Chapter 26

With and Without Oh Sehun

 

There was a faint sound of someone's voice running through my ears, but I couldn't determine who or what it exactly was. That was when I then realized that the only thing I could see was darkness, and for a good minute or two I wondered why. I was more startled by the fact that I couldn't remember anything or where I was. Was I dead? Just at that very moment, the faint voice turned into a distinct one where I realized my name was being called. 

I slowly forced my eyes to an open where I was met by a gust of bright light that nearly made me blind. I blinked hard a few times before opening them again where it took me a good second or two to get rid of the blurriness and adjust to the light.

"Areum, how are you feeling?" My mom's concerned eyes looking straight down at me. 

I opened my mouth in an attempt to speak, but nothing came out as if I had forgotten how to. 

"It's okay sweetie," she continued as she softly brushed the top of my head. "Your surgery went well."

Surgery? That's right. I had forgotten all about the surgery that was the reason why I was like this, but it felt like it was just seconds ago where I merely closed my eyes and had fallen asleep. My mom went on to inform me that I had been asleep for a few days now and the only thing I had to do was rest. I slightly nodded my head and proceeded to gaze around the room, still being a little out of it. My eyes then came to a stop at the sight of two vases filled with flowers, but before I could wonder who they were from, I was interrupted by my doctor and nurses. 

They spent the next few minutes asking how I was feeling and told me to do some simple commands like "blink three times" or "wiggle your toes". They then informed me that I was going to rest for the next few days before starting physical therapy since it was better for me to get up on my feet as soon as possible. So I rested like I was told to do so, and it wasn't until the third day where I truly entered a state of boredom. However, when it was time to start physical therapy I was scared to death. I didn't expect to start moving around this fast after the surgery. 

But it wasn't as bad as I thought. My physical therapist took it slow at first until I eventually got the hang of it and felt comfortable to move little by little. By the end of the week I had adjusted to walking around, and by the middle of the next week I was able to steadily walk by myself, which of course I still needed assistance on some things. 

During the time when I had nothing to do, I kept myself busy with homework even though I understood nothing despite the notes Kyungsoo provided before my surgery. When I got tired of frying my brain, I watched some of my dramas in order to satisfy my loneliness while my parents were at work. Speaking about loneliness, it was starting to grow and hit me harder than I had thought. Before the surgery I already knew at the back of my head that I wasn't going to have any visitors beside my parents (if they even count as one), but still it was affecting me. I guess in a way you could say that having close friends or relatives would be nice during a time like this. 

I decided to brush the thought away and continue on with what I was doing. Just at that moment, the door slid open and my mom entered the room. "What are you doing sweetie?"

"Just doing some homework and watching my dramas," I mumbled. 

At the corner of my eye, I could see her walk to the drawer next to me and start moving things around. Usually I would carry on with my own business, but this time it was hard to do so with the constant clinking noises of the flower vases. Now that I think about it, why were there two of them? I know for sure one was from my parents, but how about the other one?

"Who brought those flowers?" My eyes directed towards the vases of white and bright pink flowers. 

"That's right, I forgot to tell you. Sehun's mom stopped by when your surgery was over but you were still resting." 

Sehun's mom came to visit? I mean I guess I could understand when she came to visit before the surgery, but I didn't think she would come to pay a visit at the hospital too. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, but I just thought it was kind of weird how my ex boyfriend's mom was still doing these kind things. I had thought that she would want to cut off contact with me after her son and I broke up and there was no reason for us to keep in contact anymore. However, I decided to brush that ungrateful thought away and fill myself with gratitude. At least someone came to visit. 

Just then, my ears twitched to the sound of the door sliding again but for a quick second I wondered who it was. For sure it wasn't my dad since he was at work- 

. . . Kyungsoo?

"Hello ma'am." He bowed to my mom with his backpack clinging in his hand. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked, making it obvious of how shocked I was to see him here. 

"Mrs. Lee asked me to stop by to give you some more notes for the homework, but I figured I could stay for a bit if you had any questions."

