Hayoung's POV

Everything felt blurry but I could still remember every single detail vividly in my head. I already knew I screwed up big time. And of course, I was taken to the hospital, again. I'm always thankful to the doctors who did their best to save my life. I didn’t feel this way when I was younger though. I was suffering so much each year that I wished more than once to just give up and succumb to this curse.

Back then, I didn't have a purpose to live anyway.

But now, I do.

I'm not sure how long I out, but waking up to the sharp scent of disinfectant and the sight and touch of white sheets, yup, I'm obviously hospitalized, again. I looked to my right to see an IV drip stand at the side. I tried to sit up but I couldn’t even feel my fingers. I twisted my head to the left and there she is.

My reason to live.

My vision roved over her beautiful sleeping face, snoozing soundly with her head resting on the edge of the bed. I wanted to reach out to her but every slab of muscle screamed out in defiance. Her eyes were swollen as if she hadn’t slept in years, she’s been crying again. I know it’s all my fault. I should've stayed at home but I didn't. That reminds me, where’s Bbang? Is he okay? If I was still the same old me, Bbang would've been on my mind all the time. I would've only worry over him instead but I only have thoughts for this woman in front of me.

I'm worrying over her. I felt sorry for not listening to her.

That's when she suddenly moved.

She's awake.

Crap.

I did not prepare myself for this situation to occur. How am I supposed to face her now?

Alright, I'll just shut my eyes and pretend to sleep. Yes, I'll do just that.

"Hayoung-ah?"

The voice I wanted to hear so badly.

"Please wake up soon. Please."

That tone. It's sad, desperate and pitiful. What have I done?

Her words were followed by a sigh.

I can’t bear to see her like this, it pains me so much. I turned my head and locked my eyes onto her. With the remaining strength I had, I was able to mouth those words.

"I'm sorry."

Ah, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Look at her. Tears are welling up from her puffy eyes.

"You're awake!"

I managed a faint smile and nod.

"I'll call the doctor."

There she goes, running off.

"Doctor! Doctor! Hayoung is awake!"

She disappeared like the wind. Man, she could've just stayed next to my side. I wanted to spend this moment alone with her.

Everything else after that, happened in a flash. I was transferred into a room to run through some tests, got my temperature checked and they did some other stuff which doesn't really concern me anyway. The doctor informed me that I was diagnosed with hypothermia and sort of rebuked me for going out in the middle of a snowstorm, addressing me as a fool. He was the same fatherly doctor who attended to me every winter. Yeah, I know. I'm not dumb to know that's wrong. I just had to, because of Bbang.

I spent another few days in the hospital before I could regain any strength and energy to my battered body. In those days, Namjoo was always there. She fed me, helped to change my clothes and did everything I couldn't possibly do with my current condition. Her actions somehow warmed my heart.

I don't know.

I just feel thankful and loved.

Watching her fold my clothes into a carrying case, I found myself smiling unconsciously. It was moments like these when I did not regret marrying her at all.

"Unnie." 

"Mm?" She hummed in response.

"How is Bbang doing?"

She turned her head abruptly looking annoyed. She's now walking over with that scary face. Uh, did I say something wrong?

"Hey, you finally got the strength to speak and the first thing you ask about is that dog?!"

I gulped, feeling small in front of her.

"You're stupid. Really, really stupid Hayoung-ah. How can you just walk out in the snowstorm like that? Do you know how worried I was?!"

I couldn't say anything.

Because it's my fault.

Namjoo proceeded to sit down and slowly, I watched her tears flowing down her cheeks again.

Ah, I'm a terrible person to make her cry like that.

"You're so stupid" she mumbled, gently hitting my chest, "Stupid Hayoung..." she sobbed softly.

It's kinda cute.

I stretched my arms out and pulled her into an embrace. We cuddled in my bed as I caressed her dishevelled hair. I couldn't say anything. Nothing formed in my mouth. The only words that did was:

"I'm sorry."

Author's POV

Eunji and Bomi came to visit Hayoung. They had wanted it to be a surprise as they tip-toed and sneakily opened the door. However, it looks like they wouldn't be able to do as planned.

"Wow, am I seeing things Bbom-ah?" whispered Eunji as the two peeked inside to see Hayoung and Namjoo asleep whilst cuddling each other in bed.

"I'm taking a photo." responded Bomi as she took out her phone as the other girl tried to hold her laughter. With a silent click, the two quietly high-fived each other as if it would be a fun thing to tease Hayoung later.

"Hey, you better send me that later. I'm going to show it to Naeun." whispered Eunji.

