I was able to control myself from jumping in euphoria. I excused myself from Tiffany and the other girls and took a few steps away from them. Somehow, gravity didn’t lose its effect after I read Mrs. Lee’s message. I read it over and over again, making sure that my eyes weren’t lying to me. After my senses confirmed that what I was reading was indeed real, I could feel a smile curling up on the edges of my mouth. Not wasting another second, I called her immediately. After a couple of rings, she picked up.

“Jessica? You got my message?” she said.

“Sure have, Mrs. Lee. Is it true? He’s alright now?”

“Yes, it’s true. He regained consciousness moments earlier.”

“Is he alright?” I persisted.

“More or less,” she replied with a tone of uncertainty, but I wasn’t keen enough to notice.

“Can I stop over?” I said. “I just want to check on him, and I have some things in here that I want to give to him.”

“Actually, I was about to ask you to drop by. I still need to stock up on our supplies here in the hospital and I was wondering if you could stay and guard Donghae while I am away.” She paused and after  a while, she asked, “So, is that okay with you?”

I gave a pealing laugh. “I dunno what to say. Of course yes! I would be more than happy to take care Hae for you Mrs. Lee. Hae and I have a lot of catching up to do.” I said, smiling.

“That’s great! I’ll see you soon then. I won’t leave Donghae here unless you come over. How soon can you come here?” she asked.

“About thirty minutes. I still got some last minute-things to take care of. Would that be okay?”

“That’ll be perfect.”

“Great! You can count on me Mrs. Lee.”

“Thank you Jessica. I’ll see you later.” She said, and then hang up.

I couldn’t suppress the wide smile that was on my lips right now. Even Tiffany noticed. “What did Mrs. Lee say?”

“Eavesdropper.” I accused playfully, still smiling.

“You weren’t exactly that inconspicuous, Jessica. That smile on your face formed ever since you read that message you received in your phone.” She said sarcastically.

“Okay, okay.” I took a deep breath. “It’s Donghae.” I said, smiling. “His mother said that he’s already up.”

“What?!” she exclaimed. “That’s great! Is he really okay now?”

“More or less,” I quoted Mrs. Lee. “That’s why I’m going to the hospital after this. Hae’s mom needs me to guard her son while she’s gonna buy some supplies for their stay in the hospital.”

“Whoa, talk about coincidence. If that’s the case, why are you still wasting your time here? You should be going now!” Tiffany urged, pulling me towards the school exit.

“Wait! I haven’t written my letter yet!” I yelled.

     I couldn’t find a nearby quiet place, so I decided to head towards the library. I wasn’t going to be long; I was going to write a simple letter to Donghae and express what I feel in ink. That wouldn’t be so hard, would it? I thought. The cool gust of air from the library’s air-conditioning unit greeted me the moment I stepped inside the library premises. After finding a good spot, I sat down and took out my stationery and my felt tip pen. Gaping at the blank sheet of paper, I wondered where I should start. Then one by one, my jumbled thoughts pieced themselves together and I started to write.

Dear Donghae,

       By the time you read this, I expect that you’re already up and well. I just heard the recent news. Welcome back to the earth! I hope you’ll never go back to that pitiful state you were once in. Everyone here in school misses you - me, especially. Ever since the night you went out, I was a mess. I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t be myself. There’s so much pain in this world without you Donghae; regardless of how temporary it may me. All that I know is that, I miss you. I miss the sound of your voice; I miss the smell of your masculine scent; I miss the way that you laugh; but most of all, I miss you being with me. I know things have been awkward between us, but it’s not too late to start over. I love you, Lee Donghae, and I always will. Stay strong, and get well soon.

                                                                                                                   Sincerely Yours,

                                                                                                                     Jung Jessica

Folding the small parchment, I placed in inside a scented envelope and kissed it.

*                                                                             *                                                                             *

     “Mister, are you sure there are no detours here?” I asked the taxi driver anxiously. “I’m getting late.” I clutched my cellular phone firmly, trying to drain the uneasiness away.

“Sorry miss; this is the only route to the hospital at the moment. Construction workers are blocking the other possible reroutes.”

I stared at the street helplessly. The street was tight with honking cars with blazing headlights. I was caught in a sea of traffic.

“Oh no, I’m going to be late.” I said glancing at my wristwatch. It was six-thirty in the evening. I had only a few minutes until the thirty-minute agreement I had with Mrs. Lee. I could see the hospital from where I am, but it was about half a mile away. I sighed, and my gaze fell on the taxi-cab’s meter. Even if we were in the middle of traffic, the payment was continuously rising. I could go on foot, but it was going to be tiring and risky. But if I continue, I’m going to be late, and at the same time, I would pay a bigger amount of money. Weighing things over, I knew what I had to do.

“I’ll just dismount here, Mister. I need to get to the hospital fast.”

Paying the bill, I took my handbag and the paper bag which held all the letters and started walking in an accelerated pace in the sidewalk. Even at night, Seoul’s streets were busting with activity and life it had this contemporary aura radiating from the very heart of the metropolis. I reached the hospital in about eight minutes and as soon as I got there, I immediately headed straight to the elevator and punched the up button. I wheezed. Walking sure took a lot out of me. On the way here, I got bumped several times and even got shoved. Nevertheless, I was happy that I arrived here unscathed.

The elevator came, and I boarded it. I pressed the button marked with the number 19 then waited for the escalation to stop. And when it did, I stepped out without second thought. I walked to the door of Donghae’s room and knocked on the door three times before opening it myself.

“Donghae,” I called. “Are you here?”

“Who’s there?” a panicked voice asked in return.

“It’s me, Jung Jessica.” I said evenly, walking towards the sound of his voice.

“Jess? What are you doing here?” he asked, surprised. He lying in the same gurney I saw the last time; his eyes were a bit unfocused for some reason, but I didn’t care. I was just so happy to see him up and going.

“Your mom asked me to watch over you while she was going to buy some provisions for your stay here. And I heard you woke up; I needed to check that out for myself. By the way, where is your mom?” I asked, moving to the right side of his hospital bed.

“She’s in the nurses’ station. She said she’ll be back after a few minutes.” He said. The way he acted was weird. I was beside him and yet he stared blankly to the last spot I was standing on.

“Hello,” I said, waving my palm over his face. “I’m over here.”

He uttered a silent “oh” and shifted his weight uncomfortably. Seeing how uneasy he felt, I thought it would be a good time to bring the cards me and his other fellow students made for him. So I reached inside the paper bag and took out a bunch of handwritten letters.

“Donghae, I got you something.” I said, waving the bunch of letters.

“What is it?” he glanced up, confused.

I raised an eyebrow, “These are letters for you Hae.” I said with a smile. “A bunch of kids from school including me wrote them for you; wishing for your fast recovery.” I nudged him slightly. “Come on, read them!”

He hesitated, and I didn’t know why. “Why don’t you read it for me, Jess?”

“Because it’s more touching if the one reading it was the one the letters are all addressed to.” I replied, confused. “Why, is there a problem?” I asked.

“No, it’s just–“ he broke off.

“Just what?”

He shook his head and spoke slowly. “Jessica, I’m blind. The accident inflicted serious damage in my head and it caused me to lose my vision.”

That struck me. I wasn’t expecting that. “B-blind? But w-why? I-I mean, h-how –“ I trailed off.

Just in time, the door opened and Mrs. Lee walked in. “Oh hey Jessica! Thanks for coming. I was just–“

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I cut her off impudently. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

I didn’t wait for her to utter out a response. I took my bag, ignored her pleas, went out of the room, rode the elevator down to the ground floor and met Kyuhyun with a smiling Im Yoona.