YAIMF 44🍒

Chapter — 44

Crisis

Only when the red light for Emergency Surgery turned on did it finally feel real, not a dream. Her legs gave out, and just as she was about to collapse, Joonsik caught her and held her up.

“Here…”

Joonsik’s voice was thick with emotion too, as if he couldn’t believe this was happening. Saena leaned against a small temporary chair, but even as she did, a thought struck her—Is it really okay for me to be sitting like this?
She felt terribly guilty, as if she were the only one resting comfortably.

Tears welled up and spilled over, rolling down her cheeks. When a drop fell onto the back of her hand, she finally realized it—her hand was stained red with Jiwoon’s blood.

“Hic… hic…”

She clenched her teeth, afraid her crying might somehow reach him. But the grief inside her was already overflowing and leaked out through the gaps. With trembling hands, Saena tried to stop herself from crying, but once the dam broke, it couldn’t be held back.
Her sobs were so sorrowful that Joonsik’s eyes burned as well. He couldn’t just stand there and watch her fragile shoulders shake.

“The boss—no, hyung—he’ll definitely wake up.”

Maybe his sincerity reached her. Saena nodded her head again and again.
She desperately wanted him to come back alive, into her arms.

How am I supposed to live without you?

Through her tear-blurred vision, she could see the operating room. Since the day she woke up, her life had revolved around him. She had only just escaped the fear of memory loss—yet losing her memories felt far less terrifying than losing him like this.

No. I don’t even want to imagine a life without you.

If only he would gather just a little more strength and come back, she felt she wouldn’t ask for anything else. Saena carefully folded her trembling hands together and squeezed her eyes shut.

“What should we do now?”

The doctor asked, his face full of unease. Imjae slowly shifted his gaze from the doctor to Jungtaek.
Because of an overdose far beyond the proper amount, Jungtaek lay unconscious, his face pale as paper.

“It’s a drug that’s also used for sleep therapy, isn’t it?”

“Well… yes, but if people find out it was prescribed in such excessive amounts—”

“Who would know? If you keep your mouth shut, no one will.”

“But…”

Things were already going in an unexpected direction, making Imjae tense and irritable. The doctor’s nagging pushed him over the edge. Reading the sharp look in Imjae’s eyes, the doctor had no choice but to lower his head.

“Shut down your clinic and go overseas for about a month.”

“As promised.”

“Have you ever seen me go back on my word?”

Imjae’s eyes glinted with cold menace. The doctor swallowed dryly and unconsciously stepped back. Watching him, Imjae clicked his tongue and continued.

“I’ll make sure you’re well paid. So be very careful with that mouth of yours.”

The doctor nodded quickly, lips tightly sealed as if he were about to be threatened at any moment. He bowed to Imjae, who motioned for him to leave, and exited without looking back.
When the door shut with a thud, Imjae ran a hand roughly through his hair and looked down coldly at Jungtaek, who was barely breathing.

“You should’ve known when to stop.”

Every time Jungtaek stubbornly searched for Saena with Detective Park, Imjae’s heart nearly burst.

“I never imagined you’d still be alive.”

That she had survived in that vast ocean was beyond his wildest expectations. Still, as if blessed by fate, she had amnesia. Imjae let out a hollow laugh.

“Old man, since things turned out this way, why don’t you go together with CEO Moon so he won’t be lonely?”

Just moments earlier, the hospital where CEO Moon was staying had called, prompted by Jungtaek’s phone call. CEO Moon had briefly regained consciousness, only to fall back into a coma.
At this rate, they said, he might not last even a week.

A week.

Why did Jungtaek have to find Saena now, of all times?

“If CEO Moon just died like that, everything would’ve fallen into my hands.”

But Jungtaek’s stubborn persistence had finally led him to Saena. Imjae glared at Jungtaek as if he were about to choke the life out of him.

“This time, it’s your fault. Why the hell did you have to eavesdrop on other people’s business?”

If he hadn’t realized that Jungtaek was conscious back then and left, things could have become complicated again.

