Ji Yong threw the grocery bags on to the nightstand, unconcerned whether the noise would be disturbing to the sleeping patient. In fact, he thinks that it’s best to wake her up.

She has been sleeping for 3 days straight. Which, unless she is an animal ready for annual hibernation, it’s unhealthy. His opinions have been seconded by the doctor, who has said that if she isn’t waking up anytime soon most likely she will be in an infinite coma.

He plopped down on the arm chair besides the bed and began flipping the pages of whatever magazine that was lying on the table.

Nothing too terribly interesting.

This has become a routine for him in the last couple of days. Every day after school (and certain other necessary errands), he would come to this dingy hospital room, waiting for a nameless stranger to wake up.

He needs to get a new hobby.

After a while, the soft fluorescent lights and the monotonous beeping monitor all becoming … drowsy inducing.

His mind began to drift off… lingering in the limbo between dreamland and conscious. He could still hear the slow rhythmic beeping monitor, which subsequently minimizes to nothing more than insect-like buzzing …

Buzzing of insects.

Children’s laughter.

 Rays of  sunshine and warm summer air on his skin.

It was another day at the park of his childhood and his friends were playing their usual favorite game of freeze tag.

“Tag”, Seunghyun charges at Ji Yong and in the process tackling him to the ground.  

“Get -aff me!” Ji Yong pushes at the bigger boy, cackling as Seunghyun trying to stuff grass in to his mouth and tickling him at the same time.

The other boys have stopped and watch, Little Seungri and Dae were howling with laughter while Youngbae shook his head in amusement.

The game was forgotten as Ji Yong and Seunghyun begin to wrestle one another as the other boys cheer them on. Dried grass and dirt stuck to their clothes as they roll around, laughing hysterically .

Suddenly the scenery changes.

It was still the park, yet the sky has darkened and the atmosphere turned dreary. Gone was the laughter and the warm summer air.

Ji Yong was still wrestling Seunghyun off him.  

But they were no longer kids.

And so…it was no longer simply child play, it has become a struggle for survival.

A shattering blow knocked his jaw sideway and Ji Yong began to taste the iron from his blood inside his mouth. His arm went slack, he no longer has the strength or the will to fight.

Because he deserves every punch.

“You bastard,” the older Seunghyun has screamed, “You know I loved her!”

Another blow to the side of his head, and Jiyong begins to hear a buzzing in his ears.

“You killed her, you murderer!”

The droning buzz grows deafening with the pitch of Seunghyun’s voice. It fills his head and becomes all that he could hear.

Ji Yong’s eyes widen. In Seunghyun’s grasp was a shiny, small and sharp object. A knife.

 The custom-made pocket knife that Ji Yong gave him, the symbol of their friendship.

“You can have your ty knife back. Scum!”

The blade went down.

Ji Yong shudders, his eyes snapped open. His neck was cold with sweat and his breathing erratic.

 He was still in the hospital room. It was all just a dream, the past once again came back to haunt him.

Ji Yong realizes the deafening buzz was actually  the monitor, which he notices…  was caused by the increasing frequency resulting from the heart rate....

The heart rate too fast for a sleeping person.

Skeptically, his gaze slowly moves over…

A pair of wide eyes greets him.

***

“What’s your name?”

Silence.

“Do you remember what happened?”

Silence.

“Do you know who’s your family?”

More silence.

He jammed the coin into the slot, and there was a whizzing sound as the machine vibrated to life. He pressed on the button and the coffee began to brew.

JiYong decided a hot caffeinated drink would clear his head while buying himself some time to think. He closes his eyes as he leaned against the wall, inhaling the fresh air to clear his mind as the earlier scenarios replayed itself in his head.

Ji Yong has followed Doctor Hwang in to the room, where the doctor then proceeded to run check-ups on her and he has watched.

She has responded to the tests, well, amusingly: childishly close with a defiant glare when the doctor told her to say “Ahh”, became fascinated with wide eyes when the doctor used the plexor to check her knee-reflexes.

But she hasn’t uttered a word, unresponsive to all the questions by the doctor.

Obstinate.

 “It’s a miracle.” The doctor has said once they’re alone in the hallway, “The amount of injuries she had, combining with a fractured skull and neck. She’s very lucky to be alive, while recovering at a remarkable pace.”

“So she’s fine now right?” Ji Yong questioned.

Not exactly, her refusing to speak shows that she is experiencing a very heavy case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, very shell-shocked… won’t be acting normal for a while at the very least. Side effects varies base on different people. But there has been case ranging from involuntary shaking to downright suicidal. She needs to be carefully watched for the time being.”

 “Well, I don’t think any of this will concern me,” Ji Young has answered, not bothering to mask his irritation, “Look… I don’t see a reason why I need to know any of this. I was just a passerby helping, that’s it. What happens to her in the future, is none of my responsibility, or business. I can't be babysitting her all day.”                                                                                        

“We’re working on finding her family. But for the time being, I hope you can be kind”, the doctor paused and look at Ji Yong meaningfully, he spoke slower “Considering what you have went through yourself, you know what it’s like to wake up, barely escaping death, all alone.”

Ji Yong has avoided his gaze as a momentary weary silence follows.

“She needs company; it will help her recover faster.” The doctor has said gently, “ You guys are around the same age. She could be your friend or sister, think of it as doing a good deed son.” 

And then he ended up where he is now, buying coffee for himself. He was confused…and a lot of other things. Well, first thing first, he decided to get back and talk to her, which will be difficult since she hasn’t responded to any of his-and the doctor’s- questions yet. He wonders if she’s mute. But he's determined to draw some kind of response from her.

He walked back to the room, feeling lighter because his mind has cleared out from the coffee and the walk. As the door number 520 came in to view, he made up his mind.

“Hey”, he yanked the door open, “I need to ask you a fe-“
Ji Yong stopped dead in his track, the girl was gone.

Word Count: 1068

A/N: so anyone who guessed that it was Ji who found Dara. Congrats, you're all right =)

Huhm, I don’t have much to say about this chapter, except that it is revealing bits by bits of Ji Yong’s past and deeper in to his characters.

Thank You for reading, feel free to leave a comment =)