So-hee's POV
"Min-ho, my love... I thought I'd lost you. I thought that woman had hidden you away forever."
I keep my voice at a delicate, shimmering tremble, burying my face into the crook of his neck. He smells of antiseptic and trauma, but underneath it is that familiar, expensive sandalwood scent that used to belong to me. I can feel his heart racing against my chest—a frantic, staccato rhythm that tells me everything I need to know.
He's mine again. The five years he spent with her have been scrubbed clean, like ink washed away by a lucky storm.
"So-hee," Min-ho breathes, his hand—warm and solid—resting on my waist. He's shaking. "You're real. You're actually here."
"I never left you, Min-ho. Not in my heart." I pull back just enough to look into his eyes, making sure my lashes are wet with the perfect amount of tears. "They told me you were married. They told me you didn't want to see me. I've been living in a nightmare, watching from the sidelines while she... while she took my place."
I cast a brief, icy glance toward the woman standing by the window. Lee Hana. She looks pathetic—blood-stained, haggard, and clutching a water carafe like a common thug.
"She says she's my wife," Min-ho mutters, his gaze hardening as it shifts to her. "She says we've been together for years."
"She's a liar, Min-ho!" Hana's voice cracks, raw and desperate. She takes a step forward, and I instinctively flinch, shrinking into Min-ho's side. "So-hee, tell him the truth! Tell him you left for New York in 2021 and never looked back! Tell him your father is the one who—"
"Stop it!" Min-ho roars. The sound vibrates through my own body, and I feel a thrill of dark satisfaction. "Can't you see she's terrified of you? Get back!"
"I'm not the one he should be afraid of," Hana whispers, her eyes burning with a localized fire. She looks at me, and for a second, I see the elite bodyguard she used to be. She isn't looking at my face; she's scanning me for a weapon. "What are you doing here, So-hee? Why now?"
"I'm here for the man I love," I say, my voice steady and sweet. "The man you've been manipulating while he was vulnerable. Min-ho, she's been using her position to keep me away. She told everyone I was a 'security risk.' She's obsessed with your career, your status... she's turned you into a stranger."
"That's a lie!" Hana screams. She drops the carafe, and it hits the floor with a dull thud. "Min-ho, look at the phone! Look at the photos!"
"Photos can be faked, Hana," I interject softly, stroking Min-ho's hand. "We both know how easy it is to digitalize a life that never existed. My father told me about the 'special task force' she was part of. She's an expert in deep-fakes and psychological warfare. She probably drugged you into that marriage."
Min-ho's grip on my hand tightens until it almost hurts. He's looking at Hana now with pure, unadulterated suspicion. The "Cold Blade" is out, and it's pointed straight at her heart.
"Is that true?" Min-ho asks, his voice dropping into that terrifying courtroom register. "Were you part of a black-ops security team?"
Hana hesitates. Just a second. But in Min-ho's world, a second is a confession. "I... I was a Protection Officer, yes. But I left that life for you! I did it to keep you safe from people like her!"
"Safe?" I let out a soft, bitter laugh. "You were at the pier, weren't you? The police report says you were found standing over him, covered in blood. My father says you were trying to steal a briefcase—something called the Red File?"
"Your father is a murderer!" Hana lunges.
She's fast, even with her arm in a sling, but I'm ready. I let out a sharp, genuine shriek and hide my face in Min-ho's shoulder.
"Get out!" Min-ho screams, his good arm swinging out to shield me. "Security! Get this woman out of my sight!"
The door bursts open. Ji-hoon and two hospital guards rush in. They see Hana standing over the bed, her face contorted in rage, and me, the fragile socialite, trembling in the hero's arms.
"Hana, stop!" Ji-hoon grabs her good arm, pinning it behind her back. "You're making it worse! Come with me, now."
"He's in danger, Ji-hoon! She's the one who leaked his location!" Hana is struggling, her heels skidding on the linoleum. As they drag her toward the door, her foot catches on the metal frame of the bed. She stumbles, her gaze dropping to the floor for a split second.
I see it. The way her eyes widen. The way she looks at the underside of the bedframe.
She saw the bug. My heart skips a beat, but I keep my expression one of pure, tearful terror. It doesn't matter, Lee Hana. He won't believe a word you say.
