Moonbyul was left alone at the hospital. Wheein had decided to head home so that Minhyuk could have a proper change of clothes. And the boy was getting restless. So she decided to take him home so that he could rest for a bit. Hwasa offered to send Wheein home and the woman agreed.

So Moonbyul was left alone with Yongsun. It had been 3 days and Kim Yongsun was still comatose. She shouldn’t take so long to wake up; the doctor was worried too but Moonbyul knew the reason.

Kim Yongsun was tired. She was exhausted because the last 5 years; she kept her hopes high – praying that Moonbyul would return to her somehow. But she didn’t.

So now, she was extremely tired. Sleeping like this was the best remedy for her exhausted heart. Moonbyul was staring intently at Yongsun. Her hand trembled as she held out to hold Yongsun’s. She knew Wheein was giving her this time alone to repent her mistakes. It was just so awkward for them because Minhyuk was around. The boy was still in the dark about his true parentage.

She wrapped her palm around Yongsun’s wrist. Damn. The woman has lost plenty of weight. She was so thin and Moonbyul knew it was her fault. This woman was suffering because of her stupidity. No doubt; she wanted to protect Yongsun and Minhyuk. Moonbyul finally realized that this protection led to even more pain; more broken promises and somehow she knew that Yongsun was probably not going to forgive her this time.

So sleep was the best option. It was the best punishment for Moonbyul because she was so desperate to hear Yongsun’s voice once again. Tears fell from the corner of Moonbyul’s eyes. She lightly placed Yongsun’s palm over her left cheek. It was a little cold and Moonbyul gently rubbed her hands together.

“You’re so cold, Yongsun. Is your heart turning cold as well? Am I worthy of your forgiveness? Did you heard everything that I’ve said? I’m so foolish, Yongsun ah. I’m so stupid. Why did I even hurt you? Why did I even reject you 5 years back? God, I’m regretting now, Yongsun ah.”

Moonbyul was brawling her eyes out.

“I’m not letting go anymore, Yongsun ah. I will hold on to you until you find the heart to forgive me once again. This time I promise I’ll never stop until you’re mine again. I know I’m selfish. I have always been selfish, Yongsun ah. Especially when it comes to your love.”

She leaned closer and kissed Yongsun’s forehead.

“I will never give you to Wheein. I’m sorry. This time, I’m holding on to you.”

How selfish one can be.

-

Minhyuk was fast asleep. And Wheein had too many things to carry. So Hwasa volunteered to carry Minhyuk so that Wheein could rest for a bit.

“I’m sorry that you have to follow me back home. Is he heavy?”

“No, not really. I’m used to this. I have younger cousins and carry them like this before.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you.”

“Sure.”

The pair walked in silence; Wheein looked a little weary and Hwasa was watching her all the time. Minhyuk was not moving at all. That boy could really sleep like a log sometimes. But the silence was almost deafening. Hwasa decided to strike a conversation instead.

“So you have been staying with Miss Kim and Minhyuk all this while?”

“Oh, no. Not really. I don’t stay with them. But I do sleep over sometimes.”

“Ah.”

“Are you judging me?”

“Heh? No?”

“I sleep with Minhyuk if I come over.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I’m sorry. I just feel like my defensive walls went up almost immediately when it comes to Yongsun unnie. I just wanted to protect her because she deserves it.”

“I understand.”

“And the fact that you’re Moonbyul’s friend; I thought you might be on her camp or something.”

“Trust me. That woman is a pain in the . She’s just too stubborn for me. I had a hard time persuading her not to be stupid.”

Wheein chuckled softly and nodded.

“Tell me about it. I wanted to strangle each time I visited her in the prison.”

Both laughed. They even agreed that there could be a huge stone sitting in the middle of Moonbyul’s brain. They continued walking; it was almost midnight and the buses were gone. Wheein was worried about Yongsun not waking up. She was afraid that Yongsun might give up on herself.

But she kept the worries to herself.  She has suddenly became Minhyuk’s guardian since she was his god mother. Hwasa noticed Wheein’s silence and she knew that the woman was in her deep thoughts. It was the same look Wheein had on her face – it was the same old look she used to wear when she was thinking of something deeply.

