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CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN :
THIS CANT BE.

SUNGHOON 'S POINT OF VIEW

the hospital was suffocating.

the hospital was a blur. the fluorescent lights overhead, the sterile smell of antiseptic, the distant voices of doctors and nurses—it all barely registered as i ran through the hallways, my breath coming in sharp gasps.

my heart wasn't just in my chest anymore. it was everywhere. in my throat, in my skull, pounding so hard i could hear it in my ears, feel it in the tips of my shaking fingers. my eyes burned, vision blurred with the endless stream of tears that i couldn't stop, and my lungs felt like they were caving in with every step i took.

i barely noticed the people i shoved past. doctors, nurses, visitors—they all became nothing but obstacles between me and the one room that mattered.

i nearly slipped at one point, catching myself on the cool metal railing of the hallway before pushing forward, ignoring the shouts of frustration from people i bumped into.

by the time i reached her door, my chest was heaving, and my fingers trembled as they wrapped around the cold handle. i didn't hesitate.

i yanked it open.

and then i paused.

minseo was sitting up in bed, laughing softly.

for a moment, just a moment, relief crashed over me like a wave, so strong that my knees almost gave out. she was awake. she was okay. she was—

then she turned her head. her eyes landed on me.

and she didn't react.

not the way she should have.

there was no spark of recognition. no warmth. no familiar softness in her gaze.

instead, she looked confused.

like i was just another stranger walking into her hospital room.

my stomach dropped, and a cold, creeping fear wrapped around my spine.

behind me, i barely registered the sound of footsteps before my mother and jaeyun brushed past me, rushing to her bedside.

i couldn't move.

minseo's grandmother had been watching me closely from her chair beside minseo, and when our eyes met, her face softened with something that looked almost like pity.

i swallowed hard, my throat burning.

no, no, no—

i turned back to minseo, desperately searching for something, anything, in her expression. but all i found was confusion as she tilted her head slightly.

"excuse me," she said, softly, almost hesitantly.

my breath caught.

"but who are you guys?"

the world tilted on its axis.

i took a step back. my hand shot out, gripping the doorframe behind me as the floor beneath me suddenly felt unsteady.

jaeyun went rigid beside me, his face mirroring the shock i knew was on mine.

but mine ran deeper.

mine clawed at my ribs, burrowed into my chest, squeezed my lungs until i couldn't breathe.

this couldn't be real.

this had to be a joke.

minseo—my minseo—was looking at me like she had never seen me before in her life.