* * *

Despite Soohyuk’s urging, Jinwoo only cried, unable to speak.

Wonbeom, watching from the sidelines, detached himself from the wall, grabbed Soohyuk’s arm, and pulled him away from Jinwoo.

Soohyuk angrily shook off Wonbeom’s grip and sank into the chair opposite them.

Something must have happened between the two during the blackout.

At dawn, Jingyeom had entered Jinwoo’s room with a bottle of wine and stayed there for some time.

After that, Jinwoo had opened the door and carried out the collapsed Jingyeom.

‘What in the world happened…?’

Unable to contain his anger, Soohyuk slammed his fist into the chair.

The loud sound echoed through the hallway.

Wonbeom let out a low sigh and sat next to Jinwoo.

He was about to cross his legs but then let them fall limply to the floor, resting his head against the wall.

As the three of them maintained their tense silence, Secretary Yang, having finished speaking with the hospital staff, approached.

He held Jingyeom’s phone in his hand.

“I’ve pieced together what happened.”

At those words, both Soohyuk and Wonbeom turned their gazes toward Secretary Yang.

Jinwoo’s head slowly followed suit.

“It looks like Jingyeom had been receiving quite a few messages from Jeong Sangho and Baek Myungjun. They seem to have been trying to contact him for some time… It seems he managed to get through to them during the blackout. There’s a record of the call.”

“…He still hasn’t set a lock on his phone, huh?”

Soohyuk let out a bitter laugh, finding it oddly like Jingyeom.

“From what I can gather from the messages…”

Secretary Yang paused for a moment, glancing at Jinwoo.

Though everyone here knew the truth, it was still a painful reality to put into words.

“It seems Jingyeom found out that Baek Secretary isn’t his real brother.”

Jinwoo, listening in silence, squeezed his eyes shut.

Though that revelation wasn’t the only reason Jingyeom collapsed, he didn’t have the courage to reveal the full truth here and now.

Soohyuk exhaled deeply and asked,

“…Was that really enough of a shock for him to collapse like that?”

“It must have been sudden for Jingyeom. He lost all his memories overnight and had been relying on Secretary Baek until now. To be told out of the blue that they weren’t actually brothers… the shock he must have felt was likely beyond what we can imagine.”

The hallway was quiet. No one dared to speak next.

After a moment, Wonbeom slowly opened his mouth.

“…Detain them.”

“Yes.”

Though he didn’t specify, Secretary Yang knew exactly what he meant.

He immediately stepped out into the hallway to relay the message to Lee Cheongoh.

Detain Jeong Sanho and Baek Myungjun.

---

Jingyeom stayed at the hospital for a while until he was deemed stable enough to be moved, at which point he was transferred to the facility where Hoonil resided.

A week passed.

Then two.

Eventually, a month had gone by, yet there was still no sign of Jingyeom waking up.

Even Hoonil couldn’t say things like, “He’ll wake up soon,” or “He’ll be okay” anymore.

Medically, everything that could be done had been done.

Now, all they could do was hope for a miracle.

Time dragged on relentlessly, driving those waiting to the brink of madness.

While Jingyeom lay unconscious, a lot happened.

Wonbeom successfully assumed the role of the President.

There was considerable public outcry, with many finding it odd for a young man to take over the position, especially since Chairman Tak was still in good health.

People didn’t look kindly on the idea of him stepping down and handing the reins to his grandson.

But that didn’t stop Wonbeom from becoming chairman.

Soohyuk, as a reliable ally, helped Wonbeom take control of the company, putting all his effort into resolving matters quickly despite the distractions.

He wanted to free himself from the company as soon as possible, so he could focus entirely on being by Jingyeom’s side.

Jinwoo quit everything to stay by Jingyeom’s side. Wonbeom made sure he could do that.

Wonbeom had taken over Jinwoo’s loan from the loan sharks, transferring the debt to Lee Cheongoh.

While there was some resistance from the loan sharks, since Jinwoo had been diligently paying off both the interest and principal, Cheongoh’s influence was so significant that they had no choice but to comply.

When Soohyuk asked why Wonbeom didn’t just clear the debt, he replied that he wanted to keep a reason for Jinwoo, and perhaps Jingyeom, to stay close to him.

Thanks to that, Jinwoo could focus solely on Jingyeom, staying in the hospital without any worries.

Meanwhile, Jeong Sanho and Baek Myungjun, the ones who had sparked this entire mess, were barely clinging to life.

---

Soohyuk sat in the chairman’s office, tapping his toes as he listened to Lee Cheongoh’s report.

“How is it possible that none of those bastards are dead yet? Do they have a nice heating system in there or something? It’s amazing they didn’t freeze to death in this weather. Check their palm lines. At this rate, their life lines must reach all the way to their wrists.”

— I’ll look into it.

Soohyuk clicked his tongue as he overheard Cheongoh giving orders to someone else through the speakerphone.

“He doesn’t get jokes.”

