The Past - Part 3

[This chapter contains no scene from the Present Timeline]

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Solar and Mi-Cha waited in front of the ER and rushed up to the doctor when he came out. They caught him by surprise and he questioned why they weren’t manning their stations. Solar explained that Moonbyul was her fiancée. The doctor sighed and tucked his hands in his lab coat. He didn’t like being the bearer of bad news, especially when he had to deliver it to one of his staff. It was obvious that Solar was anxious, but he wasn’t one to give false hope. He sighed once more before he finally gave her an update on Moonbyul’s condition.

He bluntly stated that Moonbyul’s injury had caused nerve damage. If it healed, there wouldn’t be a need for concern. If it didn’t, she’d lose the mobility in her hand. Solar was devastated. She knew that in Moonbyul’s line of work, injuries were unavoidable. She had expected that this day would come eventually. It had simply arrived a lot sooner than she’d anticipated, although she’d never wanted it to happen.

The doctor told her to prepare for the worst, but not to lose hope. Although he knew he didn’t need to, since Solar was an experienced nurse. He still thought it was a courteous thing to do. He bid her farewell, but not before instructing her to take care of herself. Solar and Mi-Cha helped transport Moonbyul from the ER to a different room before Mi-Cha went back to her duties.

“Call me if you need anything.” She smiled and hugged Solar before she left.

Solar sat down and held Moonbyul’s hand. She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling the heaviness in her heart weighing her down. How am I supposed to tell you? Solar’s heart stung at the thought. You’re such a proud person. It’s your dream to be a detective. How can I say your right hand might become crippled? She could feel her tears trying to escape. She took a deep breath to compose herself.

Solar looked at the time and knew it’d take a while before the anesthetic would wear off. She kissed Moonbyul’s forehead and left to find the head nurse. When Solar found her, Mi-Cha had already informed her of Solar’s situation. She approved of Solar’s leave request and gave her words of consolation before returning to her tasks.

“If you need help. You know where to find me.” She looked up and said as Solar was leaving.

“Thank you.”

Solar bowed her head before she left to grab her belongings. She leaned her head against the wall and sighed heavily, feeling worried and anxious as she thought about Moonbyul’s reaction once she found out. I must stay strong. If she sees me like this, she might believe there’s no chance she can recover. Solar perked up. She can be healed. She will be. I just have to make sure she stays healthy until then. She took a deep breath and continued to encourage herself.

Once she was done changing, she went back to Moonbyul’s room, where Mi-Cha was waiting for her outside. Mi-Cha was leaning against the wall, decked out in her biker clothes. Her helmet was dangling from one finger while she stared at the ceiling. She was carrying a plastic bag in her other hand. Solar smiled and went up to greet her.

“Dress like that, no one will ever guess you’re a nurse,” she teased. “So, which nurse is your new fling?” She glanced around.

“You make me sound like a player.”

“Are you not?” She giggled. “Do you even know how many hearts you’ve broken?”

“I object, your honor!” She exclaimed playfully. “They all came to a mutual understanding with me.”

“Mutual understanding, huh.” Solar nodded, not very convinced by Mi-Cha’s explanation. “Is that why they’re still chasing after you?”

“Hey, I can’t control that. Besides, my heart was broken too,” she pouted.

“What!? When!? By whom!?”

“Why, you, of course.” She held her chest and pretended to sniffle. “If only I was a step quicker. For you, I’d have settled down.”

Solar gave her a stern look before sighing. “There you go again. Can’t even be serious for a minute.”

“Hey, I’m always serious.”

“Fine. Fine. You’re serious.” She waved it off. “So, what brought you here?”

“Here you go.” She handed the plastic bag over to Solar.

“What is it?” Solar opened it to check the contents.

“I got you some food.”

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to.”

“Of course I did. You’re not going to eat otherwise,” she scolded. “You’ll be too worried or you’ll forget. Either way, you’ll go hungry.”

