The morning sunlight streaming into the house was dazzling.

So Yeon, who had placed a plate of green grapes on the living room table and sat on the sofa, looked again at the text messages she had just exchanged with In Ha.

[I guess I drank too much yesterday. I made a mistake. I’m sorry.] [I accept your apology, senior.] [Are you So Yeon’s guardian angel or something? That friend who kicked me, I mean. She’s strong for a woman.] [Ah, I’m sorry about that. Are you okay? Does it hurt?] [Well, it’s bearable. Don’t worry about it. I deserved it.] [Let’s meet with smiling faces next time, senior.] [I was worried you might not want to see me again. Thank you.]

What he did yesterday was by no means a trivial matter.

In fact, she had seriously considered cutting ties with Jo In Ha because of it. However, So Yeon ultimately couldn’t ignore his apology, considering the reality that they would often bump into each other in the narrow entertainment industry in the future.

To add one more reason, there was a sense of guilt for having caused In Ha so much pain that he would have difficulty walking for a while.

However, she didn’t easily accept In Ha’s apology. So Yeon, who woke up early in the morning, checked his text message while heading straight to the bathroom. She replied late two hours later, so one can imagine how much she agonized during that time.

By the way, the person who almost sent Jo In Ha to the point of reproductive incapacity with an angry kick is still sleeping comfortably. Occupying someone else’s master bedroom, no less.

As someone said, Yeo Do Soon was So Yeon’s long-time friend, no less than a guardian angel.

When So Yeon first revealed her dream of becoming an actress in high school, Do Soon, who had nothing she wanted to do at the time, declared that she would become Eom So Yeon’s manager, no matter what anyone said. She even pinky-promised.

Yeo Do Soon, who has kept that promise until now, is So Yeon’s one and only best friend who not only attended the same elementary, middle, and high schools, but even the same university, albeit in different departments.

Remembering her friend’s rough and angry appearance towards Jo In Ha yesterday, So Yeon couldn’t hold back a chuckle that escaped as she kept putting grapes in her mouth.

It was around the time she had almost finished eating a bunch of grapes.

Do Soon, who had used the master bathroom, came out of the room with nothing on her fair body. As outgoing as her personality, her body was long and slender. She was tall like a model.

“Oh, hey! You should have at least wrapped a towel around yourself!”

Even if they were both women and she was confident in her body, walking around naked was too much of an eye attack.

So Yeon exclaimed in shock, but Do Soon just giggled to herself, finding something very amusing.

“It’s just us, what’s the big deal? The weather’s nice, I just want to sunbathe a bit.”

“Let’s put something on. I want to unsee this.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll put something on if you insist.”

While Do Soon went back to the room to get dressed, So Yeon finished the grapes she was eating and took out another bunch to enjoy.

“What’s with the grapes?”

Do Soon, who came out of the bedroom, plopped down on the sofa and asked with sleepy eyes.

“They’re so deliciously sweet and sour. It really whets my appetite.”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

Eom So Yeon had always particularly disliked sour fruits since childhood.

Not only that, but knowing her friend’s biased taste that preferred bread over rice cakes and meat over vegetables, Do Soon couldn’t see So Yeon’s rapid consumption of grapes, which she had never cared for before, as normal.

“That seems to be the problem, doesn’t it?”

“P-people’s tastes can change, you know.”

“So Yeon, you…”

“What about me?”

When Do Soon trailed off, So Yeon quickly chewed and swallowed a grape, revealing her impatience. If she had something to hide, she should have just stayed quiet, but instead, she was acting more suspiciously.

“You, by any chance…”

“By any chance what?”

“It’s not like you to become so sensitive and eat poorly. Now you’re even eating things you didn’t before. Anyway, you’re acting really strange.”

So Yeon’s large eyes trembled slightly due to Do Soon’s suspicious gaze that wouldn’t let up.

She had missed her period last month and still had no news, so she went to the hospital. That was last week, and in those few days, So Yeon’s face had become half of what it was.

Do Soon, who had been near the school yesterday, stopped by the samgyeopsal restaurant because she was worried about So Yeon, who had suddenly become gaunt. But they had just missed each other, so she had rushed to the empty lot that So Yeon often used.

Anyway, she was always grateful to her friend who had saved her from a dangerous situation, and she wanted to confide in her about everything. But So Yeon had circumstances that prevented her from doing so.

“Aish, everything seems strange to you. I, I’ve been suffering from a cold for a while, that’s all.”

“What about the grapes?”

“V-vitamins are good for colds, aren’t they?”

“Excessive laughter. Why are you stuttering?”

So Yeon was flustered by Do Soon’s persistent questioning. So she tried to act nonchalant by laughing, and her words came out disorderly and confused. She even bit her tongue. It was clear that if this conversation continued, she would only end up hurting herself.

“I bit my tongue while eating grapes, okay!”

Answering in an irritated tone, So Yeon abruptly stood up from the sofa and fled to the kitchen with the plate, as if escaping.

And a little while later. So Yeon came back to the living room and snuggled up next to Do Soon, who was half-lying on the sofa, and asked.

“Do Soon. Among your fan club members, is there anyone who knows Tae Seo Jun’s home address or phone number?”

“I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

“There’s a junior in my department who apparently drew a portrait of Tae Seo Jun as a hobby.”

