“Love like rain, can nourish from above, drenching couples with a soaking joy. “

Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seungho spent the next two days in dreamland. He would wake up every once in a while, when he is hit with a sudden wave of pain. On such occasions, he would be given low-dose painkillers that would knock him off almost immediately. But before he sets off back to dreamland, he would give Eunji a little smile, assuring her that he'll be ok. And during those very brief yet intense moments, Eunji would always be right beside Seungho to help him endure the pain – caressing his chest or massaging his head as she lull him back to sleep.

 

After 2 days of intense waiting for Seungho's recovery, Eunji was exhausted. She was too exhausted, that she fell asleep sitting beside Seungho's bed, with her head resting over Seungho's arm. She was sleeping soundly when she felt something caressing her hair. She slowly lifted her head, and found Seungho looking at her with a big smile on his face.

 

“Hey...” Seungho said as his hands tried to reach out for something, his voice was quite unaudible due to his oxygen mask

 

Eunji caught his hands in hers and held it lightly. “Hey...are you feeling any better?” Eunji asked as she tried to give him her best smile, but the tears in her eyes opposed what her smile meant.

 

Seungho slowly removed his oxygen mask and said, “Hey, I'm ok. Don't worry...” He slowly lifted his hands and wiped off the tears from Eunji's face with his thumb.

 

Eunji just continued to smile despite the aching pain she had in her heart seeing Seungho at such state. But despite her worries, she just swallowed everything and played along with Seungho. “That's good to hear.” she smiled as she took Seungho's hand off her cheek and secured them in between her hands.

 

“Are you hungry? I'll go get you s-” Eunji asked with a hint of urgency in her voice.

 

“No...I'm...fine.” Seungho cut her off before she could make another move.

 

Suddenly, the nurse went in to check on Seungho's status and vitals (BP, heart rate, respiratory rate, and the like). The nurse hasn't finished checking Seungho when the hospital food came in. Eunji looked at Seungho with pleading eyes, but Seungho just gave her a blank stare, a bit dazed at the events happening around him.

 

“You have to eat something. You've been out for 2 days!” Eunji said as she gently squeezed Seungho's hands.

 

Seungho just gave her a smile and nodded a bit in response. The nurse removed his oxygen mask and helped him sit on his bed. Eunji set-up the small table on Seungho's bed to allow him to be fed while in bed. Seungho and Eunji were both silent as Eunji fed Seungho in small bites. While Seungho was slowly chewing his food, Eunji unconsciously stared at him as her thoughts ran through her. She was amazed at how fast things happened between them: a week ago, they didn't want to have any contact to each other, up to the point when they won't even let their hairs touch a bit, out of their anger towards each other; and now, as if nothing happened, they are inseparable. She chuckled a bit at the idea of overlooking hurtful events

 

Her lack of discreetness caught Seungho's attention, making him look at her. “What are you laughing at?” Seungho asked with a poker face, confused of her actions.

 

Eunji just chuckled a bit before she responded, “Nothing.”

 

Seungho gave her a weird look in response, “You're weird.”

 

Eunji's eyes grew a bit wider upon hearing his comment. “You haven't realized it yet, but you're weirder Yang Seungho!” She roughly shoved a spoon of food to Seungho that made seungho wimper.

 

“Fine.” he replied as he chewed his food. Eunji just smiled at how cute Seungho looked with his 'defeated' state.

 

After feeding, Seungho lied down while Eunji made herself busy with her laptop. Seungho watched some TV for a bit to entertain himself.; but he eventually got tired of it and turned it off since there weren't any worthy shows to watch.

 

He shifted his gaze towards the glass window and smiled at the beautiful scenary in front of him: blue sky decorated with clouds shaped like cotton candies, birds flying busily, and trees swaying gracefully.

 

“Let's go out for a walk! The weather is too beautiful to be missed!” Seungho remarked as he helped himself up from bed.

 

Eunji's head shoot up and saw Seungho struggling to get uo from bed. She immediately ran beside him to help him up.

 

“C'mon Eunji!Rest for a while and come with me for a walk.” Seungho tried to get Eunji's attention as she helped him sit properly.

 

“W-what?” Eunji asked confused, as she carefuly helped Seungho sit up.

 

“I said, let's go out for a walk. The weather's too nice to be missed! Just continue what you are doing later.” Seungho said.

 

“No Seungho!The doctor said you need to rest. Let's go out some other time,”

 

“Eh! I want to go outside! It feels stuffy in here. This is not good for my health either.”

 

“But you just got up, your body is not in a good condition yet.” Eunji said with a hint of worry in her voice.

 

“I'm fine. Don't worry about me.” Seungho smiled.

 

“No Seungho. It's not good for you to move around at the moment.” Eunji said as she walked bac back to her seat and opened her laptop, in an attempt to end the discussion.

