The silence that followed his words did not last long.
At first Sooah simply sat there, staring at him as if her mind could not fully accept what she had just heard.
A care facility.
The words echoed inside her head with an almost unbearable sharpness.
A place where people were sent when their lives could no longer be lived normally.
A place where families visited instead of lived together.
A place where children said goodbye at the door.
Her chest tightened violently.
Her breathing grew uneven.
"No…"
The word slipped out of her lips as a whisper.
Daehyun remained seated across from her, watching quietly.
He did not interrupt.
He had expected this reaction.
He had feared it.
But he also knew there was no longer any way to avoid it.
Sooah's hands began to shake.
"No… no…"
Her voice cracked.
"You can't be serious."
She suddenly stood up from the bed, the movement abrupt and emotional.
"You're talking about sending me away like I'm some kind of… burden."
Daehyun opened his mouth slightly.
But before he could say anything—
"Why are you even considering it?!"
Her voice broke.
The sound filled the room with raw desperation.
"You're supposed to be on my side!"
The words hit him harder than anything she had thrown earlier that day.
Sooah took several unsteady steps toward him.
Her eyes were already filling with tears.
"Why can't you defend me?"
Her voice trembled.
"Why can't you say no to them?"
Her hands clenched tightly into fists.
"You're my husband!"
Her chest heaved with emotion.
"You're supposed to protect me!"
The Pain She Didn't Mean to Cause
Before he could respond, her hands suddenly began striking his chest.
Not violently.
Not with the strength of someone attacking.
But with the helpless force of someone drowning in emotion.
"You're supposed to fight for me!"
Her fists landed against him again.
And again.
Each hit carried frustration.
Fear.
Desperation.
"Why are you even thinking about something so absurd?!"
Another strike landed against his side.
And this time—
Daehyun flinched sharply.
The pain shot through his body instantly.
Her fist had struck directly over the stab wound.
His breath caught in his throat.
The sudden reaction made Sooah freeze.
But the damage was already done.
A sharp gasp escaped him before he could stop it.
His hand instinctively pressed against his side.
The wound throbbed violently beneath the bandages.
For a moment he said nothing.
His jaw tightened.
Trying to push the pain down.
Trying not to react.
But Sooah saw it.
And the realization hit her instantly.
Her hands dropped slowly.
"…Did I—"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Because the answer was obvious.
The Words That Broke Him
But that wasn't what broke Daehyun.
What broke him came next.
Sooah's voice trembled again.
"…Why won't you defend me?"
The question sounded smaller now.
More vulnerable.
But somehow that made it hurt more.
Because there was no accusation in it anymore.
Just pain.
Just confusion.
Just a wife who could not understand why the one person she trusted most seemed ready to let her go.
Daehyun closed his eyes for a moment.
And something inside him finally cracked.
When he opened them again—
The calm composure he had carried for two years was gone.
His voice came out rough.
Quiet.
But filled with something deeply wounded.
"…What did I do wrong?"
Sooah blinked in shock.
He looked at her with an expression she had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not resentment.
Just unbearable exhaustion.
"What did I do wrong…"
His voice cracked slightly.
"…to deserve that question?"
The words hung in the air like shattered glass.
Sooah froze.
Because in that moment she finally heard it.
The weight behind those words.
The two years of quiet suffering that question had ignored.
The Truth Beneath the Surface
Daehyun stood slowly.
His hand still pressed against his side.
But the physical pain hardly mattered anymore.
His eyes met hers.
"I didn't defend you?"
His voice remained low.
But the hurt inside it was impossible to hide.
"I hid your illness from the world."
"I took control of both KGI Group and Hanseong Holdings so no one would question your absence."
"I restrained you every time you had an episode so you wouldn't hurt yourself."
His breathing grew heavier.
"I let you hit me."
"I let you stab me."
"I let you forget me."
Each sentence felt heavier than the last.
"And you're asking why I won't defend you?"
The room felt unbearably quiet.
Sooah's tears began falling freely now.
But Daehyun wasn't finished.
His voice softened suddenly.
"…I did defend you."
He looked at her with quiet honesty.
"I defended you from the world."
He paused.
Then added quietly,
"But I can't defend you from reality."
The Man Who Still Loves Her
Sooah's legs felt weak.
Her knees nearly buckled beneath her.
"I didn't mean—"
Her voice broke again.
But Daehyun stepped forward quickly.
Before she could collapse.
He caught her arms.
Holding her firmly.
Not gently.
But not harshly either.
Just enough to steady her.
The closeness made her sob harder.
"I didn't mean that…"
"I know."
His voice softened again.
"I know you didn't."
Her forehead dropped against his chest.
Her tears soaked into his shirt.
"I'm scared…"
The words finally came out.
The truth she had been trying to hide.
"I don't want to lose my life…"
"I don't want to lose you…"
Her hands gripped his shirt tightly.
"I don't want to lose Minjun…"
The sound of her crying filled the room.
And Daehyun felt his own chest tighten painfully.
Because he understood.
Of course he did.
But that didn't change reality.
He gently tightened his hold on her shoulders.
Steadying her trembling body.
Then spoke quietly near her ear.
"Please don't blame me."
The words carried no anger.
Only exhaustion.
"I didn't create this situation."
He pulled back slightly so she could see his face.
And the raw honesty in his eyes.
"I'm just the one trying to survive it."
Sooah's crying slowed slightly.
Her breathing uneven.
Her eyes swollen with tears.
Daehyun held her shoulders firmly.
Not letting her collapse back into emotional chaos.
His voice lowered.
Soft.
But resolute.
"Please…"
He swallowed slowly.
"…don't make me the villain in your story."
Because he was already carrying more pain than anyone should have to bear.
Then he said the only thing left to say.
"Just decide."
His voice trembled slightly.
"But don't punish me for whatever choice you make."