***

11:30 am.

An hour had passed since Irene and her team left Seungwan alone in her opulent room, yet the young novelist found it impossible to sleep. Restlessness consumed her; her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, emotions, and possibilities. With nothing to distract her, it’s safe to say that Seungwan is overthinking.

The young novelist was well aware that her condition was incurable, and even with treatment, the odds of a positive outcome were uncertain. Two years ago, she had endured a grueling round of chemotherapy, and fortunately, her body had responded well at that time. But gazing at her current state, hope seemed to flicker like a dying ember.

Scared? Of course she is, but the thing with herself is, she had already accepted her condition the moment she chose to undergo her therapy for the first time. The young novelist embraced the reality that she may leave the world faster than she wants, and her body can give up on her at any time, at any second.

This doesn’t mean that she has chosen to give up; instead, she chooses to continue forward. Instead of being trapped in sadness, she decides to try to accept and live on, giving her best, doing her best every day so she can make sure that once her body has given up on her, she knows has done her best.

The young novelist gaze into the windows, she loved looking at the sky, the vastness of the sky, the clouds. She found a little bit of solace there and once again, she try to smile.

Suddenly, a gentle knock on the door can be heard and a moment later, the door opened slowly and revealed the young professor. Irene offered a smile to her before asking “May I come in Wendy-ssi?”.

“Oh Dr. Bae, Come in” she answered with a soft voice.

The young professor slowly closes the door behind her before steadily walking to the young novelist's bedside. Irene then proceeded to check the IV Drip and the heart rate monitor.

 The heart rate monitor in this room is a State-of-the-art Heart Rate Monitor that can detect more advanced vital signs and body conditions. A few taps on the terminal revealed a more detailed display of Seungwan's body vitals, which Irene diligently noted on her clipboard.

After finishing the vital checks, Irene hugged the clipboard to her chest and turned her gaze toward Seungwan. "Can I sit here for a moment?" she gently asked the young novelist.

Seungwan nodded, giving her consent. Irene promptly pulled a round chair from the corner of the room and placed it beside Seungwan's bed before settling down.

“How are you feeling, Wendy-ssi?” Irene finally asked, her voice caring and tender.

“I’m fine doctor, I just, there are so many things on my mind right now” Seungwan turns her head to face the window, looking at the sky again.

“I understand, but how Are you feeling? Are you scared?” Irene asks again.

“Scared? Of course, I am, but what should I do? What can I do?” Seungwan answered softly.

Irene just nodded her head before standing up.

“Wendy-ssi” Irene called her, making Seungwan face the young doctor once again.

As the young professor gazes at the young novelist with a tender smile, she reaches into her coat pocket and retrieves two small cherries. With gentle fingers, Irene takes hold of the young novelist's hand, a gesture filled with both care and comfort. Slowly, she places the cherries on Seungwan's palm.

“Have these cherries, I picked them from the garden on the first floor earlier.” Irene said softly before continuing, “I will take my leave, I’ll be back to check on you in an hour, if you can get some sleep, please do, it’s better to give your body a rest”

“I’m not going to disturb you if I found you sleeping the next time I check on you, I’m just going to check the monitor and then leave if that’s okay with you,” Irene asks.

Seungwan gives a small nod, “It’s okay, thank you dr. Bae”

Irene then gives her one last smile before putting back the chair and slowly leaving the room.

Seungwan looked at the cherries that Irene gave her, her lips forming a small smile. A certain memory came back to visit her.

“I missed you, Dad, I really do”

***

7:25 pm.

“Wan-ah, wake up, Wan-ah” Seulgi tried to wake the young novelist.

Seungwan stirred from her slumber, her eyes slowly fluttering open. Her head felt a bit fuzzy, and she was disoriented. As she focused, she saw her best friend, Seulgi, sitting in a chair by her side.

“Seulgi-yah, water,” Seungwan croaked, her voice hoarse.

Without hesitation, Seulgi hurried to the bedside and poured a glass of water from the jug. She gently handed it to Seungwan, who gratefully took a few sips.

After quenching her thirst, Seungwan handed the glass back to Seulgi, who carefully placed it down before returning to her friend's side.

Seungwan actually fell asleep after eating the cherries the young professor gave her earlier which is surprising even for her.

“Hi Sseul, what time is it?” She asks her best friend.

"It's 7:25 pm. What happened? I was worried; I thought you might have lost consciousness again. Dr. Bae had to assure me that you were just asleep and fine," Seulgi said with a mix of concern and relief.

“I don’t know, I just kinda fall asleep after eating those cherries that dr. Bae gave me”

“Cherries?” Seulgi asked, her curiosity piqued.

“You know, those red little cherries, I just got reminded of dad and then I just kinda fall asleep”

Seulgi's expression suddenly became somber, sad, and scared, causing Seungwan to worry about her best friend's sudden change of mood.

“Seulgi-yah, anything wrong? Are you okay?”

Seulgi quickly change her expression, turning it into a smile but the young novelist know that it is not the usual smile her best friend had.

“I’m okay Wan-ah, anyway, I bring your laptop” Seulgi answered, trying to change the topic.

But Seungwan knows her best friend too much, she knows that Seulgi is hiding something from her. But she also knows that Seulgi will eventually tell her when she’s ready, so she just played along and decided to not question her best friend further.

“Really? Thank you Sseul! You’re the best!” The young novelist exclaimed. She tried to lighten up the atmosphere between them.

It’s already becoming a habit for Seungwan to lighten up the atmosphere when her best friend is troubled with something, because when Seulgi is sad or troubled about something, her best friend often lost herself and then starts to neglect her own needs altogether.

Seulgi chuckled softly and stood up, retrieving Seungwan's beloved laptop from the table behind her. Handing it over, she teasingly pouted,

"Here it is, your beloved baby. I'm kinda jealous of this laptop, you know? You spend so much time with that thing compared to the time you spend with me."

Seungwan laughed, appreciating Seulgi's playful antics. "Well, my laptop doesn't complain when I ignore it. You, on the other hand, get all grumpy."

"That's only because I care about you," Seulgi retorted, but her eyes softened with affection.

Suddenly, “Wan-ah! Look at the moon”.

Seungwan turned around to look at the moon from the window. Her room had a large window on the left side of her bed, with a cozy-looking sofa positioned just below it. Tonight, the sky was clear, and there were no clouds to obscure the majestic full moon that shone brightly.