"Pfft, I'm going to send this to my girlfriend first before you."

"Whatever." shrugged Eunji. "So how are you gonna do this now? Wake them up or leave them be?"

Bomi smirked. "We make noise."

The same-aged friend nodded in response as they counted to three.

1.

2.

3.

"HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~"

Jolted awake at the commotion, Namjoo automatically flung away, detaching from Hayoung and pretended as if nothing happened. The younger girl on the other hand, looked up flustered and started clearing . The gate-crashers erupted into fits of laughter seeing their reactions.

"You didn't tell me that you guys were coming!" said Namjoo surprised, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. Hayoung similarly blushing, was blinking hard and trying to compose herself.

"Aigoo, look at you two." snickered Bomi, teasing the couple.

"Here, we brought you something." said Eunji, placing the fruit basket on the table.

"You didn't have to." replied Hayoung, now somewhat composed.

"Wow, I went all the way to get you these and you say that?" said Eunji sarcastically as she sauntered over. "You're just mad that I ruined a good moment huh?"

"N-not!" stuttered Hayoung, arms crossed.

The arrival of the dumb and dumber duo lightened the mood after a while as they settled down and began regaling Namjoo stories of Hayoung in her high school days, Namjoo listened intently whilst peeling the fruits they brought and feeding a pouting Hayoung, who was trying in vain to stop her unnies from barfing out her embarrassing past.

"… Hayoung actually thought that babies were delivered by storks!" laughed Eunji out loud.

"She was super innocent and cute back then!" followed Bomi.

"Please stop… " pleaded Hayoung with a piece of apple stuffed in .

"You should've seen the look on her face when she flipped through my biology textbook." snickered Eunji.

"Oh yeah! I have a picture of that! Let me show you Namjoo-ya!" said Bomi in excitement as she took out her phone.

Just as she was about show the photo to Namjoo, Hayoung stretched out a hand and snatched it away.

"Don't you two have work to attend to?" sighed Hayoung, her cheeks still blushing red. She dreaded being embarrassed by her unnies like that. Namjoo on the other hand, was thankful. She was able to see another side of Hayoung that she has never known before.

"Right." said Eunji catching the hint. She knew how far of a line she can cross before it became a nuisance. She nudged Bomi. "I have to meet Naeun later. You're meeting Chorong unnie right?"

"Yup~" nodded Bomi. "See y'all next time~ Call me when you're discharged!" She said, snatching her phone back as the two beat a hasty retreat, giving the room back to the couple.

Silence was restored upon the noisy pair’s departure. But it was short-lived as Namjoo broke into a chuckle.

"What are you laughing for?" asked Hayoung.

"Nothing. I just never heard stories about you when you were younger."

"You wouldn't want to know."

"Well, we all have a past that we don't want to return to. Even though we can't erase them completely, the most we can do is to embrace it because without them, we wouldn't be the people we are today." smiled Namjoo as she sat back down and cupped Hayoung's cheeks.

The two briefly looked into each other's brown orbs.

"Unnie."

"Mmm?"

"Are you still mad?"

"You’re still bothered by that?" she broke into a laugh as Hayoung gave her usual robotic nod. Namjoo leaned in and pecked her cheek. "Of course, I'm still mad but how can I continue to be mad, when I love you so much?"

Those very words, melted the robot's heart. It was when she realised, how being loved felt.

This was how love is like.

Hayoung decided then she wants to follow her heart this time. The needs of a logic processing were no longer required.

Comfortably placing her palm on her nape, the girl leaned forward for a kiss in which Namjoo reciprocated.

A kiss that expressed gratitude.

A kiss that spoke the words, "Thank you".

Namjoo's POV

I made sure Hayoung was fast asleep before heading out to the reception counter. Relieved at the fact that she's recovering, I can now focus on other matters. This meant, paying for her hospital bills. Because we're married now, we share our finances (it wasn't stated in our contract, I'm just following the norm). No one has to suffer on either side and the costs, we can always discuss about that later. For now, I'll pay it. Pretty sure it wouldn't cost that much, right?

"Hi, may I look at the fees for patient Oh Hayoung?" I asked politely at the nurse seated.

"Oh, the fees are already paid."

"What?"

Who? Who would've done that? Is it Hayoung's mother? Her grandparents? I mean, relatives would seem the most plausible reason but it would be burdensome for us.

"May I know the name of the person who paid the bills?"

"His name is Oh Sehun."

Hold on. Isn't that a man's name? And he has the same surname as Hayoung, a distant relative? Am I missing out on something?

