Chapter 01….
Please move! Patient coming through!
Urgent voices echoed from one corner of the emergency room. Everyone, covered in blood, hurried toward the operating room.
“How is the patient?”
“The surgery needs to begin immediately. He’s sustained severe head injuries.”
On the moving stretcher, blood was pooling beneath the man’s head. The medical staff, realizing the severity of the situation, moved even more frantically.
“…!”
And just as hurriedly as the medical staff, a woman rushed toward the man. When she finally saw him—pale and motionless—her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Please step back for a moment. We need to get him into the operating room now.”
“I-I-Is he going to be okay? Can he survive?”
“We’ll do everything we can. For now, please let him receive treatment. He also needs to stabilize.”
Though not as badly as the man, the woman was also covered in injuries. Her hair was messy, her hands soaked in blood—not her own. It belonged to her husband, whom she had been holding to protect herself right before the accident.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“….”
“Do you know where you are? And your name?”
The nurse tried to treat her, but the woman could only sit there, trembling and in shock. Finally, she managed to speak.
“My name… my name is Lee So-jung. This is the emergency room.”
Lee So-jung. Her husband’s name was Choi Hyun.
It had been an ordinary evening—except that day, Hyun had insisted on going home together.
The car carrying the two had been driving down the road when a massive truck suddenly approached. That was the last thing So-jung remembered.
When she came to, the scent of medicine hit her nose. She immediately saw her own battered body. But thinking of Hyun, lying as if dead, her pain vanished in an instant.
So lost in thought, she didn’t even realize how much time had passed. Her body and gaze remained fixed on the direction of the operating room, as if time no longer existed.
Refusing the medical staff who tried to help her rest, So-jung clenched her trembling hands and quietly sat in the chair set up outside the operating room.
“Our son… our son, why….”
The news of the accident had already reached their families. Hyun’s mother, Mi-ae, had rushed to the hospital. Seeing that her son was already in surgery, her face turned pale.
“Why is my son in the operating room? Why?!”
“Ma’am, please calm down first—”
“What do I do about my son? Hyun-ah, Hyun-ah!”
Ignoring the attempts of those around her, Mi-ae’s screams didn’t stop. Her sharp gaze then fell on So-jung, who was sitting across from her.
“You… you…”
“….”
Smack!
Before anyone could stop her, Mi-ae slapped So-jung across the face. Shocked, bystanders pulled them apart, but So-jung’s cheek was already red and swollen.
“Why are you unharmed?”
“….”
“Hyun is in the operating room, bleeding! Why are you okay? It’s your fault our son got hurt, isn’t it?”
Mi-ae’s rage hadn’t subsided. So-jung lowered her head, silently absorbing the accusations.
“I should’ve stopped you when you married into this ruined family… and now you’re destroying everything. Destroying it!”
Chaos erupted outside the operating room. Eventually, someone dragged Mi-ae away, but her loud cries echoed through the corridor.
“Sister!”
Another person had arrived upon hearing the accident—So-jung’s younger sister, So-jin.
“How… did you get here?”
“Secretary Kim told me. You got in a car accident… are you okay? Oh my, what’s all this! Are you hurt?”
Her cheek still stinging from Mi-ae’s slap, So-jung simply nodded without denial.
“You’re injured so badly, and you’re still here? Let me stay and help. Please go get treatment.”
“I’ll wait for the results first.”
“But sister…”
“I’m fine.”
Despite So-jin’s insistence, So-jung’s attitude didn’t change. With a small sigh, So-jin sat beside her.
“How’s your husband?”
“…He’s badly injured in the head. He’s bleeding a lot because of it. We’ll only know more after the surgery results.”
It was a miracle that he could even walk after the massive truck hit them. Without Hyun holding her in that moment, So-jung might have been at death’s door herself.
Why… why did this happen?
Although they were married, it was a loveless, arranged marriage. They hadn’t fought much—not because of love, but because they were good roommates and friends. They even thought they could happily support each other if one found a partner.
〈I have something to tell you today.〉
Inside the car under the streetlight, Hyun had said those words.
