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Chapter 38
Thud.
As he turned the corner and stepped into the departure hall, Yoonjae suddenly came to a halt.
Amidst the crowd of people brushing quickly past him, he glanced back over the path he had just walked.
It was because of the strong sense of unfamiliarity welling up inside him.
[Have a safe trip.]
Such an ordinary phrase—so meaningless on its own—prodded the blunt edges of Yoonjae’s emotions.
A handful of plain, everyday life dropped into his time that was never ordinary.
It melted quietly, unnoticed, until it made him hesitate and nearly turn back.
“……”
There was something he hadn’t said.
Something he had never once said, yet today, those unspoken words clung stubbornly to the corner of his lips, refusing to fade away.
But by then, he had already crossed the entrance of the departure hall and stepped inside.
He withdrew the glance he had tossed behind him and began moving again. The moment his lifted foot touched the floor—
“Someone’s collapsed over here!”
The shout from not far away sent a chill racing down his spine.
The sudden commotion reached his ears: the murmurs of people stopping as he had and gathering around.
“Did she faint?”
“Looks like it. What happened?”
“Guess she just suddenly collapsed.”
The gazes all directed outward toward the entrance told him what he himself had yet to see.
“It’s a woman.”
And Yoonjae’s sharp intuition flared with alarm.
He quickly retraced his steps toward the entrance, following the crowd’s focus, until he finally saw the source of the disturbance.
Through the throng of people gathered at the very spot where he had stood just moments ago, he caught sight of a familiar hem of clothing.
A white hand, limp, between the feet of strangers.
Thud.
His heart plummeted. Yoonjae’s vision spun.
“Medical staff—hurry, right now! Hey, you can’t climb over like that—!”
The shout of an airport employee couldn’t stop him as he vaulted the railing.
“Joo Ae-jung!”
Every nerve in Yoonjae’s body was focused solely on her.
The medical team arrived soon after and quickly examined her collapsed form.
Fortunately, someone nearby had caught her when she fell, so there were no external injuries. Even her breathing seemed steadier than expected.
Outwardly, there was no problem—no immediate treatment was needed.
But since she had not regained consciousness, they decided to move her to the infirmary and observe her further.
Of course, Yoonjae stayed at her bedside.
“……”
He didn’t take his eyes off her—sleeping, still as if lifeless.
He had already missed his flight, and all of his schedule was thrown into chaos, but he stayed there as if even a blink of time would cost him her.
Anxiety. Unease.
With unfamiliar feelings clenched in his hand, he placed it atop the bed where she lay, waiting for her to wake.
Her white face had lost all trace of color, pale as paper. The eyes that often unsettled him were hidden beneath heavy lids. Her motionless body looked so fragile it might shatter at a touch.
Why all of a sudden…?
She had seemed no different right until the end.
She had smiled, been lively, her complexion not bad.
He couldn’t imagine she would collapse without warning. The only explanation he could reach was:
Maybe she wasn’t really better.
Her most fragile moment had been at the charnel house for “Go Woori.”
He had thought the tears she shed there were cathartic, just as Jooho had said. He had thought it was over. But maybe it hadn’t been complete.
But why now?
He couldn’t understand why she’d faint without any trigger, and his expression hardened.
Since finding her collapsed, the unpleasant sensation wouldn’t leave him. Not even when the doctors said she was fine.
“Phew…”
Feeling his heart still throbbing painfully, he sighed and glanced at the ring on her finger.
It was one he’d ordered from Manager Hong without even measuring her size. From the start, it hadn’t fit her.
He remembered the flustered look on her face when it had slipped loose around her finger.
But now—it fit perfectly, as if it had always belonged to her.
“……”
He didn’t need to say it aloud. The ring was proof that she was his.
At some point it had become a shackle, always resting on her finger. Yoonjae, almost without realizing, lifted his hand toward hers.
His hand moved quicker than he’d intended.
And the moment his fingertips brushed the ring—
Twitch.
Her finger moved. Just once, as if ticklish, then again, trembling. Yoonjae immediately straightened up.
“Joo Ae-jung.”
As he called her name, her heavy lids finally began to lift.
