After sending Krystal to school, I went to the hospital to check on him. Surprisingly, his door is opened and I hurried to check him out. The bed that had a person last night sleeping on it was empty. Even the room; it was cleaned, ready for another patient. “N-nurse?” I ran outside to the nurse station. “What happened to the patient in Room 418?”

“Oh, didn’t they inform you?” They? “His mother checked him out a few minutes ago.” Gasp! His mother found him.

“But isn’t he fully recovered? He just woke up yesterday.” I said in a defensive tone.

“His mother paid the doctor to have him confined in their house. His mother reacted badly on how she wasn’t informed where his son is. I thought you were his friend. Why didn’t you tell them?”

“I don’t have contact with them.” I said bluntly and left.

No. How could Donghae survive? I actually saw this as a chance for him to erase the ugly memories of him with his family. And now that opportunity is taken away. “No…” I whispered under my breath. I have to find him. Maybe they’ll throw me out for keeping him from them. No, I have to do whatever it takes for us to meet. I stood up from my place and dug a small piece of paper in my bag. It’s where Donghae wrote his address and cell phone number. 1015 Chung Nam St., Sang Subdivision, Seoul City. I, who can’t absolutely waste money, walked my way to their house. Two and a half hours of tiring brisk walking took me to their mansion from the hospital. Their gate, white and large, already brought shivers to me. “The house of wealthy ones…” I whisper. I press their doorbell with all my courage when a voice from the speaker next to it released an audio.

“Name and what do you need from the Lee’s?”

“Uh…I’m Jessica Jung, Donghae’s friend. I’m here to check him if he’s ok.”

“Please hold on a minute.” I tried to make myself presentable as I could; hearing stories from Donghae about his terrorizing mother. After exactly one minute, the gates opened and revealed a fountain in the center of everything and I think it’s made of fine class marble with golden touches. A butler escorts me to their hou— I mean mansion and leads me to a door. He bows before me and I knock gently on the door.

“Come in.” It was a woman’s voice.

I turned the knob and stepped on a room, which seemed to be the study. On the desk across the room, sits a woman in her late 40s. Still dark hair, but short and wavy. Donghae’s mother, I think. And in front of her is a young lady, straight flowing hair, long legs, white, but all slouching and her palms on her face. Crying I think.

“So you’re the one who brought my son to the hospital without us knowing.” The woman said to me with a smile that I can’t say if it’s evil or what so. I nod embarrassingly. The lady put her hands down and looked at me. I bit my lips to conceal my mouth. “Sit down.” Mrs. Lee says and extends her arms to the chair across the lady. I did as what she told me to, and she clasped her hands the minute I sat. “Well then. Why didn’t you tell us where he was?”

“I had no connection with you.”

“You could always come here. You know where he lives.”

“I was afraid to do so.” I tried to answer as calmly, nicely and straightly as possible. She smiled at me. Why is she smiling?

“Well, if you’re not a key to bringing my son’s memories back then I should’ve probably…” She paused and quickly took a glimpse to the lady across me. “…not let you in my house.” She unclasped her hands and turned to the lady across me. “Yoona, lead her to his room. Be sure the first face he sees is hers and not yours.”

She nods and stands up, now straightly. She smiles at me and walks ahead thinking I’ll follow her lead. When I reached the door, I heard Mrs. Lee said, “Do everything you can to regain his memory back…” I nodded and walked faster, not catching up with the last words she said.

Since the grounds and the mansion are extremely large, it took us time to get to his room. At first, she didn’t talk but eventually she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “My name is Yoona.”

“Uh…” I paused for a while. “I-I’m Jessica Jung, madam.”

She laughs. “Oh, don’t call me madam. It makes me feel older. And I think I’m younger than you.” I’m still wondering who she is in Donghae’s life. His sister? I don’t recall him telling me about her. Cousin? Best Friend? Classmate? “By the way, how did you and Donghae meet?”

Oh, it’s so hard to explain to her. And it’s lengthy. I just told her that I work nearby where he paints. “Have you seen his masterpieces?” Dang, stupid question. Of course she does; she’s closer to him. But surprisingly, she shakes her head.

“Only one. The family painting on their living room. Have you seen it?” Oh! That was magnificent! And truly remarkable by how it’s so big. You could imagine how family portraits are in mansions. I nodded my head happily. She asks again, “So who are you to him?” This time, she smiles but faintly. And again with this question.

“I’m just his friend. Well, I guess. That’s what he calls me. We barely talk to each other and I just watch him paint whenever I get to rest from selling flowers.”

She smiles at me genuinely, and she stops in front of a door. This is perhaps Donghae’s room. She knocks on it but all I heard was a growl on the other side. “I’m sorry. The only person he’d like to see is you and his doctor. Not even me or his mother would do.” She bitterly says. I was about to ask her who she is to him when she turns the knob and pushes the door. She told me to stick my head in. For sure Donghae would calm down. And he did.

“J-jessica!” The happiness in his voice reflects the pain on this Miss Yoona’s face. She tells me to go in while she waits outside. “I thought you were one of them,” he says. I sit down on his bed and felt his forehead. Fever’s still high but his face seems to brighten up like a kid.

