"Your phone number and address."

The officer’s tone had grown markedly blunt. His gaze landed heavily on Seoryeong’s face. What... the hell?

"So I suggest you tell the truth, Ms. Han Seoryeong."

"......."

"That blood—whose is it?"

Seoryeong was starting to understand what kind of misunderstanding she was caught in. She didn’t know how much blood there was, but considering she’d rubbed her face with her hands, she probably looked awful.

Still, Seoryeong deliberately kept the cut flesh hidden. The expression that had crumpled from anxiety gradually returned to a pale, blank mask.

In the sudden silence, the loud ticking of a clock echoed from somewhere. Her unfocused eyes settled somewhere near the officer’s chin.

"If it’s... my husband’s blood—will you look for him faster?"

***

The search began swiftly.

But for Seoryeong, that span of time dragged on longer than anything in the world. In just a single day, her lips had gone chalk white, and her throat tasted sour.

Her husband was gone.

That one, crystal-clear truth slammed into Seoryeong’s chest like a weight.

The police surrounded the old villa and barged into her home. They collected every bit of personal information about her husband, took down every visible CCTV camera, and began door-to-door inquiries.

But the lie unraveled from an unexpected place. Not because of her—but because of Kim Hyun.

“There are no credit card transactions. The company isn’t registered under any corporation. The car’s license plate doesn’t match. And...”

Seoryeong stared straight at the officer’s hazy face without blinking. It couldn’t be true, but absurdly, it looked like he was hesitating.

“The name Kim Hyun doesn’t appear in the national registry.”

“......!”

“Is it possible, Ms. Han Seoryeong, that you’ve misunderstood something...?”

What were they saying? She was too stunned to react. It felt like she’d just been told something fundamentally wrong. Her legs gave out, and she stumbled, only to be caught by the waiting officers. But the touch of their body heat on her cold skin felt revolting, and she shook them off.

She couldn’t breathe. Her vision swam. Even though she couldn’t see anything clearly, it felt like the ceiling and floor were spinning around her.

While she sat there, dazed, the officers exchanged glances and murmured among themselves.

Not a missing person case... more like marriage fraud... —words like that floated past, but none of it made any sense.

When Seoryeong let out a dry laugh, they fell silent. But still, they pushed their unwanted advice.

“Marriage fraud laws... were actually abolished. Still, if it qualifies as fraud due to deception, you could sue for damages.”

“.......”

“We just thought you should know. The more you understand the law, the better.”

Pale and frozen in place, she suddenly clutched the officer’s vest.

“No, that... that can’t be true.”

She couldn’t lose her husband like this—in such a ridiculous way. It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. They were all lying to her.

Seoryeong let out a hollow laugh and clung even tighter to the officer’s vest.

“Have you spoken to the neighbors here? Did you check if anyone saw him last?”

“Ah...”

The heavy sigh that followed struck her as ominous. A violent urge surged up inside her not to hear what came next.

“Ms. Han Seoryeong, didn’t you know?”

“...Know what?”

“You’re the only resident currently living in the Samhwa Villa.”

“......!”

It felt like something stabbed her beneath her ribs. This had to be a joke. A sick, twisted prank. There was no way any of this could be real. Even her dry laughter had abandoned her now.

They’d lived here for two years. The people she passed on her way in and out were her neighbors. She didn’t know every detail about them, but she at least knew which families lived on which floors.

There was an elderly couple. A few newlywed pairs like them. Families with children. A single person who owned a dog. A university student who lived alone. And yet—

“What are you talking about?”

“.......”

“What the hell do you mean?!”

“Exactly what I said. There’s no one else living here, ma’am.”

“.......”

“They’re all empty units.”

She felt like the blood was draining from her toes. Seoryeong turned into a hollow plaster statue, unable to think at all. Her head boiled with a scorching red heat—and at the same time, she broke into a cold sweat. She just kept gasping for air with an expressionless face.

Teacher... teacher... what should I do...?

In a single day, her world was crumbling apart.

