CHAPTER 22
Noeul was staring absentmindedly out the window when Chung-Hee entered the quiet hospital room. He walked over and sat in the chair Duri had occupied only moments earlier. “I brought you some tea and a few snacks. Would you like something to eat?”
“Are you all trying to fatten me up?” Noeul asked with a faint smile. “I just had coffee, and Ji-Woo and Duri brought snacks earlier. I don’t think I can eat another bite. Maybe later.” He turned back to Chung-Hee. “How was your day?”
Chung-Hee studied him for a moment before allowing himself a small smile.
Noeul seemed lighter than he had over the past few days.
He was eating again. Talking. “Tiring,” he replied, loosening his tie.
“But productive.” He picked up the cup of tea.
“Did you enjoy spending time with your brother… and your childhood friend?”
“I did.” The answer came almost as a whisper, followed by a quiet yawn.
Outside, the late-afternoon sky had begun to fade into shades of blue, orange, and violet. For a few moments, Noeul watched the sunset paint the city beyond the hospital window. Normally, he would have stayed there much longer. Today, exhaustion pulled at him more strongly.
“You can sleep,” Chung-Hee said, taking his laptop from its case. “I have some work to finish.”
Noeul glanced briefly at the sleek machine in his hands before settling more comfortably onto his side.
Although it was only the second week of November and the weather outside had turned cold, the hospital room was pleasantly warm.
He closed his eyes. Behind him, the quiet rhythm of Chung-Hee’s fingers moving across the keyboard gradually lulled him to sleep.
Suddenly, he was standing on his favorite hiking trail. It should have felt familiar. Safe. Instead, something about it was wrong. The trees swayed gently, though there was no wind. Moonlight spilled across the narrow path, turning everything pale and strangely lifeless.
“Noeul.” The voice came from somewhere ahead. Something about it made his skin prickle. He turned. No one was there. His heartbeat quickened as the stillness pressed in around him. Then the whispers began.
“Who’s there?” he called. His own voice sounded small and fragile. The whispers stopped. For a heartbeat… there was nothing. Then laughter echoed through the forest. One voice, then another, until he could no longer tell where one ended and the next began.
Shapes emerged between the trees. Not faces. Only silhouettes. “You betrayed us.”
Noeul staggered backward. “No… I didn’t.”
The shadows moved closer. Their outlines sharpened, but their faces remained hidden. One of them tilted its head at an unnatural angle. “Do you remember what you did?”
“I don’t…” His voice broke.
The ground disappeared beneath his feet. He fell. Silence swallowed everything. Only the laughter remained, echoing around him. When he hit the ground, the forest was gone. He was lying in the middle of a cemetery.
He tried to stand, but his legs refused to obey.
He reached toward the cemetery gate… Before his fingers could touch it, darkness swallowed him whole.
The same voice whispered beside his ear, close enough for him to feel warm breath against his skin.
“You can’t escape us.” A pause. “You can’t escape your past.”
Noeul jerked awake. His lungs burned as he fought for air.
His shirt clung to his skin, drenched with sweat.
For several long seconds, he couldn’t tell where the nightmare ended and reality began.
The hospital room was dim. Empty. Chung-Hee was gone.
He remained sitting on the bed, trembling uncontrollably.
Was he awake… or had his guilt simply followed him into consciousness?
He bowed his head. “It was just a dream.” The words sounded hollow.
A bitter laugh escaped him. “It never ends… No matter how much time passes… I keep paying for it. Again. And again.” He lowered his head further. “Gong… Haneul… I’m sorry.”
Almost instinctively, his fingers found the chain around his neck and closed around Gong’s ring. The cool metal pressed into his palm. He pulled his knees closer and rested his forehead against them. His thoughts grew louder. His heartbeat louder still.
He couldn’t keep carrying them alone. Not anymore. What if Chung-Hee doesn’t listen? What if he blames me? What if he’s right? He closed his eyes. No. Not this time.
He had to get through this. For Ji-Woo. He had promised himself he would become a better brother. He couldn’t fail him again. For the first time in a long while, Noeul allowed himself to consider another possibility. Maybe… he could let someone help.
A small, uncertain smile touched his lips. “Let’s see if you can hear me.” He pushed himself carefully out of bed.