“No, I won’t,” Solar pouted.

“Really?” Mi-Cha said skeptically. “Is it because the power of love is enough to fill you up?”

Solar took a deep breath and smiled mischievously. “Do I have permission to slap you?”

“No.” She fervently shook her head.

“Well, I’m going to anyway!” She tried to before her sentence was finished.

Mi-Cha jumped out of the way. “Ha! You missed!” She shook her head and playfully sighed. “I feel bad for Moonbyul.”

“Why?” Solar questioned, suspecting she might regret it.

“You’re so feisty. She must get hit a lot.”

Solar smiled and said sweetly, “Mi-Cha ah, come over here.”

She shook her head as she backed away. “I decline. I don’t like the way you’re looking at me.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything.”

“Say that again, but more convincing this time.”

“Mi-Cha ah~, I promise to be gentle.”

“That’s even worse,” she protested.

“Mi-Cha ah~, you can trust me.”

“Well, wouldn’t you look at the time,” she said as she quickly glanced at her watch. “I shouldn’t keep my date waiting. Don’t forget to eat.”

Mi-Cha waved as she ran off. Solar smiled and felt her spirits lift. Thank you, she said silently as she watched her friend disappear into the distance. Moonbyul hadn’t woken up when Solar entered the room. She checked the monitors to make sure there weren’t any anomalies before sitting down to eat.

When Moonbyul awoke, the world was hazy. Her body felt weightless and there was a weird sense of joy that had taken a hold of her. Her arm wouldn’t listen when she tried to use it, but she was feeling too good to let that bring her down. She smiled when she saw Solar sitting close by.

Solar was overjoyed when Moonbyul opened her eyes. She was so happy she started asking Moonbyul some questions, but all she got as a response was constant nodding and smiling. It reminded her that the anesthetic was still in effect. She smiled at the sight of the silly Moonbyul, but worried about the pain that would come after the drug wore off. After some time, she was able to get Moonbyul to go back to sleep before resting her own head on the bed.

It was dawn. The reddish orange sky was beautiful and not glaringly bright. Birds were gathering outside, forming a choir to start their day with a symphony. An intense pain in Moonbyul’s forearm woke her. She groaned as she held it to her chest. It was bandaged tightly. She tried to move her fingers, but the pain was too intense; she only managed to get them to twitch. The cut must have been deeper than I thought. She remembered the exchange she had with the suspect she was trying to apprehend. This must be the hospital. She glanced around and found Solar sleeping on the chair next to her. It brought a smile to her face and helped her forget some of the pain. She gently caressed Solar’s head, feeling a sense of peace with each .

“Did I wake you?” Moonbyul questioned when Solar sat up.

She shook her head. “How are you feeling?”

Moonbyul pondered for a moment. “I can’t move my hand! I think it’s broken.” She looked at her arm, pretending to be surprised.

Moonbyul silliness made Solar smile. “I guess you’re fine since you can still joke at a time like this.”

“It helps when you smile,” she said sweetly.

“You and your sweet talk.” Solar helped Moonbyul sit up. “You know, my smile isn’t anything special.”

“I disagree. You just won’t admit it’s a priceless treasure.”

“Fine. Fine, everything you say is right.”

Moonbyul raised her brow. “Whoa, Solar admitted that I was right for once? Did the sun rise from the west today?”

“Ha ha, very funny. Now stay still so I can take your temperature.”

Solar let out a sigh of relief when the result came out normal. She proceeded to question multiple times to see if Moonbyul had other discomfort, but Moonbyul insisted she had none. Solar knew Moonbyul was hurting more than she let on. She got Moonbyul some water and the pain medication the doctor had prescribed.

It wasn’t long before the doctor arrived for the morning shift and made his rounds. He changed Moonbyul’s bandage and checked her wound for signs of an infection. There didn’t seem to be any, so he released her from the hospital. He also set up appointments and instructed her to return for her check-ups before he finalized her paperwork.

