You walked through the empty corridors at the hospital and listened to your own heavy footsteps. When crossing another corridor you expectantly looked both ways hoping to see someone familiar. But every time you got just as disappointed when you discovered that the corridor was just as empty as the one you were walking. You stopped outside your father’s room and gave a deep sigh before opening the door and walking inside.

Your father was asleep so you sat down on the bed by his feet, picked your school books out of your bag and started doing your homework. Hopefully he’d wake up before you had to go to work and you’d have a chance to talk to him. Pushing all thoughts aside you opened your books and concentrated on your work.

You yawned quietly and straightened your back. You stretched your arms above your head and glanced at your father. Your eyes met. You put your arms down. How long had he been awake?

“Appa? You’re awake.” You smiled at him. He just looked at you with worried eyes. “Is something wrong?” You looked searchingly into your father’s eyes, looking for any signs of what was wrong.

“You’re not happy ~~~~~-ah,” your father whispered. You weren’t prepared for that.

“You’re not happy, and I know it’s partly my fault.”

“A-appa, don’t talk like that. I’m very happy, I’m just very worried about you,” you assured him. Your father studied your face for a long time without saying anything. Then he gave you a weak smile.

“You’re strong ~~~~~-ah. I know you are taking good care of the family while I’m in here. Don’t forget to take care of yourself too.”

“I won’t.”

“And please ~~~~~-ah, keep an eye on Taeyeon-ah.”

You snuck out of the room and closed the door as quietly as possible. Once again you walked through the empty corridors with heavy steps. You thought about what your father had said. You did take care of yourself, maybe not in the best way, but still… you were alive. But there was one thing you knew he was right about. You weren’t happy. But how could you possibly be happy under these circumstances? How could you allow yourself to be happy when everyone you cared about and was supposed to take care of was unhappy? And the thing with Taeyeon… You shook your head miserably as you walked into a pretty crowded elevator. Where did all the people come from?

You walked towards the exit and kept looking around at all the faces in the lobby. When you walked out through the automatic opened doors you got this strange feeling, a combination of relief and disappointment. It was a good thing that you hadn’t bumped into any of them since it, hopefully, meant that they weren’t at the hospital at all. But it would have been nice to meet them? Both of them?