Morning arrived slowly over the skyline of Seoul, a pale gray light seeping through the tall windows of the hospital tower. The city outside resumed its usual rhythm—traffic gathering like slow rivers along the highways, office lights flickering on one by one, the distant rumble of trains threading through the vast urban landscape.
Inside the hospital room, however, time did not feel like it moved forward.
It felt like it moved in circles.
The First Return
After the long night of tests, questions, and uneasy silence, Sooah finally slept.
The neurologists from Hanseong Holdings's private medical team continued evaluating her through the early hours. Brain scans, cognitive assessments, memory tests—every tool available to them was used.
But when she finally opened her eyes again near dawn, something strange happened.
She looked around the room slowly.
Then her gaze stopped on Daehyun.
For a moment, her expression changed.
Recognition flickered across her face.
"…Daehyun?"
The name left her lips quietly.
Daehyun froze.
The relief that exploded through his chest was so sudden it nearly knocked the breath from his lungs.
"You remember?"
She blinked, confused by his tone.
"Of course I remember."
He stepped forward quickly, gripping the side of the bed.
"You know who I am?"
She frowned.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Minjun, sitting in Daehyun's arms, babbled happily.
"Mama!"
Sooah's face softened immediately.
"My baby."
She reached out instinctively.
The moment Minjun grabbed her finger, smiling widely, Daehyun felt his knees weaken.
For several minutes he simply stood there, overwhelmed with relief.
Everything was fine.
Everything was normal again.
The nightmare from the night before must have been temporary.
Just a side effect of fainting.
Just confusion.
Nothing more.
The Doctors' Uneasy Silence
But the neurologists did not look relieved.
They exchanged careful glances as they recorded Sooah's answers.
The lead physician finally spoke.
"Mrs. Han, do you remember asking who your husband was last night?"
Sooah frowned.
"…No."
"You don't remember saying you didn't recognize him?"
"No."
Her confusion seemed genuine.
Daehyun laughed nervously.
"See? She doesn't even remember saying that."
But the doctor did not smile.
Instead, he continued writing notes.
The Second Break
The first episode happened that same afternoon.
Sooah had been sitting in bed reviewing messages from the office while Daehyun entertained Minjun nearby.
The baby was happily banging a toy against the hospital table.
Daehyun leaned closer.
"You're supposed to recover, not check emails."
"I'll just finish a few—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her hand froze above the screen.
The room fell silent.
Daehyun noticed immediately.
"Sooah?"
Her breathing slowed slightly.
Then she looked up at him.
And the confusion returned.
"…Excuse me."
His stomach dropped instantly.
"Yes?"
Her voice was polite.
Careful.
Like she was speaking to a stranger.
"…Are you a relative?"
The Second Collapse of His World
The tablet slipped from her hand as Daehyun stared at her.
"You're joking again."
Her expression showed nothing but concern.
"I'm sorry… have we met before?"
The room seemed to tilt.
Minjun laughed happily, completely unaware.
"Mama!"
Sooah looked at the baby curiously.
"He's very cute."
The words stabbed into Daehyun's chest like ice.
"You don't know him?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I'm sorry."
The Pattern Emerges
The doctors arrived again quickly.
More questions.
More tests.
Finally, the neurologist spoke with careful seriousness.
"It appears her memory is returning and disappearing intermittently."
Daehyun's voice cracked.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the brain regions responsible for long-term memory recall are unstable right now."
"Unstable?"
"Yes."
He paused before continuing.
"She may remember certain time periods… and lose others."
Daehyun stared at him blankly.
"How long?"
"We don't know yet."
The First Time Period
Later that evening, Sooah woke from a brief nap.
This time when she looked at Daehyun, her eyes widened with surprise.
"…Harvard?"
The word caught him off guard.
"What?"
She looked around the hospital room, clearly confused.
"Why are we here?"
Then she looked down at her own hands.
And gasped.
"…Wait."
Her eyes snapped toward him.
"Why am I wearing a ring?"
Daehyun's chest tightened painfully.
"Sooah…"
"You're… Kang Daehyun, right?"
"Yes."
"But we're not married."
The words fell quietly between them.
Minjun crawled across the hospital bed happily.
"Mama!"
She stared at him.
Completely lost.
"…Whose child is that?"
Daehyun Begins to Break
The pattern repeated.
Again.
And again.
Sometimes she remembered everything.
Their marriage.
Their home.
Their son.
Sometimes she remembered only fragments.
College.
Dating.
Sometimes she didn't remember him at all.
And every time it happened, Daehyun felt something inside himself crack a little more.
He tried everything.
Photos.
Videos.
Stories.
"This is our wedding," he said once, showing her pictures.
She smiled politely.
"That's beautiful."
"You're the bride."
She blinked slowly.
"Oh."
Another time he brought Minjun to sit beside her.
"This is our son."
She watched the baby carefully.
"…He looks like you."
But there was no recognition.
The Moment That Shattered Him
One evening, during another episode, Sooah looked at him with quiet discomfort.
"You keep saying we're married."
"Yes."
"But… I don't feel like I know you."
The sentence broke something deep inside him.
He grabbed her hand desperately.
"You do know me."
Her fingers tensed slightly.
"You proposed to me."
Silence.
"You promised I'd never have to struggle alone again."
Nothing.
"You told me we'd always be together."
Her eyes softened with sympathy.
But still no memory.
"I'm sorry."
The Fear of the Future
Later that night, after Sooah finally fell asleep again, Daehyun sat in the dark hospital room.
Minjun slept quietly in the small crib beside the bed.
The baby's breathing was soft and steady.
Peaceful.
Daehyun stared at the floor.
His mind replayed the same terrifying thought over and over.
Every time she forgot—
It hurt like losing her all over again.
And the worst part was this:
Each time she woke up without remembering him…
He had to introduce himself to the woman he loved as if they were strangers meeting for the first time.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And each time, the fear grew stronger.
What if one day—
She never remembered him again at all?