Jae Ahn slowly opened her eyes.
The room was dim, quiet, and blindingly white. That familiar, bleak smell of medicine and bleach hit her nose, bringing back that strange, heavy feeling in her chest.
Shaaaaaaaaa...
A soft sound broke the silence. She turned her head and saw Do Hwan sitting in a chair beside the bed.
"How are you feeling now?" Do Hwan asked, his voice low and tired.
Jae Ahn stared at the ceiling for a second, trying to piece together what had happened just a while ago in the ICU. Panic suddenly gripped her heart, and the very first thing she asked was, "Jongsuk... where is Jongsuk? Is he okay?"
Do Hwan nodded quickly. "He's all okay. He's resting. But you... you need to tell me why you fainted like that. Is something heavy on your mind? You can tell us, Jae Ahn."
As he spoke, Do Hwan felt a sharp twist of guilt deep inside his own mind. Although I didn't have to say those harsh things to her earlier... she doesn't even remember anything from her past. And it was me~I was the one who encouraged Jongsuk to move into Jae Ahn's apartment building. Jongsuk didn't want to at first because he knew she forgot everything, and he didn't want to drag any dark memories from her past back into her life. He just wanted her to live a normal, peaceful life. But I am the one who pushed them together after knowing everything...
Overwhelmed by that heavy regret, Do Hwan looked down at his hands. He spoke softly, his voice full of genuine remorse.
"S... s... sorry," he whispered. "For those harsh things I said earlier. I'm really sorry, Jae Ahn."
Jae Ahn gave a weak, tired shake of her head. "It's okk," she said quietly. "Although... you were right. It all happened because of me. I just wanted to solve that case so badly, I didn't even think about what the side effects would be..."
Do Hwan felt an even deeper wave of guilt wash over him. He opened his mouth to say more, but right before he could speak, the door swung open behind him.
Eunwoo rushed into the room, out of breath and looking panicked. "Big sissss...!"
He ran to the side of the bed. "Are you, are you okkk?"
His bottom lip trembled, and he looked like he was about to cry right then and there.
Jae Ahn didn't want to show her weakness, especially not to Eunwoo. She forced a calm, flat expression. "You both... go check on Jongsuk."
Eunwoo hesitated, shaking his head. "No, I want to stay here with you~"
"Go," Jae Ahn interrupted gently, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Check on him."
Realizing she wouldn't change her mind, Do Hwan stood up, gently pulling Eunwoo by the shoulder. They both quietly left the room, closing the door behind them, and left Jae Ahn alone in the quiet hospital room.
The moment the door clicked shut, Jae Ahn let out a long, shaky breath, letting her true feelings pour out in the dark.
"What happened to me...?" she whispered to herself, tears stinging her eyes. "Why do I feel this heavy guilt today? It's not the first time. It's already been one year since the accident. Everyone knows I forgot everything, and that's how my life has to go on. But why... why do I suddenly feel like telling them the truth? That I don't remember any of my past...?"
She pulled her knees up to her chest, trembling. "All I do is for Jongsuk... for everyone. I don't want anyone to suffer with me. Everything was going okkk... until I met Jongsuk again after all these years. Why did fate have to bring us together again? I just don't understand whyyy I feel so heavy..."
Ughhhh!
She buried her face in her hands, cutting off her own tears. She forced herself to sit up straight, giving herself a silent pep talk.
"No, no, Jae Ahn. You can do this. Yes, I can do it. It's not a big deal. Just like before... you have to ignore everything like nothing happened. I need to... I need to keep my distance from Jongsuk."
A cold thought suddenly crossed her mind. But they all know I forgot my memories... what if they find out about my past? What is going to happen to us then?
She shook her head firmly, trying to push the scary thoughts away. No... forget it. That's not going to happen.
After sitting alone for a few moments, Jae Ahn decided she couldn't stay in the hospital a second longer. She quickly got out of bed, and grabbed her jacket to leave.
Just as she reached the door, Do Hwan walked back in and stopped her in her tracks.
"Where are you going at this hour?" Do Hwan asked, looking at her with wide eyes. "To the office for work?" Jae Ahn replied simply, stepping past him.
Do Hwan pointed at the wall clock. "It's... Jae Ahn, look at the clock! It's already 1:00 AM!"
