Chapter 49 — The Color of Snow
The ambulance doors slammed shut.
Inside, everything was moving at once.
"Blood pressure dropping."
"Keep the oxygen on."
"She's losing too much blood."
"Prepare the transfusion."
Lucy lay motionless on the stretcher.
Her beautiful red gown was soaked with blood, the same gown she had worn when she disappeared.
Her face was pale.
Her long dark hair was tangled around her shoulders.
One paramedic pressed firmly against the wound while another connected the monitors.
"Stay with us," the paramedic said. "Lucy, can you hear me?"
There was no response.
The monitor continued to beep.
Fast.
Irregular.
The ambulance raced through the night.
Behind it, several police vehicles followed.
And somewhere in another vehicle, Kim Jo was being driven toward the same hospital.
He couldn't sit still.
His hands were covered in Lucy's blood.
He kept staring at them.
Then at the road.
Then back at his hands.
"Drive faster."
The manager looked at him from the front seat.
"We're already going as fast as we can."
"Then go faster."
His voice cracked.
Lee Dae sat beside him.
"Kim Jo..."
"Don't."
Kim Jo shook his head.
"Don't tell me to calm down."
"I'm not."
Lee Dae swallowed.
"I was going to say we're going to stay with her."
Kim Jo looked at him.
"She called me."
His eyes filled with tears.
"She called me and asked me to come."
Seo Joon sat across from them, silent.
Kim Jo continued.
"I told her I would find her."
He looked down at his blood-covered hands.
"I found her..."
His voice broke.
"But I couldn't protect her."
Lee Dae reached for him.
"Kim Jo, you did everything you could."
"No."
Kim Jo shook his head.
"I should have been there sooner."
Nobody answered.
Because there was nothing they could say that would make the guilt disappear.
---
THE EMERGENCY ROOM
The ambulance arrived at the hospital.
The doors opened immediately.
"Move!"
Doctors and nurses rushed Lucy inside.
"Female, gunshot wound, severe blood loss!"
"Pressure?"
"Critical!"
"Get the operating room ready!"
The doors to the emergency department swung open and Lucy disappeared behind them.
Kim Jo arrived only minutes later.
He jumped out of the vehicle before it had completely stopped.
"Lucy!"
Security tried to stop the crowd of reporters outside.
Cameras flashed everywhere.
"Kim Jo!"
"Is Lucy alive?"
"What happened?"
"Was she shot?"
"Who attacked her?"
"Kim Jo!"
He ignored everything.
He ran into the hospital.
"Where is Lucy?"
A nurse pointed toward the emergency corridor.
"She's being taken into surgery."
Kim Jo froze.
"Surgery?"
"Yes."
"Is she alive?"
The nurse hesitated.
"She's alive."
Kim Jo closed his eyes.
For one second, he breathed.
Then the nurse continued.
"But she's in critical condition."
His eyes opened again.
"Can I see her?"
"I'm sorry."
The operating-room doors closed.
Kim Jo stood there.
Staring.
Waiting.
Unable to move.
Then his knees weakened.
Lee Dae caught him.
"Kim Jo."
Kim Jo leaned against the wall.
"She's alive."
Seo Joon nodded.
"She's alive."
Kim Jo whispered the words again.
"She's alive."
But his voice didn't sound convinced.
---
THE FAMILY ARRIVES
Almost an hour later, the hospital corridor filled with hurried footsteps.
Mr. and Mrs. Hanuel arrived first.
Mrs. Hanuel was crying before she even reached them.
"Where is she?"
Kim Jo stood.
"She's in surgery."
Mrs. Hanuel covered her mouth.
"Oh, God..."
Mr. Hanuel looked at Kim Jo.
"What happened?"
Kim Jo couldn't answer.
He looked down.
His clothes were still stained with Lucy's blood.
Mrs. Hanuel saw it.
Her face crumpled.
"Is that Lucy's blood?"
Kim Jo nodded.
"I'm sorry."
Mrs. Hanuel walked toward him.
For a moment, Kim Jo expected anger.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around him.
Kim Jo broke down.
"I'm sorry."
Mrs. Hanuel held him tightly.
"You brought her back."
"But she got hurt."
"You brought her home."
Kim Jo cried against her shoulder.
"I promised I'd protect her."
Mrs. Hanuel closed her eyes.
"And you tried."
A few minutes later, Paige arrived with Yi Jung and Ga Eul.
Paige immediately looked toward the operating-room doors.
"Lucy?"
Lee Dae stepped forward.
"She's in surgery."
Paige's eyes filled with tears.
Ga Eul began crying.
Yi Jung stood beside her, trying to remain strong.
Nobody knew what to say.
The corridor became quiet again.
Everyone waited.
---
THREE HOURS
Three hours passed.
Nobody left.
Kim Jo hadn't sat down once.
