He helped her up and found that she was almost limped so he decided to carry her on his back way down to the car park. He carefully dropped her to the ground before helping her to get inside the car and sat her on the front passenger's seat. He put on her seat belt and then he was kneeling there, looking up to her face who was watching him weakly.

"You're going to be alright, okay?" He touched her cheek and she closed her eyes, feeling the coldness of his hand.

Woohyun closed the door for her and heaved a deep, almost shivering breath before getting inside the car and started the engine. He reached for Eun-shil's hand immediately and squeezed it a little. Eun-shil turned to him with all the might she had in her and smiled at him.

And it was the same smile she gave him many, many years ago.

It was a smile he had missed so much.

The drive to the hospital felt shorter than he thought it would be as he heaved Eun-shil out of the car again and carried her inside the hospital. Eun-shil closed her eyes, sniffing Woohyun's shirt because the smell of the hospital was making her sick.

She had wanted to die but at the sound of Woohyun's voice calling her name, she realised how she wanted to be saved. So as Woohyun was carrying her to her ward, she tightens her embrace around Woohyun and she muttered, "Thank you."

Woohyun could only smile to himself to cower away all his tears. There was no way he was going to cry; at least not in front of her.

She was hurriedly admitted to a ward, and was soon receiving blood and platelet transfusion and it just made Woohyun felt worse when he learned how bad her condition was. He could only watch all those tubes and wires being attached around her. As he sat next to her bed and watched her pale face deep in sleep, again, he was reluctant whether to touch her or not. He was unsure what he was so afraid of, looking at that hand when he was used to hold it for all those years.  He spent almost an hour just staring at her hand lying beside her torso before he reached out for it. He was never that glad to find it warm as he slowly kneaded it, falling into a dreamless sleep.

The doctor came around the next morning, waking up Woohyun who noticed Eun-shil was already wide awake. Strangely, she didn't smile at him but her face was in daze as she looked at the doctor who was making a hard face. Woohyun stood up and bowed to the doctor who nodded a little. The doctor whose name Woohyun read as Jung looked like she had something to say but she refrained herself. She only told Eun-shil to get ready for the diagnosis to further confirm her condition. Eun-shil said nothing as the doctor went away and left them both in the ward.

"How are you feeling?" He reached out to touch her face and found it slightly warm but she wasn't burning, to his relief.

"Okay, I guess." She said, as if she was swallowing her words.

"Should we get you ready for the diagnosis?"

Her eyes perked up slowly and met his. "Don't you need to go to work...?"

"I'm taking a leave." He said, caressing her cheek. "We're going through this together, oh?"

She said nothing as she tried to climb down the bed with the IV still attached to her. The strength in her feet hadn't returned fully but she managed to stand and refused to be helped when Woohyun grabbed her wrist.

"I'll manage."

Woohyun should have protested; that was what he thought but as soon as he let her wrist go, he found himself unmoving, watching her walking to the bathroom. It was only a small distant but it felt very far. He waited for her to come out, and as soon as she came out of the bathroom, he lunged towards her, embracing her tight.

"Woohyun?" Her voice was in his ear, surprised. "What's wrong?"

"Stop trying to act tough all the time, Eun-shil." He said, rather quietly. "There's me, isn't there?"

Eun-shil dropped her gaze towards the floor as she was being embraced, "Hm." She let him hold her for a moment without hugging him back before he released her and held her face. He leaned in to kiss her but she stopped his face with her hand, startling him badly.

"You haven't even brush your teeth!"

Then she laughed.

When was the last time he saw that laugh?

Regrets began to settle in his chest then, sinking his heart deeper and deeper still.

Eun-shil never looked as nervous as she was when she had done changing into the patient gown and underwent all the early procedures. Before she could even speak, Woohyun asked whether he could stay but the doctor turned to Eun-shil and asked the same question to her.

"Huh?" She l