Several years ago…
The sky was a heavy sheet of gray, thick clouds swirling ominously as rain hammered down in relentless sheets. The windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the onslaught, swishing back and forth as Lee Hyun's father gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with tension.
The highway ahead was barely visible, obscured by the torrential rain and the occasional blinding flash of headlights from oncoming cars.
In the backseat, Lee Hyun's small body shivered uncontrollably. His skin was burning and flushed with fever, and his breaths came in shallow, rapid gasps.
His mother, seated beside him, wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close as she whispered soothing words into his ear, trying to calm him, even as her own heart raced with fear.
"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," she murmured, her voice shaky but gentle. "We're almost at the hospital."
