* * *

When Baek Jingyeom underwent surgery as a child, it wasn’t a transplant but rather a valve replacement.

Moreover, in all the resurfacing memories, Jinwoo’s presence was nowhere to be found.

He had never heard of any relatives before, but that could simply be due to his lack of knowledge. To be certain, it would be best to ask Jinwoo directly.

Jingyeom still clutched his heavy heart as if tearing it apart.

The scene of his grandfather lying down and the portrait he saw at the end continually weighed on him.

But even that emotion quickly subsided.

Was it because of the comfort this space provided, or because he still couldn’t fully accept those memories? He didn’t know.

‘Does regaining my memories mean I’m going back to where I used to belong?’

If he had lived his whole life without remembering, it would have been different, but the fact that his memories were returning little by little felt like a sign that it was time for him to go back.

‘Is it telling me not to get attached to this place…?’

That was how it felt.

Soon, the real Baek Jingyeom would return, and he would go back to where he originally belonged, with his memories being returned bit by bit.

‘…But when am I supposed to wake up?’

Previously, he would wake up once his memories ended, but now he just felt like he was drifting in the dark.

While it was comfortable, staying here like this made him uneasy, as if he might never wake up again.

Just when he thought he might be trapped here forever, Jingyeom’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

“Haah, haah…”

His breathing was heavy, as if he had been sprinting at full speed, and he felt winded.

It seemed like he had just blinked, but quite some time had passed.

A day had gone by since he had collapsed, and he heard that his fever had spiked to 39 degrees. Jingyeom let out a bitter smile.

It seemed that his memories only returned when he was sick.

Once he was able to move, Jingyeom asked the staff to borrow a phone charger.

However, everyone claimed they didn’t have one.

That statement confirmed his suspicions.

‘I thought it might be the case, but they really are confining me!’

But the others overlooked one thing.

Game console chargers use the same port as phone chargers.

Though the voltage difference could put stress on the phone, now wasn’t the time to worry about such details.

After charging his phone, Jingyeom began looking for an opportunity to get out.

---

Jinwoo debated whether going was the right decision up until two days before his scheduled departure.

He even considered asking Soohyuk again to go somewhere else instead.

However, when he received news that Jingyeom had collapsed, he abandoned those thoughts.

The only reason he hesitated to go was because he was concerned about Jingyeom’s well-being.

But if Jingyeom had already collapsed twice there, what was the point?

He just wanted to run to Jingyeom’s side.

While he was organizing things in a rush to wrap up his tasks before leaving, the receptionist contacted him, saying his father had come to see him in the lobby.

Ignoring his calls must have pushed him to show up at his workplace.

‘How did he even find this place?’

Jinwoo had never informed Baek Myungjun about where he worked, precisely to prevent him from pulling stunts like this.

‘Did Gyeom tell him?’

It was entirely possible, considering he had contacted his father before losing his memories.

Jinwoo quickly sought Secretary Yang’s permission and hurried down to the lobby.

If his father waited quietly, it would be fine, but if he caused even a minor commotion, rumors would inevitably spread throughout the company.

Even if Jinwoo could just ignore any gossip, it could affect his superior, Wonbeom’s reputation.

He had to be cautious, especially at times like this.

When Jinwoo spotted Baek Myungjun leaning against the reception desk, he quickened his pace.

“Son!”

“….”

Unlike Baek Myungjun, who greeted him with a bright smile and a wave, Jinwoo’s face remained cold.

“Let’s talk outside.”

“There’s a café right over there.”

“I said, let’s talk outside.”

Baek Myungjun pursed his lips mockingly at Jinwoo’s firm words and followed him outside.

Once they had entered a secluded spot between buildings some distance from the company, Jinwoo turned to face his father and let out a deep sigh.

It wasn’t the first time his father had shown up at his workplace like this, so he wasn’t surprised.

He was just in a worse mood because of the bad timing.

Seeing that his father still maintained the same shameless attitude, Jinwoo felt his breath catch in his throat.

He took a deep breath and slowly brushed his hair back with one hand.

“How did you find out where I work?”

“What, did you think I wouldn’t know where my son works?”

“Hah… What’s the reason you came?”

“Why else? I’m worried because I can’t reach Jingyeom.”

“Jingyeom’s phone is broken.”

Baek Myungjun looked at Jinwoo incredulously, as if asking if that was the best excuse he could come up with.

“You earn plenty. Why don’t you just buy him a new one?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Sure, you will. But I don’t care about the phone. Where is Jingyeom right now?”

Typically, when Baek Myungjun sought out Jinwoo, it was always for one reason.

From the beginning until now, his objective had never changed.

