Usual Monday. Heavy traffic, people crossing with their heads down to the phones or few with newspapers with their hands. Eunji’s familiar with the situation but the continued beeps coming from her company phone at the back seat has been bothering her, plus the coffee that has been sitting on her cup holder’s starting to cool down. Very not of her liking

“” she hissed, startled with the sudden ring of her personal. “Hi” she nervously mumbled to the other line. “Joohyun, look, I’m stuck in heavy traffic” leaving the fact that she actually slept on her alarm. “I’m on my way, are you done preparing?” she pulled her phone off her left ear when Joohyun, her girlfriend, shouted back. “Alright, alright, I’ll be there in a few. By—” beep! Before she even says her goodbye, the line was cut. Eunji sighed as she put her phone back at the holder.

Ring ring ring “Ghud, seriously?” she muttered reaching for the other phone she has been ignoring since this morning. “Okay, hold on!” groaning as she’s twisting her shoulder to stretch a little more to grab her laptop bag. “What’s with today. Ugh, okay. Gotchaaa—”

BANG!

 

 

“Hey, are you okay?” unfamiliar voice welcomed Eunji from sleep. Well, she was not even sure if she’ll call that sleep. “Baby?” there it was again. “I’ll call the doctor, don’t move” cold hands caressed her cheeks and soft lips touched her forehead.

Where am I?

And who is that girl?

Mom?

My head hurts, damn!

Eunji moved her hand, gently feeling her head. Bandage, great. She slurred, still not fully awake. She tried to sit when that same voice shocked her “Baby, don’t move. The doctor’s coming” the woman shifted closer to her bed as the door opened and another unfamiliar face showed.

“How are you feeling, Eunji?” the closeness in the doctor’s voice registered on the patient. “You hurt your head on your way to work, do you remember?” she continued but Eunji is too confused to acknowledge.

Work

“Minor accident but you were unconscious for 3 days”

Accident

“Chorong was so afraid when she received the news”

Chorong

Eunji side-eye the girl beside her but didn’t meet her eyes. She can feel her looking but has no power to do the same.

“You shouldn’t let your girlfriend worry like that”

Girlfriend

To tell that Eunji was surprised is an understatement. It’s not just the trauma in her head. She tried to think about what happened. What really happened.

Not this!

Yes, she is Eunji. Yes, she’s going to work. Yes, she has a girlfriend.

But, NO! Not this Chorong girl.

It is making her head aches, she’s feeling dizzy. Eunji put her hands on her head. This is not the memory she has. She can feel all the wires in her brain working.

“Eunji?” the doctor breaks her bubble, concerned. She looked up and met her gaze

“Doctor… doctor, ahmm, can you please contact Joohyun?” she finally said, voice low and weak.

“Doctor? It was the first time you addressed me as doctor, my beloved sister-in-law” hand quoting the last words. The doctor showed her a playful smile that she’ll do the same if she’s not this baffled.

“Joohyun? Baby, who’s Joohyun?” Chorong approached her, hand lightly placed on her forearm. “Is she a co-worker? Let me get your phone. I have informed Bomi about your accident, though. I think your boss knows already” the girl was eagerly looking for her phone inside the bag sitting on the couch.

“Joohyun, Joohyun, Joohyun” Chorong chants, tapping and scrolling her fingers on a phone Eunji actually don’t recognize. “There’s no Joohyun on your contacts. Here, look for it, yourself” the same phone was passed on Eunji.

She hesitates a little if she can really take it. She honestly doesn’t know the phone’s password but what falters her the most, is that her fingerprint was recognized as soon as she placed her finger on the sensor.

Just like the other girl, Eunji chanted her girlfriend’s name in her mind. Silently. She’s still lost with what’s happening and all she can think is to have her girlfriend with her, at the moment.

Eunji feels all eyes on her. When she found no starred contact name, she hesitantly bit her nail, a habit Joohyun doesn’t like.

“Don’t bite your nails, baby” funny because, this girl, Chorong, too.

 

 

“Eunji?” the doctor, “are you okay? Are you feeling something in your head? Tell me what you feel, can you recognize us?

That’s it! That’s the question Eunji has been waiting to be asked. Can I recognize them?

No.

“No, doctor”

Silence.

All Eunji can hear is the ticktocks of her wristwatch and a sharp intake of air.

“We are running more tests on her” the doctor said to her nurse, noting and agreeing with all the doctor has been saying. “You’re still not allowed to be discharged, okay? Please, don’t be stubborn this time, hmm?” the doctor nodded her head, placing her pen inside her coat. “Chorong? Meet me outside in a minute. Talk to her first” Eunji heard a very small thanks, unnie, before they were left alone inside the room.

