I jolted awake as I got startled when I heard a door was slammed shut. I groaned and turned around, ignoring the heavy footsteps coming towards me because the heavy pounding of a headache I have right now is far more noticeable than everything and everyone around me.

I heard curtains being pulled apart next. Even with my eyes closed, I could still feel how blinding the light coming inside at where I am right now. It shot another pain up to my already pounding head and intensified my headache. I groaned and cursed under my breath as I turned away from the light and pulled the sheets up to my face, protecting me from that offensive light.

I heard heavy footsteps coming closer to me again before it suddenly stopped when it got so near me. When all is peace and quiet again, I sighed and relaxed as I tried to go back to sleep. Then suddenly, the only thing that protected me from the offensive light was yanked forcefully from me. I couldn’t react on time and only realized that I didn't have the sheets on my hands when it was completely gone from my possession.

“Hey!” I shouted and instantly regretted it. I groaned loudly when even my own voice is irritatingly loud. “…” I whispered under my breath as I pulled my hands up and held my head.

“Get up!” I heard a familiar voice booming around me but from my current state, I couldn’t recognize who it was. I don’t even remember where I am right now.

“Who are you?” I asked, squinting my eyes open only to hiss when things are too bright for me. “, can you please close the curtains again. I can’t even open my eyes. And please stop shouting. What’s all the shouting for?”

“Is this how you’re going to live your life, huh?” the loud deep voice spoke again.

Ugh… who the hell is this guy?

I groaned and turned around, giving up on figuring out who this person is. I curled on where I’m currently lying, held my head, and closed my eyes tight again. I sighed deeply and nursed my headache by holding my head tightly and massaging my fingers on my scalp.

“Get up!”

“No…” I groaned, flinching from his loud voice.

“I said get up!”

“I don’t even know you. And please shut up. Why so loud?”

Whoever it was, he finally walked away from me when I heard footsteps fading. I sighed and sunk myself deeper on what seems like a cold hard floor. But at least I got a pillow here with me. I used to have the sheets but someone took it away from me and I don’t have the energy and strength to find it. I’ll just settle with my pillow.

The heavy footsteps came back once again. I groaned and moved further until I hit a wall. I covered my ears with my hands expecting that he’s going to shout at me again. I don’t even know who this guy is. If I somehow slept in his place, wherever I am right now, I’m okay and shall be happy if he’ll just drag and kick me out. The shouting is too much for my headache.

Suddenly, cold water poured right on my face, making me scream from both the coldness and its unexpectedness. That definitely woke me up. That definitely made me so mad.

I growled as I pushed myself up and held a hand on my wall as I staggered into a standing position. I fisted my hand before I pushed myself away from the wall and turned around to punch whoever disturbed my sleep.

My eyes opened wide when I recognized that it was Dr. Song. But because of the momentum when I pushed myself away from the wall, I wasn’t able to stop myself from launching my body at him.

I didn’t have to stop myself though. Dr. Song easily deflected my attack when he slapped my fist to the side, causing me to fall forward back to the floor again. I groaned loudly and just laid myself flat on the floor when I ran out of strength from attempting to punch Dr. Song.

“Get up!” he shouted at me once again.

“I can’t…” I mumbled at him.

“Is this how you’re going to spend the rest of your life?!”

He started walking again. I squinted an eye open and saw him holding a trash bin while he picked up an empty bottle of beer on the floor. He dropped it into the trash bin as he shouted, “One!”

I groaned and closed my eyes by how loud his voice and how loud the sound of the bottle are.

“Two!”

I pulled my hands to my ears and covered them with my hands, hoping to conceal how loud he is.

“Three! Four! Five!”

I sighed and just let him worsen my headache while I slightly shivered from the cold water he poured on me earlier. It’s not that I could stop him. He’s sober. I have a hangover. He’s obviously stronger than me based on how he simply slapped my lousy punch.

“Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve!” he continued counting while I still laid flat on the floor. “Do you want me to continue counting? Because I know there are still bottles inside this room and all over your house”

“No…”

“Then, get up!”

“I can’t!” I shouted when it seemed like he couldn’t understand me.

“Why are you even sleeping on the floor? You have a huge bed here!”

I intentionally mumbled something incoherently.

“Don’t you dare mutter your words at me. Speak properly!”

