/////

Donghae had just finished moving a desk into the room and was now taking a 5 minute break sipping the cup of coffee he had made earlier. After searching the thrift shops for a cheap desk he finally found one he liked and had grabbed an early dinner before heading back to the summer house. Staying in Seoul didn’t seem to be as bad as he thought it out to be and he was glad he’d made the sudden decision. He glanced at his watch to see that it was half past 1 in the morning.

“Well, I won’t be able to get any sleep now after drinking this,” Donghae said glancing at the cup of coffee he had in hand.

Just when he was about to get up from where he was sitting his phone began ringing. Staring at the unrecognized number he picked up the phone.

“Lee Donghae speaking.”

The person didn’t reply.

“Hello?” Donghae said.

“Uh…it’s me Victoria.”

He felt silence overcome him feeling slightly glad to have heard from her, “Is something wrong?”

“Um…I was just wondering if you are still up…”

“I haven’t slept and I don’t think I can after I drunk some coffee.”

“I see…I was just wondering if it’d be alright for you to come to the hospital.”

“I’ll be there.”

Assuming something must have happened that made her call he quickly grabbed his keys and was out the door. After parking his car he hurried in through the hospital doors. Unlike how it was so busy during the day it was nearly empty at night and only the hospital staffs walked around. He suddenly wondered if she was scared staying by herself.

Walking out of the elevator he quickly walked toward her room and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” he heard her voice.

“Donghae.”

He heard some noise from inside then the door unlocked. She first glanced at him then let him into the room closing it behind him.

“Is there something wrong? I hadn’t expected to hear from you,” he said as she remained in front of the door.

She bit her bottom lip and glanced at the door behind her, “Someone tried to get in while I was sleeping.”

Donghae frowned, “Did you inform the nurse? She might have seen the person.”

Victoria shook her head.

“Ok, stay here. I’m going to go out and ask the nurse if she’d seen anyone.” Donghae said and walked pass her.

Donghae found the nurse behind the desk looking for something behind a pile of papers.

“Excuse me,” Donghae said.

The nurse turned around frightened, “Oh, you scared me. Visitor hours are over…”

Donghae dug into his pocket and held out his badge, “I’m here because a friend called me. She said someone tried to get into her room. Did you by any chance see anyone lingering around the hallways?”

The nurse looked around then turned back to him, “You’re not trying to scare me are you?”

“Of course not,” Donghae said then added, “if I were trying to scare you I’d use another method.”

The nurse frowned, “I’m not sure. I was attending to a patient the past hour, so I don’t know if anyone was around.”

“I see.” Donghae said then glanced around the dark hallways. “You should have more security around.” With that he turned around and headed back into Victoria’s room.

“Can you lock the door behind you?” Victoria asked as he walked in.

Donghae turned back toward the door, locked it, and double checked that it was sturdily locked before turning back to her. She remained so still in her hospital gown standing at the edge of her bed she looked as if she were lost.

“Were you spooked?” Donghae asked.

Victoria didn’t reply but moved toward the side of her bed and sat down letting silence overcome them again.

“Sorry for bothering you.” Victoria apologized. “But you got here pretty fast. You didn’t speed here or something did you?”

Donghae felt like laughing at her remark but held back his laughter, “Actually, I was still in Seoul.”

“Why?” Victoria asked aware that she sounded annoyed at the fact.

He smiled and walked over to sit down at the couch, “I’m going to resume my investigation here in Seoul.”

Victoria didn’t say anything more and readjusted her position by crossing her legs on the bed. She knew he was probably staying in Seoul to keep an eye on her and even though she felt irked at the fact she didn’t show it because she was already thankful for his presence. There was something about it that told her even if something happened, because he was an investigator, she’d be safe.

“Thank you for coming. I hope you don’t mind keeping me company,” Victoria broke the silence.

The surprise at her suddenly speaking to him left him speechless for a moment. He didn’t have anything more to say to her…at least not during the moment.

“About that Sunday night,” she started, “I guess since you’re here I could tell you.”

Donghae averted his eyes from the ground up to her face. He already knew about her whereabouts that day but he didn’t want to say it. She would most likely become angry that he’d found out, he assumed, and it would give him assurance that he’d hear it from her.

“I was in the hospital that day and I spent the night there,” her voice was almost quiet, “if you want confirmation you can speak with the doctor I saw.”

“No need,” he said almost immediately which left a surprise expression on her face. “I mean…I’ll take it that you’re telling the truth.”

She turned away from him and focused her eyes in the direction where the door was.

“I’m sorry about those words I said the other day,” Donghae spoke up, “I was in a bad mood and ended up directing my anger at you. I didn’t mean anything I said.”

Victoria didn’t turn to look at him but he could tell she was listening to him.

“You can sleep if you’re tired. I’ll keep watch on the door.” Donghae offered.

“I hope you know that girl likes you. If you ignore her any longer she might actually jump at you.” she said then added. “Not to be mean or anything.”

The laughter Donghae had suppressed earlier came out and she stared at him expressionless.

“Hee Sun? It wouldn’t happen.”

“If you think so.” Victoria said slowly lying back down.

She stared at the ceiling for a moment letting her hand rest upon her flat stomach feeling a sting of pain fly through her. She was glad, really glad that she’d called him up. If she’d stayed alone she was sure she’d be crying right now. About 10 minutes later she heard his footsteps and felt him adjust the blanket over her before turning the lights off.

/////

Victoria awoke early in the morning with a headache. Her eyes opened to see the nurse drawing the window curtains open before she noticed the sleeping figure of the investigator on the couch.

“You’re up,” the nurse said with a happy voice, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Victoria replied.

“Just give me a moment and I’ll proceed right to your checkup,” the nurse said with a smile.

Victoria nodded and the nurse walked pass her out of the room then turned back to glance at Donghae. Clearing she turned when she heard the nurse walk back in the room with a clipboard and some instruments. While the nurse flashed the small flashlight into Victoria’s eye she could see Donghae waking up in the back. The nurse proceeded to check her pulse, her ear, , and lastly her arm.

“You’re in pretty good shape. Have you seen your car yet? I saw it yesterday when we arrived on sight, it’s awful I’m surprised you managed to survive.” the nurse said removing the needle of the IV drip bag then took the old bag down replacing it with a new one and attaching a needle to it.

As she took Victoria’s arm she asked, “Do I really need it? My arm is sore and I feel just fine without it.”

“Oh, but you’re going to need it to help replenish your energy. After we looked through your files the doctor wants me to put you on the IV drip for one more day. You lost a lot of blood back at that operation, did you know?” the nurse asked and Victoria nervously shot Donghae a glance before wondering if the nurse was just being nosey.

“Thank you,” Victoria managed to say before the nurse walked away.

“What did the nurse say?” he asked.

“It’s a miracle I’m alive,” Victoria lied.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Donghae asked.

“I feel sick of hospital food,” Victoria replied.

“I’ll be back.” He said then walked out of the door.

10 minutes after Donghae left the room Victoria turned around when she heard footsteps approaching the door. She was ready to give him a sarcastic remark but it disappeared from her mind when she recognized Seo In Ji. She looked a bit timid in the long dress she was wearing but smiled at her with her hands clasped before her.