The Scent That Vanished

The senses I had desperately suppressed burst through like a broken dam, flooding in their most painful form.

Where was this place?

I didn’t know.

All I remembered was that it had been dark on all sides.

The stale darkness receded, and a faint, wavering light seeped in—not a good sign.

Who was I again?

I didn’t know that either.

Because of who I was…

It felt like a cold wind had rushed into a hollowed-out chest.

I must have lost something important.

What was it?

What could it have been for the sense of loss to feel this horrific?

It was an immeasurable sensation.

Through the pitch-black depths of my memory, a line of text suddenly surfaced.

Neat, orderly, emotionless letters revealed themselves calmly.

「Meeting Yoo Sowon was a mistake.」

A story I had secretly glimpsed, belonging to someone else, slowly carved itself into my blank mind.

「At this rate, Yoo Sowon will die.

For reasons he cannot understand, in the most miserable way imaginable.

Will a child who has no one in this world even feel sorrow over that?

I don’t know.

I’ve never seen that kid feel wronged, or sad, or disappointed since the day he was born.

As if he left those emotions behind in his mother’s womb.」

[Sometimes, I wondered.]

[Could I bear a life like that?

Would something like that even be possible for Woo Jaeyoung?

Could I take responsibility for that lump of blood, when all I did was burn my hand out of curiosity?

What meaning is there in giving something whole that was never even wanted?]

[There was too much I had to do.

Focusing on what mattered more was only natural for me.]

The story went on for a long time.

There was so much written.

Sometimes it was disjointed, out of order.

Even after turning page after page, there was nothing about that familiar name.

Was I disappointed by that lack of importance?

No.

If anything… I felt relieved.

I never saw the ending.

The story cut off unnaturally, and beyond it was nothing but blank white pages.

Clean, as if sliced through with a sharp blade.

Waves crashed over the words I had forced myself to remember.

Black seawater swallowed them whole.

I felt distant.

My body was swept away, floating, sinking—then spat back out beyond the foam.

Like when I was first born, I was thrown helplessly into the world.

“……Ha.”

“……He woke up. But…….”

“Hyungnim, what is this…….”

“……I think we need to…….”

With muffled ears, tinnitus and noise crashed in like waves.

My head felt like someone was kneading my brain into a mess.

My vision warped wildly, and nausea surged up.

Light scattered unpleasantly.

As shadows approached, I recoiled instinctively.

Every hair on my body stood on end, wary of someone coming closer.

Fear turned my fingertips cold.

The figures, shaped like shadows, were impossible to make out clearly.

Rather than people, they looked like monsters wearing human skin.

“Don’t come closer!”

I screamed hoarsely, flailing my arms, only for things to catch on them and get in the way.

My body lurched, rolling awkwardly—but I forced myself back up.

Staggering backward, my back hit the sharp edge of a wall.

It was the end of the room.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Even then, my vision refused to focus, forming unstable shapes.

With trembling hands, I grabbed whatever I could and thrust it forward with desperate resolve.

“If you touch me…….”

‘I’ll kill you.’

‘I’ll kill you.’

Even a seven-year-old swinging a toy shovel would look more threatening than this, but I couldn’t lower my arm.

Even if it meant nothing, I refused to do nothing.

The man who stepped closer wore white.

For a moment, it felt like someone surfaced in my faint memories—then disappeared again.

I raised my shaking arm higher.

“Don’t come closer.”

He said something, but I couldn’t hear it.

The words lingered briefly at the edge of my ears before scattering uselessly when I shook my head.

Suddenly, the surroundings darkened.

The pale fluorescent light above vanished.

A low voice rang out.

“Step out, Doctor Jang.”

The pale figure withdrew.

I stared, barely breathing, as the elongated shadow receded.

“But…….”

“Enough.

Get out. Clear everyone out, and don’t let me see a single hair of yours until I call.”

I blinked hard, and my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark.

Even under bright light, I couldn’t distinguish anything—but now, suddenly, something snapped into focus.

The owner of that voice.

He approached me slowly.

His movements were slow, but he couldn’t hide his impatience, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly.

“f*ck,” he muttered under his breath.

Not knowing where to look, I could only let my eyes wander weakly.

Eventually, when the distance between us shrank to just a few steps, the man lowered himself onto one knee.

He had to hunch his broad frame to match my eye level.

“Yoo Sowon.”

“…….”

“Look at me.”

I was already looking.

There was nothing else in my field of vision.

Still, something seemed to displease him—he clicked his tongue.

