Narrator's POV

"Can we take a walk around?" Mina asked after carelessly dropping her bag off the floor. She had just come from work and her usual monthly visit to Donghae became weekly, which became daily – not that Donghae ever minded. At her question, he seemed taken aback but took his lab gown off and nodded.

He found it unusual that she would want to go out of the daily routine of sitting on the velvet cushion of his office and just talking. But he shrugged and decided that maybe this change was good. "How's your hand?" she inquired all of a sudden. Donghae looked down and opened his palm, observing the pink puckered line across his hand. "It feels like a hand again, thanks for asking."

The woman took his hand and aimed it in front of her face to get a closer look. After much scrutinizing, she flicked it with her finger. "Ow, that hurt!" Donghae pretended, winced, and pulled his arm back. Mina, meanwhile, burst out laughing at his scrunched up expression. When he didn't say anything afterwards, "I'm sorry," Mina said, her expression apologetic.

This time, it was the man's turn to laugh. "I was just kidding," Donghae informed, to which she just tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in embarrassment. "I guess you don't need more antidepressants, huh?" he muttered as they strode around the hospital. Of course he didn't lead her towards the emergency ward, or else she might get worse.

Mina just shrugged. "Well, you stopped having those nightmares – or at least, that's what I think, since you don't call me in the morning anymore." Donghae's words somehow had a hint of accusation in it. "And, I don't know, you just seem happier nowadays, especially since..." He glanced at her and chose his words carefully. "...since Jaejoong appeared into the picture. He's done you a lot of good."

It was at that moment that Donghae realized he was being masochistic, saying words and thinking about things that would lead to him being hurt. Mina smiled at the sound of Jaejoong's name. And, as if another stab to his heart, "You like him, don't you?" Donghae asked. He expected for her to nod or say yes and he mentally prepared himself for the pain.

Instead, the woman just shrugged. "I believe in a lot of things," she started, staring out into a far distance that perhaps only she could see. "I believe in books and kisses and the facts that they teach in school. I believe in the sunrise and the sunset and all the moments in between. When it's real enough that I could almost taste it and feel it, sometimes I also believe in love."

"But it's confusing, really." Mina stepped sideward to let a group of nurses pass by, which caused her shoulder to press against Donghae. He kept his gaze intently on her face and wondered how she could be so clueless. "It's confusing because I believe in all those things but I don't believe in myself." And she sighed heavily.

Donghae had realized – as he tried so hard to focus on the crowded hallway and not on the woman walking beside him – that if all her sufferings and her pains and her insecurities were as perceivable as a sack or a garbage bag, he would have taken it from her a long time ago, saving her from the burden. But as they aren't, then it could never be. "What part of you seems so unbelievable?"

She thought about her answer for a while. Then, "I find it impossible to believe that someone would even bother to love me, let alone like me, when I don't see a single good thing about myself. I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10 – with one being good enough and ten being the greatest – I'm not even a tad close to zero," Mina said.

Donghae's POV

Have I told you that I see your pretty face everywhere? Well, I do. And my watch just stops working every time it happens, like my brain shuts down for a moment and my body liquefies and I look at you as if looking at you is the only thing I could do, I wanted to say. But I ended up with pursed lips as I swallowed all the words surging unstoppably from my throat. She was a mess of beautiful chaos and it was evident in her eyes.

"Some people don't care. To them, all your concerns right now are just senseless. The only thing that matters is for someone to see more in you than you ever thought there was to see," I stated. "And maybe Jaejoong belongs to those kind of people. You wouldn't know if you don't try knowing him better."

I wanted to slap myself. Did I just suggest for Mina to continue meeting Jaejoong? But I know I couldn't take those words back.

"Anyway, do you still get those flowers in the morning?" I asked, pretending as if I don't hide behind parked cars just to see if she gets it whenever she would open the door in the morning. Mina came to a sudden halt in her tracks. "How'd you know I get flowers?" she asked, looking surprised. Babo, Donghae. Of course she hasn't told me about them yet.

I rubbed the back of my neck while desperately looking for a way out. "Um, I, um...I just figured you receive flowers since you told me you received a rose, remember?" I stammered like the fool I was. She nodded, though I doubt that she was convinced. "I still get them, actually," Mina muttered and looked down. When I focused closer, she was...smiling?!

