Solar fell asleep sitting on the chair beside Moonbyul’s bed. A smiled spread across her face as she rested her head on her arms. The wind slightly shook the window pane and garnered her attention. She got up and approached the noise, feeling the cool floor beneath her feet with each step. The winter night ushered her to come closer, wanting her to bear witness to it beauty in all of its glory. She lean closer to the window and placed her hand on its cold glass, as she watched the snow slowly trickled down. The millions of snowflakes blanketed the sky, causing it to turn white. It was so mesmerizing she watched them attentively, as if she was possessed.

A gentle warmth embraced her, wrapping itself around her body. She managed to pull herself away from the allure of the snow, and turned around. Moonbyul was hugging her from behind. She’d wrapped a blanket around them. When Solar turned around, she gave her a kiss. Solar’s smiled and leaned back, resting her head on Moonbyul’s shoulder as they watched the snow together.

“What caught your attention up there, milady?” Moonbyul whispered sweetly.

“Just trying to see if I could find you.” She teased.

“Which moon would you choose then?”

“Let’s see,” she pondered for a while in a teasing manner before she replied. “The one my heart belong to, of course.” She smiled.

“Then why aren’t you looking at me?”

“Did I say it was you?”

“You don't have to. I can feel your heart right here, pounding out of control.”

Moonbyul’s teasing caused Solar to blush. They laughed and exchanged a kiss. They spent the rest of the night in each other embrace. They sang ‘Love Lane’, a song that held a special place in their hearts. Solar woke at the break of dawn, the sun was slowly rising over the horizon. She stared at her lover and gently caressed Moonbyul’s face before she sighed.

“Will you wake up today, I wonder? Will I be able to see your smile again?” Solar questioned softly before she kissed Moonbyul's lips.

She went into the restroom and doused her face with water. She stared into the mirror, the person staring back at her was pale and lifeless. The room was silent, to the point that she could hear her breath as it escaped between her lips, and the droplets of water as it dripped from her hair and crashed onto the sink.

She dried herself off and dampen the hand towel in warm water. She brought the towel along when she went back to Moonbyul’s side. She ed Moonbyul’s shirt and gently wiped the sweat from her body. She thoroughly cleaned every curves carefully and delicately, making sure she’d avoid the injured areas. Once she was finished, she got a new towel and dried Moonbyul off, before helping her get changed.

Whee-In and Hwasa arrived early in the afternoon. They brought food and pleaded for Solar to join them for lunch. She was reluctant at first but happily joined them. As Solar was eating, she kept glancing in Moonbyul’s direction; even when she was engaged in a conversation, she couldn’t help but looked at Moonbyul as she replied.

The doctor came by later in the day and checked on Moonbyul’s condition. Solar threw a barrage of questions at him, but he answered them indifferently. The first week was coming to an end, but Moonbyul hasn’t shown any sign of waking up. Solar spent every day by her side; massaging her, cleaning her, singing to her, and telling stories. She would laughed by herself when she got to the funny part, but it’d only last for a few moments. She looked at Moonbyul and held her hand. I wish I could hear your laughter again. She’d teared up at the thought. I can’t let that bring me down. I must stay strong. She tapped her cheeks and perked herself up.

Whee-In and Hwasa would drop in during the day and stayed late into the night, accompanying Solar as best as they could. And like that, each day passed as if time was broken; from the moment Solar woke up until the time she rested her weary eyes, she would complete each task without fail. Just to repeat them the next day, as if she was stuck in a time-loop, unable to escape.

It was the weekend when Hwasa and Whee-In managed to convince Solar to head home and get some rest. They could tell how exhausted she was. She, herself, knew how much the whole situation had drained her. She could also tell how worried Hwasa and Whee-In were, so she complied with their request. Hwasa volunteered to stay behind and watched over Moonbyul. Solar left instructions with her, before leaving with Whee-In.

As Whee-In drove her home, she felt her heavy eyelids slowly blocking her view, until it completely stole her sight. Her weariness overtook her and she fell asleep. Once she got home, she went to pack some clothes while Whee-In helped her with the laundry.

Solar opened her bedroom’s door, and the memories of Moonbyul laying on the bed, calling her to come closer, played out before her. She laid down and buried her face into her pillow, Moonbyul’s scent still lingered on them. She recalled what it was like laying her head on Moonbyul's chest, and that safe and secured feeling she got when Moonbyul embraced her. She fell asleep with tears dripping from her eyes and a smile on her face.

It was already getting late when she woke up. She jumped off the bed and hurried to finish her packing, but to her surprise it was already done. She grabbed the bag and went to meet up with Whee-In.

“Up already? Did you rest well?”

“Yes. Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I didn’t want to disturb you. You need the rest.” Whee-In scolded.

“Thank you. And thanks for helping me pack.”

“Don’t mention it. Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

Whee-In took her back to the hospital. She picked up Hwasa and bid them farewell.

It was near the end of the second week, the dream she had was vivid, but it was still just that, a dream. Moonbyul was caressing her hair while she slept; her heart was fluttered with joy. It was the first time in a while that she was able to sleep past dawn. She opened her eyes and looked at the person in front of her. The reality set in on her once again and made her heart dropped. It made her realized once more that an important aspect of her life was missing, that being a lively and playful prankster. She missed that smile, that embrace; she missed everything about Moonbyul. She couldn't stopped her tears from escaping. She sniffled and dismissed them quickly, but a sadness continued to grip her heart.