Moonbyul was happy when she arrived home. She never thought she could miss her sofa as much as she had. Its cushions were firm yet comfortable. She sprawled out onto it and grinned, enjoying the comfort that it brought.

Solar knew Moonbyul was hungry, so she went to prepare some food. While she was cooking, she heard noises coming from down the hall. She glanced out to find that Moonbyul was nowhere to be seen. She quickly located the noise’s origin and found Moonbyul squatting down on the bathroom floor, trying to pick up the items that were scattered about.

Moonbyul hadn’t showered for several days. She felt disgusted and started the bathwater, but accidentally knocked over a few things on the bathroom counter. Without thinking, she tried to catch them with her injured hand, sending a fresh wave of pain up her arm. She held it tightly and waited for the pain to subside. When she was finally able to focus on cleaning up her mess, Solar entered. She felt frustrated that she couldn’t accomplish such a simple task without alerting Solar.

Solar had already noticed how Moonbyul felt before she could hide her feelings. She didn’t ask any questions and proceeded to help Moonbyul clean up the floor. Before she let Moonbyul shower alone, she carefully wrapped Moonbyul’s arm in plastic and sternly warned her not to use it.

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A few months had passed since Moonbyul was injured. Her bandages had came off and the wound was healing well, but her hand still had no strength. She couldn’t even do something as simple as forming a fist without it shaking uncontrollably. The doctor recommended that she start physical therapy, which she attended regularly. However, it hadn’t improved her condition, making her more and more frustrated by the day.

She’d had a few outbursts where she took her anger out on Solar, which she’d regretted immediately. Recently, it seemed to occur more frequently and she hated herself for it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep it under control.

It was time for her physical therapy again. She didn’t want to do it since it had proven more than useless and a waste of her time. Solar thought differently and gave Moonbyul the hand grip. Moonbyul sighed irritably and tried desperately to use it. It slipped out of her hand and fell to the floor. She picked it up with her good hand and threw it against the wall, hard enough to leave a dent.

“What’s the use!?” she screamed.

Solar went to retrieve it as she tried to comfort Moonbyul. “I know you’re frustrated, but you can’t rush it. It takes time to heal.”

“Time. Time. Time! That’s all you ever say! How much more time!?”

“I know it’s hard, but you can’t give up.”

“Why not!? Nothing I do seems to help!”

“You’re healing little by little, you just can’t see it.”

“Stop lying to me! I know it’s impossible!”

“I’m not. Your condition is improving.”

“I don’t believe you.” She grabbed her coat and stormed out of the house.

Solar gave chase. “Where are you going?”

“Leave me be. I want to be alone.”

Moonbyul yanked her arm away and walked off, leaving behind Solar. Solar felt her heart sink as she could do naught but watch Moonbyul leave.

I’m nothing but a useless cripple. Moonbyul looked at her hand and smiled wryly. She could do better than someone like me. All I do is make her sad. She kicked the rock in front of her as she fumed.

A car pulled up beside her not long after, and from within Kang-Dae greeted her. He invited her to go to a bar with him. She shrugged and went along, since she no longer cared what happened. It was from that day on that Moonbyul stopped doing physical therapy and started drinking heavily. She was drunk almost every day, causing her health to deteriorate.

Solar would try to reason with her, but despite her pleas, Moonbyul wouldn’t listen. After the first few times, Solar followed her and found the culprit of Moonbyul’s indulgence. She confronted Kang-Dae and Moonbyul defended him. The end result was an argument.

“What I do is none of your business,” was the last thing Moonbyul uttered which ended the fight.

Solar turned and walk away, tears fell from her face as she left. After that, their arguments became more frequent. At first, they would quickly reconcile and comfort each other, but eventually that came to a stop.

