“Yuri, please.”

Hearing the pleading voice, Yuri fell back into darkness once again.

After a while, murmuring voices could be heard again. This time, it wasn’t just one person, but several voices. Sometimes there were even urgent shouts mixed in.

…Ah, it’s noisy.

Feeling her head throbbing, Yuri frowned and shook her head. Then a clear voice flowed into her ears.

“Elder sister! Elder sister, are you coming to?”

This voice… Yuri?

Why is Yuri here?

Just like before, her eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and wouldn’t open easily. Only after exerting effort several times did a bright light slowly spread into her eyes. As she blinked with difficulty, her blurry vision gradually became clearer.

“Elder sister.”

The first thing she saw was Yuri’s face, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment, and behind her stood Lady An. The first thought that came to mind was, ‘Why are these two here?’ She hadn’t given them the officetel address… Did father tell them?

Then she realized that she wasn’t in the officetel’s bedroom. Yuri looked around with puzzled eyes.

“Where am I?”

“The hospital. Elder sister, you’ve been unconscious for two days.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. Elder brother Jeho found you and brought you to the hospital. If he had been a little later, it could have been serious.”

At the name Jeho, Yuri frowned. But Yuri, thinking it was due to pain, quickly called for a nurse. The nurse who entered the room after receiving the call pressed the bed button to sit Yuri up, then carefully examined her condition.

“Your pulse is normal, and your fever has gone down a lot. When the blood test results come out, the doctor in charge will explain them to you directly. For now, rest is the top priority, so you shouldn’t leave the room.”

After the nurse left, Lady An poured water into a cup and handed it to Yuri.

“Even if you’re thirsty, don’t drink too much. Just wet your lips.”

“What happened?”

Yuri asked as she took the cup Lady An handed her. But before Lady An could open her mouth, Yuri quickly interjected.

“It seems your fever was severe. Anyway, elder sister, if elder brother Jeho hadn’t brought you to the hospital early, it could have progressed to pneumonia. You should thank him later.”

According to Yuri’s explanation, Jeho had called early Sunday morning. He said he couldn’t reach Yuri and asked if she was with them. Since he had received such a call from Jeho on Friday night as well, Yuri was worried this time too.

When he still couldn’t reach her, Jeho canceled all his Sunday seminar schedules and came up to Seoul. After finding that Yuri wasn’t at her home or her family home, he apparently went to the officetel. There, he found Yuri unconscious with a raging fever.

– Yuri, please.

So that voice was…?

It seems it wasn’t just a delirious dream. The owner of that desperate voice was Jeho. However, it’s unlikely that he brought her to the hospital out of genuine concern. It’s probably because she still has some use value.

“What about father?”

“There’s an emergency National Assembly session, so he’s at the National Assembly building now. I should let him know you’ve woken up.”

Representative Chae would know why Yuri collapsed. Assistant Kim would have reported what happened right away. Perhaps Representative Chae is displeased. His daughter weakly collapsed, shocked by such a trivial matter.

That’s right, father. How pathetic to fall ill over something so insignificant…

Yuri smiled bitterly, twisting her lips. As she did so, her dry lips cracked and began to bleed.

“Elder sister, are you alright?”

As blood seeped from her lips, Yuri brought a tissue and pressed it to her lips. Yuri shook her head as she took the tissue.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

No, Yuri. Actually, I’m not fine. The blood on my lips is nothing. My heart feels like it’s been torn apart, and I can’t even make a sound.

But these words only echoed inside her, unable to be spoken aloud. Not only did Yuri and Lady An not know about her secret relationship with Jeho, but even if they did, she was too ashamed to say anything.

– There is a woman who keeps catching my eye, who I keep thinking about.

Looking back now, it was an extremely artificial statement. If she had paid attention, she would have easily noticed that he was just trying to use her without any real feelings… But far from being suspicious, she had been as giddy as a teenage girl.

Yuri couldn’t bear how foolish she felt for having her heart flutter over lies. Suddenly, she recalled what Representative Chae had said.

– That day was my birthday. She told me to come home early in the morning, but she was meeting him outside.

When he learned that his wife’s heart was full of thoughts of her former lover, did Representative Chae feel this same sense of betrayal?

She felt like she might go crazy, now seeming to understand her father’s feelings that she had thought were incomprehensible before.

“Elder sister.”

Just then, Yuri snatched the tissue from Yuri’s hand with a startled look. Without realizing it, she must have bitten her lip, as the cracked area had grown larger and was bleeding.

“This won’t do, elder sister. We need to put some ointment on it.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. It’ll get worse.”

Yuri threw away the bloodstained tissue and pressed a clean new tissue to Yuri’s burst lip.

“I’ll go get some.”

Yuri silently watched Lady An leave the room to find ointment, then closed her eyes wearily. She didn’t want to see anything right now.

The wound on her lip could be healed with ointment, but what about the wound in her heart?

Would the pain stop if she could just cut out her heart entirely?

Sadly, no clear answer existed in this world.

Yuri and Lady An only left after hearing from the doctor in charge that there were no major issues in the blood test results. Yuri begged to stay and take care of her, but Yuri sent her away, saying she needed to be alone to feel comfortable.

