Seohyun got restless as they were getting closer to the hospital. She could hear her own heartbeat so loud in her ears. On their way to the hospital, she was praying in silent for Yonghwa. Three hours driving from Taipei to Hualien was long enough for her have all kind of thoughts. As much as she was glad that he was finally found, she couldn’t shake off the fear when Tiffany said that he was injured and unconscious. How badly injured was he? Would he survive?

When they reached the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Seohyun practically jumped out the SUV and sprinted to the emergency room. Tiffany followed her from behind, catching up with Seohyun's pace. At the end of the hall, Seohyun spotted a man in a black command polo shirt tied in a dark grey chino, tall, light tan-skinned, mid 30’s, athletic build with short haircut and a look like younger version of Aaron Kwok. He stood near the emergency room while reading something on his phone. He had his police badge dangling around his neck, so she was sure he was the police officer Tiffany was talking to on the phone earlier. She rushed off to him.

"Where's Yonghwa?" Seohyun asked, out of breath.

The officer was stunned by sudden encounter, but kept his calm demeanor. Looking at her impatient gesture, he assumed she was Seohyun, although he wasn’t totally sure. Like typical police officers, he didn’t know much about celebrity unless you are as famous as Zhang Ziyi. “Are you Ms. Seohyun?” He asked, making conformation. She nodded. A few moments later, Tiffany approached Seohyun and the Officer. He flashed a smile when he saw Tiffany as he put the phone in his back pocket. “And you must be Ms. Tiffany Young.” He greeted the brunette with a nod and a faint smile. He figured that a handshake wouldn’t be necessary at that moment. When the woman nodded, he introduced himself professionally. “I’m Inspector Jason Huang from Taiwan National Police Agency. I’m the one in charge of the case.” His English was fluent as if he the language was his mother tongue.

Tiffany asked, “How was he?”

Inspector Huang took a glance at the emergency room door in case anyone would come out from there. Then he shifted his eyes to both women. “He is still in the ER. It's been for two and a half hours now. I don’t have any update from the doctor so far.”

Both ladies let out a sigh in unison, obviously frustrated with the news. "How you found Yonghwa?” Tiffany asked, standing next to Seohyun. “On the phone, you said Yonghwa was found with other rider. Was he okay?" She was digging more information as possible.

The Inspector inhaled briefly and let it out. “We found them somewhere outlying from the usual off-road trail. The heavy rain is the reason they got off track. The other rider, his name is Mike Lin, a Chinese-Korean who came to Hualien for leisure. He broke his right wrist, due to falling when he tried to help Yonghwa. He got a few cuts as well, but nothing too serious. He's already out of surgery thirty minutes ago. According to Mike, they split up with the group during the ride and wandered off the trail. On their ride back to the base camp, the rain got heavier with storm. Unfortunately, Yonghwa's ATV skidded. He fell from the ATV and hit a big rock. Both of them were injured, but Yonghwa's injuries were quite serious.” He delivered the news with composure and calm.

Upon hearing the explanation, Seohyun can't seem to stand straighter. She held Tiffany's hand for support. The Inspector gestured both ladies to sit on the bench nearby while he stood in front of them. “I'm sorry I can’t tell you much. We have to wait for the doctor to know more about Yonghwa's condition.”

Seohyun was speechless. All she could do was to let the tears fall. She leaned back on the bench and prayed. Her man was now fighting for his life in the operation theater. He will survive. He must survive. Tiffany only managed to sit in silent and stayed close to her best friend. She had no idea what to say to Seohyun to comfort her. The news was indeed another blow to her.

Inspector Huang took out his phone from his back pocket and read something on it. "Excuse me, ladies. I need to go back to the station.” He eyes then moved to Tiffany and handed his name card. "If you two need anything, don't hesitate to call me. I'm here to help. Be strong, ladies. He'll get through this.”

Tiffany looked at him and nodded. His calm demeanor was attractive and very manly. “Thank you.” She said.

“I’ll keep you both updated with the progress. See you later.” The Inspector flashed a warm smile to Tiffany before he left the hallway.

After seemed like hours of long waiting, the operation door opened and a man in green scrub with surgical cap on his head emerged in the hallway, with a nurse trailing behind him. With grayish hair on both side of his head, thin build, mature look, he looked like one of the senior surgeon. Both Seohyun and Tiffany shot up straight from the seat.

"How's he?" Seohyun asked with a hoarse voice as she dried the tears with the back of her hand. She clung onto Tiffany’s arm while waiting for the doctor to speak.

The doctor took off his surgical cap and wetted his lower lips. His expression was exhausted and unreadable. He cleared his throat before he speaks, "He broke two of his left ribs, small fracture on his right shoulder bone and got some serious cuts. One of the broken ribs slightly punctured his lung, but we managed to fix it.” He paused of a moment to take a breath. “So he needs to breathe with the help of oxygen ventilator machine for the time being. His blood sugar dropped drastically as well. That's one of the reasons why he was unconscious when the rescue team found him. Luckily he consumed some food while waiting for the rescue to come. If not, he would suffer severe hypoglycemia and with his injuries, he may not survive up to two days especially without food." He explained as he moved his sight from Seohyun to Tiffany. The tone of his voice was serious, but he explained it in a thoughtful way. There was no need to add more weight to their worries.