“Eunji?” for the first time since they met, Chorong call her by her name. “You don’t recognize me? I’m Chorong. Your girlfriend. We’ve been together since college” the other girl said, sadness present in her voice. “Hold on, if it’s the anniversary surprise Bomi has been telling me, I’m not having it. And you seriously let my sister in this” loud laughter echoed inside the closed room, making Eunji more lightheaded. “Baby?”

The patient was stunned when Chorong cup her cheeks. Face inch far, or more of, near. Eunji was having turmoil in her head and the other girl’s face this close in hers is not helping. They finally met eye to eye.

This Chorong girl has soft features, her lips are small, her eyes are gentle. A very familiar face, if she may ask. Like, ‘she has seen her in a supermarket, same day as she always shops for her groceries’ type of casualness. Even her voice, soft but low. If Eunji is not confused, she’ll say that the voice is angelic and makes her calm.

“Do you really not recognize me?” Eunji was about to answer when knocks on the door stopped her

“Chorong? A minute, please?”

“Okay, unnie”

Eunji assumed that they are sisters with how close they sound. The moment she was left alone, she grabbed her phone and dialed the number she knows by heart. Her girlfriend’s number

The phone rang two times before it was answered

“Thank, goodness! I’m at a hospital right now. I got into an accident. Can you please come here? I’ll send you the address once I talked to the nurse” the line was so silent that Eunji has to check if it’s still on.

There is when she read the contact’s name…

Baby

“Baby?” Chorong slides her head inside the slightly opened room and showed her phone to Eunji. “It was me you were calling” the other girl smiled a little and continued, “I’ll just go to SoEun unnie’s office. Please don’t go anywhere” when the door was finally closed, Eunji heaved a sigh and lay down on her bed again.

What’s happening?

Where am I?

Who are these people?

Eunji tried to remember when was the last time she’s where she truly should

“I woke up late, I took a bath, I drove to a cafe” she stated while putting a finger down with every scene flashing in her mind. “It was really a heavy traffic; I received a call from Joohyun…” she holds her bandaged head as she feels it throbbing. “I’m so sure I just talked to her before all of this happened”

April 19, 2021, the date on her phone, same day as she remembers.

She opened her phone again. Surprised with the display photo of Chorong kissing her on the cheek. She looks so happy with her eyes smiling just like her lips. Her heart aches thinking she was cheating on her true girlfriend but can’t describe the warmth in her heart.

Eunji absentmindedly search for her girlfriend’s name on social media.

“There you are!” she happily uttered as she found the same girl she has been looking for. She browsed on her feed, smiling in victory after making sure that it was her girlfriend.

She was about to message the account when a glimpse of another girl is actually showing. Which she subconsciously and half purposely neglected.

Happiest Birthday, Love

With my best person

Day well spent

Happy 3^rd Anniversary, Love

She read every caption on the girl’s Inst*gram posts.

I love you, Seungwan

There! She turned her phone down and closed her eyes. Eunji massaged her temple as all of her memories came like a moving picture in her mind. The constant pounding in her head added to her frustrations.

 

 

She woke up again because of the bright orange hue striking directly on her face. Sunset. It’s her favorite time of the day. Witnessing the sun, which is about to sleep, by the beach, with her--

Whoosh

“Were you woke up by the light?” Chorong said, closing the curtain to stop the sunlight from penetrating to the room. “You were sleeping again. Were you making up with all the sleep you didn’t get while you’re on your duty? Hmm? Doctor?” the other girl smiled widely but the sorrow in her eyes says a lot more

Eunji felt so guilty for the girl. The girl she doesn't recognize. The girl who has been calling herself as her girlfriend. She feels so wrong that she has no feelings for this girl but something inside her twists and turns every time their eyes meet. Like she’s familiar with her but actually not. Like they have known each other but can’t find the girl in her memory box.

“I told you not to drive anymore. You’re so stubborn” Chorong continued. She was fixing Eunji’s bed. “Doctors should take care of themselves, too” the girl patted her shoulder softly, putting few strands of hair behind her ear. “You get that, doctor, right?”

“Doctor?”

“You don’t even remember you are a doctor, Eunji” Chorong cupped her cheeks and about to lean forward when Eunji gently pushed her away. “I’m sorry” Chorong cleared and stood straight. It was like experiencing hours of suffocating awkwardness for both of them. She looked at her watch before finally breaking the silence, “It’s almost dinner time. Let me get us some food” the girl was at the point of approaching her but stop when the patient looked away.