He stood in front of the operating-room doors.
His eyes remained fixed on them.
Every time a doctor walked past, he looked up.
Every time the doors opened, his heart raced.
Then they closed again.
Finally, Kim Jo lowered himself into a chair.
He clasped his hands together.
"Please..."
His voice was barely audible.
"Please let her live."
Lee Dae sat beside him.
Kim Jo looked at the floor.
"I don't need anything else."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I don't care about my career."
"I don't care about the company."
"I don't care about the money."
"I don't care about fame."
He looked toward the operating room.
"I just want Lucy."
Seo Joon sat across from him.
"We all do."
Kim Jo closed his eyes.
"And I never even got to marry her."
Nobody spoke.
Kim Jo laughed through his tears.
"She said yes."
His lips trembled.
"She actually said yes."
He looked down at his hands.
"She called me Jimmy."
A small smile appeared through the pain.
"I loved that name from the first time she said it."
Lee Dae smiled sadly.
"I know."
"I never told her."
"She knew."
Kim Jo shook his head.
"I should have told her."
Then the operating-room doors opened.
Everyone stood.
A doctor stepped out.
Kim Jo rushed toward him.
"Doctor?"
The doctor removed his surgical mask.
"Are you Lucy's family?"
"I'm her fiancé."
The doctor nodded.
"We were able to remove the bullet."
Kim Jo's eyes widened.
"She's alive?"
"Yes."
He released a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"But..."
The smile disappeared from his face.
"But she's still in critical condition."
Kim Jo nodded slowly.
"Tell me everything."
"She lost a significant amount of blood. The bullet caused serious internal damage, but we were able to control the bleeding."
"Will she survive?"
The doctor paused.
"She's stable for the moment."
Kim Jo stared at him.
"For the moment?"
"The next several hours are important."
Kim Jo swallowed.
"Can I see her?"
"Briefly."
The doctor looked at the others.
"Only one person."
Kim Jo didn't hesitate.
"Me."
---
LUCY
The ICU was quiet.
Machines surrounded the bed.
Lucy lay motionless beneath the white sheets.
The red gown was gone, replaced by a hospital gown.
Her face looked peaceful.
Almost as if she were sleeping.
Kim Jo slowly walked toward her.
He stopped beside the bed.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he reached for her hand.
It was cold.
He held it between both of his hands.
"Hey..."
His voice trembled.
"It's me."
No response.
"It's Jimmy."
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"You always called me that."
He smiled weakly.
"And you know something?"
He leaned closer.
"I loved it."
His voice broke.
"I loved it from the very first time you said it."
He kissed the back of her hand.
"I thought I would hear you say it forever."
His eyes closed.
"But you scared me."
He laughed softly through his tears.
"You really scared me."
The monitor continued its steady rhythm.
Kim Jo pulled a chair closer.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do if you don't wake up."
He looked at her.
"So don't make me find out."
He squeezed her hand.
"You promised me."
His tears fell onto the blanket.
"You said yes."
He leaned closer.
"You promised to marry me."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"So you have to wake up."
He rested his forehead against her hand.
"Please, Lucy."
A tear fell.
"Come back to me."
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then—
The monitor changed.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep-beep.
Kim Jo lifted his head.
"Lucy?"
A nurse rushed inside.
"Sir, please step back."
"What happened?"
"Please step outside."
More doctors entered.
Kim Jo was guided toward the door.
"Lucy!"
The door closed between them.
Kim Jo stood frozen outside.
He could hear the doctors moving quickly.
"Her pressure is dropping."
"Check the line."
"Increase the oxygen."
Kim Jo pressed his hands against the glass.
"Lucy..."
Lee Dae, Seo Joon, and the others rushed toward him.
"What happened?"
Kim Jo couldn't answer.
He stared through the glass.
His lips trembled.
"Please..."
He whispered.
"Not again."
The corridor fell silent.
Everyone watched the doctors fighting to keep Lucy alive.
And for the first time since finding her, Kim Jo realized something terrifying.
Finding Lucy had never been the end of the nightmare.
It was only the beginning of the fight to bring her home.
---
THE VERDICT
Weeks later, the world finally heard the legal outcome.
Cha-Woo was convicted for kidnapping Lucy, unlawful confinement, assault, and the shooting that nearly took her life.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
His name became permanently connected to the crimes he had committed.
But Kim Jo never celebrated the sentence.
Neither did Lucy.
When Lucy eventually learned what had happened, she simply closed her eyes.
She didn't want revenge.
She wanted her life back.
And slowly, painfully, she began rebuilding it.
Because the bullet had almost taken everything from her.
But it hadn't taken her future.
And somewhere in that future was the man who had spent days searching for her.
The man who had held her bleeding body in the snow.
The man who had refused to give up.
Her Jimmy.
And their love story was not over yet.