"You know what, I'm confused as to what makes me better – Jaejoong or the cards I get." She glanced at me and smiled wider. "I mean, I know the cards and the flowers and the stuff come from Jaejoong too, but..." Oh Mina, you just don't have any idea at all and I don't want to break your heart. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel Jaejoong writes the words he can't say but I want to talk to him..."

Trying to earn my reward for all my silent suffering, "Well, why don't you try writing back?" I suggested. "You can just leave your reply on the doorstep and communicate that way," I added, hoping she would consider the idea. And my fluttering heart nearly broke out of my chest when she grinned and turned to me. "That's a great idea."

"What do the cards say, anyway? And you've gotten how many already?" I pressed, hoping she would say eight just for me to make sure that she really gets all of what I give her. In response, she held five fingers up on her right hand and three more on the other. I laughed at how childish she had acted.

Mina's POV

Donghae laughed and his hand crept up to pinch my cheek. "Really cute~" he cooed as he squeezed my cheek. When he let my face go, I needed to look away so he wouldn't get to see the blood pooling in my cheeks. Why was he like this? "Oh sorry. Did it hurt?" he asked and laid a hand on my shoulder while trying to look at my face.

"I'm fine," I managed to blurt out quickly. If my response had taken too long, who knows what I might have expected from that touch? He nodded to himself, as if understanding what I was just thinking, and we continued to walk in silence. Once in a while, our forearms would brush against each other and I would have the sudden urge to hold his hand. But if I did, I was afraid he would be disgusted and leave and I didn't want him to.

After turning a few corners, "You still haven't told me what the cards say," Donghae reminded. I raked my fingers through my hair and nodded to myself. "The first one seemed like the introduction or whatever. It just sai–" I replied but was cut off. "Dr. Lee!" a nurse exclaimed and grabbed Donghae's arm, leading him someplace else.

He was surprised by the turn of events because he seemed to have forgotten about me. But before I could feel sad about it, I had already turned around and decided to go back to his office to get my bag. Before I could have taken a step forward, someone grabbed me by the hand and yanked me. "Wait, I'm not leaving without her," I heard Donghae explain to the nurse.

She, in turn, just nodded and motioned for us to walk faster. As they talked, my eyes just zeroed in on Donghae's fingers that gripped around my hand tightly. And his words, what do they mean? There was an war going on in my mind just trying to comprehend this feeling. As if it wasn't enough, the man turned around and flashed me a bright smile, like he knew that it knocked the air out of my lungs and like he wanted me to suffocate.

Or maybe he just had to do that. Yeah, I could live with that. I could live with Donghae holding my hand and smiling at me like– Stop it, Mina. You're over-thinking again. Donghae was holding my hand because it was the only thing he could grab onto while the nurse pulled him. He smiled at me because the nurse told him something funny and he thought I heard it too. Yeah. That must be it. No need to expect something more than that, Mina.

It was crazy, because I didn't know when and where this feeling had started. It was similar to a rainy day, as if I'm sitting inside my apartment and looking out the window, watching as each drop landed on the glass and trickled down to the window pane. And I see each drop, each molecule of water, yet don't notice all the drops gathering. Then just suddenly, it's flooding outside. All the drops, all his smiles and his words added up, and he was my hurricane.

But I shrugged and dismissed the thought away, thinking it was better this way. I didn't want to drag him into the mess that I was. "I'm a psychologist, not a pediatrician, Nurse Choi," Donghae's protests grew louder and whinier. "Oh come on, just look after them for a while. It's not like I'll be gone forever. And besides," she turned and nodded to my direction. "You have her with you."

"Will it be okay with you?" Donghae asked me.

I tried focusing on anything but those brilliant brown eyes that stare at me. "What are we supposed to do exactly?"

We came to a sudden halt as the nurse quickly disappeared into a room with a big observing window. "We're going to look after them for the meantime." He pulled me closer to him as he watched the babies soundly sleeping inside. "Are you sure you want me here? I'm not really good with children," I confessed, following his gaze.

