Y O O N A

When I woke up, the first thing that I saw was Hyoyeon hovering over me. A worried look was etched on her face.

“Y-yoona?” She whispered excitedly when I opened my eyes. “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay! I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let you go by yourself.”

“It’s okay. I’m fine now,” I said as I struggled to sit up.

She gave me my medicine and I slowly gulped it down with a glass of water. Nurse Hyoyeon watched me with a concerned look and left when I set the glass down.

I looked around me. It was morning and the dull and subdued rays of the sun filtered through the sheer curtains and casted a faint glow on the floor. At first, I couldn’t remember what happened. Why was I in bed? How long had I been sleeping? Where did I go? Why were my eyes sore? Suddenly, the skies darkened and the sun’s rays disappeared.

The pitter patter of the rain on the rooftop brought back everything.

Saranghaeyo.

I felt another wave of sadness pull me down. I wish I could just forget about him – about everything. I wish there was something I could swallow to erase all the memories. I wish there was some kind of medicine that could relieve emotional pain. I tried to shake the feeling off. Maybe a distraction would do. I called out to nurse Hyoyeon. “Can I go and watch TV now?”  

“It would be better if you’d rest some more but, alright,” she said hesitantly. “Just call me if you need anything. Or you feel anything strange.”

Oh, I feel something strange alright. I feel an emotion – a mixture of longing, pain and sadness. I got up and staggered towards the living room. Yoseob was playing with his gaming console, but he immediately shut it off when he saw me approaching.

“Good morning,” he got up and handed me the remote. “Here, you can watch the TV.”

Oh, I’m sick of this. I liked it better when you wanted me to cook breakfast for you. I liked it better when you treated me as if everything was normal. I had to stop myself from breaking down again as I took the remote. I gave my brother a sad smile then sat down on the couch. Before I could even turn on the TV, I heard someone knocking loudly on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Yoseob said.

“No, wait,” for some reason, I had a feeling that I knew this person. I got up and peeked outside through the blinds.

I was right.

Outside were two tall men. One of them had on a cap and a mask and another one had flaming orange hair.

I choked back my tears. Why? Why do you have to keep on appearing?

“Don’t go,” I instructed my brother and when he gave me that why look, I put my foot down and repeated myself, this time, with a much sterner tone. “Don’t go.”

Yoseob obediently nodded and retreated to his room.

“Why? Who is it?” This time, it was Nurse Hyoyeon.

“Nobody,” I muttered and closed the blinds.

Hyoyeon was about to turn back when someone began yelling outside.

“YOONA, IT’S DONGHAE! PLEASE OPEN UP! I KNOW YOU’RE THERE!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Nobody?” Hyoyeon looked at me suspiciously. She went over to the window to peek and looked at me once more, with her hands on her hips. “Nobody.”

“Fine, he’s someone I know,” I avoided her eyes. “But he’s someone I don’t want to talk to.”

“Is he your lover?” Hyoyeon narrowed her brows.

Donghae yelled again. His voice sounded more desperate this time. “YOONA! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME? YOU KNOW IT WOULDN’T HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE – “

“SHUT UP!” Hyoyeon drew up the blinds and shouted before I could stop her. “IF YOU DON’T STOP THIS INSTANT, I’LL CALL THE POLICE!”

The yelling stopped.

I was about to sigh in relief when someone began singing.

“’Cause, you are, so beautiful,” It was Donghae. I slowly made my way to the window and watched.

He was dancing.

There, in the middle of the streets, singing and dancing.

“Nal sumsuiga haneun ne ibseul saranghandanmal oh,” he continued. That friend of his started to dance with him too.

“Hey, that guy next to him dances pretty well,” Hyoyeon was standing beside me and was grinning. She turned to me. “Girl, you’re a heartbreaker.”

I managed to smile.

Donghae was still dancing and I have to admit. He is good. His movements were so fluid and his expressions were so captivating. Since it was in Korean, I didn’t understand what he was saying – or singing for that matter – but it all drew me in. As I watched this man sing and dance fueled by so much emotion, so much longing, I couldn’t stop the tears from running down my face.

Damn you, Donghae.

A crowd began to form around them and watched on.

“YOONA!” He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out. “It doesn’t make a difference whether you’re healthy or not. I’d still be there for you!”

The little crowd behind him applauded. Someone even shouted out. “Yeah, miss! Give him a chance!”

The cheers got louder.

“Yoona! Please! Don’t run away from me. I’m not here to make your life worse. I promise I’ll be here to make everything easier for you. I’ll be your Prince Charming!” Donghae called out.

Oh, please, you’re so cheesy.

I noticed that tears were once again forming at the edges of my eyes.

“I love you, Yoona! And I promise you, no death threats and no illnesses are going to get in my way!”

You’re embarrassing me. You won’t stop won’t you?

“Please come out and talk to me! If not, I’m going to sleep here!”

Fine, then Carrot-Head. I’m not that cruel.

I ran downstairs to meet him, but as soon as I opened the door, my knees started to feel weak once more. Still, I dragged myself towards him. The world began to become blurry again and everything around me began to spin.

And before I knew it, I fainted as I fell into Donghae’s arms.