Her eyes—darker than usual, unsteady, blinking—met his.
“Are you awake?”
When she made no reply, he spoke again, and her head shifted slightly toward him.
“……”
Her gaze was calm, yet strangely dim, like a soul surfacing from deep unconsciousness.
With her pale face contrasting sharply against her black eyes, the sight sent a chill through him.
She’s… different.
The same, yet not the same.
The uncanny sense of strangeness—he had felt it once before.
He stepped closer, but then instinctively retreated a little, feeling a strange distance. She slowly sat up and stared directly at him.
“……”
Her silent gaze gave no clue to her thoughts.
She didn’t look in pain, didn’t seem weak. She only looked at him—then reached out her hand.
Shhh—
Her fingertips, trembling faintly, moved slowly toward his cheek. The hesitant touch crept closer, closer—
And at the very last moment—
Whip.
Yoonjae turned his head, instinctively dodging her touch.
Startled by his own reflex—faster than thought—his eyes widened slightly.
But he couldn’t bring himself to move closer again.
She only lowered her hand quietly.
Thud.
Her pitiful fingers dropped onto the blanket, and her black eyes drifted closed.
Rustle—
Her body leaned sideways, collapsing, and Yoonjae quickly caught her in his arms.
“Joo—!”
He barely managed to catch her limp body when it began trembling in his embrace.
“Joo Ae-jung?”
She was shaking visibly, even without him touching her, yet she gripped his arms tightly, strong enough to push herself up.
Her eyes quivered violently as she straightened again.
“……”
She still seemed unfocused, yet the strange sense of rejection had vanished entirely.
And just as Yoonjae exhaled in relief, her grip on his arms tightened.
Clench.
Like someone drowning clutching at a rope.
Breathing ragged, lips trembling, she whispered—
“I don’t want to… I’m scared.”
“……”
“I can’t breathe…”
Her pupils quaked dangerously as she pleaded.
“I’m suffocating, please…”
The desperate strength in her hands, the urgency in her voice—
“…Help me.”
It was a longing only she could express, but it pierced straight into him.
Disheveled hair, damp eyes, dry but reddened lips—her desperate plea sank deep inside.
An irresistible yearning.
Yoonjae clasped her trembling hands and answered.
“…Alright.”
Still holding the hand he had once avoided, he leaned closer to her lips, short of breath himself.
Their lips met—not misaligned, but perfectly.
It wasn’t thought out. It wasn’t reasoned. It was only confusion passed on and shared.
“Ah…”
As if breathing life into her, their lips closed softly. Her eyelids fluttered, then shut.
Their mouths parted slightly, and the untouched flesh within brushed and tangled gently.
As if supplying the breath she lacked, Yoonjae pressed closer, deeper.
“Mmh, uhn.”
The soft sound slipped between them—quiet, but enough to stir the instincts of a man.
But this was not the time for his own desire.
The warmth and breath between them steadied her trembling body and soul.
The choking pressure around her throat faded. The frenzied whispers that had tormented her ears went silent.
And in front of her eyes, she saw his closed lids.
The delusions vanished. Only reality wrapped around her.
This… is reality.
Not the terrible past, but the radiant present.
Her breathing calmed, filling her body again. At last, exhausted, she leaned against him.
Holding her completely now, Yoonjae whispered—
“No one can hurt you.”
“……”
“No one.”
The sincerity in his steady, curt voice reached her.
He pulled her tighter into his embrace.
“I won’t let it happen.”
Like a warm fence she had never known in her life.
Her anxieties melted away like snow, and she found herself again.
“…Mm.”
She nodded faintly, like a child. Her breath slowed, growing quiet. And soon, her slack face looked peaceful, as if asleep.
Her cheeks regained color, lips still moist from their kiss.
Click.
At that moment, the medical team entered the room, spotting her in his arms, and rushed forward.
“What happened? Was it a seizure?”
Startled, they hurried closer, but Yoonjae shook his head.
“She’ll be fine now.”
“…Pardon?”
Puzzled, they asked again. Yoonjae muttered, almost to himself—
“This person…”
…It seems the only one not fine, is me.
