Sporting a pair of thick framed sunglasses and a large scarf wrapped around the bottom half of her face, Minji quietly walked into Seunghyun's hospital room and sat down on the plastic chair next to his bed. Right after she adjusted her position in her seat, she was startled to find her half-brother staring straight at her with a set of intense eyes. “Aigoo! Oppa, you scared me. I thought you were sleeping.”

He shifted his gaze to stare longingly at the window before looking back at Minji. “You know I never truly sleep, it's not safe to.”

Minji lowered her head uncomfortably, well aware of what Seunghyun was referring to. And it couldn't come at a worse time after what had just happened earlier in the day before she left the apartment.

“Why are you all covered up?” His question came no later than she expected. “Isn't it hot today? Why are you wearing a scarf and sunglasses indoors? The lights aren't even .” Gathering his strength, he pulled himself up onto a sitting position and twisted his body to face her. Her reluctance in answering his questions already gave him a clear idea on the reasons behind her silence. “Take them off...” He demanded in a slow yet firm tone, “I said take them off now!”

In tears, Minji carefully unwrapped the scarf around her face and removed her sunglasses. At once, the cuts and bruises on her face became obvious even in the dimmed natural lighting.

Seunghyun's heart ached from the sight, but he knew the pain in his heart would never compare to what Minji must have felt when she had been beaten. “He did this to you, didn't he?”

Sobbing uncontrollably, Minji nodded before she threw her arms on the side of Seunghyun's bed and buried her head in them. It wasn't the first time her drunk and abusive father had beaten her. Normally though, Senughyun would protect her and fight against the older man, but with her half-brother now in the hospital and no one else at home, Minji couldn't defend herself to the bigger man.

“That monster, I'm going to kill him!” Seunghyun exclaimed through clenched teeth. He flipped over the bed cover to allow his legs room to move out and step onto the cool tiled floor.

Desperately, Minji grabbed hold of his elbow and pleaded for him not to act so impulsively. “Oppa, no! Don't go!” She fell to her knees and begged, “I already lost mom, if you kill dad and go to jail, I'll have no one left.”

The last thing Seunghyun wanted to do was make things harder on his half-sister than they already were. “Min, get up.” He helped pull her up with his strong arms and sat her back down on the plastic chair. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Minji nodded and inhaled deeply before she began to tell her tale. “When the hospital called the night of your accident, they informed us of how much your medical fees will cost for staying in here. I know of our financial situation, we can't afford it. So I thought maybe I could sneak out of the house with some of dad's antiques and sell them for money. But...” Her voice trailed as she brought her hands up to cover her face, “He found out and got mad, so he beat me.”

Seunghyun made a fist angrily and pounded the mattress of the hospital bed. He wasn't just furious with his step-father, but with himself for not being able to be there to protect his baby sister. “Minji, I'm sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” A startled Minji looked up at her brother in teary eyes, “You didn't do this to me.”

“But I wasn't there to protect you either,” He extended his arms out so she could snuggle herself in them for the security she lacked. “Don't worry though, I'm already feeling much better than before. I should be out of here in no time. We won't be in debt for long.”

A loud knock could be heard before two police officers stepped into the room. “Mr. Choi Seung Hyun? Sorry to break up your bonding time with your sibling, but we're here to inform you about a few things.” An officer holding a clipboard and a pen approached Seunghyun and began, “On the night of your accident, Mr. Choi, it has been confirmed by experimentation and examination that you had been speeding.”

Seunghyun remained silent as he had no reason to argue against the facts. However, he couldn't quite remember why he had been speeding in the first place.

“Alcohol content in your blood tested negative, so you're safe there. Also, due to the weather and road conditions, an reenactment animation shows that at the speed of your vehicle and the momentum that hit the sedan, you did try to avoid it and slow down.” The officer read off the report on the clipboard in his hands. “Combining all these factors, and the fact that no one aside from yourself was seriously injured, no charges will be pressed against you by the courts.”

A loud sigh of relief could be heard coming from Minji, but Seunghyun held his breath as he knew it wasn't going to be so easy. There had to be something else, and it certainly wasn't going to be good.

“However, you will still need to pay for your speeding ticket and the damages done to the sedan.” The officer noted, confirming Seunghyun's thoughts and concerns. “The amount will be mailed to you and you have a month's time to pay your fines.”

While Seunghyun watched the officers exit out to the hallway, he spotted a familiar looking girl standing halfway behind the corner. Her long silky hair and large brown eyes, they were features he once saw. “The girl by the window...”

“Oppa?” Minji heard her brother muttering and tried to follow his gaze, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. Instead, she found a nurse entering the room and shutting the door behind her.

The sight of the girl Seunghyun saw had once again vanished, and he couldn't help but become slightly annoyed.

Dara entered embarrassingly and confessed to her mistakes. “Sorry, I was going to come see how you were doing this morning and when I reached the door, I couldn't help but overhear what the officers had said.” Her explanation came out in a hurry, like she was afraid that delaying her apology would only make her seem more impolite. “Sorry.”

Minji shook her head at the nurse and assured, “If you didn't tell us, we wouldn't even have known that you stood by the doorway. Don't worry though, it's okay, we know you mean no harm. You've been taking very good care of my brother anyway.”

