"Grandma, did you catch a cold?"

Tie asked in a worried voice.

Chae Boksun quickly shook her head.

"No, no. I just choked again. Go on, eat."

The child nodded reluctantly.

Watching Astie eat, Chae Boksun quietly set her spoon down.

Under the table, she slipped the blood-stained handkerchief into her pocket without being noticed.

"Eggs are still tasty!"

Seeing the girl laugh even at such meager side dishes, her nose stung.

'Poor child.'

The heaviness in her chest did not fade even when she looked at the child’s father sitting beside her.

'That Kim needs to come to his senses soon...'

Chae Boksun swallowed with difficulty.

This morning.

The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was check on Tie and Tesetan.

She wondered if everything that had happened yesterday might have just been a dream.

But Astie’s return was real.

And the fact that Kim, who had been believed dead, had come back alive—no matter how unbelievable it seemed—was also real.

Chae Boksun rose from her seat.

Pretending to go get water, she quietly poured the rice from her bowl back into the rice cooker.

The doctor’s voice from earlier echoed in her ears.

'Ma’am, you cannot be this stubborn. You must go to the hospital immediately. With the hemoptysis, we cannot even begin treatment. If this continues, you will truly put yourself in danger!'

A bitter chuckle slipped from her constantly dry mouth. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

'What’s the point of being hospitalized now.'

Even setting aside the cost, the illness had already progressed far by the time it was discovered.

They said that if she was lucky, she might live a few more months.

So the fact that she could still move at all was already a miracle.

'When you’re old, it means it’s time to die.'

And above all, Boksun was not optimistic enough to cling to life without hope.

'But still...'

Chae Boksun stared silently at the top of Tie’s head.

These past few years.

This treasure that she had never been meant to have had suddenly come into her life, running around beside her—and it brought her joy.

Even if she died tomorrow, it felt like she would remember today.

But aside from that, life had always been harsh and lacking in luck.

Every day was nothing but struggle, arguments, and collapse...

'So you want me to take care of my mother?'

Recalling the voice of her son, whom she had barely managed to contact, Boksun coughed dryly.

"Cough..."

Tie’s plate on the table was almost empty.

"Eat slowly. Chew properly."

Seeing Tesetan calmly scolding her, her chest tightened again.

'No matter how I look at it.'

It seemed he had not completely lost his mind.

Of course, Tesetan did not recognize Boksun.

And he kept insisting on nonsense, saying he was not Tie’s father.

'But when I showed him the video, he almost cried.'

The way he looked at the child and treated her had not changed at all.

The fact that the urn with his ashes had disappeared was certainly strange, but...

Chae Boksun shook her head.

'To hell with that urn.'

Right now, she felt like she should at least be grateful that Tesetan’s mind was holding together at all.

'At least he didn’t run away and abandon the child.'

At that moment, Tie suddenly jumped up after finishing her meal.

"Ah, I’m full! Thank you for the food!"

Tesetan naturally began clearing the table.

He said he had forgotten everything from beginning to end.

But his neatness and organization in daily life remained the same.

"Grandma, look, we sing together!"

Tie immediately pressed her face against his pant leg and began pleading.

But after a brief pause, Chae Boksun replied:

"Sweetheart, sit here for now."

She lifted her gaze and stared at Tesetan.

"Kim."

Tesetan, who had been stacking dishes, flinched and froze.

With a serious expression, Chae Boksun beckoned him.

"Come outside for a moment. We need to talk."

Tie tilted her head.

But soon she obediently went and sat in front of the television.

When Boksun stepped out of the room, Tesetan followed her with an expressionless face.

As soon as the door closed, Chae Boksun looked around.

Checking if anyone was nearby.

After confirming the alley was empty, she pulled Tesetan toward the far end.

"Kim... no. Yeonsu."

Under the streetlight.

Tesetan lifted his gaze.

His eyes—neither brown nor green—looked at her calmly.

Holding back the tears welling up, Chae Boksun opened her mouth.

"I didn’t want to interfere, but I can’t endure it anymore."

She tightly grabbed his arm.

"You need to come to your senses quickly. What happened to you? Did you do something you shouldn’t have, just to survive?"

After Tie disappeared.

Boksun had thought about it many times.

What if it was Tesetan who took the child.

Although she received the urn, she had never seen his body with her own eyes.

"I know it sounds ridiculous. But you see things like that in movies! People fake their deaths, steal someone else’s identity, and go into hiding!"

"......"

"You did that, didn’t you, Yeonsu? You ran away with the child, right? And then hit your head somewhere and came back—right?"

Tesetan did not answer.

At last, tears of despair welled up in Boksun’s eyes.

"Sigh... «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» If you were going to run, you should have at least lived properly. Why come back here... I’m old now too, useless for anything."

"......"

"Things aren’t like before anymore. Actually, I... I..."

Her wrinkled hand trembled as the words caught in her throat.

"You’re coughing up blood."

Tesetan murmured.

Boksun flinched and lifted her head.

"H-how do you know that?"

"I saw it. Just now."

Boksun hesitated, then released his arm.

Tesetan continued:

"Astie doesn’t know."

Only then did Boksun stagger.

After taking several heavy breaths, she leaned her back against the alley wall.

The yellow streetlight cast shadows across her face.

"Am I going to die?"

The calm question sounded.

When she turned her head, Tesetan was still looking at her without emotion.

"Ha... ha..."

A laugh escaped her lips.

Strange.

Because he asked so calmly, she felt relieved.

Boksun slowly crouched down.

"Yes... they say everything inside is already rotting."

"I’m sorry."

"What is there to be sorry about. If you get sick, you die—that’s normal."

But the tears she had been holding back still filled her eyes.

Boksun sighed and looked at Tesetan.

"But when I see you like this... suddenly I feel afraid to die."

"......"

"Just don’t hurt the child. Alright?"

"......"

"She relied on you so much. You have to keep being her support. A grown man leaning on such a small child... what kind of nonsense is that!"

Tesetan silently pressed his lips together.

His gaze turned complicated, and he slowly crouched down as well.

After a while, he spoke quietly.

"About that."

"That?"

"What you showed me."

He pointed at her phone.

Chae Boksun hurriedly turned it on and handed it to him.

"The video? You want to watch it again?"

Tesetan nodded.

Boksun quickly opened the gallery.

Photos and videos appeared on the screen one after another.

She deliberately held the phone closer to him.

"So, what first? Pick whatever you want."

After a brief hesitation, Tesetan tapped one.

The screen began playing—Tie and himself.

Boksun watched him intently with hope as he focused on the video.

And then—

"...Yeonsu?"

A trembling voice came from the end of the dark alley.

It was not Tesetan who reacted first, but Chae Boksun.

She stood up, and Tesetan slowly stood as well.

At that same moment, the door of apartment 107 opened.

"Grandma, when are you—"

Tie stuck her head out—and met someone’s eyes.

Her eyes widened, and a quiet voice slipped from her lips:

"The lady from the second floor...?"

"Oh my, oh my! Tie!"

The woman from unit 203.

Jeong Myeongja dropped her grocery bag and tightly hugged Tie.