“Is there something bothering you?”

“Huh?”

“I mean you look like as though you’re worried over something.”

Wheein was taken aback. She usually had this poker face and that made her a powerful lawyer. Nobody could ever guess what was behind this interior of hers. So she was surprised when Hwasa asked her that. The woman was able to look past that.

“Do I look worried?”

“Not really but you seem to be in a deep thought.”

“Oh. It’s nothing. I’m thinking of Yongsun unnie.”

“You’re worried that she’s not waking up?”

“Wow, are you a mind-reader?”

Hwasa grinned and then shook her head.

“It’s logical. She has been sleeping for the last 3 days. Even Minhyuk was getting restless.”

“Yeah, I guess so. She’s a strong woman. She will never let things get her down so easily. I’m just wondering how much she have heard from my argument with Moonbyul.”

“She’s probably tired.”

“That’s what I thought so too. But for her to throw herself against the speeding truck, she must have been completely heartbroken.”

“She threw herself?”

Hwasa was stunned at that. Wheein nodded.

“I saw her running; Moonbyul was chasing after her and I was behind Moonbyul. But I know Yongsun unnie too well. I knew she could easily avoid the truck. She managed to turn back and look over her shoulder. She looked at me. I knew she was looking at me because she had that apologetic smile on her face.”

Wheein’s eyes turned watery and Hwasa’s heart sank. She hated to see Wheein’s tears but she held it back strongly.  And Wheein continued.

“I shook my head and even whispered don’t do it but it was too late. She was leaning her body forward and the speeding truck just couldn’t stop. There was no way the driver could stop. She threw herself at his truck.”

“Is Moonbyul aware?”

“I’m not sure but when I saw her did that; I knew she must have heard a lot to have her heart crushed. Not broken but crushed this time.”

They finally reached Yongsun’s house and Wheein led Hwasa into Minhyuk’s room. Hwasa gently placed him on his bed while Wheein took off his clothes. Hwasa then helped her with Minhyuk’s shoes and socks.

“Where is his towel?”

“Huh?”

“I think we need to wipe his body at least.”

“Oh, it’s in the drawer.”

Hwasa nodded and took a towel from the drawer. She disappeared for a second and then returned to Wheein’s side. She wiped Minhyuk’s body while Wheein took a pair of pajamas for Minhyuk.

“Thanks for your help.”

“Nah, it’s fine. You seem tired. Why don’t you get some rest as well?”

“I’m okay. But I’m a little hungry though. Are you hungry as well?”

“Yup. I am actually.”

Wheein let out a soft laugh and Hwasa’s cheeks turned crimson red. It felt the same; that feeling was exactly the same as how she felt few years ago. But she maintained a poker face and stood up immediately. Wheein followed through and the woman didn’t notice anything yet.

“Let’s go to the kitchen. I will cook something.”

Wheein gave a soft kiss on Minhyuk’s forehead and pulled Hwasa along with her. She led her to the kitchen and sat her down on the dining table. Hwasa tried hard to maintain her posture.

“So ramen will do?”

“Yeah, that will be good.”

Wheein smiled and took out the utensils. She was going through the cupboard and pulled out two packets of ramen. Hwasa looked around the house. There were pictures of Moonbyul and Yongsun all over. She sighed.

“I feel like smacking Moonbyul real hard. It’s obvious Miss Kim’s feelings is still strong for her.”

“Yeah, it does.”

“They looked good in their wedding photos.”

Hwasa saw one right in the middle of the living room; right above the television. Then she turned to look at Wheein when she saw Minhyuk’s room. Minhyuk must have seen Moonbyul before.

“Minhyuk has never asked about this lady in the photo?”

Wheein looked up; she was busy stirring the noodles. She shook her head.

“He never ask.”

“He could have recognize Moonbyul.”

“Actually Minhyuk has a medical condition that he got since birth. He couldn’t really see that well. If you notice, he squints his eyes a lot. And he has a very weak sense of concentration. He was not that observant. He probably seen these photos all the time but he couldn’t realize that the person in front of him might be the same person on the photo.”

