Blood Everywhere     Myungsoo sat outside the surgery room anxiously, gazing at the closed doors. His clothes and his hands were covered in blood – Jieun’s blood. It had been six hours since Jieun had undergone surgery. He didn’t know much about the medical arts, but it was common sense to know that six hours of surgery wasn’t a good thing.   He leaned his head on the wall behind the chair he was sitting on. Staring into the white, stainless ceiling, Myungsoo replayed the horrifying scene back in his apartment over and over again. He had blanked out at the sight of such blood. He asked himself: Is it even possible for a human being to lose so much blood?   Then, Myungsoo recalled the venomous words that he had so carelessly thrown before the bathtub incident.   So if you want to get away from me so badly, just die.   Just die.   Die.   Myungsoo bit down on his lower lip as hard as he could. The taste and scent of iron lingered on his tongue. This is probably only one-millionth of the blood that she spilled, he thought to himself, and only one-billionth of the pain that she felt because of me.   Was it possible for him to stop? Or had he gone too far? If he were to turn back, would there be a home waiting for him? Would Jieun be at the start of everything, openly welcoming his return?   Would letting her go be the best option? Was that even possible for me?   Suddenly, the door that lead to the surgery room buzzed open, and five men and women walked out. They dispersed throughout the hallway, all going their separate ways, except one man that walked towards Myungsoo. “Are you Lee Jieun’s guardian?”   He nodded. “How…how did the surgery go, doctor?”   The man let out a sigh. “It was a close call, but we made it. If the young lady had cut just half a centimeter downwards, her artery would’ve been completely severed. Though she lost a lot of blood, we managed to transfuse a lot back.” He slightly chuckled and said, “It’s very fortunate that her blood type isn’t very rare.”   Myungsoo felt his legs lose his strength in sudden relief. He crashed back down to a chair. Looking up at the doctor, he asked, “Will she be able to awake soon?”   “We’ll have to see, sir, but I’m thinking that it shouldn’t take too long.”   Kim Myungsoo sighed in relief and ran his fingers through his hair. He smiled. “Alright. Thank you, doctor. Thank you.”     Jieun awoke to see a white, stainless ceiling. She blinked. She turned her head right, and then to the left; Myungsoo was in the far end of the room, burying his face in his hands.   For a second, she hesitated. She was unsure whether to indicate that she was awake or not. However, at that moment, Myungsoo lifted his head up and met Jieun’s gaze. If he was at all surprised, he did a good job in not showing that he was. Instead, he simply stared at her.   After a bit of silence, he opened his mouth. “How’re you feeling?”   Jieun turned her head to look back at the white ceiling. She could not recall when he had last asked of her welfare; it had been a long time, that’s for sure. “Fine,” she replied quietly. Then, she let out an empty chuckle. “I’m fine, to my distaste. I would’ve preferred death.”   “Don’t say that,” Myungsoo angrily snapped. “I can’t believe you did this to yourself! You could’ve—”   She interrupted him. “I didn’t do this to myself,” she stated, still not giving Myungsoo a slight glance, “You did this to me. You made me do this. You told me to die.”   It wasn’t like Myungsoo wasn’t aware of the fact. He perfectly knew that everything was his fault. However, when Jieun actually faced him with the truth, the shock came thundering down on him as if he had been struck by lightning. He gulped. “Did you want to leave me that desperately?” he asked, his voice as low as it can be. “You wanted to abandon me like that, even if it means your own death?”   “Yes.”   That single word tore Myungsoo’s heart, or what he had left of it, apart. “Why can’t you understand that I need you with me?”   She remained silent, her eyes fixed on the ceiling above her.   “Jieun. I wasn’t lying when I said I can’t live without you…” Myungsoo saw that his confession couldn’t even make her bat an eyelash. It appeared to be useless and ineffective. Does