And for a week, Naeun stayed in darkness alone, her only comfort being the short visits Myungsoo made to her room for quick checkups. It hasn’t been long since they have met, but a strong friendship has already been forged between the two.

  On this morning, warm sunshine caressed Naeun’s face, waking her up from her long sleep. She sat up and stretched, a bright smile gracing her lips. It seems like a great day ahead.

  A gentle knock on the door brought her back from a daze. She chirped a happy “Come in!” and the door opened.

  “You’re awake early today, Naeun-ah. Good morning!”

  “Good morning Genius Myung! You’re visiting early today too!”

  Myungsoo laughed slightly at the nickname and looked at her serene face. Despite the many scars left on her face, she was beautiful, comparable to angels. That was how he felt since the first day, the day he finally believed in love at first sight.

  He brought his attention back to his doctor duties and scribbled Naeun’s progress onto a piece of paper on his clipboard. Then, hesitantly, he mentioned , “Naeun-ah, I’ll be removing the bandage wrapped around your eyes later. But…there is something I might have to warn you about.”

  Naeun slightly shuddered at Myungsoo's serious tone. Her mind ran wild. Did something...happen to her eyes? Is her eyesight detoriating? Or is she blind forever? Or was it-

  "There are multiple scars on your face, and..."

   She froze. No, anything but her skin. Anything but her porcelain white skin! Her face drained of colour at the thought of being disfigured but she braved herself and weakly mumbled, "And...?"

   "They are permanent."

    Naeun finally came crashing onto the floor, tears uncontrollably rolling down her cheeks. This cannot be true, this cannot be true! Why? Why were those scars on her face? What happened before she landed in the hospital? Who did this to her? And most importantly, why wouldn't Myungsoo tell her about what happened?

   Myungsoo reached out to carry her up but she pushed him away roughly. All she wanted to do now was wallow in this sadness and desperation alone.

  "Get out." She sobbed. 

   "Naeu-"

   "GET OUT!"

   Myungsoo took a step back, his own tears threatening to fall. He should have, he should have expected this kind of reaction from Naeun. No matter how pure, how kind a person is, huge blows like this can destroy a person. He should have known. 

  "But you did the right thing, Kim Myungsoo. You can't hide the truth from her. She does not deserve to live in a facade." Myungsoo thought to himself.

  He took one last look at the broken Naeun, and left the ward.

  ~ ~ ~

A/N:

Hey guys! I'm back! Thank you for your never-ending support for this story! Even during my period of hiatus, there are new subscribers to this story. Thank you guys! Unfortunately, my writing skills have detoriated, so I may not be able to write anything on par with the previous chapters. However, I hope you guys will still enjoy this chapter~ :)