You won't know until the very end.
Taejun stood frozen.
It was an unfamiliar voice.
It was definitely his first time hearing it, yet somehow, it sounded familiar.
As if he'd known it somewhere.
As if he'd known it for a very long time.
He pressed a hand to his temple.
Throb.
A deep, tearing pain spread through his head.
"Damn it."
Taejun closed his eyes.
For a moment, a hazy scene flashed through his mind.
A dark parking garage.
A man standing in front of him.
He couldn't see the man's face.
But the voice was perfectly clear.
You won't know until the very end.
And then.
Why Han Seoyoon had gone that far.
Taejun opened his eyes.
A ragged breath escaped him.
"Seoyoon."
He headed toward her room.
He didn't even think to knock.
The moment he grasped the doorknob, he heard the lock click from inside.
Taejun's hand stopped.
"Seoyoon."
There was no answer.
"Come out for a minute."
"No."
Her voice came through, small and hoarse.
Taejun pressed his lips together.
He knew Seoyoon had been crying a moment ago.
He couldn't hear a thing through the door, but he knew.
He knew she was crying because of him, too.
Even so, he had to ask.
"Was there..."
Taejun placed a hand against the door.
"Was there a man around me?"
The presence inside went still.
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know."
"I remembered a voice."
The door opened at once.
Seoyoon looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.
"What did you remember?"
"I couldn't see his face."
Taejun spoke slowly.
"I only heard a man's voice."
Seoyoon's expression stiffened ever so slightly.
Taejun didn't miss the change.
"Do I know him?"
"I don't know."
"Your expression just changed."
"I'm tired. That's all."
Seoyoon looked away.
Taejun took a step closer.
"Are you hiding something from me?"
Seoyoon let out a hollow laugh.
"Is that really something a man who lost his memory should be saying?"
"That's why I'm asking."
"Asking what?"
"Why I asked you for a divorce."
"Stop talking about that."
"And who that man is."
Seoyoon's face hardened.
"Kang Taejun."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I'm afraid everything will be the same again if you remember."
Taejun fell silent.
Seoyoon's voice trembled faintly.
"You don't know right now."
"You keep saying you want to get your memory back."
Seoyoon bit her lip.
"That scares me."
Taejun's eyes wavered.
"If your memory comes back..."
Seoyoon looked up at him.
"You'll hate me again."
When she finished speaking, a brief silence fell.
Taejun couldn't say a word.
That one sentence hurt far more than it should have.
"Did I..."
He barely managed to speak.
"Did I hate you?"
Seoyoon didn't answer.
Her silence was the answer.
Taejun let out a low breath.
"That..."
He looked straight at her.
"Even if my memory comes back, I won't believe it."
Seoyoon's brows trembled.
"You're acting like this even now."
"That's why the person you are now—"
"Don't tell me you're different."
Taejun's voice sank low.
"I don't want to hear that, either."
Seoyoon flinched at his words.
Taejun gave a bitter smile.
"Every time the me from the past comes out of your mouth..."
"I'm scared because I don't know what I did so wrong."
Seoyoon couldn't say anything.
Taejun lowered his gaze first.
"I'm sorry."
Another apology.
Seoyoon hated it.
That was why she couldn't say anything else.
The next morning.
When Seoyoon came out of her room, the living room was quiet.
Taejun was gone.
There was only a note on the dining table.
* I'll be at the hospital.
Seoyoon stared at the handwriting for a long time.
It seemed he'd gone alone.
Was he avoiding her because of what happened last night?
Or was he doing something else to find his memory again?
She didn't like either possibility.
Seoyoon folded the note and set it down.
Just then, her phone rang.
It was a number she didn't recognize.
"Hello?"
Is this Han Seoyoon?
A man's low, composed voice.
Seoyoon's expression hardened.
"Who is this?"
A brief silence.
I heard Kang Taejun's condition isn't very good.
Seoyoon's fingertips went rigid.
"I asked who you are."
The caller gave a light chuckle.
Has he remembered a lot?
Seoyoon didn't answer.
Her heart began to race.
"How did you get my number?"
Does that matter?
"Don't call me again."
Seoyoon tried to hang up immediately.
At that moment, the man spoke.
It would be troublesome if he got his memory back.
Her finger stopped.
The color drained from Seoyoon's face.
"What did you say?"
If Kang Taejun remembers everything...
The man spoke slowly.
Wouldn't that put you in trouble too, Han Seoyoon?
"What are you talking about?"
You really don't know anything?
That can't be.
The man laughed softly.
You of all people should know best.
Seoyoon couldn't say anything.
Just then, the front door opened.
It was Taejun.
Seoyoon turned around in surprise.
Taejun looked at her with the phone pressed to her ear, then slowly approached.
"Who are you talking to?"
"It's nothing."
Seoyoon hurriedly ended the call.
But Taejun had already seen her expression.
"Why do you look like that?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine at all."
Taejun held out his hand.
"Give me your phone."
"No."
"Seoyoon."
"It was just a telemarketer."
"Do people look that shaken after getting a telemarketing call?"
Seoyoon hid the phone behind her back.
Taejun's gaze darkened.
"Was it that man?"
Seoyoon's eyes wavered.
That was enough.
Taejun reached for the phone.
Seoyoon tried to pull away, but she was too late.
The phone ended up in his hand.
"Kang Taejun."
Taejun checked the number that had just called.
Then he called it back.
"Are you crazy? Hang up."
Seoyoon tried to snatch the phone away.
Taejun stopped her with one hand.
The line rang several times.
And then.
Hello?
The moment he heard the voice, Taejun's face stiffened.
His eyes changed completely.
Who is this?
The man asked.
Taejun didn't answer.
Another scene flashed through his mind.
A dark parking garage.
His own hand gripping the man's collar.
Blood on the man's lips.
And then.
You won't know until the very end.
Taejun tightened his grip on the phone.
"You."
Seoyoon sucked in a breath.
A chilling voice Seoyoon had never heard before came from Taejun's mouth.
"I remember who you are."
Silence fell on the other end of the line.
Taejun slowly forced out the name.
"Yoon Jaehyuk."
The blood drained from Seoyoon's face.
She instinctively took a step back.
Hearing that name again made her feel as though the memories she'd buried had been dragged back into the light along with it.
Taejun didn't miss her reaction.
"You know him."
"You knew, too."
Seoyoon's lips parted, but no words came out.
Taejun's gaze grew more intense.
Until a moment ago, all he had felt was the urgency to recover his memory.
But now, things were different.
There was definitely something Seoyoon was hiding in the time he'd lost.
And strangely enough.
He had a feeling something far bigger than the divorce was waiting at the end of it.
Nothing could end until he uncovered the truth of that day.
Not the divorce.
Not his relationship with Seoyoon.
Still clutching the phone, Taejun said in a low voice,
"This time, I'll find out everything. All the way to the end."