what we keep, what we lost | lee hong-sae

lee hong-sae hasn't seen his ex in five years. after the breakup, they cut off all contact and went their separate ways, and despite the fact that he's thought about her every single day since, he goes about his life normally.

solving murders. filling out paper work. drowning himself in whatever activity he can to occupy his mind with something other than the image of her face.

but when a serial killer is found lurking in the streets of seoul, targeting single mothers with young children, hong-sae cannot ignore her name on the list of victims who might be next.

questions race through his head, memories of the past rushing just as quickly, but one echoes louder than the other.

why is there a little girl nearly five years old with his eyes and her smile?

hong-sae used to believe that in the parting, love was lost and pain was kept.

but maybe it can be salvaged. maybe love never left, and second chances can be given.

forced together in order to protect her from harm, resentment slowly melts away into longing, and these lovers turned to strangers face the past they tried to bury.