Everything in my body hurts.

Where am I?

I feel someone touching my hand.

Is it Myungsoo? Cheondung oppa?

I have to get to class.

I need to get home. Appa needs me to make dinner tonight.

Sohee slowly opens her eyes and sees a strange boy resting his head on one of his arms and his other hand holding hers.

Who is this guy?

He looks tired.

What happened to me…?

Why am I in a hospital?

I have to get ready to study for exams…senior year just started…

Sohee shifted a bit, growing uncomfortable and she realized that she also woke up the strange boy.

Jiyong sat up and smiled at Sohee. She was as cute as ever.

“You woke up?” Jiyong smiled and moved in to kiss her temple, but she moved out of his touch.

“Who are you?” Sohee asked. She had no idea how much Jiyong’s heart shattered then. He stared at her in shock.

“You…you don’t remember who I am?” Jiyong was broken. If he was broken before, he was unfixable now.

“Why would I know who you are?”

Jiyong shook his head in disbelief and walked slowly out of the room. He realized what was happening and took off running to find the doctor.

“She has a case of memory loss, which is not uncommon for a brain injury like her’s. She was very lucky to be alive.” The doctor looked at Sohee with eyes of pity and looked back at Jiyong. “In any case, she is free to go home. Her internal bruising and cuts have healed nicely, but take it slow for her memory.”

Jiyong nodded and looked back at the room.

“Explain to her what happened. Patience is the key.” With that, the doctor walked away. He shook his head in pity and Jiyong sighed.

How did this happen?

It’s my fault.

I am the source of all her problems.

She was supposed to be safe, happy.

I…I did this…

Jiyong dreaded facing Sohee again. He dreaded the fact that he thought he was the cause of her problems.

“Hey…” Jiyong did not know where to start. He did not want to be the one who delivered the news to her.

“I know I am supposed to know you. I know I am…I can feel it…but why…why can’t I?” Sohee was miserable. She felt that she knew this strange, handsome man, but for some odd reason, she couldn’t.

“I know…I know that this is hard for you…but I am your boyfriend.” Jiyong sat down next to her and took her hand, to which she did not object.

“What?” The last thing that she remembered was that she had hidden feelings for Myungsoo. But when she thought back to him, her heart didn’t beat for him like it used to. Instead, it beat for the man in front of her. She didn’t know this man, but her body did.

“This is going to be hard, but I have to tell you the truth…” And with that, Jiyong had to relive the events of the past two years since she met him. He had to explain to her their very first encounter to the heartbreak. Telling her about her family and her friends, she listened with astonishment. He told her about the devastating accident, him picking up the pieces of her that broke, the relationship they shared for the past two years, the relationship that just started, and finally, the reason why she was in the hospital.

She didn’t interrupt him. Not once did she argue. Not once did she cry. She just listened. She listened to the strangely familiar story, but she felt that it wasn’t hers. 

“Did…this really happen to me?” She looked around her hospital room, not wanting to meet eyes with her…boyfriend.

“I would never lie to you…” His heart broke. It shattered. He looked at the lost look in her eyes and he knew that this was going to be a heart breaking journey.

“For some reason…I believed every word you said…but I just can’t…” Sohee struggled to find the right word.

“You don’t have to try so hard. You can start a new life if you want. You can leave me…you can get back to university…you can live a life without the problems that I cause you.” Jiyong was broken. The guilt of the incident came back and all Jiyong wanted to do was leave.

Sohee looked up at Jiyong and stared at him in shock.

“W-what are you asking of me?”

“I-I’m asking you…I’m asking you to think of what you want.”

For some reason, he was hurting her. Her heart wanted to break into a million pieces. She wanted nothing more than for this strange man to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But he was asking her to let him go…when she didn’t even know who he was.

“No,” Sohee whispered. “I won’t.”

Jiyong’s head snapped toward Sohee. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“For some reason, even though I don’t know you, I can’t let you go. I can’t let go of whatever we…had. I can’t let go of our…relationship.”