For once, she was finally experiencing warmth.  

Her eyes started to dart under her eyelids as her senses were starting to return. Suddenly, it felt like her whole body and especially her head was light. was sore for some unknown reason. Somehow, the warmth that enveloped her was fading. Slowly, she opened her eyes from the sudden discomfort. Everything was blurry until her vision soon focused. She was staring up at a plain white ceiling and an older woman glancing down at her. Judging from her attire, she was a nurse of some sort.

“Hello there,” the nurse greeted with a warm smile.

Yeonbin smiled tiredly and greeted the woman back. Turning her head groggily around to glance at her surroundings, she found herself in a large room with numerous monitors and curtains behind them on both sides of her bed. Glancing down at her body, she found a blanket over her and monitors attached to her arms and fingers. She was in one of the hospital’s recovery rooms, it was obvious from the familiar blue color of the nurse’s uniform.

“How are you feeling?”

Yeonbin couldn’t find the words to describe herself at the moment. She felt everything yet nothing at the same time. “Dizzy, tired,” Yeonbin finally answered. “A bit confused…?” she added softly.

“Ah, that’s normal,” the nurse replied with a nod as she wrote something down on a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard. “That will wear off within the day.”

That was good. 

“I’m going to go through a criteria and run these small tests for you to see if you’re ready to be discharged from here, is that okay with you?”

Yeonbin nodded with a small “yes.”

“Alright… Can you move your head around in any direction?””

Yeonbin didn’t know where to start. She began slowly turning her head to the left, right, up, then down. 

“Can you move your arms and bend them?”

Yeonbin glanced down and began moving her arms without any difficulty. There were tiny cuts alongside the both of them, there were more on her right arm. As she bent her arms and brought her hands for closer inspection, her palms had minor scratches that were starting to heal. She gulped at the sight and turned to the nurse. 

“How about your legs?”

Under the blanket, Yeonbin moved her legs from side to side and even wiggled her toes before bending her legs one by one.

“Your whole body?”

Automatically, Yeonbin started swaying in her bed and rolled her shoulders back as she stretched. Somehow, it wasn’t painful at all. She was relieved. 

After setting the clipboard down on an open surface of a monitor, the nurse removed the stethoscope wrapped around her neck and placed the eartips into her ears. 

“I’m going to need you to cough for me, okay?”

As she moved closer to Yeonbin, her hand made its way to part of her gown in order to expose her chest. The older woman then placed the cold metal onto her skin, instantly sending shivers throughout her body. Yeonbin glanced down at herself and noticed a bandage just below her chest. She nodded and easily forced herself to cough a few times.

“Good, now can you take some deep breaths for me?”

Slowly inhaling, she stared off into space before slowly exhaling repeatedly. This time to her relief, there was no pain.

“Good job dear,” the nurse commented before writing down further onto the piece of paper. 

It was silent, allowing Yeonbin to continue to lay back and ponder over reality. She knew she had gotten herself into a car accident. The evidence was there on her body and where she was currently. What was most confusing was what actually followed after. Her eyes then widened as the dream made its way in her mind like it was a memory: the blinding lights from above her, the smell and the corridors of the hospital, and him especially. His face was no longer hazy, it was clear as day. 

It led her to wonder, did she dream of it or did it actually happen? And what were those moments where she was in two different places?

Yeonbin turned her head to the nurse who was still writing things down on her clipboard. Hesitantly, she asked, “H-How long have I been asleep?”

“After surgery? it was a bit over ten minutes.”

The sequence of events didn’t even feel as short as ten minutes, so it could all just be a dream as time was practically distorted in dreamland. Yeonbin nodded before asking again, “Is that normal?”

The older woman nodded, “Yes. Considering your health, age, and previous records, it’s normal.” She then glanced down at her clipboard once again and clicked her pen, “Now, on a scale of zero to ten… how much are you in pain?”

Besides being overly confused with everything, nothing else was causing her to be severely weakened or writhing in pain. “Zero.”

Flashing a satisfied smile, she then scribbled away on the paper. “Alright, thank you. Now last thing, I’m just gonna check for any bleeding.”

The nurse began lifting parts of her blanket and her gown, inspecting the bed for any signs of blood. Yeonbin checked along with her, relieved to see no sign of red around her. With a satisfied nod, the older woman then walked back to the paper and wrote things down. 

It was silent again, besides the redundant beeps from one of the monitors. Yeonbin turned to the nurse once again, wondering what actually happened to her. “Can I ask about my injuries?”

“Of course. What would you like to ask?”

“Just what injuries did I sustain?”

“Let me see,” the nurse skimmed over the paper silently before answering. “You’ve sustained a minor head injury which still managed to crack part of your skull open. Along your torso, parts of your face, and arms, you’ve had multiple minor cuts from broken glass. You’ve also had fractured ribs around the bottom of your rib cage. And lastly, internal hemorrhage just below your rib cage.”

