This couldn't be happening. There were so many things I needed to say... so many words I never got out. After talking to Tiffany the night before, I realized that I had been holding back and it was time to be honest. Now I wouldn't have that chance.

A sudden weakness in the knees completely over took me and I felt myself begin to fall. As though sensing it, Dr. Song tightened her grip on my arm and moved to stand next to me for support.

"Miss Jung, it's okay," she said quickly. "We managed to stabilize him."

Somehow, her words swam through the ocean of darkness that had consumed my mind and tapped a little spot of light. "He's not...?" I couldn't even finish the sentence; my lips wouldn't form around the words.

She shook her head, "No." Another wave of weakness swept over me, but this time it was of relief. "He's still in a coma, but we're watching him much closer and we were forced to give him some help with breathing."

I shut my eyes, running a hand over my face, "What now?"

"Now, we continue to wait. Though we had that scare earlier, the swelling has begun to go down. We just have to keep him stabilized until it's gone down completely. Then we can go from there."

The awful aching in my head and chest eased slightly. Fear seemed to be a permanent state for me since coming to Hong Kong. It was horrible; every second I felt like I was going to throw up. And even though I had bought all of that food, there was a good chance I would barely be eating anything until I knew Taeyeon was okay.

"Can I still go and sit with him?" I asked.

Dr. Song smiled, "Of course. Stay as long as you like." A beeping sound went off and her hand went to her waist, pulling a beeper out of one of the pockets on her jacket. She sighed after looking at it and then patted my arm reassuringly once more, "I've got to go, but I'll be keeping an eye on him; don't worry."

I nodded knowing full well that she would. Even though I had only known her for less than twenty four hours, I could tell that she was good doctor who was dedicated to her work. I knew that in her hands, Taeyeon would get the best care possible.

As I made the rest of the journey down the hall to his room, I debated about whether or not to tell his mother about what had happened last night. On one hand, I did promise her that I would keep her updated. That was the only way she agreed to stay in Seoul. If she knew that her son had almost died in the night, I had a very bad feeling that she would no longer heed my warnings and come whether she got permission from the doctor or not. I would feel bad if I didn't tell her; I knew that. But at the same time, I would feel worse if she rushed down here and then ended up being a patient herself.

I sighed, coming up to Taeyeon's door. I had all the time in the world to worry about that. It was still early in the morning and I did plan on spending the majority of my day by his side. Between me filling the empty space with meaningless chatter and worrying myself to death, I was sure to come up with a decision about whether or not to tell Mrs. Kim.

Once again, I had to brace myself before I went into the room. It was worse than before. I thought I knew what to expect, but there was no getting used to seeing him like that. Just as Dr. Song had warned, they had made some additions to the array of things keeping him alive. He now had a tube that was pumping a steady flow of oxygen into his nostrils. The oxygen equipment sat neatly beside the IV stand where a new bag of whatever they were giving him was dripping slowly. Something was clamped on the index finger of his left hand and I could see the new monitor it was hooked up to, though I had no idea what it was for. His heart monitor still beeped, its consistent sound reassuring.

I walked over to his bedside, pulling up a chair and sitting as close to him as I could get. As far as I could tell, he didn't look like there had been a single bit of movement since I had seen him the night before.

"I heard you had a rough night," I said softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

We had almost lost him. His situation was scary before, but now I was at my wit's end, terrified that one second I would be looking at him and the next he would flatline.

I sighed, unsure of where to even begin. "I don't know if I should tell your mom about this. She might come rushing up here before I can stop her and who knows what would happen." I shook my head, arms crossing as I leaned back in the chair. "I'm trying to keep everything together, Taeyeon. But it's not easy. I haven't even been here for two days and I'm already rearranging your life." I smiled to myself, imagining how he would roll his eyes at me over my complete re-ording of his kitchen.

"The problem is you're spoiled," I said. "You're a nineteen year old living in one of the fanciest places in Hong Kong. It's damn near fancier than your house back in Seoul—like a miniature version of it or something." My smile softened, "My parents would never do all the stuff your parents do for you. You're a lucky kid."

Outside I could hear people talking and walking around. I crossed and uncrossed my legs feeling restless. I just kept waiting for him to sit up and respond, but I knew he wouldn't. "I wonder if you can hear me," I said quietly, my eyes studying his face. It was covered in scratches; one about two inches long was right over his eyebrow. Still, beneath all of the bruising and marks I could see the high cheekbones, the dip in his upper lip, the straight nose. Underneath it all was Taeyeon.

My hands clasped on my lap as I looked at him. "I remember when we first met," I said, the memory making me chuckle. "First year of high school and I was so nervous. Of course you came in late; you've never done a damn thing on time. I was just sitting there waiting for Mrs. Kang to actually do something instead of staring at us with that crazy smile on her face.

"I looked down at my notebook for two seconds, but it was actually my cell phone. Guess I wasn't that good of a kid at first either." My fingers fiddled with the strap of my purse absentmindedly. "There I was in the back of the room minding my own business when the door opened... and there you were," I shook my head, remembering how I glanced up and then did a double take when he walked in, my jaw surely somewhere near the floor. It was like nothing else existed. "You had that stupid smirk on you face and I thought you were the cutest boy I had ever seen.

"I don't know how I managed to forget about that," I murmured more to myself. Then, shaking out of wherever my mind had gone, I returned to the story. "You weren't even supposed to be in the class. You transferred in at the last minute, and I thou