WebNovels

Chapter 19 - Under the Rain

Raindrops danced across the windshield, falling softly like time that refused to move.

Inside the car, only the low hum of the engine and the swish of the wipers broke the silence.

Oska sat in the passenger seat, eyes lost beyond the rain-streaked glass.

The blurred glow of streetlights shimmered in his gaze—eyes that looked empty, yet to Mr. Han, carried something fragile within them.

Hope.

Faint.

Fragile.

But still alive.

Mr. Han watched him quietly, his heart heavy. He knew what haunted the younger man's mind, even if Oska hadn't said a word.

After a long moment, he exhaled softly and spoke.

"Oska…"

No response.

Only the rhythm of rain against metal.

"When we arrive," Mr. Han said, voice low, "I want to ask you for something."

Still no reply. But Oska's eyes flickered, just slightly—he was listening.

"Please," Mr. Han continued, his voice trembling faintly, "don't blame yourself anymore. Whatever happens… let Stevanie go in peace. Don't carry this guilt for the rest of your life."

Silence.

Oska didn't answer.

He didn't even turn his head.

But Mr. Han could see the tension in his jaw, the way his hands clenched tightly against his knees.

There was something inside him that refused to yield—whether guilt, grief, or perhaps… love that still refused to die.

The car sped up.

The city blurred past beneath a sky that had turned the color of ash.

Thunder cracked overhead, followed by rain that poured down in violent sheets.

By the time they reached the hospital, the world was a curtain of water.

Without a word, Oska stepped out of the car.

The downpour hit him immediately, soaking his hair, his clothes—yet he didn't even flinch.

Mr. Han hurried after him, shielding his head with a coat as they ran through the storm and into the hospital's sterile light.

Inside, the air was heavy with disinfectant and fatigue.

White lights gleamed too brightly from above, illuminating the kind of pain that couldn't be hidden.

Oska walked ahead, his footsteps uneven but determined.

He looked like a man whose soul had left him—eyes vacant, body moving only because it remembered how.

At the front desk, Mr. Han spoke first, his voice rough with exhaustion.

"Excuse me… we're looking for the body of Stevanie Jiazhen. She was brought in tonight."

The nurse behind the counter nodded briskly and began typing.

The soft clatter of keys filled the air.

A few seconds later, her brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry," she said, frowning at the monitor. "There's no record of a deceased patient by that name."

Oska's head snapped up, his voice sharp.

"What do you mean?"

The nurse hesitated, then checked the screen again.

"Stevanie Jiazhen is in our system, but not under the morgue list."

Her eyes lifted toward them.

"She's listed as a new admission—currently in the ER."

Time stopped.

Mr. Han turned toward Oska, but the man was already gone.

He had bolted down the hallway before the words had even finished leaving her lips.

His footsteps echoed down the corridor—fast, desperate, alive.

Each stride matched the pounding in his chest.

"She's alive."

"Stevanie is still alive."

The thought burned through his mind like a flare in the dark.

Raindrops and tears blurred his vision, but he didn't care.

All that mattered was reaching her.

Behind him, Mr. Han shouted his name, trying to keep up, but Oska was already too far ahead—running like a man chasing the last light before it vanished forever.

The hospital corridors stretched endlessly, lined with the hum of fluorescent lights and the faint beeping of heart monitors.

Thunder boomed outside, shaking the glass.

Oska turned the final corner—and there it was.

At the end of the hall stood a door marked Emergency Room. There were many people waiting in front of the door, including two police officers who stood guard like loyal dogs.

White light spilled through the frosted glass, cold and blinding.

He stopped, chest heaving, rainwater dripping from his hair onto the tile floor.

His hand trembled as he reached for the steel handle.

Beyond the door, he could hear the monitors beeped frantically.

Someone was fighting for life.

And for the first time that night—Oska's heart began to beat again.

More Chapters