Joohyun let out a yawn, raising her hand to block the sunlight that was falling right on her face. She lifted her head and realised that she fell asleep on the chair beside Seungwan's hospital bed.

She rubbed her eyes as a series of yawns escaped from . 

“Morning love,” She whispered. 

She looked down, remembering the events that led to this. A gloomy look appeared on her face as she stood up and took her time to memorise the features of her wife.

“You seem peaceful,” She mumbled, letting her gaze linger over Seungwan for a few more moments. “I hope you're sleeping well—you must be tired. Rest well and dream of me,” She added.

She took a deep sigh and walked out of the room to freshen up when the door opened revealing her family and Seungwan parents. She opened to say something but her mother prevented that from happening by engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug.

“I'm so sorry baby,” Mrs.Bae expressed, her back gently. She couldn't say anything besides fixing her eyes on Seungwan's parents who looked like any parent would look if their daughter was in a coma after suffering from a life-threatening assault.

“I'm fine,” She whispered as she gently pulled back and cleared nervously.

“Seungwan—she's inside. I am just going to freshen up and join you,” she muttered with her head hanging low and stepped inside the bathroom.

Joohyun felt guilty and responsible for Seungwan's condition. It made her feel ashamed whenever she thought about Seungwan's family. She didn't have enough dignity to look them in the eyes and not feel guilty.

She washed her face hoping it'll somehow wash the sorrow too but she knew it was impossible. She was going to live with it one way or another.

“Seungwan always mentioned how I am her responsibility, it's time for me to be responsible for her,” She mumbled to her reflection in the mirror.

“How—is she?” Seungwan's father spoke up after some time as he and his wife stared at their daughter heavy-heartedly.

“According to the doctor, her condition is quite stable, it's just that her body couldn't handle the shock and it resulted in her going into a coma,” Joohyun hesitated as she anxiously fidgeted with her fingers. “They are expecting her to wake up around a couple of weeks from now on,” she trailed off.

“Joohyun-ah,” Mrs.Son whispered and reached out for her hand. It surprised her when the older woman squeezed it gently and started caressing it.

“Thank you for saving my daughter's life.” 

Joohyun looked up, face lit up with shock. She didn't expect this. She was ready to take the blame. But she didn't think that Seungwan's parents would do this.

“I know you're surprised,” Mr.Son mumbled with understanding eyes. “You must be blaming yourself for whatever happened to Seungwan but it's not like that and I want you to know that the only reason Seungwan is here, alive and breathing, is because you risked your life and saved her,” he stated.

“It wouldn't have happened in the first place if she didn't put me before herself,” she whispered, choking up.

“It's not your fault Joohyun,” Mrs.Son whispered, bringing her hand up and placing a kiss on her knuckles that was enough to convey her gratitude toward Joohyun. “This is just who Seungwan is, she doesn't love easily but when she does she does it deeply.”

“Jennie-ssi told us how you didn't hesitate to run to her side when there was an open fire happening from both sides—just like Seungwan, you also didn't hesitate to put Seungwan before yourself,” Mr.Son stood up and walked over to her side to give a pat on her shoulder.

“I—I don't understand it's all because of me—she put herself in danger to protect me, if I didn't accuse her on our flight maybe she wouldn't have been that upset and would've come with me,” She stuttered, struggling to keep her composure.

“That's not true honey,” Mrs.Son whispered, a motherly smile playing on her lips.

“She wanted to protect you and your family, no one would've guessed that situation would get out of hand. She did that because she loves you deeply—Seungwan wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this,” Mr.Son chided.

“Thank you for loving our Seungwan, she needed this Joohyun,” he added.

“Seungwan will wake up soon…all she needs is the people she cares about by her side,” Mrs. Son mumbled and pressed another kiss on Joohyun's hand.

Soon, Joohyun doesn't feel the guilt creeping into her heart anymore. She manages to smile a little as Seungwan's parents and Seunghee who comes a little late reveal numerous anecdotes about her wife's mischievous childhood.

She couldn't believe it at first because the Seungwan she knows is completely opposite from the Seungwan they describe. Seunghee assured her that it had nothing to do with her and slipped in that Seungwan matured as time went by.

“Joohyun about the whole swindling situation…you can take a couple of days off—after this incident, we have a lot to clear out and we'll get into that,” Mr.Son asserted just before he left.