When Solar left for work, she would always worry about Moonbyul. With Moonbyul not caring about her own health, Solar was afraid she might get another injury. One that couldn’t be healed. She paced around the break room as she waited for Moonbyul to pick up her calls, which lately had gone unanswered more and more often. This time was no different, it went straight to voicemail.

The head nurse sent her home because she was too distracted to be effective. She also received a lecture as a result. Solar knew Moonbyul was out drinking and she didn’t want to be alone worrying about Moonbyul’s safety. She opted to sit at a bench in the hospital courtyard, watching the patients’ and staffs’ interactions distracted her from her worries.

“What are you looking at?” A voice surprised her from behind.

She jumped, turned, and sighed. “Oh, it’s just you Mi-Cha.”

“What kind of reaction is that?”

“Be glad I’m not that jumpy. You might have a broken nose if I was.”

“Is violence your answer to everything?”

“Why don’t you come over here and see?” She smiled and pretended to crack her knuckles.

“I’d rather not.” She laughed nervously. “So, what’s going on with you? I heard you got sent home.”

Solar shook her head sullenly. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s Moonbyul again, isn’t it?”

“Is it that obvious?” she asked, surprised.

“Well, she’s the only one who can make you look that ugly.”

“Mi-Cha ah,” she said with a devilish smile. “Do you have a death wish?”

Mi-Cha playfully shook her head. “From you, no.” She paused. “I’d rather die in the arms of a beauty.”

Solar sighed irritably and flicked Mi-Cha’s forehead. Mi-Cha could’ve easily moved out of the way but she didn’t. Instead, she closed her eyes and awaited Solar’s punishment, which came quickly and furiously, but was surprisingly gentle.

“Feel better?”

“A bit. Thanks,” Solar said softly.

Mi-Cha pondered for a moment. “Wait for me.”

“What for?”

“My shift just ended. I’ll take you out to play. It’ll cheer you up.”

“There’s no need—”

“Just wait,” Mi-Cha said excitedly as she left.

It didn’t take her long to change and come back for Solar. She handed Solar a helmet and took her out on a ride. Their first stop was an amusement park, where they randomly chose which attraction they would go on via a raffle.

The rides they went on were both fast and exhilarating. They screamed at the top of their lungs, except one screamed out of enjoyment, the other for fear of her life. It was how Solar found out that Mi-Cha was not great with heights. Mi-Cha’s reactions when they were up in the air made Solar giggle with delight and helped her forget all the bad things that were going on in her life. Seeing Solar’s smile, Mi-Cha found her sacrifice to be worth it.

She even went on the Ferris Wheel to watch the sunset with Solar. Although, she was hanging on for dear life and the slight cranking noise made her jumpy. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, trying her best to avoid eye contact with the ground.

“How will you watch the sunset like that?” Solar teased.

“I-I can see it just fine.”

“I’ve never seen you this frightened.” She giggled.

“N-nonsense, I’m not.” She laughed nervously.

“Oh? Really?” Solar raised an eyebrow and slightly shook their seat.

Mi-Cha held onto the seat tighter, her hands moist with sweat. “Please, God. Dear God. Please, sit still.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m sorry.” Solar nudged. “Come on, watch the sunset with me. It’s really beautiful. If you miss it, you’ll regret it.”

“F-fine.”

Mi-Cha took a deep breath and slowly opened one eye at a time. She swallowed when her eyes wandered to the ground below her.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Solar questioned, smiling happily.

Mi-Cha turned to Solar and smiled when she saw her. “It is,” she answered sweetly.

They continued their chat, which helped distract Mi-Cha until they were safely back on the ground. She let out a dramatic sigh and exaggerated the noises she made as she stretched before going back to her old self. It caused Solar to laugh until her sides were hurting.

It was time to eat, their stomachs had been growling angrily. Mi-Cha asked Solar to accompany her to dinner. Solar thought of declining at first, but with everything that was happening in her life, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out. She happily accepted the invitation as she wished to enjoy a night free of worry. Mi-Cha took her to a nice restaurant. The establishment was eloquently decorated. Solar fell in love with it at first sight. They were having a good time until a woman stormed up to them.