“Ah, a gift? Tell them to send it to the agency. That’s what we do too. Why, do they want to give it directly?”

“…”

She had made up a somewhat plausible story, but her heart was pounding so much. So Yeon nodded and stared at the ceiling for no reason.

“Wait a moment. Let me check our group chat. I don’t know, but another member might know…”

Do Soon, who was fiddling with her phone screen, suddenly cut off her words and straightened her relaxed body as if startled. Then she looked at the phone screen with a shocked face, her eyes brimming with tears, while tiny letters were frantically updating on the screen.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly crying?”

“It’s…”

Feeling somewhat ominous, So Yeon snatched the phone Do Soon was holding and fixed her gaze on the screen. The fan club group chat was filled with frantic messages, as if the end of the world had come.

“…!”

So Yeon’s pupils shook greatly, as if hit by a major earthquake, as she quickly read through it. It was the moment she saw the content stating that Tae Seo Jun had enlisted today without any notice and would live as a military medical officer for the next 3 years.

“Why did our oppa enlist? That’s not something to do quietly! Sob sob…”

Do Soon cried loudly, pouting her lips as she spoke.

“…”

So Yeon’s face hardened and lost all color, looking blank. With her heart sinking and her mind going blank, all she could do was force her unmoving feet to enter the bathroom.

Click.

Her stiff body, leaning against the locked bathroom door, crumbled down. Large teardrops rolled down from So Yeon’s eyes as she curled up small on the cold tile floor.

Unable to cry out loud like Do Soon, So Yeon wiped her tears with her sleeve while holding back her sobs. But the burst of sadness couldn’t be stopped even after soaking both arms.

Now he’s gone. I have to bear everything alone. But I… I still don’t know. What to do first, how to do it…

She wanted to meet Tae Seo Jun at least once. No, she had to. But lacking courage, she had postponed it day after day, and this was the result.

In the end, she had to quietly forget him.

That was all.

With even a glimmer of hope cut off, So Yeon couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t breathe well. Her body, stiff as a stone, couldn’t even stand up again.

As if her chest and both legs were cut by the knife-like news.

She couldn’t do anything.

[This is the timeline separator]

3 years later.

The man standing tall at the highest point of the stone mound hill, with his back to the moonlight of the first day of the new year, looked down at the dark and desolate foreign land with a serene gaze.

Even in moments when he touched skin with someone, he was alone.

He was more accustomed to wearing a mask than showing his true face.

Because he had nothing he earnestly wished for, everything he did felt dry and futile.

As if he had no lingering attachment to that trivial time and not-so-good world, he left Korea.

There was no hesitation in choosing between being a regular soldier or a military doctor. He left the hospital because he disliked the environment full of single-minded people, but he still enjoyed practicing medicine. And seeing how he felt somewhat regretful as his discharge date approached, military life seemed to suit him.

Two years as a military doctor at the central headquarters in Riyadh, and now it’s been a year since he was dispatched to an outskirt unit within a two-hour range, taking charge of the medical department. He has already passed three years and tomorrow he will set off on his way back to his homeland.

The wind blew.

Despite the sandy wind sticking to his skin and rustling, the man’s face remained as exquisitely refined as before. His slow steps moving down the hill were still the same, but perhaps due to his long legs, the speed was very fast.

It was when he was entering the red brick building past the barbed wire fence.

“Captain Tae!”

A soldier running breathlessly from behind urgently called out to his superior.

“…”

He stopped and turned around.

As Seo Jun silently raised his thick eyebrows, the soldier began to report without omission.

“The special forces team that was dispatched to Selar returned 30 minutes ago, at 23:00.”

Selar was a hidden hideout of the Islamic armed group Tamayon, a desert city adjacent to the Persian Gulf in the northeast of Saudi Arabia.

The bilateral negotiations between the Saudi government and the Tamayon armed group will proceed for three days starting tomorrow. Their unilateral decision not to allow any interference from third countries completely omitted the safety of foreigners, including civilians.

Therefore, even if their negotiations are peacefully settled, hostages with no use value would be treated as a separate issue. In the worst case, they could be eliminated without anyone knowing.

Faced with this extreme situation, the U.S. and Korean military had no choice and even the operation time was tight. They did not allow any obstacles.

Thus, the U.S.-Korea combined special forces, who infiltrated the area at 18:00 today and carried out a secret operation, had just returned to their respective units after completing their mission of rescuing the hostages held by Tamayon.

Along with this welcome report, what Seo Jun encountered was the refusal of treatment by a young civilian who had been rescued.

“We risked our lives to save him, but that bastard says he wants to die?”

“Apart from refusing treatment, he’s not saying anything at all, which seems quite determined, but due to the prolonged neglect of the gunshot wound near his heart, his condition is serious. I think you should go and see him, Captain.”

“What kind of guy is he?”

“His name is Han Seung Yul. He’s the son of a wealthy family who was on an elite course in New York and was kidnapped as soon as he set foot in the Middle East for business.”

“Is that so?”

Tae Seo Jun, who had become as accustomed to command and obedience as his own flesh, looked perfect even in his military uniform with a beret.

“I’ll go now.”

The sharp gaze that brushed past the soldier as if telling him to follow also breathed with the angles of a soldier.