It was about 8 months after Gary left Korea.

By then, Daeyang was no longer a small, mischievous puppy; it was almost a full grown dog now, still playful at times, but very intelligent.

Gary was watching him getting trained in the dog centre. His little puppy had grown so much; he felt like a proud father watching his son growing up. While his performance wasn’t the best, it was commendable considering its younger age compared to the other trainees.

At the end of the training, Daeyang came running up to Gary, his legs, happy to see its owner. The trainer nodded at Gary. “He’s going to be a great assistance dog in future!” he smiled at Gary in approval. Probably because Gary often took Daeyang on road trips, Daeyang was more alert than many other dogs of his age, and he also listened to instructions very well. He wagged its tail vigorously, elated to be praised. Gary bend down to its height to ruffle its fur. “Well done,” he smiled. “Let’s go to the beach for a reward, shall we?”

Daeyang woof-ed in response, Gary’s face in delight.

The duo went to the beach as agreed. It was as if Daeyang reverted back to its young, playful self. He ran on the sand without restrictions, barking wildly and happily. Gary laughed at him and played along, sometimes chasing him and sometimes throwing Frisbee for him to play catch.

After they were both tired, they sat by the seashore, letting the sea breeze cool them down. They sat side by side. Now that Daeyang was almost a year old, he was nearly as tall as Gary when both of them sat down. He Daeyang’s fur gently.

“You love the beach don’t you,” Gary asked him. “Do you know that your name means ‘ocean’ in Korean?”

As if Daeyang understood, he rubbed his head against Gary’s neck. Gary smiled wistfully.

“Do you know, I’m going to miss you so much when I have to return you to the training centre? I know…. We’re not supposed to develop such strong bonds…” he sighed, lying down on the sand, with his arms as pillow. Daeyang followed him.

“It’s just… you’ve helped me so much,” he continued with much melancholy in his voice.

Daeyang barked furiously, as if refusing the idea of getting separated.

Gary rubbed Daeyang’s head to calm him down. He felt a sudden ache in his heart. He got reminded of Jihyo again. As time passes, he gets less and less reminded of her, and she ran through his mind less frequently. But occasionally though, memories of Jihyo will flash through his mind and he would get overwhelmed by nostalgia again.

Sensing the change in mood, Daeyang his owner, hoping to cheer him up.

“It’s such an uncanny coincidence, isn’t it? Both Jihyo and you are people and animal whom I love so much, but in the end, I have to let both of you go…” he sighed again. “For how many more times do I have to deal with such separation?” he closed his eyes in frustration and displeasure.

That night, he couldn’t sleep as he kept thinking about Jihyo. He hadn’t heard from her since the day they met up, although sometimes HaHa would hint to him how she was doing. He didn’t explicitly tell him about her because HaHa also wanted Gary to move on, but he knew that deep down in his heart, Gary wanted to know.

It was a Monday that day. He wondered how she was doing.

Close to 12 midnight, he got a call.

“Hyung! Jihyo’s in the hospital!” HaHa’s frantic voice rang in his ears.

“What?” He wasn’t sure if he heard correctly.

“We just ended filming and we’re on our way home. Then there was this truck driving towards the cars. Jihyo’s car got hit  because it was the first.”

Gary was too stunned to respond. His hands were trembling from shock.

“Gwang Soo was also injured, but it isn’t life threatening. Jihyo…” he paused, trying to assess Gary’s emotions. But Gary made no sound.

“Jihyo’s condition is more critical. She hit her head against the steering wheel so she went unconscious on the spot. We’ll have to wait for the surgery to be over.”

“I…” was all Gary managed to mutter.

“Are you coming over?”

Gary didn’t even hesitate. Whether his presence would cause her to lose her powers didn’t matter anymore. It would take at least a few years for him to completely deplete her energy. He knew he had to see her, now. He needed to make sure she was safe and sound. He fumbled to find his passport and asked for the hospital. “I’ll take the soonest flight over.”

“Okay, see you, hyung. Let’s hope for the best.”

