For four years, he’s been living a life that he never dreamt of.

For four years, he bit down and fought the new challenges in his life.

For four years, he had no choice but be on his own.

Kai.

That was the name that was given to him and with the new name, he started living as a different person. He kept suppressing his emotions because he had to. He needed to not show any sign of weakness. He was practically trained to fight and it started taking a toll on him after a month or two.

Jongin glanced at his mother who was lying on the bed, breathing softly with the help of a respirator. He reached for her hand and stared at the tube inserted on it before lightly rubbing the back of her hand. A sigh escaped his lips.

“Mom…” he whispered. “Wake up. You’ve been asleep for four years. Aren’t you tired of just lying on the bed?”

He bit his lip, stopping himself from tearing up.

“I miss your cooking. I miss helping you in the kitchen. I…just miss you…so please wake up…”

He quickly brushed the tear which rolled down his cheek. He looked up, blinking, to stop the tears threatening to fall. Jongin tapped on her hand in a rhythmic pattern as if he was listening to a song being played inside his mind. His gaze returned to his mother’s calm-looking face.

The stitches which used to be there were now healed. Even without any make-up, she still looks pretty but there’s one difference – the smile on her face is not there.

Chairman Kim was against the idea of transferring his mother to Seoul. He made the boldest decision when he requested for his mother’s transfer without Chairman Kim’s permission. When his father learned about it, he was beyond furious and it took Jongin all his courage to fight for his decision. He swallowed all his pride and kneeled in front of the chairman.

With his mother being in Seoul, it would be easier for him to check on her. But having her in Seoul also have some cons. People might find out about it – and eventually about him. And that would be the end of him and he’s sure Chairman’s not the type of man who will joke around with that kind of warning.

Jongin sat in silence, surrounded by the sound of the faint beeping sound from the monitor. They said coma patients still have their hearing senses active and Jongin believes in that so he’s making the effort to just sit there and tell his mother his stories.

“Do you remember Kang Daniel and Ong Seungwoo? They’ve been so annoying these past days. Seungwoo’s still sticking to his character as the chatter box while Daniel’s still annoyingly meddling with everything that I do. Daniel even called me a ,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “And I deserved that. I’ve been acting like a jerk…especially to Kira. Do you still remember her? She’s the girl I brought home with bleeding feet.” The smile on his face turned into a sad one as he started recalling those days.

“You would’ve probably scolded me if you saw how I treated her. You said that she’s a cute fellow…and I agreed without even thinking about it,” he paused, sighing. “I don’t care if you scold me the whole day…I don’t care if you make me wash the dishes for the whole week…Just please wake up…I’m having a hard time living like this.”

He was suddenly lost in his thoughts for some minutes as his mind drifted to all the possibilities in his life. The vibrating of his phone snapped him to reality and he quickly fished it from his pocket. He stared at the caller ID for some seconds before tucking his mother’s hand on her side.

“Hello?” he answered, taking his exit and walking to the end of the hallway. He pulled his cap down to hide his face.

“I’ll be there this evening. I’m going to look over them as soon as I get there,” he replied after his young assistant, Jennie, gave him a rundown of all the documents that she just sent him in his e-mail. “Is it possible to re-schedule the meeting with Mr. Kang?”

He traced his finger along the corner of his lower lip before nodding. “How about next week?” He paused as Jennie checked the calendar on the other line. “Okay. I’ll go with that. Thank you.”

Jennie sounded baffled when she said ‘You’re welcome sir’ after his little ‘Thank you’. Who wouldn’t? He barely speaks to other employees and he always had this stoic expression which made the employees keep their distance from him.

Jongin pocketed his phone and headed to his mother’s room. He fixed her blanket and even arranged the bouquet of flowers which he bought on his way there. He placed them neatly in the white vase sitting on the small table by the side of the bed.

Knock.

Knock.

He lifted his head, looking at the door. Is the nurse here to check? Rubbing his hands together, he proceeded to get the door. And when he opened it, he saw Kira standing there with a pitcher on her hands. He couldn’t hide the look of surprise on his face. Her eyes roamed inside the room and he could tell that she’s taken back by what she’s seeing. She looked back at him.

“Jongin…”

There’s no use of lying right now. I should just tell her. He pursed his lips into a thin line, internally summoning his courage to let the words in his mind to leave his mouth.

“She’s been in coma…for four years.”

“W-What?”

It’s hard to process and he’s sure that Kira’s mind is having a hard time making sense of what he just told her. She looked surprised and worried at the same time. Before she could break down in tears, Jongin held her arm gently and pulled her inside. Jongin closed the door behind him, staring at Kira who still looked like she’s slowly taking in what she just heard.

After some seconds, Kira glanced at his mother.

“What happened?” she whispered, dragging her feet towards the bed. Jongin slowly followed her and reached for the pitcher, getting it and placing it on the table. “For four years? What happened?”

Jongin looked down when Kira turned to him.

“Tell me.”

He could feel the warmth from her eyes when he met her gaze. She’s the same Kira who he used to know and she hasn’t changed a bit after being treated unfairly by him. And with her looking at him with those same eyes, which he used to admire, he couldn’t help but feel jittery inside.

Flashback

“Mom?” Jongin called out as he opened the door. His brows bristled in confusion when he noticed that the door was locked. He opened it with his extra key. As he entered, he the lights and threw his bag on the side as he quickly removed his shoes. “Where is she?” he muttered, scratching the back of his head. He picked his bag and threw it once again on the couch.

She closed the restaurant very early today. Now, where is she? Jongin poured himself a glass of water and drank it in a jiffy, quenching his thirst like his life depended on that water. He picked his phone and dialed his mother’s number. It rang for the whole time but she was not picking up. The next number that he called was Eunwoo’s.

“Hello?” Eunwoo answered after the second ring.

“Hey, did my mom tell you where she’s going?” Jongin asked right off the bat.

“No. She just told me that she’s closing early.”

Jongin nodded. “Thanks.” He hung up. He looked at the clock before calling his mother once again. She was really not answering. Shrugging, he entered his room and quickly changed his clothes. In just a matter of minutes, he finished eating and washing the left dishes on the sink. Shaking the water from his hand, he got into his room and plopped on his bed.

“Let’s see…” he hummed, rummaging through his bag’s content before pulling his notes. He flipped the pages one by one, trying to find if he had something noted about a quiz or assignment for tomorrow. He traced the small letters on the corner of one leaf. “History…”

Reading through the History materials for the quiz the next day, he lost track of the time. When he’s concentrated on getting something done, nothing can disturb him…well…except when his eyes suddenly turn y on him and start hurting like crazy. He’s been telling himself that he should probably get his eyes checked for new glasses prescription but he forgets about it after a day or two.

He lied on his bed and shut his eyes for some minutes. Before he could fall asleep, he pulled his phone from the side of his bed and tried calling his mother. Just like before, she was not picking up. He sighed. “