“Youngmin-ah! You found her, but why are you hurt?!” A maid ran to me.

“Just take her. Don’t let her wander when she wakes up.” I can’t believe she actually jumped out of that tree. She was knocked out by all the hard braches and they slowed her impact before I could catch her. At least I was able to catch her.

The maid ran into the house. I followed, going back to my room though. What’s wrong with her to have actually jumped? I looked at a book about the brain… She said not to look at books… Instead I snuck into my father’s study, looking on the internet for answers.

To commit suicide a person must be driven to a certain point. They can be depressed, angry, or… I kept reading about it. This doesn’t look too good. I wonder what she’s thinking on the inside right now.

I went to the room she was in. She was still unconscious on the bed.

“Youngmin-ah, what happened outside?!” The maid questioned me. I motioned for her to leave. “Y-Yes. I’ll come later.” She said leaving. I sat next to her on the bed. What point were you driven past? How does your mind work?

I waited longer, wondering if she would wake up. Soon she opened her eyes. She turned her head, meeting my stare. She sighed.

“Why? Why can’t you let me leave you?” She asked sadly.

“What are you saying? I saved you.” I said.

“I didn’t want to be saved. I should have just found the rope…”

“How can you talk like this!?” She didn’t say anything, but her eyes looked so sad.

“I’m hit, I’m hurt, I’m bad, I am unwanted. Who would want to keep living day after day just learning from books?”

“You’re not unwanted. I came looking for you, didn’t I?” She sighed.

“Youngmin-ah…become a good person, okay? Don’t listen to the adults if you don’t want to. Succeed your company; just don’t end up like me.” She stood up and looked into my eyes. “Become a human.”

I didn’t see her again. What did she mean…?

“Father, why doesn’t Sohyun-ah come anymore?” I asked my father one day.

“She’s focusing on her studies and is learning more. You should follow her example and hurry and become my successor.”

She’s studying? How unbelievable. She doesn’t study…does she? I don’t know much about her.

After a month passed, I got a bit curious and when my father left the house, I got a maid to take me to Sohyun’s house. I looked around. She lived in a big house, not like my fathers, but still a big one. I rang the doorbell, a girl answering. She looked about Sohyun’s age.

“Is Sohyun-ah here?” I asked.

“Yes, but you can’t come in,” she told me, “She’s getting lessons right now.”

“Is she learning well?” I wonder if she’s still trying to die.

“She’s doing fine. I’ll tell her you came by; you can expect a call at night.” She said, closing the door. I went back home. I tried studying, but my ears wanted to hear the phone ring.

It never rang.

*

Sohyun was so different back then. I thought she was just a smiling idiot, but she was a lot more than that. I just never took the time to realize it before… I got up, going to see my father.

“Oh, Youngmin, I got a maid to prepare a room for you. I hope you don’t keep talking to that woman.” Why does he dislike her so much to call her ‘that woman’?

“I want to stay with Sohyun, don’t bother us.” I told him. I started to leave. “Do you…not like Sohyun because she couldn’t fix me?”

“What?”

“Never mind.” I went back to Sohyun’s room. “You’re awake?” She was up and about, looking around the room.

“Couldn’t sleep. So, do you like to smile these days?”

“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, confused at her sudden question.

“I failed, right?” She smiled, “I couldn’t fix you,” My eyes widened.

“Sohyun…you--”

“Thanks for saving me back then. I remembered why this room looked familiar. It’s so funny how the brain recollects its memories even after years, but it can forget for so long at the same time. Looks like you didn’t really take my advice until I met you again.”

“Sohyun, are you being serious right now?”

“Of course. Do I sound funny?”

“No… It’s just that…you shouldn’t remember.”

“I shouldn’t or you thought I wouldn’t? Well, I remember. I was really depressing back then, wasn’t I?” She laughed.

“Don’t laugh. That was a serious incident.”

“I recall that Hea Jung told me you even came to see me one day. Too bad I couldn’t use a phone. Not that I would have called you anyway.” Sohyun is acting really strangely. This isn’t how she was before. Has she really changed this much?

“Sohyun, I think you should lie down.”

“That wouldn’t make me forget if that’s what you want.” She walked in front of me. “Unless you plan on hitting me in the head in attempts to make me lose my memory.” She joked around.

“You used to be happy and smiled, did the memories of your past change you this much?” She grabbed my collar, staring into my eyes closely.

“I didn’t change; I just forgot what I needed to remember.” She let go, pushing me away. “So, do you still have that tree growing?”

“Don’t think I will let you go out there to see it.” I have no idea what Sohyun is even thinking right now.

“Pfft. I wasn’t going to go kill myself.” She chuckled.

“Sohyun…”

“Don’t you those sad eyes on me.” I scratched my head. What am I supposed to do? She’s a completely different person. She’s talking like she did when she tried to jump out of that tree years ago. Maybe she’s gone back to that time’s personality? I have to find out how she turned from that to the Sohyun I’m used to.

“You stay here, okay? I’ll come back later.” I left, calling Hea Jung.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Hea Jung-shi, how did Sohyun act when she stopped coming to my house? Back when we were like six or so?”

“I can’t remember that far back!”

“Try.”

“I don’t know; she was really quiet at that time. She seemed like she was hurt? I can’t recollect much about it. Ah! She always looked into the sky, but I could never tell what she was thinking. She would just stare out the window; it looked like she had a lot on her mind.”

“Anything else? Like, did she ever feel unwanted?”

“Oh… Well, Sohyun was always like that.” What? “She always thought no one wanted her, that that’s why her parents abandoned her here and I’m not entirely sure about it all, but she always thought like that.”

“Really…” I probably made it worse when I used to tell her to go away… “Okay then, bye.” I went back to her room. Sohyun was sitting, staring out the window. She smiled at me.

“You came back already?” she asked, looking back out the window. Before she said that she just remembered what she forgot. How did she forget something that seems so important in her life?

“Sohyun, when you were little did you ever get into an accident?” I asked her.

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“No reason.” Maybe she just dealt with the issue over time? I have to make her feel wanted. I most likely made her bad thoughts progress when I used to tell her to leave when we were younger. And I doubt my father helped either…

“Sohyun… You know…I like you right?” She blinked at me.

“I guess so.”

“Well I don’t want you to keep your problems hidden from me.”

“What are you talking about? I told you my issues; you just don’t know what to do about them.” She’s right… She approached me with a smile. “My husband can’t think straight right now?” She joked.

“That’s right. I don’t know what to do…” I admitted. She laughed.

“I don’t expect you to know everything. But you’re the reason.” She smiled.

“The reason?”

“The reason I don’t want to live.”

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Youngmin is he reason she wanted to die? What? Sohyun's life was so sad... :( What's going to happen now?

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