Prologue

—Hello

It was a low voice. The eleven digits he couldn’t forget were certainly familiar, but the voice coming through the receiver was as unfamiliar as a stranger’s.

—Is this Seo Jeong-won?

“…Yes, but who is this?”

—I’m Kwon Tae-hee

When Seo Jeong-won didn’t respond to the unfamiliar name, he added an explanation like a sigh.

—Your brother’s Ex-fiancé

“…Fiancé?”

—Ex-fiancé. We broke off the engagement

Seo Jeong-won was a bit surprised by the calmly continuing words. He never expected to receive news of his brother, who had left home as soon as he became an adult, in this way.

“Ah… But why are you…”

—There was a fall accident a year ago, and since then, Gyu-won has been in a coma

At the composed voice, Seo Jeong-won found himself holding his breath.

“A coma?”

His questioning voice trembled. The man on the other end of the phone paused briefly, then continued slowly.

—The hospital is suggesting we remove the ventilator, but that requires family consent, so I called

He hesitated to respond readily to the man’s matter-of-fact delivery of this unbelievable news.

Why is he suddenly contacting me now to tell me my brother is in a coma? If there was an accident, shouldn’t he have informed me at that time? Skeptical about whether it was true, he hesitated to answer that he would come, and then heard a laugh as if in disbelief.

—If you don’t want to come, I’ll just handle it on my own

“…Excuse me.”

—…

“You didn’t tell me the location…”

Only then did a short exclamation, “Ah,” burst out at the belated answer.

—I’ll leave the hospital address in a message

With those last words, the call ended. 2 minutes and 15 seconds, his first call with the man who claimed to be his brother’s Ex-fiancé.