Cold wind rushed across the empty highway, the kind of wind that whispered warnings… warnings no one could hear.

Inside the small silver car, Eunsae’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. His breath trembled, not from fear—

but from the weight of the woman beside him.

Sizu.

Her head rested lightly against the window, one hand protectively placed over her swollen stomach.

Eight months.

Just one more month, and their baby would arrive.

“Hold on, Sizu. We’re almost there,” Eunsae whispered, wiping sweat from his forehead. His heartbeat raced faster each second.

They were being followed.

He didn’t want her to know.

The road bent into a dark, forested stretch. That’s when he saw it again—

Headlights.

Too close.

Too fast.

His breath froze.

“No… no, not now—!”

The black SUV behind them accelerated, its engine roaring like a monster charging for blood.

Eunsae’s hand moved instantly—

One hand on the steering wheel,

The other covering Sizu’s stomach protectively, shielding the baby even before the danger struck.

“Sizu! Wake up—”

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, confused, unfocused.

“H-huh? Eunsae… what happened?”

He forced a smile, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Nothing. Just… hold my hand. Don’t let go.”

She didn’t understand the fear in his eyes, but she squeezed his fingers anyway.

And then—

C**RASH**

The world flipped.

Metal screamed.

Glass exploded like shards of stars.

The silver car spun violently, slamming into the roadside barrier.

Sizu’s scream cut through the night—

but Eunsae’s voice was louder.

“SIZU, PROTECT THE BABY!!”

He twisted his body, shielding her completely as the car rolled.

His arm crushed against the window, but his other stayed around her stomach, gripping tightly—

choosing to save them both

instead of himself.

Another impact.

Then silence.

Cold, heavy silence.

A soft, wet warmth dripped down Sizu’s cheek. She blinked weakly, vision foggy.

“…Eun…sae…?”

His face was inches from hers—

but still.

Too still.

Her heart throbbed painfully.

She tried to touch him, but her fingers shook.

“H-hey… open your eyes… please…”

Her voice broke.

She couldn’t hear his breathing.

She touched his cheek—

Warm.

But fading.

Blood stained his hair.

Her vision darkened, memories flickering like dying lights.

“No—no, Eunsae—don’t leave me—don’t leave—”

His lips moved faintly, one last breath escaping.

“S… save… our baby…”

Her tears blurred everything.

Her hand clutched his coat—

and then—

Darkness swallowed her whole.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

A rhythmic sound pulled her consciousness back.

The sharp scent of disinfectant.

A bright light above her.

Sizu’s eyelids trembled open.

Hospital.

Her throat felt dry, her head heavy. She tried to move, but her body refused.

Then—

A soft cry.

A baby’s cry.

Her eyes jerked to the right, and she saw a nurse carrying a tiny wrapped child toward her.

A baby boy.

Her breath hitched.

The world felt like it had stopped.

“This… is…?”

The nurse smiled gently.

“Congratulations. A healthy baby boy. You both are very lucky to be alive.”

Sizu blinked in confusion.

“W-who… who is the father…?”

The nurse frowned.

“Miss… you don’t remember?”

Warm panic rushed through her.

“I… I don’t…”

A doctor entered, flipping a chart.

“Miss Sizu, you suffered cranial trauma from the accident. You’ve lost your memory of the last two years.”

Two years.

The time she met Eunsae.

Loved him.

Trusted him.

Ran away with him.

All gone.

The doctor sighed softly.

“No one came to claim the father’s identity. Your family says… the man abandoned you before the accident.”

Sizu’s heart dropped.

Abandoned?

Someone loved her?

Someone died?

Or… someone left her?

The doctor gently placed the tiny baby in her shaking arms.

“What will you name him?”

She looked at the small, warm, innocent child.

Something inside her whispered—

A name she didn’t know she remembered.

“…Ryo.”

The baby opened his eyes for the first time—

soft, warm brown eyes

exactly like his father’s.

But she didn’t recognize that.

She didn’t recognize anything.

