LE’s eyes were the exact same as Solji had remembered them, bright, genuine, and carrying a slight hint of innocence in them, despite the impression she usually gives others. But something that was supposed to be missing, was not. Deep within her eyes, Solji could make out that spark of recognition. The way LE looked at her as if she was a long-lost lover who’d just finally returned. That lovestruck look LE always gave her, as if she was her whole world.

“No way.” She mumbled absentmindedly, stumbling back.

“Solji unnie?” LE looked at her worriedly, holding her hand just in case Solji fell. Solji looked to her again.

“Hyojin… Do you…” She hesitated for a bit before continuing. “Do you...know me? Like, do you actually recognise me? Are you…” She swallowed nervously. “Are you the Hyojin I know?”

“If you mean the Hyojin that you confessed to here, then yes.” A teasing smirk grew on LE’s face before softening into a gentle smile. “Yes, unnie. I remember everything."

"E-Everything?" Solji asked, tearing up as LE nodded. "Even...Even...that? 6 years ago?" LE nodded again in reply, and Solji turned away with a sob.

"Unnie? What’s wrong?"

"I-I have to go! I can't stay around you, Hyojin! You should know after what happened 6 years ago!" LE frowned, her grip on Solji’s hand remaining firm.

"I don't! What happened 6 years ago to make you think you shouldn't be around me?"

"You wouldn't have tried to commit suicide if it weren't for me! That's what!" She froze, staring at Solji in a mixture of confusion and concern.

"Wait, what? Suicide? Me? Why would I try to commit suicide?"

“Don’t you remember? It’s all because of me!” Solji looked down, tears clouding her vision. "Because I...I said some...horrible things to you."

"You mean the fight we had in the hospital just before your surgery?" She nodded, gaining her an incredulous look from LE in return.

"What makes you think that was a suicide?" Solji stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Wha- Bu- You ran out onto the road!" LE shook her head.

"So? You thought I tried to commit suicide because of that? Because I ran onto the road after you said some 'horrible things’ to me?"

"What other reason is there?" Solji asked bitterly.

"Why not an accident?" She snapped up to look at LE as she spoke. "Have you considered that maybe it was a genuine accident, and that it wasn't because of you?"

"W-What?" Solji just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was it not because of her?

"It wasn't because of you, unnie." LE stared up at the fountain with a soft sigh as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked back to Solji, smiling softly. "That day, when you said those things to me... I needed to hear them. Thinking back now, I was being stupid.” LE gave a bitter chuckle. “I would’ve been annoyingly clingy if I carried out what I said." Solji couldn’t move, unbelieving of what she was hearing.

"B-But...then why...?" LE smiled sadly as she looked down at her hands.

"I dropped it."

"What?" LE looked back to her.

FLASHBACK

"Solji unnie..." LE sighed as she stood outside the hospital.

“I have Hyperthyroidism, but that doesn’t render me completely helpless! I don’t need you at my every beck and call!” She sighed.

“She’s right. What was I thinking, saying all that? No wonder she was frustrated.”

“I can still take care of myself, even without you!” Her lips quivered as she remembered Solji’s words. Of course. With how she was acting, no wonder Solji said something like that. Solji just wanted her to be able to live for herself too, not just for her. She glanced back at the hospital, her eyes travelling up to Solji’s room window.

“There are better ways to say you don't want me to worry, Solji unnie." She chuckled softly as she looked across the road. "But I guess, I wasn’t making it easy for you.” She let out a soft breath as she looked thoughtfully up to the sky. “Maybe I'll cook something for her tomorrow. She'll be tired from the surgery, so I guess I'll clean the house too. At least that’ll be one less thing for her to worry about when she comes home." As she slipped her hands into her pockets, her fingers brushed against something. Pulling it out, her eyes softened at the object she held in her hands.

"I'll pull through it, Hyojin. I promise you that I will. I’m taking a leap of faith with this surgery, Hyojin, because I have things to live for. I have you to live for, Hyojin. So I need you to have faith in me."

“I do have faith in you, unnie. I know you’ll be fine. Nothing will happen to you.” She murmured to herself. “I’ve been putting this off for so long because I was always so scared you’d say no. Guess I’ll have to take a leap of faith too.” Smiling to herself, she walked forward, only to collide with a stranger. Quickly exchanging apologies, it didn’t take her long to realise the missing object in her hand and let out a cry of dismay at its absence. She quickly scanned the area for it, spotting it sitting some distance away. On instinct, she rushed over to it and knelt down to pick it up, heaving a sigh of relief as she slipped it back into her pocket, only for the surrounding darkness to suddenly be lit up by a pair of bright headlights. The sound of a car honking and tires screeching was the last thing she heard as the car collided with her, sending her sprawling to the ground, before everything went black.

END OF FLASHBACK

"T-That's why?" Solji asked in disbelief, and a slight hint of relief at the fact that it wasn't because of her. LE nodded.

"It wasn't because of you, unnie. It was my own fault. I was careless." She sighed softly. "I can’t believe you thought I committed suicide. And that’s the reason why you stayed away? Before you went into surgery 6 years ago, I was so scared of losing you. And then when I got my memories back and remembered that I didn’t hear anything about you for the past 6 years, I assumed the worst and I thought I lost you to that surgery. But then you appeared here and with what you said, I realised that you felt like you lost me as well, over these past 6 years.” She looked to Solji. “I don’t ever want to lose you again, neither do I ever want to let you feel as though you’ve lost me too.” She slid her hand into her pocket and pulled out the box, looking down at it. “Even without my memories, I carried this with me. I knew it was something important and I just couldn’t bear to let it go. " She looked back to Solji, who was staring down at the box in surprise. "I kept thinking I needed to do something with it, and now I finally remember what it was that I needed to do." She got down on one knee as Solji's eyes met hers and her hands flew up to .

"H-Hyojin…" LE just smiled.

"6 years ago, you took a leap of faith with the high-risk surgery, because you wanted to live for me. I want to do the same for you, to live for you too. So this time, it’s my turn to take a leap of faith.” She took a deep breath and smiled as she looked up at Solji.

“Heo Solji, will you marry me?”