“I agree,” Her father mumbled as he waited for Seungwan's family to go outside along with her mother.

“I wanted to apologise to you Joohyun,” Mr.Bae mumbled with a guilty expression on his face.

“Apologise? For what?” She asked, confused.

“I shouldn't have doubted Seungwan and her family. I apologised to her family but it's fair enough that I should apologise to you too since I cut your quality time with her short and indirectly it led to all this mess,” He admitted.

“No, this wasn't your fault, after everything that went down with uncle Donghae if I was in your shoes I would've doubted others too,” She justified.

“Take care of yourself,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her in a quick hug. “Your mother sent the driver home to get some fresh pair of clothes for you, make sure to get them.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun had her head buried in the sheets of Seungwan's hospital bed, she was tired, tired of seeing Seungwan like this. It was too much.

She had her eyes closed as the others kept talking to Seungwan, she didn't want to interrupt them so just stayed quiet and listened to them.

“It's her birthday in a couple of days,” Sooyoung suddenly blurted, pointing toward Seulgi who seemed shocked before a gasp of realisation escaped from .

“Unnie, you didn't tell me,” Yerim whined, plastered to her sister's side.

“It slipped my mind,” Seulgi shrugged. “It's not like we can celebrate it when Seungwan is like this.”

“She liked you,” Joohyun mumbled, still resting her head. “She would've loved celebrating your birthday. She had this unspoken endearment for you and it made me jealous but then I realised she considered you as a close friend,” She revealed.

“You were jealous of me! I already had my eyes on Sooyoung at that time,” Seulgi huffed with annoyance.

“You know logic leaves my brain when I'm jealous,” She admitted.

“Sometimes, I wish unnie wasn't like this,” Yerim sighed and caressed Seungwan's forehead. “She loves deeply and cares a lot to the point she forgets that there are always consequences.”

“You saw the share transfers didn't you?” Sooyoung mumbled and locked eyes with Yerim.

“What transfer?” Seulgi asked.

“Seungwan unnie has some personal shares besides the shares of the companies she owns,” Yerim stated. “She gave all of them to me,” She muttered.

“Seungwan unnie always felt guilty for what happened to Yerim's father. She refused to get any help from her family in her pursuit of education. She got a scholarship and in her second last year, she managed to get a permanent internship. The owner was very pleased with her so instead of paying her, he offered her yearly shares of SM High to her,” Sooyoung explained.

“Kim Suho is their current Ceo, he and unnie worked under Chairman Lee Sooman and gained experience. That's why despite being a rookie Ceo unnie knows what she is doing,” Yerim revealed to which both Seulgi and Joohyun hummed. It made sense after all that Seungwan's skills were so polished.

“I get it,” Joohyun mumbled, eyes gleaming with playfulness as she remembered their meetings for the contract. “It made her a know-it-all .”

“Unnie! You're saying that in front of people who have been with Seungwan since she was young,” Seulgi scolded.

“It's true,” Sooyoung snickered. “Besides that cold hearted attitude, she has this know-it-all smug attitude, it's annoying but it adds to her charm,” She put forth.

“You're drooling for Seungwan unnie right in front of her wife and your girlfriend,” Yerim pointed out.

“I wish I wasn't so hard-headed,” Joohyun sighed as she lifted her gaze to meet Seungwan's face before she buried her head back in the sheets. “If I accepted Seungwan from the day I first felt attracted to her and admitted my mistakes instead of rebuking her, we would've been so much happier.” 

“Suddenly,” Seulgi muttered at the sudden realisation.

“She was nice to me despite everything that went down between us,” She mumbled. “I think I have been falling for her charms even before we got married.”

She lifted her head with a lop-sided grin on her face as she met others' eyes.

“She's such a charming , it's annoying.”

Joohyun lets out a satisfied hum as she opens her eyes when the sunlight invades her sleep. She stretches her hand and sits up when her eyes fall on Seungwan.

“,” she curses softly as the events of the previous night invade her mind. She looks around to see the messed-up room. If someone was there right now they would think that the newlyweds made the most of their wedding night.

She didn't mean to catch Seungwan's attention as the younger girl's back was facing her while she was looking out of the window but betrayed her when she suddenly let out a hiccup.

