Jessica's mind still seems to be at war. One side is continuously reminding her that Siwon still hasn't returned home and already, another week has gone by. The other side is reminding her that she still hasn't spoken to Donghae about what happened between them.

It is these two recurring thoughts that are occupying her mind and making it extremely difficult for her to focus on work.

Yoona begins to notice Jessica struggling with orders and moving so slowly. Worried, as Jessica steps out of the kitchen with a tray, she steps in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Jessica asked, looking at Yoona.

“Give me the tray, unni,” Yoona demanded, holding out her arms.

Jessica shook her head. “Yoona, I'm fine.”

“No, you're not.”

“But Yoona-”

“Hand it over.”

Defeated, Jessica let out a sigh and handed her the tray. “Now, you go into the kitchen and start washing dishes.”

“Ugh, fine.” Jessica shook her head and walked into the kitchen. Frustrated, she scrubbed the dishes, hard.

After serving the customers, Yoona returned to the kitchen and observed Jessica's hard handling of the dishes in the sink.

“You are obviously not okay,” she pointed out, her arms crossed.

Jessica laid down the dishes and shut off the water, then wiped her forehead with her forearm. “Yoona, I said 'I'm fine.' Can't you just leave me alone?”

“It's been another week and Siwon hasn't come back. Can't you just admit that that's why you're upset?”

“Okay, fine. Yes. I am upset because Siwon still hasn't returned. Happy?” Jessica replied, irritatedly.

“Yes...is something else bothering you?”

“I said it was because of Siwon, what else could possibly be bothering me right now?”

Yoona was taken aback by Jessica's recent irritability. She knew she had to do something.

“I think you should go home,” Yoona suggested.

“Hey girls,” Seul Gi greeted as she passed by them in the kitchen. “What's going on?”

“Jessica's not feeling okay,” Yoona answered for her.

“I said I was fine, can't you just let this go?”

“What's wrong?”

“It's nothing,” Jessica tried to reassure her.

“She's upset about her boyfriend not coming home,” Yoona answered again.

“Stoppite, Yoona,” Jessica ordered. “Forget it Seulgi, I don't need to go home. Besides, I can't afford to miss more hours.”

“No, it's alright. Business is pretty slow today. If you really need to go home, you can.”

Jessica was surprised at how understanding Seul Gi was. “Are you sure you don't need me?”

“Well, I saw you out there. You're not yourself. It's fine. We'll be alright. Just go take care of whatever you need to take care of.”

Jessica's eyes switched between Seulgi and Yoona. She nodded her head. “Well...okay. I guess...I guess I'll just go home then.”

She took off her apron and hung it up on the hook beside the kitchen door. After clocking out of her register she left.

“Is she going to be okay?” Seulgi asked after they watched Jessica leave.

“I think so. She just hasn't heard from her boyfriend yet,” Yoona explained.

“How long has it been?”

“About two weeks now.”

“I see,” Seulgi said, nodding her head. “Well, I guess we should get back to work, then.”

Yoona heaved a sigh and continued to work, still worried about Jessica.

–

Jessica just laid down in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Where the hell is he? How could he not have contacted me? Is he even home yet? Why haven't I heard from him?

Jessica couldn't stop questioning Siwon's whereabouts. She laid there completely still, her eyes fixated on the white ceiling. But after not being able to answer those questions, she started thinking about Donghae.

He tried to kiss me...he said he has feelings for me...he asked me if I had feelings for him too...Do I? I should be worried about Siwon...but I promised Donghae I'd help him...I keep thinking about him...where is he? I haven't seen him since then...

Thinking she may be able to somewhat solve her second problem, she decided to get up from her bed. She looked to the clock on her nightstand that read 9:00 PM, in bright red.

After contemplating for a minute or so, she got up from the bed and put on a light sweater and headed out the door.

–

Hospitals always seem to have their own special kind of scent. It's nothing like fragrant wild flowers but it doesn't seem to have an odor of sick people either. It's just a sort of sterile kind of smell.

Jessica could recognize Donghae's room immediately. The faint sound of the beeping growing louder as she stepped closer to the room was easy for her to remember. As Jessica approached his room, she decided to sneak a peek inside before stepping in. Looking right through the doorway, she could see her Donghae's noona, Yoonji, sitting beside his bed, holding his hand. But on her other side, she saw Donghae – the one she knows.

He finally looked up and noticed her standing in the doorway. Instead of inviting her in, he slowly walked toward the entryway. Jessica turned away from the room and leaned her back against the wall.

Donghae stepped out and leaned his back against the wall on the other side of the door.

The two didn't speak to each other for a few minutes and hardly even looked at one another.

It has never been this awkward between the two of them.

“So...what have you been up to?” Jessica asked quietly, breaking the silence.

“Nothing, really,” Donghae answered, his voice even. “What about you?”

“Same here.”

Silence.