When Gary reached Seoul, it was almost 2pm. The earliest flight was 3am and he even had to do a transfer. Thankfully, no one recognised him at the airport and he made his way to the hospital without delay. By then, news about Jihyo’s accident was all over the internet. Apparently the driver was drink-driving and crashed into the Jihyo's and Gwang Soo's cars. It just so happened that Jihyo’s car was the first car, which absorbed most of the shock of the crash. Gwang Soo’s was the second, thus he suffered some fractures and abrasions. HaHa and Jong Kook went for supper, Jae Suk and Suk Jin took another road, so they escaped unscathed.

When he arrived at the hospital, Jihyo was still in the intensive care unit, with life lines attached to her all over her body. His heart ached as tears welled up in his eyes. It hurt even more to know that he can’t do anything, unlike how he saved the woman when he was young. (He still hadn’t found out she was Jihyo’s mother). Seekers, unlike Healers, can only do minimal, if any at all, healing. When he saved the woman, almost the entire ‘quota’ was used up. There was nothing he can do now.

A lady emerged from the room. “Kang Gary ssi,” she said as they made eye contact.

It gave Gary such a shock that he stumbled backwards a little.

Although she looked much older, her features were still the same.

It was the person he saved when he was a child.

She was Jihyo’s mother.

To save her, he used up the chance that he could use to save Jihyo.

Was this a joke or what? He was filled with regret. Had he not interfered back then… he could save her daughter now.

“Kang Gary ssi,” the woman repeated. Her voice was tense. “I’m Jihyo’s mother.”

“Ne… annyeonghaseyo, Mrs Song,” he stuttered, not forgetting to bow, though.

The woman sighed.

“I would have objected to you visiting my daughter, seeing the hurt that you have caused her,” she sounded calm, but there was a hint of disapproval in her voice. “Do you know how much tears she had shed for you when you left so suddenly?” her gaze was intense, burning right through Gary. It wasn’t glaring; not yet. But it was fierce and intimidating. Gary bowed, both in fear and in guilt.

She sighed again.

“I really want to stop you from visiting her… but…” she paused. “But she loves you so much. I know, because I’m her mother. She may smile and laugh in front of us, but I know she still cries herself to sleep sometimes.” Her voice was shaking now.

“I don’t know why you left, I have no right to question you. But please, the doctor says that whether she wakes up or not depends on her will power, so please… please tell her something, like you’ll be with her again or something, so she will wake up. She… she kept mumbling your name… Please…” she broke down, sobbing. Not hysterically, but those cries that make your heart ache; those cries that sounded hopeless.

Gary, once again, was too shock to respond.

She made an attempt to kneel down. “Please just… just stay. I… beg you, please. Our Jihyo… she always seems so strong, but she isn’t… she’s just a woman who… who needs you right now.”

“I’ll try my best,” he whispered, still supporting her to stop her from kneeling. I need her too.

Gary put on the visiting gown, mask and glove for hygiene purposes. He went in and sat beside her bed. He saw how skinny she became. She also had bandages on the head and arms. The only consolation was the steady rise and fall of her chest, proving that she was still alive. Tears started to flow as he caressed her sullen cheeks.

“Jihyo-ah, it has been long, isn’t it?” he whispered with a trembling voice.

“Do you remember, we already met when we were children? I can’t believe I only found out now… you were the little girl by the playground, outside the hospital. I saved your mom back then; I wished I hadn’t now, then I can save you.

“What a fate we share, you indirectly caused my parents’ death, then we met and I saved your mother. Then we meet again 20 years later with no recollection about our encounter when we were young… I… we’re fated to be in each other’s destiny, but why can’t we just be together…” he paused as he got too emotional. His tears dripped onto Jihyo’s hand.

He held up her hand and pressed it against his cheeks. Oh, how he missed the touch of her hand…

“You know, if I could start all over again, I would have still chose to be together with you, because it was the best time I’ve had. Though it was short… Though in the end we cannot be together.

“But I’ll still love you, when we’re miles apart. I know I wanted you to forget me, and I wanted to forget you too, but we both know it’s impossible right?

“And so, like what you said when we were kids, you’ll always be in here,” he put her hand on his chest. “In my heart.”

Tears continued to flow down his cheeks, wetting the bedsheets. Unnoticed by him, tears also fell from Jihyo’s eyes.