Himi slowly lifted her head from the waiting chair.
She looked at the clock hanging on the wall.
It was exactly midnight.
Tick… tock… tick… tock…
The ticking of the hands shattered the heavy silence filling the place.
The doctors had reassured her repeatedly that Minsoo's condition was stable.
But deep inside her, another voice never stopped whispering.
When will he wake up?
Hours had already passed…
She knew only one thing:
Peace would not return to her soul until Minsoo came back to her as he once was.
Inside…
Within the intensive care unit…
Minsoo's body lay motionless.
But somewhere else…
He was running.
Running without stopping.
Water.
Nothing but water.
An endless sea stretching in every direction.
His bare feet barely touched the surface.
He ran…
And ran…
And ran…
Then suddenly slowed.
He looked around in confusion.
Wait…
Where am I?
His breathing was ragged.
He looked up, then down.
Only then did he realize.
Am I… running on water?
He froze.
Something moved beneath his feet.
A hand emerged.
Then another.
Then dozens of hands.
Long fingers.
Twisted nails.
Pale skin like drowned corpses.
They surged up from the depths of the sea.
One of them grabbed his ankle.
His eyes widened.
He tried to pull away.
But the hand yanked him downward with force.
"No…"
He opened his mouth to scream.
But no sound came out.
Only small bubbles escaped, rising to the surface and disappearing.
Then…
Something else appeared.
Far away in the darkness.
Two red eyes.
Glowing within the black water.
They began to approach.
Slowly.
Terrifyingly calm.
Little by little…
The shape became clearer.
Sharp teeth.
Blue feathers.
A long beak.
Then a laugh.
A laugh he knew very well.
"I'm back…"
His blood ran cold.
"Did you miss me?"
It was the blue magpie.
It came closer.
While the hands continued dragging Minsoo toward the depths.
He tried to escape.
Tried to resist.
But his body no longer obeyed him.
The laughter grew louder.
Blending with his muffled screams.
The bird spread its wings.
Then dove at him.
It grabbed his face.
And forced his mouth open.
Minsoo's body convulsed violently.
"No…"
But the bird did not stop.
It pushed its beak inside his mouth.
Then his head.
Then its entire body.
Bit by bit…
It crawled inside him.
Until it disappeared completely.
Suddenly…
Everything stopped.
The water calmed.
The hands vanished.
The screams disappeared.
Absolute silence fell.
A silence so heavy that even the ringing in his ears became audible.
Then…
A voice.
A voice he knew well.
"Now… we are one."
His body trembled.
And at that moment…
A distant light appeared.
Faint.
Like a single star in an endless night.
The light expanded.
Until it turned into a soft white hand.
It reached out from the heart of the darkness.
And grabbed him.
Pulling him upward with force.
The water vanished.
The sea vanished.
The darkness vanished.
In its place came a strange warmth.
A warmth that felt like home.
He heard a laugh.
Soft.
Familiar.
Shapes began forming before him.
A smile.
Eyes.
A face he knew more than anything else.
His eyes widened.
"Himi…"
She smiled.
Then whispered:
"Come back to me…"
"I'm tired of waiting."
He reached out toward her.
Suddenly…
Air rushed into his lungs.
A sharp gasp tore through the silence.
And in the intensive care unit…
Park Minsoo finally opened his eyes.