Chorong closed the door of Eunji’s room and pushed her back on the wall. She silently wiped the tear she was holding inside. Eunji really can’t recognize her. The coldness in her eyes is what hurt her the most. Chorong, too, is thinking it that is her Eunji.

 

 

“Tell me about this Eunji” the patient started. She’s comfortable laying in her bed, hands clamp under the sheet. “Tell me about this Eunji that you know” she peeked on the girl by the couch.

“Well, she’s a doctor. Not from this hospital, though.”

A doctor? My dream

“I ahmm, I’m her girlfriend. We’ve known each other because of my childhood best friend, Bomi”

Bomi? Right? I’m still associated with a Bomi

She smiles as she thinks her partner in crime, Bbom. “She’s a doctor too. In the same hospital you’re working. You are funny, you laugh a lot. You make me laugh a lot. We are happy” Chorong tried to solidify her voice, but it cracked at the very end. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be crying. I just feel like, I’m losing my Eunji. The Eunji that can recognize me. Eunji, my girlfriend” Chorong stood up.

“It’s okay, I know it was hard for you too. I’m sorry I can’t recognize you” this time, Eunji accepted the hug Chorong offered. She can’t just simply say she does not belong to this universe, right? Then, there it was again. The same warmth she always feels for this girl. It’s not just the gaze she always gave her, it’s not just about the care she always provides, it’s not just this hug, it’s the whole existence of Chorong. It is for her.

Chorong asked if she can sleep beside her, and Eunji doesn’t have the heart to say no.

 

 

“Hey, are you okay?” unfamiliar voice welcomed Eunji from sleep. Well, she was not even sure if she’ll call that sleep. “Baby?” there it was again. “I’ll call the doctor, don’t move” cold hands caressed her cheeks and soft lips touched her forehead.

Not this again

Eunji moved her hand, gently feeling her head. Bandage, gone. She slurred, still not fully awake. She tried to sit when that same voice shocked her “Baby, don’t move”

Wait, mom?

She opened her eyes and saw her own mother. Looking a little older as she remembers. She’s a little disassociated but asked, “Where’s Chorong?”

The older woman looked at her confused, “How did you…? Yeah, I’m going to call for the doctor”

She was once again left in the room. She scanned her eyes inside. It looked totally different. It was not painted white as when she falls asleep. Her bed is blue, and the sheets are light. The window is adjacent to her bed now. The room is decorated with pictures, persons she recognized. The table by the couch is full of flowers, some are withered, some are fresh. She searched for water like she hasn’t been drinking for years.

When the door opened, she immediately felt the same feeling. Chorong. But something is different. No, entirely different. Chorong entered her room, dressed in pink chiffon blouse, partially covered by her white knee-length coat, black slacks and a white shoe making her cuter with how professional she looks.

Coat?

“Patient Eunji, it’s good to finally see you awake” the doctor said

See me awake?

“You were out for 3 years”

3 years?

Hold on

“Do you remember what happened?”

What happened?

“Do you remember the woman beside you?”

Mom

“Mom” Eunji said, looking for the older woman’s eyes.

That’s why she looked older

“I don’t see anything wrong for now, but we are keeping an eye on her, don’t worry Mrs. Jeong”

Eunji was just looking at Chorong. Her eyes are roaming respectfully with the other girl's features

Just like how I remember you

“It was nice finally meeting you, doctor” the doctor holding the door open, paused. She was stunned and the smile from her patient makes her blush.

A soft smack was delivered by the old lady on her side, “What was that? Are you flirting with your doctor?” her mother, amused with what she just witnessed.

Eunji smiled, looking at the closed door, “What do you think of having a doctor as a daughter-in-law, mom?”

Her mother’s laugh stopped when she realized that her daughter is not looking for her girlfriend

“Well, I don’t see any photo of her here. I guess, she found someone new?”

“She did, she was sorry and actually asked for my permission if she can date someone else. I said I was not in a position, but I told her, you, my daughter, will let her be happy, with whatever decision she makes” her mother mirrored the smile Eunji has the whole conversation. “And I heard she’s getting married soon? Her girlfriend Seungwoo, ahmm, no, Seungwi, something like that”

“Seungwan”

“Right, Seungwan. Hold on, Eunji, how did you know?” Mrs. Jeong has been thinking how her daughter knew the doctor’s name and now, her ex’s fiancée.

“I had a dream”