"Is h-he awake? Can we see him?" Seohyun asked while Tiffany stood silently behind her, listening to explanation.

"We managed to stabilize him, but he hasn't regain consciousness yet. He didn't suffer from internal bleeding, but there may be some complications from his injuries. So we will monitor him closely.” The doctor explained. He can see the solemn face of Seohyun. That was a usual sight he had to face every day as doctor. “He's a fighter I must say. He fought for his life for the past five days, so it's time for you to fight with him. Keep praying and don't lose hope." He patted Seohyun upper arm softly. “The staff will transfer him to the regular room and you can visit him in an hour. Excuse me." The doctor flashed a faint smile to the ladies before leaving them.

Although the update from the doctor didn't get rid of the worry in their heart, they can at least be relief. With the severity of his injury, it was good to know there was a hope that he will survive.

*************

It was already late in the afternoon when a nurse came into the waiting room to informed Seohyun and Tiffany about Yonghwa. Both of the ladies walked to the mentioned room with heavy steps. They found the room with his name was written on the door of the room in Chinese characters. Most Korean could read Hanja so it wouldn’t much of a problem to search for his room.

Seohyun stood still in front of the door, her heart was pounding hard in her chest. She wanted to see her boyfriend so bad, but she wasn't sure if was ready to see him in such condition. She could imagine how he'd look like, with bandages all over him and machines plugged to him. She then turned her head to Tiffany as if she was asking for an approval from her to enter the room. Tiffany sensed the anxiety in the brunette's gesture, so she put her hand on Seohyun's back, assuring her to go in.

With one deep breath, mustered up all the courage she had left in her, Seohyun pushed the door slowly. As she stepped into the room, she could hear the beeping sound of the machine. Her heart sank once her eyes lay on the body lying on the bed. He was indeed Yonghwa; her best friend and the love of her life. He was motionless, with the oxygen breathing tube in his mouth. He was skinnier, his skin was pale and one side of his forehead just above his right eyes was bruised badly with visible stitches. His shirtless body was far from y; there were small band aids covering the cuts, an IV tube taped on the back of his hand, wires from the ECG machine taped on his chest and the worse was the visible surgery wound on his left torso made the appearance even more tragic to her eyes. Tears spilled from her eyes and her knees felt weak. She took another step forward, but her legs failed her. She stopped and turned around to hug Tiffany who was walking behind her.

"I can't..." Seohyun cried on Tiffany shoulder. "This can't be true."

Tiffany couldn't hold her tears when she hugged Seohyun. She could feel the hurt Seohyun was feeling at the time. She caressed her back gently to comfort her best friend. "Hyunie, I know this is not easy. God have answered our prayers and let him be found alive. I know this is beyond what we expected, but he's alive. It's all that matters.”

"It's too painful to look at him like that, unnie." She was sobbing.

Tiffany pulled away and stepped back while holding Seohyun's shoulder. "I know.”

"I don't know if I'm strong enough to face this." Seohyun shook her head repeatedly as another set of new tears fell from her eyes. The thought losing him scared the hell out of her.

“Listen here, Hyun-ah. You are strong enough and you need to be strong for him. He needs you more than anything now. Do you remember the reason why you want to come here? You said you want to be the first to know if anything happen to him and here you are. If you give up now, there’s no point of coming here in the first place.” Tiffany gave Seohyun's shoulder a soft squeeze as an encouragement. “I’m here for you.”

After calming herself down, Seohyun slowly took a seat on the stool next to the bed. Tiffany stood behind her. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Oppa...I'm here." She said in a quiet voice.

Tiffany put a hand on Seohyun's shoulder. “I’ll give you some times. I'll be outside for a while. I should update our and his family. They must’ve been worried too. Call me whenever you need me, okay." She gave Seohyun a brief hug before leaving the room to make a phone call.

After Tiffany left the room, all her attention was on him. The beeping noise from the machine was deafening and it bothered her so much. She stared at him; taking in the different view of her boyfriend she never thought she would ever see. She took Yonghwa's hand and softly brushed the back of it. Her heart ached badly when she saw the fresh wound on his upper arm. New tears cascaded on her cheek. She brought his hand to her lips as she held it tightly. She missed his warmth, his touch always makes her feel tingles in her stomach whenever he cupped her face. The touches that always make her feel at ease every time he wiped her tears with his thumb. The touch that always makes her feel protected when he holds hers tightly while they walk side by side. The touch that always makes her feel privileged when he put his hand at the small of her back when he proudly introduced her as his girlfriend to his colleagues. Now, those hands were weak and fragile.

"You have no idea how scared I was when I heard the news. I thought I'd never see you again. It seems like only yesterday that I see you a