Chapter 3

“Ah, Yena!”

Yena bowed politely to Jang Gyuri as the front door opened. Yuri came to Seoul from Busan to study by herself so she lived in an apartment with a number of other girls, including Gyuri.

It’s been 3 weeks since Yuri’s heart transplant surgery and she was discharged from the hospital today. Yena had a full day of classes, so she couldn’t be with Yuri but she went to visit her at apartment as soon as classes were over.

“Gyuri-unnie.” Yena stepped into the house. “How is Yuri?”

“Yuri is sleeping right now. Her body is still weak, so today really tired her out. Why don’t you go to her room and see her?” Gyuri gestured towards Yuri’s room. “You came at the right time, actually. I needed to go out to run some errands and Sian is still in class. With you here, I don’t have to worry so much about Yuri.”

“Don’t worry, I will look after Yuri while you are gone.”

After nodding to Gyuri, Yena went down the hallway towards Yuri’s room. She opened the door quietly and looked inside. Her eyes fell on the girl sleeping peacefully on the bed and she felt a tingle in her heart. She sat down on the chair that was next to the bed and watched the sleeping girl.

Even though it’s been weeks since Yuri’s surgery, it still didn’t feel quite real to Yena. She was so close to losing Yuri and then the miracle that she had been hoping for happened. Yena was told that a high school girl who was the same age as Yuri had passed away in an accident. The girl had signed a donor card and her blood type matched Yuri’s.

Yena took out her phone and started to scroll through the pictures that were stored there. Ever since Yuri had came into her life, they had been to a lot of places and had taken a lot of pictures. Yuri always wanted to capture every moment.

Yena smiled softly as she stopped at a particular picture of her and Yuri. It was from the day the two of them went out together for the first time. Yuri had received tickets to the amusement park as a gift and she had invited Yena to go with her. They weren’t dating yet and had only met a few short weeks ago so Yena was quite surprised that Yuri had invited her.

Yena remember how excited Yuri had been that day...

“Yena-unnie, let’s go on the merry-go-around!” Yuri said as she pointed into the distance.

Yena shook her head in amusement. She considered herself full of energy but she didn’t even come close to Yuri.

“Come on, unnie!” 

“Okay, let’s go!”

Yena accepted the hand that Yuri held out and two of them walked hand in hand towards the merry-go-around. They picked out 2 seats that were side by side and sat down. Yena watched as Yuri’s face lit up when the ride began.

“This is fun!” Yuri said with a bright smile.

Yena couldn’t help but spent the entire ride staring at Yuri. The pure enjoyment and happiness were written on the younger girl’s face. Yena couldn’t explained it but there’s something special about Yuri that was attracting Yena to her. 

After the merry-go-around, they went on a couple more ride before heading to the food area. They went through endless food stalls before they both settled on what they wanted for lunch. They sat down at a small table to enjoy their meal.

“I’m not good at running but I’m good at race walking!” Yena said as she took a bit of her sandwich.

“Race walking?” Yuri chuckled as she had never heard of race walking before.

“Yes! If that was an event in the sports festival back in school, I feel like I would win every year!”

Yuri laughed as Yena flexed her muscle.

“What about you, Yuri?” Yena asked. “Are you good in any sports?”

“I can’t play any sports. Actually I have never participated in any sports festivals at school before.”

“Oh, why?”

“It’s because of my heart condition. I cannot do any strenuous activities.”

Yena was surprised at Yuri’s answer. Yuri did not looked like someone who had a serious illness.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why?” Yuri asked she took a sip of her drink.

“Ah, because… Because of your illness?”

Yuri shook her head. “I was born with the heart condition. It wasn’t something that I could control, so why dwell on it?”

“You are really mature for your age.”

Yuri shook her head with a smile. “My parents were against me coming to Seoul to study by myself because of my illness. But I didn’t want to live inside a protected bubble. I want to see the outside world. Why live in fear of what tomorrow might bring?”

Yena looked at Yuri with new found admiration. She was older than Yuri but she didn’t think she had the younger girl’s courage. She watched as Yuri stared into the distance. The sunlight bounced off Yuri making her glowed in the daylight. Yena was mesmerized by the sight in front of her and she felt as if her heart had skipped a beat. 

“Unnie!” Yuri suddenly spoke up, breaking Yena out of her trance.

“Yes?”

“Let’s take a selfie!”

Yena looked at the excitement on Yuri’s face and smiled. “Okay, sure!”

Yena took out her phone and two of them huddle close together. “Ready? 3, 2, 1… Smile!”

Yena closed her phone and looked at the sleeping girl in front of her.

“I’m so glad that I didn’t lose you. You have no idea how important you are to me.” Yena whispered softly.

Just then, Yuri stirred. Yena watched as Yuri slowly opened her eyes.

“Yuri?”

“Yena-unnie?”

“Hey.” Yena whispered as she kissed Yuri softly on the forehead. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there this morning at the hospital.”

Yuri shook her head. “You had missed a lot of classes because of me already.”

Yena picked up Yuri’s hand and started to it softly. “Still, I wished I had been there.”

“It’s okay. Gyuri-unnie and Sian-unnie were there with me. And I talked to my mother for a little bit when I got home.” Yuri smiled sadly. “Unnie, I miss my family.”

Yuri’s parents came to Seoul to stay with her for 2 weeks after the surgery but they had to return to Busan before she was discharged from the hospital due to work.

“I know you miss them, Yuri. When you feel better, I will go to Busan with you so we can visit them.”

“Thanks, Yena-unnie.”

“Anything for you.” Yena replied softly. “How are you feeling?”

“Just tired.”

“How’s your heart? Do you feel any discomfort? Any pain?”

Yuri suddenly let go of Yena’s hand and turned her body towards the wall. “I’m really tired. I’m going to go back to sleep. You don’t have to stay here with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Un.”

Yena was surprised by Yuri’s sudden change of attitude, but she did not say anything. She tucked Yuri in carefully and left the room quietly.

Once the door was closed, she placed her forehead against it and closed her eyes. 

Yuri had been acting differently since her surgery. She was more distant towards Yena. She didn’t feel like the same Yuri that Yena knew.

In the beginning, Yena had thought that maybe Yuri was trying to recover from a major surgery and then she would be back to her old self soon. However, it had been 3 weeks since the surgery and Yuri was still very distant.

Yena was not sure what had caused Yuri to act this way but she was worried.

The surgery gave Yena and Yuri a second chance and this was supposed to bring them closer together but Yena felt like it was actually pulling them further and further apart.