The compliment caused Dara to blush while she bowed to them as a token of thanks. “Dr. Dong will be making his rounds very shortly. When he gets here, we can talk to him about the medical fees. He's known to be the most generous and kind-hearted doctor in the hospital. He'll be able to help come up with a solution to your financial problems.”

A sudden snicker came from Seunghyun while he climbed back into bed and turned away from the girls. “So he's not only a doctor, but a financial adviser? Thanks, but no thanks. We don't need your pity, we can take care of it on our own.”

Shocked, Dara never expected him to sound so rude. When he had awoken the first time, he seemed nice. Just minutes before when she saw him speaking to Minji, he was the most caring brother she had ever known, but why did he suddenly change his tone and seem so impolite? “I need to go see other patients now, good day.” Dara decided to bow and excuse herself.

After she walked away, Minji turned to her half-brother and slapped him gently on the arm. “Oppa, why are you being like this? That nurse seems so nice.”

“How would you know?” Seunghyun rolled himself around in the bed so he was once again facing Minji, “We don't know her. Some people may seem nice when you first meet them, but they end up being monsters after you get to know them.”

Another sigh came from Minji, knowing he was referring to her father once again. It seemed like ever since her abusive father began hitting members of the family, Seunghyun began to resent others more and more, especially strangers. “Oppa, maybe not everyone in the world is like that...”

“Min, you don't know the world like I do.” He said almost sadly, “Aside from ourselves, there's no one else we can trust in the world. Do you understand?”

++++++

With jade green shrubs and leaves complementing flowers of vibrant colors, the outskirts of the hospital building was decorated into the perfect garden for anyone interested in a stroll for fresh air. Bom walked along a stone path cutting across the green grassy field of the garden and looked towards the side entrance of the emergency unit.

Once upon a time, Seunghyun had carried her in his loving arms through the sliding double doors. To this day, the feeling of significance and warmth still embraced her from within.

--

In the largest and quickest steps possible, a panicked Seunghyun rushed through the corridor of the emergency unit. “Hang in there, Bom, everything's going to be okay.” He whispered worriedly, unsure if she could actually hear him through her fatigued state.

Through an opened slit of her eyes, she could see the fear and heartache behind his usually strong outer appearance. “Seunghyun...”

“Shh,” He hushed her, wanting her to save any energy she had left to battle for her health. “I promised I'd take care of you. Just close your eyes and rest.” He gave her a faint smile, the only thing he could do to reassure her.

She obeyed his words with ease, a weak smile forming on her own face. Due to having spent too much of her powers trying to help Seunghyun through some difficult times, she had exhausted herself completely. But it was hardly a cause for concern, all she needed was to sleep for a full 24 hours and her energy would be recharged like a battery. More importantly, she was an angel after all, and it wasn't possible to die twice. Knowing the truth behind her own fatigued-state, she wasn't at all concerned about her own health. Only the care Seunghyun showed for her made her feel surprisingly blissful.

Not to say being an exhausted angel didn't come with its consequences. A part of the recovery process included symptoms of a fever, to which Seunghyun became extremely anxious with helping her feel better.

Nearly every few minutes, despite having her eyes closed and being half asleep, Bom would feel a cool wet cloth changed on her forehead to help keep her temperature down. Never before had she experienced such love and care from someone so tough yet so gentle.
 

--

Bom sighed at the reminiscences of her past times with Seunghyun. Those days ago, they were so happy and in love. Yet the time loop has erased all their precious memories from Seunghyun's mind and they would forever be lost without a chance for repetition of the events. For if she must complete her mission without fail, she mustn't allow any of the past events to reoccur.

“I pray that you would somehow remember...” She whispered quietly, fearful that the Heavens above would overhear if she had voiced out her wish any louder.

Sadly, Bom walked to a wooden swinging bench and took a seat, staring depressingly at a wilting flower bush next to her seat. She leaned forward and picked up a few petals that had fallen off the plant. With one simple closing and reopening of her palm, the petals magically combined together to make a cash-able cheque with a specified amount.

As smoothly as any other angel, Bom's walk almost made her seem like she was magically gliding into the hospital wing where Seunghyun rested in on a few floors above. Without hesitation, she walked directly up to the nurse's unit and placed a hand on the counter. “Excuse me, I'm looking for Nurse Dara Park.”

The nurse sitting at the station glanced momentarily at Bom as though studying her, then picked up the phone and paged Dara. “She'll be right down.”

In less than five minutes, an out of breath Dara had rushed to the lobby as requested. Yet even though she met eyes with Bom, she wasn't quite sure whom she was or what she wanted from her. “Why did I get paged down here?” She asked the other nurse present, who only pointed at Bom with a shrug.

A faint smile appeared on Bom's face while an image of Dara kissing Seunghyun flashed through her mind. It was a painful sight that nearly caused her to die a second time. But it was an inevitable truth, and there was no way of preventing it. “Nurse Dara,” Bom began and extended her arm, showing the cheque in her hand. “I've been sent here by one of Choi Seunghyun's distant relatives to give him this sum of money. He was named on the will and this is the amount left for him.”

Dara took the cheque from the taller girl and observed the amount carefully. Her eyes widened when she realized it was the exact amount needed to pay for Seunghyun's medical fees. The worries that the two siblings once had upstairs were no longer relevant. With this cheque, Dara knew it would be able to help Seunghyun. With a thankful smile, Dara turned to face the girl again, hoping to ask for her name. However, she was nowhere to be found. “Strange, she was still here just a few seconds ago...”