(Choi Yuree - Wish) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6tAF9f4N6Q
 

ShinAe sat in the passenger seat and admired the passing scenery. With the window winded down, she leaned her elbow on the car door and rested her cheek on it. The wind blew and twirled its way through strands of untied hair. Thinking about her mother, ShinAe suddenly felt nervous and worried. She shut her eyes and tried to settle the discomfort building up within her. She hoped her mother was coping in the hospital and not effected by the change.

Jaehyun and ShinAe arrived at the hospital. Exiting the car, ShinAe rushed towards the entrance. They both made their way to the front desk. Lining up, ShinAe nervously tapped her foot while waiting. When it was their turn, she moved up to the counter.

"Hello, I would like to know which room Kim Minjung is in, in the general ward." ShinAe tried not to sound hasty and politely asked.

"Not a problem, let me have a look." The receptionist smiled and began to type on her computer.

Leaning into the computer the worker squinted her eyes, "She's in...room 7A."

"Thank you." ShinAe smiled and rushed off, forgetting about Jaehyun. Remembering that he was there she turned back and waved. "Thank you for dropping me off and all your help." With her mother on her mind, she was in a hurry to get to the ward. Jaehyun stood there with his hand held out, not having the chance to say a proper 'bye'. Shoving his hand into his pocket, Jaehyun rocked himself on his heel and took a deep breath. "What should I do now?"

He missed her already.

-    -    -    -

ShinAe arrived at the ward and rushed down the hallway. Her eyes went from wall to wall, reading the room number. *6A, 6B....7A!* ShinAe's eyes widen in recognition and she extended her fist to knock on the door. Before she had the chance to, the door slid open and the nurse stepped out looking frantic.

"LET ME OUT! I WANT TO FIND MY DAUGHTER!" ShinAe could hear her mother shrieking in the back. The nurse looked evidently frazzled and overwhelmed from what was happening in the room.

ShinAe stopped the nurse, "Hi, I'm Kim Minjung's daughter. May I come in? I might be able to help you."

The nurse's face instantly lit up, as if she had discovered a treasure trove. Opening the door, the nurse gestured for ShinAe to enter, "Please come in. She has been agitated the whole morning." ShinAe stepped in and was greeted by the sight of the other nurse trying calm her mother. "Ma'am, you have a broken hip. Please do not try to get out of bed, it may worsen your injury." The other nurse had her hands out, trying to settle ShinAe's mother.

"Mum!" ShinAe called with a smile. Minjung stopped trying to hit the nurse and turned her head in the direction of the voice. She cocked her head to the side and stared at ShinAe for a few seconds, before calling out, "ShinAe?"

"Yes, mum. It's me, ShinAe." ShinAe approached the bed and crouched down, so her mother could see her better.

Minjung's lower lip began to quiver and tears started to spill out of her eyes. "Where were you? How did you get so big? I thought I lost you. Are you busy? Have you eaten? Where's dad?" Minjung blabbered not really understanding what was happening. Her daughter was 4 years old, but the ShinAe before her was a young woman. Although this ShinAe was in a form she did not recognise at first, Minjung could feel it in her heart that it was her ShinAe.

"Thank you. I'll stay with her." ShinAe mouthed and gestured to the nurses, who bowed in gratitude before leaving.

ShinAe sat on the chair next to the bed. She faced her mother and patted the pillow. "Lie down, mum. You need your rest."

Minjung's eyebrows furrowed together. She searched her daughter's face. "ShinAe, I don't understand what's happening. I'm confused."

"I will explain to you mum. After you lie down." As soon as she said that, her mother instantly laid down. Fixing the sheets and blanket, ShinAe pulled it over her mother. "So, where do I start mum..hmm" ShinAe teasingly tapped her chin. "Firstly, I've been living in Seoul. I'm 24 years old, mum. I'm a grown woman now, with a job and an apartment. " She answered the few questions her mother asked, hoping that it would help her mother find the answer to the other questions.

Minjung took a few minutes, trying to focus on the information she was just told. Suddenly, her expression changed and she brightened up. "OH, that's right! You're a nurse as well. You also have a boyfriend named, Kai. How could I forget?" She lightly knocked her forehead with her fist. "What is wrong with my memory lately?" Minjung whispered to herself, but it was loud enought that ShinAe caught on.

ShinAe brought the chair closer to the bed and leaned on the bedrails with her arms crossed. "Mum." Minjung lifted her head to look at her daughter. "Mum, I'm going to tell you something but please don't be upset over it. The first time we found out, you were upset over it and it took you some time to accept it but you did. Please know that it does not change who you are. You're still the amazing woman who brought me up and love me wholeheartedly. You're smart, strong and one-hell of a cook. Don't let this one thing, impact the way you look at yourself." ShinAe brushed a few stray hairs from her mother's face. Minjung nodded her head, encouraging ShinAe to continue with what she wanted to reveal.

"Mum, you have dementia." ShinAe paused and watched her mother's reaction. Minjung froze when she heard what her daughter said, but nodded for her daughter to continue. A confused frown was evident on her face, but Minjung wanted to try understand what she was experiencing.

