“___ !!!” Donghae hollered and dashed to where she was without even thinking. Summoning all the energy his legs could gather, he leapt towards the front where ___ was, pushing her off the ground, making her land out of the way of the vehicle. ___’s body was sprawled on the ground, and her hands and face scraped the rough, solid concrete on the ground. It was then when she heard a loud groan, a familiar groan. Immediately, she turned her head around to see Donghae sprawled on the ground about a metre away. His face was scrunched up in pain and he was groaning loudly in pain, at the same time trying to grab onto his left ankle that had apparently been hurt.

She was momentarily stunned and stared at him in shock, not knowing what to do. It was then when she heard the driver step out of his vehicle frantically, and the fans screaming, “OMO DONGHAE OPPA !!”

“Are you okay ?!” The driver asked, shaking Donghae’s upper body as he did. The pain was so intense that all Donghae could do was to lay there and groan in pain.

___, mouth still agape and eyes still wide continued staring at Donghae who was surrounded by more and more people by the minute. She picked herself up, frantically going over to Donghae’s side.

“Dong..Donghae oppa…!” She called for him, quickly holding his hand tight.

“…___...” He managed to whimper, “m-my ankle…”

The fans that were crowding around Donghae immediately peeled ___ off Donghae, “YAAA !! GET LOST, YOU !!! YOU CAUSED ALL THIS ! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM I SWEAR YOU’LL GET IT FROM US.”

Tears started flowing from her eyes endlessly as she looked at the situation at hand helplessly. Without further ado, the driver immediately picked Donghae up and carried him on his back, bringing him to the car.

“I’ll take him to the hospital,” he said, still a little shocked. “Get in the car, quick.”

___ snapped out of her thoughts, immediately hopping into the backseat of the car beside Donghae and the driver sped off towards the direction of the nearest hospital.

“N-nothing…nothing must ever…happen to you,” she sobbed, holding his hand tightly and placing it against her lips. “D-does it hurt a lot…?”

However, Donghae didn’t speak, but just grabbed her hand tightly and nodded. His face was read, and he even had trouble keeping a straight face.

“Mianhe…r-really,” she apologized sincerely not knowing what to do since she was the cause for this accident that has happened to Donghae.

Donghae let out a weak smile and shook her head to tell her that it was okay, and she simply continued holding his hands and wiping the sweat that was forming on his forehead because of the pain.

YOUR POV

Within a good ten minutes, the car stopped at the drop off point and the driver carried Donghae on his back into the hospital with me following closely behind, calling for a doctor. Doctors and nurses rushed over seeing how he couldn’t even stand on his feet to walk and how his ankle was starting to swell up pretty badly and sent him immediately towards the Accident and Emergency department.

Both the driver and I sat outside the treating ward, no one speaking a word except for the driver who paced up and down, continuously apologizing to me. However, I just kept quiet, and nodded most of the time. I was at fault too, but I didn’t know what to do. I was still too shaken and frightened to even speak. I was tearing as the worst scenarios appeared in my head, my eyes a bloodshot red, swollen and puffy.

Just then, a nurse approached me. “I’m sorry, this may not be a good time for you, but we need you to complete some administrative forms at the counter.”

I looked up at her and nodded in a daze, before following behind the nurse like a zombie. My hands were shivering as I stared at the form, not knowing how to fill it in. The form was all in Korean, and I didn’t even know the exact address of their dorm. The nurse probably took pity on me, seeing my tear stained face stare at the forms blankly.

“Would you like me to just call an acquaintance of his to come over ?” The nurse asked carefully.

Oh right. I…forgot. How was I supposed to break the news to them ? “It’s okay, I’ll call them myself, thank you.” I said.

Then, I went to a corner, dialing Leeteuk oppa’s mobile number. It rang a few times, before he eventually picked up.

“Annyeong ___ ! Is anything the matter ?” He asked amiably.

“…N-ne, I…D-donghae…he…I mean-“ I stuttered, not knowing how to even start.

“…What’s the matter ? C’mon, tell me, you’re making me worried, ___ ah,” Leeteuk said over the phone.

“Donghae…he…he got into an accident. We’re at the hospital now, ….the one…nearest to Dong Dae Mun…” I managed to say.

There was silence on the other line except for Leeteuk’s gasp before he got himself together. “Okay we’ll be there right now !!”

After which, ___ simply dragged her feet back to the seats outside the treating ward and sat there waiting, staring into air. What was she going to do ? What if something bad happens to Donghae ?

In about 20 minutes, a group of men came running down the corridor towards ___. The members had come, with a look full of worry plastered on their faces.

“How is he ?!” Eunhyuk asked in a state of anxiousness.