Seungwan turned around and faced her. She was already dressed up in her work attire. Silently she walked toward the bed and poured a glass of water before she handed it over to Joohyun.

“Morning,” Seungwan muttered as she walked over to the closet and took out a hanger with clothes draped over it, and placed it on the bed.

Joohyun eyed the clothes for a few moments before tearing her gaze away from them and noticing the breakfast on the table in front of her.

“What are these for?” she asked awkwardly trying to look anywhere but the woman that was now her wife.

“We have to inaugurate the new building today,” Seungwan cleared and said, “Eat your breakfast and get ready.”

She blinked as she slowly got out of bed and eyed the food. “Who sent that?” She asked to which Seungwan turned around and faced her with her brows raised.

“What gave you the impression that this was sent by someone?” Seungwan's voice was deep and demanding, it brought back memories that she wanted to forget but at the same time sent tingling feelings down her chest.

She raised her shoulder, shaking her head as she pointed out the messed-up condition of the room.

“No one sent this—It's a tradition in our family to make breakfast for our spouses on the first morning as a married couple,” Seungwan elaborated.

“Just—why are you doing this?”

“What? This…Let me ask, what do you think, why am I doing this?” 

“I don't know—maybe to charm me…you tell me,” She mumbled with frustration.

Seungwan chuckled as she stepped forward invading her personal space, startling her.

“Wh…at are you doing?” She stuttered as she tried to back away but her feet betrayed her when her leg hit the table making her stumble.

Seungwan reached out for her hand and caught her before her body could collide with the floor.

“I guess my charm is a little bit too strong for your body to handle,” Seungwan whispered nonchalantly as she helped her stand up.

“Joohyun—no—Son Joohyun you do realise not everything is about love in this world. Me and you, we know we're not in love, for us it's nothing but a mere word, and love, it's a long reach,” Seungwan paused to let out a small snicker before she spoke up again.

“I don't think we'll be ever able to even like each other and I am fine with that. But for the world, we're tied with each other through this ring, the vows we took, and the promises we made under our marriage. I don't care if you like it or not but marriage is a huge commitment, and I plan on respecting it. Now it depends on you if you respect it or not,” Seungwan explained as she walked away from her and started rummaging through the closet.

Joohyun pressed her lips together as she grabbed the clothes. She raised her brows when she spotted a turtle neck instead of a buttoned-up.

“I am not wearing a turtleneck, it's freaking August,” she complained, throwing the clothes on the bed.

Seungwan eyed her as she clasped her watch around her wrist and approached her. The younger girl didn't hesitate and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. She looked down to see Seungwan fixing the collar of her shirt.

“If I remember correctly weren't you the one who proposed to wear a turtleneck because it'll give people an idea of our activities on our wedding night or do I have to remind you what else you did on August 14 besides sleeping with your ex,” Seungwan whispered, raising her brows.

She pushed Seungwan away and grabbed the clothes from the bedroom as she stepped inside the bathroom.

“Charming—my foot.”

She covered her face in embarrassment as others giggled.

“She's the swoon type,” Seulgi concluded. “I'll give her that.”

Joohyun remained quiet for a moment before she opened again. “We're all here,” She mumbled. “I need to know everything Seungwan did from that night until now.”

Yerim sighed and looked toward Seungwan and began.

“It all started when…”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

“It's been three days and you're still sleeping,” Joohyun asked the unconscious girl as she rested her head on the edge of the bed.

“I know I always disturbed your sleep and kicked you out of the bed,” She paused, remembering the several occasions where she accidentally kicked out her poor wife from the bed, “But isn't this too harsh Seungwan.”

“I miss you a lot.”

She gasps before her tears stream down her face as she bursts into sobs. She grips Seungwan's hand tightly pressing her lips on the cold metal resting on her ring finger.

“Don't go too far from me Seungwan—Don't go somewhere where I won't be able to reach you,” she whimpered as her tears drenched the sleeve of Seungwan's hospital gown.

“Please, come back to me, my love, my Seungwan.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun looks at her reflection through the mirror as she fixes the blazer. It technically belongs to Seungwan and Joohyun wouldn't lie her wife looks the best in them. It's just that she's going to handle all the mess that has gone down and she needs Seungwan with her.

She walks back inside the room and reaches out for Seungwan's hand, caressing it softly.

