Hope for Salvation - Chapter 4

Beep-beep, a steady signal sounded in the ears.

The fingers, unresponsive, felt a heavy sensation, as if pressed by an object, and the wrist, now paralyzed, occasionally throbbed with a sharp pain.

Forcing the heavy eyelids to lift, the unfocused vision swayed aimlessly.

At that moment, the nurse, bustling with IV fluids, widened her eyes like a rabbit.

“Oh dear, patient? Are you awake?”

The nurse immediately pressed a button, and a doctor came in, waving a penlight in front of the patient’s pupils.

“…Ms. Yoon, do you… understand where you are?”

The doctor’s words didn’t register properly. It was difficult to respond, but there were many questions he wanted to ask.

It was strange. Her mind felt empty as if her brain had disappeared.

There was truly nothing there.

“Do you… know where you are?”

Seo-yoon, barely managing to part her dry lips, murmured in response to the repeated question.

“What’s….your name?”

A raspy sound echoed from her parched throat. Her voice felt like it didn’t belong to her anymore.

The doctor, taken aback by the dumbfounded question, swallowed the name he had just called moments ago and remained silent.

With a subtle hint of concern in his face, the doctor leaned forward, lowering his upper body closer.

“Patient, what’s your name?”

Hey, I asked that.

“Do you remember your age?”

Seo-yoon, her head throbbing with a dull ache, furrowed her brow deeply and shook her head.

“Why did the accident happen?”

Ah, so the reason for coming to the hospital was an accident.

She wonder what kind of accident it was that left her in this daze.

Did she fall from a high place or something?

“Who was involved in the accident?”

As Seo-yoon shook her head again, the doctor took a few steps back.

“Let her rest for now.”

The doctor, completely turned away from Seo-yoon, instructed the nurse standing nearby and then pulled out his phone before swiftly leaving the room.

When Seo-yoon opened her eyes for the second time, she had completely forgotten this brief conversation.

And her name was no longer Han Seo-yoon.

The tragedy of the Seowon Group, the cruel saga of the Seowon family.

People couldn’t stop talking about it.

And they weren’t wrong. The accident that day was indeed a horrific tragedy.

Just before dawn, in the pitch-black darkness, a sedan suddenly appeared and sped at an incredible speed, hitting and vanishing with the lovers who were crossing the pedestrian crossing.

Seo-yoon, who first spotted the car and pushed Kang-hyun away, was transferred to the hospital but died in the intensive care unit, while Kang-hyun, who wasn’t hit head-on, sustained serious injuries.

Tae kang-hyun, the eldest son of Seowon Group’s Chairman Tae seok-jung, remained unconscious for ten days, and Chairman Tae seok-jung, known for valuing him as dearly as his own life, couldn’t overcome the shock and collapsed, grappling with the tragedy.

With no clear succession plan in place, and with the loss of its owner, Seowon’s stock plummeted daily to unprecedented lows.

“What is the status of Executive Director Tae Kang-hyun?”

“Has Chairman Tae seok-jung regained consciousness? Isn’t his life in danger?”

Since news of the accident spread, the entrance of the Seowon Hospital has been swarmed by journalists seeking updates, causing chaos.

A man with a transparent press pass stretched his arm out and placed a hefty microphone near Tae seok-gyu’s mouth.

“Who was the woman with Executive Tae kang-hyun at the time of the accident? There are rumors that she was his hidden lover. Is that true?”

“The police still haven’t found the perpetrator. What are your thoughts on this?!”

“President Tae seok-gyu, please say a few words!”

Why are they shouting like it’s good news.

Tae seok-gyu, who had remained expressionless despite sending both his nephew and his brother to the hospital, now grimaced.

Surrounded by guards as he pushed through the entrance, Tae seok-gyu mentally noted the affiliations of the reporters who had rushed at him like a swarm of bees.

He was determined to cut off advertising immediately once he returned to the company.

“Kang-hyun.”

“He’s at the funeral home.”