___ timidly pointed towards the treating ward, bowing her head nervously, not daring to even look at them. “He…he couldn’t stand up nor walk… H..h-he said his ankle was hurting…a lot…”

Seeing that ___ was afraid, the driver who had been sitting on the opposite side of ___ explained the entire situation to the members, causing their facial expressions to stiffen. Tears fell from her eyes as she heard the driver recount everything that had just happened.

“Mianhe…mianhe…” she managed to sob out.

Sungmin then hurried to her side, sitting beside her and patting her back, he reassured her, “Donghae is going to be fine, he must be fine…”

Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like days, but after a good half an hour to forty-five minutes, the doctor stepped out of the treating ward.

“How is he ?!” Some of the members said in unison while ___ nervously looked up at him from her seat.

“Nothing life endangering happened to him, not to worry. He doesn’t have to be in the ICU,” the doctor explained, making the members sigh in relief. “It was more of an internal injury, and he fractured his left ankle since the impact was probably too great when he landed in an awkward foot position despite the small distance.”

“Fractured ?! When will he recover ?” Leeteuk asked.

“I suppose he will have to be in crutches for about 1-2 months, and after which he shouldn’t be dancing for another 2-3 months since it will not be fully healed, and he has to wear a cast,” the doctor said.

“But our comeback is...soon,” Siwon said, looking at the doctor in disbelief.

“I’m sorry but this cannot be helped. Please do ensure that he does not dance or do strenuous activities for at least 4 months from now or it will aggravate the injury,” the doctor said again before bowing and taking his leave.

Once they heard that Donghae had been transferred to the private ward, the members immediately went into the ward, except for ___ and the driver. She felt too ashamed to face him and s. Donghae was already awake by then, his leg in a cast and a few minor scratches here and there on his arms.

“Hyunggg !!” Ryeowook, Kyuhyun and Siwon said at the same time and ran towards the bed. “You scared us !!”

Donghae chuckled slightly at his 3 dongsaengs. “Hyung is fine, just a fracture, that’s all…”

Yesung then said, “Ya, what do you mean just a fracture ? You scared the out of us ! Plus you won’t be dancing for 4 months.”

Upon hearing that, he exclaimed, “Wae ? 4 months ?! Hyung ! Our comeback is in 2 months !!”

Meanwhile, ___ who was sitting outside the ward together with the driver heard their conversation as the door was left slightly ajar. Hearing how disappointed Donghae was about not being able to dance, or work for that matter, for 4 months, ___ couldn’t help but lower her head.

“That’s why. Guess we’ll have to talk to manager hyung about this. He doesn’t even know about your condition yet,” Shindong said.

Donghae sighed. As he scanned the room, he realized that she was missing. “Where’s ___ ? Is she okay ?” He asked anxiously in attempt to sit up.

“She’s outside with Minnie hyung, she had a few scratches here and there like you and she scraped her elbow. Not to worry, you should take care of yourself first…” Ryeowook replied.

Donghae felt something amiss. Why didn’t she just come in ? He requested, “Can you call her in ?”

Kyuhyun then stepped outside of the room to call her inside. However, what he saw made his heart ache. She was sitting on the chair hugging her knees with her head bowed down. She was sobbing, and although he could see that Sungmin was trying his best to comfort her and tell her that everything was okay, she couldn’t absorb anything. She was just sobbing, feeling so bad about being the cause for Donghae’s accident which has not only affected him, but his entire group.

“___...it’s okay, don’t worry about anything. Donghae is up and talking already, he’s fine, nothing to be scared of,” Sungmin said as gently as he could, patting her on the back.

“I’m not fit to see him, I shouldn’t be spending anymore of his time. I’ve brought nothing but trouble to him… It’s all my fault, he’s going to be so upset…” she sobbed. She had been so worried before, so scared and afraid about Donghae’s condition that her head spun. But now that he was okay, she felt too embarrassed and sorry to face him.

Sungmin sighed and turned to Heechul, shaking his head and telling him to go back into the ward first.

“Well ?” Donghae asked, expectant.

“She doesn’t want to come in, she…she doesn’t feel like she should see you after causing you to land in this state…” Heechul replied.

His heart went numb. “Aniyo, just tell her-“

“Donghae,” Leeteuk interrupted. “Let her be, give her some time. She must have been frightened.”

Donghae kept quiet, sulking and listening to his hyung’s advice.

“What happened anyway ?” Heechul asked since they haven’t heard his side of the story.