She held him close, her voice barely a breath.

“It’s just you and me now.”

She fainted again...

Doctor,wht happen? Why she faint again, nurse asked...

She might be asleep, and when she wakes up, she may not remember herself or the baby. Then, gently tell her that she named him Ryo and explain about her memory loss."

Yes doctor

Outside the room,

a shadowy figure exited the hospital, dialing a phone.

“It’s done. She doesn’t remember anything.”

Pause.

“Yes. The man is dead.”

Another pause.

“And the child?

She named him Ryo.”

Click.

Darkness swallowed the truth.

Chapter 1 — End

Darkness has a sound.

Mine was the sound of metal screaming.

I don’t remember his face.

I don’t remember his voice.

I don’t even remember why we were in that car…

All I remember is a warm hand pushing against my stomach—protective, desperate—

and someone shouting my name.

“S—!”

The voice cuts before I hear the name completely.

Then the world bends.

The windshield shatters like falling stars.

The car spins.

My head hits something—cold, hard—

and the world goes silent.

No… not silent.

There is a heartbeat.

Not mine.

A smaller one.

Inside me.

I want to save it.

I don’t know who I’m trying to save.

I don’t know who the man beside me is.

But I know the feeling in my chest—

Fear.

Terror.

Protect.

Then everything fades.

I wake up choking on air.

Bright white lights burn my eyes.

My body feels stitched together with pain.

Something warm lies on my chest.

I blink.

A baby.

A tiny boy with black lashes and soft, warm breath.

His small hand rests over my heart as if he’s holding it in place.

“Ma’am… can you hear me?”

A nurse leans close. Her voice feels distant. “You were in a major accident.”

I open my mouth—

but only a cracked whisper comes out.

“…where… am I…?”

“In Seoul Central Hospital. You’ve been unconscious for three days.”

Three days?

I stare at the baby again.

His little fist opens and closes around my shirt.

My chest tightens in a way that feels familiar and painful at once.

“Your son is healthy,” the nurse says gently. “He stayed right beside you.”

My… son?

The word stabs my brain like lightning.

I have… a son?

Why don’t I remember?

“W-what’s his… name?”

My voice trembles.

“You told us it’s Ryo before you fainted again.”

I did?

I don’t remember saying anything.

I don’t remember anything.

Not the accident.

Not the man beside me.

Not this child’s father.

Not the last two years of my life.

Only my name.

Only the feeling of being chased by some dark shadow I can’t see.

I hold Ryo closer.

I don’t know who took care of whom…

but the way he clings to me…

Maybe he saved me.

Days pass.

I learn to walk with shaking legs.

I learn my memory loss is “selective trauma amnesia.”

I learn that my family didn’t visit.

They didn’t even call.

The doctors tell me they were “not reachable.”

A lie.

I can feel it.

Every time I close my eyes, the accident flashes—

the man’s hand on my stomach,

his fear,

the scream of tires—

but his face is a blur.

Ryo cries when I’m not around.

He refuses to leave my side.

It’s like he knows something I don’t.

Maybe he remembers the man who died.

Maybe he remembers what I forgot.

Maybe he remembers the truth.

One week later… I leave the hospital.

I sign the papers with trembling hands.

I walk out holding Ryo, alone, cold, terrified—but breathing.

I don’t go home.

Because I don’t know where my “home” is.

And something deep inside tells me…

I shouldn’t go back.

So I rent a small apartment with my savings.

I find a cheap crib.

I buy groceries.

I breathe.

I survive.

That’s all I can do.

Later that night, while I feed Ryo warm milk, he suddenly touches my cheek with his tiny palm.

As if comforting me.

As if saying:

Don’t cry, Mama.

But tears fall anyway.

Because somewhere out there,

a man died in that car with me.

A man I should remember.

A man whose blood is inside this child.

A man whose name is carved somewhere in the darkness of my missing memories.

But I don’t remember him.

I only remember the sound of the crash.

And the feeling of losing something I never got to hold.

Chapter 2:- The End—