceal.
But that brief moment was enough.
Their eyes exchanged a long conversation.
One their lips had never spoken aloud.
Warmth.
Longing.
Relief.
And a fear of loss neither of them could deny anymore.
And for a reason neither could explain...
Simply having the other nearby was enough.
As though whenever they were together...
They could finally breathe.
And finally return home.