Soohyuk shrugged at Wonbeom, who was still reviewing documents without even glancing up from the file.

Wonbeom’s focus remained fixed on the paperwork.

“Him or you, it’s the same. Geez.”

In an empty warehouse, five people were tied up, hands and feet bound.

Jeong Sanho, Baek Myungjun, Choi Sanghoon—the one who had roped Jingyeom into the pyramid scheme—former director Im Gipyo, and the actual head of the scheme were all locked up in one room.

Choi Sanghoon constantly screamed about how he didn’t do anything wrong, but no one was there to listen.

“Wonder when our Jingyeom will wake up… These guys will probably die first at this rate.”

On top of that, Choi Sanghoon’s brother had already filed a missing person report, so it was only a matter of time before the police started investigating.

Choi Sanghoon wasn’t the only one. Im Gipyo should have been in prison, but connections had gotten him out. If things weren’t handled properly, it could become a headache.

The pyramid scheme leader was also under police surveillance, so they had to tread carefully.

But neither of them were concerned. Even if an investigation started, they had no intention of letting the five go free.

The reason they hadn’t ended their lives yet was simple: they wanted them to suffer until Jingyeom woke up. Once he did, they’d deal with them for good.

“Busy with work, Mr. President?”

“…”

“Want to see a picture of Jingyeom?”

Soohyuk grinned and waved his phone.

For the first time, Wonbeom’s eyes lifted from his documents.

Though it seemed like nothing could move him from his seat, at the mention of a photo of Jingyeom, he approached Soohyuk as if entranced.

“I might be crazy, but you’re insane too. Is there anyone here who’s not nuts? The fact that this company still runs is a miracle.”

“Shut up and show me the picture.”

Soohyuk chuckled, unlocking his phone to show the photos of Jingyeom he had taken.

The only thing that had changed since the last picture was his hairstyle.

He’d parted Jingyeom’s hair to the left, then to the right, and sometimes centered it.

Aside from that, Jingyeom still lay there, eyes closed, the same as ever.

“Isn’t he beautiful?”

“…”

“I wanted to keep him all to myself, but I’m showing you so you can breathe a little.”

Since becoming chairman, Wonbeom had been so busy reorganizing the company’s internal structure that he barely had a moment to spare.

He had to work hard to win over those who had originally supported Chairman Tak, because even though Wonbeom held the title of President, to many, Chairman Tak would always be the true leader.

As a result, he rarely had time to visit the hospital. Soohyuk, who had a bit more free time, visited every day.

Though they’d be notified immediately if anything happened to Jingyeom, he still preferred to check in with his own eyes.

Another month passed, and it had now been two months since Jingyeom collapsed.

Finally, the news came that his pale fingers had moved.

And a few days later, Jingyeom’s tightly closed eyes opened.

---

Jingyeom slowly opened his eyes, holding onto all the memories that had returned.

Hazy colors and sharp lines filled his vision—familiar, though still blurry.

‘It’s a hospital.’

He distinctly remembered dying in a hospital, and yet, here he was again, seeing the same thing.

For a moment, he wondered if he was still trapped in a memory.

But he quickly realized that wasn’t the case.

With people bustling around and Jinwoo, his face twisted with worry, constantly calling out to him, he knew he was in the present.

In that moment, a fragment of a memory surfaced, offering a small clue as to why he had been brought here.

Once, after a routine check-up, his doctor had given him a slip of paper.

It was bright yellow, with a large four-leaf clover drawn in the center.

The doctor had said it was for a wishing tree they were setting up at the hospital. Jingyeom hadn’t really believed it would come true, but he’d written something down anyway, just for fun.

He still remembered what he had written.

“I want to be loved.”

The next day, the paper had disappeared.

He assumed someone had taken it.

But as time passed, no wishing tree appeared in the hospital.

When he later asked the doctor about it, the doctor didn’t even remember giving him the paper.

Jingyeom had thought he’d dreamed the whole thing.

But it turned out his wish had come true.

The love of Soohyuk, Wonbeom, and Jinwoo.

‘How is this even possible?’

Even though it was hard to believe, there wasn’t much of an explanation for what had happened.

There wasn’t really a need to search for the reason behind being possessed, but it somehow felt like the wish written on that piece of paper had come true.

‘If I ended up here because of that wish, does that mean I can live here forever? If that’s the case, I’m sure I can live well…’

Jingyeom slowly blinked, signaling that he had woken up.

‘Jinwoo’s crying.’

Seeing Jinwoo holding his hand tightly and crying, Jingyeom subtly lifted the corners of his lips.

It might be hard to see because of the oxygen mask, but Jinwoo, who hadn’t taken his eyes off his face, would notice.

Jingyeom didn’t know how much time had passed since he collapsed, but judging by the situation, Jinwoo must have been really worried, and he wanted to ease his mind, even if just a little.

‘…Just a little longer, and I’ll wake up again, Jinwoo. Let’s see each other then.’

* * *