The next few days, Kris got even more confused. He didn’t know anymore what he was feeling and why was he feeling that way. He wanted to know it so bad so he tried to meet her once more.

After filming, he waited for her at the entrance of the building. He sat there for a while when he heard her voice from afar. She seemed to be talking to her friend Ailee. He heard their steps got nearer and their voices louder so he turned around just in time to meet Chaerin’s eyes. He silently gazed at them for a few seconds.

Chaerin’s heart raced. Meeting those perfect eyes made her body weak. What’s so special with it anyway? She had already been used to looking into people’s eyes, but not Kris’; she always felt hypnotized while starring at it.

Ailee noticed the awkwardness around as the two just kept looking at each other. She took the hint and said. “Chaerin-ah, I’ll go, okay? See you tomorrow.” She gave her a peck on her cheeks before leaving. The other could only reply with a subconscious, “Bye.”

Ailee gave Kris a smile as she walked past him and he gratefully reciprocated it. Then he turned to face Chaerin who was already walking away from him. “Chaerin-sshi, wait!” He chased after her but she didn’t look back at him. He half-ran to catch up with her. “What do you want? Don’t forget you’re still Sajangnim. We had coffee once isn’t that enough?” she frustratedly said without looking at him.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Did I do anything wrong?” he said in confusion trying to catch his breath because surprisingly for a small girl, Chaerin walks fast. She immediately stopped, feeling annoyed that he was still following her. “SAJANGNIM!” she made sure to emphasize the word. “I still meant what I said back then, that I don’t want to be accused as a cheater or being favored. This competition means a lot to me, and if it will be ruined by this kind of thing, I’d rather avoid it” she said with a firm tone.

“I… I know that. It’s just that…” he couldn’t continue. This wasn’t the right time for him to say anything about what he was feeling since he wasn’t sure of it yet and she might just willingly reject it. Chaerin waited for what he was going to say but it was taking him a long time until she lost all her patience. She left yet again but he didn’t call her back anymore.

Truthfully, she felt bad for leaving him like that but what else could she do? She want the competition to go on properly for her. She really needed it because it would give her the big break she had been working hard for the past years. It would be the fulfillment not only of her dreams but also her parents'.

“Chaerin-sshi! Wait!” Kris shouted. He sounded serious so she stopped but didn’t turn to look at him. “Since I met you, I felt something unexplainable. At first, I didn’t face it. I just kept on concealing it inside. But it gets worse everyday especially when I look at you. And right now, I’m more confused than ever. I… I need help figuring things out.”

Chaerin looked down on the ground. Honestly, she was also confused. Since the day Kris had saved her, she felt safe. “Eotteokhe? If that is how you feel, I don’t think I have time to wait nor help you in figuring things out.” She turned to look at him intently. “Sajanganim, whatever it is you’re feeling, it doesn’t concern me. So please, let’s stop seeing each other like this. Right now, I need to hold my life together and I don’t have time for puzzles and guessing.” She began walking away.

For the nth time, Kris called for her but she didn’t turn nor stop anymore. “Chaerin-sshi, why does seeing your back turned against me hurts a lot? Why does the fact that I won’t see you again makes me worry? Why do I kept on wanting to see you? Do… I… Like…. You?” he slowly said with his heart beating hardly against his chest.

Chaerin gasped. Did she hear right? Kris likes her? But why, when she was just a poor girl, living life miserably? She couldn’t find any reason. She just kept on walking away with her heart beating fast. Kris-sshi, why do I always catch my breath when you're around? DO I LIKE YOU?, she thought, but she knew finding the reason for that can wait. She had to hold her head up high as she charges towards her dream.

When she got home, the place was eerily quiet. She reached for the phone on her bag and saw that her battery had already drained so she decided to plug it in for charging. She wondered if Yedam was already sleeping so she decided to check his room but before she could reach it, the phone suddenly rang. She hurriedly run towards it and answered.

She heard a panic-stricken voice at the other line. “Yah! Rin-ah!” It was Krystal and her voice sounded a little hoarse. “Wae? Why are you in a panic? Huh? Calm down and tell me” Chearin calmly replied, although she was already getting worried.

“I have been trying to reach you through your cellphone countless times! Yah! Come to the hospital quickly!” she said. “Wae?!” Then it was silent on the other line as Krystal tries to compose herself. “Rin-ah, Yedam’s school bus was in an accident. It turned over and injured a lot of students. Yedam was one of them. He is in a critical condition right now” she spoke in between her sobs. “Come to the hospital quickly. There’s a lot of people here and I’m already getting scared.”

Chaerin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Without speaking anymore, she grabbed her bag and sprinted away. She got into a taxi quickly and asked the driver to hurry to the hospital.

Her whole body was trembling. She already lost her parents in a car accident, will she also lose Yedam like that too? “Aniyo!” she shook the thought off. Her heart was beating so fast and she kept on biting her nails.

The taxi arrived there in no time. Chaerin paid without even waiting for her change and ran to where the emergency room was. Her mind went blank when she saw Krystal sitting on the a bench with her face buried in her palms. “Krystal, where is Yedam? Where’s my dongsaeng?!” she panicked.