“Why? What’s wrong with them?”

He explains on how he knew that they were his family – the one I told about how miserable he is with them. And even in his state, his mother still thinks of business and letting him marry someone he doesn’t even love nor completely know about. He frowns.

“Who is it then?”

“Have you seen a girl around here with straight long hair, white skin, and big eyes?” He says with disgust and I look at myself. I have long hair, white skin, and big eyes. He notices this and defends. “Not you!” I laugh for a while.

“Well, besides me, there is. Yoona, isn’t it?”

“Ugh, the sound of her name turns down my appetite.” He mocks a vomiting expression and I gave him a look. I wonder how Yoona reacts to this outside. Then it struck me. C-could it be…

“Are you getting married with her?” He rolls his eyes before telling me, Unfortunately.

“I told you yesterday to tell me more stuffs. Hmm, let’s start with how I ended up in the hospital.” He sits eagerly. I tried to close my eyes and remember last month how I was flailing around to save his life. Blood. Everywhere.

It was a somehow fine day at the streets. I was busy preparing the shelter and the flowers after sending Krystal to school. It wasn’t until I saw him running. He was in a tuxedo, and all groomed up. I froze in where I stand as I see cars roaring from every direction, trying to catch up with him. Another specialty of him is he’s an athlete, and running is his game. His eyes took a glimpse of mine and he nods. I don’t know what that nod meant. I just watched him be chased away. But I stood up and dashed my way to follow him, understanding what he means by that nod. He wants me to run off with him. Just as I was catching up by the intersection, he didn’t see what was coming. I closed my eyes shut afraid to see something that might hunt me ‘til forever; and forever is such a long time. I heard a big crash and a thud. I think the crash came from the ten-wheeler while the thud came from his landing on the ground. People screaming everywhere and bumping me from every direction. When I opened my eyes, he was there looking lifeless. It seemed like his feet, ribs, and arms were broken so badly. His face is surrounded by a pool of blood coming out from his mouth. Disgusting and pitiful. I ran to him hoping I could save his life. His chasers weren’t around, perhaps went to the other direction before the incident happened. “DONGHAE!!” I yelled at him hoping he would wake up. I placed his head on my lap, caressing his face. I tried to feel his heart and it was still beating. “SOMEBODY GET AN AMBULANCE!!” I yelled to everybody, and in an instant, one came. Until now, I still don’t know why he was in a tuxedo.

I told him everything that had happened that day. “Do you remember why you were running away?” I ask.

He closed his eyes and held his head as if having a headache. His face scrunched up as if in pain and I tried to hold his arm gently. “Donghae?” He wasn’t responding.

“I-in the church…” he starts, “…there’s a girl in a wedding dress…a-and I’m waiting for her…” He pauses and opens his eyes as he threw my hands away. “And I said NO!” He was sweating very hard, catching his breath. I rubbed his arms gently tryirng to help him calm down. Is he regaining his memories back? Wow, that was fast. One day to regain all the memories. “I-I think…” he starts, “…I think I’m a runaway groom.”

I realized I was staring at his eyes deeply; I think my eyes were full of concern and worry while his was fear, shock. This took for a few seconds before I looked down and felt my cheeks with my palms; I must be blushing very hard. “S-so, you were getting m-married? And you didn’t want to?”

He nods his head. “But everything was at blur. Nothing vivid.”

“Do you have any idea of who the girl i—“ I paused. Yoona.

As if he could read my mind, he nodded.

So that’s why. That’s why she’s here. That’s why she was crying, why he hates her so bad. But the way I see it, I think she’s a very fine lady, I think she’s nice because she is to me. I tried to voice out my opinion to him but he wouldn’t listen. “NICE?!?” I tried to calm him down by shushing. “Did you know that she wanted this whole marriage so badly because she thinks she loves me?! How can she love me when she doesn’t even know me?! And because she wants to show her ex that she found someone else!”

“And how did you come up with that?” I tried to say nicely.

“I did a background check.”

“You what?” I said disgustingly. I personally think it’s very rude and personal to check out a person’s background.

“I have to. If I’m getting a wife then I should know her. Not only by name, age, and address…but by who she is as a whole.”

I wanted to end the conversation now thinking Yoona is still outside, listening. So I decided to bring up some light topics like about his favorite childhood memory if he could remember. Or some memories of him and my silly sister. And then it’s time to bid goodbye.

“Come back tomorrow, ok?” He says and I nodded. Maybe his accident did bring something nice. The word silent in silent friends was abolished. When I stood up, his hand caught mine and dragged me back. I asked him “What?”

“Kiss me good night?” He pleaded like a child. A let out a real laugh, hard, that I had to slap my face for doing that. He smiled and added. “You laugh so cutely.”

I flicked his forehead lightly.  “Perhaps that truck really hit you hard.” And I left. When I reached outside the mansion, Yoona’s car was already there and she invited me to hop on. At first I was shy; who wouldn’t be? 

[a/n]

And this shall be three-shot. It's too long.