“I’ll take care of Saena myself. You can just die quietly from drug side effects.”

He hated how Jungtaek, not even family, acted like one while taking care of Saena. When CEO Moon’s health worsened from leukemia, Imjae had thought it was the perfect opportunity—but Jungtaek was always by Saena’s side.
He finally understood what Kyungjoon once said—that Jungtaek was like an “annoying dog, overly loyal to its owner.”

“You should’ve stayed in your place like a dog. Acting like a human beyond your station is why you ended up like this. Don’t blame me.”

He was already set to take over Daum Company’s management when CEO Moon died. The problem was Saena’s shares. If she inherited CEO Moon’s portion as well, she’d hold nearly half the company.
Even if Imjae became CEO, it meant she could fire him at any time. That was why he’d rushed to push marriage.

Tsk.

And then it got exposed at the worst moment. He had worked so hard to maintain the image of a kind, devoted man caring for her sincerely. Yet Saena showed no interest—she even seemed to be stepping back, clearly drawing a line.

That girl lives thinking she’s all that.

What man would feel affection for a woman like that? That was why he was inevitably drawn to Jina, who was the complete opposite. Thinking that far, Imjae let out a slow breath.

“Now that it’s come to this, there’s no other choice.”

If all inheritance rights disappeared, the company would revert to the state, which was troublesome—but that could be bought back slowly with money.

“The Saena you searched for so desperately will disappear from this world again because of you.”

First, he needed to confirm whether Saena really had amnesia, just as Jungtaek claimed. Then, after CEO Moon’s death, if Saena’s accidental death was accepted as fact, everything would be over.

“Someone who’s died once rarely comes back alive.”

Even if Saena later regained her memories, she wouldn’t be Saena anymore. He could simply turn her into someone pretending to be Saena for money.

A week.

It was the only time left to fix everything that had gone wrong. Imjae clenched his fist as he reminded himself of that deadline and left the hospital room.
At the moment the door closed, Jungtaek’s fingers twitched and curled slightly.

How much time had passed?
Saena sat slumped, as if she had no tears left to cry, staring blankly at the operating room. The “In Surgery” light felt like proof that the gods were ignoring her desperate prayers, and resentment welled up inside her.

As she barely managed to breathe out, she heard footsteps running from far away. She didn’t even have the strength to turn her head. Still staring at the operating room, she then heard Hamanddaek’s sobbing voice.
At the sound of her pale, panicked crying, Saena weakly turned around. Only then did Hamanddaek recognize her and rush over, her shoes nearly slipping off.

“Oh my goodness… hic… Saena, this is all….”

“It’s… it’s my fault.”

“What are you saying?”

“If I hadn’t… locked the door… hic…”

She had repeated this regret countless times. Even saying it out loud terrified her. When the words finally escaped her dried-up voice, the tears burst out again.
Hamanddaek, as if she already knew everything, shook her head and tightly held Saena’s hands—still stained with Jiwoon’s dried blood.

“That’s not true. Saena, this isn’t your fault at all.”

“But—”

“Our young master is stronger than you think. Something similar happened before, and even then, he got right back up.”

Recalling that faint memory, Hamanddaek spoke firmly. Faced with her determined eyes, everything Saena had been holding back collapsed at once. She nodded repeatedly, desperately hoping it was true, biting her lip to keep her sobs in.
Hamanddaek pulled her into a tight embrace.

“So let’s believe in him.”

Wrapped in her warmth, Saena swallowed her tears and nodded again.
Just then, the operating room door slowly opened, and a doctor, drenched in sweat, stepped out. Whether from exhaustion or something worse, his expression was unreadable. With a trembling voice, Hamanddaek asked him,

“H-how is he…?”

“The surgery was completed successfully. Now, all that remains is the patient’s will to recover.”

At his words, spoken almost like a sigh, Saena clasped her hands tightly and thanked every god she could think of.
And then, silently, she let the tears she had been holding back finally fall.