Money.

Even when he called or visited to ask for money, he never even asked out of courtesy if Jinwoo was doing well.

He only inquired about Jingyeom’s well-being on rare occasions.

That’s why this situation felt so unfamiliar.

Jinwoo had heard stories from Secretary Yang, which made it even more suspicious.

The fact that Myungjun had been in contact with Jeong Sangho wasn’t surprising, but meeting Director Gwak’s secretary was a bit unexpected.

If he was really trying to sway Jingyeom…

‘Even if he does that to me, he wouldn’t try it with Gyeom… would he? Surely not.’

Seeing Jinwoo remain silent and just stare at him, Myungjun’s expression turned sour.

“Where have you hidden Jingyeom?”

“Hidden? He’s resting at a nice place. If you have something to say, say it to me.”

“I have no business with you. Just tell me where Jingyeom is.”

“Why do you want to know?”

Myungjun gave Jinwoo a look that seemed to say, ‘Are you serious?’ Jinwoo’s attitude had clearly changed.

At some point, he had started drawing boundaries and wouldn’t even answer calls properly anymore.

He used to begrudgingly answer for fear of Myungjun contacting Jingyeom, but that had changed.

The transformation was clear and it irked him.

“Is it strange for a father to ask where his child is?”

“…”

“I’m Jingyeom’s father. His only family.”

“I’m his family, not you. I’m his only family now.”

In the past, Jinwoo would have bowed his head and said nothing when Myungjun invoked their blood ties.

‘Family’ was the biggest trigger for Jinwoo.

But he hadn’t forgotten when Jingyeom said he wanted to live without their father.

Even if Jingyeom’s memories returned, Jinwoo intended to make sure there was no turning back.

He thought this was the right time to sever ties completely with their father, as it might be his last chance to settle things properly.

Baek Myungjun felt utterly disgusted seeing Jinwoo, who had always shrunk before him, now holding his head high and looking down at him.

“Ha, Jinwoo. You shouldn’t treat me like this. Do you know how I raised you?”

Jinwoo’s face turned grim as Myungjun spoke with a frown.

Jinwoo was always met with the same reproach whenever he did or said anything that contradicted Baek Myeongjun, as if it were Baek’s most powerful weapon.

And Jinwoo, like a puppet without a will of his own, had no choice but to helplessly comply.

The moment Jinwoo’s eyes trembled and lowered to the ground, Baek Myeongjun snorted, as if he expected it.

“With what little we had, we still chose to take you in rather than send you to an orphanage. And what did you do? You made him sick by spreading your cold! Huh? Wasn’t that when our family started to fall apart?”

“…”

“If it weren’t for that, do you think we’d be living like this? Why did Jingyeom’s mother leave? Because she hated being poor! And you’re the one who caused it. Am I wrong?”

Baek Jingyeom was born with a congenital heart defect, something that was discovered later on.

When the attending doctor suggested that it was best to operate as soon as possible, the surgery date was set immediately.

Although the operation was planned, Jingyeom caught a cold, which weakened his body, and the timing had to be moved up.

But Jinwoo, who grew up hearing that everything was his fault—Jingyeom’s illness, and the family’s misfortune—could only hang his head low.

Whenever Baek Myeongjun scolded him, Jinwoo felt like a criminal, believing Jingyeom’s sickness was entirely his fault.

Baek Myeongjun didn’t stop there and continued to hurl cruel words.

“You know how hard I tried to raise you as if you were my own, don’t you? I even changed your birthday and redid the family registry to make sure you wouldn’t find out you were adopted when you got older. Do you think that was easy? Absolutely not. It was a complicated process!”

However, contrary to Baek Myeongjun’s claims, Jinwoo wasn’t registered in the family register right after birth, since his birth had not been officially recorded at the hospital.

While the hospital had documentation of his biological parents and the exact date and time he was born, Baek Myeongjun never shared that part with him.

Unaware of this truth, Jinwoo wholeheartedly believed Baek Myeongjun’s words.

Although Myeongjun used to show more care for Baek Jingyeom, it was, in retrospect, nothing more than the slight preferential treatment one might expect towards the eldest child or an older brother.

But once Jingyeom became ill, the degree of favoritism turned into stark discrimination.

Jinwoo grew up being told repeatedly that he should always think of his brother first, care for him, cherish him, and keep a constant watch over him.

And not long after, his mother left home.

From that point on, Baek Myeongjun discarded his facade of being a kind father and turned violent.

He stripped Jinwoo of every bit of freedom he had.

Back then, and even now, Baek Myeongjun wanted to take away all of Jinwoo’s autonomy.

* * *