Follow the bright light stretching far ahead,
feel the overflowing brightness.

When I reach your world I awaken,
I make you bloom.

***

 

Yujin woke up on the hospital bed three days later. Her mother was there with her when she woke up. She was perplexed at first, tried to feel in the pain all over her body, her mom told her to lie back on the bed and rest while she was calling for the doctor. She started to recall things and just then she asked the doctor about Sehun when he entered the room with a nurse walking beside him. The doctor ignored her question and checked her instead, asked her whether she could feel her legs and arms, she nodded to them, where she felt the pain the most, she stayed still before asking him again if Sehun was alright.

Her mother suddenly cut her off, “Stop worrying about a guy you’ve just met, look at yourself!”

Yujin was stunned, so were the doctor and nurse.

The doctor weakly said, “He’s alright, just some minor injuries and a-“, he halted, “now try to move your arms and legs carefully.”

She sighed out of relief before she did as told. The doctor seemed satisfied with the result and talked to her mom while the nurse gave her an injection.

Her mom returned to her at last, she gently her hair, “I’m glad that you’re alright.”, she exhaled.

Yujin nodded, “I’m sorry Mom, I must have made you worried.”

Her mom stayed still, “That’s okay, as long as you’re fine now.”

She kissed the temple of her head.

“Aren’t you going to work Mom?”

“I get some days off to look after you. Why you even have to ask?”

She shook her head, “No, it’s just weird to see you not in your working attire.”

Her mom sighed, “But I need to get back to work as soon as the doctor said that you were okay to be left alone, or should I ask for another day off?”

“No, that’s okay. I’m fine anyway, just need to rest and these wounds hopefully will be healed soon.”

“That’s my girl. Thank you for always trying to understand baby.”, her mom kissed her head again.

--

 

Two days later, she could get off the bed and went to the toilet all by herself. Her mom had already returned to her work and a helping woman was assigned to look after Yujin instead of her. The doctor was still monitoring her progress, and she kept asking him how Sehun was doing, even more frequent after her mom wasn’t around.

One day, she asked her doctor if she could leave her room to see Sehun. He hesitated but confirmed it after all. She tried to look just fine before she left for his room, not sure what she was expecting.

She walked carefully to his room with the helping woman following from behind. She finally reached his room but she halted to stand in front of his door. The helping woman asked whether she wanted to return to her room instead, she shook her head before she pushed the door open.

The room was similar to hers, except the fact that Sehun was sitting on the bed instead of her. He was starring at the huge window next to his bed, its blinds was parted so he could see outside the building. She automatically scanned his arms and legs to check if they were still there, she was relieved that they were. She took another steps when he turned, he smiled at her. Yujin had been longing for his smile and now it seemed even more radiant after she hadn’t seen it for days, despite all the wounds that graced his face.

She smiled back.

“Sorry Miss, I think you’re in the wrong room.”, he politely talked.

Her heart crumpled and the ground seemed to spin under her feet.

“Sehun?”, she pushed to let out the name.

He smiled, “Yes?”

She tried her best to look firm and keep her voice normal when she spoke, “I must have forgotten my own room number, I’m sorry for disturbing,”, she paused, “I’ll leave now, sorry again for disturbing.”

He smiled, “That’s okay, you’re not disturbing at all, Miss.”

She turned to cover as she burst in tears, walking away from him.

“Miss, what’s your name? How come you know my name?”, he called out to her but she kept walking away, ignoring his questions.

She was finally out of the room, slumped on a chair next to the door, the helping woman rushed to help her.

“Are you okay Miss?”

She nodded.

“Let’s go back to your room, Miss.”

She stood and walked to her room.

 

--

 

The next day, a guy that later introduced himself as Sehun’s older brother paid her a visit. He brought a bucket of flowers along with him.

“You don’t have to come like this.”, she politely said as he settled himself on a couch next to her bed so they were facing each other.

“It’s nothing since my brother had brought you to this condition, dragging you along with his misfortune I assume.”, he paused to examine her expression.

She stayed still.

“Well, I know something was happening between you two,” he paused to bring himself closer to her bed, “And now, it suddenly vanished as he lost some of his memories due to the accident.”

She couldn’t believe such a blatant word could come out of his mouth so smoothly, was he even his older brother, she frowned.

