Chapter 3: The Day Everything Broke

Heat pressed against Haesu’s skin.

It had been twenty minutes since he had closed his eyes after the explosions erupted all around him.

Barely regaining consciousness, Haesu forced his eyes open to the sound of people screaming and sirens from ambulances.

He couldn’t take in everything at once.

One ear rang loudly.

Warm liquid dripped from one side of his head, and it felt as if his skull might split open at any moment.

It might have already been happening.

His hands trembled uncontrollably.

The moment the pain surged through his entire body, he realized Seha’s body was still draped over him.

Terror forced tears out of his eyes.

He wanted to check on Seha, but it felt as if something was holding him down, preventing him from lifting his head.

“Se, Seha…”

He was afraid he might be dead.

Afraid that Kwon Seha might already be gone.

It felt like everything had changed in the brief moment he had closed and opened his eyes.

When there was no response to his call, the fear doubled.

“Seha… ngh… Seha…”

Several wrecked cars were piled up in front of them.

The car directly ahead had stopped suddenly, then burst into flames with an explosion.

The moment Seha saw the fire, he turned the steering wheel sharply to the right.

The car spun wildly before crashing into a wall with a deafening impact.

With their car veering off, the chain collision came to an end.

The shattered windshield.

The side mirror completely gone.

When Haesu finally raised his gaze after taking all of that in—

“Kwon Seha!”

If he could have fainted again, he would have.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Closed eyes.

A crushed chest.

Blood dripping from his head.

Looking at him, it felt like even if he touched his face, it wouldn’t be warm anymore.

His limp body hung heavily, only his left arm remaining stiff as it shielded Haesu.

In that moment, nothing else existed but Seha.

He wanted to unbuckle himself and press his ear against Seha’s chest to hear his heartbeat.

But he didn’t have the strength to even undo the seatbelt.

The helplessness overwhelmed him.

Haesu shut his eyes again.

Even when he tried to open them, his breathing was too strained.

Seha’s last voice echoed like tinnitus.

“Haesu.”

“Haesu. Close your eyes.”

“Haesu!”

He had survived.

Because Kwon Seha had called his name until the very end, he had survived.

Seha.

I’m scared.

I’m so scared that when I open my eyes, you’ll be gone.

The first thing he did when he opened his eyes in the hospital room was ask the date.

Haesu struggled to lift his heavy eyelids.

He barely managed to open them and turned his head, searching for someone.

The moment their eyes met, he grabbed the approaching nurse with a weak hand.

“Mr. Choi Haesu. Can you hear my voice?”

“What day is it, and the person who came with me?”

“You need to lie down first.”

His urgent tone startled the nurse.

As he tried to push himself up, she quickly stopped him in alarm.

But none of that mattered to him.

The nurse, likely there to check on his condition, rushed out of the room after confirming he was conscious.

She told him not to get out of bed, but her words didn’t register.

Before he could even sit up properly, pain shot through his lower abdomen.

If he pushed any further, it felt like something would tear.

Giving up, he lay back down, his eyes filled with anxiety.

Kwon Seha.

The name had not left his mind.

From before he lost consciousness to after he woke up, it remained.

He replayed the accident.

He remembered that he had never confirmed whether Seha was alive.

“Seha… Seha…”

“Haesu!”

As he called the name like a madman in the empty room, a familiar face rushed in.

It was Lee Doyoon.

He looked disheveled.

As soon as he entered, he leaned over to check Haesu’s condition.

After seeing the injuries and bandages, he collapsed into a chair.

“Thank God… Haesu…”

“Doyoon. Where is Seha? What day is it?”

He couldn’t meet Haesu’s shaking eyes.

It almost seemed like he was avoiding them.

Haesu grabbed his sleeve weakly.

“Haesu… Seha… later…”

“Seha.”

“……”

“Why won’t you tell me? That’s all I care about…”

Haesu broke down in tears.

Doyoon pressed his forehead and let out a heavy sigh.

It had been a week since the accident.

Even Haesu, who had regained consciousness, was in poor condition.

Seha’s state was far worse.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it.

He had undergone emergency surgery due to severe brain swelling.

His ribs had pierced his organs.

His heart had stopped once.

Every thought in Doyoon’s mind would destroy Haesu.

So he said nothing.

Haesu’s chin trembled as he asked,

“Where is Seha…?”

He couldn’t ask if he was dead.

Even imagining it felt unbearable.

“He’s in the ICU. Haesu. Calm down.”

“…He hasn’t woken up?”

“……”

“He really… still hasn’t?”

Doyoon’s silence felt like confirmation.

Haesu’s distorted expression showed he already knew.

“Haesu. Close your eyes.”

Seha’s voice echoed again.

Ironically, it cleared his thoughts.

The accident.

Seha unable to open his eyes.

Blood dripping from his head and chest.

The smell of blood.

And now, the ICU.

Everything was terrifying.

A loud ringing filled his ear.

Pain surged from his head to his temples.

He couldn’t breathe.

As he gasped, Doyoon rushed to him.

“Haesu. Calm down. Breathe.”

“Ah…!”

“Haesu!”

His breathing was ragged.

His body trembled violently.

He couldn’t even convulse properly.

The pain came from the fear of losing Seha.

Overwhelmed, he struck his own head repeatedly.

Doyoon grabbed him, shouting something.

Only then did Haesu realize his ear and jaw were vibrating, producing strange sounds.

Doyoon’s voice.

The machines.

The rushing footsteps.

Everything sounded incomplete.

It took half a day for him to stabilize.

Once he could sit up, the first thing he did was not check his condition.

Not his messages.

But to see Seha.

“He’s had his first surgery. They’ll decide on the rest later.”

“……”

“They said it’s a miracle he survived. I won’t lie to you anymore.”

All Haesu could do was stare.

Half of Seha’s face was covered in bandages.

He was on a ventilator.

Even breathing required assistance.

Seeing him like that, tears burst out again.

The fear returned.

At least Doyoon was there to explain.

Without him, Haesu wouldn’t have known anything.

He himself had been unconscious for a week.

If he had woken up alone, he might have wandered the hospital like a madman.

“About the remaining surgeries…”

Doyoon’s voice faded in and out.

Haesu swallowed hard.

He looked at Seha through the glass, then finally forced his feet to move.

He stepped to Doyoon’s other side.

“Haesu?”

He avoided Doyoon’s voice.

He didn’t want to hear it.

It felt like it would push him further down.

“My ear… hurts.”

“……”

“I’m scared. I’m so scared…”

I’m scared, Seha.

It feels like a dream.