I gasped and looked up.  Yeon Soo was sitting up.  Her chin on her hand, her elbow resting on the mattress next to Seung Ri.  One hand covering his protectively.

                “I…yes, I’m Nikki,” I whispered back.

                “You know I’m Yeon Soo, right?  Park Yeon Soo.”

                I nodded.

                “And you’re Nikki.”

                I nodded again.

                “You’re the reason my oppa is like this.”

                Looking back at him still sleeping, I nodded.  She was still watching me, scrutinizing, summing me up.

                “I don’t see it, but there must be something special about you if he was willing to risk his life for you,” she mused.  She leaned over and kissed his lips quickly.  She stood and walked over to me.  She was much prettier than in her photo.  Her hair was longer.  She stopped in front of me.  Her eyes scanned over me.  “I was ready to meet you.  I got here last week.  When they told me what happened, I was ready to meet you.  To hate you.  I wanted to.  I did for a while.”  She sighed heavily and glanced back over at Seung Ri.

                “The doctors say it’s just like he’s stuck in a deep sleep.  He can hear.  He is probably dreaming, too,” she continued.  I looked down at my feet when she turned back on me.  “He mumbles your name sometimes.”

                I looked up at her, but I couldn’t figure out what to say.

                “He doesn’t move.  He just moans and then he’ll mumble your name.  Not mine.  Locked inside his own mind, he’s looking for you, not me.”

                “I’m sorry,” I finally croaked out.

                She sighed again.  “He told you about me, didn’t he?”

                I nodded.  “You guys have been together since you were fourteen?”

                She smiled.  “Doesn’t mean we’re right for each other.  He’s a real sweetheart and I’d fight for him if I thought I had a chance, but I’ve known him my whole life and subconsciously he’s calling for a girl he met a month ago.  You two must have something.”  She shrugged and looked at me, her face void of emotion.  “You’re American, aren’t you?”

                I nodded.

                “Can you speak any Korean at all?”

                “I was taking classes before all this happened.  I’ll go back to them once I can go back to my apartment and get back to my old routine.”

                She scoffed.  “You’re only here temporarily though, aren’t you?  Teaching or studying or whatever it is you Americans do here in Seoul?’

                “Teaching,” I answered.  “But if Seung Ri wants me, I would stay here with him.  There’s nothing waiting for me back in the States.  If he asked me to, I would stay in Seoul.”

                Yeon Soo arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.  “Fascinating.  I hope you mean that.”

                “I do,” I answered automatically.

                “If you’re going to stay here, I’m going to sleep in the visitors’ room.  I just want to see him before I leave.  I’ll stay until he wakes up.  Then I’ll go back.”

                “You don’t owe me any explanations about your plans.”

                She cast one more longing glance at Seung Ri before she headed to the door.  “Goodnight,” she said and disappeared around the corner.

                “Night,” I whispered to the empty doorway.

                I went into the same closet that Seung Ri had in his room and got out two blankets for the sleeping guys he had on the sofa.  After covering them, I sat in the chair Yeon Soo had been sitting in.  I slipped my hand under his and held onto it.  I watched his chest rise and fall with each breath he took.

                “Seung Ri, wake up,” I ordered in a whisper.  I held up his hand and rested my cheek on the back of his hand.  “They tell me you can hear.  That you’re in there.”  I curled my arms around his forearm and held it close to me.  “I’m sorry about Yeon Soo, but it’s kind of your fault,” I continued.  I touched a finger to his temple.  “You should have talked to her.  Why did you call for me while she was here?  Are you dreaming about me in there?  If you had talked to her first, maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much to hear her boyfriend say another girl’s name in his sleep.  I’d be pissed.”  I lowered his arm back to the mattress and ran my hand over it.  “If you are dreaming about me, what are we doing?  Something fun?  Will you and your friends sing for me again?  I miss your voice.”

                I could see his eyes darting from side to side beneath his closed eyelids.  For a second, I held my breath, hoping his eyes would open.  They didn’t.  His breathing remained the same and his eyes stayed closed.  “Seung Ri, wake up and ask me to stay here with you.  I’ll stay in Korea.  You said once you wanted to visit the US.  We can go there, if you want.  I’ll go wherever you want if you want me with you.”

                I waited and watched him, but still nothing.  I pulled all nine of my bracelets off my wrist and slipped them onto his.        

               “Whatever you need from me, you got it.  Protection, healing, good luck, anything.  You can have everything if it means you’ll just wake up.”