A few weeks passed after the accident. Donghae had decided not to be involved in a case whatsoever with the driver as he was fully aware that the driver was not totally at fault, and that both parties were to blame. Meanwhile, SME and Donghae himself had released statements about his condition, stating that he was healthy and all he needed was his ankle to be healed before he could join in group activities again. Meanwhile, Super Junior continued to prepare for their comeback, deciding that they would edit the dance formations and Donghae would only join them for ballad songs at least until it was okay for him to start dancing again. They weren’t angry with ____, nor did they blame her for all the rearrangements they had to do. Nevertheless, the pang of guilt has always remained, and she was constantly afraid of what the fans would do as what they said to her would always replay in her mind every time she closed her eyes.

“YOU CAUSED ALL THIS ! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM I SWEAR YOU’LL GET IT FROM US.”

Donghae had already been discharged last week, although he still wasn’t too used to using the crutches. Moving around was inconvenient for him, and sometimes when the weather was bad, it made him a bit grouchy. ___ took care of him, accompanying him, helping him with almost everything he needed, bringing meals to his room and sometimes even feeding him. Their relationship had strengthened since then, although Donghae made no move to actually advance in their relationship. They were still only holding hands, and sometimes when ___ fell asleep when they stayed up to just talk in the living room, Donghae would gently plant kisses on her forehead.

Till now, ___’s condition was improving a lot, considering the additional trauma she had from the car accident. She was as good as new, being able to communicate with the people she knew well. She was still cautious when going out in public though, and would often choose to coop herself at home. Donghae hadn’t been able to ask her about the incident despite how long it has been  and as he was always hesitant since she had never started talking about it to him first. Strange as it sounds, the police were still looking into the matter, and ___’s parents were still in Singapore working since nothing could be done here in Korea until there were findings. Meanwhile, ___ had been keeping in touch with them through Skype.

“So how was your day today ?” Donghae asked as ___ came into his room bringing a glass of water for him, sitting on the edge of his bed.

It was a calm and peaceful night in the house and most of the members were still out for schedule, leaving a minority of them in the dorm. Like always, ___ would spend time chatting with Donghae in his room after his dinner to keep him company since he couldn’t move around so much.

“It was alright, managed to clean the house today. Ryeowook oppa taught me how to cook dukbokki as well. I’ll cook some for you tomorrow if you like,” she said with a smile, handing him the glass of water.

“Aigo, you don’t have to clean the house, the dorm aunt can do it,” He said. “Why don’t you go out and have some fun ? You can go back to the SM office to start dancing and such. It has been a long time, hasn’t it ?”

___ thought for a bit, “I…I feel like I’m still not ready.” She wasn’t fond of going out on the streets alone, unlike how she used to.

“Then it’s okay then, take your time,” Donghae said, smiling sweetly at her. “I mean, I was just suggesting. I miss dancing, seeing how Hyukkie hyung does it every night !”

Hearing this, ___ lowered a head.

“A-ah, don’t get the wrong idea, I mean…um-“ Donghae tried to explain frantically, realizing that he had just dampened the atmosphere. He mentally slapped himself for being so insensitive.

“I’m sorry,” was all she managed to say before remaining quiet again as she pretended to busy herself by folding the clothes on his bed.

“I didn’t mean that…I’m sorry,” he said, holding her wrist to stop her. “Don’t get me wrong…”

“Do you regret saving me ?” She asked, avoiding his eyes. “If you didn’t then you would be fine now, and joining them in preparation for the comeback, dancing to your songs together with your members…”

She still felt guilty every time she looked at Donghae moving around the house in crutches with much difficulty. It bothered her that he couldn’t actually dance or work because of her and all he could to was to remain at home, not doing anything but mostly sitting around and staring at his laptop screen. Sometimes, when s helped him in the shower, she could hear him groan from the outside as she walked past because of the pain, and all she could do was grimace at the thought of it.

“What do you mean ‘regret’ ? Of course I don’t,” He said sincerely, looking into her eyes. “Even if it means sacrificing my life, I’m willing to. I promised your parents I’ll take care of you, and that you won’t get hurt again.”

“You don’t have to go to such an extent, Donghae. It’s okay. You’re an artist, you need to sing and dance, that’s what you do for a living, you should be protecting yourself first…” She replied.

“But ___...” He sighed.

She let out a small smile before continuing to fold his clothes.

“I love you, you know that, right ?” He asked, feeling insecure about their current conversation.

She nodded, and then reassured him, “I love you too…” before he her cheek and brought her hand to his lips.

Another few weeks passed and finally it has already been 2 months since the accident. Donghae felt a lot better now that he could be more independent in daily activities since he could walk around wearing a simple cast though it didn’t feel to comfortable. He had to limp most of the time, but for now he didn’t mind since it was a lot more convenient.

Donghae sat on his bed in front of his laptop, simply watching random videos online. He was logged onto Skype, just waiting for ___’s parents to come online since he wanted to speak to them. The administrative staff from Seoul University had called him a few days ago, asking if ___ would continue to be studying in the university. She had left his contact number with the university as an acquaintance since her parents were in Singapore instead. The school was aware of ___’s unfortunate incident and thus called to ask if she was going to continue schooling since her belongings were still there after months.