 

Seungho gave out a big sigh and whimpered at Eunji's statement. After a few minutes, being the stubborn kid that he is, he helped himself to get out of the bed while he fix his IV drip. Eunji, seeing Seungho getting out of bed, rushed to his side and assisted him as he get out of bed. “What the heck are you doing?!?!You're supposed to rest Seungho!” Eunji's voice was a bit loud, trying to force Seungho to go back to bed. But Seungho didn't even flinch as he continued to stand up.

 

“The hospital makes me more sick. I want to go out a bit and have some fresh air.” Seungho just gave Eunji a smile, as if expressing his charms so Eunji would let her out.

 

Knowing that there's no way to talk him out of it, Eunji just sighed and nodded. “Alright. I'll accompany you.”

 

Seungho chuckled at his victory, eraning him a glare from Eunji. Seungho whimpered as he flashed his puppy dog eyes towards Eunji, hoping that Eunji would be kinder to him. Eunji laughed out loud at his failed attempt to be cute, crouching her body as her tummy ached because of too much laughter. Seungho pouted as he watched her laugh herself out, until she finally gathered up her senses and stood up.

 

“That was cute you know,” Seungho whimpered, trying to convince Eunji that what he did was really cute. Eunji just chuckled as she walked out of the room to get a wheelchair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After they have settled, they went to the hospital's healing garden which was situated at the backyard of the hospital. It's a 500-meter square space with ponds filed with fishes, bridges and luscious flowers .

 

They settled themselves in one of the benches, with one seat apart between them. They sat there quietly as they observed the activities around them: children running around while trying to catch some flying insects, nurses assisting patients in wheelchairs as they tour around the garden, couples who are discreetely conversing while walking around, and other adults sitting on the benches while enjoying the view around them. Seungho smiled at the pleasantness surrounding them. He took a deep breath and rested his head on the backrest of the bench, arms resting comfortably on the backrest, before he let out a deep sigh towards the sky. “I could live like this forever.” he thought out loud.

 

Eunji glanced at him for a while and smiled. She then shifted her gaze towards the sky and said, “This is some life, huh?”

 

“Yep. Peaceful and serene.” Seungho closed his eyes.

 

Eunji just chuckled at his statement.

 

They remained in their positions for some time as they get busy: Eunji was watching closely as the kids play around; while Seungho dwell deep in his thoughts with eyes closed. They got so engrossed with their individual activities, they didn't notice the dark clouds hovering over them. Eventually, tiny droplets were falling in no time, and people around the park started to run for cover. Eunji quickly glanced at Seungho, who was still resting his head in the backrest of the bench, eyes closed. Eunji gently put her arms around Seungho's shoulder to assist him to stand up, “Seungho, it's raining. Let's go back inside.”

 

But Seungho didn't move a bit. He just smiled, but kept his eyes closed. “That's great!”

 

“What?!” Eunji remarked, confused with Seungho's statement.

 

“It's raining! I haven't taken a bath in the rain for a while now.” Seungho said, eyes still closed.

 

“C'mon Seungho, let's go back inside. You'll get sick if you get drenched in the rain.” Eunji said with worry, her arms gently pushing Seungho to assist him to stand up. But Seungho did not budge.

 

“Yah! Seungho let's go!” Eunji tried to raise her voice a bit hoping to scare Seungho.

 

“Nah, let's just stay here for a while.” Seungho snuggled himself at the bench, a smile still plastered in his face as if trying to agitate Eunji more.

 

The downpour became heavier, but Seungho remained unmoved. “Yah, Yang Seungho! Don't be stubborn and get your up! If you fall sick again, I'll leave you to fetch for yourself!” Eunji said in an angry tone, shaking Seunho's body with her one hand while protecting her face from the rain with the other.

 

Seungho just chuckled, eyes still closed. “My mom once told me that the rain has rejuvinating abilities.”

 

Eunji flinched at his statement. She wanted to bash him up for believing such crap, but she didn't want to look like she's disrespecting Seungho's mom. “C'mon Seungho. You're old enough to know that it's not true.”

 

“How would I know if I haven't tried it?”

 

“Oh, c'mon!” Eunji ranted in frustration.

 

“Let's just try it once. It'll be fun!” he said, unbothered by Eunji's rants.

 

Just then, the outpour became stronger, making Eunji sigh in frustration. Seungho finally opened his eyes and looked at Eunji who was standing in front of him. He chuckled at her wet and frustrated look. Eunji gave her a deadly glare as she exclaimed, “What are you lookin at?!”

 

Seungho chuckled and said, “You look like a drenched puppy.”

 

“Shut up!” Eunji scoffed at him as she slumped her body to the bench in defeat.

 

She sat there, feeling the cool droplets of water touch her skin. Eventually, the cool breeze and sensation made Eunji's emotions ease out. In no time, Eunji had her eyes closed with head tilted towards the sky as she enjoyed the feeling of raindrops touching her skin.