Her bestfriend immediately looked up upon hearing her voice and then stood to hug her. In a few seconds, Chaerin's shoulder was already wet with Krystal’s tears. “Rin-ah, they’re still operating on Yedam. He cut his head and fractured his spine and legs. He already lost so much blood even before he could be pulled out from the toppled bus. Rin-ah, eotteokhe?”

Hearing what happened to her brother made Chaerin even more scared before she finally broke down into tears. She hugged Krystal tighter. “I don’t know what to do! I feel so helpless. Why did this have to happen to him?” She sobbed loudly as her bestfriend comforts her. “He’ll be fine. He’ll get through this. Let’s just hope for the best.”

After a few hours, she was able to stop crying; not because she felt less worried but because even if she tries, tears wouldn’t fall anymore. Her eyes were dried up and swollen and her whole system was exhausted. Any minute now, she felt like she was going to pass out.

A doctor went out of the operating room followed by another and then another. They went to where their patient’s families are, bringing them news as to how their sons or daughters were doing. Chaerin overheard some of them.

“Sungah’s condition had already stabled. She could be transferred in a normal room after cleaning up her wounds.”

“Kwangju’s surgery is successful but we need to watch closely on his progress.”

She was able to breathe properly upon hearing those positive news but then...

“Ms. Park, Junhee’s injuries were too severe. He had wounds everywhere and the deepest was on his head. He lost a lot of blood. I’m sorry, but he didn’t make it. He did not respond well to the surgery.” The certain Ms. Park wailed in pain. “My son! Wae?!” she hoplessly cried. Hearing that made Chaerin’s hope fall. She was more worried and uneasy than ever.

Then, the last doctor came out and walked towards where Chaerin and Krystal were. He was wearing an unreadable expression so they both waited for what he was going to say. “Ms. Lee Chaerin? You’re Yedam’s sister?” he confirmed. She could only nod. “Yedam’s case is not the most critical one but it was difficult to make him undergo surgery because his condition is still unstable so we had to stop it for a while. For now, he would be closely watched in the Intensive Care Unit” he said.

Chaerin didn’t know how she should feel; whether she should be happy that it wasn’t a hopeless case or she should be sad or worried that his condtion was not yet stable. Either way, she was thankful that Yedam’s heart is still beating; his body and soul are intact and he was breathing. That’s what only matters to her.

There was an emergency meeting for the show the next day, which Chaerin wasn’t able to attend. Everyone wondered why she was absent but they had different reaction towards it. Tiffany was happy because she had Kris' attention all by herself. Suga and Ailee were both worried because she has never missed any involvement with the show. Tao felt neutral. His only concern is how Kris would react on her absence and he was pleased to see that he looked uneasy and he indeed was. He felt crappy for what he did last night. That was such a lame confession, he thought to himself. But was it that lame that she had to be absent today? Aish!

When the meeting was adjourned, Ailee immediately call to know why her friend was a no-show. “Yah! Where are you? We had an emergency meeting for the show. It was being pushed back for another week so there’ll be a lot more special episodes for us” she informed her. Her eyes widened at her reply that she almost shouted, “What?! Yedam was in a car accident? He is in a critical condition?! OMO! What are you going to do?” After Chaerin spoke, she said, “Chaerin-ah, hang on there, okay? Everything would be alright. Don’t think about things all at once. Bye. I’ll visit later.”

Little did Ailee know that Tao heard her conversation. “Her brother was in an accident?” he thought.

That afternoon, he searched for the hospital where they were and found it easily. He went inside to look for Chaerin.Well, she wasn’t hard to find because she was outside the ICU all day long, waiting for her brother to wake up.

He observed her from afar. She looked so troubled and her eyes were already tired from crying or lack of sleep. After a few minutes, a doctor came out and talked to her. Tao went closer to hear their conversation.

“Ms. Lee, I would like to inform you that to be able to perform procedures for Yedam, we need to make sure that you could afford all the facilities needed or else we need to transfer him to the public hospital. But don’t worry, we’ll help you with the transfer papers and…” he was suddenly cut off when Chaerin spoke. “Aniyo, go on with the procedures needed. I can pay the amount needed.”

“Okay, Ms. Lee. We’ll take your word for that so kindly fill up the papers needed in the reception” he said before leaving. Krystal looked at her in disbelief. “Yah! Eotteokhe?! It will surely take a lot of money and you don’t have any savings!”, she exclaimed. “What was I supposed to do then, allow him to be treated at a cheaper and more uncertain place? Huh? Is that what you suggest?” she madly answered. “That’s not what I meant. I know Yedam is very important that you wouldn’t let an unexperienced doctor treat him. I’m only saying that you’d have to work several jobs or win the contest to be able to raise that amount.”

“It’s okay. I’ll get it no matter what!” Chaerin determinedly said, with a hint of unwavering hope in her tone.

Tao smirked as an idea came to his mind; he will definitely use this situation to carry out his plans for Mr. and Mrs. Wu and mostly for himself.

***END OF CHAPTER***