"Excuse me..."

"A-Ah, sorry. Thank you." I stuttered, realising that I've been staring at the nurse while being engrossed in my thoughts. I bowed and quickly left. I wandered around the corridors aimlessly for a bit trying to figure out this mystery guy. I recalled my mother-in-law’s words hinting to something else in Hayoung’s past. There must still be information that they’re hiding from me.

Is there something that I'm not supposed to know?

I’m going to become a nosy person at this rate. It's not right. I know. Hayoung’s past has already been riddled with scars. Many of those, connected with her family. I need all the information I need to protect her from forming more of those. I don't want to see her hurt.

I don't want her heart to be locked up again.

"Namjoo?"

That's a familiar voice. I turned around and wow, talk about great timing.

"Eunji unnie?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"You're not with Hayoung?"

"Mm." I nodded. "She's sleeping."

"Ah, I see. I left my phone inside."

"Oh..." I don't know. I couldn't really respond actively to her because my mind is somewhere else. I felt disturbed by that person's name.

Just when Eunji was about to enter Hayoung's ward, she stopped and turned around.

"Namjoo-ya."

"Hm?"

"Is… something wrong?" She asked carefully. I could see that she was observing my facial expressions. It's really hard to mask your emotions huh? How does Hayoung do that anyways?

"Well...."

"Come here. Let's talk." said Eunji as she grabbed my hand and led me to a bench nearby. Man, she's really like an older sister. No, she's like a mom. I'm glad Hayoung had someone like her before I appeared in her life. "I'm all ears."

I took a deep breath.

"Unnie, do you know a man by the name of Oh Sehun?"

Her warm smile, disappeared immediately as her expression stiffened upon hearing his name. I knew something was up.

"Where did you hear that name from?" Darn, I didn't know Eunji unnie could be this scary. Her gaze, could literally stab through my eyes.

"I was going to pay for Hayoung's hospital bills but the nurse said that it's already paid by a person called Oh Sehu-"

"Don't say his name here." Eunji unnie cut me off mid-sentence and shushed me.

I'm confused. Just what is going on?!

"Unnie..."

"Look Namjoo-ya." She sighed, with a conflicted expression. "No matter what happens, you should never mention his name okay?"

"But-"

"No buts. I understand that Hayoung's family is really complicated and there are still many things you didn’t know. But it would be wise for you to look past that and just live happily with Hayoung."

"You're telling me to be completely ignorant of the things that can potentially hurt Hayoung? I'm not dumb unnie, I know that Hayoung lost her emotions because of those people!"

"Calm down! Does it look like I didn't try to do anything about it before?"

"Unnie... you knew about this, didn’t you? You know but you're hiding it from me."

"I'm doing this to protect you!"

"Protect me? What does her family even-"

"You will only get hurt if you start digging your nose deeper into that sick family!" Eunji shouted.

For the first time, I saw her angry, frustrated and annoyed. This can't do. The more I wasn’t getting anything out from anyone about the situation, the more my curiosity grew. I need to know every single thing about Hayoung.

Even the bad and the ugly.

"I'm her wife. I have the right to know each and every single thing about her. That also includes all these secrets you are trying to hide from me." I replied sternly. I'm well known to be super stubborn. Once I have my mind set on something, I will not deviate and will do all I can to achieve it. That's just who I am.

In the end, I could see the defeat in her eyes.

"This is the last time I’m going to warn you Namjoo-ya." She sighed, walked in to retrieve her phone before leaving. She didn't even say goodbye.

I guess I just made my wife's best friend super mad.

Great job Kim Namjoo.

However, this will not stop me from my pursuit to seek the truth.

Author's POV

Namjoo took a whole week off her job to care for her wife.

Which was, not entirely the truth.

Instead, she made plans to scout out this man named Oh Sehun. He has constantly been occupying her thoughts and she couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling in her heart. She started off by googling his name, no results. Perhaps, his data has been erased from the internet. It is possible, even though that probably only happens in dramas. She is a writer after all and she's simply creating assumptions based on her experience.

On other days, she would try to trace back Hayoung's past. She visited her former university, high school and even the kindergarten centre, no luck. It appears that there was no starting point to her search, as if everything was purposefully covered up for some reason. But the girl was adamant on finding the truth. Stuck, she decided to use her final card.

A visit to Hayoung's mother.

Although she could've chosen to visit her grandparents but Namjoo had a less hostile feeling to the older woman since their friendly conversation at the cafe.