“Father is still grappling with the tragedy because of me, unable to regain his composure.”

“The two of you have been together for a long time. It won’t be easy to get over it.”

Tae seok-gyu, the chairman, couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of his mouth as he clicked his tongue.

His brother Tae seok-jung had entrusted Seo-yoon to break up with Kang-hyun.

No matter what humiliation he faced, Seo-yoon had stubbornly stuck by Kang-hyun’s side, and the result was ultimately parting.

He didn’t consider it a bad ending.

The living would continue to live, and time would resolve everything.

Especially for him, it was a very favorable situation to swallow up the entire group.

His nephew, Tae kang-hyun, had never been expressive since childhood. He neither laughed nor cried; he was simply emotionless.

Some experts attributed his excessive lack of emotion and moral deficiency to psychopathic tendencies, while others blamed it on his family environment and emotional issues, and some attributed it to unknown brain problems.

After consulting experts in various fields, Chairman Tae seok decided to gift his only son with a lovely younger sister.

Although they didn’t formally adopt her, they brought her from the orphanage under the guise of sponsorship and placed her with Kang-hyun.

He hoped his son would learn human emotions.

No one knew it would turn into love.

***

The funeral home was quiet and chilly. There were no mourners in the expensive private room, making it appear desolate.

Kang-hyun sat holding a bright portrait of Seo-yoon, his face expressionless.

He didn’t look particularly sad, but his sunken eyes were red. It was due to the burst blood vessels from sleepless nights.

Aside from the time when he had no sense of self, he had no memory of ever crying.

Maybe that’s why he can’t cry, or was it because he couldn’t feel it at all.

“Seo-yoon.”

If there was time to push me away, you should have avoided your body.

“Why.”

Seo-yoon was alone. He had made it that way.

Under the guise of a sponsor, he had isolated her world so that only he existed in it.

“Why.”

Tae kang-hyun’s beloved doll. Someone had referred to Seo-yoon with those words.

And at the moment of saying goodbye, Seo-yoon had also diminished her own worth to that extent.

“You killed her.”

Kang-hyun woke up and burst into tears mixed with screams as he heard the news of Seo-yoon’s belated funeral.

“You killed her, Taekang-hyun, you killed her!”

“Yeon-ju, calm down.”

Do seok-won, who followed closely behind, grabbed Kang-hyun and stopped him from shaking.

“Cancel the wedding. I’ve told you countless times it’s not what I want, you crazy bastard! Let go, put down the picture! Do you even deserve to hold this?”

“Stop it. Seo-yoon can’t… hear you.”

“Uh, huh… Seo-yoon…”

Yeon-ju, who was trying to remove the portrait from Kang-hyun’s embrace, collapsed in tears.

“She was scared.”

“What?”

“She said no one would cry if she died, because she knew better than anyone else how she was created and what kind of monster she was.”

Yeon-ju’s cries echoed louder throughout the spacious area.

Until the end of the funeral, aside from the host Kang-hyun, there were only two mourners.

Born into a conglomerate family, they considered following the predetermined path as natural.

They didn’t prioritize the significance of marriage, having lived among such people. To them, marriage and love were completely separate matters.

After all, you were the one who would be with me for the rest of my life. Yet, they failed to understand Seo-yoon, who was hurt and in pain.

The tragedy caused by that small crack remained as a devastating memory until their death.

4 years later.

Clack, the middle-aged woman opened the door and shook her daughter, who was sound asleep on the bed.

“Jian, wake up and have breakfast.”

“Mm… Mom, just 10 more minutes.”

“No, you can’t skip breakfast because you’re late. Get up quickly.”

With a gentle smile, Jeong-hye continued to pat her daughter’s bottom like a child.

She felt nothing but tender affection for her illegitimate daughter, who had suddenly disappeared and miraculously returned to life.

Just having her by her side, breathing, was a source of gratitude to God.

“Where’s Jian?”

“She barely opened her eyes, that’s all.”

