Vol 4 Ch 8

I was trapped alone in a house. Though I wasn’t entirely free to leave, this confinement was different. If before, imprisonment had been the goal itself, now, it was meant to keep me hidden from others’ eyes.

I lived as if I had lost all desire—appetite, sleep. I neither ate nor slept. I merely stared blankly into space. It felt like the wind passed straight through my ribs, slipping between the bones.

Even when I went back and forth to the hospital, I constantly scanned my surroundings. But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find the person I was searching for.

Not the next day. Not the day after that. His absence stretched longer than I had expected.

During that time, the detectives visited my hospital room a few more times. They kept asking the same questions before leaving again. Just as CEO Jang had said, my alibi was too solid—I was cleared of suspicion far too easily.

As a detective closed his notebook, preparing to leave, I wanted to ask. Jang Ki-joo, where is he now?

But I bit my tongue. One careless question could ruin everything. In the end, I merely opened and closed my mouth like a fish before returning to my empty house.

Unlike CEO Jang’s home, which showed no signs of everyday life, this new place was only occasionally visited by staff. Among them, the highest-ranking staff member checked in on me daily, ensuring I ate. I only recently learned his name—Kim Joongdeok. He was eight years older than me.

As I slumped in the back seat of the car on the way to the hospital, I caught him glancing at me through the rearview mirror. When I slowly lifted my head to face forward, he cleared his throat awkwardly and started talking. As if he wanted to distract me, even for a moment.

When Kim Joongdeok entered the kitchen and found the untouched food, he sighed deeply.

“Didn’t eat again, huh?”

He clicked his tongue, scratching the short hair at the back of his head.

“How am I supposed to report this now?”

As he stood there, troubled, I bit my lip hard before finally gathering the courage to speak.

“…CEO Jang, is he—?”

“Of course, he’s doing fine.”

With the same face that had once handed me CEO Jang’s business card and assured me the company was reputable, he continued.

“He’s drinking a lot, smoking like a chimney—same as before.”

But it wasn’t hard to tell he was lying.

Knowing full well that I was overstepping, I murmured.

“Then… can I at least call—”

“Ah, a call.”

As if reading from a script, he repeated my words.

“That would be a bit difficult.”

“…….”

If he was truly doing fine, then why couldn’t he even make a phone call? I lowered my gaze, speechless. A moment later, his voice reached me.

“You know what they say—no news is good news.”

“…….”

“So at least try to eat something.”

With a physique and voice more suited for intimidation, he tried to coax me. I felt guilty that someone so busy had to visit just to make sure I ate.

I clasped my hands together and lowered my head.

“…Thank you.”

Then, I dragged myself back to my room. I spent most of my time sprawled on the bed like a lifeless doll. Even when they brought me meals, placing them in my room like prison rations, I ignored them.

With each passing day without news of CEO Jang, I felt like I was going insane.

…Was it because of my uncle’s death?

The nightmares that had been visiting me less and less frequently grew even more intense after I came to this house. I had only dozed off for a moment before jerking awake with a gasp. In the darkness, I saw hallucinations. This time, there were two blood-soaked bodies. The horrifying sight made me instinctively back away on my hands and heels until I pressed up against the headboard. I shrank back as far as I could, taking short, quick breaths.

“…Haa… haah…”

Feeling something tapping against my wrist, I instinctively clutched my watch. The second hand was ticking as usual. Since the man had left, the hour hand had already gone nearly a hundred rounds in this place. I had felt every single hour, every minute, every second.

Tick-tock. Time continued to pass, indifferent to me. If this were any other moment, CEO Jang would have already been here, brushing his fingers against my cheek with that impassive face of his. His gaze and words were sharp, but strangely, his embrace had always been warm.

“……”

Tick-tock. As time dragged on, his absence pressed against my ribs with suffocating weight. I had woken from a nightmare, but the silence that followed was even more chilling. Trapped in the dense darkness, I kept sinking deeper and deeper.

***

The days of not eating or sleeping continued to pile up. Kim Joongdeok, who had been bringing me meals, had now resorted to pleading. He begged me to eat, saying that if I didn’t, he would be the one to get in trouble. None of it registered. I simply curled up with my knees pressed to my chest.