“I don't want to leave your side,” She whispers as she leans down to kiss the pendant as she has been doing for the previous week.

“Don't miss me much, I'll be back soon,” She sighed and let out a small smile before she walked out of the room right on time as Seungwan's mother, Seunghee, and her mother entered the room.

“Take care of her while I am away.”

Hours later after firing some board directors and giving testament to the legal authorities Joohyun finds herself back in her office room with loads of stress and a massive headache.

Chairman Son left them with a lot of problems and now in Seungwan's absence, she had to tie all the loose ends that he left for them.

“Ceo Bae, someone is looking for you, they said it's urgent.” 

Joohyun sighed and just nodded before she leaned back on her chair and rested her head on it. She was having a hard time focusing. She never realised how much she relied on Seungwan's presence in the office.

Joohyun looked up once she heard the sound of the door closing. Her eyes gazed at the woman who seemed like she didn't belong in this place making her way toward her.

“Minatozaki Sana,” Sana extended her hand as a smile rested on her lips.

Joohyun accepted her handshake, eyes widening gradually as she realised who the woman in front of her was.

“It's a pleasure meeting you,” Sana added as she took her seat and placed a file on the table.

“Son Joohyun,” She introduced herself with a smile that subconsciously adorned her lips.

“I won't take much of your time,” Sana began as she opened the file revealing its contents to Joohyun.

“Seungwan contacted me not long ago and put forward this problem about a huge money swindling scheme going inside this company. She wanted to stop this and launch a proper investigation against the people who were involved in this,” Sana trailed off, pushing the file near Joohyun so she could read it properly.

“Unfortunately, it got out of hand and she did what she considered was best for the future of this merger.”

“She told me about this and it was hard to believe it because it was a huge risk,” She mumbled, still not digesting the fact that Seungwan went as far as ruining her entire business just so she could catch the culprits.

“She wanted the flow of money that was being taken from your company to be stopped so she did that and the next few transactions that were being swindled belong to her own company,” Sana explained, eyes fixed on Joohyun who was flipping through the pages.

“My job was to finalise this whole transfer smoothly and I did that. It'll be better to consult Yerim-ssi as well because she knows this matter more deeply than I do,” Sana finished explaining as she stood up.

“She already told me everything,” Joohyun bit her lip, realising Seungwan didn't only protect her by putting her life on the line. She protected her with everything she got. 

“Did you know Seungwan personally?” She hesitated.

Sana stopped on her steps and turned around. There was a sad smile on her face.

“I have a long history with Seungwan—the most appropriate way to put it would be that…Seungwan was my first love—the person who taught me what falling in love actually was…the bitter part is that in a time when she was opening doors of love for others she was the one deprived of it,” Sana whispered grimly. 

“I visited her before I came here. Even in that state, she looks peaceful maybe because she is resting after giving it all for the person she genuinely loves.”

Joohyun felt her lips quivering as she watched tears glistening in Sana's eyes.

“Joohyun-ssi…please take care of her and give her all the love she deserves.”

“I will—she is in safe hands now.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

She plopped beside Seungwan after a long day at work, too many revelations, too many regrets, too many new reasons to fall for Seungwan.

“I wonder if you get lonely when you sleep,” Joohyun mumbled, a soft smile resting on her lips.

“I feel guilty whenever I leave you here—I mean I know you're not alone here but still I always want to be near you—the work has been hectic without you and to think that it's only the first day,” She whispered, caressing Seungwan's hair.

“Your dad has been doing so well as Chairman and Yerim has finally settled as the Coo, the only thing that's left is for Ceo Son to take her rightful place,” She mumbled with a smile.

“You give so much comfort to me even when you're like this Seungwan,” She sighed, fingers playing with Seungwan's wedding ring.

“During work the only thing in my mind is you, it gets stressful, then I get here and share everything with you, and everything starts to become better—you're taking care of me even when you're sleeping, it's not fair, let my turn come too, I want to take care of you too,” She pouted as she kept caressing Seungwan's hair.

“Your birthday is coming up in a week Seungwan, baby please I want to celebrate it with you. It's painful to talk to you like this when you're not saying anything back,” She kept talking because it reminded her of the times they would hug each other to sleep and one of them would be talking about a random thing while the other would be listening.