"I know it is, but... it's urgent. I have to go," she said, her voice firm.
Do Hwan sighed, knowing he couldn't win an argument with her. "Okk, I won't stop you... but you have to take Eunwoo with you."
"No, please..." Jae Ahn protested. "I don't want to bother him. He needs to rest."
Before she could finish her sentence, Eunwoo stepped out from the hallway behind Do Hwan with a small, brave smile. "It's okk, big sis. I'll go with you."
Ten minutes later, they were inside the car, driving through the empty, midnight streets of the city.
Eunwoo kept glancing over at her from the passenger seat, his curiosity getting the better of him. "By the way, big sis... what kind of work do you have to do at 1:00 AM?"
"It's urgent. I can't tell you right now... not until I take a proper look at it myself," Jae Ahn replied, her eyes locked on the dark road ahead.
With a strong, serious expression on her face, she repeated her thoughts to herself. I need to check if this is real or not first...
Her mind flashed back to the moment she was hiding inside the wooden cabinet at the underground fight club. While everyone was distracted and running outside, she had noticed something hidden under a table near the carpet. Right before she ran out to find Jongsuk, she had quickly grabbed it and slipped it into her pocket.
It was a small Memory-Chip.
No matter how deep I have to go... I'll find you, she thought, her jaw tightening. Whoever you are.
When they arrived at the office building, the hallways were completely dark and empty. Jae Ahn walked straight to her private cabin, unlocked the door, and opened her laptop on the desk.
Eunwoo stood by the door, crossing his arms. "Big sis... you could have checked that at home, you know."
Without looking up, Jae Ahn shook her head. "No. The office is the safest place for this."
She carefully inserted the memory-chip into the side port of her laptop. The screen flickered, and a hidden folder popped up. She double-clicked it to open the files.
At first, it just looked like a normal text document. It contained three street addresses and one phone number.
Jae Ahn squinted at the screen, her brow furrowing. "That number... it's strange. I feel like I've seen that number before... but where? Why can't I remember?"
She rubbed her temples, frustration building up inside her. "Eunwoo... Eunwoo, I've seen this before, but..."
Ughhhhhh!
She grabbed her head as a sharp pain shot through her temples. "My brain is still loading... I can't think straight."
Eunwoo walked over, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, big sis. You'll find out. Don't think too much all at once."
"I think you're right... I'll remember it soon," she muttered, taking a deep breath to steady herself.
She placed her hands back on the keyboard and began scrolling down through the rest of the file.
Suddenly, her hands froze completely. Her fingers stopped moving on the keys.
"Big sis?" Eunwoo called out softly, noticing how stiff she had become.
Jae Ahn didn't answer him. She didn't even blink. She was just staring blankly at the laptop screen, the color draining entirely from her face.
Meanwhile, miles away at the underground fight club arena, the atmosphere was dark, freezing, and full of dread.
The tall, six-foot man in the black coat stood silently in the center of the room. In front of him, trembling and kneeling on the concrete floor, was the young boy who had chased Jae Ahn earlier that day.
The tall man stepped forward, reached down, and violently grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, lifting him halfway off the ground.
A cold, terrifying voice echoed off the concrete walls of the room.
"They followed you... they reached right here to our base, and you didn't even understand? You didn't even realize you were leading to them straight to us?" The man's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Because of your carelessness, our only source got robbed... our only hope is lost..."
"Heaaaaaaa!" the boy screamed out in terror, tears streaming down his face as he pressed his forehead against the floor, begging for his life. "Please! Give me a chance! I didn't mean to~I didn't know they were following me! Please!"
He tried to give an explanation, babbling frantically, but the tall man showed no pity.
CLACK.
The metallic sound of a gun cocking echoed sharply in the small room.
BANG.
A single gunshot pierced the air.
The boy slumped forward, lifeless, hitting the floor in a pool of blood. He was gone.
The tall man didn't even look down at the body. He slowly turned his cold, dead eyes toward the remaining henchmen standing in the shadows of the room.
"Listen to me," the man said, his voice sending shivers down everyone's spine. "No matter what you have to do... bring her to me. And bring that memory-chip back to me, too."
He stepped over the body, walking closer to them with a menacing glare. "If you fail... you all know very well what is going to happen to you."
He pointed toward the exit.
"Now... just gettttt losttttttt!"