SEOUL — HOSPITAL — JAE RIN POV
The hospital hallway felt too familiar.
Jae Rin hated that feeling.
Five years.
It had been five years since she last walked through doors like these.
Five years since she thought she wouldn't walk out alive.
Min Jae walked beside her.
Yuna, Sora, and Jisoo followed behind.
None of them said anything.
They didn't need to.
They all remembered.
Min Jae looked at her.
"You should've told us earlier you couldn't breathe."
She shrugged.
"I was tired."
Yuna scoffed.
"You almost collapsed after the practice ."
Sora crossed her arms.
"You scared the staff."
Jisoo spoke softly.
"You scared us."
Jae Rin didn't reply.
The nurse bowed.
"Miss Kang, the doctor is ready."
Miss Kang.
Not Jay.
Not Fernandez.
Not Mariano.
Just Kang Jae Rin.
The name she survived with.
They walked inside.
The doctor checked her breathing, pulse, oxygen level.
Then he turned to the screen.
His eyebrows frowned slightly.
"…Have you had lung treatment before?"
The room went still.
Jae Rin didn't move.
Min Jae didn't move.
Yuna, Sora, Jisoo stayed silent.
The doctor continued.
"There is old scar tissue… damage in the lungs… but I don't see any previous oncology record."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
The doctor looked up.
"You had a serious illness before?"
Jae Rin answered calmly.
"Yes. Five years ago."
The doctor nodded.
"That makes sense. But there should be files here. This hospital keeps everything."
Min Jae spoke before he could ask more.
"She was treated privately."
The doctor looked confused.
"Privately?"
Sora stepped in casually.
"It was a VIP case."
Yuna added,
"The records weren't kept in the public system."
Jisoo gave a polite smile.
"Family request."
The doctor slowly nodded.
"I see… that explains why I can't find anything."
Jae Rin stood up.
"So I just need rest?"
"Yes. Your lungs are weaker than normal. Overworking can cause breathing problems."
Min Jae nodded.
"We know."
The doctor looked surprised.
"You do?"
Min Jae smiled slightly.
"We were there."
He didn't say more.
He didn't need to.
The doctor finished the check.
"You're fine. Just don't push yourself too hard."
Jae Rin walked out immediately.
The others followed.
HALLWAY — AFTER
The moment they turned the corner, everyone stopped.
Yuna exhaled.
"…That was too close."
Sora nodded.
"He almost checked the old database."
Jisoo looked at Jae Rin.
"You okay?"
She leaned against the wall.
"…Yeah."
Min Jae crossed his arms.
"You knew he'd notice the scars."
She looked at him.
"Yeah."
Five years ago.
Same hospital.
Same floor.
Same smell.
Same machines.
Same fear.
Min Jae spoke quietly.
"Good thing Percy wiped everything."
Yuna nodded.
"No files."
Sora added,
"No admission record."
Jisoo finished,
"No cancer history."
Jae Rin looked down.
"…He said no one can ever find it."
Min Jae answered.
"And no one will."
Her voice got softer.
"If Keifer finds out… if Section E finds out…"
She stopped.
Yuna flicked her forehead.
"Stop."
She blinked.
"Ow."
Sora smirked.
"You beat cancer. You can beat memories too."
Jisoo smiled.
"You're not that girl anymore."
Min Jae looked at her seriously.
"You're Kang Jae Rin now."
Silence.
Then she straightened.
Took a deep breath.
"…Let's go home."
They all nodded.
And walked away.
Five people.
One secret.
One hospital.
One past erased from every record.
But in Manila…
Someone was already trying to open a file that no longer existed.
KEIFER'S POV — MANILA
The mansion felt too quiet.
Keifer stood in his office, staring at the city lights outside the glass wall.
Manila never slept.
Cars moved.
Lights flickered.
People lived their lives.
But his mind wasn't in the present.
It was in Seoul.
In that meeting room.
In that moment when she looked at him like he was a stranger.
"My name is Jae Rin. Nice to meet you."
His jaw tightened.
Ci-n leaned against the desk.
"You've been like this since morning."
Keifer didn't turn.
"I know."
Aries sat on the couch, arms crossed.