Hwasa was taken aback. She did notice that a lot but she thought Minhyuk was crying too much. That was why he blinked a lot.

“I got worried when Minhyuk started crying so much yesterday. The doctor urged us not to let him cry too much. He would have gone blind if he did.”

“So you took him home today because you knew it would be too much for Minhyuk?”

Wheein nodded and continued.

“The doctor said he must not cry so much. Those tears might kill him.”

Hwasa felt sorry for Minhyuk. It was not only Yongsun who suffered. Minhyuk suffered too. Suddenly a soft cry could be heard and Hwasa turned quickly. Wheein was holding on to her finger; blood dripping.

“Oh my god!”

Hwasa ran towards her and realized Wheein cut her finger. The wound was deep. Hwasa gently placed her finger underneath the running tap water.

“Stay here. Where’s your safety aid box?”

“It’s in the TV consoler.”

Hwasa ran off towards the consoler and managed to find the safety aid box at one try. Wheein watched as Hwasa swiftly moved her to the dining table and attended to her wound. Hwasa was kneeling down in front of her.

Wheein watched as Hwasa fussed over her finger. She felt dejavu. She felt like she had done this before. She looked at Hwasa carefully. But the latter was too concentrating on her wound that she didn’t realize.

When she finally did, Wheein’s face was so close to hers. Her heart beat rapidly and she knew her face was turning redder by the second. Still, Hwasa was a pro to hide her anxiousness.

“Okay, good as new.”

She got up on her feet immediately; breaking Wheein’s attention on her. She then turned to the half cooked ramen; on the stove. She took over. But Wheein wanted to stop her; but denied.

“Hey, I can do it.”

“Nope, you stay there. I will cook for us.”

Hwasa smiled and started stirring the noodles. Wheein was still looking at her; the dejavu feeling was getting stronger. For some reason, Hwasa reminded her of someone. Suddenly Hwasa said something that made Wheein even more confused.

“You prefer cheese on your ramen, right?”

“How did you know?”

Hwasa shrugged her shoulders; she didn’t answer. She just grabbed the egg and cracked it. By then, Wheein was already on her feet. She walked over to Hwasa and then stared at the woman carefully.

“Wae?”

Hwasa looked at her.

“You seem familiar.”

“Hm?”

“It seems like we have done this before.”

“Done what?”

“You cooked ramen and me sitting on the dining table; waiting for you.”

Hwasa bit her lower lips. Did Wheein starting to remember her?

“Did we meet before?”

Hwasa was lost for words at that question.

-

Moonbyul fell asleep beside Yongsun. She was crying so hard until she was exhausted. She rested her head on Yongsun’s arm and slowly drifted off to her dreams.

While the woman was sleeping; the other started waking up. Her eyes were fluttering before she opened her eyes fully. She looked around the room; confused at first. But when she spotted Moonbyul; her heart ached so badly.

Kim Yongsun woke up from her deep slumber. She heard everything Moonbyul has said. She heard and even felt Moonbyul’s tears on her arm. Her heart strings were tugging but Yongsun’s pain was too much for the woman to overcome.

She gently raised her hand and ran her fingers through Moonbyul’s locks. The woman was too exhausted to feel anything. And Yongsun enjoyed this silence. She never wanted to face Moonbyul in this situation.

Tears filled her eyes. She even caressed Moonbyul’s cheeks gently. As much as she wanted to give her heart again to Moonbyul but 5 years were just too much for her.

She wasn’t ready to forgive Moonbyul so easily.

She wasn’t ready to take Moonbyul back into her life for now.

She has been single for 5 years and raised Minhyuk well.

Even love was no longer enough anymore.

“I’m sorry, Moonbyul. I’m still upset. I’m still not willing to forgive you yet. If you really want me back, please try to win me over. If you continue to be an idiot like how you were 5 years ago; then I’m sorry. There’s someone else waiting for me too. I’m giving you this last chance. If you cannot win me over, then it’s over. Cherish this chance.”

She paused then spoke up softly.

“I will pretend to have amnesia. I wanna see how you would win me back. Let me put you through what you put me through the last 5 years. I’m sorry, baby. It’s just too painful for me to endure.”

-