The silence in the studio was heavy, broken only by Minsoo's rapid breathing and the sound of his thoughts gnawing at his mind. He was sitting in the dark corner, staring at his hands as if he could see traces of blood on them that did not exist. He began to mercilessly punish himself, sinking into self-blame over a past that haunted him, and a success he felt he did not deserve.
"I'm nothing but a fraud… a criminal hiding behind the lights," he whispered to himself, tightening his grip on his hair violently. At that moment, the walls seemed to close in. Then appeared that familiar apparition—the jay bird with its blue feathers filling the room with its mocking laughter. Its face was distorted, a disturbing blend of human and bird features, and its sharp voice echoed with sins he did not remember committing, and secrets that burned him from within. He covered his ears tightly and lifted his head toward the ceiling, his face filled with terror as he screamed into the void:
"Please stop… it's not me… I didn't do it… I am not a criminal!"
Outside the three-story house, Himi stood with a worry that tore at her heart. She pressed the doorbell repeatedly—once, twice—but there was no response. She was certain he was inside; her intuition that was always connected to him had never been wrong. When he did not answer her repeated calls, a cold wave of fear spread through her veins.
"Oh my God… it's happening again!"
She did not wait any longer. She entered the security code to unlock the door and rushed inside. In her panic, she did not even take off her shoes, running through the silent hallways, searching through the vast house until the sound of his hysterical sobbing guided her to the studio.
She burst into the room and found him collapsed on the floor. She ran toward him without hesitation, knelt down, and rested his heavy head filled with torment against her chest. With a sharp voice directed into the emptiness, she shouted as if she were exorcising a demon:
"Get out of here!"
She turned toward Minsoo and began wiping the tears covering his pale face with her hands. His eyes locked onto hers as he trembled:
"Himi… tell him to leave… please."
Then he added, even more tense:
"Tell him I wasn't the one who did it… my life is hell because of him!"
At that moment, Himi's strength betrayed her. She, who was used to this scene, could not hold back her sobs. She began crying intensely—crying even more than him. How could she remain composed when she saw the shining star, whom thousands dreamt of meeting, collapsing like this?
She gathered the fragments of her voice and said with a tenderness pouring from her eyes:
"Listen to me… don't listen to him. Just look at me."
She continued, trying to anchor him to reality:
"He is the only criminal here, not you. Criminals have cold hearts, but you… you are the one who donates half your income to hospitals and orphans. Your heart is one of the purest hearts in the world."
Minsoo kept turning his gaze left and right, fleeing from his illusions. She held his face between her hands and forced him to focus on her:
"Look at me only… I am the truth, and everything else is emptiness. Do you remember your childhood promise? I am working in what I love today because of you. I own a chain of restaurants because you supported me without ever asking for anything in return."
Minsoo's trembling slowly subsided as he looked into her tear-filled eyes. With a broken, almost whispering voice, he said:
"Because you are Himi… I did it only because of you."
And for the first time in her life, Himi saw in his eyes a gaze she could not understand. It was not a look of brokenness or simple affection, but something deep and mysterious… a gaze that made time stand still, and made the "jay bird" dissolve into the shadows, replaced by a vast question for which she had no answer yet.