Joohyun grabbed her phone and looked at the time. It was way past one in the morning. She sighed. Somehow talking with Seungwan like this made her lose track of time.

“Rest well love.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

“Wha—What is happening?” Joohyun asked breathlessly, her heart was beating frantically when she got a call from Seulgi saying that one of Seungwan's monitors was beeping very loudly.

She gulped down her saliva nervously when she saw tears in both Seulgi's and Sooyoung's eyes. It scared her. 

“Tell me! Where is Seungwan?” She asked, almost shouting once she saw that Seungwan's bed was empty.

“Unnie…Seungwan…she had a cardiac arrest,” Seulgi revealed sniffling as Sooyoung broke into silent sobs.

“Seung…wan,” She felt her knees going weak and fell to the floor. Her chest was aching badly. She felt like the air was getting knocked out of her lungs and before she knew her vision was fading away.

“Joohyun unnie!”

Then the world went black.

Joohyun opened her eyes to bright white lights piercing them. The smell of alcohol overwhelmed her. She let out a groan as she raised her hand to block the lights.

“The hell!” She exclaimed when she saw a needle inside her hand. She followed the tube to figure out that someone gave her a drip.

“She's awake,” Jennie breathed out a sigh of relief as she approached her.

“Seungwan! Where is she?” she begged once she remembered the news that made her pass out.

“Calm down,” Jennie whispered as she helped her sit up. “She's stable now.”

“I want to see her,” she grabbed the tube, almost tearing it out from her hand but Seulgi stopped her.

“You can see her once this finishes,” Seulgi's voice was shaky, her eyes were puffy and it seemed like she was having a hard time collecting her thoughts.

“Please,” Her voice cracked as she pleaded.

Jennie bit her lip before she took her hands in her and caressed them gently. “Seungwan is fine now,” Jennie whispered.

“But—her heart—it stopped,” she stuttered.

“It's a common situation that occurs to patients in such a state, her heart didn't stop, it was the lack of oxygen for a few moments in her body that caused that, the doctors have given her much stronger supply now so she's fine,” Jennie explained carefully wording everything that'll calm Joohyun down.

“I'm scared,” She cried. “I can't lose her.”

“Unnie you have to believe in Seungwan—she needs you more than anything right now and if you end up losing hope then who'll give energy to her,” Seulgi muttered, her hair gently.

“You have to be strong for Seungwan.”

“Hi.”

Joohyun slumped her shoulders and kept her head low. Despite everyone around her telling her that none of this was her fault she couldn't help but feel the guilt creeping into her heart.

“You scared me today,” She plopped her head beside Seungwan's ears and clasped her hands tightly. She wondered if Seungwan ever heard her. If she did she must've woken up long ago. She didn't like her nagging at her.

“You have to wake up soon love,” She whispered sobbing silently, her tears drenching the pillowcase.

“It's getting hard for me to pretend that I am strong. Your parents and Seunghee may look calm but I can see how scared they were.”

“Seungwan, a lot of people are waiting for you here—please consider them before you decide to leave.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun broke into a fit of laughter when she saw the birthday hat hanging for its dear life on Seungwan's head. She looked around to see the whole room decorated with birthday decorations.

The walls were filled with comical cutouts of Seungwan's childhood pictures. She tried to suppress a grin when she spotted their wedding pictures there.

She placed the flowers on the bedside table and opened to wish her wife but Sooyoung dragged her away and made her stand in the middle of the room with everyone joining them.

Seulgi had a pepero stick in her hand which she used as a stick that was used by the people who lead the choir. On Seulgi's cue, everyone started to sing a loud yet unsynchronized version of happy birthday. 

She clapped as she mumbled the words, eyes fixed on Seungwan. In her mind, she tried to imagine the look of pure bliss on Seungwan's face if she witnessed this. She could imagine the way her eyes would light up and she would smile brightly.

“Happy birthday to our dear Seungwannie!” They finished as everyone broke into a fit of applause. She grabbed the cake from the fridge. She made it herself. Seungwan loved bingsu. So she made sure to make the best bingsu cake ever.

“It's time for gifts!” Yerim cheered as everyone went outside one by one and brought their gifts inside.

She just say there and held onto Seungwan's hand tightly as everyone presented her with gifts filled with love and even went as far as to explain their thought process behind getting them.