"The past few years, you have been living at the nursing home in Busan. You really enjoy it there. The people there are great." ShinAe took a deep breath. " The biggest change for you is your long-term and short-term memory loss. Some days are better than others. Some days you will recall everything and remember what year it is, what month we're in and how old I am. Some days, you look for me, thinking that I'm a child. Some days, you look for dad but he hasn't been with us since I was 5, because-"

"He passed away." Minjung whispered with her eyes plastered on the ceiling. ShinAe placed a hand on her mother's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Turning her head to look at her daughter, Minjung covered with her other hand. "Oh my god, those poor nurses before. I was yelling at them." She was mortified by her actions. ShinAe chuckled and cooed at her mum, "It's okay. They will understand. You can apologise to them when they come in later." Minjung bobbed her head, hoping the nurses will come in soon so she can apologised. She doesn't want to press the call bell to bother them for that.

"At least I remembered that you have a boyfriend. Kai!" Minjung proudly claimed with her chin tilted up.

ShinAe straightened up and bit the inside of her cheek. She brought her hands back to her lap and dropped her gaze to her hands. "You are half right, mum. I had a boyfriend name, Kai. We're no longer together. It has been around a year or so since we've broken up."

Minjung let out a small gasp and instantly felt bad for bringing him up. "I'm sorry, darling. I'm sorry, I brought it up." ShinAe shook her head with small smile. "It's okay, mum."

At that moment, there was a light knock at the door. "Come in", both ShinAe and her mother eyed the door. The door slid open and it was one of the hospital workers. They were holding a tray of food. "Hello Ms Kim, I brought your lunch." ShinAe took the tray off the worker and thanked her. Placing it on the over-the-bed table, ShinAe opened the food for her mother.

"Look mum, it's porridge." ShinAe mixed the porridge to cool it down. "I don't want it. I'm sick of porridge." Minjung instantly refused.

"C'mon mum. At least try it." ShinAe whined, trying to convince her mother. Minjung stole a glance and answered in a small voice, "Fine."

ShinAe lifted the head of the bed and feed her mother a spoon. Minjung shook her hand and waved her hand. "I don't want it. I miss food like japchae, doenjang jiggae, seolleongtang or kimchi jiggae. Not this. I'm not that hungry at the moment anyway." Minjung then picked up the drink on the tray. "I don't want water. They keep giving me water. I want something sweet."

"Okay mum, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to. I can order something to get delivered later. For now, I can get you a drink from the vending machine. I'll be right back." ShinAe grabbed her purse and exited the room. Stopping in her place, she cracked the door open and poked her head in. "Mum, behave while I'm gone." ShinAe jokingly gave her mother a stern look.

Sauntering from corridor to corridor, ShinAe finally found the drink machine in the food court. Leaning into the window, she contemplated the selection. After a minute or two, she pressed on the button for chilsung cider. Waiting for the drink to come out, her stomach began to grumble. Putting her hand over her abdomen, ShinAe realised that she has not eaten anything since the toast Jaehyun got for her.

It suddenly hit her. *, I didn't thank him properly and just ran off* Bending down and grabbing the drink. She strolled her way back to the room, but felt uneasy about leaving Jaehyun so abruptly. *He probably left already. Why would he stay?* ShinAe didn't want to admit it but she liked it when he was around. She was a nervous wreck but it brought her so much happiness. She forgot how low she has been the past week.

Arriving at the door, she plastered a smile on. *Don't let mum see you sad, ShinAe.* Making a small opening, she stuck her arm through the door first for her mother to see the drink, before sliding her whole body in. "Look, one of your favourite mum." ShinAe cracked it open and handed it to her mother.

Minjung immediately took it off her daughter and sip the drink. "Ah, it's so refreshing. Thank you, ShinAe." ShinAe's laughed at how cute her mother was. When she is around her mother and others, it distracts her from her heartache. When she is alone, all of the grief and sadness she hides away comes out.

There was a light knock at the door. ShinAe thought it was the hospital worker from before and reached out to take the tray on the table, only to realise it was already gone. *Maybe, it's the nurse.* "Come in."

The door slide open and Jaehyun stepped through the door with two plastic bags in his hand. "Hello ShinAe." He gazed at her and gave her a sweet smile. He then bowed to ShinAe's mother, "Hello Ms Kim. My name is Jaehyun. I'm ShinAe's...friend." With his head down, he gulped feeling skittish standing before ShinAe's mother.

Minjung was taken back by the male who stepped in. She then glanced at her daughter, who was still staring at Jaehyun in disbelief. Jaehyun approached the two and placed the bags on the table. "ShinAe told me you really like the seolleongtang here in Busan. So I brought you some for lunch." He started to pull out the containers from the bag and onto the table.

"I also bought you a portion, ShinAe. Knowing you, you probably haven't eaten." Jaehyun joked. After laying everything on the table, Jaehyun stepped back and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure if the one I got was good, but I searched up the best seolleongtang in Busan and it lead me to this place. Please enjoy." Minjung was frozen the whole time, while Jaehyun was unpacking the bag and talking. *Is he an angel? *

"T-thank you, Jaehyun." Minjung had to force herself to talk.

Jaehyun crouched on the spot next to ShinAe's chair and looked up at her. "Let me know when you're finish. I can pick you up. It gets dark quite early." He then took the jacket he was wearing off and draped it over her. "Wear this. It's cold outside. "

"J-Jaehyun, I thought-" ShinAe was literally speechless and was trying to sort out the mess that was happening in her head.

Jaehyun stood up and smiled. "I'll get going. It was nice meeting you,