Oddly enough, a sense of relief filled me when the class president said those words. Sure I was ready to rip my homework apart because of how frustrated it was making me feel, but it was nice in a way to have some company other than my parents. More surprising and a little odd in a way, he had even brought flowers, but I guess it was a normal thing to do when you visit someone at the hospital. 

We spent the next half hour on going over the homework and answering any questions I had. I'd be lying if I said that I was taking everything in perfectly fine and wasn't overwhelmed. In fact, I was panicking even more now because of the realization that I missed more materials than I thought I did within the course of just two weeks!

With another half hour passing by, we went over my last set of questions before ending the unplanned tutor session. We exchanged phone numbers and said a few words before Kyungsoo picked up his backpack and headed towards the exit. Just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly stopped and jerked a few steps backwards.

"That's right. I almost forgot." He hung his backpack to his front side and ped it before taking out a plastic bag filled with things. "This is for you."

I reached for the bag and opened it to look at what was inside, but I was confused by what I saw. Candies? 

"You should check beforehand with your doctor to see if you can eat those sweets, but just to let you know they're not from me." He then took out a red folder from his backpack that looked exactly like the one he just gave me before zipping it back up.  

"Who's that for?" My eyes directed at the red folder. 

"Ohh, it's just for another classmate. Anyways, text me if you have any questions about the homework. I'll see you whenever." He then exit out the door this time.

Classmate? Was he going to meet someone else too? But never mind that. I opened the bag of goodies and began to look through it, but just who exactly was this from since Kyungsoo said that it wasn't from him? No matter how hard I tried to think about it, I couldn't figure it out. I'm assuming the person was someone from school, but even that sounded ridiculous. Who in the world from school would do such a thing? 

Regardless, I decided to brush it away and continue on with my homework before I forget everything that Kyungsoo taught me. Might I add that I was munching on these candies even though I had no idea if I was allowed to eat them, but it was doing a good deal of keeping me awake and "focused". My favorite out of the pile was the choco pie with the ugly red wrapper, but it's weird because this was my first time eating them yet I feel like I've seen them many times before, and it wasn't at the store. I just couldn't exactly remember where though. Anyways, they tasted better than they looked. 

When night time finally rolled around and I was progressing well on my homework thanks to Kyungsoo, I decided a break would be a nice reward. I threw on my jacket and wrapped a scarf around my neck before walking down the hallways to the elevator. My physical therapist advised me that it's good to constantly walk around to get myself used to it again, so I guess I was killing two birds with one stone here. Not to mention that I was getting a little bored and lonely since my mom left to run errands when Kyungsoo visited earlier, and she wasn't going to be back until late. 

When I arrived at a lounging area outdoors, I took a good minute or two to breathe in the fresh breezy air. Yeah it might sound a little weird, but when you're basically stuck inside four walls all day, you'd appreciate these little things. I spent another 10 minutes in the empty lounging area before making my way back to the room. It was almost 10 pm and my mom should be arriving back soon and I didn't want her to freak out when she saw that I was gone. Unlike my doctors and physical therapist who recommended me to walk around, my mom was more on the safe side and told me not to overdo it, even though I was more with the experts on this one. 

When the elevator opened and I saw that it was empty, a sense of relief filled me because I didn't have to deal with sharing it with a total stranger. Yeah it might sound a little greedy and childish, but it was late and being alone in here made things easier. I pressed the button for the 9th floor before wrapping my jacket around me tighter. 

As a way to keep myself company during this short elevator ride, I stared up at the numbers that showed what floors were passing by, hoping it would go all the way to my designated floor without stopping. 3. . . 4 . . . 5 . . 5? Along with that the elevator came to a stop and the door opened. 