“……”

I was staring blankly into space when I suddenly heard the sound of the door lock disengaging. My head snapped up, and I got to my feet. But the moment I saw who it was, disappointment washed over me. It was just Kim Joongdeok again. The man, broad as a house, asked me to hold the door for a moment. I walked over and grasped the doorknob as he carried something inside.

“I snuck this out at dawn.”

…It was that damn bookshelf.

After setting it up beside my bed, Kim Joongdeok let out a deep sigh before leaving. Of all things, why had he brought a bookshelf?

…Had the man told him that I used to pass the time by reading?

Only then did I look at it properly—something I had ignored out of sheer bitterness. My fingertips brushed against one of the many books filling the shelves, carefully tracing along its spine.

“……”

The once-ownerless bookshelf had already gathered dust. As I slowly swept my hands over the books, my fingers curled inward. I lingered there for a long time, unable to step away. The evening sun, creeping in through the window, scattered golden light across the shelf.

Just like turning the pages of a book, the days passed one by one. My dry, brittle days continued, as if I were living on parched sheets of paper. The detectives no longer came looking for me.

And still, there was no word of the man. That alone was enough to drive me insane. The anxiety was unbearable. Every day, I fixated on the news, but nowhere did they mention the two bodies that had been found in the mountains.

So many incidents happened in this world every day. A case like that was all too easily forgotten.

I was sitting in my room, absentmindedly touching the bookshelf when—

“Seo Yeowon.”

Kim Joongdeok’s voice called from outside the door. Was it mealtime again? I was about to ignore him when he delivered unexpected news.

“Your mother has woken up.”

I left for the hospital immediately.

…Mom woke up?

I couldn’t believe it without seeing it with my own eyes. I barely grabbed my coat before rushing out the door.

The hospital room was open. Inside, doctors and nurses were gathered around the bed. Even the doctor who had once told me not to get my hopes up was now smiling.

I pushed through them and stepped close to the bed.

“…Mom.”

She was still hooked up to the ventilator. But there she was—her eyelids half-open as if in disbelief.

Her gaze, though hazy, was unmistakably directed at me. My vision blurred with tears. My throat tightened, and my eyes burned. I wanted to hold her hand, but I hesitated. Instead, Mom weakly raised her arm first, stretching her fingers toward me.

I grasped her hand—no longer bearing even a trace of scars—and pressed it to my face.

“…Mom.”

I buried my face in her palm, letting my silent tears fall. Her frail, branch-thin fingers gently wiped the wetness from my cheeks.

***

Mom’s recovery was slow. She spent 18 hours a day in bed, only getting up briefly to eat or get some fresh air. Walking was still difficult, so at best, she took a few steps before settling back into her wheelchair.

After lunch, I wheeled her outside.

Winter had long since passed. The world had already been wrapped in the full bloom of spring. I had been so lost in my own mind that I hadn’t noticed the warmth creeping up to my feet.

Still, the wind was a little chilly. I carefully fastened the buttons on Mom’s coat before pushing her wheelchair.

We took a slow stroll around the hospital. There were other patients and visitors enjoying the soft spring air. Then, Mom reached out to me. Her throat, unused for so long, trembled as she spoke.

“Are you still going to school?”

Spring.

She must have remembered that a new semester began around this time.

I paused for a moment before kneeling to meet her gaze.

“Yes.”

Her once-full cheeks had hollowed out over time. Her thin lips were cracked and pale.

Yet, the smile on her face was as bright as ever.

I smiled too and nodded.

“You must be graduating soon.”

Mom reached up, brushing my cheek with a delicate touch.

“I need to get better quickly… The hospital bills must be piling up.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Some kind people helped us.”

She sighed in relief. Even now, she was still worrying about money. I stroked the back of her hand.

We continued our walk, taking in the breeze. We talked about how nice the weather was and how the flowers were blooming.

Not once did we mention anything painful.

Before she woke up, I had worried—how would I explain everything?

Would she hate me? Would she be shocked?

But she never asked about my father or uncle, who hadn’t come to see her.

We filled our conversations with only happy things.

As if time were running out.