Jong Kook jumped inside the ambulance with Ji Hyo ignoring Park Soo Jin and his parents kept yelling, demanding him to return to the ceremony. His mind was totally preoccupied at that moment. He couldn’t care about consequences or anyone else. Nothing was more important to him than the woman lying critically inside the ambulance.

The woman he loved, the woman he had been longing for the past year was lying in front of him, covered in blood. He couldn’t see anyone else but her, couldn’t hear anything else but her weak breathing. He kept holding her hand tightly and talking to her. He kept begging “wake up Ji Hyo, wake up” but her eyes were tightly sealed. Her condition was critical, she lost too much blood.

The operation room was ready for her right when ambulance arrived. It took 6 nurses to kept Jong Kook out of the operation room as he kept yelling and wanting to be next to her. He kept biting his nails, walking back and forth in front the operation room. His heart couldn’t seem to be settled. It was still in panic seeing Ji Hyo covered with blood.

“How is she hyung?” – Dong Jun asked with short breath. He had been hastily running around the hospital to looking for her

Jong Kook gave Dong Jun an angry glare as he walking furiously toward him. He grabbed Dong Jun’s collar and knocked him down to the floor with a deadly fist. Dong Jun was immediately dropped on the floor with his lips bleeding.

“Why the hell you let thing like this happen when you were right next to her. You were the one that insisted on keeping her on your side but why didn’t you protect her?” -  Jong Kook angrily yelled.

“I’m sorry hyung” – Dong Jun weakly said as he pushed his palms against the floor, trying to pull himself up. – “It was my fault. I shouldn’t try to take her in the first place.” – He said, his voice was full of regret.

Jong Kook looked at Dong Jun. His eyes were no longer filled with angrer but more sympathy. The kid in front of him seemed to want to have a sad confession.

“Hyung, I’m really sorry, not only about today but about interrupting your relationship with noona. I was selfish.” – Dong Jun inhaled sharply before continuing “I thought I could change her heart and make her happy but it was just my illusion. The last year was misery to noona. She lived under the same roof with me but her heart was always back in Korea, with you. Even though in front of me, she always tried to act positive but her eyes were always sad. I felt guilty every time I looked into her eyes liked I killed the happiness of her life but I was too selfish to let her go. She listened to your music every day. Every time she did, she would sit so close to the TV to look at you. There was time that she paused the MV for so long so that she could stare at you longer. I saw she caressed your face on the TV scene, so slowly, so sadly. Her fingers couldn’t leave the TV scene. She looked at you for hours. Then she cried, she cried a lot. She buried her face to her knees and cried so she could hide her sob from me. I felt like I prisoned her even we were living in the country of freedom. She looked so pitiful, so hurtful but I couldn’t even comfort her. I was too selfish. She had depression, really bad. She couldn’t sleep at night so she drank a lot. It was the only way she could sleep. Her manager had to take her to see psychiatrist. She tried to hide all those things from me of course but I still knew. And I just ignored it. I’m such an ” – He got angry and hit himself on the head.

“Hey, calm down, sit down first” – Jong Kook said, pulling Dong Jun down to the chair. His heart ached hearing each and every word Dong Jun said

“I lived with her in the same roof for 1 year but I never could come close to her. She took good care of me but there was always some kind of invisible wall between us. Regardless how hard I tried, I never could broke that wall. Her heart only had one space and it was for only you hyung. Please forgive her hyung. It was all my fault, not hers.” – Dong Jun said in devastation, some regretful tears dropped down to the hospital floor.

Jong Kook was quiet. He got even sadder hearing Dong Jun’s confession. The woman he loved suffered as much as he did. And for a past year, he thought he was the one suffered alone but seemed like she was the more pitiful one. At least he had Running Man family who were always stayed with him through his tough time. They took him out to drink, entertained him when he was upset. But her, she didn’t have any one to comfort her. Moreover, she had to try to be strong in front of a sick person. It must be really tough on her. No wonder she had nervous breakdown.

“The situation only got worse when she abused her antidepressant medicine and had to be hospitalized. At that moment, I knew I should let her go. We sat down and had a talk. I told her that she didn’t have to feel responsible over me anymore. I moved on with my life and so should her. She seemed to get better after that. When my treatment completed, she got a lot of offers in Hollywood but she decided to come back to Korea. She wanted see you and begged you for forgiveness. But the day she came back was also the day she received your wedding invitation. She was devastated. It was all my fault that put the 3 of us in misery. I’m really sorry hyung.” – Dong Jun sobbed.

Jong Kook was quiet for a while, tried to absorb in all the pain that his woman had to been though.