 

Seungho glanced at Eunji and smiled at the sight of her enjoying the rain. “I told you it's rejuvinating.” Seungho said as his head went back to rest on the bench, his head tilted towards the sky with eyes closed.

 

“Mmmm...” Eunji just hummed in response.

 

They were enjoying the rain for several minutes in silence, until Eunji felt something pressing on her shoulders. She opened her eyes and got surprised by what she saw: Seungho was resting his head on her shoulders. She suddenly felt her heart beating faster, but she tried to act cool. She just stood still as Seungho, eyes closed, rested his head.

 

“Eunji?”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“Thank you...”

 

Eunji was shocked and overwhelmed by his statement. After everything that they've been through, this is the first time she felt Seungho's genuine and heartfelt gratitude towards her. She remained silent, unsure of how she'll respond.

 

After a few minutes, she rested her head above Seungho's that was still resting on her shoulders. They remained in that position as they both enjoyed the rain in silence. No words were needed to affirm eah other of their gratitude and their joy towards each other. Eunji smiled as she enjoyed that moment with him, oblivious of the countless tears that Seungho has already shed and that was washed off by the raindrops.

 

A few minutes later and the rain stopped. The cool breeze sent chills down to Seungho's body, that made them decide to go back. When the rain stopped, Seungho got hit by the reality that there is no more rain that would distract the viewers and cover up his body as he let out his true self. He felt embarassed with his spontaneous outburst of frailty, making him feel awkward to Eunji. Eunji felt his awkwardness towards her; so she tapped Seungho's shoulders to loosen him up. Seungho looked at her, thinking that Eunji wanted to say something to him. But Eunji just gave him a big smile, then she hugged him. It was enough to tell Seungho that she was more than happy at his spontaneity. And so Seungho hugged her back, a smile creeping up his face as he finally got at ease. That hug was enough as an affirmation of their 'meaningful' relationship. Feeling Seungho's trembling body, Eunji eventually broke the hug and wheeled Seungho back to the room and changed into dry clothes.

 

 

---

 

 

 

As Eunji predicted, Seungho fell sick that night and had a high fever. Eunji panicked at Seungho's state because she knows his body is not in a good condition to get sick, and felt guilty at the same time because she was partly at fault. She was quickly pacing around the room as she busied herself with her phone, trying to call Seungho's doctor.

 

Seungho, with his weak hands, caught Eunji's arm and tugged at it as he spoke in an almost inaudible voice. “Hey, calm down.” His words were difficult to understand due to the oxygen mask.

 

Eunji stopped and looked back at him. He gave her a weak smile and tried to console Eunji, “I'll be fine. Don't worry.”

 

But Eunji shook her head, and said, “This is my fault, I let you get soaked in the rain. Argh!” Eunji shook her head violently, making Seungho laugh. But Eunji was too preoccupied with calling the doctor that she didn't notice how much she was entertaining Seungho.

 

“I'll just go to his clinic for a while, OK? Just rest for a while, I'll be back in a jiff.” Eunji said as she walked towards the door.

 

Seungho wasn't able to do anything but watch her leave. He eventually let his sore body take over him and he fell asleep. He hasn't slept for long when he felt someone moving beside him. He tried to open his heavy eyes, and saw a nurse with a mask removing his IV drip. The nurse noticed the awoken patient and started explaining to him.

 

“Hi Mr. Yang. You're going for some test downstairs, as ordered by your doctor.”

 

Seungho just nodded, unable to process everything that the nurse said due to his head that feels like a thousand tons and his fever that has been threatening to conquer his sanity. He allowed the nurse to assist him to get up from the bed, put on a sweater, and be settled in a wheelchair. Seungho was feeling uneasy with his body's condition and the nurse's eagerness to take him to the laboratory, but he was too weak to argue. He just saw himself beeing wheeled out of the room, towards the elevator.

 

“We're almost there sir.”

 

Seungho felt chills going up his spine as he heard the nurse's voice again. It was somewhat familiar, but he's not sure if he's just hallucinating. When the elevator opened up, Seungho got surprised that they were in the poorly-lit parking lot. He was about to stand up when he felt a sharp object pierce the skin of his neck.

 

All of a sudden, Seungho's eyelids felt heavier as he felt his surroundings spin around him. He was about to pass out when he heard the nurse speak again, “We're going home.”

 

With that, Seungho's mind went blank as he felt himself loose consciousness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello dear readers and subbers! Sorry for the very late update...ahahahaha!

Been very VERY busy with schoolwork, as usual.

Thank you seunghooppa for the wake up call...hahaha!

And I'm glad wahoohuhMBLAQ, wtfelicia, seunghooppa, asdfghjkenia, damnitsfiction  liked this fic :) I hope you enjoyed this update :) 

wtfelicia, the next chapters will tell us the reason why Seungho's dad didn't stay :) 

We're about 4-5 chapters away from the ending, so hang on tight!