"It's rare of you to meet me, Namjoo-ssi." said Mrs Oh as she sipped her coffee. "I heard about Hayoung's hospitalization. It happens every year so don't worry about that too much."

"Indeed, mothers know every single thing about their child." smiled Namjoo, wanting to lighten the atmosphere first, before she delved into the more serious topic.

"Well, what is so important that you need to meet me in person? Are you planning something for my daughter? Need some advice?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." chuckled Namjoo.

"Then what is it?"

"Mother." The girl cleared and analysed her facial expressions. It was the right moment to ask that question.

"Yes?"

"Do you perhaps, know anyone who goes by the name of...Oh Sehun?"

Mrs Oh's eyes widened as she frantically looks around as if to make sure no one was watching them. She looked fearful as she reached out and pulled Namjoo closer.

"You shouldn't say that name so freely, Namjoo-ya." she whispered.

It was the same reaction. Eunji also reacted the same way.

Was Sehun a fearful man? A criminal?

This sparked Namjoo's curiousity even further.

She was hungry for the truth.

"Mother...."

"Whatever that is, you should forget about him. knowledge of this person will only bring you trouble."

"But mother-"

"Listen." She breathed. "I'm doing this to protect you and Hayoung. I don't want you two to get involved with that organisation okay?"

"Organisation?"

"Why don't you just continue to live happily with Hayoung than troubling yourself over this? Sometimes, ignorance is a bliss you know?"

"Even so..."

"Thank you for the meal. I have some other matters to attend to so maybe we can talk again next time, alright?" said Mrs Oh as she stood up from her seat, nodded and left the restaurant.

In the end, Namjoo never got the answers she wanted. Disappointed that her effort didn’t bear any fruits, she stopped by Hayoung's ward before heading home. Keeping this secret from Hayoung was tough, because she hated lying.

Especially to people whom she loved with all her heart.

"Oh, you're here." said Hayoung, seated upwards and having her dinner.

"Mm." she nodded. "Feeling better?" asked Namjoo as she pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down.

"Yes. But I believe the hospital can do better in terms of improving their food quality." she said, placing her spoon and pushed her plate away.

Namjoo laughed. Of course, this robot of hers is still learning to make "jokes" like everyone else.

"You’re saying the food , right?" said the older girl in which Hayoung nodded in response.

"You don't need to be so polite. Just diss them directly."

"I see...." hummed Hayoung with her usual, robotic nod. Watching her like that, was all Namjoo needed to cheer herself up. "By the way, the doctor told me that I'll be discharged tomorrow morning."

"I'll be here to pick you up."

"What about Bbang?"

"Don't worry about him. He's healthy and well."

"Unnie."

"Mm?"

"The past few days, you've been busy at work right?" asked Hayoung as she eyed at her.

It was a gaze full of concern yet suspicion.

"Of course." said Namjoo without a change in expression.

"There's nothing going on right?"

"Not at all, Hayoung-ah."

She was getting better at acting, masking her lie perfectly in front of the robot.

"Ah, then that explains why you only have time to visit me at night." Hayoung said, analysing everything with a nod. Honestly, she felt lonely during the day. It was strange. She would usually be perfectly fine by herself. In fact, she had planned on living alone for her whole life so why was she feeling this way?

Her heart was opening slowly to accept all these new feelings.

She was yearning for Namjoo’s company more.

Namjoo stayed with Hayoung till visiting hours were over. She gave a goodbye peck on her cheek and headed home on the last bus. While heading home, she was able to reflect on towards her relationship with her wife. She saw improvements in Hayoung's emotions and felt happy that she was becoming more "human" each day. Her motivation to find Oh Sehun grew even greater. Namjoo believed strongly that the cause of Hayoung's lost emotions isn't just about her childhood scars.

She was certain that there was more to the story.

It was then, she came up with another idea whilst walking up to her apartment. If asking her mother doesn't work, she will have to ask Hayoung herself. Even though she had a feeling that the girl will never tell her the truth, she was prepared.

She would do anything to protect the person she loves.

Namjoo was about to unlock the door when all of a sudden, a large hand covered . She felt herself being pulled back and restrained by a powerful force.

"Ssh...." A whispering voice, that belonged to a man.

The girl struggled to fight back, but it was just too strong.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms Kim Namjoo. I’m the man you are looking for, Oh Sehun."

A/N: Great job Namjoo, you've basically summoned the man yourself lol. What other mysteries does Hayoung's past hold with the apperance of Oh Sehun? Do share your thoughts and I will update soon~ :)