Minah woke with a jolt.
Her breath caught in her throat. Her pajamas clung to her skin, damp with cold sweat. Her fingers instinctively touched her forehead—slick and clammy.
She had dreamt something… strange. Foreign. Familiar.
Rooms filled with blinking lights. Wires. Masks. A number on her bed.
47.
She didn't understand it. But her heart knew it wasn't just a dream.
It was a memory.
Without a word, Minah slipped out of bed and quietly changed into her work clothes. Her movements were robotic, methodical. She tied her hair up, smoothed her skirt, and moved on—as if nothing had happened.
But Jaewook noticed.
She didn't say a word when she entered the dining area, but he could see it in her eyes—the shadows of unrest. The slight puffiness. The way her gaze was just a little more distant.
Still, he didn't hover.
He simply held out a warm cup of coffee and a neatly packed takeout bag.
"Hyun Soo's waiting downstairs," he said gently. "Eat your breakfast in the car."
Minah looked at him, surprised by the gesture… and the restraint.
She nodded and took the items without fuss.
---
In the car, Hyun Soo kept his usual playful energy toned down. The air was peaceful, soft lo-fi music humming from the stereo as the city passed by outside.
He glanced at her through the rearview mirror—but didn't say anything.
Then he saw it.
She was eating.
Slowly. Carefully.
Biting into the red bean bun he had picked up that morning. The tiniest, most surprised look crossed her face.
Hyun Soo smiled to himself.
"First time having red bean?" he asked lightly.
Minah blinked, then gave a small nod.
"Glad you like it," he said, eyes on the road again.
Minah returned to chewing in silence. The taste was… sweet. Warm. Comforting in a way she didn't expect.
A soft morning.
A strange nightmare.
And, for once, a breakfast that felt like someone thought of her.
----
Minah arrived at work on time, as always.
The elevator ride was uneventful. Her steps light. Her expression unreadable.
Kyung-Ah greeted her warmly near the entrance. "Morning, Minah," she said with a smile before hurrying off to a meeting with her tablet and coffee in hand.
Minah gave a small nod in return, then sat down at her desk. She finished the last sip of her takeout coffee—Hyun Soo's pick—and tossed the empty cup into the trash can beside her.
She tried to work. Tried to focus.
But her hands hovered above the keyboard, motionless.
Her mind kept looping back to the night before.
The room.
The lights.
The number.
047.
It didn't feel like a dream. It felt like a memory resurfacing from the deep.
She was still dazed when a coworker tapped gently on her shoulder.
"You okay?" they asked.
Minah blinked, startled, and quickly nodded. She got up and helped them with a few small tasks—printing, scanning, organizing files.
It grounded her.
Barely.
But 047 echoed in the back of her mind like a code she was never supposed to remember.
---
At lunchtime, Minah found a moment for herself.
She slipped into the ladies' washroom and locked herself inside the farthest stall. The familiar hum of fluorescent lights and soft chatter outside created a barrier of normalcy—but inside, her hands were shaking slightly.
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper.
Jaewook's encrypted number.
Her thumb hovered over her phone. Hesitating.
But then she remembered his words.
"You don't have to answer now. But I'll protect you—with everything I have."
She sighed quietly and began to type.
Message to Jaewook:
"I had a nightmare last night.
It wasn't a regular dream. It felt real.
I saw the number 47. I was in a room, locked up with other people.
There were masked people walking around.
There were machines everywhere."
She stared at the message for a long moment.
Then hit send.
----
Jaewook sat alone on the couch in his private lounge, the early afternoon quiet except for the faint ticking of a minimalist wall clock.
He had just set down his tablet when his encrypted phone buzzed on the coffee table.
He reached for it.
One message.
From her.
"I had a nightmare last night.
It wasn't a regular dream. It felt real.
I saw the number 47. I was in a room, locked up with other people.
There were masked people walking around.
There were machines everywhere."
His eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched.
He didn't hesitate.
Jaewook immediately reached for his other phone and dialed Hyun Soo first, then Kang Ho.
"Drop everything," he said, his voice low but urgent. "Find out everything you can about a project involving child subjects. Code: 047."
Hyun Soo, startled, didn't even joke back this time. "Understood."
Kang Ho's tone was already shifting into investigator mode. "Government files? Medical? Military?"
"All of it," Jaewook replied. "Use my clearance. Dig through blacksites if you have to. I don't care how long it takes."
He paused, staring at Minah's message again, his voice dropping even lower.
"I need to know what happened to her."
Even if it meant tearing open doors that were meant to stay locked.
Even if it meant going to war with ghosts.