Left alone, Yuri lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn’t even glance at the cell phone placed beside her. She didn’t have the courage to check for any text messages or voicemails from Jeho. The moment she heard his voice, her heart might foolishly waver again. She felt disgusted with herself for this.

When a hospital staff member was placing the porridge that had come as dinner on the bedside table, the door opened and Jeho entered the room. He said nothing, just watching as the staff set the table. Only after the staff left did Jeho approach the bed and sit in the chair beside it.

“I heard from Yuri. That you brought me to the hospital. Thank you.”

Instead of answering, Jeho took the spoon from Yuri’s hand. As he scooped up some porridge with the spoon and held it out, Yuri quietly shook her head.

“I have enough strength to hold a spoon myself.”

“I know.”

She didn’t want to eat food that he was feeding her. Yuri gritted her teeth and lowered her gaze to the porridge bowl. Jeho brought the spoon filled with porridge to Yuri’s lips and spoke softly.

“I’m sorry.”

When Yuri looked at him with puzzled eyes, he pushed the spoon forward as if urging her. It seemed like he wouldn’t continue speaking unless she ate at least one bite. With no choice, Yuri opened her mouth and ate the porridge he was feeding her. It felt strange. Like being paralyzed by poison?

When the bowl was half empty, he slowly opened his mouth.

“That night, when I saw you come without even an outer coat, I should have noticed. I shouldn’t have just left you and gone… What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

Is it because she knew he was lying? Lies flowed smoothly from her mouth as well.

You’re not the only one who can act. I can do it too.

Yuri stared at Jeho as she continued speaking.

“I really went because I wanted to see you. I couldn’t bear it.”

Honestly, it wasn’t a complete lie. It was true that she had gone to see him.

Whether he believed her words or not was unclear, but he didn’t ask further and moved on to another question.

“Then what was the urgent matter that made you suddenly have to go to Seoul?”

“…That.”

Fortunately, she had thought about what to say before Jeho arrived. It wasn’t completely made up. Because it was based on facts, Yuri could look Jeho in the eye without hesitation.

“I had to meet Assistant Kim about Minwoo’s matter. It turns out he assaulted a subordinate employee. Her name is Shin Dahee, and she’s Yuri’s college senior, so I know her too.”

Jeho’s expression didn’t change at all upon hearing the name Shin Dahee. In the past, she might have been fooled by his excellent acting. But not anymore. She felt only revulsion for him as he maintained his expressionless face.

“I see, you must have been surprised.”

Jeho muttered softly, then scooped up more porridge with the spoon and brought it to her mouth. Yuri shook her head, her face showing she couldn’t eat anymore. However, he didn’t back down.

“Don’t be like that, just one more bite.”

Only after she ate one more bite did Jeho put down the spoon and push the bedside table aside.

“If left untreated, it could have developed into pneumonia. You know that?”

“Yes, I heard.”

The doctor in charge had given a lecture-like warning that although there were no major issues in the blood test results, she could collapse again at any time if she didn’t rest properly.

“…So, Jeho.”

She slowly opened her mouth as she looked at him.

“I think I’ll stay at home for a while after I’m discharged. I think that would be more comfortable.”

It was an ironic situation. She had accepted a political marriage to escape from home as soon as possible, but now she was voluntarily returning home.

But in the current situation, family that felt like strangers would be better than a con man who had deceived her. Jeho followed Yuri’s wishes without much objection.

“If that’s more comfortable for you, alright. Let’s do that.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Yuri smiled faintly and slowly closed her eyes.

“I’m feeling weak… I’m going to close my eyes for a bit.”

She wasn’t sleepy, but it was a good excuse to not have to look at him. As Yuri leaned back on the bed and closed her eyes, Jeho quietly got up and dimmed the room’s lighting to a soft level. Returning to the chair, Jeho silently gazed at Yuri’s lips where blood had congealed.

He wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring himself to. She would surely answer that it was nothing. Instead, he carefully enveloped Yuri’s thin hand resting on the blanket with both of his hands. At first, Yuri startled and tried to pull her hand away. But soon she silently let him do as he wished.

Yuri’s closed lips trembled, but she didn’t say a word. An awkward silence fell for a moment. Jeho didn’t let go of her hand, instead gently caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

Jeho looked down at the white back of the hand in his and recalled the events of a few days ago.

On the day he brought Yuri to the hospital, he received a call from Representative Chae. It seems he couldn’t just sit still after hearing that Yuri had collapsed, even in the midst of being busy with an emergency National Assembly session.

The content of the call was simple.

– I hear Yuri asked Assistant Kim about you. She asked, ‘Does father know about Jeho as well?’ I’m not sure what her intention was in asking such a question, but it seems she’s found out something too. I don’t know to what extent, though.

He seemed to blame Jeho for being the reason his perfectly fine daughter had collapsed.

– Anyway, I won’t say anything, as you asked.

It was pressure for him to reveal the truth himself before Yuri brought it up first.

Awakening from his reminiscence, Jeho shifted his gaze from Yuri’s white hand to her pale face. Yuri remained motionless with her eyes closed. It seemed she wouldn’t open her eyes until he left the room.

What should I do?

Jeho muttered inwardly, not taking his eyes off Yuri.

I have no intention of letting you go…

Even if she knew all the facts, nothing would change.