Scarlet Heart: Once More, To You (Alternate Ending)

The Angel's Song

It was during the dead of night when he awoke.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The heart rate monitor was going haywire.

Nurses rushed in almost immediately, some with expressions of pure terror while others with utter disbelief.

The man was conscious, and his eyes were open. He was... crying.

It had been five years.

--

Lee So was the only son of the Lee family— or what had once been the Lee family. Now it was only him and his mother. His mother had become a widow after two years of marriage, an event in her life that caused her to take on multiple jobs. The death of her husband had cut dozens of ties. Although she was a troubled, downcast woman, she tried her best to be the best mother she could be to So. So was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And then one day both their lives were flipped upside down.

So had been involved in a terrible car accident—one that took every single life but his. When help finally came, it had been too late for both of his colleagues. It had been unclear as to whether So himself would make it—he had been losing too much blood. After numerous operations, the doctors announced that they managed to stop the bleeding and that he would survive.

And then the next morning he had not woken.

His mother simply refused it. And that was how she began to live—in utter denial. She continued to pour endless amounts of money—money she did not even have—into what most would call a lost cause. And now, after five years, he had opened his eyes.

It was indeed her son who had returned to her after five years, but something was different about him. It was as if he had not been asleep... but as if he had returned another person. Someone from far, far away. And he kept on repeating the same name. Over and over again.

"Hae Soo."

--

So stood outside on the small balcony of his apartment room and let his thoughts run free. He had been asleep for so long, but it was as if he hadn't been asleep at all. He felt strange—incomplete, even. Almost as if he didn't belong. He was a mix of anxiety, sorrow, and... longing. And then he remembered. When he had awoken, the first thing he had said was "Hae Soo."

Who was Hae Soo?

Every time he thought of the name, an excruciating headache ensued. It was as if there was something engraved in the depths of his memories that he was unable to recall. Something dearly important. Something he couldn't afford to forget.

He raised the palm of his hand to his forehead in a feeble attempt to quiet the headache. He paused as his palm brushed against his eye. There... there had been something there. Something was missing.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the door. He turned around quickly, a brief expression of fear etched on his face. His gaze softened as he looked at the woman who held out a tray of fruit. Besides the fruit lay a teapot. For some reason it made him smile.

"So... I brought this for you to eat." She opened the door and placed the tray on the table and spread her arms wide.

So stared at her blankly, caught off guard by the gesture. The woman pouted and approached him instead, hugging him tightly. Then she began to sob uncontrollably.

"My son, I missed you so much. I really thought you were gone."

And then So started crying as well.

--

The next morning, he stood in front of the bathroom mirror and stared at his reflection for a long time. The image that looked back at him was that of his own, but it was unfamiliar. Nothing seemed right. It was almost as if... he hadn't been gone for five years. It felt like he had been gone for perhaps a century. As if he had lived an entire life already... as if he had come from a different world completely.

"Hae Soo... isn't from this world."

He blinked in surprise as he heard the words, and turned towards the door to see if someone had spoken to him. There was no one. He didn't recognize the voice—but at the same time, it didn't strike him as strange. He shook his head and returned his focus back to the mirror.

Why did he look so sad?

--

Hae Soo let out a sigh as she flipped the sign on the door from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED'. She went to the back room and produced a broom and dustpan and began to clean. Now that the store was completely deserted besides her, she could hear the TV clearly. It had been the same news playing all day.

Apparently someone had awoken from a coma after five years. The media was calling it a miracle.

She sighed again, and shut off the television without glancing at the screen even once.

After a few more minutes, she was ready to close the store. She wrapped her scarf around her neck, shut off the lights, and locked the door.

The night air was freezing, but the comforting glow from the street lamps seemed to provide warmth. The lamps illuminated her path as she began to walk slowly, her gaze cast down to the ground. The streets were drenched in nothing but absolute silence, especially at this hour. Not a single soul was to be seen.

Ha Jin liked it this way—it gave her time to be alone with her thoughts. It gave her time to be brutally honest with herself. She no longer had the need to fake a smile or to conjure a reason as to why it was so obvious she had cried herself to sleep the previous night. It was just her and herself alone.

And then she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"When the water has run dry, sit and watch for the rising clouds."

--

Someone was singing. The voice was ethereal, one that could only belong an angel. And when So awoke from his dream, he could remember the lyrics. It was a song that he knew well.

"If I find a place without loneliness... come with me to that place."