Irritation and anger were clear in his expression.

“Yoo Sowon, look at me properly. You don’t recognize me?”

“……I don’t.”

“That’s a lie. You saw me earlier.”

“Earlier…….”

“I came to find you.”

“Ah…….”

A faint sound slipped from my lips.

His face became clearer in my mind.

A face outlined faintly in the darkness.

Perhaps because he had lost weight, the line from his cheekbones to his jaw looked sharper.

Under thick brows, his pitch-black eyes seemed to swallow all light, staring without blinking.

His firm lips were pressed tight, reflecting his displeasure.

He was right.

He had found me in that warehouse.

I remembered how he had been holding back his anger the entire time I spoke nonsense.

His arm moved.

There was a rustling sound from his pocket.

I flinched instinctively, my body tensing.

I was afraid he might do something to me.

But even after a moment of silence, he didn’t act.

“I won’t do anything. I won’t touch you. I won’t come any closer.

So…….”

Only then did I hear the sound that had been bothering me.

The rasping breath of a dying animal.

It was coming from me.

“Breathe.”

“…….”

“Slower.”

It took a long time to steady my ragged breathing, but he waited quietly.

He looked like he wanted to rush over at any moment, yet he didn’t move.

“Yoo Sowon, you.”

His voice, when it came again, was lower—hoarse.

Rough, like it scraped his throat on the way out.

“You know me.
Right?”

“No…….”

“That’s not true.

Do you think I wouldn’t recognize you?

Has Woo Jaeyoung only seen Yoo Sowon for a day or two?”

Woo Jaeyoung.

At that name, fragments of records flickered through my mind and disappeared.

Three syllables stood alone, vivid, stirring something unpleasant inside me.

The sharp edge of the object in my hand trembled in an unsteady arc.

“You recognized me. You know I’m Woo Jaeyoung.”

Could I really say I knew a man I only recognized from fragments of memory?

I didn’t think so.

“……I don’t.”

Yet even as I said it, a strange sense of guilt crept in.

Maybe because there was something desperate hidden beneath his harsh words.

After a brief silence, he asked again.

“You still don’t know me?”

“…….”

“Hm? Sowon.”

What had he done?

I didn’t know.

He hadn’t moved at all.

Yet somehow, he examined me thoroughly, as if confirming something—

From head to toe, piece by piece, like he was cutting me apart to taste.

“Still don’t know?”

“……I don’t.”

“Fine.”

His voice softened slightly, as if he had decided to step back.

“Get some sleep first.

You’re in pain. If you’re like this, do you think your child is okay?”

“My… child…….”

“Yeah. Your child. And mine.”

‘I’m the father,’ he added quietly, the words drifting away.

A large hand approached and slowly took the object from mine.

His fingers wrapped around the blade of the medical scissors, gently prying them from my grip.

He lightly brushed the back of my hand.

Another hand moved toward me—then stopped abruptly in midair.

As if reminding himself of his promise not to touch me.

The hand withdrew.

Instead, he leaned closer.

My vision filled with Woo Jaeyoung’s face.

I couldn’t read his expression in the dark.

His sharp nose came close—too close.

His damp, warm breath brushed against my cheek.

Noticing how tense I was, he murmured softly, “Shh, it’s okay.”

Then he slowly lowered his head.

Even at a distance where we could’ve touched, he didn’t.

His nose hovered near my neck, tracing along it—

As if searching for something.

Confirming something.

Or craving something.

The fragile silence stretched thin—then snapped.

“……f*ck.”

At that moment, my body, which had been holding on until its limit, finally gave out.

The fever I hadn’t even noticed melted me down completely.

As I collapsed forward, his hands caught me firmly.

He supported my falling head against his shoulder and gently ran his fingers along the back of my neck.

His calloused fingertips trembled slightly.

Lifting me into his arms, his voice sounded distant.

Muted, like it was submerged underwater.

“Call Doctor Jang back in.
Hopi, start the engine.”

“What? It’s the middle of the night, hyungnim.

Doctor Jang said earlier we should start searching offices tomorrow…….”

“That’s why I said bring that bastard here now.

The kid’s about to die—who gives a damn about some office…… f*ck.

Do I have to repeat myself?

Can’t you see it’s urgent?”

“What do you mean urgent?”

“We’re going to Seoul.

Call Taeseon Hospital and get a bed ready. I’m giving you three hours.”

“What suddenly…….”

“No scent.”

“Huh?”

Holding me tighter, the man answered in a shattered voice.

“……There’s no scent coming from him at all.”