Park Lieutenant... Our Kyung-soo... Why Kyung-soo...

"Mother..."

"Kyung-soo... My son, my son... Why is Kyung-soo over there! Sob sob sob!"

When Seo-jun arrived at the surgery waiting room, several people in uniform like Park Jin-hoo were sitting with heavy expressions.

But the one who stood out the most was an older woman collapsed on the floor, wailing as if the world were ending.

She must be... Kyung-soo's mother, Hye-jin's grandmother.

"Sob sob sob! He told me not to worry! He said not to worry! On his birthday... on his birthday! Sob sob sob!"

There is nothing more heartbreaking than the shrieking sobs of a mother who can do nothing for her child hovering between life and death.

All the officers bowed their heads. Their bloodshot eyes, strained from holding back, could no longer contain their tears.

"Lieutenant."

Seo-jun approached Park Jin-hoo, who was standing in the corner like a criminal. His blue uniform was completely stained with blood.

"...It's my fault. I should have been more careful. Then this wouldn’t have happened. I'm such an idiot..."

Park Jin-hoo sobbed, his shoulders shaking.

Seo-jun couldn't find any words of comfort. That meant there was no longer any reason for him to stay in the waiting room either.

Seo-jun stepped out of the waiting room and found a blind spot. Then he made his body turn transparent.

"Doctor, the patient's BP keeps dropping."

"Doctor, re-bleeding!"

"Hold it down! Hold it there! Gauze! Dr. Park, BP!"

"BP 80/50! Dropping rapidly! 70/40."

"Administer three pints of emergency RBCs!"

"Ah... It's still dropping! At 40..."

"A-arrest... arrest!"

"Defibrillator! Get the defibrillator! Charge to 200! Shock! Again! Charge 200! Shock! Charge 250! Shock!"

Voices slurred, and words came intermittently like a buffering video, then soon fell completely silent.

Consciousness grew faint. After that, no more sound could be heard.

Instead, a white light shimmered far beyond a tunnel. Somehow, it felt like that was where I was supposed to go.

The moment I realized that, an indescribable sense of peace washed over me. It was as if all my worries fell away at once.

Feeling the peace, I passed through the tunnel and stood before the white light. There was a large door there.

It definitely felt like the place I should go. If I opened the door and went inside, Ji-an, who had gone ahead, would surely be there to greet me.

‘You’re here?’

With that smile I could no longer see except in dreams.

Yeah... I had wanted to see that smile again, even if only in a dream. Could I finally see it now?

I grabbed the doorknob. The white light spread all over my body. It felt like I was being blessed somehow.

As I was about to open the door, suddenly someone grabbed my shoulder. When I turned my head, surprisingly, it was Seo-jun.

"Seo-jun?"

"Did you enjoy the seaweed soup?"

"Yes, I enjoyed it so much. I was planning to eat more after getting off work."

"That's good. But what are you doing here? Hye-jin has prepared a birthday present for you."

"Huh?"

Right... I had forgotten.

Hye-jin was waiting, wasn't she?

A smile naturally bloomed on his lips.

"What kind of present did she prepare? I feel like it might be a flower ring."

"No. She prepared something even more amazing."

"Is it a filial piety card? What is it?"

"Well... I think it would be better for you to receive it yourself. So... please come back now."

At those words, Kyung-soo’s world went dark.

Operating Room.

The operating room, where there should have been a tense urgency, was strangely quiet.

The lead surgeon stood frozen, holding the defibrillator paddles, while the assisting nurse bit her lip, forgetting to wipe off the blood splattered on her scrubs.

The public official they had been operating on had just passed away.

"Damn it..."

The lead surgeon's dry lips cursed heavily as he leaned on the operating table with both hands and hung his head low.

"Doctor."

At the assistant’s exhausted call, he glanced at the wall clock. As a doctor, this was the most painful moment.

The moment of declaring death.

But he could not avoid it. That too was a doctor's duty.

"Patient Go Kyung-soo, time of death, 15:31..."

At that moment.

"Huh?"

"...?"

"W-what? Doctor! The patient's vitals are coming back!"

Startled, the lead surgeon lifted his head and looked at the monitor. Indeed, the vital signs were stabilizing.

"How is this possible..."

It was a whisper close to an exclamation that escaped from the assistant's mouth. The surgeon shouted at the assistant.

"Dr. Kim, are you just going to let the patient die like this?"

"Ah! I'm sorry!"

"Vascular clamp!"

The assisting nurse quickly handed over the surgical tool. The surgeon gripped it tightly, steadying his racing heart.

Hope had appeared. The patient had fought back just before death. As a doctor, he could not waste this chance.

Miraculously, the racing heart found its rhythm again.

The trembling legs regained strength. The scattered focus returned as if by a miracle.

"Phew."

With a deep breath carrying many emotions, the surgeon continued the surgery.

And at that moment.

A figure, dressed very differently from the medical staff, stood there.

Even though he was right in front of them, the ten or so medical staff seemed completely unaware of his presence.

It was Seo-jun. With his eyes closed, emitting an intangible aura, Seo-jun suddenly opened his eyes.

As he did, the intangible aura surrounding his body flowed into Go Kyung-soo.