"Of course I always want you here," he mumbled inaudibly, but I heard it. "I mean, I need you here. Your conscience cannot take it if you leave me here alone, just caring for these babies all by myself." Donghae still held my hand and my heart felt like I've just run a marathon. "And if it takes longer than necessary, I'd just bring you home."

I opened my mouth to say something, but he had already held his free hand up. "No more objections," he said stubbornly and stuck his tongue out like a child. Then he lifted his hand up, the one that was entangled in mine, and pointed to a crib located farthest from the window. "That one's going to be a good soccer player," he commented.

My cheeks burning, "How did you know?" I asked and shifted my gaze from our hands and his face. "Well, he's..." He tiptoed and pressed his face closer to the window, trying to get a glimpse of the board attached to the infant's crib for identification. I laughed. "He's a boy, obviously. And he was born just this morning," he informed. "But look at how he kicks."

"Donghae," I called for his attention and gestured to the nurse calling us from inside. Donghae entered first, dragging me again with him. "Rock their cribs back and forth if they wake up. If they cry, however, you can manage to carry them, right?" she instructed while preparing bottles of milk. "And feed them. You'll both be fine, right?" The nurse turned to us.

Without waiting for our response, she scurried off, exiting the nursery in long strides. And for a moment, we just stood there, not exactly knowing what to do. There were nine cribs all in all, crowding the room and leaving not much space to walk on. And with my hand still entwined with Donghae's, I didn't plan on going anywhere.

Before I could breathe in and tell him not to let go of my hand, the soccer-player-in-the-future baby started crying. Of course Donghae fulfilled his duty first, leaving me to fend for myself and figure out how to breathe again. Like he knew exactly how, Donghae picked the child up and pressed his head against his chest, cradling him gently.

"What do they say?" Donghae spoke all so suddenly, catching me off guard. I took one ready-made bottle of milk and pushed my luck in approaching the infant. He had his eyes closed while pressing his face more on Donghae's shirt. "I guess he's not hungry, then." I pursed my lips in embarrassment and returned to my previous spot. "You mean, the cards?"

He nodded and spun to face me. I looked down. "He said he would tell me twenty reasons why I should be happy – one for each day," I answered.

Donghae coughed, like he was choking on his own saliva. It must have awoken the baby because he began cooing and humming lullabies for the child to fall back to sleep. "So what are the reasons you've read so far?" he pressed. I glanced up at him. Wrong move, Mina. He was already looking at me and when our eyes met, I was ready to shatter.

I kept my head down and observed my hand instead, the hand that Donghae had held just a while ago. It was different, as if for once, someone didn't mind how dry my skin was and how clammy my palm gets when I'm nervous. He held my hand for a record-breaking time. But I knew it was his nth time to hold someone's hand while it was just my first.

"The first said I had a pretty smile. The second said he cared about me," I started, feeling uncomfortable saying the words out loud.

"And?"

"The third said I was smart. The fourth, honest. He told me I was important, deserving, strong – and just this morning, I got another flower with a card telling me I was real." By the time I was done talking, Donghae had already laid the baby back to his small bed and advanced towards me. "Were you convinced?" he asked.

I scratched the back of my head and silently hoped that Donghae was the one giving me all of these cards and gifts instead of Jaejoong. But what could Donghae want from me? I was sad, and Jaejoong seemed to be as equally lonely. With that, I somehow hoped that together, we would be happy. Then I shook the thought away. Why was I assuming Jaejoong liked me?

Because Donghae seemed to be waiting for a response, I shrugged and watched as his expression changed. He shoved both his hands in his pockets and breathed in sharply. His lower lip jutted out and his jaw tensed. He looked away and nodded to himself, as if agreeing to an idea only he would know. "Okay," he mumbled softly.

"It's not that I'm not convinced," I quickly retorted. "It's just that I would very much prefer if Jaejoong would say it directly to my face."

The man's eyes froze for a moment. "Jaejoong?" he repeated. "Oh, J-jaejoong. Right. I...I forgot. Of course it's Jaejoong." And before I could ask why he was acting so differently, the nurse burst in and told us we could leave. Donghae heaved a sigh of relief and led me back to his office. Gathering my things, I was surprised when Donghae – with a cheeky grin – presented his car keys just inches from my face. It was decided. He would take me home.