The third week was coming to an end, the doctor informed Solar that Moonbyul’s arm was healing well. The bones have reattached and it’d be as good as new in no time. When Solar questioned when Moonbyul would wake up, they only shook their heads.

Solar got down on her knees and wholeheartedly prayed every night. She prayed that when she opened her eyes the next morning, Moonbyul would be greeting her with a smile. She no longer asked Hwasa to stay behind when she headed home on the weekend. She thought enforcing such responsibility onto Hwasa was not the right thing to do.

It’d almost been a month and Moonbyul’s condition still haven't change. The only good news was that her arm was closed to fully heal. The doctor had also removed the bandages on her head. Solar smiled wryly as she ran her fingers through Moonbyul’s hair. She sighed softly before she continued her ritual, like always, she washed Moonbyul at the break of dawn.

She chose a black button up shirt and black pants as Moonbyul’s outfit for the day. When she was done she gave Moonbyul a kiss before heading home with Hwasa and Whee-In, like every other Sunday. When she got back to the hospital she saw Moonbyul standing in the middle of the room looking out the window. She rushed in and hugged Moonbyul tightly.

“You're finally awake! I was so worried,” tears gushed down her cheeks as they smeared onto Moonbyul's shirt. “I pray and pray every night, but you—but you—”

“I’m sorry I made you worry,” she smiled sweetly.

Solar shook her head. “As long as your okay, that’s enough for me.”

“I’m okay now. You don’t worry anymore.” She reassured.

“Are you really?” Solar looked up at her.

“Yes.”

“I’m glad. I love you. Please—please don’t make feel that way again.”

“I won’t.”

Moonbyul loosen Solar’s gripped, which was tightly wrapped around her waist, and began examining Solar carefully. She wiped the tears from Solar’s face and stared at Solar as if she’d discovered something extraordinary.

“What are you doing?” Solar raised her brow and questioned.

“I see—” Moonbyul mumbled to herself.

“Seriously, what are you doing!?” She furrowed her brow. “Tell me or I'll get angry!”

Moonbyul was so enamored, she hadn’t realized Solar was talking to her.

Solar pushed her away and demanded, “what do you think you’re doing?”

“Hey, hey. Don't be so hostile.”

Solar was baffled, “I’m hostile!?”

“Who else is there?” Moonbyul scoffed. “I was just checking you out cause I thought you were cute.”

“Checking me out?”

“Yeah. Why else would I let you hug me? And say all that cheesy crap.”

“Cheesy crap?”

“You’re scary when you’re angry, you know that? It’s not a good look for you. Smile more and frown less, you look cuter that way.” She winked.

“Stop playing around!” Solar demanded. “I'm not in the mood.”

“Damn, you don't gotta be like that. I’ll just leave then.”

Solar grabbed onto Moonbyul’s arm and pulled her back as she anxiously questioned, “what are you playing at?”

“Look. I was trying to hit on you. It’s clear that you didn’t want me to. So I'll just leave, alright?”

Solar was still gripping onto her arm, “what are you saying?”

“Could you let go?” Moonbyul leaned closer, “do you like being hit on, is that it?”

A loud crashed woke Solar from her dream. She gave out a long sigh as she steady her breath. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. Why did I have such a dream? Is it trying to tell me something? Where am I? She looked around the car and outside the window, she recognized the road; they were on their way back to the hospital.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“N-no—you didn’t—”

Hwasa had apparently dropped an empty mug she was holding and the handle broke off. Whee-In looked at Solar and noticed that she was a little pale.

“Unnie, what’s wrong? You don’t look so well.”

“It's nothing. I’m fine. It was just a bad dream,” Solar shook her head as she answered. “It was just a bad dream—” she mumbled under her breath.

Solar quickly made her way back to room 333, where Moonbyul was staying. She glanced at the middle of the room with a hopeful heart, but there was no one standing there. She sighed, feeling a slight sense of relief, but also sadness.

She slowly made her way into the room, and immediately noticed something was out of place. She ran to the bed and made sure her eyes weren't deceiving her, they were not. Moonbyul was gone. She ran frantically into the bathroom, but Moonbyul wasn't there either. She checked and double checked everywhere in the room, but Moonbyul was nowhere in sight.

She rushed out and desperately screamed Moonbyul’s name. She questioned every passerby, almost to the point of interrogation. They had no clue who she was talking about. She was anxious and scared, she ran from place to place as if she’d gone mental, still she was unable to find Moonbyul. I need to find her. I need to see her. Moonbyul, where are you? She felt helpless as tears flowed down her face, but she kept on moving forward. She felt a joy enter her heart and smiled when she reached the hospital courtyard. I finally found you. You’re okay. Moonbyul was laughing in the distant, happily playing with a child. Solar felt as though she was alive once again as she watched Moonbyul’s smiling face.

Solar couldn’t contain her tears of joy as it flowed down her face without permission. She quickly wiped them away when she noticed Moonbyul happily approaching her. The child was clinging onto Moonbyul’s back as she carefully carried him along. Solar’s smiled and waited for Moonbyul to embrace her. Why? Her smile vanished. Why did this happen? Moonbyul walked past her as though they were stranger. It couldn’t be. Please. Please, don’t let it be. She grabbed Moonbyul’s arm and stopped her in her track.

Moonbyul turned to face her, their eyes met for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. And yet she could no longer see the affection she was used to seeing in those familiar eyes. She felt the distance she’d never felt before with Moonbyul. She gripped tightly onto Moonbyul’s arm. Please, please, don’t say it. Please, don’t let it be real.

“What’s wrong, miss? Do we know each other?”