"You're still thinking about her."
Keifer laughed quietly.
"Still?"
Angelo sighed.
"We all are."
Silence filled the room.
No one wanted to admit it.
But seeing her again after eleven years felt like reopening a wound that never healed.
Ci-n spoke first.
"There's something wrong."
Keifer finally turned.
"What?"
Ci-n shrugged.
"She's hiding something."
Aries frowned.
"She always was."
Angelo shook his head.
"No… this is different."
Keifer walked to the table.
Picked up the file.
Old notes.
Old investigation papers.
Things they searched years ago when she disappeared.
Nothing.
Always nothing.
But this time felt different.
He spoke slowly.
"When she fainted at the concert…"
Aries looked up.
"She didn't faint."
Keifer ignored him.
"She looked weak."
Ci-n nodded.
"I noticed that too."
Angelo frowned.
"You think she's sick?"
Keifer didn't answer immediately.
His fingers tapped the table.
Then he said quietly—
"I think something happened after she left."
Silence.
Aries stood up.
"We checked everything before."
Keifer shook his head.
"No. We checked Philippines."
Ci-n's eyes widened slightly.
"…Not Korea."
The room went still.
Angelo looked at him.
"You think she stayed there?"
Keifer nodded.
"She built her life there."
Aries spoke.
"So what now?"
Keifer closed the file.
"We don't go to the hospital ourselves."
Ci-n smirked.
"Then who?"
Keifer looked at him.
"Call Section E."
That got everyone's attention.
Angelo raised an eyebrow.
"You mean Rory and Edrix?"
Keifer nodded.
"They can get anything."
Ci-n grabbed his phone immediately.
"This is getting interesting."
Aries muttered,
"This better not be nothing again."
LATER — STUDY ROOM
Laptop screens lit the dark room.
Rory typed fast.
Edrix watched the system load.
Ci-n stood behind them.
Angelo leaned on the wall.
Aries paced.
Keifer stood near the window, arms crossed.
Rory spoke.
"Korean hospital database is locked."
Edrix smirked.
"Not for long."
Typing.
Loading.
Access granted.
Ci-n whistled.
"Damn."
Keifer didn't react.
"Search."
Rory looked at him.
"Name?"
Silence.
For a moment no one spoke.
Then Angelo said quietly—
"…Jay Fernandez."
Rory typed.
No results.
Aries frowned.
"Try Mariano."
Nothing.
Ci-n muttered.
"She really erased herself."
Keifer's voice was low.
"…Try Kang Jae Rin."
Rory typed slowly.
The screen loaded.
One file appeared.
Everyone leaned closer.
Edrix clicked it.
The file opened.
Blank.
Completely blank.
No history.
No treatment.
No childhood record.
Nothing.
Rory blinked.
"…That's impossible."
He refreshed.
Still empty.
Edrix checked again.
"Someone wiped it."
Ci-n frowned.
"Who can erase hospital records like this?"
Silence.
Angelo spoke quietly.
"…Someone rich."
Aries looked at him.
"You thinking the same thing?"
Angelo nodded slowly.
"…Percy."
The name hung in the air.
Keifer's hand tightened.
Ci-n looked at him.
"You think Percy did this?"
Keifer didn't answer immediately.
His eyes stayed on the empty screen.
Then he spoke.
"He was the only one with her when she disappeared."
Rory leaned back.
"If this file existed… it was erased professionally."
Edrix nodded.
"Not normal hacking."
Ci-n crossed his arms.
"So he's hiding something big."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Keifer finally turned away from the screen.
Walked to the window.
Manila lights reflected in his eyes.
His voice was quiet.
"She was sick."
Everyone looked at him.
Aries frowned.
"What?"
Keifer didn't turn.
"I don't know why… but I feel like she was."
No one spoke.
Because deep down…
They all felt it too.
Something happened after she left.
Something bad.
Something no one wanted them to know.
Keifer clenched his fist slightly.
"If Percy erased it…"
His voice hardened.
"Then whatever happened to her…"
"…was worse than we think."
The room fell silent.
And far away in Seoul…
The girl they were searching for
was walking out of the same hospital
that held the truth they couldn't find.