“Seo Jian, if you don’t come out soon, Dad will eat all the seaweed soup!”

From outside the door, Do-cheol shouted, bringing the soup bowl with a savory smell.

With a chuckle, Jian finally sat up and headed to the dining table with Do-cheol.

“I’ll eat well.”

As Jeong-hye served warm rice and soup, she didn’t forget to top it off with braised beef on the white rice.

Do-cheol also added sweet and savory bulgogi he had cooked with great care.

“Eat a lot, our daughter.”

“Yes.”

Seo-jian, feeling loved, made a heart with her fingers and acted cute as usual.

The genuine couple exchanged warm smiles briefly.

Now they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Despite suffering from amnesia due to a major accident, they had never been happier.

Their daughter, who had grown up under her grandparents’ care due to unavoidable family circumstances, had become even more adorable than before.

They even entertained the naughty thought that it might be better if their daughter never regained her memory.

Seo-jian finished getting ready in front of the full-length mirror.

The reflection in the mirror, Seo Jian, still felt unfamiliar.

When she woke up in the hospital, and even now.

Thousands of puzzle pieces filled her mind, impossible to piece together as nothing seemed to fit.

Seven months in the hospital. Another year in rehabilitation.

Despite receiving love from her devoted parents and spending time with good friends in her daily life, there were moments when she felt empty, as if there was a hole in the middle of her heart.

Perhaps it was because she had forgotten and lost something.

Whenever she asked about her memories before the accident, everyone showed a skeptical attitude.

They all hoped she would just live well from now on and closed their mouths, wishing she wouldn’t dwell on the past.

“Jian, hurry up!”

As she entered the café where she worked part-time, Seon-kyung eagerly waved her hands.

Seon-kyung had bombarded her with calls and messages since the morning, insisting she had something to say, so Seo-jian had left home 20 minutes earlier than usual.

Quietly, Seon-kyung’s temperament was not just urgent.

“I thought there was a fire or something.”

“Just sit down for now.”

Seon-kyung worked at the VIP lounge of Seowon Department Store, not far from where they were.

Spending all day in a space frequented by wealthy people, she often chatted about things like stock market rumors that she overheard.

At most, it seemed to be that kind of talk.

“You said you needed money, so I found you a fantastic job!”

“Listen to me or I’m going to finish you off. You’re 20 minutes early.”

Despite the blunt words, her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Do you remember the sister we met here last time? She’s a VIP customer, and she said you made a good impression. She’s offering to introduce you to a job!”

Sister? Seo-jian nodded, momentarily puzzled.

She remembered the short-haired woman who warmly greeted them when they stopped by for coffee during lunchtime.

She stood out in her memory because she kept glancing in their direction as if she had something to say.

“What kind of job is it? And how much does it pay?”

Money was important right now.

Their parents had closed down the restaurant they ran together to cover medical expenses, as their household finances were already tight.

Jeong-hye helped out at a friend’s side dish shop, and Do-cheol worked tirelessly at a construction site to make ends meet, though they didn’t show any signs of struggle.

They desperately needed a job to help with their living expenses and bank loans, but Seo-jian’s employment history was limited to her previous contract secretary job, and the long gap after the accident made it difficult.

Despite graduating from a vocational college’s secretary program, she didn’t have any certifications. She couldn’t help but wonder what she had been doing with her life all this time.

“Personal secretary to Tae kang-hyun, vice president of Seowon Construction.”

“Tae kang-hyun?”

Tae kang-hyun. Seo-jian murmured the name aloud.

“Yeah, have you heard of him before? He used to be famous.”

“Oh, no, it’s just… the name sounds unique.”

“Well, while you were dealing with your amnesia, all the related articles disappeared.”

“Who is he?”

Seo-jian subtly rubbed her chest.

Did she eat breakfast too quickly?

Feeling a tightness in her chest, Seo-jian drank the iced water in front of Seon-kyung.

She felt oddly stiffed up inside.