The monitor changed again.
Everyone froze.
Yerin's fingers tightened around Do-hyun's hand.
Inside the room, the doctor immediately moved closer to Ji-hoon.
A nurse checked the monitor.
Another adjusted something beside the bed.
Yerin's breathing became faster.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
"Do-hyun..."
He looked at her.
"Wait."
"But—"
"Let them work."
Yerin stared through the glass.
Her eyes never left her brother.
The doctors continued working around him.
Seconds passed.
They felt like hours.
Then the doctor finally stepped away from the bed.
He looked toward the monitor once more.
And this time...
His expression was different.
Not relaxed.
But less worried.
He turned toward the door.
Yerin immediately stepped forward.
The door opened.
"Doctor?"
He looked at the family.
"Something changed."
Yerin's heart pounded.
"What?"
"Your brother has shown a small response."
For a moment, nobody understood.
Yerin stared at him.
"A response?"
The doctor nodded.
"It isn't enough to say that he's awake. He's still unconscious."
Yerin's eyes filled with tears.
"But..."
"It's the first positive sign we've seen."
Her hand flew to her mouth.
A sob escaped before she could stop it.
Her mother began crying too.
Her grandmother closed her eyes and whispered a prayer.
Yerin looked at the doctor.
"Is he going to wake up?"
The doctor gave a careful answer.
"We don't know yet."
Her heart sank slightly.
Yerin nodded quickly.
"Can I see him?"
"Briefly."
She didn't wait another second.
Yerin entered the room slowly.
The sound of the machines surrounded her.
She walked toward the bed.
Ji-hoon still hadn't opened his eyes.
But something was different.
There was a small sign that he was fighting.
Yerin pulled a chair beside him.
She sat down.
Her hand carefully wrapped around his.
"Hey."
Her voice shook.
"It's me."
She smiled through her tears.
"You better not be ignoring me."
No response.
She looked down.
"I know you're tired."
Her voice became softer.
"But you can't just leave me to deal with everyone alone."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"You still have to annoy me."
She laughed quietly.
"And I still have to annoy you."
Her fingers tightened around his hand.
"So wake up."
She lowered her head.
"Please."
Outside the room, Do-hyun stood behind the glass.
He watched silently.
For the first time since the hospital incident, there was a little hope in Yerin's expression.
Later, Do-hyun returned to the waiting area.
He noticed Yerin's father standing near the end of the hallway.
Another man stood with him.
They were speaking quietly.
Do-hyun didn't intend to listen.
But then he heard one sentence.
"...they weren't supposed to be there."
He stopped.
The other man lowered his voice.
"I know."
"And if someone finds out—"
"We need to keep this quiet."
Do-hyun's expression hardened.
He stepped back before they noticed him.
A few seconds later, the man left.
Yerin's father remained where he was.
Do-hyun watched him.
Something wasn't right.
Do-hyun walked outside.
He took out his phone.
He opened the message he had received earlier about Ji-hoon's attack.
Then he typed.
What else do you know?
The reply came several minutes later.
The people blamed for the attack weren't supposed to be there.
Do-hyun's jaw tightened.
He typed again.
Then why were they there?
A few seconds passed.
Then:
That's what you should find out.
Do-hyun stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
Someone wanted them to be seen.
His eyes narrowed.
He locked the phone.
So the attack wasn't necessarily what everyone thought.
Someone could have deliberately placed Ji-hoon's supposed rivals there.
But why?
And for what reason?
Yerin eventually came out of Ji-hoon's room.
Her eyes were still red, but there was something different about her.
Hope.
She walked toward Do-hyun.
"He reacted."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"How?"
"The doctor told everyone."
She nodded.
"Oh."
She sat down.
For several seconds, she simply stared at her hands.
Then she whispered,
"I thought I was going to lose him."
Do-hyun sat beside her.
"But you didn't."
"We don't know that yet."
"No."
He looked at her.
"But he's fighting."
Yerin swallowed.
"Yeah."
She leaned back.
Her exhaustion finally caught up with her.
Without thinking, she rested her head against Do-hyun's shoulder.
He went still for a moment.
Then relaxed.
Neither of them mentioned it.
They simply stayed that way.
Later that afternoon, Yerin walked toward the hallway to find her father.
She stopped when she heard voices.
Her grandmother was speaking.
"...we should have known this would happen."
Her father replied quietly.
"We can't change the past."
"The past isn't the problem."
Her grandmother's voice trembled.
"They've started looking again."
Yerin froze.
Looking for what?
She stepped forward.
"Mom?"
The voices stopped.
Her father turned.
"Yerin."
"What were you talking about?"
"Nothing."
She stared at him.
"I heard you."
Her grandmother looked away.
"Dad, what happened to Ji-hoon?"
"We're handling it."
"That's not what I asked."
He remained silent.
Yerin's eyes filled with frustration.
"Everyone keeps telling me to wait."
Her voice shook.
"Wait for the doctors. Wait for Ji-hoon. Wait for answers."
She looked between them.
"But nobody tells me anything."
"Yerin—"
"He's my brother."
Her voice broke.
"I deserve to know why this happened."
Her father looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said quietly,
"Not everything is yours to carry."
Yerin stared at him.
"That's what you always say."
She turned away.
"But I'm tired of being the last person to know."
She walked away.
Her grandmother watched her disappear.
Then quietly said,
"She'll find out eventually."
Her father lowered his gaze.
"I know."
That night, Do-hyun stood alone near the hospital window.
The building across the street was glowing beneath the night sky.
His phone vibrated.
He looked down.
Another unknown number.
He opened the message.
He wasn't the target.
Do-hyun's expression changed.
He stared at the words.
Then another message appeared.
Ask your father why.
His breathing slowed.
His father?
Why would his father know anything about Ji-hoon's attack?
He immediately thought about the strange conversation he'd overheard.
They weren't supposed to be there.
We need to keep this quiet.
Do-hyun looked through the glass toward the waiting area.
Yerin was sitting beside her mother.
She looked exhausted.
But she was still holding onto hope.
Do-hyun looked back at his phone.
For the first time, another possibility entered his mind.
Maybe Ji-hoon's attack wasn't separate from everything else.
Maybe the secrets surrounding their families...
The strange photograph...
The warnings...
The forced marriage...
And now Ji-hoon...
were all connected.
His phone vibrated again.
One final message appeared.
You already know where to start.
Do-hyun stared at the screen.
Then slowly looked toward the hospital room.
His father's secrets had always been difficult to understand.
But now...
he wasn't sure he wanted to know the truth.
...To Be Continued...