Kyung Jun hastily picked up the fallen oxygen mask. At the same time, Jo Seo Ha suddenly collapsed, dropping her head like a marionette with cut strings.

“Ms. Jo Seo Ha!”

He barely managed to stretch out one hand to prevent Jo Seo Ha from hitting the floor. Kyung Jun carefully, hurriedly laid her down, then tried to put the oxygen mask on Yoon Seo Ha’s face.

At that moment, Yoon Seo Ha moved. To be precise, her eyebrows twitched as if in a seizure. It was very minor and subtle, but it was some kind of vital response besides her heart beating and breathing.

“Yoon Seo Ha?”

Another twitch.

His heart raced wildly. Kyung Jun realized he had just been holding the oxygen mask and quickly put it on Yoon Seo Ha’s face.

“Yoon Seo Ha. Can you hear me? Are you listening to me?”

There was no response again. He wanted to grab her and call out several more times, but Jo Seo Ha was still collapsed.

Kyung Jun pressed the call button and lifted Jo Seo Ha’s head from the floor.

“Ms. Jo Seo Ha. Wake up. Ms. Jo Seo Ha.”

“……”

Jo Seo Ha’s eyebrows twitched. Just like Yoon Seo Ha had done moments ago. Then she slowly opened her eyes.

Her dazed, unfocused eyes seemed to be looking at Kyung Jun, yet also seemed to be looking at something far beyond him.

“Ms. Jo Seo Ha.”

“… Ah.”

Jo Seo Ha blinked. By then, her focus had returned.

“What happened?”

“You suddenly collapsed. Are you alright?”

Seo Ha stared blankly at Kyung Jun, then turned her head. Yoon Seo Ha’s body was lying on the bed just as she had seen it before.

“I’m… fine. I guess I’ve been pushing myself too hard these past few days.”

“Go lie down over there. I’ll give you something warm to drink. We should get an MRI done.”

“It’s fine. You were in pain too from not sleeping well, Mr. Ryu. I’m just tired from worrying too much about the evaluation and not sleeping.”

“I wasn’t in pain.”

“Okay.”

Seo Ha rejected Kyung Jun’s offer to support her and stood up on her own, sitting on the guardian’s bed. Soon the door opened and medical staff rushed in.

“Professor.”

Kyung Jun, who had been getting warm water from the water purifier, put down the cup and came out to greet the doctor.

“The oxygen mask fell off for a moment due to my mistake. When I tried to put it back on, I noticed Yoon Seo Ha’s eyebrows moved slightly.”

“Hmm…”

The doctor lifted Yoon Seo Ha’s eyelids and shone a light. As always, her pupils showed no reaction to the bright light.

“It’s likely to be a simple spasm or unconditional reflex. Still, since it’s a reaction we haven’t seen before, let’s keep a close watch for now.”

“… I understand.”

Kyung Jun tried hard to erase the disappointment from his face. Seo Ha, who had been listening intently, just lay down on the guardian’s bed.

What was that just now?

When she collapsed, Seo Ha was conscious. Only her body fell, but her mind was clearer than ever.

At first, Seo Ha thought she had fainted briefly and woken up. Her body, which had been standing fine, was now lying on the bed. It was hard to breathe freely and her body had no strength at all.

“Yoon Seo Ha?”

She heard a voice calling right by her ear. If she hadn’t misheard, it was definitely Kyung Jun’s voice.

“Yoon Seo Ha, can you hear me? Are you listening to me?”

I can hear you. But who am I? Am I Jo Seo Ha? Or Yoon Seo Ha?

Something hard pressed against her mouth and nose. She didn’t know what it was, but it felt suffocating. Just before her consciousness faded to black again, Seo Ha managed to lift her eyelids slightly and dimly see what was in front of her.

“Ms. Jo Seo Ha. Wake up. Ms. Jo Seo Ha.”

As soon as she heard that voice, her eyes flew open.

The now-familiar smell of soap wafted strongly. She seemed to have been lying on the bed just a moment ago, but when she came to her senses, she was on the hospital room floor.

“Ms. Jo Seo Ha.”

Kyung Jun’s greatly dilated pupils looked down at Seo Ha from above. Behind his face stretched the white ceiling. The same ceiling she was now looking at lying on the guardian’s bed.

‘It was the bed for a moment. My whole body was weak and it was hard to breathe…’

It was an unpleasant yet somehow familiar feeling. As if she had experienced it before.

Seo Ha could soon recall that time. It wasn’t difficult to remember such an intense memory.

When she regained consciousness as ‘Yoon Seo Ha’ after the accident. And when she woke up again as ‘Jo Seo Ha’.

What if I wake up in this body now? I’d be lying in bed, unable to move my body, having trouble breathing, with a hard oxygen mask covering my mouth and nose.

−Beep−beep−beep−beep−.

The sound of the life support machine pierced her eardrums. It seemed to beckon her from a dark maze.

‘If something dangerous happens to my original body, does the soul return? Then what happens to Jo Seo Ha? Why does Jo Seo Ha collapse when Yoon Seo Ha wakes up?’

A forgotten memory flashed by.

She had lost consciousness like this before. In that brief moment, Seo Ha was lying somewhere looking up at the hospital ceiling.

Was there some danger to her body then too? Was Lee Seung Oh trying to kill Yoon Seo Ha completely?

Seo Ha stopped her train of thought as the doctor finished his examination and exchanged greetings with Kyung Jun.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Not at all. Anytime, if you notice any signs, please call us.”

As the medical staff left in a group like when they had entered, silence fell in the room. Kyung Jun got some warm water from the water purifier, put a tea bag in it, and handed it to Seo Ha.