Yeonbin grimaced hearing the description of what happened to her. The injuries could be nothing for the surgeons but for her, it was almost horrendous. She didn't know if she was simply weak but it was no wonder it felt like she was dying. She could say it was somewhat of a miracle she managed to survive thanks to the surgical team. “Wow…” Yeonbin could manage to breathe out.

“Do you have any more questions for me,” the nurse asked. 

Yeonbin shook her head before answering, “No, I don’t.”

“Alright then.” The nurse stood from her chair while gathering her items. “The anesthesiologist will come in to follow up with you quite soon. He’ll help answer any questions and concerns you might have for him.”

Anesthesiologist, that word stuck out most. Yeonbin nodded her head weakly, the nurse smiled at her response before disappearing behind the curtain on her right. It was quiet again.

Glancing up at the ceiling, she sighed softly to herself as she waited for the anesthesiologist to come by. Her thoughts started to trail back to that dream. It was crazy how she could now remember everything that happened in that dream now including the following events after she out while counting down with him. Maybe it could’ve been reality but was it even possible that something she had been dreaming of would even come true? None of her other dreams were like this at all.

Soon, low murmurs from nearby prompted her to break her eyes away from the blank ceiling. It sounded like some healthcare workers talking to themselves. Their voices then gradually became louder until there was only one person talking and the sound of footsteps approaching where she was. 

“Thanks, Nurse Song,” a male voice said. 

Yeonbin’s ears perked up. Something about that voice was familiar.

A short chuckle broke out from the voice, followed by an, “Alright…”

The anesthesiologist then entered into her area from appearing behind the curtain. She could hardly see much of his face as he was glancing down at a clipboard in his hands that was somewhat obscuring her view of him. He then sat himself on a rolling stool and wheeled himself closer to her. Finally, he glanced up at her face from the clipboard. 

The world seemed to have stopped momentarily as Yeonbin froze from the sight of his face. She could hardly believe what her eyes were seeing. It was him. The guy from her dream.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Byun, it’s nice to meet you,” he greeted in that uniquely comforting tone of his with a cheery smile.

As he smiled, his eyes formed into crescents. They were the same ones she had seen repeatedly. It was truly him. She couldn’t believe it.

“It-It’s nice to meet you too,” Yeonbin found herself responding back to him amidst the overwhelming shock she was experiencing.

Dr. Byun smiled before glancing momentarily down at the clipboard in his hand. “So, you’ve satisfied all of the criteria in getting discharged from here. I just need to confirm with a few other things to make sure things are going well. Let’s see…” A part of his cheek bulged out as he pressed his tongue against his cheek inside his mouth. “Are you feeling any nausea or urges to vomit?”

Just by his presence, she could be. Instead, she only shook her head. “No, just slightly dizzy and a bit tired… That’s all.”

“It’s not concerning you much, is it?” He leaned in towards her while his brows furrowed with concern.

She could feel herself shutting in with him leaning towards her even though there was only a distance of nearly two feet between them. “I-It’s getting better from the past few minutes,” Yeonbin responded before she then gestured to . “I don’t know if I should mention this but my throat is a bit sore as well.”

Leaning back in his stool, Yeonbin felt like she could somewhat breathe normally. “Ah, sore throats are perfectly normal after surgery when general anesthesia is used. But is it unbearable for you?”

“Not really, it’s getting a bit better too.”

Dr. Byun nodded as a soft smile made its way on his lips, “That’s good.”

They continued with the assessment for what felt like forever. The entire time, Yeonbin looked at him in awe thinking that he was in fact a real person.

As the assessment concluded, Dr. Byun glanced over toward her after scribbling things down onto the paper. “Well, I can say you’re pretty much set to discharge but you’ll just have to hang on for several minutes before getting transported to your own room.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled back with a nod, “No problem. Do you have any other questions for me?”

There were plenty of questions to ask but Yeonbin wasn’t sure if she should ask them. But then again, why wouldn’t she? He was here, right in front of her. It wouldn’t hurt to ask about the dreams or just dreaming under anesthesia in general, especially if he was in them.

“I do. Is it, um, possible to dream while you’re under anesthesia?”

Dr. Byun’s lips formed into a thin line before sharply inhaling just as he trailed off in thought, probably going through years of knowledge from schooling and experience to answer her question.

After a moment, he answered, “Not really.” He set the clipboard on his lap and crossed his arms over his chest as he wheeled himself closer to her. “Your brain activity under anesthesia is suppressed so it’s not exactly possible to dream. But once the surgery is done and the anesthesia is reversed, your brain activity starts to transition back to its normal state before you wake up. So at that time, that's w