“Make a wish Seungwan unnie!” Sooyoung chirped loudly. She grabbed the cake and brought it to Seungwan's face. It broke her heart when she saw the half-melted candle. Seungwan wasn't there to blow off a candle and make a wish. So she closed her eyes and made a wish on behalf of Seungwan silently hoping that it'll come true.

“I am going to blow out these for you love,” She whispered as she put out the flame, and everyone clapped. It seemed like everyone silently agreed that none of them had an appetite as Seulgi grabbed the cake and put it beside Seungwan's bed.

It was already late when everyone left. Some were aching to stay but once they saw that Joohyun probably wanted to spend some time alone with Seungwan before her birthday ended they decided to leave.

She sat beside Seungwan and at that moment the mask of cheerfulness was gone. 

“Seungwan, my love,” She whispered. Her eyes widened a little once she heard the desperation in her tone.

“There is so much I want to tell you, love,” She felt her heart tighten as she took out the small red velvet box from her pocket and opened it revealing a beautiful diamond ring that had their initials adorned on it just like their wedding ring.

“I talk to you every day and yet it feels like I have a lot more to say,” She chuckled as she slowly reached out for Seungwan's ring finger.

“I wanted to propose to you on our last day in Switzerland. I had it all planned that we would go to the mountain top. I'll cook dinner for you and then we'll go on a hike and then I will get down on my knees and ask you to marry me. You'll probably kiss me and say yes and then we'll make love—that's what I imagined,” She whispered as she took off the wedding ring from Seungwan's finger.

She took out a chain from the box and put the ring inside it before she wrapped it around her neck silently muttering, “I'll hold you close to my heart too.”

“You make me so happy, Bae Seungwan. I wish I didn't take you for granted because I have realised how deeply I love you in these two weeks, I sleep every night hoping that you'll wake up. I am selfish—I know I am because instead of letting you rest I want you to wake up,” she chuckled as she slipped the ring into Seungwan's finger.

“If only you could open your eyes…I'll show you how much I love you…it's not easy for me to live without you,” She kissed the ring before she brought Seungwan's hand to her cheek and kissed it softly.

“It's always been you Seungwan.”

“Happy birthday baby I love you.”

With tears streaming down her face and a smile on her face Joohyun fell asleep beside Seungwan.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Seungwan opened her eyes to find herself in a bright void. She looked around and all she saw was a bright white light that was unending.

She tried to shout for help but the voice wouldn't come out. She tried to move but it felt like she was chained by a force that couldn't be seen.

“You were willing to die so you could protect me and my family. Is my happiness everything to you? What about your happiness? Why didn't you think about yourself?”

She knew that voice. It belonged to Joohyun. She wanted to say something but wouldn't let her. So she settled for the thought in her mind.

“You're everything to me and so is your happiness.”

She heard sniffling and it made her heart ache. Joohyun was crying and she couldn't do anything to calm her down.

“You have to wake up soon, love.”

It made her heart ache. She is awake. She can hear Joohyun. She didn't understand why she would be tired.

“You don't want me to leave.”

“Stay.”

Joohyun kept mumbling and she kept listening. She felt helpless because she couldn't say anything. Joohyun needed comfort and she couldn't give it to her.

“You must've been carrying a lot of weight on these vulnerable shoulders—you must've been hurting a lot baby…I made you suffer a lot didn't I—yet you did this for me…What did I ever do to deserve someone like you who loved me unconditionally?”

“You didn't…nothing hurts when it's for love.”

She heard another voice. But all she could focus on was Joohyun.

“Rest well love.”

“I know I always disturbed your sleep and kick you out of the bed.”

She let out a chuckle and mentally nodded.

“You did and my back still hurts because of that.”

“Sometimes I think I have been falling for her charms even before we got married.”

“I guess we need to thank the weather at the stables that day.”

“During work the only thing in my mind is you, it gets stressful, then I get here and share everything with you, and everything starts to become better—you're taking care of me even when you're sleeping, it's not fair, let my turn come too, I want to take care of you too.”

“You do take care of me. Remember when I got sick? Remember when you held me when I cried that day? You give me comfort too.”

It hurt her. Joohyun would cry numerous times and she couldn't do anything but listen as she fell asleep while crying. She wanted to comfort her.