Damn it. Just 4 more levels and I would have made it to my floor without-

My greedy thoughts came to a stop as my eyes widened at this person who was waiting outside the elevator, and he too was staring right back at me in the same way. With a clearing of our throats, I quickly drew my eyes away while he slowly made his way inside. My heart was now beating fast and an uneasy feeling filled my stomach as he stood no more than a few feet away from me. I forced myself to keep my head straight and not budge one bit to look at him. Meanwhile, I could sense his struggle to stand properly with only one of his leg doing their job correctly. At the same time, it was as if my body was struck with a bucket of ice. 

"Can you . . . press the 10th floor for me?" 

I ran his words through my head for a good second or two before reaching to press the button for the 10th floor like he asked. I then shuffled a few inches away to the right as if that would discontinue this awkward atmosphere. I watched the elevator door come to a close as if it symbolized the end to my only escape route. It now felt like I was trapped in a state of suffocation. 

Silence began to ring loudly into my ears and I knew it was doing the same for him. I kept my eyes locked in front of me with a dying urge that this elevator would hurry up and open, but I just couldn't believe it! What are the chances that I'd meet him here out of all places! Speaking about such an unlucky coincidence, why was he here anyways? Just what exactly happened to him that landed him in crutches with a cast on his right foot? 

Regardless of that curiosity, I was more desperate for the ringing bell sound that would tell me that we arrived at my floor. After what seemed like years of immense suffocation from the awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere, the elevator finally stopped and the ringing bell appeared. Just at that very moment, I could hear a faint sound of inhaling breath that a person makes when they're about to speak, and at the corner of my eye I could see his mouth open. 

Luckily enough, the door opened just in time and I immediately stormed out before a sound could leave his mouth. I continued forward without stopping or even caring to look back and see if he was by any chance following me. Much to my relief, I heard the doors close seconds after with no sign of footsteps or crutches behind me.

My heart was still beating faster than ever as I thought about what just happened. My body was also slightly shaking in disbelief that such a low coincidence occurred. I just couldn't believe nor understand it. Was the world out to get me again? Already? 

The only thing really keeping me going and calm during this whole recovery process was that I was away from everyone I wanted to avoid at school, but now things have just turned up for the worst. 

I just came across the person that I wanted to avoid the most- my ex boyfriend.  

 

~End of Chapter 26~

 

Author's Note:

- This is VERY late, but my last update from weeks ago I released 3 chapters in a row (23-25). Some of you were probably confused and I apologize for not warning ahead of time. 

- You may or may not notice that there are fewer chapters than usual. I state the reason why in my foreword so please go read it there if you haven't already. 

Anyways, thank you for reading! I apologize for the delay in updating. 

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
CSanWS
#1
Chapter 47: I love both yoongi and sehun. But damn can you just let her ended up with yoongi? After she had been dumped by Sehun, eventho i love him. I can’t.
Iheartren
#2
Chapter 47: I’m finally caught up I recent stumble your story the story so far it’s interesting and I can’t wait for the next update i wonder what is going to happened next, keep up the good work 😊
Sey-ra
38 streak #3
Chapter 47: Omo ,you came back.And for Aereum don't go to the same part again.
fishaelee
#4
Chapter 46: it’s quarter to 4am now and im finally catch up with the chapters! i must say that reading this fic is such having a ride on a roller coaster. at first with the break up of sehun and areum, the pain she felt and how badly everyone treated her... also yoongi’s side story too... im pretty sure there will be a triangle love happening in the future too xD
fishaelee
#5
Chapter 29: yesss areum did it. i hope there will be justice for yoongi soon
fishaelee
#6
Chapter 28: AREUM !!!! :((((
fishaelee
#7
Chapter 27: areum don’t u dare let him slip away like that-
fishaelee
#8
Chapter 16: and how sehun started dating irene, the girl who had been the anti of his previous relationship since day one? oh man i fking hate it here, tf did u just do sehun ah
fishaelee
#9
Chapter 16: okay i’ve suffered enough with the first 9 chapters and i am just so frustrated and my heart hurts so bad for what happened to areum. I CAN FEEL THE PAIN thru the words u wrote...
Sey-ra
38 streak #10
Chapter 42: Sorry but I am still frustrated with Aerum.