“Any news?” Donghae asked, not looking at her.

Jessica knew what he meant. She shook her head. “Mm-mm.”

The awkwardness was lashing at the both of them internally.

“Jessica,” he finally called her. Her eyes widened immediately and she faced him. “Look, I'm sorry for what I did last week...I chose the wrong time to admit my feelings...You should be more concerned about Siwon instead of me...I was selfish..”

“Donghae, stop,” she cut him off.

“No. It was wrong of me to do what I did...or at least tried to do...” he was embarrassed and couldn't face her.

“Donghae, I'm sorry.”

Donghae's eyes shot up. “What are you sorry for?”

“For being a bad friend. Your life is in danger and I haven't been helping you like I promised I would.”

“None of this is your fault. You have more important things to worry about,” he tried to reassure her.

“Have you heard anything new about your family? Have they made any more decisions? I want to talk to Yoonji. She's in there right?” Jessica began to turn into the room, but Donghae quickly stopped her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“Donghae?” she asked, looking at both of his hands. “What are you doing?”

“D-don't,” he stuttered. “Don't go in there.”

“Why? Did your parents come to a decision?”

“I just..I can't...” Donghae was struggling to find the right words.

She has to know, he told himself.

“Donghae...”

“Jessica...I have to tell you something...”

She looked at him strangely. “What's going on?”

He looked into her innocent eyes and couldn't find the right words to say what he needed to say. His mouth was making shapes, but words weren't coming out.

Hearing the whispers outside, Yoonji got up from her seat and looked out the door.

“Is someone there?” she asked.

Donghae and Jessica looked into the room. Donghae turned back to Jessica but still didn't have the heart to say what he needed to say.

Yoonji looked out the door and saw Jessica standing there.

“Oh, Jessica. I didn't know you were coming to visit,” she said.

“I'm sorry. Am I disturbing you? I could go back home,” she replied.

“No, no, it's alright. Come in,” she said, inviting her into the room. Donghae was nowhere to be found.

–

Jessica couldn't take her eyes off of Donghae's body – still sleeping.

“I'm sorry to intrude so late,” Jessica apologized in a hushed voice.

“It's alright,” Yoonji answered. “Donghae needs all the love he can get.”

“Is Donghae going to be okay?”

Yoonji just exhaled a breath of air and crossed her arms. “To be honest with you, I'm not sure myself.”

“Is anything wrong?”

“Well the problem is that his heart isn't functioning correctly. So to fix the problem, he would need a heart transplant,” she carefully explained.

“A heart transplant?” Jessica was stunned. Donghae's restful body looked so weak. How could he possibly handle surgery? Especially if it involves replacing his heart.

“My parents don't know if they should go through with the surgery. The doctors said that Donghae surviving the surgery...isn't likely because of his condition.”

The silence was almost too painful. There wasn't a sound except for the beeping of Donghae's life support.

“What do you think?” Jessica suddenly asked.

“I..I don't know...”

“Well, if your parents are deciding between getting him the surgery or not...then...that must mean there's a donor, right?”

“Surprisingly, yes. Donghae has a very rare blood type – AB positive. It was extremely difficult for the doctors to find any possible donors, but they did come across one. It was like a miracle,” Yoonji explained, almost smiling.

Talking about organ donation reminded Jessica of Siwon. Siwon always wanted to be an organ donor. “That is a miracle. Anyone who voluntarily donates their organs is a saint.”

Yoonji nodded her head in agreement. “Absolutely...God bless Choi Siwon.”

Jessica's heart seemed to stop. Her eyes widened at the sound of Yoonji's voice. She slowly turned her gaze to her and focused her eyes on her intently. “Wh-..what...what did you just say?”

Yoonji looked at her a bit confused. “Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

“I...I just didn't catch what you just said...”

“Choi Siwon? That's the name of the possible donor. He and Donghae have the same blood type and it's very possible that well..Donghae could live because of him.”

“Ch-Choi Siwon?!” Jessica exclaimed. Yoonji looked at her confused and took the clipboard out of the pocket on the front of Donghae's bed.

“Yes, it's printed right here.” She handed Jessica the clipboard and pointed to the sheet on top.

Jessica took the clipboard into her hands and quickly skimmed over the page. After reading a few lines down, she finally came to the proof she was looking for.

To the right of the bolded text “Possible Donor,” it read the name “Choi Siwon.” Not only was his name there, but she also saw his date of birth and blood type. It must have been true.

Unable to handle what she had just read, her hands began to shake. Her mind was spinning and she began to feel weak at the knees. Her vision was blurring and she didn't know where she was.

“Jessica,” Yoonji said worriedly. “Jessica? Is something wrong?”

The clipboard fell from Jessica's gentle hands. And within seconds, Jessica landed on the floor right next to it.

-

Okay, seriously. I am spoiling you guys here. It's getting pretty intense! You're definitely going to have to read on from here :)