Gary watched as Jihyo slept peacefully on the hospital bed, with IV drips and other unknown tubes running through the forearm. He brushed away the stray strand of hair and kissed her forehead gently.

“Thank you for being alive,” he whispered softly into her ear.

He was tired, but he didn’t want to sleep. He wants to watch over her. He wants to look at her beautiful face, memorise every single detail of her, so that he can keep her image in his heart forever. He reached out and her smooth, soft skin, and slowly played with her slim fingers, until he fell asleep holding her hand.

Jihyo woke up to Gary sleeping by her bed. She unlocked her fingers from his and patted his hair. He woke up with a sore neck.

“Did I scare you?” she asked weakly.

He nodded.

She suddenly recalled her harsh words to her mother, and her heart sank with guilt. How could she? Even if her mother was controlling, it was all for her sake. And yet… she was not even appreciative for her concern. And it wasn’t like she had another ten or twenty years to repay her parents for raising her. She had a mere 2 weeks left.

“She understands,” he told her, putting his hand over hers. She nodded sadly, slightly unconvinced.

Gary pressed the bell for the doctor, and also contacted her family. Her parents came rushing over, thankful to see their daughter still alive and well. There was an unspoken awkwardness between Jihyo and her mother, and it obviously made her uncomfortable.

“She should be out of the critical state,” the doctor announced. “But we’ll have to keep her in the hospital for a couple of days just to be safe.”

“I don’t want to,” she insisted. Looking at her, Gary knew- they don’t have much time left together.

“Jihyo,” her mother said, almost pleading. “Listen…” Her father shook his head and her mother stopped herself mid-sentence. Jihyo stopped too, aware that she was putting her parents in a difficult position.

She found herself looking away, not knowing what to do. It was Gary who spoke up.

“Let me talk to her,” he told her parents and the doctor. They nodded, leaving the room with just the two of them.

He sat beside her wordlessly, and put his arm around her. Just like that, it brought her to tears. She sobbed into his chest. He said nothing still, resting his chin on the head, hugging her ever so tightly, like he would lose her once he