"Min-ho!" Hana yells one last time as the heavy door begins to close. "Check the bed! Look under the—"
The door slams shut. Silence descends on the room, thick and suffocating.
Min-ho exhales a long, shaky breath, his head dropping onto my shoulder. "She's insane. She's truly, dangerously insane."
"I know, darling," I whisper, my fingers tracing the back of his neck, right where the bandage meets his skin. "But she can't hurt you now. I've spoken to the hospital board. I'm taking over your care. I've already arranged for a private discharge tomorrow morning."
"Discharge?" He looks up, confused. "The doctor said I need a week of observation."
"The hospital is compromised, Min-ho. If she can get in here, anyone can. My father has a secure wing at our estate, or we can go back to your penthouse... if you're comfortable."
"I want to go home," he says, his voice small. "I want to be somewhere that doesn't smell like bleach and lies. But... is she there? The dog, the clothes... the things she claimed were ours?"
"I'll have my team clear it all out tonight," I promise, my heart singing. "By the time you walk through those doors, there won't be a single trace of Lee Hana left. It will be just like it was in 2021. Just us."
Min-ho looks at me, and for a second, a flicker of doubt crosses his face. He looks at his phone, still lying on the bed—the one with the photo of the beach in Jeju.
"She knew the code, So-hee," he mutters. "The wedding date. How did she know that if it wasn't real?"
"She's a professional infiltrator, Min-ho," I say, leaning in close until our noses are touching. I can see the flecks of gold in his irises—the eyes I'm going to make sure never look at another woman again. "She's been studying you for years. She probably guessed it based on your mother's birthday or some other logic. She's a parasite. She fed on your life until she believed it was hers."
He nods slowly, his eyes glazed with exhaustion and the lingering effects of the concussion. "You're right. It's the only thing that makes sense."
I smile, a slow, predatory curve of my lips that he can't see because I'm kissing his forehead.
"I'm going to go talk to the nurses about the paperwork," I say, standing up. "I'll be right back. I brought you some real tea—the Oolong you like from the shop near the office."
"Thank you, So-hee. I... I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come."
I walk out of the room, my heels clicking a triumphant rhythm on the floor. I stop at the nursing station, flashing a charming smile at the young woman behind the desk.
"Is the flower delivery for Room 402 ready?" I ask.
"Yes, Miss Park. They're right here." She hands me a massive arrangement of lilies.
I take them, but as I turn away, I reach into my purse and pull out my own phone. I open an encrypted app. A series of audio waves pulse on the screen—the live feed from the bug I placed under Min-ho's bed while I was "sobbing" in his lap.
I press the earpiece into my ear.
"Ji-hoon, you have to listen to me," Hana's voice crackles, muffled but clear. She's in the hallway, or maybe the elevator. "The phone thumbprint was rejected because she swapped the sensor during the chaos at the pier. It's not his phone. It's a clone. She's building a cage around him, and he's walking right into it."
I stop in my tracks, my grip tightening on the lilies until a stem snaps.
She knows. The little bodyguard is smarter than I thought.
I scroll through the recent recordings. I need to know if Min-ho said anything while I was out of the room—anything about the Red File, or where he might have hidden the real ledger.
I hit play on the recording from five minutes ago.
"Min-ho... I'm so sorry," I hear my own voice, followed by the sound of ruffling sheets.
Then, a whisper. So low the microphone barely caught it.
"The lighthouse... 03-30... find the light."
Min-ho's voice. He was talking in his sleep. Or maybe he was talking to himself.
The lighthouse? 03-30?
My heart hammers. That's it. That's the location of the file. But what lighthouse? And what does the date have to do with it?
I look back at the closed door of Room 402. My "perfect" husband is sitting in there, a man with a shattered mind and a secret that could destroy my entire family.
I need to get him out of here before Hana convinces Ji-hoon to bring in a forensics team. I need to get him to the penthouse, where I can strip him of his defenses and find that file.
I walk back toward the door, but a thought stops me.
Why did Min-ho say the date 03-30? He thinks it's 2021. He shouldn't know our "anniversary" date.
Unless...
I lean against the wall, a cold realization washing over me.
If his mind is truly wiped, why is his subconscious still reciting the numbers of a life he claims is a lie?