“Drink some. It’s not too hot.”

She could feel the warmth from the mug. It reminded her of Lee Seung Oh, who used to offer her warm tea when she suffered from migraines due to stress.

She should have thrown that tea in his face.

As the warm tea went down her throat, she felt a bit more at ease. Seo Ha took a few more sips of tea before looking up.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have something to say?”

Kyung Jun had a complicated expression. He seemed to have something to say. Uncharacteristically hesitating, he poured himself a glass of cold water from the water purifier, drank it, and then shook his head.

“I’m sorry for suddenly bringing you here. I didn’t know you’d dislike it.”

“It’s not that I disliked it. It’s just…”

Seo Ha paused for a moment, trying to find the right words.

“I was afraid. Of what Yoon Seo Ha would look like. The fact that Seo Ha, who was always pretty and loved, is just lying there like that… Seeing that with my own eyes, it’s just…”

“I should have been more considerate.”

“Mr. Ryu, you’re not usually considerate, are you? Or do you choose not to be?”

Even with the joke thrown in to lighten the mood a bit, Kyung Jun’s expression remained serious. Seo Ha felt awkward and stayed quiet for a while before asking.

“But why did you suddenly come here?”

“I had a strange thought.”

“A strange thought?”

Kyung Jun suddenly came closer and peered at Seo Ha. Startled, Seo Ha grabbed the edge of the bed with one hand and pulled her body back.

“… It might sound crazy, but.”

Kyung Jun straightened up and muttered.

“I had the thought that you were Yoon Seo Ha. Not a friend or a lookalike, but the real Yoon Seo Ha. As if Yoon Seo Ha had transformed into Jo Seo Ha like a gumiho and was standing here… So, I wanted to see Jo Seo Ha and Yoon Seo Ha in front of my eyes right away. Otherwise, I felt like I’d keep having that crazy thought.”

How did he know?

Seo Ha looked at Kyung Jun with surprised eyes.

Even Lee Seung Oh, who had lived with her all her life, hadn’t seen any connection between the two.

But Kyung Jun recognized Yoon Seo Ha’s design as soon as he saw it, even though he had only seen it briefly, and now he even thought the two were the same person.

Is that possible? Why him? How?

Then a thought occurred to her.

“Mr. Ryu.”

Knowing full well that this would sound crazy if said out loud, Seo Ha asked anyway.

“That person you said you liked… Is it Yoon Seo Ha?”

“It’s not.”

Seo Ha almost screamed. If it’s not, then that expression Kyung Jun is making is clearly a lying face even if the most oblivious person in the world looked at it while standing on their head.

All the questions were smoothly resolved with that one expression. Why Kyung Jun, who had infiltrated the company to take it over, had been protecting and nurturing Kang Yoon without Seo Ha and Hae Sun, let alone a merger and acquisition.

Why he took such meticulous care of Hae Sun. Why he treasured Yoon Seo Ha’s designs like a treasure.

“Stop talking nonsense, let’s go if you’re feeling better. I’ll take you home.”

Kyung Jun turned around abruptly. His ears, glimpsed from behind, were slightly red.

“Yap! Yap!”

As soon as the rusty gate opened, Min Ji rolled out like a Go stone and barked excitedly. Seo Ha crouched down, patting her head and chuckling.

“Your dad’s not home yet, huh?”

Min Ji rolled over, wagging her tail furiously.

Only after rubbing her plump, squishy belly to her heart’s content, patting her head, and throwing her a dog treat from her bag could Seo Ha finally stand up and climb to the rooftop.

“You’re early today.”

The caregiver greeted her warmly.

“I made some spicy clam soup, so have it for dinner. Our madam seemed to enjoy it.”

“You don’t have to prepare side dishes, but thank you. I’ll enjoy it, ma’am.”

“The madam here is so gentle and beautiful that I have nothing to do. I might as well make some side dishes in my spare time. I’ll be heading off now, see you tomorrow!”

“Alright, ma’am. Take care on your way home!”

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since she had sat down to eat with her mother. It was also unusual for her to arrive home just in time for the caregiver’s departure.

Seo Ha washed her hands and opened the door to Hae Sun’s room. As always, Hae Sun was staring blankly at the yellowed wallpaper as if watching television.

What was mom looking at over there? What thoughts ran through her mind as she sat still all day?

“Mom.”

At the very soft call, Hae Sun turned her head. Today, she wore the expression of seeing a stranger.

“Who are you?”

“……”

How should she answer? I’m your daughter. But I’m not your daughter.

When she first saw her at the hospital, she had asked Kyung Jun who Hae Sun was. To the question asked dozens, hundreds of times, Kyung Jun always gave the same answer without getting annoyed.

−’I’m Ryu Kyung Jun, newly assigned to the secretariat, President. Please take care of me.’

It had been well over three years. When did you start holding Yoon Seo Ha in your heart? Why did you do it? You were always at each other’s throats, with no good memories between you.

Strangely, her chest felt heavily painful.

Thinking about it, she had always received help from Kyung Jun. When she witnessed Lee Seung Oh’s affair and stood alone in the rain, when she threw the divorce papers, and even after she died in a truck accident and came back to life as Jo Seo Ha.

Saying he wasn’t in pain. Muttering nonsense about useless people being in pain. The image of Kyung Jun lingered before her eyes.

Am I really using you?

She was tired. Too many things had happened in too short a time, and too many thoughts filled her head, making it feel like it would burst soon. She wanted to just lay her head on her mother’s lap, feel her mother’s hand stroking her hair, and sleep.

Still, Seo Ha smiled and bowed to Hae Sun.

“Hello, President. I’m Jo Seo Ha, the newly hired designer. I’ll work hard.”