Just then, he saw that they had just logged in, and he immediately dialed for their number.

“Auntie, Uncle, annyeonghasayo !” Donghae chirped, mixing broken English and Korean together with a bit of Chinese sometimes. ___’s Mom knew a bit of Korean, just like ___’s standard when Donghae had just met her, so it was still easy to communicate.

“Oh hello Donghae ! How are you ? It’s been a while !” Her mother said.

“I’m fine and my ankle’s getting better. ___’s alright too ! She’s just spending time in the kitchen baking. Has she called you recently ?” He asked.

“She called yesterday,” she smiled. “Is anything the matter ?”

Donghae then explained the situation before they came to a conclusion together that they didn’t want her to continue her education there because they were afraid of her safety and Donghae wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on her all the time. Her parents also didn’t want Donghae to tell her that they were going to cancel her enrolment in the university.

“Araso ! Then I’ll go to the school to pick up her belongings she left there !” Donghae said.

“Aigo, don’t move around too much alright ? I’m so sorry to trouble you and your members. Is she giving you guys a hard time ?” Her mother asked.

“Don’t worry about it, she’s great, always helping around in the house !” Donghae happily reported. “I’ll make sure not to strain my ankle and get everything settled ! You take care of your health too !”

“Alright, guess I’ll talk to you soon, thanks for everything, Donghae, really,” She thanked him profusely before they ended their video call.

___’s Mom was often worried about the fact that ___’s staying at their dorm would cause any inconvenience, and Donghae would always reassure her that it was a pleasure to have her around the dorms. She would often learn how to cook different dishes from Ryeowook whenever he was preparing meals for the members and would also help to tidy up the dorms together with the dorm aunt. The members loved to have her around the dorms, and she was also happy to be able to help around the house and made sure that they had a comfortable dorm to rest in after their tiring schedules each day.

“I’ll be going out for a short while, hun !” Donghae exclaimed from the living room as he put on his shoes carefully. He was already changed and clad in a set of simple clothes, sunglasses and a cap in order to disguise himself since he was making his way to the university.

“Going out ? Where ? I’ll go with you !” ___ asked as she immediately rushed out of the kitchen.

“Aniyo, just going to the office to watch the guys practice, that’s all…” He lied.

“Really ?” ___ asked since he was going to the office and she couldn’t drive him there since she hadn’t gotten her license. “Why are you going out so soon ? Your ankle just got better and you’re still walking around with a cast…”

“It’s fine ! I’ll borrow one of the hyungs’ cars, don’t worry about me,” He said, taking both her hands and smiling at her, trying to hide his lie.

“If you come home hurt, I’m really going to-“ She said pouting.

Before she could even complete her sentence, Donghae interrupted, “I won’t, alright ? Don’t worry too much baby, just cook me nice food so I can eat when I’m home !”

She chuckled seeing how he showed subtle hints of aegyo. She then walked him out to the lift and waited for it while holding his hands.

Donghae drove to Seoul University, parking Leeteuk’s Audi outside the main office. After confirming his identity, he then made his way towards the lockers where her belongings were stored. He was given a master key from the staff at the office. Despite the looks some girls around campus were giving him since he still looked familiar to them although he tried to disguise himself, he kept his composure and continued walking ahead. Soon, he arrived at the lockers and scanned through the numbers painted on them, searching for the number the staff had told him.

“700…701. Aha !” He smiled and stuck the key in.

“Sorry um, excuse me ? Why are you unlocking my friend’s locker ?” He heard a voice and he turned his head to see a female and a familiar looking male looking right at him suspiciously.

The male who looked like the one that had kissed her in the photo.

A/N: Hi guys !! I have a lot of things to apologise for :x I AM SO, SO SORRY for the delay in updates. I think I'll only be able to update once a week unless I happen to be extremely free. & please forgive any mistakes in my writing if there is 'cos no matter how many times I re-read and edit, there are still mistakes so I just decided to post it up already. Anyway, thank you for all your comments !! ♥ You guys have been extremely wonderful readers so here's a long update, hope you liked it ~ It's the longest chapter I've ever written ^^ Do continue to read, comment and subscribe if you haven't ! I don't even know how to thank you guys :B Oh, and one more thing, I'd like to give credit to my super nice classmate Vanessa for helping me with the plot when I was having a writer's block ♥ With that, I'll see you guys again as soon as I can ! Till then, tkcare ! (: Ah ! About the fast forwarding in timeline for this chapter, I'm sorry about that but I need it to continue the plot, hope you guys would understand.