When Aeri stumbled into his room, it was by a chance encounter. She drifted like the breeze, melting into the sunlight. Eunwoo was hunched over the table. He lifted his head up from his arms. The light glinted off the green, glass bottles. 

    “Aeri?” Eunwoo’s sleep-deprived gaze searched for her. He reached a hand towards the sunrays. 

    Aeri reached back. But all that met him was the warmth of the sunshine. 

“It’s just another dream…” Eunwoo grunted. He pressed a hand against his forehead. 

    She had never witnessed that side to him; Eunwoo falling into a spiral of unsurmountable despair. His dishevelled hair fell over his eyes. She resisted the urge to brush it away. A soft stubble lined his delicate jaw and sculpted chin. His eyes were bleary, probably from all the soju he spent his time drinking. 

    Eunwoo pushed back his chair, and pulled open the top buttons of his shirt. His fists shook by his side. The lavender bouquet she gave to him had rotted in its vase. The purple heads were now a dark, lifeless green, hanging over like dead bodies in the crystal glass. 

    He stared at the bouquet for a while, musician fingers swept over their withered corpses. With a dreary sigh, he walked towards the window, then back to the table. 

Reaching over the counter, Eunwoo opened the first cabinet. With a trembling hand, he took a black gun. 

    Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Aeri watched, helpless, as he pressed the head of the gun against his pale forehead. His features contorted with pain and sorrow. She reached out like a great beam of life. 

    “It’s over,” said Eunwoo; and she knew he spoke to himself. “They’re all gone from me.” 

No! That’s not true! Eunwoo! Aeri struggled in the sunlight, speckles effervescing into the air. Eunwoo!

His eyes closed shut, tight and drawn. His hand shook vehemently. His finger curled over the trigger. 

NO!

The sunlight blinded her, even with her eyes closed. Aeri inhaled, and then she opened her eyes, taking in the room around her. The nurse immediately pulled the tube from her lungs, and monitored her at the edge of the bed.     

    Elmyra stood and rushed to her side, face stricken with grief with a load of premature wrinkles. She brushed back Aeri’s hair, and she caught the reflection of her eyes in Elymra’s loving expression. 

    Green. Like forests. Like life itself. 

A bouquet rested beside her bed. Purple hyacinths, daring pink carnations and the ever-beloved jasmine greeted her with a radiance stronger than sunshine. She guessed who brought her the bouquet. 

    “I’m so glad you’re alright,” said Elmyra. “I’ve been praying every day, to wait for my beautiful daughter to wake up again.” 

Aeri clasped her foster mother’s hands in her own, and smiled gently. “Thank you for staying here with me. You even brought flowers.” 

    “Eunwoo left those for you,” Elmyra replied. Her eyebrows furrowed. “That boy is in a mess. He’s never looked so shocked. The police want to talk to you when you’re ready; they will press charges against the man who shot you. Aeri, was this all in your dream?” 

    Aeri paused, the only words she registered were the ones concerning Eunwoo. She shifted in her bed, but winced when pain flared in her side. Her fingers traced the stitches on her abdomen. Those would leave a scar, she thought bitterly. 

    During her sleep, she had many dreams. They were dreams of her and Eunwoo by the beach. Jaehyun would be there sometimes. Eventually, Jaehyun left her dreams, and then she followed Eunwoo with the rise of day.

    “Mom, where's Eunwoo?” 

“He was here earlier. Oh, I almost forgot.” Elmyra reached into her purse. “He wanted me to read this, but I think it’s meant for you."

She handed Aeri a letter. The vanilla scent wafted from its envelope. Aeri gripped it until her fingers were white. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Could you leave me for a second?” 

    Elmyra opened , possibly to retort. But she stopped, stared at Aeri and then sighed. Once she left, Aeri tore open the envelope to find Eunwoo’s robotic and meticulous handwriting. Her eyes devoured the tear-stricen page. 

Aeri, 

It’s my fault you are in the hospital now. It’s hard to believe that you will leave me soon, like Jaehyun and Umbra. I’m trying to hold on, but I’m slipping into this darkness I can’t fight. 

I’m so scared of being alone. At night, I’m haunted by memories of us in the orphanage. I didn’t realise how much you mean to me. 

    But maybe I did all along. I tried so hard to ignore your affections. The answer is obvious, and I think you know, Aeri. You always know these things. 

    I couldn’t approach you. Not when Jaehyun loved you. I believe he is always the better man. If he had his strength, if he didn’t have to leave us so soon, he would have been perfect for you. 

    I’m so broken beyond repair. You deserve better, so much better. 

But what am I supposed to do without you? How am I supposed to live in this cruel world? Who will look after the flowers when you’re gone? Most importantly, who will look after me? 

    I’m just a silly fool, a man who doesn’t deserve love or friendship any