“Yes, granny. The doctor said it’s only a common flu and fever. She passed out due to fatigue because she didn’t eat anything today,” Daniel spoke on the phone, explaining Hani’s situation to her worried grandmother.

Daniel brought Hani straight to the hospital after she fainted at the cemetery. He got extremely worried when he saw her pale face and warmer than normal body temperature. After making sure of his girlfriend’s condition from the doctor, he called granny to notify what happened.

“Poor Hani. Should I got to Seoul?” He was surprised at how calmly the elder lady handled the news. It made him wonder if this has happened before.

“No, you don’t have to granny. It’s already late, I don’t want to trouble you.” He politely refused, concerned about the elder lady’s age and health. “Besides, the doctor said she can go back home once the IV is finished.”

Daniel heard granny sighed heavily on the other end, as if hesitating to say the next words, “Hani is always weak…. on her parent’s death anniversary, but she never fainted before. I’m glad you’re by her side Daniel.”

He hesitated to say the next words, but he had to know. “Granny… I know it might be personal to Hani but… can you tell me about what happened?” He took a seat, getting ready to hear the possibly long story.

“I knew this girl wouldn’t tell you. She likes to keep things to herself,” the elder lady sighed again for the nth time.

“When Hani was fourteen…” Granny started calmly. “Her parents passed away due to a car accident. Hani was in the car with them.”

Daniel knew that Hani’s parents passed away, but he never dug into her background deep enough to know what actually happened. He wanted to know what happened while being in this relationship with her –better yet from Hani herself, to make the flow of their relationship seemed natural and his reactions, unpretentious.

“Soojin and Sangmin were protecting her during the crash by shielding her, but Hani was the only one who survived.” Granny continued, he could hear her sniffing as if she was holding back her tears.

Daniel had to cover his mouth to avoid making loud gasping noises due to shock. “Granny are you alright?” he carefully asked when she fell silent.

She cleared and continued, “Since then, Hani thinks their death was her fault.”

He obviously couldn’t understand how Hani must’ve felt, but he knew she was hurting from the blames she put on herself. She was still a young girl when her parents left her, it’s expected that Hani would hold herself responsible for what happened to her parents.

“Every year, on her parent’s death anniversary Hani would alienate herself from people, even those close to her. She wouldn’t answer calls or texts. She doesn’t want others to see her in that state, she doesn’t want to be pitied.”

Now it all made sense to him, why Hani never answered his calls or replied to his texts. He also understood the calm reactions from her friends when he asked on her whereabouts. Daniel was glad granny decided to tell him the truth, he figured that Hani would still find it hard to open up on this issue.

“Would you please stay with her Daniel?” Granny requested, she knew there was something different about the boy that would make Hani accept his help. “She would at least take a day to go back to her normal self.”

“Of course. I’ll take good care of her and call you when she’s awake.”

***

Iseul and Sohee left after dropping by to check on their best friend’s condition. As expected, they too weren’t very surprised and told Daniel that Hani would always be like this, except this is the first time she ever fainted.

Daniel stared at the tired, yet peaceful expression on his girlfriend’s sleeping face. No one would know that she was actually suffering. His right hand held onto her hand while his left was slowly caressing her hair. He was waiting, the doctor mentioned that she should be waking up soon.

Hani stirred lightly, her hand was moving in his as she slowly started to gain consciousness. “Hani? Babe, can you hear me?” he called.

She fluttered her eyes open, coughing. “D-Daniel?”

“Yes, it’s me.” He responded, kissing her hand.

“Am I at the hospital?” Hani asked after she scanned her surroundings.

Daniel nodded, giving her a small comforting smile. “You fainted at the cemetery and I brought you here.”

“H-how did you know?” she stared at him, feeling uneasy.

He responded calmly, not wanting to make her panic. “Your friends told me. Why didn’t you tell me? We could go together. I got so worried when you wouldn’t answer my calls or texts.”

“I… wanted too…” she muttered to herself, “but… I don’t want to bother you with my problems…” Hani looked away as tears were pooling in her eyes, threatening to fall. She stayed strong all these while, but didn’t understand why she was acting like this in front of him, wanting to be comforted.

He sat at the edge of the bed, kissing her forehead gently. “You can always lean on my shoulder.”

Those consoling words from him was the tipping point for Hani as she sat up and immediately hugged him. Daniel placed his hand at the small of her back and her hair softly as she cried in his embrace. “Just let it all out.”

Her eyes that she thought were incapable of crying on her parent’s death shed fresh warm tears as she held onto her boyfriend tightly. Hani never knew she needed to hear those words, to feel the comfort of someone’s embrace, to be consoled unconditionally.

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