“Wouldn’t President Je-moo have come too? He must have gotten healthier by now. Such things taste better when eaten together.”

“…You should rest.”

Junghye, who was looking at Seoyoon with a darkened complexion, squinted her eyes in wonder.

“Ugh, did you fight on the trip? Is that why you came back early?”

“No, it’s not like that. Is there anything I can help with?”

Having calmed her mind, Seoyoon busied herself for a moment to set the table, trying to distract herself from Kanghyun.

When the preparations were almost done, Dochul picked up the tongs, placed meat on the grill, and continued to take out something on the seemingly sufficient table.

It was the side dishes that Seoyoon usually liked.

“Mom and Dad, eat too. I’ll grill.”

“Ah, it’s not that hard. Eat quickly, our daughter.”

Dochul patted Seoyoon’s back lightly while nodding, his head tilted.

The meat that was tender to chew had no taste.

It felt like sharp needles were poking at her heart, making her throat sway continuously.

“Let me see your face at least, even if just once a month.”

Thinking of the scene where Kanghyun, standing firm, would not crumble even if she shook him, Seoyoon, who didn’t want to recall that moment, forcibly put a piece of meat into her mouth.

“Jian, for heaven’s sake, eat slowly! You’ll choke.”

The voices of her parents taking care of her from both sides seemed distant.

“Jian, have some water.”

Jian, Jian.

Until she found her memory again, the calling that used to be natural felt unfamiliar.

This place was a fairy tale world she had dreamed of since childhood.

A dreamlike world that she didn’t want to wake up from, but a world she had to wake up from someday.

It could never be Han Seoyoon’s home.

Returning to the apartment in Hannam-dong, Kanghyun pressed the door lock with his fingers, now moving like a habit.

“Did you come?”

See, I told you not to get used to it.

With a mocking smile at the fleeting hallucination before his eyes, he walked down the corridor, which felt like an endless tunnel.

Entering the bedroom, he casually threw his coat and sat on the floor, gazing at Seoyoon’s picture for a moment.
While pretending to be calm, Seoyoon accommodated what Seowon wanted, but Kanghyun couldn’t easily accept the fact that he wouldn’t see Seoyoon in the future.

I want to stop.

Whatever it is, I don’t know what it is.

Long waiting, fleeting moments of happiness, and now there is nothing left.

Kanghyun took out his phone slowly and called Seowon.

He vaguely conveyed something about the property that he should go to Seoyoon and that he wanted to rest at home for a while, so Seowon should not look for him. However, as soon as the call ended, he couldn’t remember well.

Placing the phone somewhere and opening a drawer, he took out sleeping pills.

Since closing his eyes wouldn’t bring sleep, it seemed better to eat them.

The room remained dark.

It felt like being trapped in an inescapable abyss.

Although he couldn’t die as he was in a situation where Seoyoon would hear the news, he still wanted to sleep for a very long time.

If Seoyoon, who could pull him out of such despair, is not there, it might be better not to face tomorrow.

Now even a bit tired, Seowon stood in a hospital room. He looked down at Kanghyun’s complexion, which lacked vitality to the point of looking bluish. Two days ago, he didn’t seem to be in good condition when they spoke on the phone, but he had ended up back in the hospital.

Overdose of sleeping pills and malnutrition.

Fortunately, the Hannam-dong apartment did not recur, but malnutrition was a disease that made one involuntarily laugh.

“What is this.”

Kanghyun, who had fallen asleep in the pitch-dark room, suddenly could not adapt to the bright view and scowled at the sudden brightness.

“President, please come to your senses. This is a hospital.”

“Who brought me out without my permission? I said I wanted to rest.”

“Is this resting? Did you go crazy to die? What’s with the burn on your arm!”

Annoyed by Kanghyun, who neglected his own body, Seowon raised his voice.

How could he be destroyed so badly every time?

He wanted to go into Kanghyun’s mind, which went up and down dozens of times between heaven and hell with three characters: Han Seoyoon.

“I just want to sleep, so don’t worry.”

“When did you last eat? With your body like this, how much more sleeping pills did you take! Sigh, Hyung… at this rate, you’ll really die.”

Seowon grabbed the syringe needle and hastily stopped Kanghyun, who was trying to get off the bed.

“Even if I die like this, don’t tell Seoyoon. I’ll call an ambulance, so wait.”

“Okay, go alone.”

Seowon looked at Kanghyun’s stubborn back as he slowly left the hospital room, then dialed Seoyoon’s number.