She was gaping at him and as he stared back, his eyes widening in a realization. He quickly but carefully pushed her off him, but as he did so, his hand had made contact at the blood that was trickling down Suzy’s arm. If Suzy hadn’t seen the shock in his eyes, she wouldn’t also have realized that there was a relatively big cut on her arm.

Suzy watched as panic registered on his face. He ripped a part of his shirt off and wrapped the cloth around her arm. As he did so, Suzy’s eyes wandered on the bruises and the cuts that the male acquired, and yet, he tended her wound and not his own.

Her hand reached towards his forehead and he flinched upon it making contact on a warm liquid. He flinched and his eyes made contact with hers as she whispered,

“You’re bleeding. W-We need to get you to the hospital.”

At the mention of ‘hospital’, his eyes rounded. He was about to run away again, but as he tried to stand up, he stumbled back to the ground. Suzy saw his face constricted in pain as he glanced over his left foot.

“It could be sprain, or worse, fracture,” Suzy mumbled with worry. “We really need to go back to the hospital.”

But then, Mark repeatedly shook his head again, clearly refusing the idea. As the area darkened and the whispers became louder, Suzy saw how fright slowly became written on his face. A crowd had gathered around them, and he started trembling upon seeing all the attention focused on him. He covered his ears with both of his hands and shut his eyes closed. Suzy then immediately held his wrists, forcing him to look at her, as she said,

“It’s okay. I’ll keep you safe.”

His eyes softened but as they heard loud footsteps, they widened in horror again. Suzy turned to find the hospital personnel running towards them. It was only a matter of seconds when they got a hold of her and Mark, separating both of them. As everything happened so fast, Suzy couldn’t even remember saying anything, but she couldn’t forget how Mark tried to struggle with force as two men held him captive. His eyes then found hers, and Suzy called his name repeatedly as his eyes slowly closed.

“It was just a sedative. You saw him, he couldn’t calm down.”

“But that should’ve been the last resort,” Suzy insisted. “He could be more afraid of the hospital now, after you forcefully sent him to sleep. I’m his doctor. You should have asked me first.”

The man sighed as he looked at her and mocked, “Maybe if you were doing a great job as his doctor, he wouldn’t have run away.”

She opened in protest, but found no words to say. It was true. The thought of leaving Mark even crossed her mind. Who was she to judge them?

As she was engulfed in silence, the man added, “Tuan wouldn’t sleep on his own. We always needed a sedative for him.”

The groan that escaped Mark’s lips cut their conversation short. She walked towards him and sat beside his bed as the male slowly opened his eyes. Hearing the door click, she knew they were alone again.

“Hey,” Suzy greeted with a small smile.

He sat up, and as his eyes scanned the vicinity, disappointment registered in his eyes. He was back to his room again. Suzy tried to divert his attention by trying to initiate a conversation.

“The doctors have treated your wounds already. You should be alright,” Suzy smiled. “You could go back to sleep now. It would help you recover fast.”

But then, Mark just blankly stared at the ground.

“Are you mad at m-me?” Suzy stuttered. “For suddenly leaving you, I mean.”

He looked at her, but quickly averted his gaze again.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered tenderly as she searched for his eyes.

He was about to stand up, but the pain in his foot prevented him from doing so. Suzy’s gaze became gentle as she figured out that he was avoiding her. But then, to her surprise, Mark took her hand. With a sigh, his finger grazed over her palm and she realized that he was writing on her hand. His movements were slow, as if making sure that she would receive the message. He wrote,

            You shouldn’t have hesitated.

“No,” Suzy shook her head. “You’re my patient. I shouldn’t be running away from you.”

            It’s better if you don’t associate with me.

“But I am already associated with you,” Suzy pushed further. Shaking her head, she sighed and digressed, “Come on. You should go to sleep.”

            I can’t sleep.

“Why? Insomnia? Should I get you some meds then?” she asked.

            No. I don’t want to sleep.

“Are you scared?” she asked and with much hesitation, Mark gave a nod. She then replied with a reassuring smile as she said, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

Planning to talk to her brother, Suzy decided to accompany him in eating dinner. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, making sure that the long sleeves did a fair job in hiding her bandaged wound.  She then found him alone in their dining table, eating as if there was no tomorrow.

A gentle smile escaped her lips. She knew that Jaebum always had