That evening, the atmosphere in the car felt different—strange, tingling. So-jung thought it was all because of the way Hyun looked at her.
Their eyes met. A subtle, inexplicable feeling ran through So-jung’s chest. She froze, and just as she opened her mouth to ask,
“Sister, the surgery is over.”
So-jin’s voice pulled So-jung from her thoughts. Seeing the medical staff exit the room, she hurriedly stood.
“How’s the patient? Is he okay?”
“The surgery was successful.”
Ah… ah…
At the doctor’s words, So-jung felt her legs give way. Alarmed, So-jin supported her.
“However, the trauma was severe, and he lost a lot of blood. We’ll need to continue monitoring him closely.”
“Yes, thank you, doctor.”
So-jung repeatedly bowed, despite her own injuries. Hyun’s stretcher was being moved past her.
“….”
With a clean face, Hyun lay with his eyes closed, looking like he was peacefully asleep.
Once the stretcher passed, So-jin tapped So-jung on the shoulder.
“His results are in. Now you should rest too. You’re a patient too.”
“….”
“Yes… that’s right…”
Even as So-jin guided her, So-jung’s gaze remained on Hyun. Finally, with So-jin’s urging, she slowly turned her head forward.
“A lot of calls are coming into the company.”
Several days had passed since the accident. Hyun was still unconscious, and So-jung stayed by his side. Beside her stood a man in a suit—Hyun’s secretary, Kang Chan.
“We tried to keep this under wraps, but the accident was too big… the news is already out.”
“…What about work?”
“The vice president is handling it for now.”
As the son of a conglomerate’s chairman and CEO of H Hotel, Hyun’s position inevitably drew attention. His accident threw the company into chaos.
“…Did the doctor say when he might wake up?”
“They weren’t sure. We can only wait.”
“…Understood.”
As time dragged on, So-jung’s mind grew more restless. Her phone quietly rang—it was So-jin.
“Yes, hello?”
Stepping onto the hospital terrace, So-jung answered. A cheerful child’s voice came through.
Mom!
“…Harim?”
Mom, when are you coming?
So-jung bit her lip to hold back her emotions. So-jin’s voice followed.
Sorry, sister. He was insisting on seeing Mom and Dad…
Mom, come quickly!
Harim’s shouts drowned So-jin’s words. Regaining composure, So-jung spoke brightly.
“Yes. Harim, are you listening to your aunt? Soon, I’ll come get you and Mom and Dad.”
When?
“Hmm… after ten more nights.”
Yes! Ten nights!
Though old enough to notice her parents’ absence, Harim had been doing well with her aunt. So-jung’s heart warmed and ached simultaneously.
And Dad?
“Dad… he’s sleeping now, so he can’t answer. I’ll tell him later to give you this many gifts.”
Really?
Harim’s cheerful voice responded eagerly. So-jin spoke next.
“Thanks. And take care of Harim.”
I’m not doing much. Mostly the nanny looks after him. How’s your husband?
“He’s the same. Still no signs of waking.”
Every day, So-jung would report Harim’s news. Her expression darkened as she spoke of Hyun’s unchanged state.
“Ma’am! Ma’am!”
Kang Chan approached urgently from the terrace door. So-jung instinctively hung up, her eyes wide.
“The CEO has woken up.”
“…What?”
“He regained consciousness right after you left. The medical team was called, and we tried to contact you, but the line was busy… ma’am?”
So-jung didn’t wait for more. She sprinted down the long corridor and straight into the hospital room.
“….”
Her sudden entrance drew everyone’s attention. The man sitting on the bed also looked at her—Hyun, her husband, whom she had been waiting to see awake.
“You… you…”
“….”
Overwhelmed with joy and relief, So-jung’s lips trembled. Yet Hyun’s expression was blank, detached—almost like he was looking at a stranger.
“Who are you, calling yourself ‘mine’?”
At last, Hyun’s sharp words made So-jung’s eyes waver.
If you want, I can also polish this translation into a smoother, novel-style version with natural English flow while keeping all emotional intensity intact. It would read more like an English web novel.
Do you want me to do that?
Chatty’s afterword was left at the bottom of the translation😂