12 September 2013 4:15 PM

Hye Kyo stared out at the pale afternoon sun glistening over the Han River that flowed far below the 25^th floor of the hospital. She had always taken comfort in the calmness of the river’s waters as it silently flowed from the mountains in the east toward the open channels near Incheon and out to the ocean. Today, however, it provided little comfort to her as she tried to absorb the events of the previous 48 hours, which had turned her life upside down. She really had no idea who she was anymore. To know that there was someone out there who wanted to kill her was frightening enough…but then to find out that she had lived another life and had no memory of it was almost unimaginable.

The sound of the heart monitor that filled the room returned her attention to the sleeping figure in the hospital bed. Strangely, the monotonous regularity of the beeping gave her a sense of reassurance and relief. Her best friend…her brother…was still with her. In Sung was alive and he was going to live. But exactly what was he to her, really? Her fiancé, still? Her something else? She tried to remember exactly how she had first met In Sung and realized that she couldn’t. It was as if she had always known him. And from what she had been told, she had always known him. They had known each other all their lives, had grown up together, had fallen madly in love and were about to get married. But all that had been taken away by a vengeful mad man, who had tried to kill them before, and how had just tried to kill them again. She glanced over at the sleeping figure in the hospital bed, her hand reaching out to touch his face. She brushed his softened hair and gently traced the contours of his closed eyes, his angular cheeks, his dry lips, as her memories drifted back to the evening that threw her life, their lives, into turmoil.

She and In Sung had just finished a working dinner meeting with a couple of KBS producers and executives who were pitching yet another TV drama to them. As they said their goodbyes and Hye Kyo was just about to enter the back of her waiting car, she suddenly heard the screech of tires and turned just in time to feel In Sung tackle her, putting himself in between her and the car that was barreling towards them. In the next second, as In Sung shoved her into the back seat, Hye Kyo heard what she thought were firecrackers. As she laid on the bottom of the car, with In Sung on top of her, their bodyguard angrily shouted orders to the driver to get them out of there. Once they were out of the garage and speeding through the surface streets, both Hye Kyo and the bodyguard realized that In Sung had not moved. As the bodyguard gently pulled In Sung off Hye Kyo and turned him over, Hye Kyo was horrified to see the blood coming out of his chest and left shoulder. Flashes of a bleeding In Sung from another time ripped through her mind, and that had been the start of this nightmare.

“You really should go home and get some rest,” Hye Kyo was startled out of her daydream by the voice of In Sung’s mother. “You heard what the surgeons said, he’s going to be okay. He was very lucky.”

“Yes…I know,” Hye Kyo replied, slightly embarrassed as she realized that she had been holding onto In Sung’s right hand with her own. Once upon a time, the kind woman in front of her had been ready to be her mother-in-law…and yet she had no memory of it. What kind of relationship did they have? How well did the older woman know her? What she must be feeling at this moment…to see her son hurt yet again?

“I…I…I’m going to kill him when he gets better!” Hye Kyo was shocked at her own outburst, but In Sung’s mother only stared at her for a second before she started laughing.

“Some things never change,” Mrs. Jo smiled as she moved to give Hye Kyo a hug. “You always chided him because he was so protective of you all the time. Now go home and get some sleep. You haven’t left here since they brought him in. Your parents are worried about you…we all are. I promise to call you if anything changes or when he wakes up.”

Hye Kyo stared at the older woman, who heard all the unasked questions yet again. “When things calm down a bit, I promise that we…your parents and us…we’ll tell you everything. You deserve to know the truth…the whole story. But for now, go home and get some rest. You’re not going to be of any use to him, to anyone, if you get sick as well.”

“What…what do I call you?” Hye Kyo asked.

“Just call me what you’ve always called me…his mother.”

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29 September 2013 9:20 PM

“I need to know,” Hye Kyo almost whispered as she nursed her tea mug and stared into the flames flickering in the fireplace. Sitting opposite to her on the couch, Kwang Soo stared at her but said nothing as he gazed at the blazing lights of the nighttime Gangnam skyline beyond her back yard.

It had been 10 days since In Sung had been released from the hospital, and he was safely sleeping upstairs in one of her guest bedrooms. She had been adamant that he be moved into her own house to recuperate. Ever since the shooting, she had been deathly afraid that something else might happen to him. During his entire hospital stay, she had barely left his side except to go home for a change of clothes and some sleep. When it came time for him to be discharged, she had insisted on taking care of him. Her argument that her house, with its acreage and high walls, provided for better security than his own house, could not be countered. It took the NIS and Seoul Police 3 days to set up all the security measures before they could actually move in. The roads leading to her house were now monitored 24/7; there were CCTV cameras throughout that fed back into a command post just 2 minutes done the road, and security details constantly patrolled the perimeter.

Since bringing In Sung home, Hye Kyo had been focused on helping him get better. He had a long way on the road to recovery and she was determined to take care of him. Kwang Soo had been over almost every day, sometimes to help and sometimes just to keep In Sung company while Hye Kyo had to run errands or go about living the external life of Song Hye Kyo. The NIS had done a superb job covering up the entire incident, and no one else really know what had happened. Witnesses, doctors, nurses, all involved had been sworn to secrecy and false stories had been planted in the press. To the outside world, In Sung was as aloof and Hye Kyo was as elegant as ever.

“Please, Kwang Soo, I need to know,” Hye Kyo pleaded again with the younger man, who seemed like he had aged 20 years in 20 days. She realized now that he was the only one who could tell her the whole story. Yes, her parents and the In Sung’s parents, as well as the NIS, had tried to give her as much information as they could, but she knew they were holding out certain parts. She understood why they wanted to spare her all the details, but she wanted…she needed to know. And she knew In Sung would never tell her everything. The only one who could do that was sitting in front of her.

“You…your friendship with In Sung and Joong Ki…it’s not the same, is it?” At the mention of Joong Ki’s name, Kwang Soo finally returned his attention to his hostess. He contemplated whether he should tell her the story, give her all the horrible details, or should he spare her as he had promised to In Sung he would all those years ago?

“Joong Ki is a friend…my best friend,” Kwang Soo started. “We…we met as co-workers and we became close. I love him like a brother, but he is not…he can never be as close to me as In Sung is.”

“Why?” Hye Kyo pushed.

“Because I owe him, my whole family owes him, a debt of honor that we can never repay.” Kwang Soo replied.

“Don’t make me out to be a saint, Kwang Soo.” In Sung’s voice startled the two who were on the couch. “I have a reputation to keep!”

“Oppa! You should be in bed!” Hye Kyo scolded as she moved to help In Sung sit beside her.

“Bed is boring without you in it with me,” In Sung said cheekily as he settled his head onto Hye Kyo’s lap, closing his eyes and pulling his long legs up so that they dangled from the end of the couch. The remark caused Kwang Soo to spit out his coffee and Hye Kyo to laugh.

“Did you just make a joke? You must be feeling better!” Hye Kyo slapped him lightly even as she began running her fingers through his hair. She knew that Kwang Soo would not be saying anything more with In Sung here, but that’s okay. He seemed to be willing to tell her the story, and she would get it out of him later. It took her a minute to realize that Kwang Soo was staring at the two of them.

“What?!” Hye Kyo asked.

“That’s…that’s what you used to do with him all the time,” Kwang Soo pointed to how Hye Kyo was In Sung’s hair, causing her hand to stop in mid-air. “You…you’re beginning to remember.”