Can I still get him back? 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

***

It’s been almost a month since Kim Hyun disappeared.

Or rather, she didn’t even know if that was his real name anymore. At first, she tirelessly went up and down the five floors of the villa, pounding on doors until her hands were raw. But just like they said, not a single soul responded.

No, this can’t be... There’s no way... There’s no way he would lie to me... Am I dreaming? Or have I lost my mind? On top of it all, her blindness made her feel like she’d been possessed by a ghost.

After that, Seoryeong began going to the police station every day. If she didn’t at least do that, she felt like she’d lose her grip completely.

“But I haven’t suffered any financial losses, Inspector.”

Beyond her blurry vision, vague shapes moved busily. The officer who had been dealing with her for weeks furrowed his brow, as if thinking, “Here we go again...”

“Whatever his intentions were, how am I supposed to know what was going on in the head of a guy who ran off?”

“Criminals are getting bolder these days. What if someone targeted my husband first?! What if that’s why he disappeared without a trace?! Please, don’t stop here—look just a little more...! If an unidentified body shows up somewhere...!”

“Goddammit, seriously!”

Finally, the burly officer, driven to the brink by her pleas, shot up from his seat.

“How many times are you going to say the same thing?! Whether your husband disappeared or whatever, there’s no legal proof you were ever married, and there’s no trace of him in the system. What exactly do you expect us to look for? I’m sorry, but you got scammed, miss.”

“.......”

“Get a grip, will you? I can only feel bad for you so many times...! If you keep interrupting our work like this, we’ll throw you in a cell for obstructing an investigation!”

He shouted, warning her harshly. Whether she tried the substation or filed a complaint with the central police agency, the response was the same.

Why did everyone insist she’d misunderstood...? Seoryeong couldn’t comprehend it. She’d felt it—their bond, their love, their life together. She knew. Kim Hyun wasn’t that kind of person. He couldn’t be.

“Please, just investigate one more time...”

And then—

The man with messy hair bit down hard and spat it out.

“Ms. Han Seoryeong, we found records of you receiving psychiatric treatment.”

“......!”

“Maybe you should be at a hospital instead of here.”

Even through the haze, she could read the hostility in his gaze. The way he spat those words made her cheeks burn like she’d been slapped.

“According to your initial report, you said your husband was bleeding. You want us to reopen the case? Then you’ll be the first one under suspicion. We’re letting this go because we feel sorry for you, but false statements aren’t a light matter. So don’t do this—go to the hospital.”

“.......”

“Stop now. You need to face reality...!”

It felt like being thrown back into a snowfield. The chill pierced straight into her bones. She had no one—no parents, no friends—to share this moment with. The pain was hers alone.

“You have to eat to survive, don’t you?! How long are you going to cling to something that’s already over?!”

“It’s not over...”

Seoryeong murmured, dazed.

Because nothing’s over yet. Because I haven’t ended anything. Because I don’t understand...! Not a single word any of you say makes sense to me...!

Unable to contain her frustration, she pounded her chest, now a furnace of rage.

She didn’t want to ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) hear that he was a conman. What she wanted was to know where her husband had gone.

She just wanted to know where he was. Whether he was alive, whether he was hurt, whether something had really happened to him.

Because they were married. Because she was his wife. That alone gave her the right to worry.

If there had been a way to find him, she would’ve reported it long ago—long ago...!

Tears welled up and fell, spilling without direction. But reporting a ghost that vanished without a trace had been impossible from the start.

She didn’t even have time to grieve the fact that she could no longer identify objects or leave the house without a cane. Even when she was diagnosed as nearly blind, she had still been drunk on sweetness.

That day, she had sex with Kim Hyun for the first time.

Tongues tangled, something hot pressed between her legs, and she swallowed it all.

Even though her eyes were failing, they still chased after Kim Hyun. In the thrill of clashing lips and naked skin, Seoryeong swallowed even her own despair.

Kim Hyun had that kind of power. He was the kind of man who could turn sorrow into a memory. So how could I... just let you go like this?