5: Knowing Him

It was a bright Monday morning, when everyone are going to their workplaces, their schools, their collages, or anywhere with slumped shoulders and sighs escaped their lips. Because after resting their bodies for the weekends, they have to go back to the reality, called work, school, deadline, and etc.

But, it didn’t apply for Im Yoona.

She—who caught flu last week—had to stay in her house to recover, which resulting in her absence in hospital and that also made her couldn’t meet him—Choi Seunghyun.

But today, Yoona arrived at the hospital with a wide smile and happy expression on her face. She couldn’t let anyone ruin her mood. She just wanted to be happy.

“Yah, what’s with that smile?” Yuri nudged Yoona with her elbow the moment she arrived in the nurse station. Yoona’s smile was so bright, and even though Yuri might look disgusted at Yoona’s too cheerful expression, Yuri was happy for her. “Do you miss Choi already, huh?”

“No!” Yoona laughed as she denied Yuri’s words. “I'm happy because finally I can move from the bed!”

Yuri had a teasing look on her face, but instead of mocking Yoona further, she decided to let it pass.

“I’ll investigate you later, okay?” Yuri winked playfully before she pointed a room. “Go check on him, Yoong. He has been sulking for the weekend…”

“Don’t worry unnie!” Yoona laughed, but without wasting more time, she took her equipment. “I’ll wipe that annoying frown off his face!”

“Go Yoong!” Yuri giggled while watching Yoona walked to 5016 with big steps.

xxx

“How are you, Choi…”  Yoona’s greeting was cut immediately when she saw Seunghyun with his closed eyes and steady breathing. She smiled at the sight, but wondering at the same time. It was a little bit past 10, and he should be woken up by an hour ago—or that’s how she used to see for the past month. Why, now—when he should have gotten used to his new routine, he wakes up late?

She approached her bed, made sure his position was comfortable—because people who got paralyzed need a constant change in their sleeping position—and made notes on her board. For the umpteenth time, she saw his perfect figure and angelic face when he sleeps. His high cheekbone, his pointed nose, his kissable lips, and his… eye bags?

Wait…

When Seunghyun started to have dark eye bags under his eyes? He didn’t sleep late (or that’s what the nurses knew), nor eating foods that can make his liver bad. Then why?

“Stop staring,” Seunghyun suddenly spoke. Yoona startled at his deep voice and jumped back. “I'm just sleeping.”

Seunghyun slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yoona with his intense dark eyes. If that was the first time Yoona looked at those beautiful eyes, she would fall for him hard, as soon as possible.

But no, that wasn’t her first time. She has gotten used to that.

“Good morning, Seunghyun.” Yoona greeted him cheerfully. Seunghyun just shrugged his shoulder noncommittally, and avoided looking to her eyes, but Yoona caught him stole a glance at her. And that was… cute for her liking.

“How have you been the past weekend?”

Seunghyun gave her a simple hum, but she smiled nonetheless. “Well, I guess it was magnificent.”

Yoona didn’t hope for his reaction not either his answer—because she knows Seunghyun is a quite man, beside when he’s angry—but surprisingly, Seunghyun reacted to her statement!

“It was bad,” Seunghyun mumbled, but clear and loud enough to be heard in his silent room. “Everything was .”

“Why?” She raised her eyebrow and gave him a curious yet teasing at the same time. “I thought it was better without me—the naggy nurse?”

“It just didn’t turn out right.”

That’s it. It wasn’t the best answer or response coming from a man, but considering that this answer was coming from Seunghyun’s mouth, it became amazing! 

Because with Seunghyun, a simple hum or a sentence from him could make everything better or worsened everything.

“Alright then,” Yoona tapped her chest proudly. “I’ll make today a great day for you!”

Seunghyun didn’t react, but Yoona didn’t too care about his reaction either. She was formulating and arranging what they can do that day. She was occupied in her own little world.

“I’ll see you at noon! Bye Seunghyun!”