“If only you could open your eyes…I'll show you how much I love you…it's not easy for me to live without you.”

Seungwan struggled but she made up her mind to get out of this abyss. It was hard. It felt like every bone in her body was preventing her from moving but she needed to reach for Joohyun. 

After much struggle, she spotted darkness in the white void. With everything she got she reached out for it.

Seungwan opened her eyes and let out a small gasp. Darkness surrounded her and the only thing she could process was the weight on her hand.

It was Joohyun. She tried to move her hand without disturbing her but Joohyun stirred in her sleep and looked at her with sleepy eyes.

“You…shouldn't…sleep…like…this.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun opened her eyes when she felt something moving, with droopy eyes, she lifted her head to see Seungwan's hand moving. She blinked sleepily thinking that she was probably dreaming.

“You…shouldn't…sleep…like…this.”

She widened her eyes and immediately got up to look at Seungwan. A gasp escaped when she saw that Seungwan's eyes were open.

“Seung—wan,” She whispered with a shaky voice.

Seungwan blinked and fixed her eyes on Joohyun who was on the verge of shedding tears of joy.

“Wa…water,” Seungwan breathed out in a croaked voice.

Joohyun immediately scrambled to her side and poured a glass of water with her shaky hands before she reached for Seungwan's back and lifted her a little.

She was crying but for the first time, she knew that those were tears of joy. Seungwan was finally awake. It still felt like a dream but how could it be when she was helping her drink water?

“Do you feel any pain? Is it hurting somewhere?” She asked once Seungwan was done with drinking water.

“Everything is…spinning—I feel like my heart…it's beating fast,” Seungwan replied, closing her eyes shut that scared Joohyun.

“Seungwan—hey wake up…don't leave me again.”

“Stop being dramatic and call for a doctor.”

Joohyun blinked, registering the fact that Seungwan was still being sarcastic but her words made sense.

“Don't you dare fall asleep again or I am going to kick you out of this bed—I am going to get a doctor for you.”

Half an hour later after some minor physical tests by the on-duty doctor, Seungwan found herself sitting on the hospital bed with a fresh IV attached to her since she needed some minerals in her body to make up for the meals she missed.

“Are you fine?” She asked worriedly when Seungwan closed her eyes and rested her head against the headboard of the bed.

“It's throbbing,” Seungwan groaned.

Joohyun left the chair and sat beside Seungwan on her bed, careful to not mess up anything. She pushed some of the loose strands of hair behind Seungwan's ear. With a little hesitation, she reached out for Seungwan's forehead.

“God! You're burning—the doctor mentioned it,” She whispered as she gently massaged the forehead of the younger girl.

“How long have I been out for?” Seungwan asked, keeping her eyes closed.

“It's been a couple of weeks,” She replied. It reminded her that Seungwan was finally awake. She was fine and was right there before her eyes.

Seungwan opened her eyes and kept her gaze on Joohyun. She reached out for the ring tied around Joohyun's neck.

“This one is heavier,” Seungwan chuckled as she looked at the ring that was now adorning her finger instead of their wedding ring.

“So you heard everything I have been saying to you until now,” She asked, caressing Seungwan's cheek.

“I didn't like hearing you cry,” Seungwan admitted leaning closer to Joohyun's touch. She was feeling nauseous but she didn't want to go back to sleep just yet.

“Now imagine how I must've felt when I had to see in this condition for so long?” She mumbled in a low voice.

“I didn't even know what happened to me, all I remember is that Donghae was holding me on the edge and he pushed me to the ground, then I felt a piercing pain in my head, and then everything went black,” Seungwan recollected.

Joohyun opened to say something but she stopped when a yawn escaped from Seungwan's mouth.

“You need to go back to sleep, the doctor gave you some sedatives to reduce the pain.”

“Don't want to.”

“Why?”

“I don't want to go far away from you again,” Seungwan confessed in a low voice that melted her heart.

“Nothing is going to happen, baby, I am right here,” She cooed, pressing her lips to Seungwan's forehead.

Seungwan clasped her hands tightly when she made her lie down. Her eyes were fixed on her. It made her happy that she was the only one Seungwan was yearning for.

“Joohyun-ah.”

“Hmm.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Not coming back to you would be my thirteenth mistake.”