A/N: It finally came to the end. But there will be an epilogue after this as the last update for this story. I will write a story on baboon so watch out for that okay? I hope this story had made you smile or laugh once in a while. With all the accident things happening to DaeSung, I hope this story will ease your worries for him. Let’s pray that he’ll be fine okay? So for now, enjoy ChaeRin’s love story.

Credits: MR. LEE's aka Shern
 

Chapter 33: My Own Love Story


“I need to find him,” I declared to YeJin. 

I was ready to get up and run for the door when YeJin gave me a look. I knew that look too well. She was telling me that I had gone out of my mind.

“Very funny, ChaeRin,” she said flatly, rolling her eyes.
“But I’m not joking! I’m going to find him now!” I replied defiantly.

Yes, if you look carefully, you’d see the fire in my eyes. That was how determined I was to find DaeSung after finding out the truth of him.

Kang DaeSung likes me!
The mere mention of these words brought butterflies in my stomach as my heart fluttered and I began to smile.

YeJin shook her head. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re saying that you’re going to find him now, is it?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Yes!” I said enthusiastically, throwing my fist in the air.

I, Lee ChaeRin, am going to listen to my heart and confess to DaeSung before it’s too late.
It’s time for me to complete my love story too, just like YeJin and MinHo, and ChaeKyoung and EunHyuk.

I wanted a love story of my own too.

“DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!!”
My happy thoughts were disturbed by YeJin’s yell.

Way to burst my bubble.

“It’s night, who cares?” I shrugged dismissively. There were other things more important to me than knowing what time it was. 

“Who cares????” YeJin scoffed in disbelief; suddenly getting up from the bed. She walked to the door and put her hands protectively over the doorknob. “I’m not going to let you go at this hour. It’s past midnight for God’s sake! I’m gonna ask MinHo to keep an eye on the door if I must. I know it’s romantic and all, but you won’t be able to gain anything trying to find him tonight. Let’s try tomorrow morning, if the doctor decides to discharge you.”

“Park YeJin!!!!” I yelled, “What is wrong with you? I thought you’re supposed to be supportive of me!”

“I’m supportive all right, but not so supportive as to watch you make a stupid decision like running away from the hospital in the middle of the night, trying to confess to a boy who is probably dead asleep at this time. You’re insane!” YeJin pointed her index finger at me while the other hand was on her hip. “Now go to sleep and we’ll discuss this tomorrow,” she flicked her finger towards the direction of the bed, “Besides, with all the drips on you, it’s gonna be dangerous to take them off ourselves. I don’t want to be responsible for letting you die.”

God, YeJin can be so overdramatic sometimes.

“Pftt.. I’m not gonna die, don’t be ridiculous,” I chuckled, “I survived a near drowning experience, for God’s sake.”

I stopped laughing the moment I saw YeJin’s face when I said that. Her lips quivered, the way they always did whenever she was about to burst into tears, which I’m guessing would be soon.

I was right. YeJin cried loudly, even louder than a hungry baby.

“You’re not gonna die, ChaeRin-ahhhhh??” she wailed loudly, her face wet with tears, “Do you even know what I felt the moment that I heard that you nearly drowned?!!! I nearly died too, do you know that ChaeRin-ah??? Do you know how scared I was seeing you lying on the bed?? I thought that I was going to lose my best friend!!!” 

She covered her face with her hands and continued to sob loudly.
Yes, Park YeJin was breaking down and apparently, it was because of me.

“YeJin-ah, I’m sorry okay?” I said, “Please stop crying. You look really ugly when you cry like that. Think of how MinHo would run away when he sees you like that.”

“He won’t!” YeJin said in between sobs. Her face was still covered in her hands.

I smiled in spite of myself. Even when she was breaking down, she was still defensive of her new romance.

“How about I call him in and we find out together?”
“Yah!!! You wouldn’t!!!”

I flashed the cellphone playfully when she looked up. 
YeJin came running to snatch the cellphone away from me.

