XVI

"When you see someone looking sad, when the fountain of their hearts seems to have dried up, become someone who can replenish their heart."

The pain slowly crept up behind her like a storm on a sunny Sunday afternoon. At first, it was nothing but an irritating tingling sensation. She ignored it, knowing for a fact that it would go away.

The thing is, it didn't.

It only got worse, to the point where she wanted to rip herself to shreds. She thought she could forget except, most things are easier said than done. There was no such thing as paradise without him. He was everything to her and yet, she kept everything locked up. It drove her completely insane but all she could do was endure for she was selfless; she endured and hid her emotions, becoming a robot.

It was the only solution.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For falling in love with you."

"Woohyun," she called, "you're really not going to let me see her?" She stopped in her tracks, staring at the back of his head.

He took a deep breath before turning around to flash her his famous grin. "You'll be able to see her soon. In the mean time, you're required to follow me around!" he stipulated.

"Like a dog?" she jested.

His eyes widened as he violently shook his head. "N-no! Not in that aspect!"

She let out a genuine laugh, taking a large step towards him as she slung an arm around his shoulder. "Fine, I'll follow you." Rina acquiesced with a small smile on her face. He smiled along with her, content by the fact that he was the reason for that bright look on her face. He was relieved that she no longer pressed on the hospital subject and decided to distract her from further thoughts on it.

To others on the streets as the two walked together, they must have looked like a sweet, comfortable couple but boy, were they far off. For friends of the opposite gender to be so cozy with each other was a rare thing in Korea, especially in public.

People passed by the two, glancing at them now and then but Rina wasn't bothered by it and neither was Woohyun. Why let strangers ruin their fun?

As they stumbled into a random café, Rina couldn't help but notice the unbelievably short amount of time that it took Woohyun to make her smile. He was so different from her and yet he was able to do something others around her couldn't. That just disturbed her.

Woohyun noticed her drifting away from reality as she became enveloped deeply into her thoughts. To snap her out of it, he purposely held her by the waist and directed her towards a window seat.

She silently yelped, smacking his hands away. "Yah!" she shrieked. "Do you want to die?"

Smiling, he sat down and propped his elbows onto the table, resting his chin on the palms of his hands.

With a roll of her eyes, Rina followed and took a seat across from the boy. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under his intense stare. "What, do I have something on my face?"

"Nope."

"Then what is it?"

"There's something bothering you." he stated.

The accuracy of it threw her off a bit. "N-no there isn't! I'm perfectly fine!"

He raised an eyebrow, leaning in closer towards her with a questioning stare. "Oh really now?" Woohyun whispered.

Rina felt her air supply cutting off at that moment. She turned her head to the side, avoiding all possible forms of eye contact with him. Her heart was beating abnormally fast and she hoped that she hadn't forgotten to take her medications. Gulping, she fumbled around her bag for the orange bottle. Once her fingers wrapped around the familiar texture, she jumped up from her chair and rushed to the bathroom.

Leaning against the sink while breathing heavily, she gulped down the prescribed amount before tossing the bottle inside her bag and letting out a heavy sigh.

As she regained her composure by organizing her thoughts, she fixed her hair and decided to go back out again while making up excuses in her head. Right in front of the door stood Woohyun, scaring the living wits out of Rina. "Oh my god, Nam Woohyun!" she screamed, clutching onto her weak heart in shock.

He snickered at her reaction. "Why did you suddenly take off though?"

"R-reasons! You know, girl reasons." Rina explained, red in the face.

At that reply, Woohyun too became flushed.

The two walked back to their table in an awkward silence, not daring to meet each other's eyes. When a waiter came over to take their orders, they spoke very quickly, fumbling over their words most of the time. The waiter looked at them weirdly but decided to leave the odd couple alone.

Their orders came rather quickly(much to their relief), and they tried striking up small conversations which turned out to be useless effort. Rina gazed out the window, noticing that the weather had turned gloomy as the day progressed. A single raindrop landed on the window before slidding down until it was out of sight. This caused her to smile, knowing that after it rains, surely it'll be a foggy evening.

"You really do like foggy days, don't you?" Woohyun asked with his eyes glued on the side of her face.

She nodded without looking at him, adorning a rare type of smile. "Aren't foggy days the best?"

"Positively, absolutely yes." he replied in a soft voice, so quiet that she could barely hear him.

"What did you say?"

"Y-yeah, they are!" he restated, watching his words carefully so that he wouldn't say something so weird again.

Soon enough, they dwelled into a deep discussion about foggy days, Shakespearean tragedies and the likes of things like that. It was rather interesting how they had many things in common but they were yet so different.

Rina laughed at something Woohyun had said and that brought a warm feeling to the boy. Yeah, smile like that, just like that. Please, never lose it.

Right before visiting hours ended, the girl snuck out and headed for the hospital. She pulled her hood over her head to conceal her face before making her way inside. She was greeted by nurses where in turn, bowed back to them. Her quick shuffles and scuttles echoed through the silent hallways where she could hear even the drop of a feather.

When she reached the room, she felt the same exact thing she did when she had stood there for the first time.

Dread.

She breathed into her numb hands to warm them up. She could now feel them. Placing a hand on the door knob, she braced herself for whatever sight she was going to be greeted with.

Twist, turn, push.

The umbrella in her free hand clattered to the ground, splattering drops of water all over the floor.

Her face spelled one expression: baffled.

That soon turned to disbelief.

Then shock.

After that came anger.

Before any thoughts had the chance to register, she was in tears.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Rina roared, fleeing the scene.

The umbrella was left forgotten, all alone on the floor. Whether the water surrounding it were mostly tears or rainwater, no one will ever know.

In the room, there was now a cold, empty spot where she was standing.

Someone, a man, knelt down and picked up the black umbrella. There was a look in his small, cold eyes. Guilt, was it? Pain?

Slowly, the corners of his lips tugged up slightly.

"I'm back, my flower." he whispered, placing the umbrella on a small table before going back to his seat beside the bed on which Granny Ji Jin lay unconscious. "Granny Ji, she still loves me, right? She won't neglect me, right?"

Although it was a question, he didn't need an answer.

That look in her eyes, he could never forget it.

He already had the answer.