She was staring blankly as the staff and doctors run around to stop all the bleeding and to stabilize the dead-looking Seungho. She was just standing there, eyes fixed on Seungho with body trembling, blood staining almost all parts of her body. 

A nurse suddenly held her shoulders and lead her to a seat in the waiting area. 

"It'll be much better if you stay here. We'll try our best to keep him alive," the nurse consoled Eunji. 

She just nodded in response. 

“We got these out of his pocket,” 

The nurse handed Seungho's phone and wallet to Eunji, then left.

It was not long before the attending doctor approached Eunji, “We have to take him to the OR, he's loosing a lot of blood and we need to fix him up immediately.” 

Eunji just nodded, not able to say anything anymore. 

The doctor sensed her tension, “We'll do our best to help him, just hang on and keep it together OK?” 

She just nodded again, not saying anything. She just continued to stare blankly as Seungho was transferred to the OR, as if things haven't registered into her consciousness yet. 

Before she could make another move, a nurse approached her asking her to fill up some documents - waivers, blood requests and the like. As she was lead to the Nurses' Station, she scanned thru the documents with a baffled look in her face. It was asking for the patient's personal details, which she is very unaware of. She tried inspecting his cellphone and wallet for any pertinent details - addresses, emergency contacts and the like - but all she got were girls' numbers in his phonebook and some receipts in his wallet. No ID, whatsoever. She had no choice but to leave a lot of items blank, and to sign the consent form on his behalf.  

_______________________

She started to feel disheveled as she noticed people looking at her as they passed; so she went to the restroom to fix herself. She looked in the mirror and saw her blood-stained face, neck, arms and shirt. The sight  knocked her back to reality, allowing her dam of tears - which she held for so long - to flow out. She watched herself as tears wash her face clean, controlling her sobs, as she was trying to be discreet with her emotional outburst. When all her emotions calmed down, she washed all the blood-stained areas of her body, then went to the OR.

Eunji was standing beside Seungho's bed, trying to digest his current state. He was hooked in an artificial respirator, IV drip, blood bag, and a cardiac monitor. She sighed deeply as she remembered what the doctor told her after Seungho's operation, 

We tried to fix him to the very best we can, but he was beaten up pretty badly - especially his head. He's in a coma, but his vitals are stable at the moment. We ran some tests to identify areas of brain damage, but results will be available after 3 days. As of now, all we can do is to wait...

She sighed again, thinking about how she'll deal with his situation. Where in the world is she going to find his family or girlfriend or whoever? Who will take care of him for the next days? 

I guess I have no choice but to be with him for a while...I need a distraction¹ anyway.... She tried to talk herself into taking care of a stranger. 

_______________________

And so her life revolved around Seungho for the next days. She filed for a temporary leave of absence at the office to tend to his needs, but the manager insisted on giving her a paid holiday instead after learning about Seungho's situation.  She was in the hospital everyday, making sure that Seungho was all tidy and clean and that he has company just in case he wakes up at any moment. She arranged for a LazyBoy² to be placed near Seungho's bed, making sure she'll sleep soundly every night. 

_______________________

Ya! I'm only doing this because I have no choice, OK? Once you wake up, I'm out! She was talking to Seungho while poking his arm. She then looked at Seungho's bruised faced, with bandages covering his forehead. She suddenly felt a surge of pity on the man. Her hands were gesturing to touch his face when a nurse entered the room...

"Are you his girlfriend?" The nurse asked with a smile in her face.

"A-ani³!" Eunji stepped away from Seungho's bed and made a polite smile.

"Oh, sorry for that," the nurse seemed to be embarassed by her claim. She just checked Seungho's vitals then left.

Eunji sighed in relief, then smiled.

I'm too sane to be this man's girlfriend. She thought, looking at Seungho with a smirk. She caressed his face and thought, 

Too bad, you're handsome. 

Then she went out of the room to get herself something to eat.

_______________________

It was Seungho's 5th day in coma already. It was late at night. Eunji fell asleep sitting near Seungho's bed, her head and arms hovering over Seungho's arm, very faint snores coming out of her as she breathes. Suddenly, she felt small movements caressing her face, making her jump out of her seat. She looked at Seungho who was making small wiggling movements, face all grimaced as if he was hurting somewhere. She panicked and rose up to hear seat, about to call for help, when she heard him mumble,

"Umma..."

She gasped at his words...

His body stopped moving, then she saw his head tilt sideways. His cardiac monitor started to beep crazily...

"No, no, NO!"

Her adrenaline kicked in as she stepped closer to the bed to reach for the "emergency button". Nurse and doctors stormed in and started checking his vitals. Eunji was pushed to the side by a nurse, but she didn't leave the room. She watched as the doctor used the defibrilator⁴ to resuscitate Seungho, once...twice...thrice...

Just then, the heart monitor started to beep rythmically slow again. 

Thank god, she felt herself sigh in relief. The doctor approached Eunji, with a gloomy expression on his face...

"Looks like he's deteriorating...But he still has a 30% chance of survival. Let's hope for the best."

Eunji cannot believe what she just heard.

30%? 30%????

She just bowed in response as the doctor and nurses walked out of the room. She gazed back at Seungho, who looked serene while sleeping.

Please Seungho, come back...

She felt a tear escape her left eye. She never felt this desperate and attached before. She was surprised with how much  this tragedy has changed her life, and how much it changed her heart towards Seungho.

She sat beside him in his bed, caressed his hair then looked at his face. She felt like he needed comfort, after everything his body went through. It wasn't long until she noticed his eyeballs started moving from left to right, with eyelids still closed...She stood up and waited for his next move...

Suddenly, his eyelids started to open slowly...

She was very excited when he opened his eyes, but her whole body didn't move. She watched as he scanned his surroundings, as if trying to know where he is...His eyes shifted towards Eunji, and caught them both in surprise...

¹Distraction from her previousbreak up

²a type of chair that looks like this: 

³ 'Ani' is the Korean term for 'No'

⁴ Defibrilator: device that sends electricity to the heart to revive a patient