Hyun Soo and Kang Ho sat on the living room couch like two statues caught mid-cringe.
They stared up at the ceiling.
Like it was the Mona Lisa.
Like it held the secrets to the universe.
Like they weren't the two spies who totally got caught interrupting a piano cuddle session.
Minah and Jaewook descended the stairs, calm and collected—like they hadn't just been emotionally healing under Beethoven's influence.
Kang Ho coughed, totally fake.
Hyun Soo switched subjects with the desperation of a man dodging death.
> "S-so, uh… sushi for lunch? Anyone? Sashimi? Tuna?"
Jaewook raised an eyebrow.
He said nothing.
Just glanced at them like they were actual wall décor.
Minah stifled a giggle behind her hand and followed Jaewook into the kitchen like a little shadow.
"Want ice cream?" he asked her.
She nodded eagerly, eyes lighting up.
Jaewook pulled out a small tub and two spoons.
On the couch, Hyun Soo blinked.
"Did… did he just ignore us?"
"Are we invisible now?"
Kang Ho nodded solemnly and fake-sipped his completely empty coffee mug.
"We are but dust in the wind."
---
Jaewook and Minah returned to the living room, this time sitting on the far side of the couch—clearly in their own little cozy world.
Minah happily took a bite of ice cream.
Jaewook watched her, like she was the only thing in focus.
"Minah, what do you want to do today?" he asked gently.
Minah pulled out her phone and typed:
"Anything you want."
Jaewook's smile was soft. Real. Full of warmth only she ever got to see.
"Let's go out today. It's cloudy," he said, glancing at the sky outside.
"Perfect weather for you. No sun." She typed.
---
Hyun Soo whispered:
"Okay but like… when did he become a rom-com lead?"
Kang Ho replied:
"We're living in the B-plot now. They're the A-plot."
And they weren't wrong.
-----
The air in the room was light.
Minah took another bite of ice cream. Jaewook looked relaxed, even a little playful.
Kang Ho and Hyun Soo were still side-whispering about sashimi and betrayal.
Then—
DING.
Kang Ho's laptop lit up.
His eyes flicked over casually at first—
Then his expression shifted.
Brows furrowed. Jaw clenched.
"Boss," he said, voice suddenly low.
"You need to see this."
Jaewook turned immediately.
Minah paused, sensing the mood change.
Kang Ho rotated the laptop screen toward them.
"A file just dropped.
Detailed records.
Park Dojin… funding and directing illegal experiments—on children."
Minah's heart started pounding.
Kang Ho's finger hovered over a line of text, face grim.
"And here… Subject 47."
Silence.
Jaewook's jaw tightened.
His relaxed posture vanished, replaced by cold, sharp focus.
"It's her."
Minah froze.
Her hands trembled slightly around the spoon she was holding.
That number.
That number again.
Kang Ho kept going, tone clipped.
"There's video data. Lab reports. Payment trails. It's all in here.
Whoever leaked this—wants Dojin taken down."
Jaewook looked at Minah.
His voice, low and sure:
"We're going to finish this."
Minah looked at him.
Then at the screen.
And finally… nodded.
-----
Minah stepped closer to the laptop, her eyes scanning the screen.
At first, it was blurry—disconnected words and numbers.
But then...
Subject 47.
Procedure: Trauma Erasure
Requested by: Park Dojin.
Relation: Biological father.
It was like a switch flipped inside her.
Her breath hitched.
And suddenly—
She was there.
---
Flashback.
Screams.
A belt striking skin.
Cold floors. Hot tears.
Being dragged—arms bruised, legs limp.
The lab.
White lights. Wires.
Voices she didn't understand.
> "She doesn't need memories. Just obedience."
She tried to scream.
Tried to fight.
But her voice—was already gone.
Only silence.
And pain.
---
Back in the present, the ice cream slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a soft splatter.
Minah dropped to her knees, trembling.
Both hands gripped her head.
Her body shook violently, breath shallow and fast.
Her lips moved—but no sound came.
Glass eyes.
A storm inside her.
Terror. Confusion. Remembering.
Jaewook was by her side in an instant.
He didn't speak.
Didn't ask.
Didn't panic.
He just knelt beside her, gently pulling her into his arms.
His voice was a whisper:
"You're safe now. I've got you."
Minah clutched his shirt.
Her fingers curled into the fabric like it was the only thing keeping her from drowning.
Jaewook held her tighter.
"No one will hurt you ever again."
And in his arms, for the first time in years—
She let the fear rise.
Let the tears fall.
And let herself be held.