“It reminds me of Yong!” I admitted.

The sheets smelled like her. The pillows smelled like her. Even when this whole room is cleared of her after she moved out, the entirety of this place reminded me of her. Every corner, every part of this place, and even those things that we don’t use so often, it still reminded me of Yong. Everything about this place is Yong. Everything about my life has become a part of Yong. So when she walked out of my life, she left a hole in me and left a part of herself in here.

He scoffed before he pushed me so I’d be facing the ceiling this time. I glanced at his face and went back to looking at the ceiling again because he looked so mad at me. I think everyone’s so mad at me now.

“Is that the reason why you never showed up at your daughter’s birthday last week too? Is that the reason why you threw Nabi under your Mom’s care? Because she reminded you of Yong? Is that it, Whee?”

I sighed deeply before I whispered, “Are you mad at me also?”

“Of course!” I flinched when he didn’t even hesitate when he answered me. “I watched you for three months since Yong moved out of this place. I watched you when you sent Nabi to your Mom. I watched you deflate and destroy yourself. I never wanted to intervene because it is a problem between you and your wife, but I can’t watch you like this now. I had enough”

I closed my eyes, the pain in my head was still there now but it felt so insignificant when my heart started aching again. I gulped before I asked, “How was Nabi’s birthday?”

“We gave her everything she wanted but she only wanted to see her Mommy and Mama. We can’t give her that because her Mama chose to accompany the million alcohol bottles than her daughter”

“Yong wasn’t there?”

“She was”

I nodded my head before I whispered, “I made the right decision not to go then”

Dr. Song growled as he bent down and fisted the front of my shirt. He lifted me up and I instantly held on his wrists when he pulled me up. I groaned from the sudden disorientation and gagged when I felt like wanting to vomit, but it all went back to my gut when I met the glare of Dr. Song’s eyes.

“I’m doing this Hyejin style and I won’t regret what I’m going to say” he whispered between clenched teeth while I gulped hard from nervousness. “Stop being so ing selfish right now. Stop leaving your daughter under your Mom’s care because you wanted to drown yourself in misery. Stop being a bastard like your biological father and leave your daughter without a single reason why you’re not showing up” he whispered so softly and it scares the hell out of me. He shook me gently as he said, “Wake up, Wheein. Stop finding answers at the bottom of every bottle you could find, and please… Please tell me you’re not taking anything other than alcohol in your system. Please tell me you’re not doing drugs as well”

“I’m not,” I answered right away, my voice shaking from fear before it completely broke when my tears suddenly fell out of my eyes. I wasn’t even warned that they’re making an appearance. They just simply went out of my eyes and down to my cheeks.

He loosened his fists on my shirt before he held my shoulders as his eyes softened. “Wake up, Whee. You need to be sober. You need to get yourself together” he whispered gently.

“I lost her, Pa” I whispered, my voice trembling from my cries as I shut my eyes tight while I held onto Dr. Song’s shoulders. “I lost Yong. I miss her so much. I thought I could do this, but I can’t… I can’t. It hurts so much. I just wanted the pain to go away, but I couldn’t. Even with the alcohol, even when I’m too drunk, the pain is still there and I can’t make it go away. I just wanted to get it away, but I can’t…” I heaved a huge breath in as I sniffed my tears hard. Dr. Song pulled me to his chest and hugged me tightly. “I lost Yong. She doesn’t want me anymore” I whispered to him.

“You didn’t lose her. For as long as there are no divorce papers yet, for as long as Yong is still married to you, you still have her. You still have the chance to get her back”

“Would she still accept me?”

“Right now, no. That’s why you have to get yourself together. You need to sober up”

“But…” I groaned. “I don’t know how to stay sober. I needed the alcohol to numb me. I just need the pain to go away”

He gently pulled me away from his chest. He wiped the tears on my face before he cupped my cheek. “You can do this. We’re here to help you. We’re here to support you. You have us, Whee. Stop being by yourself. You have me, your Mom, Hyejin, Byul, and Nabi. You always keep on pushing people away when you’re having a hard time. Don’t do that”

“I…” I whispered before I gulped hard and nodded my head. “Okay… okay…” I mumbled aimlessly when I started to feel sick again. “I’m sorry” I whispered to Dr. Song.

He pulled me in a hug once