How much time passed?

The surgeon paused, stunned.

"What's wrong, Doctor?"

"Was this patient perhaps an awakened one?"

"No. According to the records and blood test results, he was listed as an ordinary person. Why do you ask?"

"I thought I just saw a ligation happen, but Dr. Kim, you didn't see it?"

"There's no way that could happen without you even touching it, Doctor."

"Did I see something else then...?"

The door to the operating room opened, and those waiting in exhaustion struggled to their feet.

"How... how is he...?"

Lee Jung-shim's voice kept breaking. She didn’t have the courage to ask about her son's life or death upon seeing the doctor’s expressionless face.

Instead, Park Jin-hoo, who sat in the corner with his hands clasped together like a sinner, spoke up.

"...How is he?"

At Park Jin-hoo’s question, the doctor swept his gaze across the gathered crowd. All of them looked exhausted and heavy-hearted.

"During surgery, he went into arrest."

"A-arrest meaning...?"

"Cardiac arrest."

"We did everything we could, but..."

Even before the doctor finished his sentence, Lee Jung-shim collapsed to the floor. Glancing briefly at her, the doctor continued.

"He hasn’t regained consciousness. However..."

As the doctor trailed off, everyone fixed their gaze on his lips. Instead of confirming life or death, he gave an unexpected answer.

"Do you all believe in miracles?"

"..."

"I've gone in and out of operating rooms countless times, but I never believed. I thought miracles were just illusions created by hope. But..."

"..."

Suddenly, the doctor smiled warmly.

"They do exist. Miracles."

"H-he lived?"

"Yes. The surgery ended successfully."

Relieved sighs escaped from all sides. Park Jin-hoo, who had barely been holding himself up, stumbled and sat down as well.

"Thank you... Thank you so much, Doctor!"

"Don't thank me. Thank the miracle that happened to your loved one. Now then."

His eyelids were heavy. As if weights were attached to them. Struggling against the weight, he barely managed to open his eyes.

His focus was off. Everything looked blurry, like a camera full of noise, with overlapping images.

But it only lasted a moment. Soon, countless faces filled his vision.

"Kyung-soo!"

"Are you awake?"

"Hey, say something!"

"Mother! Kyung-soo woke up!"

Overwhelmed by the fuss, Go Kyung-soo was at a loss. Then suddenly, he remembered the shooting incident during the checkpoint inspection.

"Ah! What about Deputy Park?"

"What?"

"Because I didn’t handle it properly, the suspect shot and fled. Is Deputy Park... is he alright?"

His colleagues let out dry laughs. The guy who almost died was worrying about the healthy one...

"What if he had died? Would you have gone after him?"

"...Was he badly hurt?"

"Just look beside you."

"Beside me?"

Kyung-soo tilted his head and turned to look. Park Jin-hoo was snoring away on the caregiver's bed.

"See? He's fine. Worry about yourself. You almost died, you know?"

"Me?"

"Your heart stopped several times. According to the surgeon, they even declared death during surgery. But you miraculously regained consciousness. What kind of insane luck do you have?"

"By the way, what about the suspect?"

"Look at this guy. Worry about yourself first, will you?"

"What happened to the suspect?"

His colleague let out a sigh.

"We're still looking."

"I know the suspect's appearance. Dure..."

"We know too. Jin-hoo already told us everything. No matter what, we'll catch the bastard. Don't worry."

Just then, a nurse entered.

"The patient still needs rest. Could everyone else please step out?"

With some regret, the colleagues clicked their tongues and left the room.

Watching their backs, Kyung-soo suddenly remembered something and called out to one of them.

"Team Leader Lee!"

"What? Need something?"

"What about Hye-jin?"

"The bar owner you took her to last time is taking care of her."

"Ah, Team Leader."

"What now."

"Did Mr. Seo-jun come too?"

"The owner? Maybe he did? I can't remember."

"He was here earlier."

"Was he?"

"Yes. But at some point, he disappeared."

"Sounds about right. Why are you asking about him?"

- So... please come back now.

The clear voice still echoed vividly in his mind. With a complicated expression, Kyung-soo let out a small laugh.

"No reason."

"You're such a weirdo. Get well soon. I'll visit again tomorrow."

Seo-jun rewound his memories. A panoramic view flooded back vividly, like a life flashing before his eyes.

At a particular moment, he replayed a certain part.

"Please cooperate."

The replay, which had been playing from a bird’s-eye view, suddenly shifted to Go Kyung-soo's perspective. The suspect’s face came into view.

But the reason Seo-jun copied Kyung-soo's memory wasn’t just to see the suspect’s face.

Bang!

"Argh!"

Screaming in agony, Kyung-soo clutched his neck and fell. Even though he was already incapacitated, the suspect aimed precisely at the back of Kyung-soo's head and pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

Fortunately, Kyung-soo sensed the second attack just in time and instinctively rolled away.

"Shit!"

Cursing loudly, the suspect slammed the accelerator. The car roared forward, and the panoramic view ended there.

"It was deliberate."

The reason Seo-jun rewound Kyung-soo's memory was precisely to confirm the suspect’s intention.

And based on Kyung-soo’s memory, it was clear the suspect’s actions were premeditated.