With that, Yoona left his room with plans formulated in her head. She needed to make that plan happen, that way; she would accomplish two things at the same time—to brighten Seunghyun’s day and to… change himself for the better.

Back at Seunghyun’s room, he shook his head in awe at the super-active nurse.

“What a weird woman.” He said with a smile on his face.

xxx

Yoona ran through the rehabilitation center’s aisles and rooms, passed nurses and patients, sometimes gave them occasional greeting or bow, but there was only 1 thing in her mind.

She needed to meet that person as soon as possible!

After walking and running, she arrived at a building made from wood, which separated from the main rehabilitation center building. She didn’t bother to knock and immediately barged into the building. Inside, there were several long tables and chairs, also made from wood. And sat on the chairs of wood were invalid men with a piece of machine in each of their hands.

“Nurse Im!”

Suddenly, a familiar warm yet unique voice greeted her. She immediately turned around, and found an old man in his 50s, moved his wheelchair towards her direction. Yoona smiled widely, and walked closer to him.

“Ahjussi!” Yoona hugged Yang Hyunsuk briefly and Hyunsuk gave her the same hug. “How are you?” as she said this, she immediately walked to the handle of Hyunsuk’s wheelchair, and pushed it forward.

“Getting old for sure, how are you? Aigoo, it’s been a long time since you visit the workshop!”

Yoona pushed Hyunsuk’s wheelchair outside the workshop—where he usually stay at the rehabilitation center with his ‘students’ and repair everything all day long—and headed to the park near the workshop. “I'm fine, Ahjussi. There is a tough patient to crack, though.” Yoona began laugh, and Hyunsuk followed along.

“Who is it? Do I need to teach your patient a lesson about being tough to Nurse Im? I think I can give them a few tips for avoiding your nags.”

“Ahjussi!”

Nonetheless, both of them laughed heartily. They began to chat about everything—they used to meet and talk often, but since Hyunsuk found his new ‘home’ at the workshop, Hyunsuk spent the majority of his time there and practically make their meetings rare and shorter.

“Ahjussi, can I ask for your help?”

Hyunsuk and Yoona were in one secluded area of the park. Yoona was sitting on a bench, while Hyunsuk’s wheelchair positioned next to her. When she asked this, she looked straight into Hyunsuk’s eyes with the best pleading eyes she had.

“Just tell me, and the moment you finish your sentence, consider it’s done.”

“Really, ahjussi?” Yoona’s face brightened in a second. Hyunsuk nodded. “Yeah, just tell me.”

“I need you… to talk to someone.”

Hyunsuk didn’t interrupt her words, but his expression said, ‘Yeah, I got it, then?’

“He’s the patient I told you earlier—the one that is hard to crack. He’s a really tough one, if I should tell you. At first, he didn’t talk, he didn’t cry, he didn’t eat. He tortured himself after getting paralyzed at the age of 30.” Yoona took a deep breath.

Yeah, telling Hyunsuk about Seunghyun’s current condition will be a pretty long talk.

“That’s why he got transferred from SNUH to this rehabilitation center—he was pain in the for SNUH staffs. Even when I first met him, I witnessed his emotional turmoil because of his family and his ex-fiancée. He was so hurt, so broken, so fragile—he’s nothing but a broken hearted man trapped in a lifeless body. But as time pass, he slowly adapt to his new lifestyle—the less extravagant and more difficult lifestyle than what he used to have.”

“Then, what kind of help you want to me to do?”

Yoona hesitated for a minute, but after biting her lips for reassuring herself that she took a right choice, she spoke. “I don’t want you to do anything but talk to him, ahjussi. He respects you a lot and I believe he will listen to your words. He had been hospitalized in SNUH for a month, and nearly a month here, but never once he attended the therapy session. He never attended counseling session either. What he has been up to is staying in his room, read books, watching TV, or anything he can do from his room. It makes me cringe, Ahjussi. He should be out here, fighting to build his life once more, but there he is, staying in a room like a complete invalid person.”

Hyunsuk nodded his head in understatement and crossed his arms in front of his chest.