I woke up and saw on the clock that it’s already 12:00 noon. Noona was gone beside me but her jacket was left on the couch. I got up slowly and felt my stomach rumbling. The patients beside me were still sleeping and I was the only one awake. Later, a nurse passing by noticed me.

                “Are you feeling well now, sir?” the nurse checked my temperature and forehead.

                “Yeah, I feel fine now, thank you. Nurse, did you see noona?” I asked hoping she knows the face of my noona.

                “The lady sitting here a while ago?”

                I nodded.

                “Well, I saw her outside the hospital building and talking to someone on the phone.”

                Before I could answer the nurse, I saw noona coming.

                “Wooyoung!”

                The nurse saw noona and stepped aside. Noona sat on the edge of my bed and touched my cheeks, “Are you feeling well now, Wooyoung?”

                “Yes noona, I’m fine,” I touched her hand and smiled.

                Noona looked at the nurse, “Thanks for your concern but I need to talk with him privately.”

                “Oh yes, ma’am,” the nurse bowed and left us.

                Noona looked at me again and brushed away the bangs on my forehead, “What did you do to yourself last night?”

                I looked away from her because I know that she will not listen to my explanation that IU’s the reason why I abused my own body and face.

                “Nothing noona. Don’t worry about it, it’s my problem,” I said and sighed.

                I felt her hand on my arm, “Wooyoung, noona was born to take care of you.” I looked slowly at her. “I will help you to your problems no matter how big and difficult and fictional it is.”

                I was happy when I heard her said that like she already knows that my problem is IU who is a dream catcher and went out to this world with me. Yeah, it’s sounds so unrealistic and fictional for noona. I tried to tell her everything because her eyes were full of concern and worry like she’s willing to listen to my story and help me with my problem.

                “Noona, about yesterday at Namsan.” I started.

                “Yes?” she nodded and let me continued.

                “Between IU and I?”

                I thought noona was going to stop me because my topic was IU again, but she told me to continue so I calmed and leaned my back on the bed.

                “I really love IU, noona. I said that to you before, remember?” she just nodded and didn’t speak. “I am a victim of love-at-first-sight. I saw IU inside my dream and she was so perfect and beautiful that I almost give my whole life to her when I looked at her eyes. She told me that she was a dream catcher who visits a person’s mind with bad attitudes and changed them.”

                “So she came inside your dream because you’re bad?”

                “I’m not that super bad you think. IU told me that my head was full of boastful words and she met me because she said that she would fix me,” I answered and scratched the back of my head.

                “Then what happened?”

                I looked down at my hands and continued, “I found our conversation boring so I ended it by promising to her that I would never boast of myself anymore and asked her if she already liked me.”

                Noona laughed, “Wow, you’re so straight-to-the-point and really boastful. Maybe IU’s reaction was surprised.”

                I nodded and smiled, “Yeah. She didn’t answer and fell on her knees because of shock. I saw in her eyes that she’s starting to like me too but surprisingly, she forced me to go and wake up because my heart was already clean.”

                “Did you wake up?” noona went serious again.

                “No. I told her that I won’t leave her alone in that boring place and fain a way to let her come out with me. At first she was so stubborn and confused about her feelings and she kept on saying that my idea was impossible, but when I told her that I like her so much she stopped from crying and pointed the huge door standing quietly near to us.”

                “What’s with the door?”

                “That door was the only exit from that dream,”

                “Oh,” she nodded and I continued to the last part of my dream when IU’s mother came and scared both of us. Noona was mad when I said that IU’s mother considered humans as bad influences for her daughter. “She’s a nightmare indeed.” She said.

                “Exactly, noona,” I agreed and almost finished the story. “The last words IU said to me gave me severe pain and then, we jumped out from the door without knowing that her wicked mother separated us.” Noona’s face was sad like she was also affected by my sad story. “I woke up with a headache and body pain and I saw you came to my room with soup on a tray and told me that I was sick.”

                “Oh really? I remember that day,” she said and nodded again.

                “Yes noona and I was so sad because I didn’t see IU beside me.”

                “But you saw her at the park,” she continued.

                “Yes noona, that’s why I begged you to let me go and find IU again,” I said.

                “Oh sorry,” she was embarrassed and felt very sorry for me.

                I touched her hand and smiled, “I understand noona, that’s why I’m trying to ask for your help. IU has amnesia and mother did that to her so that she will forget about me and make my life miserable.”

                “That witch?!” she exclaimed and it sounds good for me to hear noona calling IU’s mother a witch.

                “Yes, I dreamt of that witch a while ago and said to me that she would let IU fall in love with Nichkhun. I was hurt when she said that.”

                “Nichkhun?” noona thought for a while and looked at me. “He looks kind and protective.”

                I sighed and rolled my eyes, “Are you on his side?”

                She laughed like I was a joker, “I’m just kidding. Okay, I’ll talk with that boy and promise to help you with IU. Deal?”

                “Deal. Thanks, noona,” I hugged her and she ruffled my hair like she’s mother.

                Later, we saw mom coming with food and drinks and she smiled when she saw me awake. At last, I’m going to eat. Noona gave her a chair and she prepared the food on the table. Mom kissed me on my forehead and there were tears on her eyes.

                “I’m so sorry Wooyoung, because your mother wasn’t always there to take good care of you,” mom apologized and here tears started to fell down.

                “It’s okay mother. I understand you and your job. You don’t need to worry because noona is always there for me,” I said and noona winked at me.

                Mother took noona’s hand and hugged me, “Mother loves you two very much.”

                “We love you too, mom,” noona answered and put her hand above my head.

                Even if I didn’t have the chance to meet and see my father since I was a baby because of car accident, it feels like my family is always complete. The three of us is always happy and we love each other so much. I wish that someday I can share this happy family with IU, so that she will meet new permanent friends who can make her smile and laugh.

END OF CHAPTER 19