“How old are you now Amber?”

 

“21.”

 

My eyes widened, heart pounded, knees weakened, tears starting to build up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber…

 

 

 

 

 

 

…. is already 28 years old.

 

I then saw the doctor lower down his board and looked at the nurse, signaling her to check her vitals.

 

“Amber? I know you’re confused right now with what’s happening. To tell you the truth… you’re in Korea right now.”

 

“WHAT?! HOW IN THE HECK DID I GET HERE?”

 

“Calm down Amber. You’ve been in an accident, which lead you to be in coma for more than four months. The taxi you’re riding crashed with a truck and plunged in Han River. You were no longer breathing when you got here. You stopped breathing for fifteen minutes, according to the paramedics who rescued you. The hypoxia caused some damage in your brain. And I think… you’re suffering from retrograde amnesia.”

 

Amber looked devastated when she heard about what happened with her.

 

“What do you mean retrograde amnesia?”

 

“It seems like you lost a certain part of your memory. A patient suffering from retrograde amnesia loses his or her recent memories prior to… in your case, the accident. Because of the lack of oxygen in your brain, it caused some damage in your brain, causing you to forget… the last seven years of your life. I think that is also the reason why you can’t speak Korean. According to the profile filled up by your friend right here, you can speak English, Chinese and Korean. Anyway, I’ll recommend you to a neurologist here in the hospital so he can advise you what to do. As of now, we’re done checking you up. Try to relax first and we’ll be back to check you again.”The doctor explained before he left the room along with his nurse.

 

All this time that the doctor has been explaining everything to Amber, I’ve been holding up my tears. Amber… I already lost you.

 

“What’s your name miss? I’m sorry for being a bit rude to you earlier.” Amber asked me. This caused me to look at her now calm face.

 

“H-huh? Oh… K-Krystal, the 28-year old Amber’s bestfriend.”

 

How ironic is this… I want my Amber to go back to me… Now, I felt like I just lost her more. I totally lost her this time.

 

“Oh, I see… Thanks by the way.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Because at least you answered me earlier… in English. Do I have friends here in Korea who can speak English too?”

 

“Y-yeah…”Aish Krystal Jung! Why are you stuttering? In the eyes of Amber in front of you right now, you’re nothing but a stranger… not a bestfriend, a friend, nor a boss. “Tiffany unnie, my sister Jessica, and I… We both grew up in the US.”

 

“Really?!”

 

“The three of us we’re born in San Francisco but Tiffany unnie grew up in Diamond Bar.”

 

“What do you mean by unnie?”

 

“Oh, it’s a Korean word. This is the word girls call their older sisters or older girls that are close to them.”I explained to her.

 

“Can you teach me some Korean then?”She asked me.

 

She really is Amber. Yeah… She never changed ever since I met her. She’s always been like this. The thing is… the 21-year old Amber doesn’t know me. That day, I started teaching her some Korean words. Since I also have my laptop with me, I showed her the photos of our officemates and common friends. I also told her how she came here, how we met, about her work, about us being bestfriends. I didn’t mention about our fight the night before her accident though. I’m still hesitating if I should tell her.

 

Since I brought my laptop with me, I used it to somehow introduce our friends and workmates. I introduced them through pictures that I saved in my computer. She’s cute when she’s all focused in memorizing their names and faces. We were so busy talking to each other when a nurse went in the room to tell Amber that the neurologist is gonna be here in any minute.

 

She then proceeded with her usual job of checking Amber’s vital signs, giving her her meds, but now that she’s awake… I couldn’t help but be pissed with the way she act cute just so Amber can notice her. And this llama face is biting it! Argh~

 

Right after the nurse go out of the room, I saw her wink at Amber, causing her to have this dorky grin on her face.

 

“So you’re a player?”I asked her coolly, trying not to sound jealous and pissed off.

 

“Eh? Oh… You saw that? Heh… It’s embarrassing.”

 

Aish… This llama face! You feel embarrassed but you seemed to be enjoying it.

 

“Embarrassed? Yeah, right.”

 

“What? You know back in high school, I’m just an average joe. I’m used to it up until I started college when I tried to update my style. That’s when people start to notice me, but not that much. I think I’m still above average. So it’s still unusual for me, especially when a pretty girl like that nurse was acting like that to get my attention.”

 

…

 

She’s right. That’s what she told me before.

 

“But you know what, based on the photos you showed me, I actually didn’t recognize myself. I think I changed a lot in those 7 years that have passed.”

 

“No… it’s just your fashion style. Talking to the 21-year old Amber and knowing the 28-year old Amber, personality-wise, you’re still the same.”

 

“I think you do really know me well.”She said before a knock was heard on the door. A doctor came in, carrying some papers with him.

 

“Amber Liu?”

 

“Oh, another English-speaking doctor. Thank God!”

 

He then took out the results of Amber’s CT Scan before he introduced himself.

 

“I’m Dr. Jin, your neurologist. Dr. Park told me about your condition and based on what he observed, and your CT Scan results, he’s right.

 

“… So you lost memory of the last seven years of your life?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You don’t have to worry much because you’ll be able to remember them. As to when, it depends on the patient. There are patients who can recover fast, like months? Some took years before they totally remember everything. The thing is, some patients no longer remember the events that happened right before the trauma.”

 

Does that mean… there’s a possibility that she will no longer remember what happened that night?

 

“Ahh… I see.”

 

“It can also be better that you go to places you used to go to so you can recall your memories faster.”

 

“Oh, thanks Dr. Jin.”

 

“Oh by the way, Dr. Park told me to inform you that you don’t have any problems with your bones. They’re all healed now. He suggested you undergo physical therapy though, so you can get used to walking and moving around again.”He finally said before leaving the room.

 

After having dinner, I decided to go home already.

 

“Are you going to visit me again tomorrow?”

 

“Of course.”I answered her with a smile.

 

I always visited you for the past four months. And now that you’re awake, I won’t let you go that easily. I’ve decided already Amber… I’ll make you fall for me again. And this time, I will love you better now.