He breathed heavily before continued, “He might have already told you this but I want to make that clear to you now, our mom died when he was 8, and since then, he kept saying that our father killed her, when in fact, she died overdosed,”, he paused and gulped, “she took a tube full of meds at once. But he just didn’t want to believe that and kept saying that our father was a murderer, he even needed to be treated intensively in the hospital for a while since he kept trying to kill himself.”, he stared at the empty space between them,  

“He might appear rather normal since he returned from the hospital, but we knew better there was a part in him that just couldn’t be healed utterly. We hardly talked, even my father hadn’t talked to him ever since he returned from the hospital, he was broken inside and nothing could fix that.”, he looked at her who now was looking away to hide her grief, “But four days ago he woke up totally different person, he seemed to forget all the bad things and was willing to speak to me, even to our father. He didn’t see our father as a murderer anymore. And I started to think that maybe you were sent to him, to our family, to fix that unfixed part of him that had weighted on his shoulders all this time. Can’t you even see just how radiant his smile is now?”

Yujin turned at him, she couldn’t bring herself to speak as she had seen it yesterday already, his radiant innocent smile she had never seen before.

He clasped his hands together, “I know he loved you, and so do you, but that moment of you two together was brief wasn’t it? That’s why I can ask you this, while your feelings for him haven’t gone too far, it will be less painful to you.”

She tried to grasp the blatant words he said, they sounded remote yet so close to her heart. Their moment was brief, he hadn’t been able to say the three words even, it was like a dream for her, the past days were a dream and she got to wake up now. It felt like the good one when she dreamed, but it turned out to be a nightmare once she woke up, and later she must had forgotten it utterly, lived like she had never had the dream. If only she had known it earlier, she might cherish every single second she had with him even more, If only.

He shrugged before continued, “Now, isn’t this the best for him?”, he clenched his hands together, “To let him start a new brighter life and create more pleasant memories to be kept? and in order to do so,”, he paused, “I need you to stay away from him, don’t bring his memories back, because along with the brief delightful memories of you two, there are also some memories that he better forgets at all, so he can live his life like a normal person again.” , he stood up, “I’m asking for your understanding.”, she looked up at him, “I will give mine even without you asking after all.”.

He fixed his tux before continued, “My brother sure is a lucky bastard to have you by his side for that brief moment. Now, I want to thank you for returning my brother to our side, it’s been a long time.”, he sighed.

“You don’t have to thank me at all, your brother is not more than a dream to me, the good one, and now it’s time for me to get up.”

He smiled and was about to walk away when he turned, “If one day you made him fall in love all over again, I couldn’t stop you anymore, you know that.”

The door finally shut behind him.

Yujin slid to lie on her bed helplessly, she gapped for the air as she sobbed.

“Stop pretending that you’re tough in front of me.”

“You’re ugly when you cry.”

“Sehun, you! Such a cruel and selfish jerk!”, she muttered.

--

 

Two days later, her doctor confirmed that she could return home at last. Her father’s driver picked her at the hospital while her mom was still attending an urgent meeting. The helping woman helped her packing, she was so glad that it was her rather than her mom. She even asked if by any chance, she could stay at her parents’ house to look after her younger brother. The helping woman couldn’t be happier to hear that, so did Yujin when she nodded at her.

The helping woman waited with the driver in the car while Yujin was finishing the last administration check. She was heading for the car when the folders slipped out of her hands, her progress report, x-rays, even meds were all scattered on the floor. People waiting for their turns were looking at her who now was striving to collect them.

She was desperately bending her shore back to collect the scattered things when a hand suddenly outstretched to help her collecting them.

She was thanking the person without even lifting her head when their hands casually brushed. Her heart crumpled once the jolt returned, she could still feel the same coldness and delicacy from his hand. She lifted her head to find Sehun was helping her.

He lifted his head in return,

“Didn’t expect to meet you again this soon.”, he smiled.

“Neither did I.”, she smiled.

 

That moment felt like I was born as a child who knew nothing

I closed my eyes again in case it would be a dream

You were standing in front of my desperate self and praying

Just once, I want to walk side by side with you

 

FIN.

 

*I told you, cliché over and over again! So sorry for that, but still, thank you so much for trying to keep reading up till now, that means a lot :)