“Yah~!!! Give it to me!!”
“It’s gonna be okay if he sees you like this.”
“Lee ChaeRin~!!! I’m gonna strangle your neck!!”
“Is this how you treat your sick best friend?”
“Yes, especially when she’s an insane girl like you!”

She managed to snatch the cellphone away, dancing gleefully as she shoved the cellphone into the side pocket of her jeans.

I guess YeJin had forgotten that she was crying like a maniac just a few moments before that.

“You’re not crying anymore,” I pointed out.
“You’re not worth to be crying over,” she retorted. “Psycho!”

She lightly slapped my head and sat down beside me on the bed.

“YeJin-ah, I’m sorry okay? I won’t make you scared anymore!” I said.
“You better be! If you get involved in anything stupid ever again, I will lock you up in a dungeon. Believe me, I would,” she said with fire in her eyes.

I stuck out my tongue and gave her a hug. She hugged me back, tightly, as if she was afraid to let me go.

“I was so afraid, ChaeRin-ah. You’re my only best friend. Don’t ever leave me, okay?”
“I won’t.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”

We let go of each other. 
YeJin wiped the snot and tears off her face with a tissue.

“Go to sleep, ChaeRin-ah!” she said, still wiping her face, “Just so you know, I’m going to call Hitler if you ever try to sneak out.”

Traitor!

****

The next morning, JiMin came to visit me with his mother. He brought a cake with him. When I opened the box to see the cake inside, it was already half-eaten.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. It’s so delicious looking,” he apologized sheepishly, stealing a glance at his mother who looked on disapprovingly.

I smiled in spite of myself. “It’s okay, JiMin-ah.”

YeJin and MinHo had left for the hotel to rest while my parents took over the “shift” to take care of me. JiMin’s mother and Umma were sitting at the couch in the room and Appa was outside, trying to get some coffee, leaving me alone with JiMin at the foot of the bed.

“Is it true, ChaeRin noona?” he asked, his eyes wide, “That you died and then brought back to life? Is this your second life?”

I think the boy read too many mangas. “No, this is still my first life,” I told him.

He looked disappointed. “I thought you’re in your second life. I was going to take your picture and show off to my friends.”

I chuckled. Kids will always be kids, apparently. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m still human. As human as you, in fact.”

I reached out to take the bottle of orange juice and sipped it slowly.

“ChaeRin noona, where’s DaeSung hyung?” JiMin asked suddenly, causing me to choke on the orange juice.

I coughed loudly. JiMin scrunched his nose in disgust.

“I don’t know,” I said sadly. “I don’t know where he is.”
“But why don’t you try to find him?” he asked.
“Because my best friend won’t let me and my Umma will kill me if I sneak out,” I said.
“Why isn’t he here? Didn’t he come to visit you?” he asked again.

I sighed. “He did but he left.”

JiMin looked confused. He had a frown on his forehead when he looked at me. “Just go and find him, noona. My Umma says that if your friend doesn’t come to you, it’s okay for you to go to them first. Like this once, Sandara got mad because I put a rubber snake inside her bag and she didn’t want to talk to me so I went to her house and apologize with an apple. She accepted right away.”

Even though what he just told me didn’t make any sense whatsoever in regards to my own life, it got me to think. The doctor said I was fine. I was only being held back for one more day for observation. So what was I doing there instead of going to find DaeSung?

“So just go. Find him, noona. Bring an apple if you must. It helps,” JiMin was still trying to help.

Suddenly, I got an awesome idea. 
“JiMin, I need your help,” I said as I motioned for him to come closer. I stole a glance at his mother and Umma still talking together, absorbed in their own world, and whispered to JiMin my awesome plan. 

Let’s just pray that it’d work.

***

I looked to the left and right, making sure that no one I knew was around that area. When I was sure that no one was there, I walked quickly towards the bus stand opposite the hospital.

JiMin had agreed to help me sneak out of the room. I pretended that I was going to bring him to the cafeteria for some snacks while he hid my clothes under his belly. That kid was a genius in acting, I