 “It’s ok. It’s all just the past. What importance now is Ji Hyo. Let’s wait for her to wake up first ok?” – Jong Kook said but his emotion was not any better than Dong Jun. Even though she was the one that walked away but somehow he felt bad.  If he wasn’t stood inside that church, bad thing wouldn’t happen. If he gave their relationship a second chance and put his trust in her then he would be able to protect her. But he gave up on her too easy. He felt guilty for that. The image of her using her last breath to say sorry to him and love him was still vivid in his head. He prayed it wouldn’t be the last time he heard her voice.

Those two men sat in front of the operation rooms for hours. They were quiet, buried their heads on their hands. Each had their own thoughts but they both were praying for the same woman, the woman lying inside that operation room. They both would not be able to forgive themselves for the rest of their lives if anything happened to that woman.

They both loved her, very much …

The operation lasted more than three hours. Doctors and nurses kept going in and out the operation room. Their face was very serious. Jong Kook tried to reach any one that walked out that door to ask about Ji Hyo condition but no one gave him any answered. They just shook their head and got back to work.

Ji Hyo’s parents and sister arrived at the hospital few hours after Ji Hyo got admitted. They were in devastation. Her mother couldn’t stop crying. Shin Hye had to keep comforting her mother while Jong Kook took care of her father.

“What happened Jong Kook ah? Why did she get stab? Who stab my little angel Jong Kook ah? She didn’t do anything wrong.” – Her mother kept sobbing as she holding Jong Kook’s hands.

“I’m sorry ajuma. It was my fault.” – Dong Jun said, low voice – “It was a crazy fan of mine that stabbed noona. It was my fault”

“How can you let it happen to my daughter? Aren’t you the one that make my daughter leave Korea? You should at least take care of her.” – Ji Hyo’s mother yelled at Dong Jun in devastation.

“I’m really sorry ajuma, ajussi.” – Dong Jun knelt down in front of Ji Hyo’s parents.

“Stand up Dong Jun ah. It wasn’t your fault. Who know there are crazy fan like that out there” – Shin Hye said and pulled Dong Jun up.

“Shin Hye is right.” – Jong Kook said –“It was not Dong Jun’s fault, eomoeni, abeoji. He didn’t want it to happen neither. We should all calm down and hope for the best.” – Jong Kook gently patted Ji Hyo’s mother shoulder and helped her to sit down.

“Thank you Jong Kook ah. Ji Hyo should have stayed in Korea and get married with you. How could she be so stubborn?” – Ji Hyo’s mother sobbed – “Please understand her situation, Dong Wook’s dead was a big trauma to her and she was too young at that time. She never stopped blaming herself for Dong Wook’s dead. I guessed what she tried to do to Dong Jun was to ease the guilt that she had been carrying the last 15 years.” – Ji Hyo’s mother gloomily said – “Oh! The pitiful daughter of mine! Why bad things keep happening to you?” – She broke down in tears.

Shin Hye hugged her mothers in her arms to keep her from shaking. She couldn’t help to hold her tears, neither Jong Kook nor her father.

“She will be ok eomeoni” – Jong Kook said. That was the only thing he could think of to comfort Ji Hyo’s mother, the only thing he wanted to believe in. He didn’t think he could live if anything happened to Ji Hyo.

The operation was finally over after 8 long hours

“How is she doctors” – Jong Kook asked in nervous.

“She was stabilized now but the situation didn’t seem to be good. The stab wound is too close to her heart and damaged a lot of her cardiac muscles. The trauma on her head is also severe. She lost a lot of blood. Now it’s all depend on her will to live” – The doctor consulted then walked away.

 Ji Hyo was transferred to the inpatient room after the surgery. Only one person was allowed to stay in the room overnight and Jong Kook begged Ji Hyo’s parents for him to stay with her. Looking at how desperate and sincere Jong Kook was, her parents had to agree.

Jong Kook slowly sat down on the chair next to Ji Hyo’s bed after he sent her family home. Her eyes were still tightly closed. Her head was covered with white bandage. The breathing mask was the only that let oxygen entered her body. She was too weak to breathe by herself.

 He caressed her face tenderly. Her skin was still as soft as he remembered. He crossed his big manly fingers tightly to her small delicate fingers. He softly lifted her hand and moved it along his face. He missed that feeling, the feeling of her hand softly touched his face. He stopped her hand at his lips and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand then kept it there. A hot tear dropped out of his eye and landed on her hand.

“Ji Hyo ah, oppa miss you very much. You miss oppa a lot too right? Oppa is sitting next to you right now. Open your eyes and look at oppa, can’t you? My wedding was cancelled because of you Ji Hyo ah. You have to wake up and take responsibility for it. You can’t just sleep like that hah.” Tears kept choking on his throat. He held her hand against his forehead and let the tears go. – “It was my bad that I get married. It’s enough punishment Ji Hyo ah. Just wake up. I will let me hit me, kick me, and slap me all you want ok? Oppa promise not to fight back. Please wake up Ji Hyo ah, Oppa feel like dying here too. My heart is aching so much Ji Hyo.” He said, devastated, letting his tears wetted her hand.