“LEE MI-CHA!” she screamed and splashed a cup of water onto Mi-Cha. “You said you were too busy to go on our date and here you are, with another woman!?”

Mi-Cha picked up a towel, wiped her face and sighed. “It’s not—”

“I don’t want to hear it!” The woman looked over to Solar, who backed away trying to avoid meeting the same fate.

“It’s a misunderstanding.” Solar laughed nervously. “We are not—”

“You should be careful before she breaks your heart as well,” the woman warned and slammed the cup onto the table before storming off.

Solar tapped her chest as though she just got the scare of her life. “Who was that!?” She furrowed her brow and sternly questioned Mi-Cha. “Was that your girlfriend?”

“No, I did have a date with her today but I called it off,” she said nonchalantly.

“Because of me?”

“Well, what are friends for if they’re not there when you’re down?”

“Aw~ that’s so sweet,” she said seriously. She followed jokingly, “but please try not to get me killed. I don’t want to end up as collateral damage.”

“That would be a pity. I’ll mourn your loss.”

Solar pretended to be frustrated. “One of these days, you’re going to get strung up by your harem. When that happens, I’m going to enjoy the show on the sidelines.”

“So cruel. Can’t you show a little love?”

“I think you have more than enough of that.”

They continued to enjoy their night together, teasing each other every chance they got. There were quite a few passerby who thought they were a couple and were a bit jealous of how sweet and cute they were together. Mi-Cha gave Solar another exhilarating motorcycle ride around the city before sending her home. Solar screamed and waved her arms in the air, feeling refreshed as though the weight on her shoulders had vanished.

“This feels good!” Solar tried to scream over the wind. “No wonder girls like you!”

“Are you saying they only like to ride on my bike!? Believe it or not, you’re the first girl to ride it!”

“Do you say that to every girl?”

“It’s the truth! You don’t believe me!?”

“I'll believe you when pigs fly!”

“Then I’ll put them on a hoverboard and show it to you tomorrow!”

Solar slapped Mi-Cha on her back. “Focus on your driving!”

“You better hold on tight then!”

When Solar arrived home, her heart was still beating out of control. She thanked Mi-Cha for a fun evening, gave her a hug, and bid her goodnight. Mi-Cha stayed and made sure Solar got in safely before leaving.

Moonbyul was leaning over the balcony and watching the street below as she waited for Solar to get home. She gripped her phone tightly in her hand. The phone was displaying the photos that Kang-Dae had texted her, photos of Solar and Mi-Cha together. In them, Solar was smiling happily, something that Moonbyul hadn’t seen recently. She knew pushing Solar away and letting Solar find someone new would hurt. She hadn’t known how much until now.

She witnessed Solar getting off of Mi-Cha’s bike and they hugged. She sat down on the balcony floor and smiled wryly, frustrated at herself for feeling angry at the outcome she’d hoped for.

When Solar got home she saw the balcony door open, so she went over to check. She found Moonbyul on the floor, her eyes were closed as she leaned her head against the railing. The sight almost made Solar’s heart leap out of her chest. She quickly got closer, worried that Moonbyul was injured again.

Moonbyul opened her eyes and looked at Solar, her tears were falling uncontrollably. She didn’t want Solar to witness such a sight, but she couldn’t contain the pain she was feeling.

“What’s wrong?” Solar questioned as she dried Moonbyul’s tears.

Moonbyul shook her head and hugged Solar tightly. “Nothing. Just a bad dream.”

“It’s alright, I’m here now.” She Moonbyul’s head.

Moonbyul nodded and cherished this moment with Solar, since she’d already determined there wouldn’t be many left.

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My Editor said I'm being mean to Moonbyul writing her like this. Should I stop writing this story? o.O